License to Steal

Ignorance of the law can so be a valid excuse—and the result is this hilarious but legal....
By LOUIS NEWMAN
Illustrated by WOOD
The history of man becomes fearfully and wonderfully confusing with the advent of interstellar travel. Of special interest to the legally inclined student is the famous Skrrgck Affair, which began before the Galactic Tribunal with the case of Citizens vs. Skrrgck .
The case, and the opinion of the Court, may be summarized as follows:
Skrrgck, a native of Sknnbt (Altair IV), where theft is honorable, sanctioned by law and custom, immigrated to Earth (Sol III) where theft is contrary to both law and custom.
While residing in Chicago, a city in a political subdivision known as the State of Illinois, part of the United States of America, one of the ancient nation-states of Earth, he overheard his landlady use the phrase A license to steal, a common colloquialism in the area, which refers to any special privilege.
Fig. 1: Actual scene of license issue (Skrrgck superimposed)
Skrrgck then went to a police station in Chicago and requested a license to steal. The desk sergeant, as a joke, wrote out a document purporting to be a license to steal, and Skrrgck, relying on said document, committed theft, was apprehended, tried and convicted. On direct appeal allowed to the Galactic Tribunal, the Court held:
(1) All persons are required to know and obey the law of the jurisdiction in which they reside.
(2) Public officials must refrain from misrepresenting to strangers the law of the jurisdiction.
(3) Where, as here, a public official is guilty of such misrepresentation, the requirement of knowledge no longer applies.