[TML] must buy lottery ticket today

[Richard Aiken]

Somebody else has probably already answered this down-thread, but just in case:

On Dec 7, 2007 5:32 AM, Ewan Quibell <ewan at quibell.org.uk> wrote:
> Blimey, so you have what? 51 Different sets of laws? 50 sets of State
> Law and 1 District law.

Yep.  More, actually, since you forgot territories like Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands.  And that doesn't even allow for the really
big cities, which seem to be effectively sovereign states of their
own.  I can't seriously imagine the New York State Legislature
overruling New York City ordinances which it didn't like.

> I'm assuming that any Federal Laws automatically
> go onto the State (District) Law books, so Federal Law isn't as such
> "separate", but please correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that no State law can
contradict a Federal law.  But Federal law doesn't actually cover
much.  At least, not in a criminal or civil law sense.  For example,
there is no Federal law against killing someone.  Murder and all
similar crimes are matters of State law.  The best you could do in
such a case (a U.S. citizen who kills someone somewhere where they get
away with it) is charge the person with violating the victim's civil
rights.  There are cases where this has been done, actually.  Such as
(sadly) in cases of Civil Rights era lynchings.

> No wonder you have so
> many Lawyers!

I remember reading somewhere a lawyer saying, "We don't actually live
in 'America.'   We live in fifty-odd seperate principalities that
jealousy gaurd their sovereignty."

> Couldn't you just claim different State Citizenship?

As I understand it, you aren't legally a citizen of any particular
State.  That at least went out with the Civil War; we are all now
(happily or otherwise) only citizens of the United States.  You are
instead a "resident."  But what constitutes a resident is left up to
each State to decide.  Usually you have to do something like reside
there continuously for 30 to 60 days or buy real estate there.  That's
why Hillary Clinton bought a Manhattan condo, so she could be a legal
resident of New York and become it's Senator.

-- 
Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident."  Robert A. Heinlein