The Geekie Awards is October 15, 2015. Thank you everyone who has voted for us.
The Psychology of Guardians of the Galaxy
Dr. Janina Scarlet, author of Superhero-Therapy, sat down to discuss the psychology of the heroes and villains from Guardians of the Galaxy. Dr. Scarlet discussed the impact of Quill, Gamora, and Nebula with each losing their parents, to Groot being the model of compassion.
Dr. Scarlet also described her work with active duty military service members and veterans with treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and using comic book characters in their treatment.
We also discussed how much we enjoy Anthony Mackie’s Falcon and thoughts on Captain America Civil War. Dr. Scarlet also shared how the Winter Soldier could be treated for his own psychology injuries.
National Bow Tie Day
Who are your favorite bow tie wearing individuals from history or popular culture? Here is my list, but more importantly, I want to hear from YOU on who you think rocks the bow tie.
The Rule Against Perpetuities is a Real Killjoy
The SyFy show Killjoys had an legally complex property issue in the final episodes of the season: seventh generation descendants who lived on the very environmentally damaged moon Westerley would be deeded property, and thus could immigrate to the much nicer moon Leith, thanks to a deal by their ancestors.
Property rights on Earth do not take seven generations to vest. Every first year law student knows such a real property transfer would violate the Rule Against Perpetuities (RAP). The traditional definition of RAP states that, “No interest is good unless it must vest, if at all, not later than twenty-one years after the death of some life in being at the creation of the interest.” Black’s Law Dictionary App, 9th Edition.
California defines the Rule Against Perpetuities as follows:
A nonvested property interest is invalid unless one of the following conditions is satisfied:
(a) When the interest is created, it is certain to vest or terminate no later than 21 years after the death of an individual then alive.
(b) The interest either vests or terminates within 90 years after its creation.
Cal Prob Code § 21205.
The goal of Rule Against Perpetuities is simple: eliminate contingent interests in real property that could vest too remotely. Courts frown upon people willing property to a generation that would not exist for over a century. There is risk the rights would never vest, such as a genetic weapon going off killing everyone in a bloodline to prevent inheritance of the subject property.
Property rights vesting after seven generations would violate the Rule Against Perpetuities. A generation typical is viewed as 20 years. Human beings in good health can live well into their 90s. Granted, people on Westerley probably have shorter life spans, given acid rain that kills, the lack of proper medical care, and a highly dangerous community (i.e., you can get shot).
If we assume each generation on Westerley were having children every 25 years (time for a child to grow up, find a career, spouse, and have a child themselves), then approximately 150 to 175 years had passed since the first generation entered into the property agreement. Assuming the first generation lived to age 75 given the dangerous environment, 21 years after their death would not have seen a 7th generation come into existence. As such, the property rights would vest anywhere from 75 to 100 years after the death of the first generation. This would violate rights having to vest 21 years after the death of the original life in being.
It is apparent lawyers did not make the deep space trip to The Quad. There is no civil government, but The Company, comprised of nine “ruling” corporate owner families. This would be a horrible place to live. Killjoys is an unintended reminder that humanity is best served by governments colonizing planets, opposed to corporations that have very little interest in civil rights, constitutions, or property law.
Did Han Solo Abandon a Marriage?
The new Star Wars comic set between Episodes IV and V has added a new spin on Han Solo: A woman named Sana Solo claimed Han is her husband. As quickly as you can say, “I’d sooner kiss a Wookiee,” Han has denied being married to Sana. If Sana were to be believed, this would mean Han abandoned the marriage. Making matters worse for Han, Sana is one ticked off bounty hunter who probably is seeking an extra-judicial resolution.
Let’s just hope that Han Solo does not have a profile on Ashley Madison.
Long, Long, Ago, In a State Far, Far, Away
Sana Solo has not yet produced a marriage certificate from any planet documenting her marriage to Han Solo. As such, we cannot analyze the laws of that planet on marriage. By way of comparison, abandoning a marriage is grounds for divorce in Texas and fault states such as New York. Moreover, abandoning a marriage could be a crime in both Texas and Oklahoma.
A Court may grant divorce for an abandoned spouse if 1) the offending spouse left the complaining spouse with the intention of abandonment; and 2) the offending spouse remained away for at least one year. See, Tex. Fam. Code § 6.005 and NY CLS Dom Rel § 170.
Abandonment cases are as varied as the color of lightsabers. In one case from 1914, a Texas farmer secured a divorce by abandonment of his wife after three years. The wife had claimed to leave the farm for a trip, but never returned. There were repeated attempts to save the marriage, but the farmer was unwilling to give up his farm and the wife unwilling to live on a farm. The Court accordingly found the marriage abandoned by the wife. Dickerson v Dickerson (Tex.Civ.App. 1918) 207 S.W. 941, 942.)
In a New York case, a woman of Roman Catholic faith married a Protestant man in a Protestant church. After the birth of a child and three years of marriage, the wife refused to recognize her own marriage or have sex with the husband unless they were remarried in a Catholic service. Diemer v. Diemer (1960) 8 N.Y.2d 206, 208.
The husband successfully brought an action for abandonment. The Court explained [in very 1960s language that would not fly in most states today]:
That a refusal to have marital sexual relations undermines the essential structure of marriage is a proposition basic to this court’s decision in the Mirizio case and as obvious as it is authoritative. Sexual relations between man and woman are given a socially and legally sanctioned status only when they take place in marriage and, in turn, marriage is itself distinguished from all other social relationships by the role sexual intercourse between the parties plays in it. This being so, it may not be doubted that a total and irrevocable negation of what is lawful in marriage and unlawful in every other relationship, of what unmistakably and uniquely characterizes marriage and no other relationship, constitutes abandonment in the eyes of the law.
It is clear, therefore, that the plaintiff now before us is entitled to a separation on the ground of abandonment unless his wife had good legal cause to refuse to have sexual intercourse with him. And, as to that, it is equally clear that she had neither cause nor justification. Although it appears that she acted without malice and was activated by deep-felt and conscientious religious convictions, her motives were not sufficient in law to excuse the abandonment of her marital status. If, as a result of religious scruples, she considers her marriage invalid or non-existent and, on that account, neglects the fulfillment of a primary marital obligation, in fairness and in law her husband must likewise have the power to free himself of its obligations. While our law is not to be “unnecessarily construed in a manner which would be hostile to religion in family life or to any other of those principles of moral, ethical and considerate conduct which ought to govern the marriage relationship”, we may not forget that this State, “as a matter of long-continued policy, * * * has fixed the status of the marriage contract as a civil contract”, governed by civil, not religious, law. ( Mirizio v. Mirizio, 242 N. Y. 74, 83, supra.) It follows as a consequence of the civil nature of the marriage contract that a wife who disavows her marriage and repudiates a fundamental marital function out of deep-felt religious conviction has abandoned her husband just as effectively as one who has done so for base and illegitimate motives.
Diemer, at *210-211, emphasis added.
Could Sana Solo bring a successful divorce for abandonment case against Han, assuming there is a valid marriage? It would appear so in New York, Texas, and Oklahoma.
However, Sana does not seem interested in divorce.
The Crime of Abandonment of Marriage After Seduction
Han Solo could face serious jail time and fines if the Empire has chastity and marriage laws like Oklahoma:
Any person who, under promise of marriage, seduces and has illicit connection with any unmarried female of previous chaste character shall be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary not exceeding five (5) years, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($ 1,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
21 Okl. St. § 1120.
It is a felony in Oklahoma to abandon a marriage after seduction:
Any person charged by information or indictment with the offense of seduction who shall, before the trial of such charge, marry the female whom he was accused of seducing, thereby procuring the dismissal of such charge, and who shall within two (2) years after said marriage, without the fault of his said wife, such fault amounting to acts committed by her after said marriage as would entitle him to a divorce under the laws of this state, shall abandon her or refuse to live with her, or shall be so cruel to her as to compel her to leave him, or shall be guilty of such outrages or cruelties towards her as to make their living together impossible, thereby leaving her or forcing her to leave him, and live apart from each other, shall be guilty of the offense of abandonment after seduction and marriage; and any person convicted of said offense shall be guilty of a felony and shall be confined in the State Penitentiary for a term of not less than two (2) years nor more than ten (10) years; and said marriage shall be no bar to the qualifications of said female to testify against the defendant; and the female so seduced and subsequently married and abandoned as herein provided, shall be a competent witness against said defendant.
21 Okl. St. § 1122.
Substantially more discovery needs to be conducted to see if Han Solo could be prosecuted for marriage after seduction and abandonment. Han must be a scoundrel, but it is unlikely he would seduce a woman, marry her, and then abandon her.
Judge Matthew Sciarrino Explains How Batman Could Testify in Court
The Right to Confront Witnesses. Valid Search Warrants. How do confidential informants and undercover police officers testify in Court? These issues are critical to criminal defendants having their rights upheld in Court. How would a Court handle the need for Batman, who is now Jim Gordon since Batman issue 41, testifying in Court so his identity is not made public?
New York State Judge Matthew Sciarrino joined us to discuss how these issues currently play out in Court and how the real world could handle a deputized super-hero who needs to maintain a secret identity.
Dedicated to the inspiring Yvonne Craig and Lenny B. Robinson.
Bat-Jim is the Hero We Deserve
The new storyline in Batman where Jim Gordon is now Batman is excellent. Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and team are doing a bat-tastic story that is worth your time.
Here is the very short version of events: Batman is presumed dead, so Gotham City has Powers Corp build a Bat-suit so there is a deputized Batman working with the police. A 46-year old Jim Gordon is convinced to take the job.
Commissioner Gordon openly wondered if Batman could have been more effective if he had worked within the system. Moreover, a Batman working within the system could show the citizens of Gotham that the system can work.
If you believe in the administration of justice and that people become police officers to help others, this is the story for you. Gordon’s Batman is deputized, just as Batman was in the 1966 Batman The Movie (except there are no noble porpoises sacrificing themselves to stop a torpedo from killing Batman).
Scott Snyder should be commended on writing a story that incorporates modern technology into the world of comics. Citizens can download the “Bat-App” and let anyone within a 200-foot radius know they need help. This serves as an alert system for the new Batman to respond to those in danger.
Could Gotham have a deputized Batman? Most states have provisions for deputizing private citizens for law enforcement. For example, North Carolina has the following laws for deputizing private citizens:
Private persons may assist law-enforcement officers in effecting arrests and preventing escapes from custody when requested to do so by the officer. When so requested, a private person has the same authority to effect an arrest or prevent escape from custody as the officer making the request. He does not incur civil or criminal liability for an invalid arrest unless he knows the arrest to be invalid. Nothing in this subsection constitutes justification for willful, malicious or criminally negligent conduct by such person which injures or endangers any person or property, nor shall it be construed to excuse or justify the use of unreasonable or excessive force.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-405.
New York also has provisions for deputizing “special deputies” in an emergency:
For the protection of human life and property during an emergency, the sheriff may deputize orally or in writing such number of additional special deputies as he deems necessary. If he is unable to continue the services of such special deputies without compensation, he may pay the compensation of any such special deputies in such amount as the board of supervisors may determine for each day any such special deputy is actually engaged in assisting him in the performance of his duties, or in assisting any other sheriff who has declared a state of special emergency, pursuant to the provisions of section two hundred nine-f of the general municipal law, with the permission of the sheriff who deputized him.
NY CLS County § 655.
Could the Gotham Police Department deputize someone to be in a 10-foot tall Bat-suit? I think yes. In a world with super-villains, having a deputized super-hero following the law, and working with the police, would provide the state goal of public safety and ensure the Constitution is being followed.