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> But you can be legally compelled to perform certain actions, and held in contempt if you fail to do so. I anal but isn’t this basically slavery/forced indent

by mcny 7y ago

> But you can be legally compelled to perform certain actions, and held in contempt if you fail to do so. I anal but isn’t this basically slavery/forced indenture? Could a court of law compel Apple to write some software? If so, can a court of law require George RR Martin to write a novel and send him to prison if he declines?

solidsnack9000 7y ago
Courts can not compel arbitrary things but they can compel participation in the trial process, in order to bring the trial to conclusion. Imagine what a miscarriage of justice it would be, if people had an unrestricted right to hold up the process.
jki275 7y ago
Look up the All Writs act. It's an open question as to whether it actually applies, and Apple has successfully fought off the FBI on this, but it hasn't gotten a court decision that sets a solid precedent. Conceptually I agree with you, the law is not as clear.
noirbot 7y ago
Once you're in the court system of most any country, what things you legally can and can't do are a lot harder to enforce. You're essentially needing to fight a well-trained opponent on their home turf with biased referees and no real downside to them for cheating. I'd imagine neither of your examples could or would happen given the power Apple and Martin's representatives have, and how absurd forcing someone to write a book as part of a court decision would be, but I'm fairly sure you could find examples of relatively similar things. I could certainly see something like a contract-related case being resolved by essentially legally compelling someone to write a book that they said they'd write, or else be fined/imprisoned.
- mcny 7y ago
  > I could certainly see something like a contract-related case being resolved by essentially legally compelling someone to write a book that they said they'd write, or else be fined/imprisoned. Again, I anal so I don't know the law but contracts sound like a strictly civilian (not government vs not government) court case where there should be no possibility of imprisonment. If there is it sounds like a bug to me and we ought to amend the laws so that it is not possible.

by mcny 7y ago

solidsnack9000 7y ago

Courts can not compel arbitrary things but they can compel participation in the trial process, in order to bring the trial to conclusion. Imagine what a miscarriage of justice it would be, if people had an unrestricted right to hold up the process.

jki275 7y ago

Look up the All Writs act. It's an open question as to whether it actually applies, and Apple has successfully fought off the FBI on this, but it hasn't gotten a court decision that sets a solid precedent. Conceptually I agree with you, the law is not as clear.

noirbot 7y ago

Once you're in the court system of most any country, what things you legally can and can't do are a lot harder to enforce. You're essentially needing to fight a well-trained opponent on their home turf with biased referees and no real downside to them for cheating. I'd imagine neither of your examples could or would happen given the power Apple and Martin's representatives have, and how absurd forcing someone to write a book as part of a court decision would be, but I'm fairly sure you could find examples of relatively similar things. I could certainly see something like a contract-related case being resolved by essentially legally compelling someone to write a book that they said they'd write, or else be fined/imprisoned.

mcny 7y ago
> I could certainly see something like a contract-related case being resolved by essentially legally compelling someone to write a book that they said they'd write, or else be fined/imprisoned. Again, I anal so I don't know the law but contracts sound like a strictly civilian (not government vs not government) court case where there should be no possibility of imprisonment. If there is it sounds like a bug to me and we ought to amend the laws so that it is not possible.