Can you give me an example of anything "Lawful" but "Illegal" and/or "Legal" but "Unlawful."?

Question

Fedup: How about the KCSMARTPORT initiative and the agreement signed between them and Lazaro Cardenas Meixco. We do know in fact that it was unconstitutional(i.e. Unlawful) however it was perfectly legal because Kansas city MO. is "legally"incorporated." That is just one example. Now look at the FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE. "LEGAL TENDER" but also unlawful in accordance with the constitiution. Then you have the matter of gold being "illegal" but not unlawful in accordance with the constitution. Hope that makes a little sense.

Is CALIFORNIA legally incorporated?;)

Answer 1

Hemp. Don't know if that is what you are looking for, but it was the first thing that came to me.

Answer 2

It's merely a question of syntax -- the words are synonymous. The only possible exception is if someone commits an act that is generally understood to be "unlawful" (eg that pedophile in the news who kept an internet blog of good places to watch children) but there are no laws that explicitly make it "illegal." In that case, the principles that are understood to underline the law are violated, not any actual law. However, he could not be prosecuted for violating principles that were not actual laws, unless an appeals court decides to infer his actions to be unconstitutional. The same thing would also happen every time a court, particularly the Supreme Court, sets a new precedent that upholds a guilty plea -- when the appealee committed the action, it may not have been explicitly "illegal," (usually because there a degree of ambiguity in the law), but the court later find that his actions were, in fact, "unlawful," thus setting the precedent that that act will henceforce be illegal.

To summarize, the words mean the same thing in almost every way. If you want to enter the realm of abstract legal theory, there is a possibility for difference based on your definition of "lawful;" however, for any purpose I can imagine you are pursuing, they are interchangeable.

Answer 3

Marijuana in California. It's legal under california law with prescription, but the Feredal Goverment has declared it's use unlawful despite the California Law.