engineering

Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia

Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia rather than just read about it. In short: Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia, 710 F.2d 1542 (11th Cir. 1983), is a United States federal court case in which the court found that the exhibition of a talking cat was an occupation for the purposes of municipal licensing law.

Key takeaways

Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia, 710 F.2d 1542 (11th Cir. 1983), is a United States federal court case in which the court found that the exhibition of a talking cat was an occupation for the purposes of municipal licensing law. In May 1981, Carl and Elaine Miles, an otherwise unemployed couple, began exhibiting Blackie the Talking Cat on the streets of Augusta, Georgia. Blackie would meow "I love you" or "I want my Mama" to passers-by, who would give small change to the Mileses. About a month later, police warned the couple that they risked jail time if they did not obtain a $50 business license. The Mileses purchased the license but sued the city in federal court on grounds that the city's licensing law was vague and too broad and violated their right to free speech and association; specifically, the plaintiffs complained that neither the city charter, which allowed the city council to require a license for any "occupation, trade or business," nor the license ordinance mentioned talking animals. The Mileses lost the first round of the case in district court in 1982. In his decision, the judge said:

In their brief, plaintiffs cite several definitions of the terms "occupation" and "business." The general import of these definitions is that one is engaged in an occupation or business when that work or activity occupies one's time or attention on a regular basis for profit or support. See United States v. King, 532 F.2d 505, 510 (5th Cir.1976); Southern Guaranty Insurance Company v. Duncan, 131 Ga.App. 761, 764, 206 S.E.2d 672 (1974). Inasmuch as the ordinance does not define "occupation" or "business", the common definition cited above applies. ... Plaintiffs' activity, regardless of its peculiarity, falls within this definition. The following year, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the lower-court decision, adding the following in a footnote:

This Court will not hear a claim that Blackie's right to free speech has been infringed. First, although Blackie arguably possesses a very unusual ability, he cannot be considered a "person" and is therefore not protected by the Bill of Rights. Second, even if Blackie had such a right, we see no need for appellants to assert his right jus tertii. Blackie can clearly speak for himself. West Publishing featured the case in its 1996 book Blackie the Talking Cat and Other Favorite Judicial Opinions.

See also List of individual cats Talking animal

References

Further reading Blackie the Talking Cat: and Other Favorite Judicial Opinions. West Publishing Company. 1996. p. 448. ISBN 9780314202994.

Illustrations

Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia

In research: Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1983 in Georgia (U.S. state), 1983 in United States case law, Cats in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia in simple terms?

Why does Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia.