Title: [FL] I asked my psychiatrist for a copy of my medical records and was told it was illegal to give them to me

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Healthcare Law including HIPAA

Answer:
 WTF? They're **your** medical records.

If they persist, file a complaint with the [Florida Board of Medicine.](http://flboardofmedicine.gov/patient-records-faqs/)

"Section 456.057, Florida Statutes, allows patients or their legal representative to receive copies of all reports and records relating to an examination or treatment by a healthcare practitioner. However, when psychiatric, psychological, or psychotherapeutic records are requested by the patient or the patient’s legal representative, the healthcare practitioner may provide a report of examination and treatment instead of copies of records."Answer #2: There is only one reason I can think of that they wouldn't release them. Usually it's reserved for psychiatric notes but if there is information contained in the record that the healthcare provider thought would cause significant/immediate harm to you then they can retain that info. I have no reason why it would apply to simple physicals or other more mundane physical info.

IANAL


Title: [TX] Paid $800 for 20 personal training sessions - only 13 have been completed and the trainer is no longer responsive to emails, texts, calls, Facebook messages, and a Paypal invoice

Question:
Hi LA,
For Christmas I was gifted 20 personal training sessions at $40/session for a total of $800 pre-paid (all in writing via text). The trainer in question has been flaky since day 1, but we managed to complete 13 sessions. I have a long text history (all screenshot-ed and backed up) where she agrees to a time and then cancels, or says she is too busy that week, etc. and a text finally agreeing to pay me back after weeks of missing or not being available to schedule session. Since it's $280 she owes, she agreed to pay back one session a week until the balance was paid off. Since then, I have not heard from her and like the title says, she isn't responsive to any communication. I even sent a Paypal invoice to her for the refund and she ignored it. I tried calling her at work and she got very defensive , said I couldn't call her there (well lady, you don't answer anywhere else) and said she didn't have the money and that she would finish the sessions and hung up. She still won't respond to communication since then. The sessions were paid via CashApp. Is this something I would need to take to small claims court? Would a strongly worded letter from an attorney be worth pursuing before going to court? Thanks very much in advance for your help!

Answer:
 > Is this something I would need to take to small claims court?

Bingo, and you have a slam dunk case thanks to:

> I have a long text history (all screenshot-ed and backed up) where she agrees to a time and then cancels, or says she is too busy that week, etc. **and a text finally agreeing to pay me back after weeks of missing or not being available to schedule a session.**


Title: Neighbor threatened to punch me and "stick that fucking camera up my ass" (Houston, Texas)

Question:
I'm so tired of this situation. I've been accused of stealing a cat, witnessed domestic violence, had my truck vandalized, been scared half to death by pitbulls that got out at night, and now the neighbor is threatening me with violence. I had to put up surveillance cameras after they vandalized my truck. Last month I texted him to please put his dogs in at night. He basically told me that I should befriend his dogs so that they don't try to attack me (WTF) and that he has a right to have his dogs outside at night to protect his property.

Last night I walked out to go to the store and he was outside in his front yard probably drinking. I didn't acknowledge him in any way and got in my car. I thought I heard him scream I HATE THAT FUCKING NEIGHBOR, but just ignored it and drove out of my driveway. He walked towards my car and acted like he was going to lunge at my vehicle. I kept trying to tell myself that I was imagining things. When I got back from the store they were inside. I checked the cameras when I got back and he did say very loudly I FUCKING HATE THAT FUCKING NEIGHBOR. Then you can see him walk across his yard and towards my vehicle acting aggressively and tough. When I drive off he screams I WANT TO PUNCH THAT MOTHERFUCKER SO BAD, and he kinda mimics punching and points at the camera and says AND STICK THAT FUCKING CAMERA UP HER ASS WHO THE FUCK IS SHE TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO. The guy with him says something like I can bust those cameras down. They then laugh and walk inside.

I've been trying to deal with the situation. I sent the owner of the house letting her know what her tenants have put me through. She's ignoring it even though I told her this would be my last time texting her. My plan was to talk to a lawyer next week. But it was before the threats I heard last night. Should I call the police? They've threatened me before and I've shown the police and the police told me that "being an asshole is not against the law" and that I should just ignore them. I'm lost and confused and don't know what to do.

Answer:
 There is probably no harm in reporting it, but honestly I am not certain "I want to punch .." is the same as "I'm going to punch.."  The second is clearly a threat while the first seems to indicate some level of control.  That said, depending on the area and how busy they are, it might get a few more patrols to drive by.

EDIT:  I went back and looked at your posting history.  Call the cops every time there is an issue.Answer #2: >he has a right to have his dogs outside at night to protect his property.

He's not wrong so long as they're properly enclosed. If they keep baying and barking, you can call the police (non-emergency number) to report a noise complaint.

Otherwise, you just need to call the police (non-emergency, unless they are trying to physically break on to your property and cause you harm) every time this happens. Eventually, they WILL get tired of it and start coming down on the guy.


Title: MI - Is my employer creating an atmosphere of sexual harrassment/hostile work environment by refusing to address one employee's behavior?

Question:
Our location is a 24 person office/warehouse, there is another location with 15 employees. There is a small table in the kitchen where employees sit and eat lunch.  One person, a female, who is in her late 40's is actively involved in several private adult chat rooms where she meets sexual partners several times a week and loves to share the details with everyone in the office. Several times now, there have been 5 or 6 employees eating lunch, having a general conversation about the weather or looking at their phones, when she will say "check this out" to the whole table, turn her phone around and its a porn video or dick or vag pics and then laughs at everyone's reaction or says "what, you don't like dick" or call you a prude or a nun or something similar if anyone says anything negative about it.  Never worked somewhere where this happened every day.
I have brought this to management's attention as inappropriate only to be told nothing can be done because everyone is off the clock and they have no control over what people do when they are off the clock.  However, I have come into the room when this has happened, just to get water or ice, or get something out of the refrigerator and have been on the clock, so that doesn't really cover it.  Should I just schedule my time getting water and ice when no one is in the room? Should I just always eat my lunch in my car hunched over the steering wheel?  I realize no one is forcing me to work here, but this is offensive and shouldn't I have a right to eat lunch in peace. What if it was someone constantly talking about their religion or political views to their fellow employees?
How do I get management to take this seriously?

Answer: Yes, this absolutely is sexual harassment because it is happening on work property and especially since it's during work hours. It doesn't matter that they are off the clock. You need to meet with your supervisor and HR one more time and let them know that this absolutely makes you uncomfortable and if it is not addressed you will be pursuing as a legal matter.


Title: [PA] 2 Derelict, vacant homes in my neighbor. same owner. Doesn't respond to letters or comes to the door, but is home (other house blocks away). I would buy. Taxes are past due. What are my options?Thanks!

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Write a more complete description in full sentences and don't try to shoehorn it into the title so we can actually understand what you are talking about.


Title: [USA, NY] Being taken to small claims court for $1500 (long post)

Question:
I have an ex-girlfriend taking me to court for $1500 that she lent me for a car. In 2017 I made regular payments due to having a job that could easily pay my own bills + give her money. Originally this debt started at $2500. Also in 2017 I had a major death in the family, and lost my job. Both of these contributed to taking a job that pays minimum wage in NYC ($13) and I work 24 hours a week. She has sent me a notice in the mail to appear in court and I'm at a loss. I make about $240 a week and my bills are as follows:

455/month car
100/month cell phone
50/month half of electricity bill (sometimes up to $100)
$200 for rent (half)
$309 car insurance

Currently I'm behind almost 3 months on my car due to losing my job in September. I found this job in January of 2018. I pay 100 a week towards my car and the rest goes to the other bills. The reason the death in the family was major was because they were living with me so they were able to pay a huge portion of the bills. Now that they cannot, it has all fallen upon me and one other person. It's not that I don't want to pay her, it's that in reality I cannot. What grounds can I stand on in court? It's been 2 years but I don't remember if we ever had a written agreement, but what I do know is that we never specified when it will be paid back.
Topic:
Small Claims Procedure

Answer: Consider taking a personal finance course.  A 455/month car payment while living on minimum wage is INSANE.


Title: Fiance is worried about getting terminated at work due to a possible OSHA violation (got mildly injured at work and didn't report it till the next week)..could he be fired over this?

Question: Like the title says, my fiance hurt his back a little bit at work. We live in Michigan. He works on an assembly line and he didn't think it was a big deal so he didn't say anything. Then over the weekend he did a couple hard workouts at the gym and his back got worse. At work the next Monday he mentioned to his Safety manager that he wanted to go see his own personal doctor about it, not thinking much of it. His safety manager kinda freaked out and said no you are going to see our doctor because this happened at work and you could be written up and possibly let go since you didn't report it when it happened. He mentioned the whole situation seemed fishy and that my fiance seemed like he wasn't telling the entire truth even though he was. He wishes he never said anything because really what happened was minor and he didn't think anything and just went to the doctor on his own and used his own insurance like he planned on. I guess you live and learn, but I am not super familiar with OSHA laws and wanted to know if this was true and what my fiances rights are. I know this is kind of vague but I don't know what other details are needed so let me know if I missed anything important. Thank you!!

Answer:
 As an at will employee, your fiance can be fired for nearly any reason or no reason at all.

If he's part of a union, he should bring this up with his rep.


Title: Friend’s husband won’t stop talking to tween girls online

Question:
tldr: A friend’s husband is secretly talking to underage girls online, pretending to be their age/giving them boy advice and “trying to build their confidence”/offering to be their boyfriend. Nothing illegal has happened *yet* to my knowledge, but I want to take necessary steps to protect future girls he may seek out.

My friend is married to a man who she recently discovered was talking to underage girls through an app on his phone. I don’t know the name of the app, but she described it as similar to Chatroulette and Omegle in that it connects you to strangers you can chat with (just chat, no video I believe). When she confronted him with her discovery, he said he had met a 13 year old girl who had body image issues and he just wanted to build her self confidence. However, he posed as a 15 year old boy (he’s 24) and said he wanted her to be his girlfriend (again, he’s married) to do so. He let his wife (my friend) read all the messages, and there was never anything sexual. She thinks his heart was in the right place and that it really did just seem like he was trying to help her. My friend made him write the 13 year old girl a message and confess who he really was and delete the app from his phone, and she thought that was the end of it, until a few months later she discovered he downloaded a different but similar app and was now talking to multiple teenage girls. She read everything, and again, nothing sexual. According to her it just seemed he was building their confidence, so again, she made him confess to the girls and delete the apps, but she also decided to finally tell me about these events after the second discovery.
She doesn’t want to do anything about it, and I don’t want to betray her trust, but I also don’t want her husband to keep grooming underage girls. There is no reason for a man in his mid-twenties to be seeking out tween girls to talk to online about their body image issues - and I feel obligated to do something before this goes further. What is the appropriate course of action here? It would seem he hasn’t done anything illegal at this time, but I would like to let someone know this is happening and prevent 13 year old girls from being harmed. Would calling an agency tip line of some sort be appropriate? Additionally, would his wife be in any legal trouble if it was found out she knew he was grooming young girls and did nothing? Located in IA if applicable.

Answer:
 You're getting concerning information third hand. You don't know what your friend actually saw, or even worse shit she hasn't discovered, so it's possible that the situation is more than grooming. Your friend won't be charged unless she's actively involved or seriously negligent in some way. Give an agency a call and let a professional investigate it.Answer #2: Currently, the state does not prosecute future crimes, and all you have right now is second hand knowledge that he's a creep, which isn't illegal.  The wife wouldn't be in (legal) trouble for merely knowing that her husband committed a crime.  I think the best advice here is to support your friend emotionally, and probably suggest that she should go into counseling with him or leave him because that's clearly unhealthy behavior which can lead to bad outcomes.Answer #3: At some point he will probably end up unkowingly talking to a cyber law enforcement officer who could lead him to some big trouble. Answer #4: > He let his wife (my friend) read all the messages, and there was never anything sexual.

> She read everything, and again, nothing sexual.

It is not illegal to speak to someone who is underage. You can report anything illegal, but nothing you wrote is.Answer #5: If you know who runs the app he's used you might consider reporting it to them in addition to police. I think most tech companies want to avoid apps being used by adults to talk to underage strangers.Answer #6: Nothing you have described rises to the level of anything illegal. You can report this to law enforcement but unless an actual crime is being committed nothing may come of it.


Title: Annulment/Divorce Help! (SC)

Question:
Hey guys! I've run into a huge wall with my current marital situation so any advice/help would be greatly appreciated. A little backstory \- I got married at 16 with my mother's consent. My husband \(we'll call him J\) and I have never lived together, we're not together and we're hoping to get an annulment considering it's been almost two years and we have no desire to be together.

The entire time we've been married, we've been apart. He's currently overseas and I'm not sure what I should do. We should be able to get an annulment but I can't seem to find legit paperwork online anywhere? Would a divorce be a smarter faster option?

I'm hoping to get remarried and I'm just so lost on what to do. He isn't even sure what the next step is. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Answer: Annulment is very rare which is why you likely are having trouble finding forms. Divorce is easier and way more common. Is there a reason you want an annulment as opposed to divorce?


Title: (CA, Los Angeles) Car hit a huge pothole and damaged my car. Is it possible to get the city to pay?

Question:
Hello everyone

Last week I was heading home from an interview in Downtown Los Angeles when I hit a pothole. This pothole was fairly deep, and when I hit it there was a loud crashing noise, but no noticeable damage. I was driving a bit below the speed limit near a construction zone.

I read online that if I contact the Street Services Bureau and there have been reports about the pothole, that the city of LA would have to approve my claim due to "negligence." I wanted to know if the city would be responsible for my damages even if it hasn't been reported yet. I have dashcam footage of the incident with the sound included. Would I be able to go through the small claims route if denied? Any advice would be appreciated.

Edit: The pothole damaged my suspension and transmission mounts on the left side, the side that hit the pothole. They had to be replaced. Parts and labor were about $450.

Answer:
 IANAL. You can try. You'll need to have hard proof from your mechanic that the pothole did the damage, but even then there's no guarantee you'll get reimbursed.

My husband had something similar happen. A pothole that had rebar exposed sliced through his tire. A police officer saw it happen, called it in, and our city still refused to pay for a tire replacement even though it was new and they had multiple calls about this specific pothole. Many cities have protection from being sued over things like this, so you may not get very far.Answer #2: I hit a pot hole in Palo Alto once. I took pictures of the pot hole, got an estimate for damage and filed with the city. Took a couple weeks, and  got a check for the 250 bucks it cost to fix my car.


Title: [IL] - Private sale of video games?

Question:
Okay, so this is dumb. I think this is dumb. But I need to see if there's something about this situation I'm not handling correctly.

A little backstory: my best friend is in the preliminary stages of filing for divorce from his soon-to-be-ex-wife, and has separated from her. Prior to their separation at the end of September, they were living together with her fourteen-year-old son. Now, there's no nice way to say this: the kid is a louse. I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but this kid...he lies, he steals from people, he allegedly threatened to sexually assault a classmate of his. Needless to say, I don't care for him.

At the time of the separation, I offered two things: first, I offered to take care of some of my best friend's possessions for a while, as he was not going to have anywhere to live and would have to go to a homeless shelter. (He's since got a place to stay and I've given him his things back.) Second, I offered to clear some outstanding debt the kid owed to his mother, specifically money he stole from her. I offered this in exchange for his old, busted 3DS, and his games. This deal was accepted, I paid her off, I took possession of the device and the games, which includes about a dozen 3DS/DS games and four PS3 titles.

Fast-forward to last week. I received a message on Facebook from the mother saying she "needed" the PS3 games back because her mother wanted to play them, and that I was only "allowed" the DS games. The problem I have with this is twofold: one, it comes on the heels of her admitting in a phone conversation that I have no proof of that she doesn't trust me, and two, her claim that she only intended to sell me the DS games isn't backed up by words. As far as I have always been aware (and I've talked about this with friends in the past two months), the PS3 games are mine now. She then threatened to call the cops, but rescinded that threat not long after, saying she was upset

I think another part of this is that she did not ask for the games back in any kind of polite manner, she just immediately said that I wasn't allowed to have them (despite my paying her in front of a witness) and then threatened to call the cops when I didn't respond in three hours (which I could not do, as I was not online).

I'm trying to be reasonable here. I have been thinking about trying to reach a compromise, as I had always intended on giving the games in question to my best friend when I was done playing them. I just don't enjoy being threatened with police action over a matter that I had thought closed for six weeks. Is there something I'm missing here?

TL;DR: Bought some games from best-friend's STBX, she is claiming almost two months later that she only intended to sell me some of the games, I have always understood all the games to be mine, she threatened police but backed down. Trying to forge a reasonable solution.

EDIT: Not sure what flair to use here?

Answer:
 A reasonable solution is to tell her to stop wasting her time. This isn't a criminal matter so the police won't care. Any small claims suit she'd bring would cost more than the games and you would still win because you have a witness.

Just stop talking to her and enjoy your games.


Title: Horse ownership question (CT)

Question:
I am trying to figure out who legally owns a horse.  My father bought her for me about 6 years ago.  My father died 5 years ago.  In his will he specifically left me the horse (wasn't it already mine)? And provided funds for my mother for the upkeep of the horse and "the stable".

So, now I am in a fight with my Nmom where basically she says the horse is hers, and that I need to pay for its upkeep if I want to keep her on the property because Nmom is sick of dealing with her (of course, she has time to drink and play bridge 4 nights per week).

Now, before anyone jumps on me I do understand that I can contribute to Holly's upkeep, but underlying all of this is he narcissistic threats to get rid of the horse.

In order to engage in the conversation with her I at least need to know who owns the horse.

If this was a car I would suppose it would all go by title, but in this case there is no title.

Than you in advance for any help I receive, I appreciate it.

Location = CT

Answer: wait, so you already own a horse but can't afford to get a certified dog or move out? you're a fascinating person, hello again. and goodbye again. Answer #2: The reason for the downvotes is your use of the terms "narcissistic" and "Nmom", which this sub usually regard as reflecting badly on the poster.


Title: Quick legal question I had

Question:
For reference, I live in PA

So yesterday, I served jury duty for the first time. And after the judge came in and gave us the skinny on what we could expect, a defendant, his attorney, and the prosecution came into the courtroom and sat at a table and interviewed approximately 50 people over the span of the whole day.

Is there a term for this process? And why did it take the whole day to get through that many people? Also, why was the defendant allowed to come in wearing their street clothes and not business casual like everyone else?

Answer:
 The process is called voir dire.

One day is a very typical length of time for voir dire.

And because there is nothing forbidding the defendant (or anyone else for that matter) from wearing their street clothes.


Title: Sellers told us they are ending the contract, but this would make them in default. They are refusing to acknowledge this amd refuse to give us anything. Cost prohibitive lawyer fees..

Question:
The sellers of the home we were trying to purchase tried to pull out of our contract after finding mold in their new home. They refuse to respond to anything from our agent and insist that they will be paying nothing to break the contract. We are $400 to 900 in but a lawyer has told us that sending the letter/follow-up (need to clarify what this is tomorrow) would be about $1500. This would have been our first home so we haven't dealt with these issues before. Initially, we thought we were in the clear bc the contract was so clearly in our favor. However,  we found that hiring a lawyer may not be the best decision financially. On the other hand, we are super pissed that someone can back out of a binding contract and rely on the cost of a lawyer causing us to walk away to minimize significant losses.

Due to their refusal to see the home we will have to find short-term temporary housing which is basically impossible to find where we are moving. Our best possibility right now is our agent asking other agents if they have emergency homes they keep for clients available and if they'd be willing to put us up. (Renting short-term will likely be 2500+ per month, if we can find anything.

Is it worth it to hire a lawyer just to bring them to the negotiating table? What other options might we have? We are thinking of sending back their contract cancellation with an additional line saying try will pay us $3500, but we don't know if this is the right way to go.

This is in Maryland on the eastern shore.

Answer:
 Hire a better attorney who has reasonable fees.  $1500 for a letter is obscene.   The initial consult should be free and what actions you take will depend upon the advice.  This is complicated and needs to be handled in a timely and sensitive manner.

It's unlikely they can just walk away without consequences.   Just what those consequences are can be made clear by your attorney. Answer #2: Try finding another attorney in your area that may be more affordable for a simple letter.Answer #3: Definitely call around for a more reasonable attorney. Sounds like that one doesn't want to do it, and just quoted very high, hoping you would go to someone else.

Also, cross post to r/realestate/


Title: Is drunk still consent?

Question:
Im not talking about rape, lets say you give some something valuable like your credit card.
The girl says while i was drunk i gave her my card, i do not rememered what happened. The next day i was looking for my card and it was gone, i called and they said there was tremendous amount of money gone. She states she has eye witnesses to prove i gave her the card. But after i sobered up the next day, i called her and she never mentions anything about the card. Even though i was drunk can this still be consent?

Answer: Yes, it's still consent to payment. And dollars to donuts this was at a strip joint.


Title: Lent my boyfriend money. Now we broke up. Any way I can get that money back (Canada, Saskatchewan)

Question:
Long story short.  My boyfriend at the time needed some money so he could go to school (Private College, Around $3,000). So I happily lent it to him.  Didn't get anything in writing saying I lent him the money, but we always had the understanding he would pay me back and it wasn't a gift.

We broke up, somewhat amicably, we talked about the money and he still planned to pay me. He did pay me for a few months a few hundred dollars, but then we had a blowout (not about the money) and he has stopped paying me.

Is there anyway I can pursue this?  I have nothing in writing. No texts, no FB messages discussing this.  The most I have is the transaction on my debit card showing I paid the school this money.
Topic:
Canada

Answer:
 Small claims. Verbal agreements are still binding, they are just harder to prove. Sue, bring all your receipts to small claims as well as any conversations with him about the debt. The fact that he paid you back some of it will help.

Given your history with this guy and the multiple interactions, there's got to be some acknowledgment of the debt. If not, then the judge could rule in his favor because generally speaking, people don't loan out 3 grand without having something in writing.

Ultimately, it'll be up to the judges' discretion.

In the future, don't lend people 3 grand without anything written down on paper.


Title: Caught selling edibles at school

Question:
I sold a few edibles to my friends at school (im 17)
The principal found out it was me and my friends that bought it are suspended
I wasnt at school so Im not suspended yet but theyll call me parents soon
My mom found my weed before, if she found it again she might kill herself
I'm scared right now I dont know what to do
(Canada)

Answer: Don't talk to the police without an attorney


Title: (USA) All else being equal, would you draft a contract that refers to the client as "client" or "you"?

Question: What are the pros and cons of each? Does referring them as "client" make the contract no longer "plain language"? (USA)

Answer: What contract doesn't define terms like "You" and "We" in its opening paragraphs?


Title: Aug. 1st will be a year since Ive seen my daughter, options/advice?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Jesus man-- file for custody (joint, in all likelihood) with the court! That's what it's there for!


Title: [Minnesota, Hennepin County] Arraignment for a DWI tomorrow (1st offence 4th degree). I will be representing myself--any help with a written statement and court proceedings would be appreciated.

Question:
On 11/09/2018 I was charged with a DWI.
It was a series of bad decisions that lead to the DWI; I regret my actions, they were out of character for myself.

Breath tested @ 0.14 BAC.
This is my first DWI and it qualifies as a fourth degree offence.

At lockup I was given a "Notice and Order of Revocation" - in which my license was revoked on 11/16/2018.

I have an arraignment tomorrow morning 11/26/2018.

I plan on pleading guilty, I don't have a lawyer and plan on representing myself because I am fairly certain that I do not qualify for a public defender.
I would hope to mitigate the consequences or otherwise represent myself so as the court doesn't max out the penalties.

I did not get a copy of the police report due to the emotional stress of breaking up with my long term girlfriend, being forced to move out of our shared apartment, moving back home with my parents, the inconvenience of not having a license to travel to the police station, and the Thanksgiving Holiday which meant that government facilities were closed.

Below are the specifics of the incident and a segment of an attorney's consultation on my case.
-------
Icy driving conditions were present.
When I came to a stop sign I did not have the traction to complete the stop.
My vehicle struck another vehicle which had entered the intersection, on the passenger side front quarter panel, as I failed to come to a stop.
The inertia of my vehicle also subsequently caused me to strike and bend over a street sign.
The driver and passengers of the vehicle I struck did not claim any injuries at the time of the accident nor to the insurance company.
The driver refused to exchange insurance information, opting to call the police, I made a video recording of our conversation to have their repeated refusal to exchange insurance information on record just in case.

I then removed my vehicle from the sidewalk, parking my car directly adjacent to the sign I just bent and waited for the police to arrive.
Knowing this would take some time due to the driving conditions, I took a nap.
When the police arrived and I was questioned, it was evident to the officer that I was not coherent and I would remain silent when asked questions in the line of "how much have you been drinking tonight" or any admission of guilt.
I do not recall if the officer gave me any field sobriety test.
I was arrested and charged.

I believe that my BAC had increased in the time elapsed (between 110-125 minutes) from the driving accident to the breath test.
-------
**Per a case consultation with one attorney:
With the general facts you outlined, your likely options will be pleading guilty to the DWI as charged - or go to trial.  It is unlikely the prosecutor will be willing to amend your charge to a careless driving so that you can avoid a DWI conviction.  This is due to the high test reading, the accident, and property damage.**
-------

Minnesota has two tracks of consequences for DWI--criminal and administrative.
Per my research, a forth degree DWI consequences are:
Criminal
- 90 days in jail and/or $1,000 fine
Administrative
- License revoked for 90 days is **reduced to 30 days with a guilty plea of DWI**
- A $25 chemical assessment charge
- $250 – driver’s license reinstatement fee
- $430 – reinstatement surcharge
- $26.25 – driver’s license application fee
- $300-600 - Court fines and fees
- $ cost unknown - DWI One-Day program (alcohol dependency evaluation and a MADD victim impact panel)
- $ cost unknown - I may be required to serve some days of Sentence to Serve, which is work crew/structured community service.

From my layman's perspective, only the "90 days in jail and/or $1,000 fine" and "community service" are the only negotiable consequences.
I do not wish to spend any time in jail and can afford the $1,000 fine but would hope to reduce the cost (if possible) and avoid any community service.

The arraignment tomorrow is scheduled concurrently with many people awaiting their case to be called before the judge.
**My questions for tomorrow's arraignment are as follows:**
Should I fill out a request for a public defender if I am pleading guilty and don't think I will qualify for one anyway?
If this is an arraignment and I plead guilty does that mean that sentencing is done right then or is that a separate court appearance?
I believe the arraignment is only for the criminal consequences of the DWI--Is the arraignment the appropriate place to bring up the Administrative consequences of my revoked license?
**Is a prepared statement of guilt and remorse a good idea? I would appreciate help creating one.**

Any help or questions for me would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for reading and commenting.

Answer: You need a lawyer is the correct advice here. if you were capable of self representation you wouldn't be asking these questions. Even lawyers get a lawyer if they are accused of a crime.


Title: Charges pressed on my dad for lost iPhone

Question:
My dad found an iPhone at a Texas high school and the next day a sheriff came with the family to our house for the phone. The screen was cracked when he showed it to me. They are now pressing charges because the screen is cracked and are accusing my dad of breaking it. But the screen was cracked when my dad picked it up. We suspect that they just want a free fix for the iPhone so they don't have to pay for their child's carelessness. The phone was given back. Any advice to get out of the charges?

Update: The parents of the owner have informed my father that the charges of theft and destruction of property have been dropped. The kid had said that the phone was stolen and that my dad had broken the screen, but he later admitted that he lost it and that he broke the screen. I guess he was scared to admit that to his parents. I really appreciate everyone's reply to my post, you guys are pretty fast responders.

Answer:
 Who is "pressing charges?"

Is your dad being criminally charged with property damage?

Or does the owner just want you to pay for them and is threatening to sue for the damage?


Title: [New York] Movers kept mothballs (a pesticide) with stored stuff - now all my stuff is toxic!

Question:
I recently moved into a new home, only to find that my moving company had kept all of my stuff (furniture, clothing, appliances, etc...) on a moving truck for 6 weeks with mothballs on the truck.  Now everything I own, including my new home to where everything was unloaded, reeks of [mothballs](http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/naphth.html).

If odor was the only problem, that'd be manageable.  Mothballs, as I've recently learned, however, are a [fairly toxic pesticide](http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/ptype/mothball/health.html).  They are in fact [highly toxic to infants](http://www.aarp.org/health/medical-research/info-02-2011/mothballs-fumes-toxic-to-children.html), which is especially concerning given I have a 6 month old daughter.

I've spoken to Poison Control, the National Pesticide Information Center, and various [air quality testing businesses](http://smelleze.com/), and the consensus is that if you can still smell the odor, the air is not yet safe to breathe.  Consequently, I cannot live in my new home.  Further, there's no guaranteed method for removing the chemical from the air or my possessions.  Sunlight helps, but for something very porous like a mattress, it just needs to be replaced.  Even if the crib mattress stopped smelling entirely, I would never feel completely comfortable leaving the baby in there.

The moving company never informed us they used or were going to use mothballs while storing our stuff, and certainly we never consented to this.  (The company has also refused to tell me which specific brand and product they used!)  I've seen a [variety of writings](http://nwco.net/03-LegalIssues/3-3-1-StatePesticideLaws.asp) that seem to indicate businesses cannot simply dump pesticides on a client's property without approval, as the chemicals in mothballs are a controlled volatile organic compound, [regulated by the EPA](http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/naphthal.html).

Do I have a valid legal claim?  Or does this simply fall under "damage" during the move and should be handled by insurance?  Any suggestions how to proceed?

Answer:
 The smell from the mothballs is likely 1,4-dichlorobenzene. You can find some specifics at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mmg/mmg.asp?id=1206&tid=126

I've worked with 1,4-dichlorobenzene in a lab setting quite a bit. It is not dangerous in the quantities left over on mothballed fabrics/furniture. The acute/chronic health effects mention would really only apply to people working around industrial quantities of 1,4-dichlorobenzene.

Make sure there aren't any actual mothballs left behind. The residual smell will dissipate.

EDIT: 1,4-dichlorobenzene really does smell awful though. I totally understand your fear.


Title: How To Prove I Am My Father's Only Child?

Question:
I am a resident of CA and my father passed away several years ago in CO. We have been estranged for more than half of my life.
I was notified of his passing by a third party agency and discovered that I had an inheritance sum sitting in the CO Treasury. However, I need to prove that I am his only child. How do I go about proving this when:
1) We have no mutual acquaintances.
2) He has no family (still living that I know of).
3) My mother is deceased.

I'd rather claim this than leave it with the government.

Appreciate it.

Answer:
 There is no way for you to prove a negative (your father has no other children would be a negative).  So it's pretty unlikely the government would require that of you.

You can see if they would accept a background check, because that usually includes family members, which includes a search for birth certificates on which he is named as the father.


Title: Prayer in public university

Question:
Hey guys.
So I’m attending a 4 years public university in Alabama.
Before every major events (athletic, graduation etc), they are leading a prayer.
I heard that the government student body keep voting to keep those.
From my knowledge, it is against the first amendment of the constitution.
I was wondering what would be the best approach to this situation

Answer: It would be unconstitutional to punish you for not participating. It is legal for it to exist and be voluntary.


Title: My internet company is throttling my city. Who do I contact to try and get them to fix it?

Question: My internet company is claiming that the low speeds at night when the traffic is high is because of network bandwidth capacity. The message I got from their customer support last year was "Your current issue is related to network bandwidth capacity. Your community has a dedicated speed provided to each registered resident on the network. Based on the number of users and connected devices there may be times when the network exceeds its current capacity. This may negatively impact connection speeds. We are currently working with the property owners to determine the next steps in addressing network capacity options. Than you for your understanding in this matter." However, I'm pretty sure they are lying about this because people who don't live at my apartment but have the same network experience the exact same problem as me so its not a per property problem. The internet literally becomes so slow at night that it takes almost a minute to load any webpage which is extremely frustrating. I can't switch providers because I'm stuck at an apartment who manages our wifi as well. This year's connection has gotten even worse than last year's because the low speeds start around 6pm rather than 9pm.  Is there any government or 3rd party number I can call to tell them what is happing so that the company gets forced to resolve this problem?

Answer: It sounds like an issue for local government. "Your community" may be a broader statement than just your apt. complex


Title: [AL]Speedy Trial - Over two years since arrest, no indictment yet.

Question: Hello everyone! I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on my situation. I was arrested over two years ago and have yet to be indicted. Is there any time frame until the charges are no longer valid? I've had to put my life on hold, and am constantly worried that everything is going to come crashing down from an incident that happened over two years ago. If any further details are needed, please let me know.

Answer:
 > If any further details are needed, please let me know.

Shoplifting or mass murder?  (It makes a difference.)Answer #2: IANAL (I love that) If you have any family or friends on the force you might check to see if there are any bench warrants out for failure to appear. You may have been sent a summons at an incorrect address. I would not contact the court in case your case got into the wrong pile or misplaced in which case you may be 2/3 of the way to your statute of limitations.  If you are indicted obviously seek help.


Title: (NC) Got a job at Lowe’s and tested positive for Marijuana. My mother lives in Colorado where it is recreational. I was there for the Holidays and smoked and came back for the open house at Lowe’s on Tuesday. I will not receive the job due to popping on a this test.

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 You could explain the situation to Lowe's.

However, it's illegal in NC and they can still refuse to retest you or hire you.

EDIT: I see you've posted on a subreddit dedicated to LSD so I would also advise you not to do that bc that drug is also illegal. Cut out all the drugs when applying to jobs.


Title: Why would someone sell their house to their son for $1.00?

Question: I'm wondering what legal or financial advantage my unmarried sister had in mind when she sold her house to her son (somewhere in his 20s) for $1.00.  She lives in Florida, and I have no contact with her so I don't know if he lives in the house with her or not.  I can't imagine why she would have done this, but there must have been some supposed advantage.  Does anyone have any idea why she might have done this?

Answer:
 Tax evasion?  Hiding assets from the IRS, creditors, or a soon-to-be ex-husband?

There's a multitude of potential reasons, but nothing that we can really ascertain based solely on what you provided.


Title: Can I lose custody for filing child support?

Question: I have my two kids 5 days a week, sometimes 6, I need help and their mother doesn't pay any support. If I file for child support is there a chance the judge would just take away some of my days with my kids in exchange? I need help but won't risk losing time with them. United States/Missouri

Answer:
 If you desperately need the money child support would provide then you need to file. But the mother could decide that she suddenly wants more time with the kids to lower how much she pays.Answer #2: You may as well go ahead and file for the extra child support. If the Mother decides she wants more time with the kids, she could do that even without you filing for support, so even if you don't ask for money, there's the chance she might ask for more visitation anyways.Answer #3: IANAL, speaking only from life experience....

Sadly, if their mom isn't paying any support, and isn't trying to see the kids more than an average of a day and half a week...the odds are strong that even if she DOES ask for more time with them, and gets more time with them....she won't actually SEE them any more.
Like, she won't exercise the visitation she was given.  Maybe for a week or two, and them she'll skip a day, and then a couple, and then she'll be back to a day or two a week at the most.

AND unless for some crazy wacky reason the judge decides that out of the blue a parent who has shown minimal interest in spending time with their kids and has not contributed to their support in any way for months should have the majority of the custodial time, you'll still receive some child support.  Which the kids need.


Title: Misplaced vs Stolen, does it make a difference?

Question:
Edit: live in Texas
I bought an iPhone off craigslist that had been iCloud locked and therefore unusable. The person selling it (a cab driver) said that the iPhone belonged to a person who had received a ride and thrown up in the cab (possibly was drunk) and left his phone in the back seat. The person who left the phone lived in another state and there was no contact information given I assume. The driver had to pay a $200 cleaning fee and figured since he did not charge the guy he would sell the phone to try and make back some of the money he lost.
I purchase the phone and see there is a contact number on it so I message the number and am told by the owner of the phone that he will be filing a complaint with the cab company and will subpoena me to a claims court if I don't mail him his phone back. He claims I am an "accessory to the crime" and "in possession of stolen goods".
Since he was (presumably) drunk and the cab driver found the phone after the fact, which doesn't seem like he stole it, does it make a difference?
What action should I take and how serious should I be about this situation?

Thanks!

Answer: TL;DR OP knowingly bought stolen phone and messaged original owner to remove it from his iCloud account. OP is idiot


Title: Girl ive been seeing says shes calling the cops on me... do i have a reason to be worried? (FL, USA)

Question:
Ok so ive been seeing this girl i met on kik and shes been coming over and hanging with me and whatever. well recently she came over and we started like pokin eachother and stuff and that led to play wrestling (yea i know its dumb and childish but we were just goofin around) anyways she ends up kneeing me right in the jaw and at this point she stops and is like "HOLY SHIT IM SO SORRY" idk if it was the adrenaline or what but without thinkin i held her down and sat right on her face covering her mouth. at this point shes screaming "I CANT BREATHE I CANT BREATH" and i say "BREATHE THIS" so i let out a huge fart in her mouth and shes scramblin. at this point i get up and i realize what i had done and im speechless. she was screaming and coughing and she ran out of my apartment. anyways now shes sending me messages saying shes pressing charges and im really worried i just wanted to know how this looks for me?

reading this over again i realize it may seem ridiculous and hard to believe but in my mind i thought i would be funny and maybe upping the ante i didnt realize at the moment but i know its fucked up and ive been apologizing up and down trying to get her not to press charges. im 22 and she was 28 if thats important, thanks in advance
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 I do not believe this to be real. From your writing and what you said, I think you are most likely to be a twelve to fourteen year old making this up. If I am wrong, you are truly a weird dude. You are also so extremely immature you have put yourself in danger of criminal charges.

However, I am 99% sure you are a troll.


Title: Should I argue my speeding ticket? [MA]

Question: So today I was driving on the interstate in Massachusetts and was going 86 in a 65. A cop pulled me over, stated he clocked me at 86 mph in the left lane using lidar. Since this is 20+ over the speed limit it is going to significantly affect my insurance. It is even worth appealing? If so, what are some tips/strategies for the process?

Answer: Hi. Cop here. You can ask for a court date and hope the cop doesn't show up. Other than that you're pretty much SOL. You should probably slow down a bit.


Title: Colorado - Child seats not allowed in single cab trucks?

Question:
According to C.R.S. 42-4-236 a rear facing seat must be installed in the back seat only (no exceptions). How does this apply to vehicles that do not have a back seat or is that what "no exceptions" is referring to? Also, does this effectively ban car seats from single cab trucks?

Edit: I do not have a child but was wanting to clarify the law.

Answer:
 Colorado law requires infants under 1 year old and under 20 lbs. to ride in the back seat. Like you've read, **there are no exceptions.** It does essentially ban car-seats from being placed in single cab trucks.

If your child is older than 1 and heavier than 20 pounds, it **is** legal for him/her to ride in the front passenger seat, but is highly discouraged. If this is your only vehicle and your child meets these requirements, please be sure the vehicle seat is positioned as far from the airbag as possible and be sure that your child is tightly secured in his/her car seat, and that the car seat is properly installed in to your vehicle. And NEVER place a rear-facing child restraint in front of an active airbag.


Title: [GA] signed a non compete and pursued a job in the same field. I heard GA is a right to work state and my former boss is threatening legal action against my current place of employment. Can he or a lawyer do anything?

Answer:
 Right to work does not mean that you can violate the terms of a non compete contract without repercussions. Non compete clauses are, generally speaking, enforceable.

The better question is whether the non compete clause itself is enforceable.


Title: My Sister is fighting for custody of children against the mother and father in-law.

Question: Florida. My sister has 3 children, 2 of which (aged 10 and 8) with her separated ex husband. As she was a single mother she was unable to afford to care for the kids and find a place to live on her own so the in-laws agreed to help raise their grandkids (because my sister's family lives in New York and she moved to Florida to live with her then husband, we were unable to house them). Now my sister has her own apartment and the means to keep her kids there for an agreed 4 days a week, the Grandmother no longer deems my sister a worthy mother and is trying to claim full custody of the 2 kids. Because the grandmother was the one who enrolled the children in school she was allowed to remove my sister from the pick up list and her children are being held hostage unless she's willing to sign a form that would revoke custody but grant her visitation. As these are her kids and she is a single parent of yet another child she cannot afford a lawyer and the grandparents are considerably wealthy. What can she do?

Answer:
 She can't afford not to get a lawyer. She certainly shouldn't sign anything without talking to one. It's legally very difficult in most states for grandparents to take custody of kids away from competent parents, so she has a very good chance of getting her kids back. But yeah, she needs a lawyer ASAP, and she needs to do whatever it takes to get one.Answer #2: Do the grandparents have formal (court ordered) guardianship or custody? If so, she can see if she is eligible for [legal aid](http://www.flcourts.org/resources-and-services/family-courts/family-law-self-help-information/legal-aid.stml).

If she isn't eligible for legal aid, she is going to have to whatever she can to get legal representation, even if that means going into debt with a credit card. At a minimum she should find a couple of hundred dollars to have a one or two hour consultation with a lawyer.

Representing herself (pro Se) is an option if she has no other, she needs to start reading up about custody and parental rights.

If they have no formal care agreement, the mother is within her rights to simply retrieve her children from the grandparents, with the assistance of the police if necessary.

Answer #3: There's a lot missing here, grandma couldn't enroll the kids unless she has some kind of legal custody.  This doesn't make sense.


Title: Are deductions in the benefit of the employer illegal in Michigan?

Question:
I can't find an obvious answer anywhere.

 I make 40 cents over Michigan minimum wage. My employer splits till shortages between anyone that used the register that was short. We also pay for the retail value of incorrectly made items.

They charge us when we receive our pay (cash).  If I still receive minimum wage, is this legal?  Michigan minimum wage or federal?

Answer:
 Are you getting a written record of your pay at all - indicating taxes deducted, etc? Are they deducting taxes? If not you’ve got bigger problems (as do they). Answer #2: OP, some non-legal advice: If you're making 40 cents over minimum wage, consider leaving the job and finding higher pay. McDonalds is paying $12 in metro Detroit, and they won't play these "till" games.Answer #3: This seems to almost suggest that the employer isn't allowed to split the till shortage among employees at all:

https://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,4601,7-154-59886_27856-101127--,00.html

"Each deduction from the wages of an employee shall be substantiated in the records of the employer and shall be identified as pertaining to an individual employee. **Prorating of deductions between 2 or more employees is not permitted**" (Emphasis added)

They can deduct a shortage with your written consent provided they didn't threaten you with termination, but the practice of holding multiple people responsible since they don't know who is really at fault seems to not be allowed.

Obligatory "I'm not an attorney nor an employer in MI with any familiarity with their system."


Title: Adult child going to jail

Question: Throwaway account...  My adult child was in a car accident.  Another car was disabled sideways across their lane but, they were speeding so is deemed at fault in the death of another person.  Lawyer says they need miracle and is most likely going to jail.  I guess my question is about bail.  They have no money.  I am retired and living off my nest egg and can't afford to lose a large portion of it.  If bail is $1m then they'd have to come up with 10%, right?  Also, that 10% is non-refundable, correct?

Answer:
 Either they cough up the whole million and it’s all refundable or they go to a bail agent who charges a fee which is not refundable. 10% is a common fee so your scenario is a distinct possibility Answer #2: Bail laws differ drastically among states, which is why it asks you a half dozen times for your location when you make a post. That said... A million dollars bail seems really excessive without some severely complicating issues. I’ve seen murders and aggravated sexual assaults of a child with much lower bail.

Any remotely competent criminal attorney should be able to get that reduced, unless the court has strong reasons to believe your son would flee the state or otherwise not appear for trial. That moment got be the case if he has extensive criminal history, if he’s not a US citizen, if he’s not from the area where the crime happened or has family in another state/country, lots of factors.Answer #3: You’ve spoken with to your adult child about this/are certain that this happened, correct? Because this sounds like the opening to a fairly common scam.


Title: California: My aunt and uncle's lawyer sued someone they specifically asked him not to sue

Question:
I'm not sure what their options are and am just looking for some advice and assistance. Thus far their lawyer has not returned their calls. I'm trying to keep emotion out of this and just want to stick with the facts.

My cousin was the victim of a murderer. He has been arrested for it and my aunt and uncle have began civil legal proceedings against him. He was married, but it has come out during the early stages of the investigation that he married his wife in another state when she was 15 (he is in his 40's). Her biological father is in jail for molesting her when she was younger and he was friends with the man who is suspected to have killed my cousin. She is 16 now and police say that although she was married she ran away before he took my cousin. She is in the care of the authorities now.

She's underage, her name is not on his house or any of his bank accounts or assets and she was in Nevada when it happened. We fully believe she is a victim and our sympathy is with her. He was charged with molesting her. But the lawyer my aunt and uncle hired has filed two separate lawsuits, once against the murder and one against his wife. It's not even the same one with them together, they are completely separate. This is not what my aunt and uncle wanted. Their lawyer has not returned their calls so far. How do they get the lawsuit against his wife thrown out? Please, any assistance is appreciated.

Answer: Call the bar association in CA, he can't bring a lawsuit against his clients wishes.Answer #2: How long have they been waiting for the lawyer to call back?


Title: Uncle took dog. Worried about it's health.

Question:
My uncle recently took of our families dogs to his house and says he refuses to bring it back. I'm worried about the dogs health and safety because my uncle has a history of possible animal abuse.

For as long as I can remember he would always buy pets for my younger cousin and they would always disappear soon after. I don't know what ever happened to the animals. He would he gave them to a friend or would come up with some other excuse.

Just some background/examples so you can get a feel for why I'm concerned :

He once bought my cousin a husky pup and it disappeared after a few months, he said it was because it had gone to Alaska.

One day I went with him and my cousin to a flea market where he bought her a milk snake. It disappeared that same and a few years later we found out that he had dropped it over the fence to the neighbors house.

He would spray my dogs with the hose and they would try running away and when asked about it he would say he was cleaning the yard.

Sometimes he buys pets and then leaves them with us. He always says it's temporary but it never is. We end up raising them. This had happened with at least one cat, two dogs (one of which is the dog he took), and several fish.

Over a year ago he complained that the dog, the one he took, had fleas and sprayed her with Raid.

He once talked about getting a taser and testing on a cat but never acted on it.

I don't know the exact number of animals that have gone missing because of him but it is several dogs, cats, hamsters, etc.

I never reported this stuff because I was kinda scared. My grandmother is VERY protective of him. In her eyes he can do no wrong. Also he's doesn't listen. He won't admit when he's wrong and always thinks he's right or is doing the right thing. Not only that but he doesn't have his citizenship papers and If I did report something maybe he could've been been deported which would devastate my grandmother. Mainly I've been worried that if I did report something my entire family would be mad at me but I can't stand by If my dog is in danger.

I hope you can see my concern.

So what happened is that this dog, a small dog named Pepsi, was left In our hands as a puppy, Probably no more than a year old, several years ago. It's one of the dogs he left with us saying it would only be temporary. He never bought or adopted this dog, supposedly It was born from a dog my cousin had owned. We raised her from a puppy to now an adult without any help from him.

Last weekend, or Maybe two weeks ago, he took Pepsi to his house. He's done this before. He takes Pepsi to his house for the weekend. This time though he says he won't bring her back. He wants to keep her. He never asked anyone if he could take her home other then my grandmother who lives with us.

I don't trust him with any animal and I worry Pepsi could be in danger. Is there anything I can do to get Pepsi back? I firmly believe that animals aren't safe around him. Is there nothing I can do or Is there some way to get her back?

Thank you.

Answer: Dogs are considered property. If he stole the dog, contact the police. If you think he could be abusing the dog then report it to animal control which you could do anonymously


Title: What happens if you get selected for jury duty and your living outside the US or on a extended vacation?

Answer:
 As long as you have a good explanation for why you didn’t respond or show up, the court isn’t going to give you grief.

When I was in college, I got a summons one summer when I was working across the country. I sent them a letter explaining the situation and nothing ever came of it.


Title: Certifiably Crazy Tenant Terminating Lease

Question:
Tenant emailed me today with 'intent' to terminate lease and leave the apartment on Monday, 5 months before the lease term (about 8k in potentially owed rent).  She is claiming the house in uninhabitable due to an infestation of mice-- rendering our apartment a health and safety concern.  She has 4 daughters, 2 of which still live at home. I'd like to know what my options are moving forward. Is it even worth the effort and stress for legal action?

Our tenants are slobs to put it mildly.  Food, garbage and clutter are piled in every corner, under every bed-- covering all areas and this is not an exaggeration.   (EX: After two visits, 1 month apart, the same pile of food/halloween candy and wrappers remained under a chair.) The mice are thriving due to poor living conditions and clutter as stated by the exterminator.  She does not clean the mess, she just complains about it. She does not believe that candy, candy wrappers or food wrappers are garbage.

I below her apartment and while I have seen evidence of mice, the droppings can be counted on my hands.  There is no indication of an infestation.  I have made every attempt to rectify the situation, sealing gaps/cracks, bringing in exterminators, providing traps, etc.  She claims they have moved in and are more like pets than rodents. They have "attacked one of her daughters in her sleep" Her daughter is 19 years old... imagine that? After 19 months of living in my home, her daughter has developed an allergy to pet hair (ironically that daughter doesn't even live there). The problem was also "going on for months" before she brought it to our attention.

She is hostile and lacks the ability to have a conversation face to face so everything is done through email.  I am so frustrated and would love to share emails and conversations but the post would be too lengthy!

Answer: Have you been taking pictures when you are in there?


Title: How can I protect my assets if my future spouse is sued?

Question:
Boyfriend and I have been together for a few years and we plan to get engaged and married in the near future. We currently live in Maryland.

I work a standard full-time job and save diligently, so I have some assets, which will keep growing over the coming years. Assets are in retirement accounts (401k and IRA), checking and savings accounts, and in an UTMA set up for me by my parents. I also hope to buy property jointly with boyfriend in the next few years and am saving toward this goal.

Boyfriend owns his own small business; due to this fact, and the nature of the work, I believe he is at relatively high risk for lawsuits. This is not a situation where he is 100% definitely going to get sued, but there is a high liability surrounding his work. Boyfriend has few assets right now due to the cost of starting up the business and student loans. If we got married, I would be bringing in more at the start and more income for at least the first few years.

When boyfriend and I get married, how can I protect my assets in the event that he gets sued? A few specific questions: Is marital property completely "up for grabs" in the event of a lawsuit? Is there a way we should keep pre-marriage assets separate? Is there a way to keep post-marriage assets separate? Is it unwise to buy property jointly? Additionally - we live right in the DC/MD/VA area - would there be more favorable legislation if we moved from MD to DC/VA?

Note: I trust my boyfriend completely and I am not concerned about protecting assets from him, just from outside parties. If it weren't for the high liability business, I would be happy to get married without a pre-nup and combine assets completely.

Answer:
 Your boyfriend needs to do business under some type of corporation/limited liability company. That's the best way to protect personal assets. Answer #2: His high liability business should be organized so as to minimize the potential for personal liability.  That means an LLC or C-Corporation, with complete separation from his personal assets and dealings, and with business insurance of an amount coordinate to the potential liability.

Beyond that, you will need to speak with a local domestic relations/divorce attorney to see what combination of pre- and/or post-nuptial agreements is right for your needs.Answer #3: The first thing he should do (if he hasn't already) is create a business entity that will protect his individual assets.  Like an LLC or corp.  if the legal strictures are adhered to, it's almost impossible to cut through that to hold him personally responsible.

As to what you could do yourself: a prenuptial agreement that identifies your separate property combined with some form of trust would offer an additional layer.  Nothing is bulletproof or without other consequences, but there are options


Title: Emergency vet visit messed up, cost double to fix it

Question:
Couldn't post here yesterday for some reason. Copied my post in r/dogs here now.

NY, US

Our dog (Male, golden retriever mix, almost 2 we adopted so not exactly sure) was attacked by two smaller dogs at the park, maybe french bulldogs.  I'm not sure, I dont know breeds too well and this is my first time having a dog.  It was about a 10 second scrap and he seemed ok after.  In my ignorance I didnt thoroughly check if he was wounded since he just walked away as if nothing happened and continued to play with other dogs.  I also did not take down the owners' information which I know in retrospect I should have.

I get home and I'm washing the mud off him and he starts yelping and freaking out when I'm cleaning near his penis region.  I look and see he has a tooth size hole and some scratches.  Not bleeding severely but there is blood.  He had played for at least a half hour after the scrap with no indication he was hurt.

I freak and call our vet.  They're not open on Saturday so I take him to the emergency vet as their message suggests.  The emergency vet takes him in right away.  They say they its only a skin laceration but they need to cut it open to clean it out then staple it back up.  I agree not knowing any better and they do it.  Surprisingly they didnt need to use anesthesia as Caine is cooperative.  He comes out ok and just gets some meds for bacteria and pain relief (carprofen, cephalexin) and a cone.

He is less active the rest of the weekend and doesnt go to the bathroom as much as usual.  We thought it was because of the medication.

Today I get home and notice the entire area is inflamed.  We contact our vet and get him in.  The first thing our vet does is remove the staples because they believe the staples were holding in puss.  They state they never would have put staples in for this type of wound. After the removal of the staples the puss does not come out and now he has to go under anesthesia tomorrow to have the puss drained.

We are wondering if we have grounds to revoke the payment to the emergency vet.  It is going to cost at least double to fix what they did.  We're going to pay anything to have Caine be healthy again but its just a crap situation right now.

Answer:
 I’m not a lawyer, but I am an RVT. Nothing about the first treatment sounds out of the ordinary for the wound you described. Maybe they should have also used a drain, maybe not. Your dog developed an infection. That happens sometimes. It doesn’t mean the first doctor did anything wrong.

You should consider pursuing the owner of the dogs who attacked yours to cover all of your medical costs.


Title: [Tx] Dealer didn`t register paper plates and I got arrested for it.

Question:
I got pulled over and my paper plates from the dealer did not come back registered to any car. The paper plates were still valid for another couple weeks at the point of this event.

I got charged with "wrong, fictitious, altered, or obscured license plate" and my car got towed.

However, I did have my permanent plates, they had just not been put on yet.

Is there any recourse to take in this situation? I`d like to be reimbursed for the tow at least.

Answer: More than likely, once the permanent plates were issued, the paper (temporary) tag info was wiped from the state dmv, an unfortunate situation. If you had the permanent plates, why did you not put them on?


Title: Could I hypothetically insult my high school principal (to their face) directly after them handing me my diploma?

Question: In Minnesota, USA. Would they be able to take the diploma away if I earned it? Also I wouldn’t cause a scene (hypothetically), more of a little (hypothetical) whisper as they hypothetically hand it to me and I walk away (hypothetically).

Answer:
 My diploma wasn't in the little holder they give you during the ceremony, it came in the mail weeks later.Answer #2: >(hypothetically), more of a little (hypothetical) whisper as they hypothetically hand it to me and I walk away (hypothetically).

Don't try to be clever.

No, they're not going to take your diploma because you whispered "you're a poopy-pants" under your breath as you walked past the principal.Answer #3: Why anyone would want to teach children is beyond me. Or at least beyond my patience for bullshit like this.

Most likely the diploma isn’t in there because this is a ceremony and not an official graduation. Some students are allowed to walk with stipulations that have to be followed afterwards. Even if they don’t give you your diploma for the sake of what I’m sure is a well crafted insult, as long as you’ve met the states minimum requirements, you will “graduate” with or without the piece of paper.


Title: Being harassed in PA, can I get a restraining order?

Question:
In August I [19] cut off a fwb and sent a very clear text message instructing him never to contact me again. Since then I have had to block 5 different numbers of his and an Instagram account. I HAVE NOT WRITTEN A WORD TO HIM since I demanded him to leave me alone.

I am worried because yesterday he messaged me through Instagram (I blocked him right after) telling me that HE SAW ME ON MY LUNCH BREAK and now I am very concerned if he knows when and where I work.

All my friends advise me to go to the police and get a restraining order, but my parents told me it's hard to get one where I live, PA. Im wondering if my best course of action is to have a lawyer write a cease and desist letter, or if I should go directly to the police. I am also concerned about them taking my phone because that is where all of my evidence is. I don't want this douche to cause me to lose my phone for an extended period of time.

Advice? I am concerned about my safety at this point and don't know how to move forward.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 NAL

Victims of abuse in Pennsylvania can apply for three separate types of orders of protection, depending on the type of abuse suffered, the age of the victim, and the relationship between the victim and the abuser.  These options include a Protection from Abuse order (PFA), a [Sexual Violence Protection order, and a Protection from Intimidation order](http://www.palegalaid.net/news/plan-e-news/protection-sexual-violence-and-intimidation-act-now-effect).

Unfortunately none apply in your circumstances.

However you can utilise the criminal statutes for stalking and harassment by reporting the behaviour to the police. At this point they probably won’t do much, however should the behaviour continue you have a record.

A cease and desist letter is also a valid option, and provides evidence that you attempted to put a stop to the behaviour if it escalates.


Title: [UK/San Francisco, USA] My dad admitted to being part of a p(a)edophile ring in the USA as well as the UK, but which legal system will take on the case, British or American? (Sensitive topic, please be careful).

Question:
[removed]
Topic:
Troll Post

Answer: Individual incidents will be prosecuted where they occurred. Assuming enough evidence exists for probable cause.Answer #2: You need the advice of a lawyer, not random folks on the internet.  You have been made aware of an ON-GOING series of felonies.  You, your mother and the rest of your family are going to require significant legal intervention if you intend to have this situation prosecuted.


Title: Age of Consent in Alabama

Question: I know that the age of consent in Alabama is 16, but are there any age difference laws in Alabama? Our ages are 20 and 17. Would the parents be able to pursue any legal action toward me since I am 20?

Answer:
 Also note:  No nude selfies until she's 18.  Your state's consent laws don't affect the federal standard for child pornography.Answer #2: The age of consent in Alabama is 16, with no other caveats over that age.

Her parents can still prevent you from seeing her in other ways, and you may be on the hook for some other issue.  Additionally, you could face federal charges if you undertake certain actions, like transporting her to another state.

In short, you'd be smart to wait until she was 18.


Title: Can't join the US Navy because of SIS (Suspended Imposition of Sentence) - Seeking Help

Question:
I had a DUI (Misdemeanor) a year ago in Marin County, CA. I am trying to change my life for the better and trying to join the Navy.

My recruiter told me that I am ineligible for the service at the moment. Even though I am on Non-Supervised probation (which is waiverable for enlistment) the ISS(Imposition of Sentence) is making me ineligible for getting a waiver.

My recruiter showed me the following paragraph on the recruiting policy;

     "J.    Persons under unconditional or unsupervised probation are enlistment eligible. Persons under conditional or supervised probation or SUSPENDED JAIL TIME are not eligible to process for enlistment until the end of the probation period."

So what I am understanding from here is; ISS is basically suspended jail time in Navy's eyes.

****Following sentences are from the court minutes;
-IMPOSITION OF SENTENCE SUSPENDED.
-Restitution satisfied. Case converted to conditional sentence as of 4/20/2017
-Defendant NO LONGER on supervised probation as of 4/20/2017. Conditional sentence expires on 7/18/2019.

SO, MY QUESTION IS;
- I have added myself to the court calendar for tomorrow morning. I will talk to the judge about this issue. I cannot wait until 2019 to enlist.... And I MUST join the Navy! I need advices from anyone who had similar experience... How am I going to explain myself to the judge/or what exactly I will be asking from him/her?

Answer: When the military is low on manpower they're more liberal with the waivers, when they're not feeling the crunch, they're strict.  It's all at their discretion, they don't have to let you join or be consistent with the waivers.


Title: Neighbor called police to do a wellness check USA, WA

Question:
I went out of town over the weekend and left my dog outside (good weather, food/water and a friend came to check on him).

My neighbor that I do not get along with called the police and asked them to preform a wellness check because the dog being outside made him think someone in the home was injured.

The police came, entered my house through an unlocked window and then left.

I found out because the police left a card and told me when I called.

Is this legal? Can they enter my home uninvited with no attempts to contact me at the request of a nonresident?

They also left the window unlocked. Nothing appears to be missing, but my camera was disconnected.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Welfare checks are a normal part of community policing, and are low-key one of the more common ways people who die at home are ultimately found. They're not pleasant, and most people never encounter one, but they are legal, and calling the police to report a concern that your neighbour may not be well is allowed.

The police are required to exercise some discretion when entering someone's home. Generally, they need some kind of reasonable basis to believe that someone inside may be in distress. Leaving your house as if it is occupied, unlocked and with the pets outside, but with nobody answering the door _could_ give rise to a reasonable concern, although on the face of it I'm not sure I'd make the same call. If you believe the entry was not justified, given the lack of damage, you can talk to your local police ombudsperson or complain through the department.


Title: Is it legal to citizen's arrest a police officer?

Question: I almost hit a blacked out police car and I wanted to pull over and arrest the officer for driving without headlights at night.

Answer: Technically yes. Practically you're going to jail yourself.Answer #2: Why on earth would you do such a thing?Answer #3: Driving without headlights is an infraction.  You couldn't be arrested for such an offense.  Besides, why are you driving on the wrong side of the road?Answer #4: I cannot think of a single location where driving without lights on is an arrestable offense. Answer #5: You didn't put a location; generally a citizens arrest can only be done in cases of felonies. In your situation no felony occurred


Title: Car accident best course of action

Question:
Hi, today a friend called me stating she got into a car accident where the other driver was at fault but she drove away from the scene because she didn't have insurance. She then told me the police have drove around her place and have came looking for her a few times now. She wants to know if her best course of action is turning herself into the police and if she'll end up facing jail time.

Connecticut

Answer:
 A criminal defense attorney might be a good idea, depending on how far the police want to take this.

https://www.cga.ct.gov/2015/rpt/pdf/2015-R-0189.pdf

It's a crime to leave the scene of an accident without exchanging information when there's damage or injury involved.  Jail time is a possibility, along with fines.Answer #2: Retain a lawyer, follow their advice.

Needless to say, leaving the scene of the accident turned a civil matter into a criminal matter. Too late to cry over that now, though - your friend needs to get a lawyer NOW.


Title: Canada-does a lawyer have to declare representation?

Question:
Hi and thanks for reading. A person I am in a dispute with has told me the name of her lawyer. I emailed said lawyer and asked for verification that he did represent her. (She says a lot of things that are not true)
I have not heard back and I am wondering if a lawyer can just ignore this question?
Again- thank you!
Topic:
Business Law

Answer: You are not his or her client, he or she has no duty to answer you in any way.


Title: Friend tricked into eating a "pot brownie." Can they sue? U.S.A., Ohio.

Question: My friend got tricked into eating a brownie with marijuana in it. This friend is super straightedge, and was immensely offended by it. Can she sue?

Answer:
 Well, does she have any damages?

She certainly can sue. However, if no one has caused her any damages I am not sure why she would or what the purpose would be other than to look foolish in court.


Title: If I am in the US on a visa waiver or tourist visa, am I allowed to consult an immigration lawyer?

Question:
If I enter the country for a vacation, with the intent of course of returning home afterward, what would be the consequences of meeting with an immigration attorney while there?

Obviously, that would be the best place to do it. However, I am worried about the potential future consequences. I know, for example, that you can't enter the country on a tourist visa and have the intention to stay. I also read finding a resume in your luggage could mean trouble with authorities. I wouldn't be looking to stay at that point, which might be illegal anyway, but I would like to explore options for the future.

Answer: Former Deportation Officer here.  There are no consequences in meeting with an immigration attorney while you are here.  There are consequences if you fail to depart within the time granted though.Answer #2: You can consult a lawyer for legal advice in the United States for any reason while you are here.


Title: Has anyone ever been fined or prosecuted for piggybacking [the tailgating kind, not wi-fi piggybacking or wardriving]?

Question:
I'm asking this, because, I'm doing some research into scams etc. and because social engineering is a hot-button issue right now [especially with the Robert Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. elections, would that qualify as a *de facto* example of social engineering?].

Has anyone ever been fined or prosecuted for piggybacking [tailgating] -  when a person tags along with another person who is authorized to gain entry into a restricted area, or pass a certain checkpoint.

I've heard rumor/urban legend that some people piggybacked their way into a concert by Madonna in the 2000s, a Victoria's Secret show when Karlie Kloss and Adriana Lima were on stage, and more recently [in the past few years], when Taylor Swift was doing a concert [but this was a few years back], although I am uncertain if these are rumors or actually happened.

In my workplace, it's not *that* easy to piggyback due to security [no security guards, but access is via buzzer, so slightly harder] although in theory people could piggyback on people walking in and out the car park on the other side. So far we haven't had a piggybacking incident yet.

How do you prevent piggybacking in your workplace and has anyone on here been a victim of piggybacking/tailgating?

I am not looking for legal advice here, but am interested to know what the status is regarding piggybacking in all 50 U.S. states [and Canada] and also would be interested to hear if you think it could become a hot-button issue in society.

Answer: That would be trespassing. Everywhere. If you are somewhere you aren’t supposed to be without permission that’s just called trespassing. There’s no separate crime of “piggybacking.”


Title: Landlord revoking my right to washer/dryer and all kitchen appliances as "punishment" for not cleaning up after his kitten

Question:
I am just renting a room in the house that my landlord owns and also lives in. North Carolina.

His kitten tore up my toilet paper in the bathroom and made a huge mess, he says it's my responsibility to keep things secure since there are 5 cats in the house. This was never discussed or in the agreement. I have two cats, but they are old and never play or mess with stuff.

I said I would not clean up because I specifically chose not to get a young cat that makes a mess, and because he has also not provided a toilet paper holder in the bathroom.

Now he's revoking my rights to the washer/dryer, and all kitchen appliances as punishment basically. We did sign an agreement, but he says there is nothing specific about rights to appliances in it. I may have it over texting, however, that he said I can use the appliances.

I am moving out in a month anyway, so can he even enforce this? An eviction process takes a month anyway. I guess my main concern is coming home and having all my food taken out of my fridge.

UPDATE:
Ended up sending him this link about landlord having to maintain appliances and it seems like he backed off, though he is definitely throwing an adult temper tantrum because he can't control me as much as he would like. I gave my 30 day notice. Month-to-month agreement so he can't enforce any new rules for 30 days. I was planning to move out in about 33 days anyway, thankfully.
https://www.lawhelpnc.org/resource/landlord-must-make-repairs

UPDATE 2:
Looks like he keeps adding more and more rules out of spite. For example, I now can't adjust the thermostat at any point, even though I split the electric bill with him. He is home all day and uses significantly more electricity by having the AC on no matter what. My litterbox can't be in the common area now...Etc.
None of this is in the agreement. Not really sure what to do at this point.

Answer:
 No, he can't do that.  Access to the common areas of the house and use of the appliances there is included by default, it doesn't matter if it's not specifically mentioned.

Tell your landlord he has no right to do that, and if he interferes with your use of the appliances you will sue him for return of rent, plus any damages he causes (for instance, your food he throws out).
Answer #2: If you have a copy of the singed agreement (you should) take it and get a consultation from a lawyer, you don't have to go through with a suit for a return of rent or anything, but getting hardcore proof to show your landlord what he is doing is illegal will probably put him on the retreat.  If not the only option you have is to follow through, unless you want to leave that is.Answer #3: Ignore him and use your appliances.  Pretend like he is not there.
If he physically stops you/touches you then call the police.
If he just wants to yell and annoy you as you use things then just ignore it.  He will have to grow up eventually.


Title: Are there any laws protecting men from gender discrimination?

Question:
I work at a Taco Bell in Missouri. I know people usually think of women when it comes to gender discrimination, but it's kind of laughable just how obvious it is that my work favors women.

Everyone in charge is female. Everyone except for one guy manager, which isn't much if you consider the 13 female managers(yes, I counted). Men don't even get promoted to crew trainer, unless they really kiss butt and have worked there for at least a year - and that's if they like him. On the other hand, I've seen a girl get promoted after two weeks when she barely knew what she was doing.

I personally don't care about getting promoted(I have some computer skills, which I'm hoping will be enough to get me a better job), but the lack of respect is irritating and I feel like it should be illegal. Thankfully it's not everyone doing this, but there are enough people in power doing it that it's a problem.

If it is illegal, is there anyone I can notify to look into this after I leave?

Answer:
 >Are there any laws protecting men from gender discrimination?

Yes.  Those would be the exact same laws protecting women from gender discrimination.

>If it is illegal, is there anyone I can notify to look into this after I leave?

There's no way to tell based on what you've said.  "Lack of respect" is definitely not enough.

You are welcome to contact the Missouri Commission on Civil Rights.  [Start here with the complaint assessment.](http://labor.mo.gov/mohumanrights/File_Complaint/assessment)  There are strict time limits so if you're going to stay for awhile, you may not be able to complain after you leave.


Title: Could there EVER conceivably be ANY grounds for a class action lawsuit by unemployed and underemployed workers against the super-rich on the grounds of mass disenfranchisement and loss of opportunity? Why or why not?

Answer:
 No. Simply put because there is no legal theory to support such a claim. You generally cannot force someone to act in a way they don't want to act. Forcing a company to employ workers they don't wish to is against the principles of free enterprise

On a broader scale, nothing is stopping you or anyone else from starting their own business. Or you and those like you can vote for politicians who will change the law to be more to your liking.


Title: If recording people without their knowledge/consent is illegal then why are nanny cams/footage ok/admissible?

Answer:
 Without a location it is hard to give a specific answer, but two big reasons:

1) video recording someone without consent is generally legal (half the stores in the US record customers); audio recording someone without consent in some places is illegal

2) generally for someone to be audio recorded illegally they have to have a reasonable expectation of privacy, which you don't have at work


Title: Stranger towed vehicle off private property, damage to vehicle from towing company

Question:
FARGO, ND I was parked in the loading dock at the place that I work that is connected to an alleyway. I have full permission to park there and have often like many other people that work there. The business next door to us got a new manager and for whatever reason thought that his place of work has the right to use our loading dock. Since a coworker and I were parked there he called the towing company that his business has a contract with and they came and towed my car. They attempted to also tow my coworkers before we noticed and stopped the tow truck driver before he had left with the second vehicle. When we went to the tow truck company they told me that the general manager of the business requested the cars be towed because, "they were parked horizontally." I asked if they were aware they were towing cars on property they didn't have a contract with to which the responded with no and didn't seem to care. When I inspected the car, which is a low riding sports car, the front bumper is crumpled and gashed at the bottom from the towing. I look pictures and talked to a police officer on the phone that told me there wasn't anything they could do about it since it was a civil manner.

I am wondering what my options are here, the way I see it:

* Towing company towed a vehicle from private property of a business they didn't have a contract with and damaged the vehicle which makes them liable

* The general manager didn't have permission to have vehicles towed off the private property of my employer and damaged my vehicle making him or his employer liable.

* My employer is liable since I was parked on their property and working for them when it happened.

Let me know if I am shit out of luck or if I can get this sorted out to benefit me, thanks reddit!

Answer:
 Nobody here has mentioned it yet, but if you carry comprehensive insurance on your car, you should probably report it to them.  They can help you recover the costs from the tow company (maybe anyway).
Answer #2: Generally, the towing company would be the first party to be liable for damages to your vehicle. If you had to recover your vehicle from the two company, check anything you signed, as tow companies often include release from liability clauses in their recovery documents.Answer #3: If neither of the first two parties owns up and you end up suing, file suit against both the tow company and the party that called them, jointly.

Then it will be mostly them pointing fingers at each other, while the judge decides what percentage each owes you.


Title: TN Someone shot paintballs into my yard. Not sure what steps to take.

Question:
Let me preface this by saying I do not have a lot of money; I bought my house because the mortgage on it was $200 cheaper than rent, and I haven't been able to save like I planned because my car's fan went out, costing $500, and I got really ill the first few months in, so in bad over $400 in doctor's visits and prescriptions.

I just bought this house in November of 2015, and haven't had any issues with the neighbors. The back of an apartment complex runs up along part of the side of our backyard, and we haven't had any issues with them until this morning.

This morning I took my dog out in the backyard, and I heard some kind of air compressor shot, and recognised the sound as a paintball gun (my brother had one when I was a kid, and he used to terrorize the dog with the air compressor) and saw my tree losing some leaves. I walked over a bit further and saw people on their back porch of their apartment shooting paintballs at one of my trees, and into my backyard.

I stood there watching him shooting my tree for a few minutes, and I had a big smirk on my face, unfortunately I didn't have my phone. As soon as one of them saw me they ushered everyone on the back porch into the apartment. There were at least 8 shots on the tree, and when we spent the next 3 hours scanning my half acre back yard we found multiple paintball shells and spray all over the yard. A couple hit the back of my detached garage, and now we might have to paint it, or spend some time scrubbing it down.

I took pictures and picked the shells up and put them I'm a plastic sandwich baggie. One of them came out on the porch while we did this, looked like he was pretending to look for something, so I mentioned how I was thinking about calling the police non-emergency line to see what my options were for vandilism, but I don't want to press charges. I called the apartment complex to leave a message, as it is Sunday, and asked them to call me back. This is the first issue we've ever had, so I'm not really interested in doing anything legal. On top of that, I'm kind of poor, so I can't really hire a lawyer.

Do I call the police and make a report? What would that entail? If I tell them I'm not interested in pressing charges what would they do on their end? Would they investigate this on their own? What would pressing charges for vandalism of private property entail?

Answer:
 Yes. You call the police immediately. Non-emergency line, of course. You file a complaint. Only the police/prosecutors can decide to press charges, which will be determined after they investigate.

You also should call the property manager of the complex and lodge a complaint there. They should be very interested in their tenants committing vandalism from their property.

If you have any property damage, you can ask the police/prosecutors to make restitution a part of the criminal case. You can also file with your own insurance and they would likely go after those folks to subtogate their costs. If you don't want to involve your insurance, you sue them in small claims, or if you want them to pay your deductible.

Don't let this slide. It will only progress if you do nothing.


Title: I (28m) am an Uber driver. I think one of my passengers framed me for drug trafficking. What are my options?

Question: I am an Uber driver in New York. Four days ago, I got pulled over by a police officer and one of my passengers framed me for drug trafficking. I denied the accusation made by the police officer. However, I got drug tested and got a positive result on cocaine even though I'm not on it. I have 10 more days left until I go to court. What are my options?

Answer:
 Hire a lawyer.

Hire a lawyer now.

Why are you reading this?  I told you to hire a lawyer.Answer #2: How did you go from a Texas based HS sophomore to 28 year old NY based Uber driver in 11 hours?Answer #3: What do you mean by you got drug tested? At the scene, or were you arrested and blood/urine was taken?


Title: [CA] Refusing legal documents

Question: My in laws threatened to take me to court a couple months back. Today someone came to the house asking for me but I wasn't able to come to the door. My therapist told me if anyone wanted to give me documents to deny them. Is that possible? Am I able to do that without getting in trouble?

Answer:
 Playing games with service of process is legal - it's just a bad idea, generally. Someone serving process on you is not your enemy. Their entire involvement is to _let you know that you are party to a legal dispute_. Presumably you're happier knowing than not knowing.

Dodging service may delay the dispute a bit, but it may also allow the plaintiff to get permission from the courts to serve you by publication, allowing them to proceed in your absence.

Accept service, take the documents to a lawyer, and go from there.


Title: Can a company that I interviewed with for a job tell my (now former) employer about the job interview?

Question:
I had a job interview while at my previous job. the employee at the prospective company I talked with said he knew someone at my company, but that he wouldn't disclose my interview to him... but he did, I later found out from another colleague at my former employer. This colleague learned this from speaking with the guy who knew the prospective company's employee I interviewed with.

Can a company do this?

Answer:
 I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago.  One of the partners at the prospective firm's wife worked at my former firm.  The morning of my interview (I had taken the afternoon off), my managing partner calls me into his office to wish me luck on my interview with the other firm.

I was furious.  I decided that if the prospective firm couldn't respect a confidential interview then they certainly wouldn't respect me as an employee.  I still went to the interview but declined their offer.

It was a blessing in disguise.  Moral of the story....yes, it happens...and maybe more than you think.  Had my boss (who really was a stand-up guy) never told me, I wouldn't have known.  Small world and all that.