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

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 10/1/18: California Reforms Bail System

Earlier this year California became the first state to eliminate cash bail, replacing it with a system based on assessment of a defendant’s risk to public safety. Critics of the cash bail system had long argued that cash bail perpetuates economic inequality. … 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

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 9/4/18: Walking and Texting

A growing number of municipalities are outlawing texting and walking. Honolulu was the first to do so in 2017 under the “Distracted Walking Law”, which bans texting while crossing an intersection. Other cities have followed suit, although some laws ban even … Continue reading

Ian’s Occasional Summer Legal Fact 6/4/18: The Original Thirteenth Amendment

While the Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery, the original proposed Thirteenth Amendment was altogether different. Approved by Congress in 1810, the Titles of Nobility Amendment was designed to strip U.S. citizenship from any citizen who accepted an aristocratic title from a … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 4/17/18: Death and Taxes

The Sixteenth Amendment, passed in 1913, is probably one of the least well-known and yet most unpopular amendments, as it grants Congress the ability to levy a federal income tax. While the first federal income tax was levied during the Civil War as … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 4/9/18: Show Me the Money!

Only two justices of the Supreme Court have appeared on U.S. Currency. John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice, appeared on the $500 bill; while Salmon P. Chase (the sixth Chief Justice) appeared on the $10,000 bill. Neither denomination is still in circulation.

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 3/26/18: The Seventeenth Amendment

The Seventeenth Amendment, ratified in 1913, provides for the direct election of members of the Senate by popular vote in each state, and also allows governors to make temporary appointments until a special election is held to fill vacancies. Originally, members of … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 3/19/18: Gun Control Laws

A study in The Lancet, led by BU researchers and published in 2016, analyzed gun control laws across the U.S. and concluded that more than 80% of gun deaths could be prevented by national adoption of 3 laws: firearm identification through … Continue reading

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 3/12/18: The Incompatibility Clause

The Constitution imposes several qualifications and restrictions on Congressional service, most notably in Article I, sections 2 and 3 (which sets out age, citizenship, and residency requirements), and the Incompatibility Clause in Article I section 6 which forbids members of Congress from also … Continue reading