History Main / RulesLawyer

In fantasy, TheFairFolk, TheTrickster, and the LiteralGenie are often Rules Lawyers. See also PuzzleThriller, a style of story which revolves around characters finding creative ways to exploit or circumvent the rules of their universe.

* In "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/42198018/ Harry Potter and the Ritual of Love's Memory]]", when Harry and his allies attempt to set up a more public study group on defence magic, Umbridge attempts to undermine them by booking the Great Hall for herself for a seminar on Recognizing and Rebuffing the Media's Lies on the same night that they had originally booked it, as teachers have first right of refusal for use of classrooms and the Great Hall. However, Harry and Ginny decide to exploit a loophole by holding their meetings in the Chamber of Secrets instead, as it's large enough for their purposes and isn't covered under the same rules that allowed Umbridge to book the Great Hall.

* Though not to the extreme as Website/TheOtherWiki, Website/TVTropes often suffers this as well. A common one is users trying to avoid Administrivia/WordCruft by trimming down examples to the point they no longer sound like an example of that trope, then having another user remove the "Administrivia/ZeroContextExample", and then accusing the person who tried to restore it of {{Edit War}}ring.

* In the Franchise/MonsterVerse fic "[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2166906 Wild Child AU]]", when Madison Russell admits that she's not ready to return to the human race after living with Godzilla for five years even if she wants to spend time with her father and brother, Doctor Serizawa and Andrew Russell each propose a suitable compromise. As Andrew observes, since "Madison Russell" is still legally dead (having been presumed killed in the battle against the [=MUTOs=]), all Mark has to do is leave that declaration valid so that Madison can choose to live where she wants. For Serizawa's part, he points out that the changes Madison has gone through due to prolonged 'exposure' to Godzilla, including growing scales in places and an ability to absorb radiation, mean that she can be [[AmbiguouslyHuman legally classified as a Titan]], putting her under Monarch's authority and free to come and go as she pleases.

* ''Letter to Allan Border'' is a about a kid writing to then Australian UsefulNotes/{{Cricket}} captain Allan Border to resolve disputes between him and his big brother Frank about the rules of the game. Some of Frank's claims about the rules are true (if the ball doesn't make it to the batter, they can hit it when it stops), while others are patently false (you cannot hit an 18 by clearing three fences).

* In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'' and ''Literature/{{Pale}}'' by Creator/{{Wildbow}}, magical practitioners and Others cannot lie or they will lose their power, with the amount of power lost proportional to the severity of the lie. In the worst case, if you break an oath and are called out on it, you will become Forsworn and will not only be permanently depowered but the universe itself will be actively hostile to you. As a result ''literally everyone'' who is awakened to the supernatural becomes both a LiteralGenie and a Rules Lawyer, as failing to adhere to one's ExactWords would spell disaster.

* ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'' encourages this. As an enforcer of the EvilOverlord Kyros and agent of Tunon, Archon of Law, you must do what the law says...but the law is often a little vague on the particularities. Some highlights include:

Rules Lawyers are among the few people who ReadTheFinePrint, and will always use ExactWords to their advantage. When ''two'' Rules Lawyers at the table decide to butt heads, see MyRuleFuIsStrongerThanYours. In RealLife, a person trying to be a Rules Lawyer is usually countered by an authority figure invoking RuleZero, ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem, or even simply a BigShutUp.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', after a sketchy Jenga move, Roger tells Hayley that he called Hasbro in advance and they told him that what he was doing was against the spirit of the game, but technically legal.

** Similarly, the 'birther' movement surrounding Barack Obama's eligibility for the presidency. Most of the movement centred the argument around his birth certificate and the claim that he wasn't born in the United States. When Obama produced his birth certificate, they largely either backed down or claimed the certificate was a fake. But an even more extreme section of the movement insisted that the birth certificate was irrelevant because according to the constitution a president must be a ''natural-born'' citizen, whereas Obama is only a ''native-born'' citizen (yes, legally these are different things). This is apparently because Obama's father was from Kenya, then a British colony, and British law at the time said that all colonial subjects and their children were British citizens. Apart from this not in any way affecting Obama's US citizenship (as many people have joint nationality), Britain retroactively repealed the British citizenship of colonial subjects after those colonies became independent (unless they were eligible for British citizenship on other grounds, which neither Obama nor his father was). However, the definition of natural born as used in the US constitution is not universally agreed on and has never been addressed by the US Supreme Court. It is not likely they will ever touch that subject with a 10-foot birth certificate.

* John Haigh, better known as the Acid Bath Murderer, unsuccessfull attempted to be this to save himself from being convicted for murdering 6 (he claimed 9) people. He believed that a murder conviction would be impossible if the bodies of his victims could not be found, in spite of the otherwise air-tight evidence against him ''and'' a confession ([[InsanityDefense he pled insanity]]). This wasn't the case, it took the jury mere minutes to unanimously find him guilty, he was convicted of murder, and hanged on August 10th, 1949.

** In late 2008, with a minority government, due in large part to [[{{Jerkass}} questionable tactics]] he'd tried during budget planning, he was facing a motion of no-confidence that would bring down his government. So he prorogued Parliament, preventing the vote. Proroguing is only supposed to be used at the end of a parliamentary session when the government has completed the agenda it set in the throne speech; using it to shutter Parliament is distinctly not on. When the new Parliament reconvened sometime later, the opposition unity had fallen apart.

* Comicbook/JohnConstantine from ''Comicbook/{{Hellblazer}}'' relies heavily on manipulation of rules to survive, playing with entities whose raw might would normally allow them to squash him like a bug, but the magical rules that bind them prevent it. Some of his most serious threats are from regular humans who can attack him directly without any concern for rules.

* In the ''Franchise/HarryPotter''/''Franchise/XMen'' crossover "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12652330/1/eXtra-power-twin eXtra power twin]]", after Harry is entered into the Triwizard Tournament along with his brother Aiden, Harry decides to avoid the issue of having two Hogwarts champions when he studies the rules and finds an obscure clause where a champion can be entered under another school if two of the other schools agree with the decision. As a result, with the support of Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, Harry is officially entering the Triwizard Tournament representing Xavier's School for the Gifted rather than Hogwarts.

* Another ''Gargoyles'' example features in "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/25959703/ Tricksters]]", after Xanatos offers to let Owen leave after he's nearly killed during an attack by a new enemy, Xanatos pointing out that Owen's heart stopped twice while he in a coma for the last few weeks so it could be argued that he already fulfilled the "lifetime of service" part of their deal. Owen in turn assures Xanatos that he could have always told his employer if he regretted any part of their arrangement, pointing out that the deal for a lifetime's service from Owen doesn't guarantee a lifetime of ''good'' service and Owen is perfectly capable of expressing displeasure with their dynamic if he ever felt Xanatos crossed a line.
* In ''Fanfic/BloodSisters'', this is exploited to stop Dyson requesting sanctuary when he's called as a witness to Bo's recent activities, as he can't claim sanctuary if he isn't actually accused of a crime but there's equally nothing to stop the Ash's forces keeping him locked in a cell for a long time until they get around to him...

** For an in-universe example, the Codex Astartes places strict upper limits on the Table of Organization and Equipment permitted to an Astartes Chapter. But there is also a clause in the book stating that TOE restrictions can be temporarily waived during Crusades. Since the Black Templar Chapter was ordered to be perpetually on Crusade by their Primarch, Rogal Dorn, during its Founding, the Black Templars have used that clause to completely ignore the TOE restrictions of the Codex for thousands of years, to the point where they'd probably count as a small Legion in their own right if they all gathered in one place.