Wacky Laws

There are many old laws in the United States that can only be described as “wacky”. And California, unsurprisingly, has the wackiest local laws of them all. Though few people are ever arrested for any of the examples given below, they are still on the statute book.

Californian State Laws

It is a misdemeanour to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale.

Women may not drive in a housecoat.

No vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour.

In Baldwin Park

Nobody is allowed to ride a bicycle in a swimming pool.

In Hollywood

It is illegal to drive more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood Boulevard at one time.

In Los Angeles

You cannot bathe two babies in the same tub at the same time.

In San Francisco

It is prohibited for elephants to stroll down Market Street unless they are on a leash.

Persons classified as “ugly” may not walk down any street.

In Pacific Grove

It is illegal to molest butterflies.

In Waterloo, Nebraska

It is illegal for a barber to eat onions between 7 am and 7 pm

In New York State

You are not allowed to shoot at a rabbit from a moving trolley car. You have to get off the car, or wait for it to come to a complete stop, and then fire away.

In Alaska

It is illegal to look at a moose from the window of an airplane or any other flying vehicle.

In Indiana

It is against the law to travel on a bus within four hours of eating garlic.

(1136 t.un.)

2 Семестр The English Constitution and Theory and Practice Diversity

To understand English constitutional law it is necessary to study numerous documents, including constitutional treaties like the Bill of Rights, various statutes and judicial decisions and others. But the whole of the Constitution of Britain will not be found in any of these documents. The English constitution, though partly written, is yet to be regarded as “unwritten” from the standpoint of constitutional lawyers, *as it is not codified as a whole in any particular document or documents. The English Constitution is considered to be flexible because Parliament *can “make or unmake” any law by the same procedure and with the same ease.

The Constitution is not the source of the law, but the law gives birth to the Constitution.

Though the King (Queen) is the nominal Sovereign, any particular Parliament during the period of its existence is legally supreme.

In England *the rights of the subject are mostly deduced from actual decisions in which remedies have been afforded for their invasion. Thus it is sometimes said that under the English Constitution *the remedy precedes the right.

In administering justice the Judges enjoy little arbitrary power. The law, which they administer, is defined by statutes and other documents *having statutory validity and by judicial precedents.

Certain important Conventions control the entire working of the Constitution. These Conventions relate to the duties of the King as a person, the duties of the Ministers of the Crown and so on.

Theory and practice concerning English constitutional law are divergent, as it is seen from the following illustrations:

1. In theory the Sovereign is to be an active party to the making of laws, but in practice he has a shadowy veto.

2. In theory every Lord of Parliament is a Judge of the House of Lords, entitled to take part in appeals from the lower Courts; in practice *he always absents himself unless qualified by statute to sit there as one of the quorum.

3. In theory certain persons (e.g. Lord Mayor) are invested with judicial powers at trials in the Central Criminal Court, but in practice they don't take part in judicial work there.

4. In theory certain public departments are supposed to be controlled by boards consisting of various high officials (e.g. the Board of Trade), but the real head is a single Minister of the Crown (e.g. the President of the Board of Trade).

5. Finally, Legislature and Executive are joined together by a connecting chain — the Cabinet.

(2061 t.un.)

NOTES:

*as it is not codified — так как она не кодифицирована

*can «make or unmake» any law — может составить или аннулировать любой закон

*the rights of the subject are deduced from actual decisions — права подданных складываются на основании фактических судебных решений

*the remedy precedes the right — средство судебной защиты предшествует закону

*having statutory validity — имеющие силу закона

*he always absents himself unless qualified by statute to sit there as one of the quorum — он всегда уклоняется, кроме тех случаев, когда закон уполномочивает его заседать для обеспечения кворума