law

Big Question

Why Are Unidentified People Called John or Jane Doe?

From the courts to the morgue, if the government doesn’t know someone’s name or wants to withhold it, they give them one of these as a placeholder.... READ ON

Big Question

What Legal Authority Does Judge Judy Have?

Judge Judy reportedly makes $45 million a year. What kind of legal power comes with... READ ON

Article

An Update on SOPA, PIPA, and Last Week's Petitions

Last Wednesday (January 18), Wikipedia and other sites went dark in a protest of pending legislation before the US Congress. Now that the dust has settled, here are some details of what happened. Let the Backpedaling Begin On Friday (January 20) Lamar Smith, chief SOPA sponsor, pulled the bill from consideration. At roughly the same time, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid postponed a scheduled vote on PIPA in the Senate. Of the original 13 co-sponsors of the two bills, 7 backed out, saying they... READ ON

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Why is Wikipedia Down?

If you're in the US you speak English and you visit Wikipedia today, you'll see a glimpse of the page you were trying to access, then you'll see the blackout message above. You'll see similar messages from Google, Reddit, and others. Why? Although each of these sites does a good job of explaining its position, here's a rundown of the issues involved in today's shutdown. An Extremely Brief History Lesson In 1998, the US Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a bill that, among... READ ON

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What's Wrong With PROTECT IP and SOPA?

You may have heard about some new bills making their way through the U.S. Congress, related to piracy on the internet. But what are they and what's the big deal? Here's a simple guide to what the laws are and why so many internet nerds (like myself) are against them. Executive summary: the new laws could make you, as an individual, liable for a five-year prison term for posting any copyrighted work; they would hand massive new power to the entertainment industry (and other content-owning interests)... READ ON

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Double Trouble: When Identical Twins Run Into the Law

Last night, Law & Order: SVU did that “ripped from the headlines” thing where they borrow elements of real-world criminal cases or address current issues in law enforcement. The episode, “Double Strands,” revolved around a topic I've been reading a lot about lately: twins. [Spoilers Ahead!] The plot involves a serial rapist and his identical twin brother, who is falsely accused of the crimes. The SVU detectives eventually figured things out, but real-world police have had a lot of trouble... READ ON

Big Question

If a Foul Ball Hits You, Does the Team Owe You Anything?

© RHONA WISE/epa/CorbisOn August 29, former Phillie and current Florida Marlins infielder Greg Dobbs hit a kid in the face with a line drive foul ball while playing the Mets at Citi Field.The 12-year-old fan, from Long Island, suffered from severe internal bleeding, had to have had two blood transfusions and four CT scans, and spent five days in the intensive care unit at the hospital.Dobbs visited the kid in the hospital, gave him the glove used in the game and a signed bat, and called the... READ ON

Article

How Abraham Lincoln's Lunar Adventure Followed Him

This week we're running a series of posts by Matt Soniak about Abraham Lincoln's foray into forensic meteorology. If you missed the first, second, or third installments of the series, check them out. Lincoln had secured an acquittal for Duff Armstrong largely by poking a hole in a witness’ testimony with the aid of an almanac. This tactic would come back to haunt him almost immediately during his Senate race against Stephen Douglas and again years later when he ran for President. During the Senate... READ ON

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How Abraham Lincoln Argued a Murder Trial

This week we're running a series of posts by Matt Soniak about Abraham Lincoln's foray into forensic meteorology. If you missed the first or second installments of the series, check them out. May 3, 1858. Cass County, Illinois. The Circuit Court of Cass County convened on Monday May 3rd, 1858, to begin Armstrong’s trial. Abraham Lincoln arrived in Beardstown, the county seat and site of the courthouse, on Thursday the 6th, only to find that the star witness for the People, Charles Allen, was... READ ON

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Abraham Lincoln: Amazing Wrestler

This week we're running a series of posts by Matt Soniak about Abraham Lincoln's foray into forensic meteorology. If you missed the first installment yesterday, check it out. In the summer of 1831, 22-year-old Abraham Lincoln arrived in New Salem, a small town along the Sangamon River in Menard County, Illinois. He had come there to work as a clerk for a man named Offut, a local store owner. Offut liked Lincoln and tended to brag about the new clerk to his customers, claiming Lincoln could outrun or... READ ON