[MINI-REVIEW] The Secret Life of Pets

[Flack]

Take all the good parts from Toy Story, ruin them, and swap the toys out for dogs.

[Tdarcos]

Take all the good parts from Toy Story, ruin them, and swap the toys out for dogs.

What is your point? This is a standard Disney practice. Take something someone else wrote - Disney uses a lot of Public Domain stories - ruin it, then put an animated character in the role. So what else is new?

[Flack]

Exactly. In 1954, Walt Disney used his Disneyland series to unveil what would become Disneyland, an idea conceived out of a desire for a place where parents and children could both have fun at the same time. On July 18, 1955, Walt Disney opened Disneyland to the general public. On July 17, 1955, Disneyland was previewed with a live television broadcast hosted by Art Linkletter and Ronald Reagan. After a shaky start, Disneyland continued to grow and attract visitors from across the country and around the world. A major expansion in 1959 included the addition of America's first monorail system.

For the 1964 New York World's Fair, Disney prepared four separate attractions for various sponsors, each of which would find its way to Disneyland in one form or another. During this time, Walt Disney was also secretly scouting out new sites for a second Disney theme park. In November 1965, "Disney World" was announced, with plans for theme parks, hotels, and even a model city on thousands of acres of land purchased outside of Orlando, Florida.

[Jizaboz]

All good points here.

The castle at Disneyworld stands at 189 feet tall, compared to Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland which is just 77 feet tall. Both castles used "forced perspective" techniques to make them appear larger - as each gets taller, its width gets smaller. No stonework was used to create Cinderella Castle, despite its appearance. The building's shell is made out of fiberglass.

[pinback]

The building's shell is made out of fiberglass.

That reminds me, the National Cancer Institute determined in 1974 that fiberglass is a potent carcinogen in experimental animals. In 1996, the U.S. government determined that fiberglass is reasonably anticipated to be a carcinogen. As a result, fiberglass made or imported into the U.S. must be labeled a carcinogen. In addition to the potential carcinogenic effect of fiberglass exposure, fiberglass exposure has been linked to other health problems as well. For example, fiberglass exposure through heating and cooling ducts has been linked to respiratory disease and skin ailments.

After it was learned that asbestos was a carcinogen, many manufacturers began substituting fiberglass for asbestos in buildings. Lawsuits alleging damages as a result of fiberglass exposure are, not surprisingly, pled similarly to those alleging injuries due to asbestos exposure. The cases allege that the fiberglass manufacturer either knew or should have known of the dangers associated with the product and failed to adequately warn of the dangers. As the asbestos litigation has caused severe financial difficulties for asbestos manufacturers, it is speculated that fiberglass litigation may have the same effect on fiberglass manufacturers.

[Flack]

Too bad they can't sue now, due to statutes of limitation.

Statutes of limitation generally require the criminal to remain in the state, gainfully employed and visible, seeming to necessitate that the criminal remain "catchable." If the authorities fail to discover a criminal living in the open within a specified amount of time, society has determined that at that point the criminal should be able to live free from the possibility of prosecution. It appears that this notion is born out of a sense of mercy more than pragmatics: if the criminal is a fugitive, out of the state in which the crime was committed or otherwise living in hiding, this tolls, or suspends, the statute. (Once the criminal reenters the state the statute resumes running.) However, if the criminal were living an open, public, so-called "reformed" life, after a reasonable period of time he is allowed to be free from capture.

Not all crimes are governed by statutes of limitation. Murder, for example, has none. Sex offenses with minors, crimes of violence, kidnapping, arson, and forgery have no statutes of limitation in a number of states. In Arizona and California crimes involving public money or public records have no statutes of limitation. While in Colorado, treason has none.

"Hey! Can I sue France for being the world's tallest green woman?" -The Statute of Liberty

[pinback]

Not all crimes are governed by statutes of limitation. Murder, for example, has none.

Tell that to former FBI agent John J. Connolly, Jr., who had his murder conviction thrown out after a Florida appellate court ruled that the statute of limitations prevented him from being charged.

First-degree murder has no statute of limitations, but Connolly was only convicted of the lesser-included charge of second degree murder. Despite the state's attempt to classify the charge as a "life felony" because of the use of a firearm, an appellate court ruled that the second degree murder charge was properly a first-degree felony.

Since first-degree felonies in Florida are barred from prosecution after five years (and only four in 1982), Connolly's murder conviction was tossed out.

[Flack]

Sentences for second-degree felonies vary according to the case and the state in which the crime is committed. The presumptive, or typical, sentence for a second-degree felony is five years of prison, and the minimum sentence is four years of prison.

Many states have statutes that set forth presumptive sentences intended to assist judges in determining appropriate consequences for crimes. The maximum number of years of prison assigned for a second-degree felony is ten, unless the case involves what is known as "aggravating circumstances," which Cornell University Law School defines as factors that increase the gravity of a crime, such as lack of remorse, having a prior criminal record and heinousness of the act. Other aggravating circumstances include committing a crime in particularly cruel, destructive or vindictive manner. An aggravated sentence is one that entails aggravating circumstances. For a second-degree felony, an aggravated sentence can be up to 12.5 years of prison.

[AArdvark]

Wait, wait. You mean Cinderella died of lung cancer? Balls! When the hell were they gonna tell us!

I thought a presenter had to present in order to present a present at Christmas. Who knew?


THE
PRESENTMENT
AARDVARK

[Jizaboz]

Stay on topic, Aardvark. Jeez.

[Tdarcos]

Statutes of limitation

(Which also apply to civil cases)

generally require the criminal to remain in the state,

In order that the state has jurisdiction over the person.

gainfully employed and visible,

Nope, just present in the state. Read the statutes on statute of limitation cases, the only requirement is that they remain within the jurisdiction of the state. In Oklahoma, for example, (Okla. Statutes 22-152 ) the prosecution must take place (except for murder or treason, which have no limit) within 7, 5, or 3 years (depending on the crime) from the date of the offense. The time limit is tolled if the accused is out of the jurisdiction or not a resident of the state. If the accused can hide in the state - or simply is not noticed - for the period of time applicable until the time limit runs, they get off scot free and cannot be charged.

It appears that this notion is born out of a sense of mercy more than pragmatics:

Nope, the reason for statutes of limitations is to keep old and stale cases from clogging up the courts. Witnesses die or forget, evidence gets lost or decays (any of which may have meant the defendant potentially loses possible evidence that could lead to an acquittal, or possibly to mitigation, which might mean the accused gets convicted of a less serious crime) and for other than the absolute worst crimes - usually murder and treason - the concept of "diminishing returns" comes into play.

if the criminal is a fugitive, out of the state in which the crime was committed or otherwise living in hiding, this tolls, or suspends, the statute.

Nope, only nonresidence. Hiding within the state does not toll the statute.

Now in some states they've gotten around this by filing charges against an unidentified "John Doe" defendant, which then means the person, if found, can be added to the case as the actual defendant. As long as the state keeps doing something about the case it remains on the docket, presumably if the person is caught then they can try them.

Not all crimes are governed by statutes of limitation. Murder, for example, has none. Sex offenses with minors, crimes of violence, kidnapping, arson, and forgery have no statutes of limitation in a number of states.

Some states had the death penalty for child rape. In Coker v. Georgia the U.S. Supreme Court nixed that idea, saying you can't impose death for a crime where the victim is still alive.

In Arizona and California crimes involving public money or public records have no statutes of limitation. While in Colorado, treason has none.

Treason and murder have no time limit in all 50 states and at the Federal level.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has no statute of limitations for any felony.

[Flack]

Statutes of limitation

(Which also apply to civil cases)

generally require the criminal to remain in the state,

In order that the state has jurisdiction over the person.

gainfully employed and visible,

Nope, just present in the state. Read the statutes on statute of limitation cases, the only requirement is that they remain within the jurisdiction of the state. In Oklahoma, for example, (Okla. Statutes 22-152 ) the prosecution must take place (except for murder or treason, which have no limit) within 7, 5, or 3 years (depending on the crime) from the date of the offense. The time limit is tolled if the accused is out of the jurisdiction or not a resident of the state. If the accused can hide in the state - or simply is not noticed - for the period of time applicable until the time limit runs, they get off scot free and cannot be charged.

It appears that this notion is born out of a sense of mercy more than pragmatics:

Nope, the reason for statutes of limitations is to keep old and stale cases from clogging up the courts. Witnesses die or forget, evidence gets lost or decays (any of which may have meant the defendant potentially loses possible evidence that could lead to an acquittal, or possibly to mitigation, which might mean the accused gets convicted of a less serious crime) and for other than the absolute worst crimes - usually murder and treason - the concept of "diminishing returns" comes into play.

if the criminal is a fugitive, out of the state in which the crime was committed or otherwise living in hiding, this tolls, or suspends, the statute.

Nope, only nonresidence. Hiding within the state does not toll the statute.

Now in some states they've gotten around this by filing charges against an unidentified "John Doe" defendant, which then means the person, if found, can be added to the case as the actual defendant. As long as the state keeps doing something about the case it remains on the docket, presumably if the person is caught then they can try them.

Not all crimes are governed by statutes of limitation. Murder, for example, has none. Sex offenses with minors, crimes of violence, kidnapping, arson, and forgery have no statutes of limitation in a number of states.

Some states had the death penalty for child rape. In Coker v. Georgia the U.S. Supreme Court nixed that idea, saying you can't impose death for a crime where the victim is still alive.

In Arizona and California crimes involving public money or public records have no statutes of limitation. While in Colorado, treason has none.

Treason and murder have no time limit in all 50 states and at the Federal level.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has no statute of limitations for any felony.

[pinback]

[loafergirl]

And that concludes the Jolt Country criminal law 101 course.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I really feel I could get someone convicted now.

[Flack]

This is both the funniest and the saddest thread on JC to date.