Okay I have a small series of questions about law...

What if I find a busted open large outgoing mailbox. Taking mail is a federal crime, but I don't want to leave it out in the rain all night to get ruined. Would it be a crime if I picked it up and delivered every single letter directly to the mail carrier?

It is illegal to have your pet kill an endangered animal. What if my pet is an endangered animal too, and it was a fight for the lives?

Why is it against the law to hunt for whales in Oklahoma?

It is illegal to turn the knob / bar to change the traintracks. What if there were multiple people tied to the train tracks and by turning the bar you saved their lives?

It is illegal to crash into a window of a business. What if I see a robbery in motion and crash into it hitting the robber?

haha nice to see some thought put into those questions. The answer is simple really - for a lot of those, you were the good citizen.

The traintrack question, you would more likely get a medal than to be arrested as that's what the police would have done themselves anyways

A lot of those laws are put into place so that people don't do it to upset the running of things.

Posted By Sven on 10th Aug 08 at 5:28am

 

haha nice to see some thought put into those questions. The answer is simple really - for a lot of those, you were the good citizen.

The traintrack question, you would more likely get a medal than to be arrested as that's what the police would have done themselves anyways

A lot of those laws are put into place so that people don't do it to upset the running of things.

What if the train crashed with another =P. Sometimes the tracks are used for both directions and that bar is there for they can switch tracks / sides. o_O

Choose the lesser of two evils... step away and let the police decide that one

It's 3am and I'm not up to much thinking at the moment, but for the question about the robbery taking place and you driving through the window, you would still go to jail for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Unfortunately USA's legal system is so far in the gutter that what's right is hardly ever what's seen as "just" by the government...

Dare i ask how those questions came about?

Looking at it from a UK law point of view:

I don't think you'd be done for theft, as there is no intention to permanently deprive...off the top of my head i can't think of an offence for that

Posted By ashkir on 10th Aug 08 at 4:12am

 

It is illegal to have your pet kill an endangered animal. What if my pet is an endangered animal too, and it was a fight for the lives?

Techincally, i think it is as you would be charged for failing to control your pet. This kind of thing was one of the reasonings behind the Dangerous Dogs Act, i think.

Posted By ashkir on 10th Aug 08 at 4:12am

 

Why is it against the law to hunt for whales in Oklahoma?

Lord knows

Posted By ashkir on 10th Aug 08 at 4:12am

 

It is illegal to turn the knob / bar to change the traintracks. What if there were multiple people tied to the train tracks and by turning the bar you saved their lives?

If they wanted to be really fickle, they could probably charge you with Trespassing as no doubt it would be in a restricted area. I doubt that would though, as there was fair reason to do so.

Posted By ashkir on 10th Aug 08 at 4:12am

 

It is illegal to crash into a window of a business. What if I see a robbery in motion and crash into it hitting the robber?

Yep, still illegal - the crashing into the window would constitute criminal damage and the hitting of the robber would probbly aggravated ABH, possibly GBH depending on the extent of any injuries.