The Legal Cut: Recent Episodes
The Legal Cut
Welcome to The Legal Cut! Attorneys Jon Santiago and Dan Webber investigate TV, film, and literature to see whether their stories hold up under the law. Should superheros have a constitutional right to be Incredible? Does a fraudulent Proposal eternally ban a non-citizen from the U.S.? And, who the heck should be cleaning up Spider-Man's webs? We tackle all these problems and more on The Legal Cut!
We all love museums, but some items of cultural property have a shady history of how they got to where they are. Jon and Dan look at Raiders of the Lost Ark to dive into the international laws that regulate--or at least attempt to regulate--the return of stolen cultural property. Do they have teeth? What if the artifact is also a potential weapon of mass destruction...
What makes a traitor? Is mere disobedience of a high-ranking state official enough, or must one become an enemy of the U.S.? This week on The Legal Cut, special guest Drew McDaniels joins us to look at Captain America, Civil War. Is Cap a hero, or is he a traitor?
Romantic relationships are tough. Now add a federal agent making threats of permanent deportation to the problem! In this episode, Jon and Dan explore the laws that govern immigration by marriage. Would the marriage between Sandra Bullock's and Ryan Reynold's characters in The Proposal be considered a sham marriage under the law?
Do you have the right to be incredible? This week we look at laws that restrict the use of superpowers in films like The Incredibles to see if they hold up under constitutional law. Dan and Jon reveal that they would have similar wants from their preferred superpowers, but they differ on how responsibly they'd use them...
Is Spider-Man's web slinging action a public nuisance? A private nuisance? A trespass? Jon and Dan discuss how to defend a hero who leaves a tangle of webs around New York City.
In this episode, Jon and Dan argue to the court over whether it would be in the best interests of Mrs. Doubtfire's children to be in his custody. Can the power of love for your children overcome a court order? Not legally, no. BUT, you can move for a modified court order! We talk about poisoned jambalaya, child custody, and a middle-aged man who dresses like a seasoned Scottish lady named Mrs. Doubtfire.
In the film Inception, the team surely violates all sorts of laws. Bud did Leo's team commit the specific act of fraud? To find out, we need to go deeper into the elements and the facts. Let us know your thoughts at legalcut@gmail.com!
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Aren't you just asking to get eaten when you go to Jurassic World? If there's anything we've learned from all the Jurassic Park movies, it's that life finds a way for dinosaurs to escape and eat people. Pointing to this, can Jurassic World claim that all these Jurassic Dummies assumed the risk when they came to the park? Jon and Dan dig into the law to see if we can absolve the park owners of liability.