"He took too much LSD in the '60s". No, really. Any number of Americans approaching old age are doing so with long-term illegal drug habits. If you've seen the Osbournes on TV, Ozzy seems the picture of the sort of cognitive impairment you can expect someone to have after years of illegal drug use. Is this typical of such a person? Can someone be rendered mentally incompetent by means of a history of long-term illegal drug use? Would someone with obvious cognative impairment like Ozzy still be considered legally competant?
posted by bunky on Oct 19, 2009 - 32 answers

What happens if an arresting officer records your conversation with the public defender? [more inside]
posted by doomtop on Oct 8, 2009 - 14 answers

I have a name and contact info for the individual who's been spamming me. What can I do to report him/get rid of him/make his life difficult? Details inside. [more inside]
posted by theseampsgoto11 on Aug 25, 2009 - 10 answers

How is it that people can post videos of illegal acts onto YouTube and they can't be found? I remember watching a video where someone has a camera mounted on the front of their motorcycle and they thread through traffic at insane speeds. I always thought that there would be some electronic trail the cops could follow. [more inside]
posted by Sully on Aug 5, 2009 - 15 answers

A friend has been offered some web work for a company I have suspicions might be offering something illegal. [more inside]
posted by maxwelton on Jul 20, 2009 - 21 answers

Examples of whistleblowing by government employees? [more inside]
posted by heatherfl on Mar 18, 2009 - 14 answers

I've been streaming movies and tv shows while at work. Is my job in jeopardy? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Dec 11, 2008 - 16 answers

How willing would a doctor be to overlooking my illegal use of prescription medication in prescribing it for me? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Oct 6, 2008 - 11 answers

How can I tell a therapist that Ive done something illegal? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 2, 2008 - 28 answers

In the United States, if a college-bound student is under the age of 24 and s/he is a legal citizen, but his/her parents are undocumented/illegal residents, how does this student fill out the FAFSA? [more inside]
posted by chara on Jul 17, 2008 - 5 answers

How do psychoactive mushroom spore vendors not get in trouble? [more inside]
posted by samph on Jul 1, 2008 - 12 answers

Legitimizing iTunes Library. I have *ahem* a friend. This friend has a reasonably large digital music collection being managed by iTunes on a Mac. He would like to understand the cost of ensuring this collection is 100% legal, having realized that the vast majority of it is not. [more inside]
posted by superfurry on Jun 20, 2008 - 12 answers

Can anyone tell me the percentage of children of illegal immigrants who attend college? Specifically in Texas. We are arguing the HB 104 (in state tuition bill) in my government class and I need to know how many children of illegal immigrants who were not born in the US actually attend institutions of higher education....
posted by madmamasmith on Mar 22, 2008 - 12 answers

Have you dealt with an illegal eviction notice in Los Angeles? [more inside]
posted by chez shoes on Feb 15, 2008 - 11 answers

Can a workplace (in PA) offer selective 401k benefits? [more inside]
posted by rinosaur on Jan 9, 2008 - 5 answers

It's probably too late to do anything about a crooked boss, but I'd still like the Hive Mind's opinion... (long story inside) [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jan 5, 2008 - 19 answers

If you let a subletter use the internet connection that's in your name, what are ideas for holding them to a promise that they won't do things that could get you sued by the RIAA (or arrested)? Is there any legally meaningful way to notify an ISP that Person X, not you, will be the connection's sole user for X months? This will be wired DSL (no wifi).
posted by sparrows on Nov 24, 2007 - 21 answers

I'm hosting one of those "confessional" websites, and I want to know how risky it is to post clearly-illegal "confessions". [more inside]
posted by geodave on Sep 23, 2007 - 10 answers

[YouTubeFilter] Music video of band making illegal drugs from supermarket items? [more inside]
posted by kandinski on Sep 11, 2007 - 3 answers

Are there any potential downsides to telling one's doctor that he uses marijuana? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 4, 2007 - 22 answers

Is my employer breaking the law by keeping people as temps for several years? The work is skilled and many people work for 3 or more years as temps before being made permanent employees. [more inside]
posted by Charlie Lesoine on Jul 8, 2007 - 13 answers

A student at our university was recently shocked to learn that his mother and step-father are illegal immigrants who have been in the country for approx. 20 years. He was born in Mexico but has brothers and sister born in the U.S. His parents work, own a house here, ect. He has a job, is going to be a junior at the university and is planning on getting married. He has a Soc. Sec. card, but now wonders if it is even legit. He wants to find out what he should do next but is worried that he'll be immediately deported if he tries to get help. As a white-bread citizen, this is all Greek to me. What should I advise him to do?
posted by spock on Jul 2, 2007 - 11 answers

My girlfriend is a very illegal immigrant living in the United States. When we get married, what will the residency process be like? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Nov 20, 2006 - 28 answers

Are stories (text) about children engaging in adult-only activities (and I don't mean paying their taxes) considered child pornography? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 25, 2006 - 3 answers

Anyone have experience with legalizing an apartment in NYC? I inherited a basement apartment with my single-family Queens house. Have a great relationship with my tenant and do not want to evict. Recently, though, I've received notices from the city to discontinue "illegal use of space for living." In addition to evicting that would involve tearing out the tub, a wall, and other stuff. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 6, 2006 - 12 answers

I own a copy of Tres Hombres by ZZ Top. I'd like to get it into mp3 format so that I can listen to it in the car, etc. The problem is that the copy I own is on a record. Assuming I download with bittorrent, and then the RIAA comes after me, can I use the defense that I actually already owned it, so downloading could not be considered criminal? Would it be different if I owned a record rather than a CD? In other words, can you legally download the mp3 of an album you already own?
posted by joecacti on Aug 14, 2006 - 16 answers

Is there any law against drinking (alcohol) in public? Or is it being inebriated in public? Or neither? [more inside]
posted by D Wiz on Jun 16, 2006 - 38 answers

Is throwing away organic matter littering? [more inside]
posted by patrickje on Jun 6, 2006 - 46 answers

A friend of mine has an employer who is asking my friend (who is quitting voluntarily to move cross-country) to sign what I believe is a non-legal waiver. Can any legally savvy Mefites help out? [more inside]
posted by InnocentBystander on May 25, 2006 - 28 answers

Problem with UK dentist? prescribing drugs without seeing you. Need legal advice. [more inside]
posted by spinko on Apr 26, 2006 - 10 answers

What are the chances of actually getting caught using a P2P file sharing program such as BitTorrent to download pirated stuff? Is there more likelihood of getting into hot water depending on what you are downloading (i.e. movies,TV shows, music..)? Can anyone suggest a method of using BitTorrent that will avoid these problems?
posted by curiocity on Apr 4, 2006 - 21 answers

What prevents illegal immigrants from voting? Assuming illegal voting occurs how do you feel about it (looking for opinions from all sides)? [more inside]
posted by gnash on Feb 22, 2006 - 50 answers

LegalFilter: What are my legal options against a company that withdrew money from my checking account without my consent? [more inside]
posted by Smarson on Feb 13, 2006 - 16 answers

How likely is it that someone would be given security clearance (confidential, secret, or top secret) if they experimented with various illegal drugs (including marijuana, acid, cocaine and crystal meth) during their college years (ending about 5-6 years ago) but who hasn't done anything since (and has no desire to anymore)? [more inside]
posted by freshgroundpepper on Jun 14, 2005 - 23 answers

Why is being paid for prostitution illegal but being paid to appear in pornography legal?
posted by Item on Dec 22, 2003 - 10 answers