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Recently on a trip on the Downeaster, the conductor told me that it was a felony to turn the seats. Is this true?
I doubt if the conductor has arrest powers. It was a joke.
The conductor can request that law enforcement meet the train at the next station. It's irrelevant whether or not the conductor personally makes the arrest. Convincing a cop to haul you off to jail for turning a seat is another matter though. I suppose it could fall under some clause about interfering with a member of the train crew, or something like that.

Right, the conductor can toss you off the train, so I wouldn't mess with the seats if he tells you not to. Unless you put up a big fuss and start hitting people, it won't be prosecuted as a felony.
 
First of all, I'd like to say how proud I am to find a thread I started 8 years ago resurrected not just once in 2012, but TWICE now!

Many kudos to downeastermainer for searching and finding this thread!
 
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Recently on a trip on the Downeaster, the conductor told me that it was a felony to turn the seats. Is this true?
I doubt if the conductor has arrest powers. It was a joke.
The conductor can request that law enforcement meet the train at the next station. It's irrelevant whether or not the conductor personally makes the arrest. Convincing a cop to haul you off to jail for turning a seat is another matter though. I suppose it could fall under some clause about interfering with a member of the train crew, or something like that.
I thought that a law enforcement presence was standard operating procedure when forcibly removing a passenger. It doesn't necessarily mean that any law has been broken, and it doesn't specifically have to involve an arrest.
 
Recently on a trip on the Downeaster, the conductor told me that it was a felony to turn the seats. Is this true?
It would depend on the laws of the state the train was in, and/or Federal Department of Transportation laws may apply.

An online forum is not a reliable place to be seeking legal advice.

A Conductor could always make a 'citizens arrest', and may have Federal Department of Transportation authority to detain a passenger pending a stop to meet LEO's.

For that matter, anyone else on the train could also make a citizens arrest.
 
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