In the extreme, the Government's proposed interpretation could be used to require safe manufacturers to build tools for the government to break into safes with, paper shredder manufacturers to build devices to stick shredding back together, drug companies to manufacture lethal injection drugs they did not wish to, or anybody to do anything that a DA thinks will help advance a case, provided that the legislature has not specifically passed a law prohibiting them from doing so.
This ruling notes any number of absurdities that this would entail. For instance, if congress passed a law requiring companies to provide aid X, and then unanimously repealed that law, the Government could go right on requiring aid X unless congress explicitly passed a law forbidding aid X.
This ruling notes any number of absurdities that this would entail. For instance, if congress passed a law requiring companies to provide aid X, and then unanimously repealed that law, the Government could go right on requiring aid X unless congress explicitly passed a law forbidding aid X.