The legal age of drinking in the US is 21. If I turn 21, then go back to a time where I'm 20 or younger, could I get arrested for "underage drinking" if I'm technically of age? What if I bring ID?
Neither the founding fathers nor the Supreme Court have corrected for time travel in the Constitution or legal code yet. ID wouldn't help... it would be based on the day it was read. I suppose you could have your day in court and attempt to persuade the judge that you came from the future... good luck with that, though.
If the ID was issued before the time you traveled to, it would still say you're under-age. If it's issued later, then the date would imply that the ID is yet to be made. You would have to prove you're from the future, and a future ID would help with that, but if we're talking about right now, not many would believe you. I suggest you go back in time with the plans for your time machine, and let past you show the world you made a functioning machine. But since I haven't heard anything about that, I guess you didn't, so there's that. In any case, don't drink and time travel.
That depends on a few things. If you're underage right now and plan to, in the future, travel to what is now tomorrow, and have a drink. Presenting the machine to court could be a possible way to handle things. If you are of age right now, and want to travel back a few years, and present it to court, I imagine there would've been breaking news about it. There are two possibilites (assuming you can't change the flow of time): 1. You never presented the machine, thus no headlines. 2. You did, but it got swept under the rug, where I'm afraid you would soon follow, as to hide the evidence. This does not bode well, but there's always the ol' drinking "illegaly" option.
Wait. Do you mean so that there's two of you; an under 21 and and over 21, Back to the Future stylee? Or are you talking about reversing time? If it's the latter then you'll be under age and unable to legally consume alcohol. Although if you reversed time and moved the re-entry location to the UK you'd be fine, cos we can legally get bladdered from 18.
Can't you just take the ticket, then walk off and tell them to go f*** themselves, hop in your time machine, go back a day, and do it all again anyways? That, or it would be pretty comical to see your 20 year old self recieving a warrant notice in the mail for an unpaid underage drinking ticket that you got while existing in the same time.
Your DOB doesn't change when you time travel. ID wouldn't help. If you travel to the year you were 20, your ID would show that it's been 20 years since you were born. If it's a regular cop who stops you, you're in trouble for drinking. If it's a time cop who stops you, you have bigger problems for effing with the space time calliope. There's a story in there somewhere though. Teens of the future use time machines to travel forward and get into clubs, because it's easier than procuring a fake ID.
Yeah, but screw that guy. Past me is always messing me up by procrastinating and losing things I need and giving me hangovers. Without a time machine, my only recourse is to turn around and take it out on future me, because screw that guy too.
Perhaps we need a form of ID that identifies the time traveler and their current status. What if you are sent to jail for 20 years, are set free, then travel back in time to a point while you were incarcerated? Are you legally free to walk around? How do we identify the oldest version of you and is that a different person from the incarcerated version of you? Perhaps we could determine a biological age by scanning someone. But what if bodies are modified artificially? How do we establish someone's identity for certain? Once technology is advanced enough, how do we know that we are punishing the version of you who committed a crime, and not one of your seven clones? Perhaps we punish all the clones, but is that right? They didn't ask to be brought into this world as cloned versions of you.
"Sir, are you aware the individual in your vehicle has an artificial limb that is well below the age of consent? I'm going to have to place you under arrest." "But that's my wife. She's forty-three years old." "Tell it to the judge, pervert."
Just bring your of age I.D and profer that. Give those bastard bureaucrats something to scratch their noggins over. Then again, if you own a time machine, some local Moped copper looking for teens getting schlosched is going to be the least of your worries. I don't think Mossad asks for ID.
Fascinating question. However, I think most people only get arrested for underage drinking when they're causing a ruckus--you might be safe either way.
