Our two-part test: The conduct must be permitted under some identifiable U.S. legal framework in at least one factual or jurisdictional setting, and its consequences must plausibly strike ordinary readers as exploitative, unfair, or objectionable.
What qualifies
Rules of taxation, property, commerce, employment, government authority, privacy and other fields can permit actions that produce substantial social costs. Each file summarizes the act, the relevant law, and the legal limits. A general source is a starting point, not a guarantee of the exact outcome.
What does not qualify
Fraud, bribery, theft, wage theft, unlawful discrimination and other crimes do not become “technically legal” because enforcement is weak. A loophole that requires lying is not lawful conduct. We avoid advice about exploiting loopholes.
Three readings of every case
- Ordinary language: describe the behavior without the courtroom euphemism.
- Legal language: describe the rule, source, and why a defined form of the behavior can be lawful.
- Boundary: explain factors that could make similar conduct illegal.
The jurisdiction problem
The United States contains overlapping federal, state, local and administrative legal regimes. Something permissible in one place may be restricted elsewhere. Even a Supreme Court decision often sets a federal constitutional minimum and leaves states free to adopt broader protections.
Editorial provenance
This hybrid edition combines the live site’s nine-docket editorial model and topic coverage with a separate expanded archive and newly written summaries. Source citations include statutes, court cases and public regulatory guidance; some are broad background references and are not substitutes for attorney verification. Case details are not transcriptions of the earlier live case pages.