I've been studying pseudo-legal theories (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolaw https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolaw) since before they were called pseudo-

I've been studying pseudo-legal theories (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolaw https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolaw) since before they were called pseudo-legal theories and when I first got into it I was calling it legal spellcasting for exactly this reason: people seem to think that because things with the force of law sound arcane and use a lot of old grammatical constructs that means that things that sound arcane and use a lot of old grammatical constructs are things with the force of law. The thing is, in a way they're right: there are certain phrases that carry legal force. "I am invoking my right to remain silent", "I don't consent to a search", "I want a lawyer", but not, and this is part of where it really starts to feel like spellcasting, "why don’t you just give me a lawyer dog" (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/10/suspect-asks-for-a-lawyer-dawg-judge-says-he-asked-for-a-lawyer-dog.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/10/suspect-asks-for...). It's an opaque system understood only by a learned few but with incredible bearing on everyday life for those outside the legal literati. There are magic words that, if invoked correctly, can thwart an army in their tracks and give you the power to compel people to carry out your will but if invoked incorrectly can lead to your utter destruction. Does that sound like sorcery to you? Because it does to a lot of people, and a lot of unscrupulous actors are writing and selling false grimoires to people that promise a set of magic words that will increase their power. "I'm not driving, I'm travelling" is a spell that will protect you from highwaymen who wish to extort you for using your car Put your index finger on the top of your head, spin around 3 times counterclockwise, say "I assert my natural personhood as a freeman-upon-the-land" and burn your driver's license. That's a ritual to avoid paying taxes. Of course none of it works. But it feels like things that work. Also our legal system is so inconsistent and there's so much leeway in what to charge and how to charge it that sometimes it does actually work, or at least seems to. So you read about the incantations that genuinely do work, then you read about the ones that people claim work and that will give you the legal equivalent to superpowers, then you get pulled over and try invoking your right to travel under the uniform commercial code as a sovereign citizen. The cop was gonna let you go anyway, you just had a blinker out, and now he's baffled by your bullshit and doesn't feel like dealing with it so he gives you a verbal warning and you go home thinking "Wow, I actually backed that cop down. This stuff does really work. Amazing."