History Main / FantasticLegalWeirdness

* In general, both Creator/MarvelComics and Creator/DCComics have it established that superheroes can testify in court without giving away their [[SecretIdentity Secret Identities]].
** Over at Marvel the ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' compared people having superpowers to people having firearms: registration and training was a must to prevent trouble (because of a penchant of mass destruction that followed), and so the SuperhumanRegistrationAct came to pass.[[note]]Apparently overlooked was the fact that neither registration nor training actually ''is'' required to own firearms in the United States and attempts to impose such laws on a national level have always failed. Perhaps because the lead writer was Creator/MarkMillar, who lives in Scotland where such restrictions are very much in place and apparently has very little knowledge of American politics.[[/note]] The situation became much more complicated when people in the government decided to use it as a reason to unleash the DayOfTheJackboot upon innocent Americans. [[ComicBook/CivilWarII Its continuation]] was mostly fueled by a discussion whether applying the PreCrimeArrest was unconstitutional or not (doubly so when the visions that led to said arrests were proven to be unreliable).
** In the Franchise/{{DCU}} any confessions given by suspects under the effects of Franchise/WonderWoman's lasso of truth are not admissible in court, unless the suspect themselves requests it, and even then the jury is meant not to treat any such statements as more inherently true than any other, though the public's perception and knowledge of the lasso tend to undermine this. Such statements are considered coerced.

* The central premise behind ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'' is the existence of a "Superhuman Law" division specifically created to deal with Fantastic Legal Weirdness. Typical cases include whether or not the Mystic Arts of Kamar-Taj can be bound by a non-disclosure agreement, whether superhero codenames can be trademarked, or whether DiplomaticImmunity applies to New Asgardian Light Elves.

->''I'm talking things like, "anyone who likes [[Series/Loki2021 Loki getting together with his alternate universe self]] basically supports [[{{Twincest}} actual twins getting together]]," even though there is '''no''' real world moral equivalent of [[{{Selfcest}} dating your alternate universe self]], and there '''never''' has been and there '''never''' will be. It's a '''non-issue'''.''
-->-- Sarah Z

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]

* The central premise behind ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'' is the existence of a "Superhuman Law" division specifically created to deal with Fantastic Legal Weirdness. Typical cases include whether or not the Mystic Arts of Kamar-Taj can be bound by a non-disclosure agreement, or whether DiplomaticImmunity applies to Light Elf Con Artists from New Asgard.

* A short story in the anthology ''Blood Lite III: Aftertaste'' takes place post-ZombieApocalypse. The zombies targeted lawyers and politicians first, and got all the laws changed to grant themselves rights. The protagonist is a ghost who uses this precedent to assert possession rights on his former home and evict the current tenants, and [[spoiler:uses ''that'' precedent to then possess his zombie lawyer and regain a body--zombies are easier to possess than living humans]].

* ''Series/StargateSG1'': In "Pretense", human Skaara, host to the Goa'uld Klorel, crash-lands on Tollana. Skaara asks for the Tollans to remove Klorel, Klorel demands to keep possession of Skaara's body, so the Tollans take the matter to "triad" and subpoena SG-1 to act as "archons", a combination of lawyer and jury.

A {{necromancer}}, instead of raising a CavalryOfTheDead, might [[CutLexLuthorACheck find legitimate work]] as a consultant dealing with [[WillAndInheritanceTropes probate cases]] or solving murders. Maybe the JediMindTrick or magical illusions can be used for JuryAndWitnessTampering. Can TheNthDoctor be held liable for crimes committed by their previous incarnations? Does [[BackFromTheDead resurrection]] invalidate a conviction and death sentence, and do resurrectees have the right to reclaim property inherited or salvaged from them? And if your marriage is considered dissolved when you die, but you're brought back to life, are you still married to your spouse, or [[NotReallyMarriedPlot do you have to do the wedding and the paperwork all over again?]] How do [[JailBaitWait age-of-consent]] laws (and other laws meant to protect minors) work if you're ReallySevenHundredYearsOld? Are [[SpaceStation space colonies]] ''really'' colonies (and if so, do they belong to nations or to Earth in general?), or are they (or could they be) sovereign nations unto themselves?

** While secret identities are rare [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome due to the reality of living in a world with the internet]], supers who do have secret identities are required to disclose them to the government. Otherwise, they can't get certified, they can't testify in court, and overall they're treated the same as any other random weirdo who shows up with a mask and refuses to explain who they are. On the other hand, deliberately outing a super is a huge breach of privacy, and the person doing it will be sued into oblivion.

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'': Celty rides around on a jet-black motorcycle with no lights or plates, but she insists it's fine because he's actually a [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers magic]] [[MyHorseIsAMotorbike horse]]. In the second season, the cops decide that's not good enough and start chasing her down whenever she shows up. After arguing back and forth for a while, Celty points out that the law does have a specific exception written in for horses, so she doesn't need to have lights or plates. The cops counter that she still needs to obey the posted speed limit, which she doesn't.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender,'' [[KungFuJesus Aang]] is put on trial for a murder supposedly committed by Avatar Kyoshi, one of his past lives. Unable to come up with another defense, he and his friend resort to trying to summon Kyoshi's spirit to defend herself. It works... except that [[GoodIsNotSoft she confesses to killing the guy]]. Evidently he was really a warlord trying to conquer what's now Kyoshi Island, and his people gave him a HistoricalHeroUpgrade; albeit he died because he didn't flee when the earth split while she was breaking the island off from the mainland to protect her village, which Aang thinks makes it AccidentalMurder but Kyoshi herself says that's splitting hairs, and isn't sorry.

* The main thrust of ''Film/JupiterAscending'' is that the main character is an exact genetic duplicate of a deceased HumanAlien. As such, she is considered her "genetic reincarnation" and inherits all of her property...which includes the planet Earth.

* In ''Literature/ClawAndWarder'', the supernaturals are governed by their own laws, collectively known as the Canon and Covenants. One of those covenants permits them to act in accordance with their nature, even if it involves harming [[{{Muggle}} mundanes]] (so a licensed vampire is permitted to drain humans in order to feed). The existence of multiple realms also means that there are certain legalities involved in interactions between them. For example, many of those realms, including [[{{Hell}} Gehenna]] and Niflheim, have royalty. Members of royalty have certain privileges, such as refusing summons to court.

* In ''Literature/ClawAndWarder'', the supernaturals are governed by their own laws, collectively known as the Canon and Covenants. One of those covenants permits them to act in accordance with their nature, even if it involves harming [[{{Muggle}} mundanes]] (so a licensed vampire is permitted to drain humans in order to feed).

* In a downplayed example in Dwarf Fortress, mummies are night created within tombs of deceased rulers but lose their original titles. They thus are referred to by [[JustTheFirstCitizen their prior prime occupation]] such as Beekeper.

SisterTrope to FantasticReligiousWeirdness, where religions and religious practices interact oddly with SpeculativeFiction elements. See also UndeadTaxExemption, where such problems are handwaved away.

* This is OlderThanRadio. In ''The Age of Reason'', Creator/ThomasPaine briefly wonders about the risen saints mentioned in [[Literature/TheFourGospels the Gospel of Matthew]]: did they try to reclaim their property and spouses, or just go back into their graves after walking around Jerusalem? The Gospel [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse doesn't say]].[[note]]Although in chapter 22, some religious leaders ask a tricky question about a woman who has been married multiple times; Jesus answers that at the resurrection no one's marital status matters anymore so the point is moot.[[/note]]

** Sisko's plot in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E14TheStoryteller The Storyteller]]" has him mediating a border dispute between two Bajoran tribes. An ancient treaty had set a river as their border, but then during the recently ended Occupation the Cardassians diverted the river twenty kilometers to the west. One tribe wants to use the river's old location as the border, the other wants to use the new one.

-->'''Audrey:''' The afflicted, the cursed, the Troubled. People that don't end up in these reports. I can't arrest them.
-->'''Agent Howard:''' If they've comitted a crime, you can. And should. You swore an oath.
-->'''Audrey:''' To uphold the law, but we don't have laws for these people.
-->'''Agent Howard:''' Are they US citizens?
-->'''Audrey:''' Yes.
-->'''Agent Howard:''' Then we have laws for them.
-->'''Audrey:''' Alright. A man plays music, and it drives people insane. What do I arrest him for? Another man's shadow--his ''shadow''--kills people. What do I charge him with?

* A defense option in [[CourtroomEpisode your murder trial]] in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' is to use a boy with TrueSight to cast doubt on eyewitness testimony that you led the massacre of a village (it was really Luskan soldiers under a magical illusion, which he saw through). Your opponent, Luskan ambassador Torio Claven, tries to counter by disputing the boy's ability, but he proves it by telling her about the medallion she has in her pocket.

* ''Literature/TheLastEnemy'' by Creator/HBeamPiper gives us a society in which reincarnation has now been proven, so their view of death is far more relaxed. Assassination is a legal profession because of this (though there are certain rules, such as no nukes). Near the end of the story, lawsuits start to be launched by people trying to recover property they had in their past lives, though we don't see whether any succeed.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender,'' [[KungFuJesus Aang]] is put on trial for a murder supposedly committed by Avatar Kyoshi, one of his past lives. Unable to come up with another defense, he and his friend resort to trying to summon Kyoshi's spirit to defend herself. It works... except that [[GoodIsNotSoft she confesses to killing the guy]]. Evidently he was really a warlord trying to conquer what's now Kyoshi Island, and his people gave him a HistoricalHeroUpgrade; albeit he died because he didn't flee when the earth split while she was breaking the island off from the mainland to protect her village.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender,'' [[KungFuJesus Aang]] is put on trial for a murder supposedly committed by Kyoshi, one of his past lives. Unable to come up with another defense, he and his friend resort to trying to summon Kyoshi's spirit to defend herself. It works...except that [[GoodIsNotSoft she confesses to killing the guy]]. (Evidently he was a warlord trying to conquer her village.)