![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Legal Evaluation
Dec. 13th, 2010 10:24 pmI have a very complex and complicated question for folks who know more about the law in the US than I do.
In my Masks series of online stories ( http://www.dcr.net/~stickmak/Transformation/ links about halfway down the page) I have established that costumed heroes or adventurers have certain legal protections. In these stories the Masks are not (with rare exceptions) law enforcement; they are more like volunteer emergency workers. Their self-appointed task is not to bring criminals to justice, but to stop crimes and help with other emergencies. There is a long history of such activities (one character is descended from Le Rapier Rouge, inspired by the Scarlet Pimpernel) long enough that the legal system has taken at least some official notice.
In general, the costumed identity is like a writer's or actor's nom de plume (or an online nickname) only moreso. Most who have them are more interested in having some privacy from the press or fans than in protecting their loved ones or hiding from the government. There are some showboaters, but most actual heroes (as opposed to superhuman celebrities) are primarily people who feel a civic duty and have the ability to fulfill it.
I made the assumption that in the US the right of privacy means that disguised adventurers may not be legally asked to identify themselves except by a law enforcement officer who has witnessed them committing what appears to be an illegal act, or by an officer of a court on official business. What happens if they decline varies by jurisdiction, but usually results in arrest in the costumed ID. Some states allow known costumed heroes to have a legal means of identification - such as a driver's license or weapon permit - in their public ID, in part to help avoid such confrontations.
There is a federal law (and some state and local laws) prohibiting the involuntary public revelation of a known costumed hero's private ID until after they have been convicted of a felony. (How many times have superheroes been framed?) If a costumed hero is arrested, they may not be unmasked or forced to have their fingerprints taken until after the conviction. (There are exceptions for such circumstances as strong evidence that the arrested person is not actually the public figure.)
I'd like opinions of folks versed in US law on this setup. Yes, costumed heroes have been around long enough that the background is somewhat different, but I'd like to keep as close to existing law as I can.
In my Masks series of online stories ( http://www.dcr.net/~stickmak/Transformation/ links about halfway down the page) I have established that costumed heroes or adventurers have certain legal protections. In these stories the Masks are not (with rare exceptions) law enforcement; they are more like volunteer emergency workers. Their self-appointed task is not to bring criminals to justice, but to stop crimes and help with other emergencies. There is a long history of such activities (one character is descended from Le Rapier Rouge, inspired by the Scarlet Pimpernel) long enough that the legal system has taken at least some official notice.
In general, the costumed identity is like a writer's or actor's nom de plume (or an online nickname) only moreso. Most who have them are more interested in having some privacy from the press or fans than in protecting their loved ones or hiding from the government. There are some showboaters, but most actual heroes (as opposed to superhuman celebrities) are primarily people who feel a civic duty and have the ability to fulfill it.
I made the assumption that in the US the right of privacy means that disguised adventurers may not be legally asked to identify themselves except by a law enforcement officer who has witnessed them committing what appears to be an illegal act, or by an officer of a court on official business. What happens if they decline varies by jurisdiction, but usually results in arrest in the costumed ID. Some states allow known costumed heroes to have a legal means of identification - such as a driver's license or weapon permit - in their public ID, in part to help avoid such confrontations.
There is a federal law (and some state and local laws) prohibiting the involuntary public revelation of a known costumed hero's private ID until after they have been convicted of a felony. (How many times have superheroes been framed?) If a costumed hero is arrested, they may not be unmasked or forced to have their fingerprints taken until after the conviction. (There are exceptions for such circumstances as strong evidence that the arrested person is not actually the public figure.)
I'd like opinions of folks versed in US law on this setup. Yes, costumed heroes have been around long enough that the background is somewhat different, but I'd like to keep as close to existing law as I can.
