No, but that would explain why literally no prosecutor has enforced this law in over 150 years.
No, but that would explain why literally no prosecutor has enforced this law in over 150 years.
Again, defrauding means using deception. How does that apply here?
That’s like saying “homosexuality is a crime in Texas, because a law against it exists”.
If nobody will enforce a law that’s obviously unconstitutional, then that law de facto does not exist.
Fraud requires deception. How does that apply here?
“Interfering with the elected will” is not a crime.
If it were, all protests would be illegal.
The SCOTUS has made pretty clear that all speech is protected unless it falls into one of these categories:
“International diplomacy” isn’t among the exceptions, and therefore it’s protected.
No, I didn’t. I’ll walk you through it again.
(a) Manson convinced people to join his murder plan. But he didn’t just convince people, he also
(b) Took a concrete step to actualize his plan
When (a) and (b) are both present, that’s a conspiracy
The elements of a conspiracy are (a) planning a crime with someone, and (b) taking any step, no matter how minor, to advance the plan.
Both are necessary. Planning a violent revolution without taking any concrete action is just talking shit, which is generally not illegal. Good thing for Lemmy users.
Likewise, inadvertently helping a murderer without having a criminal plan, like Ma and Pa, is also not illegal.
Put the two together, and you’ve got an illegal conspiracy.
He didn’t just convince people. For example, in one of the murders he drove with his accomplices to the crime scene.
Prosecutors can use any concrete action, no matter how minor, to tie him to the murder. Manson’s gun was used in the Tate murders, which is more than enough. But even giving the others a place to stay can be enough.
Charles Manson was guilty of murder and conspiracy, which are more than just influencing others. Both require taking some concrete action.
Our interpretation of the First Amendment has undeniably changed a lot over the centuries. The Sedition Act, also in 1798, sent someone to jail for calling the President “not only a repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite, and an unprincipled oppressor, but…in private life, one of the most egregious fools upon the continent.” Such a prosecution would be a non-starter today.
It’s sad that the Second Amendment seems to be frozen in time, for now.
Yes, I quoted the Logan Act to point out that it’s directly at odds with the First Amendment. A law that bans “influencing” someone will quickly be ruled unconstitutional as soon as anyone tries to enforce it.
There are many anachronistic laws that are still on the books but will be thrown out if anyone tries to enforce them today. For example, in some states homosexuality is technically banned, but those bans are unenforceable and people “flagrantly violate the law” every day.
He is trying to influence Saudi-US diplomatic relations, which we all have a First Amendment right to do.
He isn’t “negotiating a contract”, because only agents of the US government can negotiate contracts with the US.
The Logan Act says nothing about contracts.
It bans “correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States”.
Trying to influence others is fundamentally protected by the First Amendment, even if (especially if!) your interests are not the same as those of the government.
Nobody has ever been found guilty of violating the Logan Act. Nobody has even been charged with it in over 150 years.
Why? Probably because prosecutors realize that in the modern era, a 1798 law that bans “commencing or carrying on any correspondence with a foreign government” would almost certainly be struck down on First Amendment grounds.
Key detail:
The question for the justices is that the 6th Circuit and several other appeals courts apply a higher standard when members of a majority group make discrimination claims.
So the SCOTUS won’t be deciding whether she was discriminated against, they will be deciding how courts should decide whether she was discriminated against.
The government didn’t cave. They said from the beginning that they wouldn’t intervene in this strike, and they didn’t.
Aged like milk
Wouldn’t matter. The Biden admin can move to dismiss without them. The motion is decided on the merits, which means it isn’t stronger just because it has Mohela’s signature on it.
At the point where a creative decision is made that the user did not control, that element is not eligible for copyright.
So to return to my example: suppose a photographer takes a photo of a model and asks an AI to add a dog to the image. Unless the dog comes from one of their other photos, they can’t copyright it (although they can still copyright the model).
Now suppose another photographer takes a photo of Mt Everest. They ask the same AI to add a dog to the image, which results in the same (or very similar) dog. The first photographer can’t sue the second one for copyright infringement, because the first one didn’t create that dog and therefore has no rights over it.
That’s like asking “How many alterations do I have to make to an image of the Mona Lisa to transform it into something I can copyright it as my own work?”
The answer is: it’s up to the judge. See: Lynn Goldsmith vs Andy Warhol
An artist pouring paint on canvas or hanging a bucket of paint on a string can still plausibly tell a judge that they controlled the output. The behavior of such mechanical devices is fully predictable by the user. Or they might claim that they controlled some elements of the output but not others. Then they can copyright the elements they controlled.
Of course if they want to lose their copyright, then they are free to tell everyone that they didn’t really have any control over the output. See: Monkey selfie.
You can copyright a tangible thing that you personally created but you can’t claim a copyright over the interaction of the public with what you created.
To the extent that members of the public contribute tangible creative elements to the work (for example inviting the public to decorate your work), those contributors will share the copyright with you over the final result.