How does international law work?

August 12, 2011 7:42 PM

What laws would govern the use of a fake Canadian ID in the USA?

I'm absolutely not talking about the process of getting a fake ID, and I wouldn't anyways. I hope this question doesn't fall outside MeFi bounds of legality/appropriateness. I mean it in a purely hypothetical way.

Someone I know mentioned that it is possible to get Canadian fake IDs from the same vendors that sell American ones. Is such forgery (if the ID were used in the US) within the bounds of international law, as I assume traveling on a fake Canadian passport would be, or is it the same slap-on-the-wrist kind of offense that any fake ID would be?

A friend-of-a-friend got caught with a fake ID and just got a small fine: would one that said, say, Quebec on it be a worse offense? Would it be a problem with both Canadian and US law? Would it carry different consequences for any bar that accepted it?

I'm intrigued by how law works in the international realm, but I'm afraid I don't understand it very well. So please pardon me if it's a dumb question :).

posted by 932 to law & government (4 answers total)

The penalty for using counterfeit identification varies by state, so the answer to this question may vary depending on the circumstances.

It's incorrect to assume you will get a slap on the wrist in either case. I know a 20-year-old who was caught using a fake ID to buy alcohol, and was then arrested and charged with a felony. Here in Washington state, creating or using a forged document appears to be a class C felony which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. It doesn't matter what the forged document is.
posted by grouse at 8:49 PM on August 12, 2011

What are you using it for?

Doing it to score dates with chicks who love Canadians is different than giving it to the cops, or using it to apply for anything with the gov't.
posted by hal_c_on at 9:15 PM on August 12, 2011

Assuming you're not trying to get an ID in someone else's name (which can be a criminal offense in Canada), if you use a "Novelty" ID and get caught (buying cigarettes or trying to enter a bar while underage), the usually penalty seems to be confiscation of the ID, about a $100-$125 fine and possible charges for the illegal act itself. However, it doesn't seem to be illegal to simply have a novelty ID (see the first link) on its own.

If it's an official ID, things can get a lot more serious if you're caught, it seems. Penalties for misusing a fake "official" ID run up to 5 years in jail. I don't know how that would work if used internationally rather than in country.
posted by bonehead at 10:19 PM on August 12, 2011

International laws would not apply to the situation you are describing. You are a US citizen, committing a crime against US laws on US soil. Whether your fake ID is Canadian or German is irrelevant. You would be subject to whatever US federal or state laws apply to fraud, forgery or supplying false ID.

If you were using a province of Alberta fake driver's license there is simply no way for the province of Alberta or the country of Canada to reach across international borders and punish you under Canadian law. Again, you are a US citizen on US soil.

Of course, if you use that fake Canadian ID while doing something "international" like crossing the US-Canada border then you are talking about a whole different situation where the laws of both countries could possibly be applied.
posted by pixlboi at 6:59 AM on August 13, 2011