- We tend to think of laws as restrictions,
things that you can't do or things that you're forced
to do against your will, clean up your room,
stand up straight, pick up your feet, take it like a man,
be nice to your sister, don't mix beer and wine ever.
And oh yeah.
- Don't drive on the railroad track.
- Oh, Phil, that's one I happen to agree with.
- But did you know that sometimes the law can actually lift
these restrictions and give you freedoms
to do things you wouldn't otherwise be able to do.
Yes, sometimes the law can give you rights
that you don't even know about.
Not that you'd necessarily want to use some of these rights,
but still, let's talk about some
of those rights that you didn't know you had.
(playful upbeat music)
Sponsored by CuriosityStream and Nebula.
Now warning, restrictions may apply.
Please see your doctor before attempting
any of these freedoms, and more importantly,
please consult with your attorney.
So let's kick things off with a woman's right to go topless.
In 2015, the Fort Collins City Council enacted
a public nudity ordinance,
banning women from removing their shirts in public.
I'm not gonna read the whole statute,
you can do that yourselves,
but obviously the law bans women
from doing something men are legally allowed to do.
A women's group sued the city,
arguing that a female-only topless ban violated
the Equal Protection Clause.
How did the city defend the band?
Well, for starters, it argued that men
and women's chests were totally different,
which also means women, quote,
"Have a hallowed sexual status in Western culture."
The city tried hard to make it sound
as if this reasoning was based
on something other than the stereotypes,
but this did not go over particularly well.
For a gender-based classification
to survive a legal challenge,
the government needs to show, quote,
"An exceedingly persuasive justification",
that the classification is necessary.
That classification must serve, quote,
"an important governmental objective",
through means, quote,
"Substantially related to achieving those objectives."
What objectives did the ban serve?
Well, Fort Colin said it served two main purposes.
First, the city's ban would protect children
from seeing a female breast,
because obviously that's not the defining characteristic
of a mammal and mammalian children
never see a female breast in their entire lives.
And second, it would prevent general lawlessness,
especially traffic problems that may occur
when people see a topless woman in public.
Ah, yes, men can't control themselves,
so let's limit what women can do.
The court made quick work of the city's reasoning.
Although other courts have decided this differently,
the 10th Circuit thought this was bunk
and that women's rights were being violated.
Fort Collins spent $300,000 on this case
and they decided to throw in the towel
rather than appealing it to the Supreme Court.
So if you live in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming,
New Mexico, Kansas, and Oklahoma,
you can take your shirt off outside, no matter who you are.
The right to get married by proxy.
Most people are familiar with the process
for getting hitched.
Get a marriage license, have a ceremony,
file the completed license with the state,
discover irreconcilable differences,
hire a lawyer, exact your revenge,
wish you were dead, get divorced, and repeat.
Ha (laughs)
But did he know it's possible to get married
without showing up for the wedding itself?
Well, if you're overseas in the military
or just have something better to do that day,
someone else can actually stand
in for you in many different states.
This is known as a proxy marriage because someone stands in
for the other party to take the vows.
To do this, you need to authorize your agent
to get married on your behalf.
Now, most states allow a proxy marriage,
where one person can't be present,
but in Montana a wedding can take place
without either party being present.
This is what's called a double proxy marriage.
Now to qualify for a double proxy wedding in Montana,
at least one party must be on active duty
in the military or a resident of Montana
at the time of the application for the license.
Why would someone want to do this, you ask?
Other than the obvious reason
that you actually love this person?
Well cold, hard cash, obviously.
For service members,
marriage can be a great financial arrangement.
The army will actually increase your pay
by at least $1,200 a month once you're married.
Now, the Montana Marriage Law was first passed in the 1860s,
when men poured into the area to work in the mines.
The miners didn't have the time or the money
to travel home to get their fiances,
so the state passed a law allowing ceremonies
to take place without either person being present.
Proxy marriage isn't just for the military though,
some states allow prisoners to get married through a proxy.
In 1987, the Supreme Court case, known as Turner vs Safley,
granted prisoners the constitutional right to marry.
However, the right to marry is also subject
to reasonable prison regulations,
as long as the regulations are, quote,
"Reasonably related to legitimate penological interests."
Get your mind out of the gutter.
- Ah, come on, we're all just trying to have a good time.
- This means prisons can do all sorts of things
to delay or prevent marriages.
In 2013, Texas simply outlawed proxy marriages,
including for inmates.
Their main concern was that people were marrying
just to convey benefits.
And that kind of fraudulent arrangement was featured
on the popular reality show, "Love After Lockup",
where a doofus named Vince was going to marry ex-inmate,
Amber, and adopt her girlfriend, Puppy,
as some sort of insurance and pension scheme.
- I'm a bold mother (beep).
- Though three years later the state reversed itself
after advocates pointed out that the law was
in direct conflict with Turner vs Safley.
The right to an annulment if you get married on a dare.
So you have the right to get married
without being present at the ceremony, fantastic,
but what if your best friend double dog dares you
to get married to that hose beast over there,
and like Marty McFly, you follow through on the dare,
then you sober up, look at your bride or groom next to you,
and say, "Oh no, I got married because someone dared me to"?
You know, that old chestnut.
(bell chiming)
- Got it a week after we started dating.
- Well relax, because if you live in Delaware or Colorado,
getting married on a dare is grounds for an annulment.
And unlike divorce, an annulment treats
the marriage as if it never existed.
Annulments are usually only available if there was fraud,
or coercion, or illegality at the time of the marriage,
but Delaware and Colorado include a,
got married as a sort of joke, as a ground for annulment.
The relevant law in Delaware
is 13 Delaware Code Section 1506,
which includes this as a justification for annulment,
"One or both parties entered into
the marriage as a jest or dare."
Now of course the state requires
some proof of the jest or dare,
and the petition for divorce or annulment form asks you
to describe how and when you learned of the jest or dare.
So if you are married for decades with several children,
don't expect the court to just rubber stamp your claim
that you got married on a dare and it should be nullified.
The right to get away with murder
in Yellowstone National Park.
Now, speaking of marriage, let's talk about murder.
Have you ever (laughs) (beep).
Have you ever fantasized about committing the perfect crime?
Well, Michigan State law professor,
Brian Kalt, certainly has.
He wrote a law review article explaining
how you could get away with murder
in Yellowstone National Park.
Kalt grounds his argument
in the plain meaning of the constitution.
Although Yellowstone is mostly located in Wyoming,
about 9% of the park is actually located in Montana,
and an even smaller portion, about 50 square miles,
is located in Idaho.
Yellowstone was established in 1872,
long before these states were added to the Union.
And when the states were admitted,
each seated over exclusive jurisdiction
of its portion of Yellowstone to the federal government.
And both Article I, Section 8 and federal law give
the Federal Government exclusive jurisdiction
over Yellowstone National Park
and state law doesn't apply there.
Later, when Congress created
the Federal District Court for Wyoming,
it placed the entire park under that jurisdiction.
That means that things that happen in Montana and Idaho,
on park lands,
are within the Wyoming District Court's jurisdiction.
However, Article III, Section II of the Constitution
requires that the "Trial be held in the state
in which the crime was committed."
This sets up the legal basis for getting away with murder
if you commit a crime in Yellowstone National Park in Idaho.
And moreover, the 6th Amendment requires the,
"Impartial jury of the state and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed."
So theoretically, the only people available for the jury
must live in the Idaho section of Yellowstone National Park.
The thing is, no one lives on the 50 square miles
of federal land that make up this zone in Idaho.
So you can see how small that zone is on the map.
And since no humans lived there,
only these Idaho otters can judge you.
And this is why that area has been nicknamed,
the zone of death.
The Wyoming Federal Court has jurisdiction,
but if you want to go to trial,
the Wyoming Court simply doesn't have jurisdiction.
And although Kalt tried to get Congress
to fix this loophole, they haven't done anything,
shocker, and that loophole still exists.
So if you want to visit the Idaho portion
of Yellowstone National Park,
Idaho is just dying to meet you.
- Ka-kaa.
- The right to run for Governor of Kansas
as a teen, dog, or resident of another state.
In Kansas, almost anyone can be governor.
In Kansas, you can run for governor
before you're even eligible to vote.
The state has absolutely no qualifications
for governatorial candidates.
In 2018, seven teenagers, all boys, ran for Kansas Governor.
The Director of Elections
at the Kansas Secretary State's Office said,
"There's seriously nothing on the books
that lays out anything, no age, no residency, no experience.
Nothing."
This was confirmed by Ballotpedia,
the website which tracks all things related
to state and federal offices.
Ballotpedia concludes that, "Kansas' Constitution
does not set out requirements for office."
Cool, that means that even a baby could run for governor.
Someone alert Alec Baldwin about a possible extension
of the "Boss Baby" cinematic universe.
- I may look like a baby, but I was born all grown up.
- This is amazing for many reasons,
including the fact former Kansas Secretary of State,
Kris Kobach, has spent the last five years stoking fears
about mass voter fraud
and championing extremely restrictive voter ID.
- If it's not on the list, it doesn't exist.
- In fact,
Kobach briefly ran President Trump's election commission,
which was supposed to prove
that President Trump actually won the popular vote in 2016.
The commission disbanded after he found
no evidence of voter fraud.
Kobach wanted it to be harder to vote,
and he proposed a federal law requiring people to have proof
of American citizenship when they showed up at the polls.
But during his time as Secretary of State,
he never made any recommendations about
the state's non-existent requirements to run for governor.
Kansas legislators immediately started discussing ways
to clarify the law, but nothing stopped
the election with the teens from moving forward.
And there's also no residency requirements,
so candidates from Vermont and New York threw their hats
into the ring as well.
It's not even clear that a person has to be human
to qualify for Kansas Governor.
The Director of Elections said
that although no dog has ever attempted to run,
there's no law specifically stating
that a candidate has to be human.
So Stella, the Legal Beagle,
will be filing her paperwork for 2022.
The right to write on us currency.
Speaking of good or bad government,
let's talk about the U S treasury, specifically money.
Have you ever felt like writing on money,
but worried about that pesky thing called a felony?
Well, don't fret,
because you've got a right to deface US currency.
The common belief that you can't write on or mark our bills
is actually a misinterpretation of the United States Code,
Title 18, Part I, Chapter 17, Section 333, which states,
"Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures,
or perforates, or unites or cements together,
or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note,
or other evidence of debt issued
by any national banking association,
or Federal Reserve Bank, or the Federal Reserve System,
with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note,
or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned
by not more than six months, or both."
(laughs) I did it.
This crime boils down to intent.
Did you intend to render the bill unfit to be reissued?
If not, then no harm, no foul.
It's not as if every time a bill has markings on it
it's removed from circulation.
So feel free to draw a beard on Alexander Hamilton.
It may be dumb, but you can still spend
that $100 dollar bill y'all.
♪ Uh-oh, I got $100 bill y'all. ♪
When is a bill unfit?
If it's torn, dirty, limp, worn, or defaced.
According to the Federal Reserve,
a bill is unfit if it has excessive holes,
tears, tape, or excessive graffiti.
So a black eye on George Washington is probably okay,
but a torn in half bill is probably not,
not that there's any reason
why you should be tearing up your own money.
Money's better when you can spend it,
#NotLegalAdvice,
#CommonSense.
The right to give your children alcohol.
Philosopher, William Smith, famously observed that.
- Parents just don't understand.
- But just because Carlton, Aunt Viv,
and Uncle Phil were square,
doesn't mean that all parents are narcs.
Massachusetts parents will absolutely fight
for your right to party.
- Chug, chug it, chug it, chug it, chug it, chug it.
- That's why the legal drinking age in Massachusetts is 21,
and it's illegal to provide alcohol to minors,
unless they are your children or grandchildren.
- Please excuse my parents' behavior,
they ate a lot of paint chips growing up.
- The Commonwealth Social Host Law makes it illegal
to buy alcohol or host parties where underage people drink.
However, there is an exception for the host children
and grandchildren who may be served booze
on the host's private property.
And there's no age limit here,
so if you wanna give your toddler scotch,
knock yourself out.
Again, don't actually do that,
#NotLegalAdvice
But this isn't quite as crazy as it sounds on its face.
Some experts who advise state legislatures
on responsible drinking say that prohibition
just doesn't work and kids need to learn
the right habits from their parents.
Drinking alcohol with parents, quote,
"May help teach them responsible drinking habits
or extinguish some of the novelty
or excitement of drinking."
That's according to Dr. Kristi Long Foley,
at the School of Medicine at Wake Forest University.
And Massachusetts is far from alone
in permitting parents to make this decision.
Other states let underage people drink too, like Alaska,
California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa,
Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
New Hampshire, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico,
New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
Plus, in some places, people can get married
before the legal drinking age.
So 12 states say that you can drink with your spouse
if you are under the age of 21.
But when it comes to drinking,
there's something special about Massachusetts.
It is, not surprisingly, illegal to give someone alcohol
or drugs if they're in a hospital suffering
from an alcohol or drug related problem,
unless the physician says it's okay.
Because in Boston, doctors know that the best cure
for a hangover is the hair of the dog that bit you.
I know there's a Red Sox joke in there somewhere.
But since I'm not John Krasinski,
despite what you read in the comments,
I can confirm that the Red Sox are the worst,
just the worst.
But you have the right to love them,
and the right to be wrong.
But if you're a rational person
who enjoys exercising their head, as well as their freedoms,
I explain one more extremely timely right
you didn't know you had over on Nebula.
If you create a website, or a platform, or both,
you still maintain the right to kick people out
if you don't agree with what they're saying.
I posted a whole extended version of this video.
In fact, almost all of my videos
have an ad-free extended version on Nebula,
and now you can get a huge discount.
Because sometimes even legal issues are too hot for YouTube
because YouTube algorithm can be quite capricious,
which is why my creative friends
and I teamed up to build our own platform
where creators don't need to worry about demonetization
or the dreaded algorithm.
It's called Nebula, and we're thrilled
to be partnering with CuriosityStream.
Nebula is a place where creators
can do what they do best, create.
It's a place where we can both house our content ad free,
and also experiment with original content and new series
that probably wouldn't work on YouTube.
And not only are my Nebula versions ad free and extended,
but they're also released early before the YouTube version.
Nebula features lots
of YouTube's top educational ish creators,
like "Extra Credits", Rene Richie, and Mary Spender.
And we also get to collaborate in ways
that probably wouldn't work on YouTube,
and put out amazing original content,
like "Half as Interesting" courtroom drama,
where I play a fictional lawyer.
Alex Nichols' show, "Alex Goes Bananas",
where I a real life lawyer.
And Lindsay Ellis' documentary about "Blazing Saddles",
in which I took no part.
So what does this all have to do with CuriosityStream?
Well, as the go-to source
for the best documentaries on the internet,
they love educational content and educational creators.
And we worked out a deal where if you sign up
for CuriosityStream with the link in the description,
you'll also get a Nebula subscription for free.
And to be clear, that subscription is not a trial,
it's free for as long as you're a CuriosityStream member.
And for a few more days, CuriosityStream
is offering a whopping 41% off of their annual plans.
That's less than $12 per year
for both CuriosityStream and Nebula.
And after that, you'll get 26% off,
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So click on the link in the description
to get both CuriosityStream and Nebula for a huge discount.
Or you can go to CuriosityStream.com/LegalEagle.
It's a great way to support this channel
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So do you agree with my analysis?
Leave your objections in the comments
and check out this playlist
with all my other "Real Lawyer Reacts",
and all of my other interesting videos about the law.
I don't know, click on this playlist
and I'll see you in court.