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"The law is an ass - an idiot."
So says a character in Dickens' "Oliver Twist" to describe a particularly stupid law.
When attorneys kick back with each other, the topic at times turns to laws sinking to Dickens' description, so we asked several local legal eagles to give us examples of laws they've come across that pass the Twist test.
And some gave examples of statutes that might seem stupid, unfair or absurd, but on second thought are actually good laws.
John Ray
John Ray & Associates
Where to start? How about one of the grossest misuses of the law in favor of political correctness - the Sex Offender Registration Act. Once you're in the system the law doesn't allow you out, even with people who had nothing to do with predatory sex acts. Example: A boy who is only four years older than a girl and they have consensual intercourse before she's 17 ends up in the sex offender system. Forever.
Or, it's a felony to sue a paramour who has broken up your family. For far less things like a car accident, you can sue for millions. But it's against the law to sue someone who deliberately smashes up your whole life.
Stephanie Ehresman
Nixon Peabody, Commercial Litigation Practice
In Sag Harbor, "piggeries" are prohibited, as are other barnyard animals. The Village of Westbury prohibits not only barnyard animals such as pigs, sheep and mules, but also rabbits and mink. In Glen Cove, it's against the law to leave a horse in the street unless the horse is "securely fastened."
Are these laws just antiquated throwbacks to a bygone era? If these regulations are so outdated, shouldn't they be removed from our towns' and cities' codes?
Not so fast.
Consider the discovery last February of a cow, a pig and several goats - among other animals - living in a suburban home in Shirley, or the pony and goats found alongside a pack of dogs and a solitary cat in a home in West Hills last September. Both of these cases involved allegations of a...