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Comment on Does each country have a book/library of the laws of the land that a commoner can consult to check if they're about to do something illegal?

captaindeank@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

In the US, no. This is why lawyers get paid so much money to research and analyze whether their clients’ activities may or may not be legal. For many areas of the law, relevant statutes, regulations, and agency interpretations are publicly available and may be compiled and discussed at a high level in a treatise. However, a specific question or set of facts (such as raccoon husbandry in a specific location) would require research or analysis beyond what a treatise might describe. And treatises are expensive, full of legal jargon, and usually not publicly available. Welcome to the Law!

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Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Isn’t that partly because the US has like 52 sets of law (50 states, DC, Fed) and maybe more (County/Parish, etc)?

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- compostgoblin@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Yep. But when two laws are in conflict, the higher law wins. So state laws supersede local laws, and federal laws beat state laws. Of course, there is also weirdness where the higher body might just choose not to argue with the lower body over conflicting laws, like with cannabis legalization.
  
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  - DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    
    higher body might just choose not to argue with the lower body over conflicting laws, like with cannabis legalization
    
    Reminder that marijuana is still federally illegal.
    
    If you are a non-citizen, you could get deported for posession of marijuana, even if your state “legalized” it, because it would still be a crime under federal laws.
    
    So, pro tip: gain citizenship first, then, after you’ve been sworn in and got the citizenship papers, then you can safely smoke weed…
    
    (Yes, people do get placed into deportation proceedings for possession weed, especially under this current shitty administration)
    
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    compostgoblin@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Oh yeah, definitely! Even in legal states, if you’re on federal property (like National Forests), possession is still a crime. Gotta be careful with stuff like that
    
    I meant that they aren’t arguing over it as in the DOJ isn’t suing states over having legalized it. Although if I recall correctly, the Obama admin DEA did conduct raids on medicinal dispensaries in states where it was legal
    
    It gets weird and messy fast
    
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