History Main / MyRuleFuIsStrongerThanYours

* As with all tropes legal, AncientRome gives an example. In the days of UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic, the consuls were ''ex officio'' ''augurs'' (diviners who read the future from the activities of birds) and had the religious authority to set the dates of holidays (supposedly in accordance with the will of the gods). Thus when in 59 BCE the conservative consul Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus took issue with his populist co-consul's reform agenda, he tried to use his authority as an augur and quasi-priest to gum up the works (e.g. by declaring the day the co-consul had scheduled for a vote on this or that aspect of his plan a holiday, which would push the vote back several weeks under Roman law).[[note]]Note that Bibulus wasn't trying to do this just to delay the inevitable. The consular custom of "holding fasces"--that the consuls would take turns each month to take the lead on policy--meant that it mattered which month a measure was put to a vote, as the consul who "held fasces" that month would get to set the terms and appoint the management of the vote. Also, then as now, public opinion could be fickle--what might've passed easily in January might be a close question in February and political poison by April.[[/note]] The problem with this plan was that the populist co-consul in question was none other than UsefulNotes/GaiusJuliusCaesar, who in addition to being consul that year separately held the lifetime office of ''Pontifex Meximus'', i.e. the ''de facto'' HighPriest of Rome. For all his political, social, and sexual shenanigans, Caesar had sterling religious credentials, as his family had reared him from childhood with the expectation that he might enter the priesthood, and by all accounts he was [[ReligiousBruiser genuinely and deeply devoted to the gods]]. Thus whenever Bibulus proclaimed a holiday or claimed a bad omen from the birds, Caesar overruled him on the grounds that it was his job to know these things, he understood the gods better, and Bibulus didn't know what he was talking about. This was generally accepted because of Caesar's aforementioned sterling religious credentials. After a few rounds of this going nowhere, Bibulus decided it wasn't worth the trouble and basically retreated to his house for the rest of his term.

* As with all tropes legal, AncientRome gives an example. In the days of UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic, the consuls were ''ex officio'' ''augurs'' (diviners who read the future from the activities of birds) and had the religious authority to set the dates of holidays (supposedly in accordance with the will of the gods). Thus when in 59 BCE the conservative consul Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus took issue with his populist co-consul's reform agenda, he tried to use his authority as an augur and quasi-priest to gum up the works (e.g. by declaring the day the co-consul had scheduled for a vote on this or that aspect of his plan a holiday, which would push the vote back several weeks under Roman law). The problem with this plan was that the populist co-consul in question was none other than UsefulNotes/GaiusJuliusCaesar, who in addition to being consul that year separately held the lifetime office of ''Pontifex Meximus'', i.e. the ''de facto'' HighPriest of Rome. For all his political, social, and sexual shenanigans, Caesar had sterling religious credentials, as his family had reared him from childhood with the expectation that he might enter the priesthood, and by all accounts he was [[ReligiousBruiser genuinely and deeply devoted to the gods]]. Thus whenever Bibulus proclaimed a holiday or claimed a bad omen from the birds, Caesar overruled him on the grounds that it was his job to know these things, he understood the gods better, and Bibulus didn't know what he was talking about. This was generally accepted because of Caesar's aforementioned sterling religious credentials. After a few rounds of this going nowhere, Bibulus decided it wasn't worth the trouble and basically retreated to his house for the rest of his term.

# The people who enforce the rules [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem don't necessarily follow them]]. They may imagine themselves to be a higher class or more noble or pious or whatever, but in the end it's all because of the badge they wear or the title they hold: they're just as fallible as anyone else, and if these people insist that there's not a single rule they've ever broken, they can be sent screaming into a VillainousBSOD if someone finds that one obscure rule they ''did'' break, or points out a rule that they would ''never'' want to follow. (The more sociopathic might instead be compelled to dispose of whoever pointed out this fact, all to maintain their perfect record. Never mind that there are rules against ''murder'' in every culture on the face of the globe.) Again, this can have a dark side, as a paragon figure can be transformed into a BrokenPedestal if someone brings to light some transgression in his or her past.

* As with all tropes legal, AncientRome gives an example. In the days of UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic, the consuls were ''ex officio'' ''augurs'' (diviners who read the future from the activities of birds) and had the religious authority to set the dates of holidays (supposedly in accordance with the will of the gods). Thus when in 59 BCE the conservative consul Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus took issue with his populist co-consul's reform agenda, he tried to use his authority as an augur and quasi-priest to gum up the works (e.g. by declaring the day the co-consul had scheduled for a vote on this or that aspect of his plan a holiday, which would push the vote back several weeks under Roman law). The problem with this plan was that the populist co-consul in question was none other than UsefulNotes/GaiusJuliusCaesar, who in addition to being consul that year separately held the lifetime office of ''Pontifex Meximus'', i.e. the ''de facto'' HighPriest of Rome. For all his political, social, and sexual shenanigans, Caesar had sterling religious credentials, as his family had reared him from childhood with the expectation that he might enter the priesthood, and by all accounts he was genuinely and deeply devoted to the gods. Thus whenever Bibulus proclaimed a holiday or claimed a bad omen from the birds, Caesar overruled him on the grounds that it was his job to know these things, he understood the gods better, and Bibulus didn't know what he was talking about. This was generally accepted because of Caesar's aforementioned sterling religious credentials. After a few rounds of this going nowhere, Bibulus decided it wasn't worth the trouble and basically retreated to his house for the rest of his term.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "Paradise Towers", the Doctor escapes the rules-obsessed Caretakers by citing various "rules" that he has just made-up. None of the Caretakers are willing to admit that they are so unfamiliar with the rulebook that they don't recognise these "rules".

* Happens frequently in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', occasionally between players but more commonly between the player(s) and the DM. As an example, early versions of the rules for truth-divining spells (I.E. spells that would tell if player was lying or not) [[FromACertainPointOfView did not account for half-truths]], [[ExactWords creative wording]], or lies that [[IBelieveThatYouBelieveIt the teller believed were true]]. Thus they could be circumvented by inventive players, like mages hypnotizing their willing partymates to forget incriminating details of their activities, or smooth talkers finding ways to omit details from their responses or answer in a way that's "technically" truthful ("Me? No, I didn't kill the prince, that lion that mysteriously got released into his bedroom did.")

* As with all tropes legal, AncientRome gives an example. In the days of UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic, the consuls were ''ex officio'' ''augurs'' (diviners who read the future from the activities of birds) and had the religious authority to set the dates of holidays (supposedly in accordance with the will of the gods). Thus when in 59 BCE the conservative consul Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus took issue with his populist co-consul's reform agenda, he tried to use his authority as an augur and quasi-priest to gum up the works. The problem with this plan was that the populist co-consul in question was none other than UsefulNotes/GaiusJuliusCaesar, who in addition to being consul that year separately held the lifetime office of ''Pontifex Meximus'', i.e. the ''de facto'' HighPriest of Rome. For all his political, social, and sexual shenanigans, Caesar had sterling religious credentials, as his family had reared him from childhood with the expectation that he might enter the priesthood, and by all accounts he was genuinely and deeply devoted to the gods. Thus whenever Bibulus proclaimed a holiday or claimed a bad omen from the birds, Caesar overruled him on the grounds that it was his job to know these things, he understood the gods better, and Bibulus didn't know what he was talking about. This was generally accepted because of Caesar's aforementioned sterling religious credentials. After a few rounds of this going nowhere, Bibulus decided it wasn't worth the trouble and basically retreated to his house for the rest of his term.

!Examples of 1:

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* In ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/10731591/chapters/23783283 Echoes of the Past]]'', a principal threatens to expel a 9-year old Laurel for punching a bully, citing she signed a contract "not to harm" another student. She replies that contracts signed by minors aren't legally binding; and if they ''were'' he'd have to expel the bullies too, since while their bullying might not have physical, it was still harmful. The principal backs down.
* In ''FanFic/BrokenBow, ''before going to [[spoiler: travel through time,]] Athena makes the lead characters swear not to get involved or do anything. As it turns out, they [[spoiler: kind of accidentally murdered Julius Caesar]], amongst other things. ItMakesSenseInContext. When she gets angry, [[spoiler: Hippolytas]] points out that the actions occurred ''before'' they made the vow, in linear time, and as such it's not binding. She concedes.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Bob Parr (a.k.a. Mr. Incredible) works for an insurance company whose boss orders them to screw over the customers however possible; Bob gets around this by using CouldSayItBut to give the policy holders the information they need.

* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'', Barbossa opposes Jack's motion to the Brethren Court (to fight the EITC's armada) by quoting the code, calling his motion "an act of war", something which can only be declared by the Pirate King, an elected official. But since each Lord of the current Court only votes for himself, it's unlikely there will ever ''be'' a Pirate King again. Barbossa even calls on [[LawfulNeutral Teague]], Keeper of the Code, to make sure this rule is enforced. Jack then calls for a vote, and when everyone else votes for themselves, Jack votes for the one Lord who supports his motion: Elisabeth. Jack gets his way and, since he followed the rules, no one can even complain. ''Kapow!'' Additionally, there's nothing in the rule that says the King has to be a man. Then again, Elizabeth is not the only female Pirate Lord present.

* Part of the plot of the kangaroo military court in ''Film/HartsWar''.

** Later on in the same book, Tavi's close friend Ehren writes up documentation which [[spoiler:not only legitimizes Tavi's claim as heir apparent, but also gives him the authority to be released under his own watch if he was acting in such a way to benefit the country,]] to stop Arnos from stating Tavi's actions were illegal and the charges Tavi levies against him should be dismissed. Arnos' lawyer affirms the documents are properly signed and correct.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

** A really awesome instance was Delenn demanding that the whole Minbari Civil War (which the warrior caste had theoretically won) be hazarded in a SelfImmolation contest because [[GoodOldWays "It is the tradition of our people."]] which is what the warrior caste was arguing to return to as a pretext for starting the war.

-->'''Joe''': As far as the RV goes, seems to me it's locked, which means you're trying to break and enter, so I say again, you got a warrant?
-->'''Hank Schrader''': Well, I don't need one if I've got probable cause, counselor.
-->'''Joe''': Probable cause usually relates to vehicles, is my understanding, you know, traffic stops and whatnot.
-->'''Hank''': See those round, rubber things? Wheels. This is a vehicle.
-->'''Joe''': This is a domicile, a residence, and thus protected by the Fourth Amendment from unlawful search and seizure.
-->'''Hank''': Look buddy, why don't you just go out and--
-->'''Joe''': Did you see this drive in here? How do you know it runs? Did you actually witness any wrongdoing? It seems to me you're just out here fishing. Don't see that holding up in a court of law.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "Paradise Towers", the Doctor escapes the rules-obsessed Caretakers by citing various 'rules' that he has just made-up. None of the Caretakers are willing to admit that they are so unfamiliar with the rulebook that they don't recognise these 'rules'.
* Just about every villain on ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' can't be caught by the authorities because they haven't technically broken the law - that's where Nate and his team come in.
* The fifth season of ''Series/NewsRadio'' features a three-episode arc where AffablyEvil Johnny Johnson successfully takes over Jimmy James' corporate empire. As a consolation prize, Johnny lets Jimmy take one WNYX employee with him as he tries to rebuild his empire. At the end of the day, Jimmy chooses... [[spoiler: Johnny, who had named himself Dave's replacement as WNYX news director earlier in the day. Johnny immediately recognizes the brilliance of Jimmy's move and concedes defeat.]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Dave''': But you're ''evil!'']]
-->[[spoiler: '''Johnny''': That's no excuse for poor sportsmanship.]]

-->'''Riker''': You ''enjoyed'' that.
-->'''Picard''': You're ''damn right''.

* In ''Series/Daredevil2015'', Grotto, a Nelson & Murdock client, is being targeted by The Punisher. When Nelson and Murdock (after much convincing) get him to agree to come forward to the police, the District Attorney Samantha Reyes intentionally uses him as bait to lure The Punisher out of hiding, leading to his death. After Frank Castle is caught, Matt, Foggy and Karen visit him at the hospital with the intent of possibly representing him. Reyes attempts to send them packing by stating it's illegal for lawyers to defend a murderer that killed one of their clients, only for Matt to counter that if she's going to file the conflict of interest, Reyes will have to admit that she's responsible for jeopardizing Grotto's witness protection.

[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
* Jesus versus the Pharisees in ''Literature/TheBible'', calling them out for violating other rules when they over-analyze laws (not helping people in need on the Sabbath going against why it exists in the first place). He also does it with Satan in the desert (If you walk off a cliff God will send angels to save you vs. You shouldn't tempt/test God).
-->'''Pharisees:''' Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not? [[note]][[MortonsFork If Jesus had answered no to this question, then the romans would've crucified him for preaching sedition ahead of schedule, wheras answering yes would result in the Jewish rebels killing him.]][[/note]]\\
'''Jesus:''' Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to inspect. ''(takes the coin)'' Whose likeness is this? And whose inscription?\\
'''Pharisees:''' Caesar’s!\\

* In one Jewish tale, a bunch of rabbis are contradicted by God about the correct way to perform a certain ritual; He appears and His voice comes booming out of the sky telling them they're wrong. The rabbis confer with each other for a moment, and then turn back to God and tell Him that the decision falls under rabbinical jurisdiction and that according to the rules, it's their ruling that counts, not His. God concedes the point and [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu backs down]]. ([[PoesLaw And no,]] this is not intended to be a joke about how JewsLoveToArgue.)
** To give a bit more detail (and accuracy), the debate was between two rabbis: Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Eliezer lost the initial vote and asked God to prove him correct. First he asked that the river flow backward, that a tree be suddenly uprooted, then that the walls of the synagogue collapse in, and, finally, that God himself speak. God’s voice is heard saying, ‘This and all laws are in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer.’ Rabbi Yehoshua immediately responds with, ‘The Torah is not in Heaven!’ with the law on Earth being that majority rules, and God, naturally, is One. (Note that God had made this law. A previous debate between rival schools had been decided when God stated that the majority is determined by NUMBER, not smarts.) God’s response? To laugh, while proudly proclaiming, ‘my children have defeated me, my children have defeated me!’ This story is actually very telling of the time, which occurred immediately after the Holy Temple’s destruction. Prior to this, Halachik debate could be settled by asking the Urim v’Tumim (i.e. asking God). From that point until today, halachik matters have been determined by rabbinical council.
* ''Myth/NorseMythology'': Loki once bet his head to the dwarf Eitri that Eitri couldn't make treasures greater than the ones a different dwarf had made for Loki. Even after sabotaging Eitri and his brother Brokk's work, Loki was unable to prevent him from making the treasures (including Thor's hammer Mjolnir), which the Aesir agreed were better than the previous ones. When Eitri came to collect his due, Loki escaped beheading[[note]]Under Norse tradition, "betting your head" normally means wagering a sum equal to the wergild for beheading you, which could be interpreted as ransoming your head back. Unfortunately for Loki, Eitri decided that he had enough gold and wanted Loki's actual head[[/note]] by pointing out that nothing in the deal mentioned anything about his neck, and Eitri couldn't take his head without cutting his neck. Eitri TookAThirdOption and [[MouthStitchedShut sewed Loki's mouth shut]].

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

* ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'':
** The gaming community of Muncie is made of this trope, but especially [[RulesLawyer Brian Vanhoose]] who never met a rule he couldn't exploit. For example, a frustrated [[GameMaster B.A.]] invoked [[GrapplingWithGrapplingRules obscure "overbearing" rules]] in his game (a target is automatically overbeared by an angry mob, consisting of at least ten people) over Brian's objections and delivered a HumiliationConga to his group. Brian responded by having each party member hire 10 beggars to act as a mob and started mercilessly overbearing monsters.

* In ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'', this is what is used against Shylock, the Jew moneylender who demands his pound of flesh from Antonio. Shylock pleads his case in court, and the court finds that indeed, the contract he made with Antonio is binding. This gives Shylock every legal right to extract a pound of flesh from him. However, Antonio is saved because it is ruled that Shylock cannot collect his pound of flesh without making a number of violations against Antonio's body. He asked for a pound of flesh, which means he can't take any more or less than an exact pound without violating his contract. The contract also did not include taking Antonio's blood which Shylock is therefore not entitled to, but cannot avoid spilling by taking the flesh.[[note]]See also the Norse Mythology example above.[[/note]] These two points along with the fact that his contract never included not being held accountable for potentially killing Antonio means that the court can use this LoopholeAbuse to bring down the full force of the law upon Shylock. To [[KickTheDog rub salt into the wound]], he is forced to convert to Christianity by the man he tried to take vengeance on, and he cannot even take his own life to get out of it (note that by the standards of Shakespeare's time his forced conversion would be a just punishment and be considered salvation of the "villain"; ValuesDissonance makes it come off as extremely cruel and religiously-intolerant).

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In ''Webcomic/FreeFall'', Florence must obey direct orders from legitimate human authorities. It doesn't take her long to learn tricks. For example, [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01504.htm The mayor gave me a direct order to stay here, she never said I couldn't build a fusion test reactor on the premises.]] Later, she advises the mayor on rule-fu, pointing out that a temporary dictator could give uncancellable orders.

-->"Were ye really so dumb ta think fer one second tha [[spoiler:ye could beat Durkon — '''Durkon''', o' all tha folks in this great big beaut'ful world — in a fight tha revolved around '''followin' tha rules?!?'''"]]
* ''WebComic/GrrlPower'' has Hench Wench, a paralegal with the [[PowerCopying power to copy]] the powers of [[ComboPlatterPowers every supervillain she legally works for]]. After she goes mad with power and endangers her boss Brut, he tries to fire her mid-battle...only to find out he can't, even with the rest of the [=LLC=] on a conference call, because she cannot be fired without the "manager's" consent and ''she made herself the manager'' in the contract they signed. She's finally fired by Arianna, the good guys' lawyer, getting the contract suspended on ethical grounds (pending review by the New York Secretary of State), and scolding Brut and the rest of the [=LLC=] for not having an outside lawyer look it over before signing it for that matter.

* This is actually the TropeCodifier for European Civil Law. There are no case laws in civil code, but all laws follow judicial norm hierarchy; they codify some judicial norm and judicial goods into text. The norms follow strict hierarchy, e.g. human life is considered a stronger norm than safety of property. The lawyers' task is to interpret the existing written law and find the judicial norms behind the written chapters, and interpret which norms are higher on the norm hierarchy. This effectively prevents [[AmbulanceChaser ambulance chasing]] and [[FrivolousLawsuit frivolous lawsuits]], but can lead into really twisted law intrerpretations.
* [[http://www.snopes.com/college/admin/cakesale.asp Urban legend:]] A modern student at Oxford or Cambridge points to a four-hundred year-old rule stating that the university must provide "cakes and ale" to him as he takes his exam. The university complies (with the modern equivalent, a burger and a Pepsi), and then promptly fines him for not wearing his sword to the examination[[note]]Which is ''why'' this is an urban legend. The school no doubt had a 'no weapons' policy. If he wore a weapon, he would be fined. If he didn't wear a weapon, he would be fined. In other words, it was a Catch-22.[[/note]].
** [[TruthInTelevision The fact that a legal rule hasn't been invoked for centuries doesn't mean it has been repealed.]] Case in point: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashford_v_Thornton Ashford v. Thornton]]. In 1817, after Abraham Thornton was found not guilty of the rape and murder of Mary Ashford, Mary's brother William took the case back to court, where Thornton demanded a TrialByCombat. Since the laws for trial by combat had technically never been repealed, the jury granted the request. William Ashford, seeing the writing on the wall, decided not to go through with it, and Thornton walked free again. The laws concerning trial by combat were [[ObviousRulePatch quickly repealed]] after the case was over, though, so nobody could try a similar stunt.
*** In this particular case, William was taking advantage of an archaic rule himself. Thornton had already been tried and had been acquitted by a jury, normally a bar to further prosecution. William was taking advantage of a by-then nearly obsolete rule which allowed a private individual to bring a criminal case. Trial by combat wasn't generally available to criminal defendants, but it was still listed as a defense in this sort of private prosecution. Thornton's attorneys advised him to invoke the trial by combat rule to point out how irregular the second prosecution was in the first place (and of course to win, since Thornton totally outmatched William). Parliament got rid of the trial by combat following this whole debacle, [[ObviousRulePatch but they eliminated the private appeal as well.]]
** Another urban legend tells of a man who insured his cigars, and then claimed the insurance under the grounds that they were destroyed in a series of small fires (he smoked them). The insurance company paid...but then had him arrested for arson, since he deliberately set them on fire.

** This also why [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_of_illegal_income_in_the_United_States tax forms in the US have a box to report "other income"]][[note]]Line 21 on a 1040 return. "Other income" also encompasses legal sources of income that isn't covered by any of the previous lines, like jury duty pay[[/note]]. If you've profited through any crime and don't report it, the government only has to prove that you have unaccounted-for income, so they can book you on tax evasion (and possibly filling out a falsified form) if nothing else. The presence of this box prevents any criminal from claiming that their illegal profits were unreported because they didn't fit any of the categories present - because it does not ask what form this income took, it was upheld as not violating the Fifth Amendment, which prevents self-incrimination.
*** However, income tax in general is more of a case of "[[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem bringing a sawed-off shotgun to a Rule Fu fight]]": Fill it in and you've confessed to a crime (unless you write in "Fifth Amendment" or otherwise invoke it on that form in regards to the source - it's not the IRS's job to prosecute you for violations of criminal code not involving taxes[[note]]Legally, anyway - in practice those that do tend to get extra scrutiny by the FBI[[/note]]), [[MortonsFork don't and you're guilty of tax evasion (for failing to report the amount of income).]]
*** On the other hand, you ''can'' deduct the costs of anything related to your illegal income because you can treat it like a business expense, for instance the legal fees associated with your inevitable legal court battle with the government.

--->'''Student:''' But you, the tax franchise board, are saying that I am a resident of California. Refund me my out-of-state tuition. You can take the eight bucks out of that.
--->'''Tax Board:''' *beat* I think we might be able to overlook this.
* As with all tropes legal, AncientRome gives an example. In the days of UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic, the consuls were ''ex officio'' ''augurs'' (diviners who read the future from the activities of birds) and had the religious authority to set the dates of holidays (supposedly in accordance with the will of the gods). Thus when in 59 BCE the conservative consul Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus took issue with his populist co-consul's reform agenda, he tried to use his authority as an augur and quasi-priest to gum up the works. The problem with this plan was that the populist co-consul in question was none other than UsefulNotes/GaiusJuliusCaesar, who in addition to being consul that year separately held the lifetime office of ''Pontifex Meximus'', i.e. the ''de facto'' HighPriest of Rome. For all his political, social, and sexual shenanigans, Caesar had sterling religious credentials, as his family had raised him from childhood with the expectation that he might enter the priesthood, and by all accounts he was genuinely and deeply devoted to the gods. Thus whenever Bibulus proclaimed a holiday or claimed a bad omen from the birds, Caesar overruled him on the grounds that it was his job to know these things, he understood the gods better, and Bibulus didn't know what he was talking about. This was generally accepted because of Caesar's aforementioned sterling religious credentials. After a few rounds of this going nowhere, Bibulus decided it wasn't worth the trouble and basically retreated to his house for the rest of his term.

!Examples of 2:

* In ''Literature/LesMiserables'' during the arrest of Fantine, Jean Valjean, as Madeleine, must cite an obscure law giving him, as mayor, authority over the police, when Javert refuses to let Fantine go.

[[folder:Visual Novel]]

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' has Doug's ''entire class'' put into detention by [[DeanBitterman Vice-Principal Bone]]. This prompts a ''Quailman'' [[ShowWithinAShow fantasy sequence]] where Doug's superheroic alter ego faces down the Rulesmeister, master of arbitrary rules, and eventually defeats him by pointing out he's wearing mismatched socks, one of the many things he has a rule against. This carries over back into reality, when Mr. Bone snatches a comic book...and Doug points out that one of the rules is "No Snatching Other Peoples' Comics!"
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back", Hermes defeats ObstructiveBureaucrat Morgan Proctor by uncovering an old "notification of romantic entanglement" form she had filed. The file wasn't used as proof of sexual impropriety, however: it was the fact that she had stamped it ''four'' times instead of the requisite five that got her demoted. However Hermes also got demoted for organizing the Central Bureaucracy ''too'' fast, since "a good bureaucrat never finishes early" and he still had 5 seconds left on his time limit. [[spoiler: Morgan's offence was considered bigger than Hermes's. She, who was a Grade 19 bureaucrat before this defeat, was forced to turn her bureaucrat badge in while Hermes was just demoted from Grade 36 to Grade 38. He was even promoted to Grade 37 for turning Morgan in]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks'', the heroes get into a competition with the Rex Guardians, another Sky Knight squadron. In each game, the Storm Hawks do better than the Rex Guardians, but lose because the Hawks aren't following 'The Code', an ancient set of rules the Guardians follow rigorously. In Piper's contest, she wins by pointing out her opponent's uniform isn't ''exactly'' as it should be, and the judges are forced to concede.
-->'''Harrier:''' But...that was-!
-->'''Piper:''' A taste of your own medicine?

** Expect any statement that "X must be accepted and done because it's stated in the Bible" to be followed up by quotes of many, many other examples from the same source that pretty much no one follows, and to modern eyes would lie somewhere between "comedically ridiculous" and "will land you on death row for doing". Comically illustrated in this [[https://queerty-prodweb.s3.amazonaws.com/wp/docs/2015/05/1-onCEha4zx1dnu0crkEahcg.png flowchart]].

* ''Myth/NorseMythology'': Loki once bet his head to the dwarf Eitri that Eitri couldn't make treasures greater than the ones a different dwarf had made for Loki. Even after sabotaging Eitri and his brother Brokk's work, Loki was unable to prevent him from making the treasures (including Thor's hammer Mjolnir), which the Aesir agreed were better than the previous ones. When Eitri came to collect his due, Loki escaped beheading by pointing out that nothing in the deal mentioned anything about his neck, and Eitri couldn't take his head without cutting his neck. Eitri TookAThirdOption and [[MouthStitchedShut sewed Loki's mouth shut]].

* In ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' "Utterly Dwarfed" arc, Hel and her vampiric High Priest seek to usher TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt by manipulating a vote held by the Dwarven Clan Heads, using copious amounts of LoopholeAbuse to their advantage. The plan is ultimately foiled by Durkon who renders the entire vote invalid by exploiting a minor regulation -- namely, he breaks the table the meeting is held at, and the laws ''strictly'' state that the Clan Heads ''must'' meet around a single table, not two halves of one.
-->"Were ye really so dumb ta think fer one second tha ye could beat Durkon — '''Durkon''', o' all tha folks in this great big beaut'ful world — in a fight tha revolved around '''followin' tha rules?!?'''"

* Discussions on the merits of religion in general and Christianity in particular - which, as we all know, [[BlatantLies are always civil and polite]] - often involve a fair amount of [[Literature/TheBible biblical]] Rule Fu. Expect Bible quotes containing bizarre and/or ValuesDissonance-heavy rules to be tossed around liberally. More rarely, devout Christians arguing with ''other'' devout Christians may also play Rule Fu with the Bible.

* In ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'', this is what is used against Shylock, the Jew moneylender who demands his pound of flesh from Antonio. Shylock pleads his case in court, and the court finds that indeed, the contract he made with Antonio is binding. This gives Shylock every legal right to extract a pound of flesh from him. However, Antonio is saved because it is ruled that Shylock cannot collect his pound of flesh without making a number of violations against Antonio's body. He asked for a pound of flesh, which means he can't take any more or less than an exact pound without violating his contract. The contract also did not include taking Antonio's blood which Shylock is therefore not entitled to, but cannot avoid spilling by taking the flesh. These two points along with the fact that his contract never included not being held accountable for potentially killing Antonio means that the court can use this LoopholeAbuse to bring down the full force of the law upon Shylock. To rub salt into the wound, he is forced to convert to Christianity by the man he tried to take vengeance on, and he cannot even take his own life to get out of it (note that by the standards of Shakespeare's time his forced conversion would be a just punishment and be considered salvation of the "villain"; Values Dissonance makes it come off as extremely cruel and religiously-intolerant).

* From the Literature/{{Deryni}} works by Creator/KatherineKurtz:

* Subverted in ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'': Jackrum pretends to pull this by citing a non-existent rule; Blouse later catches Jackrum out when checking the rulebook. Then does nothing about it, and indeed compliments Jackrum on the exactitude of his citation.

** The situation proves that both Jackrum and Blouse are good and useful in their own ways. Jackrum because he defies the rules, and Blouse because he knows them.

* In [[TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings Rokugan]], etiquette is one of the most important things to follow, sometimes resulting in a character getting his or her head cut off before the end of the night, without appeal, for saying something wrong or using inappropriate body language. The easiest way to get out of such a conundrum is to set it up so that reporting you would make more trouble for the person trying to make the report (for example: Ninjas officially do not exist. Trick someone into [[FalseDichotomy accusing you of being a ninja or not accusing you at all]], and they have no choice but to shut up or be executed while you get punished for a minor crime or even get off scot free). Members of certain clans get special exemptions for limited etiquette breaches, but if they RulesLawyer too much, an NPC or fellow player is liable to say that they clearly know the rules and should be punished for their breaches accordingly.

* [[http://imgur.com/gallery/V0gND This story.]] ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' {{Loophole Abuse}}r deploys his entire army in reserve (which is currently illegal). His opponent's response? Deploy a line of scouts along the enemy's table edge, leaving no legal space for his army to enter. Judges rule that the second player has won the game.

** This also why [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_of_illegal_income_in_the_United_States tax forms in the US have a box to report "other income"]][[note]]Line 21 on a 1040 return. "Other income" also encompasses legal sources of income that isn't covered by any of the previous lines, like jury duty pay[[/note]]. If you've profited through any crime and don't report it, the government only has to prove that you have unaccounted-for income, so they can book you on tax evasion (and possibly filling out a falsified form) if nothing else. The presence of this box prevents any criminal from claiming that their illegal profits were unreported because they didn't fit any of the categories present.

* In one Jewish tale, a bunch of rabbis are contradicted by God about the correct way to perform a certain ritual; He appears and His voice comes booming out of the sky telling them they're wrong. The rabbis confer with each other for a moment, and then turn back to God and tell Him that the decision falls under rabbinical jurisdiction and that according to the rules, it's their ruling that counts, not His. God concedes the point and [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu backs down]].

-->'''Pharisees:''' Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?\\

'''Jesus:''' Give to Caesar what is due Caesar, and to God what due God.

* In ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' "Utterly Dwarfed" arc, Hel and her vampiric High Priest seek to usher TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt by manipulating a vote held by the Dwarven Clan Heads, using copious amounts of LoopholeAbuse to their advantage. The plan is ultimately foiled by Durkon who renders the entire vote invalid by exploiting a minor regulation- namely, he breaks the table the meeting is held at, and the laws ''strictly'' state that the Clan Heads ''must'' meet around a single table, not two halves of one.

* In ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' "Utterly Dwarfed" arc, Hel and her vampiric High Priest seek to usher TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt by manipulating a vote held by the Dwarven Clan Heads, using copious amounts of LoopholeAbuse to their advantage. The plan is ultimately foiled by Durkon who renders the entire vote invalid by exploiting an minor regulation- namely, he breaks the table the meeting is held at, and the laws ''strictly'' state that the Clan Heads ''must'' meet around a single table, not two halves of one.

* In one Jewish tale, a bunch of Rabbis are contradicted by God about the correct way to perform a certain ritual; He appears and His voice comes booming out of the sky telling them they're wrong. The Rabbis confer with each other for a moment, and then turn back to God and tell Him that the decision falls under Rabbinical jurisdiction and that according to the rules, it's their ruling that counts, not His. God concedes the point and [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu backs down]].
** To give a bit more detail (and accuracy), the debate was between two Rabbis: Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Eliezer lost the initial vote and asked God to prove him correct. First he asked that the river flow backward, that a tree be suddenly, uprooted, then that the walls of the synagogue collapse in, and, finally, that God himself speak. God’s voice is heard saying, ‘this and all laws are in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer.’ Rabbi Yehoshua immediately responds with, ‘the Torah is not in Heaven!’ with the law on Earth being that majority rules, and God, naturally, is One. (Note that God had made this law; a previous debate between rival schools had been decided when God stated that the majority is determined by NUMBER, not smarts.) God’s response? To laugh, while proudly proclaiming, ‘my children have defeated me; my children have defeated me!’ This story is actually very telling of the time, which occurred immediately after the Holy Temple’s destruction. Prior to this Halachik debate could be settled by asking the Urim v’Tumim (ie. asking God); from that point until today, halachik matters have been determined by Rabbinical council.

* [[http://www.snopes.com/college/admin/cakesale.asp Urban legend:]] A modern student at Oxford or Cambridge points to a four-hundred year-old rule stating that the university must provide "cakes and ale" to him as he takes his exam. The university complies (with the modern equivalent, a burger and a Pepsi), and then promptly fines him for not wearing his sword to the examination.

** Another urban legend tells of a man who insured his cigars, and then claimed the insurance under the grounds that they were destroyed in a series of small fires (he smoked them). The insurance company paid... but then had him arrested for arson, since he deliberately set them on fire.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns: Hong Kong'' the scribblings of a madwoman mentions that [[spoiler:the Yama Kings]] are all liars and deceivers, but liars and deceivers who have to follow certain rules when making bargains. These rules, however, only apply if both parties are aware of said rules' existence, which means that the only person who could ever trust [[spoiler:a Yama King would be another Yama King]].

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderofthePhoenix,'' [[HeroWithBadPublicity Harry]] is put in front of a KangarooCourt determined to make him look bad. The charge they use is that he used magic in front of a Muggle, which goes against upholding TheMasquerade. [[BigGood Dumbledore]] points out that a) said Muggle is ''already familiar with magic'' and b) that there's a self-defense clause in that law, and that Harry was clearly acting in self-defense. Fudge refers to Harry blowing up his aunt, but Dumbledore points out that that happened two years ago, and that since Fudge didn't press charges then, he can hardly do so now. He then tries to argue that Harry has been up to all kinds of nonsense at school...but as Dumbledore points out, what happens at school is not legally the Ministry's business. Fudge has no choice but to concede.

** This is sometimes the end result when someone attempts to justify their religious beliefs in this way. For example, someone might take a line saying "Don't be adulterous" and claim that anything less than total chastity is wrong, disregarding any other lines talking about true and honest love or that it also says to [[BestialityIsDepraved love all wildlife.]]

* The gaming community of Muncie is made of this trope, but especially [[RulesLawyer Brian Vanhoose]] who never met a rule he couldn't exploit. For example, a frustrated [[GameMaster B.A.]] invoked [[GrapplingWithGrapplingRules obscure "overbearing" rules]] in his game (a target is automatically overbeared by an angry mob, consisting of at least ten people) over Brian's objections and delivered a HumiliationConga to his group. Brian responded by having each party member hire 10 beggars to act as a mob and started mercilessly overbearing monsters.

* ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'' the gaming community of Muncie is made of this trope, but especially [[RulesLawyer Brian Vanhoose]] who never met a rule he couldn't exploit. For example, a frustrated [[GameMaster B.A.]] invoked [[GrapplingWithGrapplingRules obscure "overbearing" rules]] in his game (a target is automatically overbeared by an angry mob, consisting of at least ten people) over Brian's objections and delivered a HumiliationConga to his group. Brian responded by having each party member hire 10 beggars to act as a mob and started mercilessly overbearing monsters.