If I write a book/article/post about Texas law without placing the words "this is just my opinion" in front of every interpretation of the law, am I opening myself up to liability civilly, or criminally? How so? Practicing law without a license? In that case I hope the DPS FAQ writers were all members of the Bar, because it doesn't have any warnings and has contained inaccuracies in the past.The Annoyed Man wrote:The problem with that is that any such booklet would be - at best - an "interpretation" which is really just an opinion, and at worst possibly could be considered as "legal advice". Unless every single reference to the law was prefaced with "this is just my opinion, and NOT to be considered as legal advice, but here is what I think this means", the author might be opening himself up to liabilities. At some point, wading through the disclaimers would become too burdensome.bblhd672 wrote:crazy2medic wrote:In the spirit of this thread, does anybody make a booklet of CHL-16 that has both the actual verbiage of Texas Law and a laymans reading of the law? Sometimes the legalese is tough to understand.
It is far better to do the hard part — actually read the law for yourself. And it is not just enough to read §411. You have to read other chapters/sections/subsections for definitions of things like "use of force", "use of deadly force", "bodily harm", "great bodily harm", "reasonableness", and "reasonably believes" in order to fully understand the limits AND expansions under §411.
Most or all of that is in the CHL-16 handbook. If you want a hard copy, you can download the current PDF and take it to a FedEx Kinkos and have them print and bind it into a booklet form, and it won't cost that much.....particularly when compared to how much you spent on a gun, holster, belt, ammunition, LTC class, and LTC application.
In a parallel example, I have prepared a number of Bible studies on various topics over the years for small group Bible studies I've either led or been a member of, and there's a principle at work there which anyone who has done the same, or any pastor who has prepared a sermon can tell you: the person who did the work of preparing a study lesson ALWAYS gets more out of the preparation than the person who was guided by that lesson.
Similarly, it takes longer, and it is more challenging, but you will understand LTC law more deeply and correctly if you put in the work of studying it yourself than you will benefit from relying on someone else's interpretations......which are, by definition, at least one generation removed from the actual wording of the law.
And the one overriding principle to keep in mind with regard to the law is this: unless a law exists to specifically forbid something, that thing is by default legal. Someone saying it is illegal doesn't make it so. Only the law can do that. Someone saying a thing is legal doesn't make it so. Unless that person is your lawyer and is personally willing to absorb your penalties if he or she is wrong, you have to go to the law, and do your due diligence to make sure for yourself. Simply relying on someone else's word — even an attorney's word, unless you have hired him/her specifically as your legal counsel — is bad policy.
Do I have to post IANAL in my sig line in order to avoid civil/criminal liability for my posts? What if I am a lawyer, but not accepted to practice in Texas, or let my license lapse?
If I'm not taking money from people specifically for interpreting a law for them...not by selling them a book, then it's a bit of a stretch to say I'm practicing law. I know there's the occasional suit against WillMakerPro.com and Nolo Press from some state bar association, but I don't think posting on the Forum is even close.
And then back to the original post...I agree with your assessment that reading the law oneself and researching (perhaps even here on the Forum) is better than waiting for someone (even a lawyer) to author an interpretation that will last until a judge has a different view...
ScottDLS <-----Did I SAY I was a lawyer? Well then, there's your answer!
