@Alex Yes, but then suppose someone owes me money. Does my caveat mean he's not machul and I can get the money and he'll be punished, or only that he's not machul and I can get the money? (This is equivalent AFAICT to my question above.)
@JoelK I think there's a strong reason to assume a priori that the sacraments it's talking about are Jewish ones, making this a question about Judaism. The answer is probably going to be about American law and history's effects on the observance of Judaism.
