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Category A: These questions involve real law in real setting. This means that, as written, the questions appear to be about some action or event in the real world, rather than in a fictional world. I voted to close those as having no worldbuilding context at all.

Category A: These questions involve real law in real setting. This means that, as written, the questions appear to be about some action or event in the real world, rather than in a fictional world. I voted to close those as having no worldbuilding context at all. And I would happily vote to reopen if that context is provided!

Are these not interesting & useful questions? I'd concur that they are indeed interesting. But "interesting" is not a criterion for posting a query here. The main criterion we're interested in here is whether a question focuses on devising a fictional world or setting. I'd note that those two questions could be closed for other reasons as well. The medieval crime query could be closed for being story based and indeed the high vote response as much as writes out two possible plot lines! But mostly, they just don't have sufficient fictional context for this forum.

Easy punt first!

Category C: yes, I agree that's straight up worldbuilding; basically fictional law in a fictional setting. Since the setting is fictional and since the queries (more or less) focus on the fictional setting, I'd say those are clearly on topic.

Category B: I'd actually argue that your example query answers the question succinctly. You ask "if I create an eldritch entity, would I violate zoning laws?" to which I'd answer fictional object in real law. Since your question doesn't actually focus on eldritch entities, but rather on mundane real world law, this kind of query would be off topic here. Just replace "eldritch entity" with "monstrous 12 car garage" and ask over on the legal forum. Once you get your answer, simply replace "monstrous 12 car garage" with "eldritch entity" again and be satisfied!

I had considered JBH's Santa question as falling under Category C rather than B, but upon considering your comment, stipulating that the setting is in fact not really a fictional world, "The case is being judged using California state law," I must revise my earlier stance. Both the Santa question, cute and timely as it was, is ultimately closeable, perhaps after Christmas rather than before, for being not about worldbuilding. In this case semifictional person in real law.

Category A: I think this is as straightforward as Category C! Except the other way around: in this case, it's real law in real setting. I voted to close those as having no worldbuilding context at all. Further, I'd consider Category D to be synonymous with Category A.

There's a lot going on in discussion and I think a brief statement is in order:

The rules & guidelines of Worldbuilding are fairly basic on this matter, and they apply to questions of all types, not just law related questions.

First, of course, is that the question ought to focus on worldbuilding. Our forum's purpose is to help worldbuilders make & describe their fictional worlds and settings. This of course, includes questions on law, criminal justice, crime, torture, punishment in any of their aspects or proceedings.

Second, any question on law should follow the same basic requirements that any other kind of question does. In order to offer the best answers, the OP should provide essential background about the legal system in question and the world & polity it functions within. Whether this is a world ruled by Dragons or whether this is a "world just like Earth, except where otherwise stated". The OP should provide some basic statements concerning the situation being asked about. Lastly, the OP should provide a statement covering what she expects in a good answer: specific points to be addressed, specific outcomes that should be obtained.

Third, the question should abide by general Stack Exchange norms: it should be focused and as specific as possible. An OP should not ask multiple questions in one go. The question should be about worldbuilding -- how the fictional world (in this case, the fictional laws) works -- rather than about story writing, plot advancement or character choice. The question should not be obviously or gratuitously opinion based. Naturally, opinions may differ (and there are always at least two opinions in every court room!), but questions that specifically seek opinions are off topic. To do this, sometimes an OP has to ask a "real world question". The only stipulation the community would demand in return is that the querent of such a real world question provide sufficient fictional world context in order to provide a good fictional world answer.

Now let's look at the given categories:

Each of these categories look like they can be boiled down to a pithy & descriptive statement.

Category A: These questions involve real law in real setting. This means that, as written, the questions appear to be about some action or event in the real world, rather than in a fictional world. I voted to close those as having no worldbuilding context at all.

Category B: I'd actually argue that your example query answers the question succinctly. You ask "if I create an eldritch entity, would I violate zoning laws?" to which I'd answer this is a fictional entity in real law. Since your question doesn't actually focus on eldritch entities, or even on a fictional world, but rather on mundane real world law, set in the real world, this kind of query would be off topic here. This type of question can easily be edited and made on topic by focusing it on the fictional world you're making and giving us a little description of how similar & different it is from the real world.

Category C: yes, here I agree that this is straight up worldbuilding; basically fictional law in a fictional setting. Since the setting is fictional and since the queries (more or less) focus on the fictional setting, I'd say those are clearly on topic.

Category D: I'd consider Category D to be synonymous with Category A, real law in real setting and thus off topic.

I had originally considered JBH's Santa question as falling under Category C rather than B, but upon considering your comment, stipulating that the setting is in fact not really a fictional world, "The case is being judged using California state law," I must revise my earlier stance. Both the Santa question, cute and timely as it was, is ultimately closeable, perhaps after Christmas rather than before, for being not about worldbuilding. In this case semifictional person in real law.

In summation: to everyone who would pose a legal question, or any question in Worldbuilding: legal questions are no less interesting than orbital mechanics or evolution of dragon wing queries here! OPs are simply advised to adhere to the same basic guidelines & protocols as anyone else. Keep your queries focused, keep your queries about worldbuilding, and keep your queries focused on the fictional world you're building.