Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 1/28/19: Juveniles and Miranda Rights

The case of In re Gault (1967) extended Miranda rights to juveniles. However, recent studies show that approximately 90% of juveniles waive their Miranda rights during custodial interrogations, despite serious concerns that many are not capable of knowingly waiving those … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 1/21/19: The Longest Words With No Repeating Letters

Intellectual Property fans will rejoice in knowing that one of the two longest English words with no repeating letters is ‘uncopyrightable‘. The other, also 15 letters long, is ‘dermatoglyphics‘ (the study of skin patterns). This also has a legal connection, since the … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 1/14/19: The Child Labor Amendment

The Child Labor Amendment is an unratified amendment proposed in 1924, which would grant Congress the authority to regulate the labor of children under the age of 18. It was ratified by 28 states, the last in 1937, and is … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 11/26/18: The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment

The last amendment sent to the states for ratification was the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, a failed amendment that would have given D.C. full representation in Congress, in the Electoral College, and in the Constitutional amendment process. It was … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 11/19/18: Presidential Pardons

The President is given the pardon power under Article II, section 2 of the Constitution, which states that the President “shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment”. Presidential pardons are … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 11/12/18: Size of the Supreme Court

As the Constitution does not specify the size of the Supreme Court, Congress has the authority to do so. The Judiciary Act of 1789 set the number at 6 justices, although it has ranged from a low of 5 (in … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 11/5/18: Female Suffrage

The 19th amendment to the Constitution, which granted women the right to vote, was originally introduced in Congress in 1878 but was rejected by the Senate. It was reintroduced in 1918 but failed. It was approved by both houses of Congress in 1919 … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 10/29/18: Suing Satan!

In 1971 a plaintiff filed a pauper’s suit in U.S. District Court, on behalf of himself and all other similarly situated, against Satan and his servants. Plaintiff alleged that Satan had “threatened him, caused him misery, impeded his course in … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 10/9/18: Duty to Rescue Laws

While common in European countries, only 3 US states have ‘duty to rescue’ laws, otherwise known colloquially as ‘bad Samaritan laws’, on the books. These laws, which exist in Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Vermont, make it a crime to not provide reasonable assistance to … Continue reading

Legal Fact of the Week 9/24/18: Graffiti as Visual Art

Graffiti artists whose work on the 5Pointz building in Queens NY was destroyed by the owner’s painting over them some ten months before the building was demolished, were deemed by the U.S. District Court in 2018 to be protected by the … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 9/10/18: Filial Responsibility Laws

Filial responsibility laws, otherwise known as ‘filial support laws’,  exist in about 30 states by statute, including CA and MA. These laws impose legal requirement for children to help support indigent parents or other relatives by providing or paying for … Continue reading