Appeal to the law

An appeal to the law (argumentum ad legem in Latin) is an informal fallacy in which someone tries to encourage or defend an action based on its legality, or condemn it as morally reprehensible, purely because it is illegal.[1] This line of reasoning is faulty because although the law of the land is important, it does not necessarily match up with the morality or sensibility of an action.[2][3][4] In reality, many statutorily forbidden acts are malum prohibitum rather than malum in se.This logic-related article is a stub.You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
fallacyillegalmoralitysensibilitymalum prohibitummalum in seAppeal to consequencesArgument from authorityLegal threatCircular reasoningfallaciesFormalpropositional logicAffirming a disjunctAffirming the consequentDenying the antecedentArgument from fallacyMasked manMathematical fallacyquantificational logicExistentialIllicit conversionProof by exampleQuantifier shiftSyllogistic fallacyAffirmative conclusion from a negative premiseNegative conclusion from affirmative premisesExclusive premisesNecessityFour termsIllicit majorIllicit minorUndistributed middleInformalEquivocationFalse equivalenceFalse attributionQuoting out of contextLoki's WagerNo true ScotsmanReificationBegging the questionLoaded languageLeading questionCompound questionLoaded questionComplex questionCorrelative-basedFalse dilemmaPerfect solutionDenying the correlativeSuppressed correlativeIllicit transferenceCompositionDivisionEcologicalSecundum quidAccidentConverse accidentFaulty generalizationAnecdotal evidenceSampling biasCherry pickingMcNamaraBase rateConjunctionDouble countingFalse analogySlothful inductionOverwhelming exceptionAmbiguityAccentFalse precisionMoving the goalpostsSlippery slopeSorites paradoxSyntactic ambiguityQuestionable causeAnimisticFurtiveCum hocPost hocGambler'sInverseRegressionSingle causeTexas sharpshooterProof by assertionConsequencesArgumentum ad baculumWishful thinkingEmotionChildrenFlatteryNoveltyRidiculeIn-group favoritismInvented hereNot invented hereIsland mentalityLoyaltyParade of horriblesStirring symbolsWisdom of repugnanceGenetic fallacyAd hominemAppeal to motiveAssociationReductio ad HitlerumGodwin's lawReductio ad StalinumBulverismPoisoning the wellTu quoqueWhataboutismAuthorityAccomplishmentIpse dixitPovertyWealthEtymologyNatureTraditionChronological snobberyfallacies of relevanceArgumentsAd nauseamSealioningArgument from anecdoteArgument from silenceArgument to moderationArgumentum ad populumClichéThe Four Great ErrorsI'm entitled to my opinionIgnoratio elenchiInvincible ignoranceMoralisticNaturalisticMotte-and-bailey fallacyPsychologist's fallacyRationalizationRed herringTwo wrongs make a rightSpecial pleadingStraw man