Category:
Law
Law
Constitution of Alabama
Clocking in at 310,296 words, the constitution of Alabama is the longest constitution in the world. By comparison, the U.S. constitution is only 4,543 words (including the signatures).The bloat of the document is a result of the state government deciding that it needed to micromanage the individual counties. So all kinds of local regulations have been included in the constitution. Wikipedia explains:
About 90 percent of the document's length, as of 2018, is made up of its 946 amendments ... About 75 percent of the amendments cover individual counties or cities, and some are so detailed as to deal with salaries of specific officials (e.g. Amendment 480 and the Greene County probate judge). As a result, Alabama has a very high number of constitutional officers and the constitution makes it very difficult for residents of most counties to solve their own problems.
The Constitutional Convention was called with the intention by Democrats of the state "to establish white supremacy in this State," "within the limits imposed by the Federal Constitution." Its provisions essentially disenfranchised most African Americans and thousands of poor whites, who were excluded for decades.
The Constitutional Convention was called with the intention by Democrats of the state "to establish white supremacy in this State," "within the limits imposed by the Federal Constitution." Its provisions essentially disenfranchised most African Americans and thousands of poor whites, who were excluded for decades.
You can read the full document here.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jul 17, 2020 -
Comments (6)
Category: Government, Regulations, Law
Will to be read in 2163
Adolph Metzer loved cats and dogs. So, in his will, he gave $1000 to the city of Evanston, as well as to ten states, with the stipulation that the money be put in a bank account and not touched until 2163. By that time, he figured, his money would have grown to $201,559,641.30. All of which could be spent to help homeless cats and dogs.I haven't been able to find out what happened to his money. My guess is that it's long gone.
Washington Post - Mar 13, 1913
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jul 14, 2020 -
Comments (6)
Category: Death, Law, 1910s
Drunk Driving Defense
Back in 1971, Melvin Baker offered a novel defense for why he shouldn't have been charged with drunk driving. He was, he said, too drunk to have made an intelligent decision about whether to submit to the breathalyzer test — the results of which led to him being charged. He apparently argued this case all the way up to the New York Supreme Court.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat - July 7, 1971
Details about this case are hard to come by, but this other brief article offers an explanation for why Baker persisted with his seemingly hopeless argument. Because if he had refused to take the test, he would only have had his license suspended. But having taken the test, and failed it, he also faced criminal prosecution. So it was all an elaborate, legalistic ploy to get the lighter penalty.
Long Beach Independent - Sep 7, 1971
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 14, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Inebriation and Intoxicants, Law, 1970s, Cars
Sneezing Protected
This is good to know in the pandemic era. I hope coughing is covered as well.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Fri May 08, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Accidents, Law, 1950s, Cars
The Hero Thrill Show Queens
"Hero Scholarship Thrill Show Queen competitors [1969] Carolyn McNish and JoAnne Bream are crowned by Police Captain Philip Baumgardner, Fairmount Park Lt. Joseph Salamone and Deputy Fire Chief Frank Bowen."
"Northeast Regional finalists for Thrill Show queen [1974] are Denise Needham, nominated by the police department, and Sandra Hartman nominated by the fire department. Standing are John Craig, chief police inspector, and Martin Preite, deputy fire chief."
What is the "Hero Thrill Show?" Their Wikipedia page has the answer.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 31, 2019 -
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Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Law, Regionalism, 1960s, 1970s
Change in Sex Blocks Draft
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Feb 27, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Law, War, 1940s, Gender-bending, Differently Abled, Handicapped, Challenged, and Otherwise Atypical
The Tree That Owns Itself
Recall those recent legal battles about granting new rights to animals? How about this for a precedent?From the Wikipedia page:
The Tree That Owns Itself is a white oak tree that has, according to legend, legal ownership of itself and of all land within eight feet (2.4 m) of its base. The tree, also called the Jackson Oak, is located at the corner of South Finley and Dearing Streets in Athens, Georgia, United States. The original tree, thought to have started life between the mid-16th and late 18th century, fell in 1942, but a new tree was grown from one of its acorns, and planted in the same location. The current tree is sometimes referred to as the Son of The Tree That Owns Itself. Both trees have appeared in numerous national publications, and the site is a local landmark.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 31, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: Law, Nature, Nineteenth Century
The man who hated double parking
Robert Allan Miller hated double parkers so much that he left money in his will to the city of Bethlehem, PA for a fund that would reward police officers who ticketed double-parked cars.However, the city had to turn down the bequest due to their policy of not giving officers incentives for ticket-writing. (Which surprises me, since I figured municipal police depts used all kinds of ways to encourage officers to write tickets.)
Latrobe Bulletin - Aug 24, 1998
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 31, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Law, Police and Other Law Enforcement, 1990s
Sentenced to watch Bambi
Four members of a southwest Missouri family have been caught in a multi-year poaching case where authorities say hundreds of deer were killed illegally...
The case was so egregious that Lawrence County Judge Robert George ordered a special addition to the jail time one of the poachers received.
Court records show the defendant "is to view the Walt Disney movie Bambi, with the first viewing being on or before December 23, 2018, and at least one such viewing each month thereafter, during Defendants incarceration in the Lawrence County Jail."
The case was so egregious that Lawrence County Judge Robert George ordered a special addition to the jail time one of the poachers received.
Court records show the defendant "is to view the Walt Disney movie Bambi, with the first viewing being on or before December 23, 2018, and at least one such viewing each month thereafter, during Defendants incarceration in the Lawrence County Jail."
Source: Springfield News-Leader
Hasn't the judge seen A Clockwork Orange? For behavioral change, the guy should have been sentenced to watch Bambi constantly with his eyelids held open.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Dec 19, 2018 -
Comments (6)
Category: Law, Judges, Movies
The Tractor Fender Will of Cecil George Harris
June 8, 1948: Cecil George Harris got pinned under his tractor. Fearing he wouldn't survive, he scratched the following message onto the fender of the tractor: "In case I die in this mess I leave all to the wife. Cecil Geo Harris."He did end up dying, but his scratched message was accepted as a valid will by the courts, and has served as a precedent ever since for cases of holographic or handwritten wills. The fender is preserved to this day at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law.
More info: Global News
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 03, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Death, Law
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