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A comment on Felony Bench. Parent comment

Re:Felony Bench by cynicalkane on Friday August 21, 2026 @08:56PM (#49395568)
In legal tradition, if there's not a law you broke, you can't be prosecuted for it.

(Yes, I'm aware of numerous historical exceptions. Those exceptions are traditionally considered not ideal.)

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Re:Felony Bench by dragonwriter on Saturday August 22, 2026 @11:59AM (#49401015)
> In legal tradition, if there's not a law you broke, you can't be prosecuted for it.

That’s incorrect.

If there is not a law the prosecutor or plaintiff can point to and say you broke, you can’t be prosecuted.

We wouldn’t need much legal process after a prosecution was initiated if it was impossible to prosecute without a law actually being broken.

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