What makes a law valid?
i think of laws as social contracts in which everyone who is legally obligated to follow them should have agreed to the terms and conditions of the contract. however, almost every law that has been issued and enforced in history was not a mutually agreed upon set of rules but rather were set up by people within the government. wouldn't that make unjust laws invalid and therefore unenforceable? also, if one were to make such a case in court for say a marijuana violation or refusal to pay taxes, do you think it would carry any weight?
Is the US Attorney General expected to defend policies his party opposes in the Supreme Court?
The USAG and Executive branch have a ton of latitude when it comes to enforcement and court challenges. When Obama took office, one of the first things he did was direct DoJ to drop the DoMA defense and take the position that the law was unconstitutional, but continue to enforce as necessary.Interestingly, Chief Justice Roberts said that Obama should have had the courage of his convictions and ceased enforcement, which was within his power. By doing so, the law would have ceased to create harm in many states, allowing the SCOTUS to dismiss the case as the plaintiffs would have lost standing. The Administration’s continuance of enforcement gave them no such out. (I think I understand this correctly, but not a lawyer so take it with a grain of salt)It fell on Republicans to assume responsibility to defend the law or let it be struck down. They tried, they lost and now same sex marriage is legal in all 50 states.So the USAG is expected to do his or her job, which included not defending laws they consider unconstitutional or immoral.Also, the above is what happens when you elect a lawyer. That’s some sneaky shit right there.
Japanese Internment Camp Research help, please??
Hello, I may need alittle help on a research project on Japanese Internment Camps. I just need some good research sites where I can find some good info on this topic that is easy to read. Unfortunately, I also have to make a bibliography for the websites I researched at. It has to contain: Name of website. Editor/Author. Date edited. Name of Organization. Date of access. Web address. I would really appreciate your help. Because I really don't know why the hell my ENGLISH II teacher has to give us a project like this that involves difficult research... So remember, I need some good websites on research on Japanese Interment Camps that contained the information for the bibliography example I showed above. *If it doesn't have anything unimportant on it like, Date of access or Editor/Author, its ok ^_^ THANKS:)
If a crime has been committed then a law is passed after the crime is committed, do courts follow the old or the new law when trying the case?
In the US, a law cannot make criminal something that was not criminal when the act was done, nor can they increase the penalty from what it was when the act was done, this is what the prohibition on Ex Post facto laws is about. If the new law reduces the seriousness of a crime or the penalty, then the new law may be followed, depending on how that law is worded.Civil laws can have retrospective effect (change the legal status of acts in the past). Most often they don’t, but sometimes thy do — the strict liability laws on pollution associates with the Superfund Act are a case in point.Many other countries follow a rule similar to the US one, that criminal laws never have retrospective effect except perhaps to reduce the penalty. But some countries permit such retrospective effect of criminal laws in some cases