I agree all your examples shown are correct in that small amounts are still illegal. What I was getting at and what you may have missed, is questions that are asked and answered lead to more information prior to making a decision. I will use your second one as an example.
‘Yes your honour, I know theft is not legal, but it was only $15. That’s so close to nothing that I should be okay right?’ He is not asking AFTER he has done this, he is asking "Your honour, if I take the $15 will I still get into trouble?" The answer is yes he will then he now knows not to take the $15. Whether he should have known before or not is questionable and a smart person would probably figure that out rather easily. But it is still better that he asked rather than make presumptions.
He is also asking if his idea of a solution would be acceptable in that situation (again probably not) but I will concede it would have been smarter to ask an AO rather than the internet....
Bookmarks