Ways You Could Be Breaking the Law

We all want to avoid getting in trouble with the law at all costs, but what are the most common ways people break the law, intentionally and unintentionally? Frequently, people violate the law unintentionally, or they might think that what they’re doing isn’t ‘that serious’ until things start moving south.

Here are some of the most common ways people break the law:

First, let’s start with the common ways you might unintentionally do that.

1. Not having a license for your pet. This one is against the law because failing to get your pet a license means you can dump them anywhere or even euthanize them if you decide not to keep them. To avoid this issue, having a pet without a license is illegal. If found without a license, you will face a fine, and if someone stole your dog, they might not face any consequences. Hence, you should get a license right away.

2. Getting rid of mail that doesn’t belong to you. If you’ve recently moved into a new place and still get mail directed to the previous tenants, it’s illegal to throw them out even if they’re junk. The right thing to do is to write on them ‘return to sender’ or that the received isn’t at this address. This way, the post office will handle the case.

3. Doing prank calls. Some people prank-call strangers for fun without thinking of the consequences they might face, and they aren’t aware that prank-calling could be illegal in their area. Prank calls are in the same category as harassment calls and could cause the caller to face serious consequences.

4. Not updating your driving license. If you have moved to a new state or country, you are legally required to update your driving license, even if you don’t have a car there. The time given to update the license varies from one state law to another, and even some states allow students to keep their license. Either way, checking your license validity when moving to a new state is better.

5. You are stealing WiFi. We have all tried to connect to other WiFi networks when we don’t have an internet connection, but is it a hundred percent legal? No. In some states, it’s illegal to do so and is called ‘piggybacking.’ Even if you’ve asked the WiFi owner, you might risk breaking the law and facing the consequences from the internet service providers.

Now that you know some ways you might be breaking the law without knowing, other ways might seem that they’re not that much of a deal but are a violation of the law and are taken advantage of. Here are some of them:

1. Throwing garbage in the streets. This one is the most common in the U.S., especially regarding cigarette butts – they’re thrown everywhere on the roads. Although we have all littered at least once in our lives, it’s highly recommended that you don’t risk it anymore because the consequences can be fines and even jail.

2. Giving or selling medicine prescribed to you. Any prescribed medicine shouldn’t be shared or sold to others under any circumstance, even if it’s just one pill, because it’s still considered a felony. In addition to it being against the law, using medication that’s not prescribed to you can cause adverse effects, which might lead to severe consequences.

3. Pedestrians violating traffic laws. Pedestrians failing to abide by the traffic rules by not using crosswalks to randomly cross the streets is illegal. The consequences depend on where you live, and even if you don’t get caught, not abiding by traffic laws is unsafe for pedestrians.

4. Copyrights. This one is very common in the digital world since people don’t understand that they can’t use any content on the internet without the owner’s permission because copyrights protect them. Before you copy or use any content, read the copyrights to avoid breaking the law by copyright infringement.

These are some of the most common ways people break the law, whether intentionally or unintentionally. If under any circumstance, you have broken the law and are facing legal consequences, hire a criminal defense lawyer to defend your case or at least negotiate the consequences.

Having a criminal defense lawyer represent you puts you in a better position and helps you understand the charges to determine the best possible course of action to build a case.