Tree Law

Submission 4,344

About

Tree Law is a section of the United States legal system that focuses on disputes about trees. The colloquial use of the catchphrase "tree law" increased after several viral posts on the subreddit /r/LegalAdvice due to the strongest punishments and fines inflicted on violators of Tree Law. The phrase saw a notable resurgence after several trees outside Universal Picture Studios were trimmed in July 2023, with many claiming it was a move to deny shade to SAG WGA picketers.

Origin

Tree law is a phrase used to refer to aspects of the United States legal system that deal with tree-related disputes. This includes fatalities caused by falling branches, disputes over tree sheering and removal, and disputes over ownership. Trees are well protected by the American legal system, cost thousands of dollars apiece, and damages to a tree can make one liable to up to three times a tree's value.^[1]^[2]^[3]

On May 16th, 2018, the subreddit /r/TreeLaw was formed, with a post on the same day chronicling some of the most popular examples of tree law being invoked on /r/LegalAdvice^[4] (seen below).

Spread

The subreddit /r/LegalAdvice often documents instances of tree law violations, with Redditor^[5]^[6] /u/damagedpecan posted a post and update about illegal trimming in 2017 and 2018 (shown below, top) and Redditor^[7]^[8] /u/yeahdisisathrowaway making a post and update in 2017 (shown below, bottom).

On July 17th, 2023, Twitter^[9] user @ChrisStephensMD posted a tweet that read, "@UniversalPics for trimming the trees that gave our picket line shade right before a 90+ degree week," gathering over 77,000 likes in two days (seen below, left). On July 19th, Twitter^[10] user @cd4losangeles posted a tweet claiming that no permit was issued for trimming the trees in question, purportedly making Universal Pictures open to citations or an administrative hearing (seen below, right). However, Universal Studios has notably denied involvement.^[12]

A webcomic about tree law is often invoked during discussions about tree law and is credited to Redditor /u/reachling.^[11]