From drug-addled EDM fans to violent metalheads, popular images of music festival attendees are rarely flattering, even if they are usually without foundation. Like all stereotypes, those images can lead to unfair treatment, so if a music festival is on your calendar, you need to know your rights, even – and especially – if you’re only there for the beats.
Sometimes it seems that taking legal action is a form of revenge. People use phrases like, “They should have to pay for what they’ve done,” when justifying a lawsuit. But legal action can be about more than restitution.
In American pop culture, violence often serves as a visual symbol for a character’s values. In real life, however, the sight of two people brawling has many of us rushing to dial 911. But is that right? Don’t two people have the right to duke it out? When should we call the cops?
In the spring of 2016, Vermont was poised to be the next state to legalize marijuana, following in the footsteps of Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. Governor Peter Shumlin had spearheaded the effort to legalize the drug in his state, and legislators were stepping up to make it happen. But then the Vermont House rejected […]
Naturalization has grown into a highly complex process that no one should attempt to complete without an attorney. Even in 1790, naturalization was a two-step process that could not begin before a candidate had lived for two years in the United States, and was restricted to white males “of good character.” The citizenship of women and children was determined by their male guardian, and people of color were simply out of luck.
Accepted wisdom says that marriage provides a financial boost (especially for women), and that children of married parents get a better start in life. But some recent studies say the picture isn’t so clear. Are there real advantages to marriage, or are we just collectively kidding ourselves?
For the first time in 40 years, rules governing exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act have been overhauled, and the impact could be significant. Beginning December 1, 2016, the salary threshold for overtime eligibility will rise for all workers, regardless of their job title. That sounds good, but there might be a catch.
It’s not too big a stretch to imagine someone pretending to be an attorney at a cocktail party full of strangers, but law is complicated—that’s why we hire attorneys—so it’s hard to imagine a poser actually practicing law. Yet it’s surprisingly easy to do.
The tourist brochures say “Virginia is for lovers,” but it wasn’t always so. Forty-nine years ago, the state of Virginia went to court in the landmark Supreme Court case Loving v Virginia and lost, thus unanimously overturning state anti-miscegenation laws in June 1967.
The TSA has long been accused of “security theater”—imposing burdensome restrictions to make people feel safe without actually improving safety. What if removing laptops from bags and taking off our shoes do nothing to increase security?