History Main / MyRuleFuIsStrongerThanYours

* In ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' "Utterly Dwarfed" arc, [[spoiler:Hel and her vampiric High Priest seek to usher TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt by manipulating a vote held by the Dwarven Clan Heads, using copious amounts of LoopholeAbuse to their advantage. The plan is ultimately foiled by Durkon who renders the entire vote invalid by exploiting a minor regulation -- namely, he breaks the table the meeting is held at, and the laws ''strictly'' state that the Clan Heads ''must'' meet around a single table that has space for all of the heads at once, not two halves of one.]]

* In one Jewish tale, a bunch of rabbis are contradicted by God about the correct way to perform a certain ritual; He appears and His voice comes booming out of the sky telling them they're wrong. The rabbis confer with each other for a moment, and then turn back to God and tell Him that the decision falls under rabbinical jurisdiction and that according to the rules, it's their ruling that counts, not His. God concedes the point and [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu backs down]]. ([[PoesLaw And no,]] this is not intended to be a joke about how JewsLoveToArgue.)\\\
To give a bit more detail (and accuracy), the debate was between two rabbis: Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Eliezer lost the initial vote and asked God to prove him correct. First he asked that the river flow backward, that a tree be suddenly uprooted, then that the walls of the synagogue collapse in, and, finally, that God himself speak. God's voice is heard saying, "This and all laws are in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer." Rabbi Yehoshua immediately responds with, "The Torah is not in Heaven!" with the law on Earth being that majority rules, and God, naturally, is One. (Note that God had made this law. A previous debate between rival schools had been decided when God stated that the majority is determined by NUMBER, not smarts.) God's response? To laugh, while proudly proclaiming, "my children have defeated me, my children have defeated me!" This story is actually very telling of the time, which occurred immediately after the Holy Temple's destruction. Prior to this, Halachik debate could be settled by asking the Urim v'Tumim (i.e. asking God). From that point until today, halachik matters have been determined by rabbinical council.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': An infamous case of LoopholeAbuse was with the card Chaos Orb; you flip it into the air, and any cards on the tabletop that it lands on are removed from the game. One player ''tore their card up'' in a tournament, meaning that they wiped out the opponent's entire side by sprinkling the pieces all over them. In response to this after the event, Wizards of the Coast set a specific errata that tearing up the card made it "marked". Playing with a marked card means that you automatically lose the match. You would then, in a tournament setting, have to replace it with another Chaos Orb before the next round started or you would be disqualified from that round too for illegally changing your deck configuration. Chaos Orb has since never been a problem.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' episode "Momma Robotnik Returns," Momma Robotnik exploits the fact that Sonic's a minor to adopt him and free her up to wreak havoc on Mobius. Sonic is saved when Robotnik, who was disowned beforehand, exploits another law that states no one who disowns a child may adopt another to annul his mother's takeover.
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* Used in ''Dexta'' when Gloria (professional bureaucrat that she is) pulls out every rule in the book to trip up the corrupt Imperial Governor. This gets her promoted to Acting Imperial Governor with deliberately impossible orders ("enforce a cease-fire between two alien factions without using Imperial troops to defend aliens"), so she takes advantage of a militia that the Emperor didn't know about to solve the problem.

* Being just about the living incarnation of LawfulNeutral, this crops up occasionally in ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', typically in someone trying to "catch" Dredd overstepping his bounds, [[BotheringByTheBook setting things up in a way that they annoy him into leaving them alone]], or doing things that are [[LoopholeAbuse legal by way of technicality]]. It rarely works out well for them, as Dredd [[CatchPhrase IS the law]], and is as adept with pulling up even ''more'' obscure rules and regulations to do the right (or, at least, legal) thing as he is with just shooting people in the face.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Bob Parr (a.k.a. Mr. Incredible) works for an insurance company whose boss orders them to screw over the customers however possible; Bob gets around this by using CouldSayItBut to give the policy holders the information they need.

* In ''Webcomic/FreeFall'', Florence must obey direct orders from legitimate human authorities. It doesn't take her long to learn tricks. For example, [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01504.htm "The mayor gave me a direct order to stay here, she never said I couldn't build a fusion test reactor on the premises."]] Later, she advises the mayor on rule-fu, pointing out that a temporary dictator could give uncancellable orders.

->''"Don't worry about us, ma'am," Fix assured her, and winked. "Titania has already laid down the law. We've obeyed it. Not our fault if what she decreed was not what she wanted."''\\
''"Translation," [Harry Dresden] said. "We got around her fair and square. She won't like it, but she'll accept it."''

** The episode "By Any Means Necessary" centers on a dockers' strike on the eponymous station. The government's negotiator refuses to give the dockworkers ''anything'' in their demands for more personnel and better safety equipment and then invokes the Rush Act, which authorizes Commander Sinclair to use [[TitleDrop "any means necessary"]] to end the strike. He does this obviously hoping for Sinclair to use military force and to crush the dockworker union. Sinclair decides to resolve things by moving funds from the station's military budget to meet the dockers' demands instead, which he couldn't do until the negotiator invoked the Rush Act.
** Sinclair tries this again in "Eyes", where he takes advantage of the rules regarding military intelligence inquiries. At first it seems to work, but eventually the investigator turns the rules in ''his'' favor, forcing Sinclair to change tactics.
** A really awesome instance was Delenn demanding that the whole Minbari Civil War (which the warrior caste had theoretically won) be hazarded in a SelfImmolation contest because [[GoodOldWays "It is the tradition of our people."]] -- which is what the warrior caste was arguing to return to as a pretext for starting the war.
** Sheridan pulls one off to temporarily delay the inevitable conflict between the station and [=EarthGov=] when Nightwatch pushes their weight around; General Hague reminds that he must follow the chain of command when it comes to the orders Nightwatch is demanding he follow, orders which everyone knows have come down from President Clark. Sheridan has Nightwatch personnel arrested because they've been running around boasting about how they don't answer to the military chain of command. Since Sheridan hasn't received any orders through ''his'' chain of command that he has to listen to them, they've tried to seize the station illegally.

'''Hank:''' Look buddy, why don't you just go out and--\\
'''Joe''': Did you see this drive in here? How do you know it runs? Did you actually witness any wrongdoing? It seems to me you're just out here fishing. Don't see that holding up in a court of law.
* In ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'', Grotto, a Nelson & Murdock client, is being targeted by The Punisher. When Nelson and Murdock (after much convincing) get him to agree to come forward to the police, the District Attorney Samantha Reyes intentionally uses him as bait to lure The Punisher out of hiding, leading to his death. After Frank Castle is caught, Matt, Foggy and Karen visit him at the hospital with the intent of possibly representing him. Reyes attempts to send them packing by stating it's illegal for lawyers to defend a murderer that killed one of their clients, only for Matt to counter that if she's going to file the conflict of interest, Reyes will have to admit that she's responsible for jeopardizing Grotto's witness protection.

** In "Paradise Towers", the Doctor escapes the rules-obsessed Caretakers by citing various "rules" that he has just made-up. None of the Caretakers are willing to admit that they are so unfamiliar with the rulebook that they don't recognise these "rules".
** Likewise in "Fugitive of the Judoon". The Judoon are TriggerHappy SpacePolice but they're also {{Rules Lawyer}}s, so the Doctor pretends to be an Imperial Regulator and wins a brief reprieve (four minutes, thirty seconds) by claiming that she's acting under local Earth laws, which the Judoon are unfamiliar with.

* The ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "The Ensigns of Command" revolved around a human colony on a world claimed by the Sheliak Corporate. The Sheliak threaten to destroy the colony if it's not evacuated in four days (which is logistically impossible). Picard tries to negotiate with the Sheliak only to be rebuffed as they [[RulesLawyer cite various terms of the ridiculously complicated Treaty of Armens]]. Finally, Picard discovers a clause he can [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILbLGNDqUxA use against the Sheliak]]. He invokes the right to select a neutral third party to arbitrate, and chooses a race which is the middle of a six-month hibernation cycle. This time, it's the Sheliak's turn to balk (and finally, acquiesce).

* In 5th edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', the books include a rule to specifically prevent this kind of behavior by simply stating that when in doubt, the DM is considered to be in the right.

* Subverted in ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'': Sgt. Jackrum pretends to pull this by citing a non-existent rule, since officers never actually read the rulebook and just accept whatever he says.

* ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment:'' Sergeant Jackrum tries invoking a made-up rule to do what he wants. Then Lieutenant Blouse calls him out on it by bringing out the actual rulebook, and complimenting Jackrum on his dilligence. Both know the rule is absolute guff, but now Jackrum can't do anything without being caught out.

* [[TruthInTelevision The fact that a legal rule hasn't been invoked for centuries doesn't mean it has been repealed.]] Case in point: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashford_v_Thornton Ashford v. Thornton]]. In 1817, after Abraham Thornton was found not guilty of the rape and murder of Mary Ashford, Mary's brother William took the case back to court, where Thornton demanded a TrialByCombat. Since the laws for trial by combat had technically never been repealed, the jury granted the request. William Ashford, seeing the writing on the wall, decided not to go through with it, and Thornton walked free again. The laws concerning trial by combat were [[ObviousRulePatch quickly repealed]] after the case was over, though, so nobody could try a similar stunt. In this particular case, William was taking advantage of an archaic rule himself. Thornton had already been tried and had been acquitted by a jury, normally a bar to further prosecution. William was taking advantage of a by-then nearly obsolete rule which allowed a private individual to bring a criminal case. Trial by combat wasn't generally available to criminal defendants, but it was still listed as a defense in this sort of private prosecution. Thornton's attorneys advised him to invoke the trial by combat rule to point out how irregular the second prosecution was in the first place (and of course to win, since Thornton totally outmatched William). Parliament got rid of the trial by combat following this whole debacle, [[ObviousRulePatch but they eliminated the private appeal as well.]]

It's safe to say that society as we know it couldn't exist without rules. Without rules, [[MightMakesRight power would be the only source of order in the world,]] [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority either in terms of destructive capability]] [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney or material resources]].

* As with all tropes legal, AncientRome gives an example. In the days of UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic, the consuls were ''ex officio'' ''augurs'' (diviners who read the future from the activities of birds) and had the religious authority to set the dates of holidays (supposedly in accordance with the will of the gods). Thus when in 59 BCE the conservative consul Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus took issue with his populist co-consul's reform agenda, he tried to use his authority as an augur and quasi-priest to gum up the works (e.g. by declaring the day the co-consul had scheduled for a vote on this or that aspect of his plan a holiday, which would push the vote back several weeks under Roman law).[[note]]Note that Bibulus wasn't trying to do this just to delay the inevitable. The consular custom of "holding fasces"--that the consuls would take turns each month to take the lead on policy--meant that it mattered which month a measure was put to a vote, as the consul who "held fasces" that month would get to set the terms and appoint the management of the vote. Also, then as now, public opinion could be fickle--what might've passed easily in January might be a close question in February and political poison by April. And finally, of course, the consular term was just one year--if you could delay and delay and delay for a whole year, the other guy's term would be over and the item might just drop from the public agenda entirely.[[/note]] The problem with this plan was that the populist co-consul in question was none other than UsefulNotes/GaiusJuliusCaesar, who in addition to being consul that year separately held the lifetime office of ''Pontifex Maximus'', i.e. the ''de facto'' HighPriest of Rome. For all his political, social, and sexual shenanigans, Caesar had sterling religious credentials, as his family had reared him from childhood with the expectation that he might enter the priesthood, and by all accounts he was [[ReligiousBruiser genuinely and deeply devoted to the gods]]. Thus whenever Bibulus proclaimed a holiday or claimed a bad omen from the birds, Caesar overruled him on the grounds that it was his job to know these things, he understood the gods better, and Bibulus didn't know what he was talking about. This was generally accepted because of Caesar's aforementioned sterling religious credentials. After a few rounds of this going nowhere, Bibulus decided it wasn't worth the trouble and basically retreated to his house for the rest of his term.

* Happens frequently in Literature/TheDresdenFiles. The [[FairFolk fae]] cannot tell a lie, must keep any promise made three times, and must follow legitimate orders. As a result, rule fu is a way of life and an honored skill. When Harry pulls his donut with white frosting trick, the entire summer court laughs about it for months and his status goes up considerably. On the other hand, when he gains the authority to command Cat Sith, he quickly realizes that his rule fu is not up to the task, and he'd better stick to orders Cat doesn't mind following.

* In ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' "Utterly Dwarfed" arc, [[spoiler:Hel and her vampiric High Priest seek to usher TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt by manipulating a vote held by the Dwarven Clan Heads, using copious amounts of LoopholeAbuse to their advantage. The plan is ultimately foiled by Durkon who renders the entire vote invalid by exploiting a minor regulation -- namely, he breaks the table the meeting is held at, and the laws ''strictly'' state that the Clan Heads ''must'' meet around a single table, not two halves of one.]]

** Later on in the same book, Tavi's close friend Ehren writes up documentation which [[spoiler:not only legitimizes Tavi's claim as heir apparent, but also gives im the authority to be released under his own watch if he was acting in such a way to benefit the country,]] to stop Arnos from stating Tavi's actions were illegal and the charges Tavi levies against him should be dismissed. Arnos' lawyer affirms the documents are properly signed and correct.

** Kelson's CourtroomAntics in the treason and heresy trial of Alaric Morgan in ''Deryni Rising'' are this to a fare-thee-well. He stalls for time by having the charges read in full, then asks for each member of the Regency Coucil to vote individually, then he casts Morgan's vote for him (causing a tie), since he's still a member of Council until he's convicted. Jehana objects, then casts a vote against him since Kelson is presiding in person. Once Kelson hears the clock chime the hour and knows he's turned fourteen, he asserts "I rule today!" and appoints Morgan's aide Sean Earl Derry to the vacant seat (one of the members was killed in an ambush days earlier); this forces a tie vote and Kelson breaks the tie, freeing Morgan and insisting that any resubmission of the charges will require further proof. Jehana is not happy to be defeated by a suddenly-grown son: "Kelson had stood before the Council and defied her—not with childish threats and impotent taunts, but with decisive, adult action...now that Kelson was King in fact as well as in name—a development she hadn't even considered before—how could she possibly lure him away from Morgan's evil influence?"

* Subverted in ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'': Sgt. Jackrum pretends to pull this by citing a non-existent rule, since officers never actually read the rulebook and just accept whatever he says; Lt. Blouse later catches Jackrum out when checking the rulebook. Then does nothing about it, and indeed compliments Jackrum on the exactitude of his citation.
** This could be because he a) recognises on some level that Jackrum is very useful, b) also realises on some level that Jackrum could kill him in 2 seconds flat. It wouldn't be the first officer he's killed either.
** The situation proves that both Jackrum and Blouse are good and useful in their own ways. Jackrum because he defies the rules when they're too stupid to follow, and Blouse because he knows them and only listens to the sensible ones.

* As with all tropes legal, AncientRome gives an example. In the days of UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic, the consuls were ''ex officio'' ''augurs'' (diviners who read the future from the activities of birds) and had the religious authority to set the dates of holidays (supposedly in accordance with the will of the gods). Thus when in 59 BCE the conservative consul Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus took issue with his populist co-consul's reform agenda, he tried to use his authority as an augur and quasi-priest to gum up the works (e.g. by declaring the day the co-consul had scheduled for a vote on this or that aspect of his plan a holiday, which would push the vote back several weeks under Roman law).[[note]]Note that Bibulus wasn't trying to do this just to delay the inevitable. The consular custom of "holding fasces"--that the consuls would take turns each month to take the lead on policy--meant that it mattered which month a measure was put to a vote, as the consul who "held fasces" that month would get to set the terms and appoint the management of the vote. Also, then as now, public opinion could be fickle--what might've passed easily in January might be a close question in February and political poison by April. And finally, of course, the consular term was just one year--if you could delay and delay and delay for a whole year, the other guy's term would be over and the item might just drop from the public agenda entirely.[[/note]] The problem with this plan was that the populist co-consul in question was none other than UsefulNotes/GaiusJuliusCaesar, who in addition to being consul that year separately held the lifetime office of ''Pontifex Meximus'', i.e. the ''de facto'' HighPriest of Rome. For all his political, social, and sexual shenanigans, Caesar had sterling religious credentials, as his family had reared him from childhood with the expectation that he might enter the priesthood, and by all accounts he was [[ReligiousBruiser genuinely and deeply devoted to the gods]]. Thus whenever Bibulus proclaimed a holiday or claimed a bad omen from the birds, Caesar overruled him on the grounds that it was his job to know these things, he understood the gods better, and Bibulus didn't know what he was talking about. This was generally accepted because of Caesar's aforementioned sterling religious credentials. After a few rounds of this going nowhere, Bibulus decided it wasn't worth the trouble and basically retreated to his house for the rest of his term.