Title: A former employer giving false/contradictory testimony, a Claims deputy disregarding protocol, zero response on appeal; Unemployment legal advice please!

Question:
(Throwaway because former co-workers know me on here, potentially former employer as well)

~~I will try to keep this short~~ (*I failed, it's long as shit, my apologies*) but thorough. The company I used to work for was bought out last Summer, and the supervisor of my department (Content Management for a network of online retail stores) was the wife of the former owner/president. She assigned a lot of my work, was there to answer questions/offer correction, and managed the department. I had no previous experience in CM, or working in e-commerce at all, prior to that position (at the time of the buyout, I had worked there for 2 years), but had acquired the position because I demonstrated an ability to write creative and engaging product descriptions, as well as an eye for grammar and spelling in editing our site, mailers, and other posted material (of course, I am almost assuredly going to leave an error in here somewhere). Since it was a small company, prior to my employment, the owner's wife was the only person doing any type of CM, and that was only in her spare time because she was also head of art & design, as well as a major part of customer advocacy and account management. I served as an extra pair of hands to do task-assigned work.

After the buyout, the owner and his wife left the company. The new owners did not bring in any new supervisor for our CM department, they worked off-site (their office is in another state and they made infrequent, short visits), and I was given no new job description or update to my job duties (despite several requests). As the months went along, I found more and more of the work that my supervisor previously handled (photographing new products, designing SEO campaigns for new product lines, and the overall management of the department) began to slide across my desk. I tried my best to keep up, but quickly realized that there was no additional help coming. I was not given a raise, a promotion, or any other clear expansion of my duties.

As the workload increased, well beyond my skill and knowledge, I became concerned that I would not be able to meet their expectations; especially as we approached the holiday shopping season which, in the years previous, has been our busiest time of the year by leaps and bounds. I would send emails with questions (regarding how to do something, asking for clarification, etc) that would go unanswered for weeks, and usually never answered at all.

In November, I requested a meeting with the new owners to express my concerns and seek a solution. The one owner expressed, both to me and our warehouse manager, that he felt bad for how 'neglectful' (his word) he had been of me during the transition. I told him that there were several aspects of my position, which had formerly been handled by my supervisor (a part owner of the company) that I was not qualified to do. Most specifically, this was in the photography side of things and in managing SEO campaigns. I had been attempting to fill the role of photographer (over 2 1/2 months I had taken photos of the same 12 products numerous times, sent them to the new owner's intern who was supposed to do the editing necessary to get them site-ready, only to be told they weren't good enough for various reasons, each time I would go back and try again but run into different criticisms. Meanwhile, those 12 items were listed without images, and not selling, on our site. I had been doing html and other classes on codeacademy.com, but was very much a beginner. And I had been working my way through an extremely large book on SEO (the only resource I had been given by my new employers), but again was very much a beginner as I had previously done specific and assigned tasks in that realm.

When I first started with the company, I had worked both in the Warehouse as a picker/packer and in the office for several months before transitioning into a full-time office position. During the November & December months, I would return to a Warehouse-heavy workload because I had the experience, and our order volume would be so high. I set several records for fastest picker, most orders picked in a day, and accuracy during those times. During the rest of the year, I maintained an active connection to the warehouse as I was responsible for data-gathering on new products (dimensions, weights, materials used, care instructions, artist/maker) which required me to be an active part of the receiving process. The former owner had hired someone to handle the hands on, data collection so that I could spend more time on the CM side of things, but the new employee left shortly after and those responsibilities returned to me.

Given the expanding size of the company under new ownership (new owners also owned another e-commerce company and, in the 1st meeting in November (during which I was sick with the flu, and came in just to make it to the meeting; they were aware of my illness), suggested that I would be expected to handle Content Management for that company as well; products I had never worked with before and the company was located across the country) and the lack of a replacement in the supervisor role, I felt that the job was quickly expanding past my abilities, knowledge, and skill. I expressed this in our first meeting, and explained that not only was it an issue of know-how, but also time constraints; as I was still responsible for handling every new product that came through receiving to gather relevant physical data, still responsible for keeping the UPCs in our system up to date and scannable (they often changed as manufacturers made small changes/updates to their products), on top of editing mailers and promo emails for grammar/spelling, and writing product descriptions for new products as well as continuously updating older listings, improving meta keywords (previously only relevant for internal search functions as opposed to SEO, as far as my input was concerned), I did not feel that I would also have time to be the full time photographer and head of SEO campaigns for our whole company on top of another company in a market I had no experience in and on top of this all taking place during our busiest time of the year.

I felt that I could best and most consistently contribute to the company if I was working under someone with significant experience in the CM field, or along with a team of people who possessed the experience and skills that I did not, and offered my ability and experience in working in the warehouse as an alternative to the hiring & training of temp workers for the holidays. This way I would still be able to do the CM work that I had previously been responsible for, but also be an asset in other areas. They were very dismissive of this and kept saying that I simply needed to be willing to learn these new roles. I expressed that I had been very willing to learn, reiterated the steps I had already been taken, but that I was concerned that there was not time enough to learn and master these skills in order to run the department on my own, especially during such a busy time, I also expressed my concern over the lack of responses to my emails regarding these new projects and the absence of a definitive and clear job description. The meeting ended with the one owner assuring me that they would be much more responsive and available to help and that they would draw up a clear-cut job description so we could re-address the issue on the same page.

I returned to work 2 days later to find that not a single email awaiting answers had been answered, the job description was 'still being worked on', and there were 60 new products awaiting photographs and needed to be taken care of "ASAP so that they can sell during this holiday season" (remember, the original 12 products had still not been properly/successfully photographed despite 7 prior attempts and exchanges with their intern who was to edit the photos).

I emailed the new owners again, and in clear terms expressed that I felt many of these new duties exceeded my knowledge and skill (as they had previously been handled by the head of the department, a part owner of the company who had worked in the field for a decade+) and that, while I continued to utilize all assets provided and those I had provided on my own to learn these skills, that time did not allow me to learn, master, and cover these new duties during our busiest time of year, especially working alone. I stressed that I felt it was important for someone with experience to be running the department and offered, again, my abilities in the Warehouse as an option to make the fullest use of my time as I learned the ropes of this expanding position.

I received no response throughout the day, and when I logged on to a video conference call regarding the Content Management needs of their other company ( a previously scheduled call) I was kept on the line and not informed of any problem. 20 minutes prior to end of day, I was called and told that I was being let go because I didn't display enough enthusiasm and eagerness for my position, and that working in the warehouse was "simply not an option for you" despite the Warehouse Manager's previous request for my help, despite my stellar performance record in that area, and despite my offer to take a 20% pay cut to account for the change in duties.

This is so long. I apologize and I am so very grateful if you are still reading, believe it or not, I am summarizing quite a bit!

During my claims interview for unemployment, I explained this situation to the 'Claims Deputy' who stated twice that he "did not know what 'content management' was, and did not understand what the field entailed", to which I explained as best as possible. After giving my statement, I was told that he would call my employer and then bring me back on the line to hear their statement upon which time I would be allowed to present a rebuttal if necessary.

I was left on hold for approximately 15 minutes, upon which time he returned and informed me that an employee named Magda (their office secretary with whom I had only one previous interaction) had informed him that I was fired because I had insisted on being given the Warehouse Manager's position (completely false, the WH manager had actually been helping me write and proofread my emails to them regarding my concerns) and had refused to do my job (also untrue, as I did my job to the best of my ability up until the moment of the phone call). The Deputy asked me if I had a response, and I explained as I just did how false those statements were.

A week later I was denied my unemployment claim and the reason given was that I had "refused to do my job, refused to take on duties that my employer had every right to expect of me given my field, and had refused all training". I had never refused any training, and had told the deputy about the training I was involved in; I never refused to do my job; and I am confused as to how the same man who stated he did not know what my position was or entailed could then make the judgement that my employer had fair expectations of me in that position. The claim of me insisting upon the WH Manager's position was absent.

I filed my appeal within the allotted time period explaining all of this, and reminding them that I have the emails from my final week that show the concerns I did present and show that I never refused work or training.

4 weeks have passed since filing my appeal and I have heard no result. Any attempt to reach the office by phone (last attempt was calling all 3 available numbers, twice an hour from 11am-4pm) has been met with an automated message "Thank you for calling the reemployment office, due to the high volume of calls we can not take your call at this time". There are no phone tree options regarding appeal status, and the website directs you to a page with the 3 phone numbers that I had and guides you to call them for more information.

I don't know what to do. From my point of view, my former employer gave a provably false testimony, the claims deputy broke protocol, and yet I was still denied my initial claim and since filing a thorough appeal I haven't even been given a verdict. I don't even know how to take the next step or if there is a next step. I can't exactly afford to hire a lawyer (if I could, then getting my unemployment would probably not be as important) and I'm not even sure what the case would be or who I would pursue a case against. If anyone has any kind of advice or can point me in the right direction, I would be immeasurably grateful. I am located in the USA, NJ if relevant.

Answer:
 TL;DR:

OP has job A, and supervisor does job B.

OP's company is acquired, and supervisor is gone.  OP is being asked to do job A and job B.  He does not consider himself qualified for job B, and also has no ability to do two jobs with one butt.  He points this out, while continuing to do his own job, and trying to do bits of job B.

He is let go for failure to show "enough enthusiasm and eagerness for my position."

Testimony by former employer at Unemployment hearing was that he "refused to do his job, refused to take on duties that his employer had every right to expect of him given his field, and had refused all training."

Unemployment denied.

OP appealed 4 weeks ago, but can't reach unemployment office.  He wants to know what to do.

Also, he's in New Jersey.


Title: Brother getting a divorse, as of like an hour ago.

Question: He's already moving out.  I always see stuff like "dont just move out".  They have a house.  He doesnt want a lawyer even though I said I would get him one.  What are the general no nos of a divorce.  Location is New Hampshire.

Answer:
 "General no-nos" as you put it, would include disposing of property or assets without the other person's knowledge and consent (i.e., giving things away so it doesn't get divided in the divorce); hiding assets or lying about your assets or income; unreasonably interfering with the other parent's placement/visitation of the children; and unilaterally removing the other spouse from insurance policies (health, life, auto, for example) without their consent.

Those are just some that come to mind off the top of my head.


Title: What do I say my job is?

Question:
Not sure if this is the right place but maybe. I have a  custody hearing coming up and my attorney has told me a little about it, judge will probably ask what I do for a living.

My job takes some explaining. I freelance write for a site that helps low-income people with resources they can use and I also do social media management for that site but I also write for another site that helps people start their own niche blog. And I run my own website which is 0 profitable (irrelevant but).

I feel it’s really important in making myself look better (the other party is PETTY) that I say I work for a site that helps low income people but it just takes so long and sounds so messy. Also, self-employed makes me sound like a hawk snake oil or overpriced candle melts ... or I’m a drug dealer. Freelance writer makes me sound like I’m a fatty who sits in the basement with Cheeto hands looking up stupid information (which isn’t inaccurate).

I will not have a chance to talk to my attorney again and feel this is so trivial it’s not worth wasting his time (and my money- custody attorneys are EXPENSIVE y’all) to just make a quick call or email so I thought maybe you all might have suggestions for how to make my job sound more...professional.

Again, sorry if this is the wrong place.

Answer:
 "I am a freelance web writer and a (full-time?) social media manager for [NAME OF COMPANY ON YOUR PAYCHECK]. I have brought with me [APPLICABLE TAX FORM] to demonstrate that I have a steady income."

The judge doesn't care if you're a professional puppy rescuer or own a BDSM dungeon. He wants to see that you have a stable income, and a schedule conducive to raising your kid(s). So show up looking like a professional, and ready to explain how you plan to take care of your child(ren).


Title: How to get arrest records taken down and can we sue for the arrest. [FL]

Question:
My friend was released yesterday from jail. They were arrested for failure to appear and the police released her because she did appear. It was a filing error at the court that ended up with her being arrested and she would have missed the appointment with her probation officer if it wasn't for being bailed out if she would have missed that appointment she would have lost her pretrial diversion and would have gotten more charges. She is suffering from withdrawal from her medicine as they didn't let her take the medicine she had when she was arrested or provide her with the medicines during the 5 days she was in jail. She was arrested in error and now were trying to get the pictures and records off of the following sites: http://florida.arrests.org/ http://openpasts.com https://mugshotsearch.org https://www.usinq.com/ www.floridablotter.com and I'm pretty sure there are other places I missed. but the arrest was made in error and she has lost job offers from this. Is there any way that she can get her records taken down from those websites.

My second question is can we sue due to the fact that this arrest was made in error and has put her life in danger. Some of the medications she was on could have killed her from stopping taking them without being weaned off. right now she is in her room crying because she lost her job from this and is having trouble finding a new job due to having a record. All we want is really to get her information taken down. she's convinced that her life has been ruined.

also update of this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3klz14/fl_arrested_for_failure_to_appear_in_court_but/
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 1.  Those sites can legally keep the truthful data of her arrest online.

2.  Failure to provide prescription medication is a violation of her rights.  She can certainly complain about it.

3.  The error in arrest isn't actually actionable, though.

4.  Reputation management is all about overwhelming the mugshot sites with better quality data.  So, create those social media accounts, and curate the heck out of them.

5.  If she is already on probation, she already has a criminal record.  Why does she think that it's this issue that's causing her a problem with employment?


Title: Help! Received $105 parking citation while sitting in car (SF)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Was your car in park?  If yes, you were parked regardless of anything else.

Edit:
Was your car stopped while it said "No Stopping"?  Then you were in the wrong, regardless of anything else.


Title: Question about healthcare professionals who report individuals to CPS for child abuse/neglect.

Question:
I just found out, 3 days ago, that I was reported to CPS. The social worker came and visited, was SUPER nice and we answered all of her questions and showed objective proof that all of the allegations made were false... that my child is safe, well taken care of, etc.

I want to say that, despite feeling heartbroken, exasperated, and shaken to the core that someone would call CPS on me, I have to put those feelings aside, ultimately, and be thankful that there are systems in place that are out there to help protect children from child abuse. I think CPS workers are the most under thanked and under appreciated people, next to teachers, when it comes to protecting the future of our world... our children.

Having said that, I can't help but shake the constant chatter in my mind: "Who would make these allegations against me?" And after hearing the very specific details of such, I have narrowed it down to two people who I have shared information that these accusations may have been drawn from.

I'm still focusing on the positive, focusing on my daughter, and trying to shake this all off as quickly as possible, because ultimately, I am a good mother, my child will not be taken from me, and I know that dwelling on it will do no good.

**So this is my last inquiry into all of this, and then I am just going to try and let it all go for good. I just want to know who did it... my sister or my psychologist (who I no longer see).

According to state law in Texas, a healthcare professional MUST report suspected child abuse/neglect within 48 hours. I last saw her on April 22nd of this year, and I was told that the allegations were made on May 4th.

If a psychologist fails to make the call to CPS about child abuse/neglect within the 48 hours, and then does so nearly 2 weeks later... after I abruptly stopped seeing her (long story- I felt that she was crossing professional boundaries and I felt uncomfortable with that)... does that not put her at risk for being prosecuted under Texas Law Sec. 261.101?

I truly feel that she did not call CPS on me, that my sister did, but I just don't want to believe it... and I am trying to rule out the ONLY other alternative there is. If there is a possibility that my ex-psychologist may have done it, then I feel like I might sleep better at night. I dunno. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated**
Topic:
CPS and Dependency Law

Answer:
 >does that not put her at risk for being prosecuted under Texas Law Sec. 261.101?

That is really up to CPS and is also rarely used unless a kid is seriously injured due to lack of reporting.

There is a possibility that anyone, literally anyone, called. Anyone can call. And dwelling on who called won't change that you don't know who called for sure.

So move on and be happy that you are a great mom with nothing to worry about in regards to CPS.


Title: My doctor broke HIPAA law and almost gave my mom a heart attack

Question:
Hi everyone.

I’m a 22 year old female.
I called my OBGYN this morning because I noticed a lump on my left breast that was tender to the touch. I’ve never gotten a mammogram before and decided that this could be the right time to go and make sure everything was okay.

I called and the doctor was out for a quick  break so I was told to leave a voicemail for her nurse. I explained the whole situation and explained that I’m a bit nervous. Also, I leave my phone number for her to call me back on and state that it’s my personal phone number that I will have all day.

I don’t hear anything all day (I called around 9 am) and actually am quite offended that I wasn’t called back. It just seemed odd. I come home around 8 pm tonight to find my mom with a tear-stained face. She says that doctor called her and told her that I need to come in for a breast cancer screening because my symptoms seemed “worrisome”.

Thanks to this doctor completely disregarding ANYTHING I told her about how to contact me, my mom went over 10 HOURS THINKING I WAS SERIOUSLY SICK. This doctor broke HIPAA and hurt my mom.

I’m not upset she called my mom - I was never the teenager that made it so my mom had no rights to my medical and school info - I’m upset she broke HIPAA and scared the daylights out of my mom.

What should I do? Frankly, I don’t want to go back to that doctor, but do I have a case here? Thank you for all your help!!
Topic:
Healthcare Law including HIPAA

Answer:
 You don't "have a case". You file a complaint and let HHS decide if they have a case.

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.htmlAnswer #2: You can file a HIPAA complaint.  Nothing will come out of it for you.  You make the complaint, they investigate, office gets fined, worker gets disciplined.  That's it. There is no lawsuit involved or anything like that.

And you certainly don't have to go back to that doctor


Title: GoPro Question

Question:
Hello all. Throw away cause question is kinda shady but I promise I do not plan to do anything illegal. Hypothetical scenario but lets say Phoenix, Arizona for the location bot.

I have been considering getting a GoPro or similar type thing for my motorcycle rides (the ones that attach to the top of your helmet) and I was wondering what my legal rights were considering what I record.

If it would record me doing something illegal, like making an illegal U turn, and for whatever reason the police need my recording for something unrelated could they reasonably charge me for the illegal U turn after seeing it on the recording? Could I edit the video file to only show the relevant times the police needed? Could they take the recording by force or would I have to agree to give them the recording?

Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 >If it would record me doing something illegal, like making an illegal U turn, and for whatever reason the police need my recording for something unrelated could they reasonably charge me for the illegal U turn after seeing it on the recording?

Yes, this can and has happened.

>Could I edit the video file to only show the relevant times the police needed?

Also, yes.

>Could they take the recording by force or would I have to agree to give them the recording?

If they have probable cause to take it or a warrant for it, absolutely. You would hire a lawyer to fight the seizure as unreasonable.


Title: I recently won a civil suit but the guy still will not pay what I am owed. I need help!

Question:
I hired a local contractor to do work at my house and it was unsatisfactory to say the least.  I hired him to install a french drain to alleviate standing water in my yard, after the installation was complete the water issue did not subside, but actually had gotten worse.  I called him and he did come back and attempt to fix it a second time. This time he tore up my yard and the water problem still was not fixed.  I gave it a few weeks to "start working" as he insisted it took 2 weeks for a french drain to start working. After 3 weeks I tried calling him and told him the water issue was worse than ever, but would never get a call back.  Finally 2 weeks later his GF calls me and says he has "been hunting in the mountains" but will call me at the end of the week. I found out that he wasn't hunting, but he was in jail for theft. Once he got out he called and insisted it was nothing he did, but wanted me to fork over additional money to "try something else". This wasn't happening, I told him he will not get any more of my money and he could either pay me back what i paid him for the work or we can go to court.  He didn't pay me, so I filed against him.
We went to court and the judge ruled in my favor, he owed me the $500 I had paid for the work. He had 30 days to pay and if he didnt we had to go back to court.  30 days comes and goes and I return back to court and he no-shows.  Come to find out he was incarcerated again on other charges.  At this point the judge rules he owes me an additional $142 I had paid to file the suit in the first place bringing the total he owes me $642.
It has now been 3 months and I have no received a single dime.  i recently filed a case against his insurance for property damage but they told me hsi policy doesnt cover that and there is nothing I can do.

Can someone please tell me if there are any other options for me to get my money or am I out of options?

Thanks for your help!

Edit: I am in Pennsylvania.  Sorry, forgot to add my location.

Answer: Collecting is the hard part. You didn't list your location, and some states allow certain collection methods or forbid others, so it's hard to offer any real options until you tell us where you're at.


Title: Cyberbullying, impersonation, and stalking. Is this enough to take to the police? [Oregon, USA]

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Sending nudes isn't "slander".

Report it to Facebook, ignore it, stop contacting your ex, and move on with your life.


Title: Kansas: My neighbors appear to be hiding a vehicle between my rental home's fence, and their garage. It is parked on grass that i am responsible for mowing, so i assume "my property". If its stolen, or was involved in a crime, could i get in trouble? They covered the plate with a paper towel...

Answer:
 Not a lawyer, but you could ask your landlord. Play dumb "I know it is my responsibility to mow the lawn but there's been a car in the way, have I been mowing your yard or theirs?"

The landlord wont want to be ticketed for high grass and will take care of the car being in the way.

The paper towel thing may be something stupid like the tags being expired and them not wanting ticketed for an untagged vehicle. Answer #2: Assume nothing. Get a survey done, and then you'll know.

If it's on your property, contact the owner and ask them to remove it. If they leave it there, call a tow company. You could also make a police report that your neighbour is trespassing and parking his car on your property, and let them tow it.

If it's not on your property, why are you mowing it?


Title: [Upstate NY] Can my employer wait until the end of the year to pay overtime wages.

Question:
I just learned about my very small employer's overtime policy and it sounds suspicious.

We are hourly and (I believe) non-exempt workers and we normally get paid weekly. If we work overtime, however, we get paid for 40 hours on the regular payday, and then at the end of the year we get paid for all the overtime hours worked during that year at time and a half.

Is this legal? Is my boss trying to pretend it's a bonus so he doesn't have to pay some hourly rate insurance?

Answer:
 No that's completely not legal if you're non-exempt.

https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime_pay.htm

"Normally, overtime pay earned in a particular workweek must be paid on the regular pay day for the pay period in which the wages were earned."

Now if the work week is split between one pay period and the next, it is legal to wait to pay the overtime premium only until the entire week can be seen as a whole, but absolutely not until the end of the year.


Title: [Long Island, NY] I think the owner of the home I'm living in has abandoned it. I would like to continue living here.

Question:
This house was bought about 13 years ago and was home to four generations of my family.

My Grandmother/Grandfather were responsible for the mortgage, while my parents were responsible for the bills (Power, Water, Oil, Internet, Cell Phone, Cable).
The three kids (me and my siblings) did not chip in on bills until we were older. Two have moved out and now I live here with my husband where we contribute to the bills and have for several years. My parents/me and my husband manage upkeep (landscaping), maintenance, and modifications as well.

This went on until last August, where my grandmother and mother had a fight over a relative who was an accused pedophile. Within three days of this fight, Grandma went missing, and then within the week her cell phone was disconnected. She has made no contact since then and we got a mail-forward card for her in the mail.

We are now starting to receive bills in her name from a mortgage company and we are beginning to worry she isn't paying.  (We aren't opening any of her mail, just leaving it in her side of the house. We also threw out some rotting food.)

My youngest brother let me know she showed up at our uncle's place in Las Vegas and said she 'left New York for good'. Through him, I have obtained her new phone number.

She's left behind an entire house of items and even her car.

Me and my husband would like to continue living here and are willing to take over the mortgage, however, we want to do this properly and don't want to get hit with penalties because she doesn't want to pay anymore. What next?

Answer:
 >Me and my husband would like to continue living here and are willing to take over the mortgage

You do not own the building, so you cannot "take over the mortgage".

If you paid the mortgage, the building owner would be darn happy, but you would see no real benefit.

If you want to keep living int he building you'd have to buy it from its current owner.

Otherwise, you may be given notice to leave according to NY law at any time the owner decides to.Answer #2: > Me and my husband would like to continue living here and are willing to take over the mortgage, however, we want to do this properly and don't want to get hit with penalties because she doesn't want to pay anymore. What next?

Then you will have to purchase the property either from the current owner or the bank (if there is a foreclosure). I suggest you speak to a RE attorney with a LLT background (as well) and understand your rights.

-

The bank doesn't really care that you're willing to take over the mortgage, per se.


Title: Boss offering under the table compensation.

Question: I currently work 36 hours a week at a $15.00 an hour wage. Boss offered to increase my hours (I accepted the position under the assumption I'd be working 40 hours) but only if I accept money under the table at $10.00. I know this is illegal and have read up on tax fraud, UI, and SS loss. I didn't accept and am looking for another job but my question is should I report it anyway? I don't benefit in actual back pay or lost wages because I don't have a written contract of employment stating 40 hours.

Answer: You should not agree to break the law and work under the table, period.  That is the correct legal advice.


Title: Lawyer Won't Pay For Services Rendered (VA)

Question:
My dad is a dentist and provided services(surgery and etc) for a client who was involved in a car accident. The total amount came out to $8,000. The lawyer told my dad he would get paid after the settlement.. The settlement came and they recovered X amount.

Now, the lawyer says he only wants to pay $800 for the work my dad did, in a letter. My dad has been trying to contact the lawyer to discuss the matter but the lawyer is unresponsive.

What exactly is the best course of action? Should i report him to the ABA for Rule 4.1 & 4.2 violations?

Answer:
 The lawyer doesn't get to dictate the cost of the dental services his client received, and should not be involved in the matter at all.

If the amount is due, your dad can sue the client for the amount owed, send it to collections, etc...Answer #2: From the few facts, it sounds like the settlement did not fully cover all of the medical costs associated with the injuries from the accident.

When that happens, it is quite normal for a lawyer to try and negotiate with all of the medical providers to lower the amount owed so that all of the bills total less than the money recovered.

Usually this is done before settling for such a small amount. Calling everyone involved and saying "There's $100,000 in medical expenses, but only $20,000 in insurance coverage. Everyone is going to get screwed in this deal. You have a lien for X, given the circumstances will you accept Y" sounds better than hearing after settlement you are only getting 1/10th of what you thought you were getting.

On the plus side, the lawyer has to keep all of the funds in their trust account until an agreement between all the claimants on the recovery can be reached.  It may take a while, but the money shouldn't go anywhere.

If the money does go somewhere without the full agreement of your father, the appropriate body to complain to would be the Virginia Bar Association, not the ABA.

Call the lawyers office and ask to speak to the assistant/paralegal working on the case. They will probably know everything and can tell you some of the facts. They can't make any decisions, but they can relay your comments to their boss. They are always in the office.


Title: Brother (13) being accused of sexual abuse

Question: This started last week actually. On Sunday after Thanksgiving, my sister calls me to inform me that my cousin Jo is claiming my brother, who is 13, inappropriately touched her daughter (5). This came as a shock and completely from left field. Jo called my sister up on Friday (before ever calling my mom) yelling at her and stating "your fucking brother touched my daughter". My sister told her to call me mom, because she wasn't my brother's parent and also lives in CA. Jo did call my mom, however, she wouldn't tell her what her daughter said. My mom in a panic/nonthinking action handed the phone to my brother. Jo yelled at my brother told him "No one will ever trust you" and "everyone knows what you did." Made him feel completely worthless, and used my 2 year-old niece against him. Jo also told my mom that my aunt and uncle knew it happened. (they did not think anything of it, and never brought it up.) Brother openly admitted to touching her, said it was accidental, he put his arm around her and it happened, and he moved away quickly. His story hasn't changed, and I believe him. After several days of trying to get a hold of my cousin on her cell phone I send her a Facebook message on Friday and she's actively saying she just wanted to "move on" and "not talk about it". Well, this Sunday she called me, and informed me that after telling her estranged husband(lives in IL) what allegedly happened they are going to press charges against my brother. I told her okay, here is what we do. We don't talk to the kids about the situation, don't bring it up, and don't ask leading questions or "coach" them to remember. I inform her that is not just about one child, it is about both, and getting them help if it is needed. I told her that she needed to call CPS in her she lives in TX (after 4 months her kids finally moved back with her, she was getting "on her feet" after not working for a year and finally divorcing her husband) and I will in UT (where it allegedly happened). I let my mom know, my mom is devastated, she doesn't know how to handle this, and hasn't taken it well. No one believes this was predatory and my brother has been depressed ever since.

Answer:
 Don't call cps on your brother.

Contact an attorney and a therapist. Stop talking to anyone about this.

This is very very very serious


Title: A previous stalker of mine is applying to work at a store I frequent. My RO is expired. Do I have any grounds to ask the location not to hire them?

Question:
Location: Ohio

For what it's worth, I expect the answer to my question to be a big fat no, and if that's the case that sucks but I will change my habits accordingly.

Previous stalker posted on public social media in-depth about getting fired and then seeking a new job at a store I frequent, and one of my friends told me. Stalker is obviously blocked on all my accounts and have been for years. My RO expired 2 years ago but stalker did attempt to message me through a flying monkey (aka someone else's account) last year, I documented it with the police but otherwise there's nothing else they can do.

 I would really hate to change stores as this one has excellent prescription prices, and it's also way too close to where I live for me to be comfortable feeling like I can continue to avoid running into them.

I do believe they genuinely have no clue I am even in the area anymore, however the fact they still tried to contact me last year and were arrested last year for trespassing at my college is really unnerving (the trespassing was related to them chasing a romantic ex, but I think the police told them the trespass charge came from the college ban from when they stalked me. Because they attempted contact the same day as one of their trespassing court dates.)

I don't thiiiiink they will get hired since as stated in their social media post, they have been fired from every single job and they told their most recent boss to fuck off, so I can't imagine they would have any positive references, but then again giant retail stores seem to mindlessly shuffle people into their low wage positions as long as they're breathing and they show up. So I have to prepare for the worst.

edit: wow mad respect for this store... I called their customer line and to my surprise they had live people even though it was late when I called. I was transferred directly to the store manager person thing at the location in question. I relayed my concerns and I was told that since what I was concerned about would pop up on a background check, they wouldn't have hired the person anyway. Implying they don't hire people with a lot of criminal offenses on their background check. They actually seemed to appreciate the heads up. Maybe it helped that I said I would be forced to take my business elsewhere - money talks!

And for what it's worth, I want the stalker to fix their life and get a decent job somewhere. Just not in my area. They made the choices they made and this is the consequence of that.

Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: You can ask for anything you want. The store is not obligated to comply with your request.


Title: (California) Neighbor wants me to join in suit against HOA; HOA wants me to join class action suit against neighbor

Question:
A few months ago, I moved into what I was assured was a low-key HOA. I met my neighbor who seemed a bit odd (claimed to be a lawyer. I now know this is false) but otherwise harmless. She informed me that the HOA was "out to get her" and wanted my help suing them. I still had a moving truck outside my home.

Over the past few months, I've observed police going to the house, and spoken with a detective who came to my house looking for information on my neighbor. From the detective, I leaned about some of the illegal activities this neighbor is allegedly involved in (which he asked me not to repeat). I told him some of the things I'd noticed.

This neighbor also frequently shouts obscenities in her front yard, at people she "hires" to work for her, and then never pays. I've had several of these come to me and tell me that they're homeless and now not getting paid for the jobs they were hired for. Some of these men have been downright sketchy, one of them hurling through the neighborhood in his car and almost running over a group of kids playing in the street.

A member of the HOA approached me several weeks ago to inform me that the HOA had hired a lawyer to deal specifically with my neighbor.  He asked me to notify him if my neighbor bothered me.
Today, he came to me and another of my neighbors again, asking us to join in a class-action suit against our other neighbor, because the police investigation "needed help".

My neighbor came up to me and told me that she had hired a lawyer to sue the HOA, and said that she'd give me half of the money from the suit if I joined her.

I don't like my neighbor. I'd be pretty happy if the police investigation came up with enough evidence to arrest her. I also have nothing to sue her over, other than the noise complaints, and for that I'd just call the police. Her activities have not really impacted my life in a way that would mean I could sue her. I also have no desire to join her in suit against my HOA.

My legal question is this: Can I be dragged into this mess anyway? If one side or the other subpoenas me, or asks for my statement, I will obviously have to give it, but can the HOA force me to do something about this neighbor? And what if the neighbor becomes threatening towards me and starts targeting me in her allegations? Essentially, how do I stay out of this?

Answer:
 Not your fight, not your problem. A subpoena would still compel you to testify, but you cannot be forced to join either party against your will.

I would stay well clear of this. The information you're getting from the HOA member you've been in contact with is also wildly inconsistent, and I see no benefit to you in putting your neck on the line. The police do not investigate civil suits, and I can't think of many circumstances where a _class_ action against a homeowner would be appropriate.Answer #2: >Can I be dragged into this mess anyway?

As a party, probably not.  I'm not really sure what the "neighbors class action" is about.  I doubt there are enough neighbors to certify a class action, and individual neighbors can't act for the HOA.

>can the HOA force me to do something about this neighbor?

Like what?  Join a lawsuit?  No.  Be a witness?  Yes.

>And what if the neighbor becomes threatening towards me and starts targeting me in her allegations?

If the neighbor is threatening, call the police.  I'm not sure what you mean by "targeting [you] in her allegations."  She either names you individually as a defendant, in which case you should contact a local attorney, or she doesn't.


Title: Got a court summons going 103 mpr in a 75 freeway. I am wonder what to expect in court.

Question:
I live in Arizona. I am 19 and this is my first ever problem with the law. I’ve never had a ticket before. The officer told me she would have arrested me but she said she didn’t want to leave my friends stranded. I am kind of freaking out right now and I don’t know what will happen in court. She said I might get a misdemeanor. I’m hoping I don’t obviously. So what should I expect in court?

Edit: I am a male if that matters.

Answer: For doing 25 over on a freeway? Could be bad. What was the ticket for? Did she give you one for reckless driving?


Title: Can someone track me down based on license plate?

Question: I live in Illinois. I was driving the other night and I saw a very creepy van. It was banged up and looked like it had bullet holes, and it had blackout shades in the windows. So I was following it for a while trying to see if I could see anything suspicious. Anyway the driver eventually noticed and started driving next to me trying to look at my face and then made a quick exit. 2 days later a different weird van was outside of my house and when I looked out the window and noticed it the driver looked at me and sped away. Is it possible that these 2 events are related? Feeling very freaked out as I have 2 kids and I don't want any creeps knowing where we live. If someone can find out my name/address based on my license plate, is there a way to get that information off the internet?

Answer: So it's okay for you to follow someone around because you deem them creepy but how DARE they do the same to you?Answer #2: You've been watching too much television.


Title: Boyfriend's friend caused fire in home. What are the legal ramifications?

Question:
Edit: we are located in Rhode Island.

Hi r/legaladvice! I was hoping someone could help with this situation. I'm currently in the hospital on mobile, so I apologize if some details are missing - I will update/fill in/answer as needed. I'm also posting on behalf of my boyfriend, so I apologize if the story is choppy.

So, the issue began Saturday. (Note: I was not present during the fire or direct aftermath).

A friend of a friend was visiting and decided to stay over at my boyfriends house. (He owns he house). Without permission, he decided to cook some bacon for breakfast. However, this particular kid isn't too bright and started a full blown grease fire within the house.

My boyfriend jumped out of bed to put out the fire, as the other kid did absolutely nothing. My poor boyfriend suffered serious second and third degree burns to the entire right side of his body.

Thankfully, the fire was localized to the kitchen and only the ceiling, vent, and range are damaged. There is additional "damages" around the kitchen too (I.e burned rugs, etc.) and the entire house needs to have a cleaning crew come through to remove all the dust and soot.

My question for you guys is, what are the legal ramifications we have here against this kid? Normally I would suggest just try to get him to pay the 1000 deductible for the homeowners insurance, but there is one major issue: my boyfriend just began a new job and is contact for six months (until December), which means, if he can't work, he doesn't get paid. He was admitted to the hospital because of his serious injuries sustained during the incident, and will most likely need surgery. The doctors estimate he could be out of work for 2-3 weeks.

I want to hold this kid accountable. I get it, sometimes accidents happen, but this guy did NOTHING to try and put out the fire. We have three witnesses on this. He did nothing to help clean up after the fire, and he never once checked in on my poor boyfriend. Wouldn't you think that if you nearly burned someone's house down you'd ask how they were doing???

We are unsure as how to best move forward with the legal aspect of this, or if we even have a case. But, because of the serious injuries sustained and the inability to work, I think we would have a good case suing the guy requesting pay for lost wages and the deductible to insurance.

Can anyone offer some sound advice? Also, if you need more details, I'd be happy to provide them!

Thank you so much!!

Answer:
 In the UK you'd probably have to prove (in the civil sense) that the friend was being negligent in cooking and failing to respond correctly. However it was your boyfriend's own actions that caused his injuries. For example, he could have called and waited for the Fire Service.

Good luck, hope your boyfriend recovers well.


Title: Lease says I can have a dog but the Landlords changed their mind

Question:
First off, sorry guys. I'm not very reddit savvy on the posting end.

Anyways, I live in San Francisco. Been in my place for nearly four years. I'm pretty sure I saw on the lease that I can have a dog with a $500 deposit. Recently been looking for a pug pup and found one. I reached out to the landlords and got a soft no. Meaning the whole family of landlords isn't on board.

My landlords are a family that took over the responsibilities of the father that passed away just before we moved in. They are just kind of winging it and happy to have us in and staying. Our relationship is positive and with very low interaction.

I don't want to cause problems, but I'm pretty certain I can have a dog there legally with the deposit. I'd appreciate any insight you guys have on the issue.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 I'm not a lawyer, but you could photocopy the part of your lease stating you can have a dog and show it to the landlords. Prove to them that the lease states that you can actually have a dog.Answer #2: > I'm pretty sure I saw on the lease that I can have a dog

Get your lease. A lot of them will indicate something to the effect of "After approval, a $500 deposit is required for any canine or feline companion animal."

You just need to get a copy of your lease. Without that in hand, any guidance offered here is speculative at best.Answer #3: Are you month to month or in a yearly lease?  If your lease is now month to month and you get a dog, you can expect the landlords to terminate the lease.  Answer #4: While we can give you general advice, none of it will really help until you review the lease on your own. The letter of the lease is (generally) the only thing that matters in this situation. If there is a stipulation regarding puppers that is on an "ask first" basis, well, you asked and got an answer. Everything in your question should be clearly laid out in your lease. Answer #5: They can't unilaterally alter a lease that is already in effect BUT they can refuse to renew your lease when it comes up. If you went month to month at the end of your first lease ended the practical  effect is you can't have a dog and stay there for long.

Secondly pet clause very frequently include "upon approval " conditions.


Title: Apartment manager opening mailed packages

Question:
Today my roommate notified me that our apartment manager opens our packages, is that legal?

Roommate said the manager was opening our neighbor's packages as they came to the door.

I once had a delivered package in front of my door that was opened and the stuff inside was gone. I know stealing packages is illegal.

However, is what my manager doing legal? (Not stealing stuff, but opening a delivered package).

Answer: Contact your local postal inspector.   That's really illegal. Answer #2: IANAL. This practice is illegal under federal law. You may not open anything mailed unless it is addressed to you.Answer #3: INAL but if you're in the U.S., just opening a letter not addressed to yourself is illegal.Answer #4: Yes, it is illegal.  Contact the post office.Answer #5: I'm pretty sure that's illegal. Contact your post office.


Title: (xpost /r/divorce) Going through a divorce, got a cat, EX flipped her lid. I returned the cat and now kids are mad. Can EX take the kids away from me for adopting a cat?

Question:
TLDR: Adopted a cat for my daughter and son, who has allergies and asthma. Did my research to make sure he would be OK. Ex flips her S*** so I panic and return the cat. Now everybody is pissed at me.

Don't know where to start. I live in Maine, and back in July my EX announced that she didn't want to be with me as I got older and my depression got worse (we had been married 16 years). I moved out August 1st into my own apartment. We share custody with our two kids (13 girl, 11 boy). Each of the kids had a dog, but my landlord doesn't allow dogs, but does allow cats. I've had cats in the past, and love them. Neither of my kids have had cats because my son has asthma and allergies.

I got it in my head about a month ago that I wanted to adopt a cat. I did research to see what I would need to do to make sure that my son wouldn't have any issues (female cat, light colored, keep the cat out of his room, etc...). I also wanted to make sure that he would be OK with the cat from an allergy standpoint. We have friends that have cats, and he's spent nights with them, with little effect on his allergies. So I took the kids to a shelter last week to "look" around. I mostly wanted to see how he would do being in a room full of cats. He was fine, but I get that it might take some time for allergies to present themselves. So I talked with the shelter workers, told them the story, and they said that if it didn't work out, that they would gladly take the cat back.

So, here I am. I've done my research, I've got things lined up, and the kids and I fall in love with a super sweet 8 year old female. We ended up bringing her home with us. I had the kids for about 24 hours after we got the cat, and not once did my son have any issues. Again, I know it can take time, so I keep telling the kids that it's not 100% a sure thing.

ANYWAY, I drop the kids off with their Mom Sunday night and I tell her about the cat. She completely LOST it. Yelling at me in front of the kids about how selfish I was blah blah blah... I kissed the kids goodbye and left. I didn't want to engage her in front of the kids.

That evening I get numerous text messages from her berating me about bad choices, and how she's going to take our son to the doctor and charge me for the visit, and how he's going to be so much sicker. I told her I wasn't going to pay, because we knew he has allergies, and that I was doing what I could to mitigate the problem. Long story short, I got scared that she might try to take the kids away from me over this. She never directly threatened to do that, but her behavior is erratic. So after a lot of thought and tears on my part, I brought the cat back to the shelter.

The one factor I didn't bank on, was just how PO'd my kids would be about this. It's been almost a week, and they are still mad. My daughter has put together that I was "threatened" by my ex, and that was why I returned the cat. I told her that wasn't the case, and that it was complicated and an adult matter.

I guess my question is, has anybody had a similar issue like this? I'm so torn right now. On the "want" side of the list, I want a cat and I want my kids. Is there something that my ex can do, if I were to bring the cat back into the apartment? Or am I just being paranoid?

Answer:
 Did you actually discuss the issue of your son's allergies with your son's doctor? That should've been your first step, there. If the doctor gives you the all clear, then you're probably fine. If the doctor says no, then don't get the cat.

Do you have a divorce lawyer? Cause if not, you need one.


Title: My rent free girlfriend refuses to move out.

Question:
I met a girl online. I was very stupid and desperate at the time. After a year of dating online. She moves in with me. Then I started to see what kind of person she really was.
She is 31 years old, she lives with me and my parents. But she is very lazy and works 12 hours a week at my parents business and complains every step of the way. She does not pay rent or food. Her parents are abusive she tells me and they live in Alaska so she refuses to talk to them. She struck me a couple of times during an argument. Without me she is homeless.

 I don't know what to do. I want her out of the house but she will never take the initiative to leave. What can I do? She does not have any written agreement or lease that says she legally lives there. My parents  want her out as well but they know she is homeless.  I know it is my fault for letting her move in, I made a stupid mistake.

Answer: If she is abusing you, you contact the police immediately. You need to follow the legal eviction process of your state to get her out. She is considered a month to month tenant even if she isn't paying rent, and no official lease.


Title: Do I have to pay for an assistant surgeon on my wife’s surgery that we didn’t ask for/authorize? Could this be fraudulent? (Texas)

Question:
Hello everyone. LTL, FTP. I saw a similar post in this sub and maybe the answers might be the same, but thought I’d throw it out there anyways.

Wifey had arthroscopic knee surgery three months ago. We had a small deductible, everything else covered by insurance. All good, no follow-up bills or anything (I have pretty good insurance through UHC).

Out of the blue, get an EOB in the mail from insurance company advising us “you may owe $4,200 for this assistant surgeon”. EOB says declined because “this procedure code is not eligible for assistant surgeon. Therefore, benefits are not payable.”

Note: we have NOT yet received a bill from this provider, but I’m trying to be proactive because $4,200 is a bit more than I have to throw around at the moment.

This is the first we heard of this. Everything we signed for authorization only referenced our orthopedic surgeon, no one else; he made no mention of obtaining surgical assistance before, during or after the surgery, or during any of my wife’s follow up appts.

Searching for doctor’s last name and first initial provided on EOB results in ZERO hits with any local orthopedic offices or hospitals.

Called insurance but they recommended calling the provider for more info, but didn’t have a number for him/her...(??). Rep actually told me to “google it”. 🤨

What are my options here? Could this be fraudulent?

Thanks!

Answer:
 You’re right on track with your diligence. I would double check the surgical consent and anything your wife signed (consent for anesthesia, additional authorizations). Often times there is vague language about “personnel” required by the physician.

Is it possible the Assistant was a student or resident? Did the Assistant prepare any sort of medical record? The Texas board of medicine should have a license verification or physician lookup portion to search the name.  If you have not received a bill and if your insurance provider denied the claim, then you are likely in the clear. Was the $4,200 inclusive of the surgeon’s fee? Meaning was that for the surgeon’s fee and the assistant’s? If so, it may be a scenario where the surgeon’s office May have to resubmit to insurance. If not, then certainly fight if they press the issue and your wife did not consent.


Title: Doctor refusing urgent treatment

Question:
Hi Reddit. I’m posting this on advice from another redditor to this forum.

I have an urgent question. What is the law on a primary care doctor refusing medical service on financial grounds? My mom urgently needs a blood pressure medication that the doctor is refusing to write because she can’t afford a previous bill that her health insurance refused to cover. He has ignored her calls and requests for visits and put her off until she has run out of pills. They have also refused to do urgent bloodwork as previous bloodwork was very concerning and requires follow up. What do we do so that her BP doesn’t get out of control? She is highly prone to heart issues and has anemia among other bloodborn issues. An extremely small number of doctors in her commutable area take her insurance. I believe this is even the only one, or else she would go to another dr. I live out of state and am of little use in helping her commute elsewhere.  Please advise; we would greatly appreciate it. The fact that a dr is threatening her life over money without even discussing an arrangement seems a violation of the Oath and just sickens me.

Answer:
 Absent **emergency** situations, a doctor is free to refuse service to a patient on nearly any grounds they want to.  "You haven't paid your bill" is a great reason.

If your mother is suffering from a true and current emergency, she can seek treatment at an ER.Answer #2: The doctor has no requirement to provide a prescription for medication. She should apply for medicaid or medicare if she is unable to afford her doctor visits.

She can also go to another doctor.


Title: [US/NH] Am I a criminal/felon? Or a victim? I think I may have unwittingly put myself in violation of child abuse imagery, many years ago when I was, myself, a child. (I am not a pedophile, and I hate child abuse)

Question:
[US/NH] Am I a criminal/felon? Or a victim?  I think I may have unwittingly put myself in violation of child abuse imagery, many years ago when I was, myself, a child. (I am not a pedophile, and I hate abuse)

Throwaway, Tor, and multiple proxies enabled.
...For obvious reasons.
I'll probably end up DBANing my computer a few times after this concludes, too.  :P

My potential breach of the law occurred when I was 12 or 13 (I don't remember the date, lol.)  I am now 18, residing still in New Hampshire.

I'll start by saying that I AM NOT a pedophile and ABSOLUTELY DESPISE people who sexually assault children, produce child pornography, or use child pornography to get off to.  I have done none of the preceding.  In fact, I am an active advocate for those in such situations who need help.  Child sexual abuse (or any sexual abuse, for that matter) is abhorrent and needs to be appropriately punished according to state/federal law.  However...

This does not change the fact that as a child, there was a incident in which I was curious, oblivious to the law, and (until confronted with what I saw when the picture(s) [2 pictures, to be exact, if I remember correctly] popped up on my screen) did not consider the terrible, terrible crimes that those children were being subjected to.  See, I was one of those kids who would get curious about whatever and look it up.  Over the course of my time as a 12-14 year old, I looked up tons of terrible stuff in an attempt to understand it, from drugs, to crime, to (regular) porn, to terrorism, etc.  The only thing that I looked up that happened to be a felony was child porn.

So yeah.  Basically what happened, is as follows.  Full disclosure, even though I am so ashamed of myself.

I was whacking off to normal porn, when I encountered "barely legal" teen porn, the thought of which makes me want to throw up today, I might add, and stopped and thought, well, if thats legal porn, what's illegal porn? (By this time, I had stopped whacking off and was merely in a state of stupid curiosity)  I knew it involved minors (I assumed older teenagers), but I didn't quite wrap my head around the full weight of what I was about to see... until I went on google images, and typed in various things that essentially synonymous to child porn, and after a typing in a few different things... most of the searches didn't return anything, one site (which was fucked up) was essentially people posting pictures of their GF's nudes, and thankfully, there was a payment page that I didn't know how to bypass, and ended up seeing a picture of a girl who was probably 16 naked on that front page [1st image I saw] AND THEN... on the next search... I was confronted with an image (yes, not even on the deep web, straight up google images! I didn't even know what tor or the deep web was back then)  which I will not describe, but I'll just say that now, as a legal and law abiding adult, if I came face to face person who did abused the child in the image, I would probably go to jail for beating them to the point where they would require plastic surgery [CP Picture #2 that I saw.]  Needless to say, I was scarred.  I didn't understand why that would ever happen.  I remember crying myself to sleep that night; I remember being traumatized by the scene depicted in that image, and the thought of it still makes me want to throw up on occasion.  But being a mentally resilient 12 year old, I forgot about the incident, and didn't even think about what happened until years later... allow me to explain...  Seeing said picture has lead me hate myself on and off for years, and at one point triggered about a year of prolonged psychological agony.  As I grew older, just about when I turned 16 or so, I became very interested in criminal law and read everything I could on just about every type of crime I could.  I wanted to understand crime and try to understand why people were capable of committing terrible acts upon one another.  Well, of course, I at some point I came across the criminal statutes regarding the various different offenses that fall under child pornography.  Up until this point, I didn't fully grasp that merely looking at a picture was a crime.  Sure, if you had asked me what I thought about people abusing children, or people whacking off to the thought or pictures of abused children,  or even by that time, people who had posted their GFs nudes for the world to see, I'd say that that was super fucked up, and that whoever was looking at child porn for sexual gratification was sick in the mind,  I never really thought that just the fact that merely looking up CP, not whacking to it, finding it revolting, and promptly closing the tab and clearing my history and cache, could be considered a crime.

So at the age of 16, I learned that I had violated federal and state law, making me potentially guilty of "access with intent to view" of child porn.  I was devastated, and worse yet, that image that I forgot about 3 or 4 year prior flooded right back into my brain, and it has haunted me on or off ever since.  When I found out, I honestly tried to get myself punished/arrested, because I was so disgusted with myself, but when I walked into my high school guidance department and requested a meeting with our crisis counselor, and told her what had happened... she tried to paint it as if I WAS the victim, for being subjected to such an image at such an age, whether or not I had looked it up on my own free will.  I then asked her if I we could meet with the Resource Officer (School Cop), and I confessed to him everything that had happened, and I was sure that I'd be leaving in handcuffs, but lo and behold... nope.  He said that I clearly wasn't a criminal and that nobody would press charges on my actions.  I told my parents what had happened, and once again, I wasn't criminally responsible.  My response was essentially, WHAT THE FUCK, I TRIED (AND SUCCEEDED TO ACCESS CHILD PORN, WHY AM I NOT FACING A GRAND JURY INCITEMENT RIGHT NOW?)  And then I just cried, for days.  I knew I had broken the law technically, and it felt bad then (and fuck, now i'm tearing up) but the worse part was that I didn't, and sometimes I still forget and beat myself up about it, that in order to be guilty id need to have had criminal intent,  (ie to view pictures of children being abused knowing it was illegal, doing so for the purpose of sexual gratification)...  but sometimes I still feel reconsider the meaning of "intent" in my head and wonder if I'm a criminal.

Am I?

Am I the felon who committed a child sex abuse crime, by being an accessory to viewing that image?

Or was I a child victim for being exposed to that in the first place?

Or am I both?

I want to know so I can put my mind to rest.

I'm writing this post today to get this off my chest (I will also be x-posting this to /r/OffMyChest, so I can see what peoples views are on my actions from a non-legal standpoint).  Also, it occurred to me today as I was filing paperwork for a U.S. Service Academy, for which I am considered a 'competitive applicant' (I won't say which, to keep my identity even more safe) that if I get in, then when I commission and security clearance issuance happens, if the ask the ''have you ever committed a sexual offense'' question, and I don't know the complete truth as to my criminal status, I might fail some sort of polygraph or something like that, and have to explain the circumstances and hope not to get charged under the UCMJ, although I think limitations would have run out by then anyway.  Just a concern that's been on my mind.  If that happened, I'd probably just go buy a small piece of land in the Alaskan wilderness and live out the rest of my life in isolated obscurity.... but anyway.

Thinking about the military service component got me thinking in another direction, too.  Not sure why, but it did.  Its funny how traumatic events can resurface in our minds in vivid detail, even years after the event has been forgotten.  Because the event of me seeing that image is quite painful to think about, I can clearly remember the details of the circumstances.  Long story short, I think I remember what the search keywords on google images, and I think the name of the illegal nude sharing site, but thats not so clear in my mind, were that brought up the two CP images I saw. (BUT I'M SURE AS HELL NOT GOING TO TYPE THEM BACK IN TO FIND OUT, I OBVIOUSLY AM NOT GOING TO GO LOOKING FOR ILLEGAL AND DISTURBING IMAGES JUST TO SEE IF THEY STILL EXIST).  I understand this was many years ago, but I wonder if it's worth submitting a tip to the FBI about the search phrases and the possible name of the underage nude site.  Would that be risky for me?  I'd have confessed to seeing them just by telling law enforcement where they might be so that they can go take them down.  But on the off, slim and highly unlikely chance that they managed to find the man who abused that little girl in the second picture and make him pay for the rest of his life, preferably in a SUPERMAX prison,  then being able to go to the sentencing and reading a statement to the effect of "You're a terrible person, you raped a child, I don't forgive you, your victims don't forgive you, and anyone exposed to that image who didn't look it up to whack off (in which case, they are criminals as well) doesn't forgive you, you're a terrible person and I am proud that I -- I am the one who sent you to prison, I hope you have a nice stay there", then the whole thing would have been worth it.

Please help me guys.

Am I a criminal?
Am I a victim?
Should I report what happened to the FBI?
Am I fucked during a TS clearance screening?
How can I prove I'm not a pedo, in that case?
Is there anything I can do to help stop child abuse, beyond reporting the occasional questionable image that I didn't intend to view on reddit?

I need legal advice.
However this turns out, I want you to know I'm a good person.  I've never intentionally hurt someone.  I'm not attracted to children.  I have never been in an illegal relationship with anyone.  I just want to figure out how to move forward, and make the world a better place while I do.  I want to help people who have suffered from sexual abuse, not be someone labeled as a sex offender.  For the record, the only people know know about this are the people mentioned in this post, and now, anonymously, you.

Signing off, Life Regrets.  I'll be monitoring this throwaway until I decide how to move forward from this.  Please, talk to me people.

Oh yeah, and P.S., reCAPTCHA, why do you have to make using TOR a bitch?  This is my first experience with Tor, and fuck, have you made it hard to post this. xD

Answer:
 Are you seeking menta health care?  If no, please see a provider immediately.  Answer #2: Please seek professional mental health services. The concern here is not the “crime” but that you are relentlessly holding guilt and condemnation over yourself.

Also, please add a TL/DR. Answer #3: Stop talking about viewing bad things.  If the cops were after you, they'd've gotten you by now.  See a therapist.


Title: CO - my employer cancelled my health insurance the day I turned in my 2-week notice instead of my final day.

Question:
This refers to employment/health insurance law in Colorado.

After I turned in my 2-weeks notice to my employer (for constructive discharge, but that's a whole other story), they cancelled my health/dental/life insurance policies that same day rather than my final day 2 weeks later. Is this legal? Do I have any official complaint options before hiring a lawyer?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: Did you suffer any damages? Are you sure it wasn't just an administrative mistake?


Title: Ticket for expired tags

Question: Hey folks, I received a ticket at the Raleigh Airport in NC for expired tags. Unfortunately I do not have the money to pay for new tags or the citation. I plan on going to court since I am not able to afford either expense at the moment. Is it possible to request an extension to pay these fees? Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Answer:
 You can request one, yes.  They're under no obligation to grant it, though.

You'll need to stop driving the car until you get it properly registered.


Title: Mechanic has had our Jeep for 5 Months

Question:
 My wife bought a used Jeep earlier this year as her daily driver.  We paid around $10k for it with financing.  She had been driving it for 2 months before the frame fell apart and revealed rust that had been covered up by the dealer.  Thinking we were screwed we opted to have the frame replaced by a mechanic who said he'd be able to do the work in a few weeks.

It took him about a month to find a compatible frame, and his story changes regularly on where it came from.  Then the Jeep sat for another month before they even touched it, despite calling nearly every day for updates.  We only kept the Jeep with him because he finally had a frame and told us no one else could find one.  Meanwhile my wife is borrowing a friend's van to commute.

He finally got the Jeep taken apart and had some parts transferred to the frame.  This took another month.  Then he says he took the frame to a body shop to have it straightened. Apparently the frame he found was damaged in some way when he found it.  Another month goes by and every time we call for an update he claims this body shop still has it but hasn't gotten to it yet, it'll be ready in just another week.  When I asked who has the frame he refuses to say.  He never calls to provide updates, and always has some excuse for why the work isn't done yet.

We finally got a lawyer involved who gave him two weeks to come up with a proposal to get the job done, but that time has come and gone.  We can't sue for damages because we'd only get what the Jeep was worth when we bought it to the mechanic, in an undriveable state, and we owe much more than that.

The mechanic still claims the frame is at this body shop to be straightened, and the rest of the Jeep is in parts in their shop.   No other mechanic will touch it because it's taken apart.

I don't know what to do, or if there's anything I can do.  If we sue for damages the mechanic has basically bought a Jeep for next to nothing and can turn around and fix it to sell for thousands since he has a frame already.  My wife needs this car as soon as possible and we can't afford to just cut our losses and end up with nothing but debt on a car we don't have.

I know we made a ton of mistakes, not getting a contact with this guy, not noticing all the red flags up front, and buying the Jeep in the first place.  But is there anything that can be done that doesn't leave us at the mercy of this nightmare mechanic?

Thanks.

Answer:
 I would report it stolen. Be sure to tell the police what happened, and it's possible they'll refuse to take the report since you did give it to him to fix, but at this point I think it's safe to say you are never getting the car back. He's likely already chopped it up and sold the parts. Refusing to tell you where it is is a huge red flag. At the very least I'll bet he tells the police where it is when they come looking.

The good news is, your insurance should cover it since it's been stolen.


Title: [MA] Fired... and then assaulted.

Question:
OK, before I get into the story, the quick and dirty basics.

I work at a small (2.5 FTE) 501(c)(3) organization. I have never had any sort of written contract, agreement, anything. I didn’t even have a job description. I never received yearly evaluations—although I asked for them on more than one occasion. The daughter of two of the board members has been employed at my place of business since before I got there. I worked at this place for 8 years. I know that I should have left this place years ago- or perhaps not even have taken the job. But I felt trapped, I needed a job. And as the years went by, I felt more and more trapped.

R - (volunteer) President of the Board
RC - another board member, mentor-figure
Any other letter-people are staff members.

It finally happened
I was finally fired today. This has been hanging over my head for so long. Of course, it went about as poorly as humanly possible.

I was getting ready for work this morning and I was running late. Around 10, my phone rang- it was R. I knew what was happening as soon as I saw the call come in.

I drove to work, got stuck behind some asshole driving 25 miles an hour; but eventually arrived, at around 10:30 (made decent time). When I arrived, I couldn’t see where R’s car was, and I wondered if he had left. I entered the museum, I said hello to S, who quickly ran away downstairs. A was nowhere to be seen. That fucking snake.

I entered my office and it was exactly how I always imagined it would be. R was sitting in my chair, behind my desk. There was no one else in the room. He told me to have a seat. I told him that he was sitting in my chair and that if he wanted, he could move. He told me that it wasn’t my seat anymore.

I said to him, “So that’s what’s happening today? You’re firing me?” And he said yes, to which I replied, “You don’t have the authority to make that kind of decision.” I demanded to see the results of a vote from the full board, he said it was a ‘verbal vote’- whatever that is. No where in the bylaws of the museum is such a thing laid out. So he said something to the effect of that he had called each board member and gotten their approval. I’ve since corroborated this info with RC, who denied that there had been a vote but also said that I had “lost the support of the board”.

I don’t remember the order of some of these events. At some point I told R that I’ve seen him make the “sitting at someone else’s desk” power play before and I wasn’t impressed, that I felt he was being unprofessional. I saw right through his shit immediately, when I watched him do the same kind of crap to my old boss, making her stand while he sat in her seat.

What a dick.

And oh boy did it go off the rails. He jumped up from my chair, slammed his hand on the desk, and yelled something at me. I honestly don’t remember what it was. Probably some stupid demand. He had been threatening to call the police; he tried to dial the phone and was unable to even do that basic of a task. So he hung up.

He said some snide comment about a severance package, and how he had “felt sorry for me” like he was doing me some kind of favor. I wish I had turned on a recording on my phone before I walked into the office.

He walked around the desk and straight into me. He pushed me and grabbed my shirt, and pulled his hand back to punch me. I put my hands up, in the  “don’t shoot” position and yelled “What are you doing!?”, to which he said... just unbelievably to me at the time, “You’re assaulting me!” He said this with his hands on me, with his fist pulled back and ready to punch. Jesus it seems completely nuts as I write it out. Having had time to think about the situation, I believe he was trying to provoke me to strike him. I’m lucky that I didn’t respond with violence— I can only assume it was due to my shock over the situation.

He let me go, and I immediately called the police, informed the dispatcher what was happening and asked them to send an officer. At this point R had gone downstairs from my office. He tried to come back up but I told him that the police told him to stay away from me, and I closed my office door tightly (the door does not have a lock). The officer talked to R first, got his poison in his ear, of course, and then came up to talk to me. At this point I was sitting at my desk... in my rightful place.

Long story short-ish, the cop asked me a bunch of questions but was basically like “what are you still doing here?” I said to the officer that I called them to report an assault. He told me that he ‘couldn’t arrest R because they didn’t witness the assault.’ I luckily stopped myself from laughing in his face. I told him that I am an employee and that R is a volunteer board member. He asked to see the bylaws and I couldn’t find them. I was freaking out. Honestly I don’t know where they could have gone, it’s possible someone took them.

After talking to the officer and looking for the by-laws, the officer had basically had enough and insinuated that it was time for me to go. I asked him if he was giving me a direct order to leave, he said yes, and so I asked him if I could have time to grab my things. He said I could grab a few important items. I asked him if he could at least make sure I didn’t have to walk by R on the way out, and said yes. So, I complied and left the premises.

I can’t believe that this happened. I always knew that the place was a dysfunctional mess; and no matter what I tried to do, the board resisted change every step along the way. I had an employee who was the daughter of two of the board members; she was basically a mole, reporting on my activities to her parents.

I still have the keys to the building. I still have control over almost every aspect of the online portion of the business- of course I would not do anything to hurt the place; I worked there for 8 years and I care about it, and (most of) the staff that I worked with in that time. It has basically been my entire professional career. To be tossed out like this is a betrayal- a betrayal of promises, a betrayal of people I looked up to as friends and mentors. It’s a broken museum. And it will remain broken until the current board finally dies off and brings new people into it. To be assaulted by a 60-something year old just made the whole thing surreal.

Oh well. It’s not my problem anymore.

And that, at least, is a relief.

I called an employment lawyer, but he doesn’t think there’s going to be much I can do. I guess that’s fine, I know this is America after all.But I wanted to hear some thoughts, opinions, and advice from you guys before I talk to him again on Monday.
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 File for unemployment while you look for another job. It does not sound likel t that you'll be hired back even if he wasn't supposed to be the person in charge.

You called the police and they aren't going to pursue charges. It sounds as if he only threatened you - and in an extreme manner - but didn't hit or injure you.

Why do you need to talk to anyone else on Monday? You don't work there anymore. If they need help from you figuring out whatever you used to do for them, offer yourself as a consultant at 3x your former pay. If not, screw them. Unless you have a contract spelling out how they will reimburse you for time spent helping them transition to a new employee, you owe them nothing other than the return of keys and other company property.

I know it felt good to get odd your chest but nearly everything you wrote is legally irrelevant. Employment attorneys have told you that in at at-wull employment aituation, you can be let go for any non protected reason or for no reason at all, and you have no case to pursue.

Leave them behind and move forward with your life.


Title: Two tenants, each with their own ESA?

Question:
I have an emotional support animal (dog) with an actual therapist prescription. When me and my roommate moved into our new place, the landlord had a "no pets" rule in place, but had to accept my dog as an ESA.

My roommate needs to move out at the end of the month, and we've found a good replacement, however she has an ESA dog too.

Are there any laws regarding two ESA dogs for two different tenants under the same house with a no pet policy? The house being rented is privately owned in San Diego, CA.

Answer: The landlord may have grounds to deny any ESA if the presence of the ESA is causing significant damages. If having two ESAs causes an undue burden, the landlord may deny the ESA belonging to the potential new roommate.


Title: what kind of action can be taken in this situation

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Sounds like a homework question...


Title: Is pouring water out my window illegal?

Question:
hello everyone and first time using this subreddit.
I am located in Canada, and I rent my house. I have made a system for my aquarium to cycle water and pump it outside my window,and in return replaces the water in the aquarium tank. so we live in a old 3 floor 12 unit apartment with no balconies and no elevator. soo my neighbor yelled at me last night at 3:30 in the morning saying " hey hey dont do that, dont do that again are you stupid?".

 i told him that its aquarium water that is being poured. MIND YOU THE SYSTEM DISCHARGES LESS THAN 100ml OF WATER PER DAY, PER DAY. think two sips of a can of coke. I told him to come upstairs and lets talk face to face. he said" im going to tell your mom that you pour bong water outside your window". So i laugh at and said go a head, she knows thats not what im doing here. Mind you i do smoke weed every once (joint) in a while with friends at my house, yet they them selves smoke weed either inside or outside the house (hypocrite).

anyways my mom and sister enter my room, because they heard the conversation. so i loudly told my mom "hey mom the downstairs neighbor has a problem with me pouring water outside our window". and she loudly said that she know what im doing in my room and she has no problem with it. then the guy shut up. now i realize that this has happened before but i never really released the neighbor was yelling at me.

Now i do have pictures of my setup, my aquarium pump and its arduino home made controller and piping, and i want to take a video of the setup and go downstairs tomorrow and show it to him. i want my god damn name cleared, im a god damn engineering student, working my way and paying rent just like everybody else.

TLDR: is it illegal to pour 100ml of water outside the window of my rented house which would not damage anyone property. because it rains here 9 months of the year. and the water basically lands in the alley way. 100ml of water. im i crazy?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 To my knowledge, there's nothing strictly illegal about pouring water out the window, especially i n such small amounts.

That said, enough complaints about this, and the landlord does have the ability to intervene and either tell you to stop or to refuse y'alls next lease renewal. Answer #2: 100 ml per day?  Just pump it into a bucket or an old empty liter bottle of soda, and then once a week transfer it to your toilet.  Why piss off your neighbor - unless you are just looking for trouble from him.Answer #3: Is there a reason you can't just pump it into an old 2L soda bottle and dump it once a week? At 100ml Adam you'd have plenty of buffer to forget.

I'd get tired of water dribbling down at me too. Learn to be considerate of other people instead of worrying if it's legal.Answer #4: Don't pour water out your window.


Title: [PA, USA] My friend's parents kicked me [17] out of their house at 1AM under false pretenses. Other friends say this was child endangerment.

Question:
To start this off, this (now ex) friend's father is an employed police officer. I had gone over to this friend's house dozens of times before and had no bad interactions.  I'm changing names to make this more anonymous.

Matt - Friend whose parents kicked me out
Horace - Matt's younger brother
Conrad - Friend who witnessed this

This happened on the morning of Saturday December 8th. We're all at Matt's house in his basement after a session of playing smash. Matt and Horace are asleep while Conrad and I are watching meme videos on youtube (I know, lame). A meme comes up with a guy and a girl sitting next to each other with minecraft sound effects and the HUD while Matt's dad is coming in. Matt's dad assumes this is porn and wakes up Matt while taking Horace upstairs. Matt's dad is extremely mad and says stuff like "This is sickening, you know you could go away for this," etc.

At this point I'm left looking at Conrad and Matt while saying "It was not porn, you know I wouldn't do that." and Matt's dad comes downstairs with Matt's mom who kicks me out. Matt's dad had said he would let me spend the night since he knows I don't have a car or a ride, but his mother insisted I leave. As I was leaving and walking down the street (with my shoes not even on) Matt's dad is yelling at me saying stuff like "You're fucking sick, don't ever come here again, that's disgusting" and so on (mind you, around 1:30AM).

 I walked 1.2 miles to the nearest Wawa (a gas station/convenience store chain local to my area) and (after breaking down and crying to the manager) they let me wait inside while I call a Lyft to be driven home. It came and all is fine and I got home safe around 2AM, but I had to break their ToS to get home because I know my parents wouldn't wake up.

I'm not exactly sure where to go, but this shook me up and the bad funk is continuing even days later. I almost broke down again going to work the same day at 4:30PM but I made it through.

Again, I don't know if there is any case here, but I thought I'd shoot this out before I forget and just try to gather information.

Answer: They didn't have to continue hosting you but they should have made sure that you got home safely, either calling your parents or driving you themselves. You are a minor and they accepted responsibility for you, although I think that "child endangerment" is a bit of a stretch.Answer #2: You need to discuss this with your parents. It's not okay that you were kicked-out with no transportation at 1:30am.


Title: My friend was robbed at gunpoint selling weed

Question: [removed]

Answer: He can stop trolling our humble sub.


Title: MI - Just saw a license plate that said "18 USC 241." Is this a thing or just a sovereign citizen?

Question: It looked like a plain white plate with blue or black lettering. I tried googling it but didn't find a plate that matched. Should I have called the police?

Answer:
 That's going to be a sovereign citizen.Answer #2: That statute is one of the Federal laws that makes civil rights violations into a Federal crime.  It dates from back in the Reconstruction, and has been used against the Klan, the Mob, and against Federal conspirators.

I can guess that its use as a license plate suggests that some whackadoodle considers it their civil right to drive unlicensed, and that anyone who tries to stop them is violating that right.

The're citing the wrong statute anyhow;  it's 18 USC 242 that specifically criminalizes the violation of civil rights "under color of law".


Title: [FL] SO employer stated no more Spanish in the work place unless it is to help a customer

Question:
Her boss (non bilingual) told the workers that no more Spanish because someone was offended (only 1 coworker does not speak  Spanish) but said to only speak Spanish to the customers.  The all the workers except for one speak Spanish (all Spanish speakers except for my SO have a heavy Spanish accent when speaking  English) I have read it is illegal but not 100% sure on what to do next?

Edit: We will file a EEOC discrimination charge and go from there

Answer:
 It would fall under the jurisdiction of the EEOC (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

This if from the FAQ on Speak-English Only Rules:

The EEOC has stated that rules requiring employees to speak only English in the workplace violate the law unless they are reasonable necessary to the operation of the business.

* A rule requiring employees to speak only English in the workplace at all times, including breaks and lunch time, will rarely be justified.
* An English-only rule should be limited to the circumstances in which it is needed for the employer to operate safely or efficiently.
* Circumstances in which an English-only rule may be justified include: communications with customers or coworkers who only speak English; emergencies or other situations in which workers must speak a common language to promote safety; cooperative work assignments in which the English-only rule is needed to promote efficiency.
* Even if there is a need for an English-only rule, an employer may not take disciplinary action against an employee for violating the rule unless the employer has notified workers about the rule and the consequences of violating it.Answer #2: My wife works at WholeFoods and she told me it is company policy that english must be spoken in the kitchen (They tend not to crack down on it, but I've heard stories of them writing people up). /u/WeylandTheDwarf has a worth while example IMO. I totally get that it seems unfair and I'm all for people speaking any language they want (as long as they are a team player), but for business sake, its probably best to stick to english.Answer #3: What is illegal about this?


Title: Find husband in Baltimore what should I do first?

Question:
I'm from Thailand and going to Baltimore alone to find my husband. We are misunderstood and he been uncontactable. he doesn't want to talk and block me very where no response email, block skype, facebook, Line. I don't know how to do. He abandoned me. I am hurtful and difficult situation for me to handle. I almost suicide. I love my husband so much. I knew it all my fault to said Divorce him.  That time our love dog died then he been uncontact. I asked his aunt in the U.S call to police to find him. His Aunt said the police found him and She said my husband told to police "will never call back and never back again". My heart hurtful I couldn't believe and tried to call him, But he never pick up the phone. I thought he has someone else and want to left me. That why I text to him for divorce if he has someone else.
After that he disappear. It's over 3 months now. I searched him online and found out he comment something on youtube. That my wife want divorce.  This all mistake and misunderstood.
I knew now his Aunt make me misunderstood. I should more claim that time. I shouldn't say divorce.  I need he give a chance for me to explain. I love my husband I could say I can die for me.
I'm going to Baltimore search him. I don't know where I should to start. Should I talk to police and find him. Who can advice for me? and would love to make friend in Baltimore.

Answer: You can hire a private investigator in Baltimore. That's your best option.


Title: Was my employer discriminating? (Texas)

Question:
This happened a couple years ago, but I was curious about he implications of my employer's actions. I work for a company of about 150 employees. The owner/CEO is Brazilian. I'd estimate about 20% of the employees are Brazilian, spread across all levels from customer service to upper management. The CEO hires pretty much any Brazilian person who applies because he has a lot of national pride.

The CEO gives the Brazilian employees preferential treatment because of their nationality. The most blatant example was during the last World Cup. When Brazil's team had a match, the CEO would stream the match in the large company auditorium and have professionally catered meals, drinks, etc. Only Brazilian employees were allowed to attend. This happened during work hours and the Brazilian employees were paid their normal wages while they ate free food and watched the game for a few hours. One of my non-Brazilian coworkers asked if she could attend and was pretty much told "Brazilians only."

Is is ok for my employer to do things like this?

Answer:
 Yes, that sounds like national origin discrimination.  However, if your career or status at the company haven't been effected substantially, your remedies may be limited.

But it can't hurt to try to sue him for......a brazilian dollars.


Title: So my buddy got arrested last night for trespassing and he was too drunk to remember...

Question: Don't know too  many details because he legitimately does not remember how anything happened. He was blacked out drunk and doesn't remember anything besides riding in the back of the cop car. Apparently, he wandered into a strangers house down the street and passed out on her couch. I guess the owner of the house woke up and saw him on her couch, called the cops and they came and arrested him for trespassing. She wanted to press charges but instead the cops gave him a ticket for trespassing. He has a court date coming up, not too sure when. Is he screwed or what's the best case scenario? Any advice helps, thanks in advance! (US, CA)

Answer:
 A ticket for trespassing *is* a charge.

He should get a criminal defense attorney, or if he can't ford one request a public defender. Answer #2: 1) trespassing is a criminal charge.  He was arrested for trespassing, and was given a notice to appear.  Your friend needs a defense attorney, or they need to tell the court that thye can't afford one so they can be provided a public defender.

2) Your friend should seriously reconsider their relatoinship with alcohol.  Not in a  "I should stop drinking" kind of way, but in the "I am probably an alcoholic and should immediately begin attending AA meetings" kind of way.  And not for a "hoping for leniency" from the court kind of way, but in the "I got drunk and broke into someone's house and don't remember any of it" kind of way.  Your friend has a major and serious substance abuse problem.


Title: Omegle chat with a major and minor

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >  I tend to be an extremely paranoid person

Then stop having sexually charged chats with people who identify as minors!

>  Is there any concern as to getting in legal trouble?

Maybe if you received child pornography. Likely no if it was just talking.