Title: PA, USA: Resident physician at a bad hospital. I've been suspended under suspicion of stealing drugs, was told unequivocally I was innocent after investigation but remain suspended after being threatened by the hospital president.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You need to get a lawyer. Start with the Pennsylvania Bar Association's legal referral network.Answer #2: This guy (girl?) is getting a lot of animosity here and I'm not sure why. OP was stupid for mentioning their moonlighting, yes, but the larger issue here is the departmental hate they're getting.

It could be the way OP approached it, unknowingly rubbing people the wrong way. On the other hand, OP could have hit a sore spot in the department. We have someone flirting with being a whistleblower who all of a sudden is subject to intense scrutiny and legal railroading, with their career used as collateral?

Smells fishy to me. I'm not sure OP has any legal standing but then, I'm a doctor, not a lawyer, and came here through /r/medicine

There's probably more to this that OP doesn't know and I strongly suspect that they came across a hornets' nest wherever their residency is.

OP: Your bet bet is to lay low and do whatever you can to avoid drawing attention to yourself. Be a model resident and keep your mouth shut. It will blow over in a year. You don't have to be a hero but you do have to finish training. Let someone else with less to lose be a martyr. Answer #3: >resident doctor of Anesthesia

Damn. Quit and get a job ANYWHERE ELSE! You are in demand!


Title: [Monterey, Calif.] Landlord issuing a $1000 cleaning fee

Question:
Update 3/27/2016:

So I sent my reply to my landlord yesterday (3/26/2016) in hopes of him giving me the opportunity to fix the problem before hiring outside help. I also mentioned multiple times that I couldn't smell the offensive odor and that he never notified/warned me about it. His reply:
"...You have occupied (ADDRESS) for more approximately 7 months. Whether or not you noticed, you have allowed the odor to gradually accumulate beyond normal wear and become embedded in the structure, fixtures, and furnishings to an extent that needs immediate expert treatment before it becomes worse. This work cannot be postponed 1-2 weeks. It is now too late to use common household cleaning methods to properly correct the damage. All work specified in the contract must be done under an expert's supervision and my supervision while I am temporarily present at the premises for the purpose of its maintenance.
You may vacuum the carpet and rugs, open windows, and clean your personal belongings and set them aside. Please at this time do not attempt to wash rugs, drapes, walls, cabinets, or items that were furnished with the unit (refer to the Furnishings Inventory pages of your lease). This work is delegated to the contractor to ensure it is done properly......"
TL;DR He seems to be convinced that the work cannot be postponed for that long. He scheduled for hydroxyl/ozone deodorization machines and detailed cleaning which might amount to that much? The estimate he sent me was just typed up or copy/pasted with no actual monetary numbers. Just estimated hours for each job. Kinda sketchy looking as it was just a copy/paste. Also no go on him letting me off the lease. Back to square 1.

Also, he is correct that I lived here for around 7 months. I miscounted.

Hi /r/legaladvice,

I never saw myself to be a terrible and untidy tenant but here I am knocking on your guy's subreddit. So please any advice is appreciated!

I am currently living in a furnished duplex where my upstairs neighbor happens to be my landlord (this was not the scenario when I first moved in; the landlord moved in after my old neighbor moved out about 4 months ago). So I am 6 months into my 1 year lease and I just got an email from my landlord last Monday (3/21) saying that he and a cleaning inspector needs access to my apartment on Tuesday(3/22) to check on the persistent odor coming from my kitchen. For the record, he never mentioned to me that there was even a smell coming from my kitchen until that Monday. I do cook with oil (stir fry, cooking pork chops, searing fish, etc.) but the vent is always on and I clean up any oil splatters afterwards. The kitchen is wiped down daily and mopped once a month. So it came to me as a huge surprise when he even mentioned that there was an odor, nonetheless a lingering one too.

After coming home from work today (3/24), I found a note on my door from the landlord saying that he and the cleaning contractor found that all the rooms and the furniture are "permeated with persistent and offensive cooking odors". The odor is also moving up to his unit too apparently. He further states that this condition is "waste, a nuisance, a health hazard (what???), property damage, and a violation of [my] lease contract to maintain the unit and its furnishing". On top of that, he estimated a cleaning cost of $1021.33 that he already scheduled for in 4 days (3/28). At this very moment, I am just confused as to what are my rights and the actions that I can take. I tried reading up on my rights and googling for similar scenarios but nothing is popping up at me. I obviously don't want to pay $1000 to clean something that I couldn't even smell. If he had given me any indication in the past that my cooking just reeks, I could have easily altered my cooking habits.

TL;DR My only neighbor/landlord wants me to pay $1000 for cleaning "cooking odors" that I was not aware of until 5 days ago.

Answer:
 Check the language of your lease.  A mid-lease cleaning charge is unusual.  Here is California's tenant guide for general info about disputes: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf

You can fight this charge and you'll probably win.  To fight it, pay your rent as usual, but refuse to pay the cleaning charge.  This will put the ball in your landlord's court and it will then be up to him to sue you for the cleaning.

As a practical matter, the relationship between you and your landlord is over and done with.  There is no way to live next to a person like this.  He will find a way to make your life hell until the lease is over.  You should start looking for a better place immediately and ask to get out of the lease.


Title: I was assaulted, then charged with assault.  I have no job, about to be homeless.  Would appreciate some legal (any) advice.

Question:
I grew up in a home where I was abused by my step father, I left home got a job that paid minimum for 15 hours a week, which was the best work I could find since I did not have a high school diploma, I ended up coming back to the abusive home. I got back to work and obtained my high school diploma, my step father who saw me as a leach was constantly attacking me.

This incident in particular was one morning he found that he was unable to use my computer. As I had the only computer in the house. He came into my room and demanded that I let him use it. When I refused and tried to leave the room that he was blocking, he placed me in a head lock and wasn't able to breathe. I used all the energy I had to run both of us into walls. He dropped to the floor, and I managed to squeeze out. He then left to his room, at which point I called the police.

The police came, and my step father claimed that I had punched him in the nose, which was bleeding (because I had rammed us both into the wall). They asked me if I had touched him first, and I said that at the beginning I had tried to walk past him. (I was trying to be honest) They said that since I started it, that I was going to be the person charged and forced me to leave the house.

A couple weeks later, I went to court and when they asked whether I was guilty or innocent. I said not guilty. I was given a lawyer, who every step of the way said that I should say I was guilty. But I didn't, and I kept going to court claiming my innocence, that was until the day before my court case when I went to to the judge he told me that I was going to have to get my own lawyer, since my step father made too much money for a court appointed lawyer.

At that point I was offered a plea in advance, I was told that it would not effect me getting a job and that after the period of time it would automatically come off my record by the same lawyer who had been telling me to say I was guilty the whole time.

I agreed, I thought it was done, and applied for college and applied for a job, which I had successfully gone through the application for. Then it hit me, they did a background check and found the plea in advance. I was denied the job. I still went to school, but I required school loans now for living expenses, and I still didn't have enough to eat. Despite all this I managed to get a 3.7 gpa for my first year.

After the year, I had expected this to come off my record, but to my astonishment, it went from being a plea in advance to a criminal charge. I had found out that they had sent mail to my parents home and that it had been thrown away. At the same time, my glasses broke and a tooth cavity was getting so bad that I went to the dentist to get a filling, both without insurance or a job. I used all my money that should have gone towards food to cover the costs.  That's when I dropped out of school.

My sister said that she could get me work at a call center that she worked and I moved in with her and was able to get the job. But all my money went towards rent. I had no money to pay school loans, and ended up failing all the classes that I had been taking. The call center was something of a slave labor camp, asking for mandatory overtime. Finally I couldn't take it and left. And when I go to job interviews they love me, up until I say that I do have an assault charge, then they turn me away. I'm about to be homeless soon, this event has ruined my life and I don't know what to do.  If you have any advice, especially legal advice, I would love to hear it.  I have $200 to my name (I am not looking for hand outs, I just need you to know where I stand).

Edit:  I contacted the court and they let me know that the case had been dismissed.  This means that it should not be showing up as a misdemeanor on my background checks.  I'll be going to get paper work showing that I was not found guilty today at the court, I've started the process to try and continue the interview with the employer that I was speaking with.  And I will expunge it off my record so that this isn't something that bothers me again.  Thank you reddit, I don't know what I would have done without you.  This has been a really difficult experience for me, but you all have helped me through it.  Thank you!

Answer:
 You need to disclose the charge when you first fill out an application / interview.  The biggest issue here is that employers are finding it on their own.  You are missing your opportunity to accurately frame the charge in your own terms.  If you do this, I highly doubt you'll have trouble getting past it (granted some jobs are out of the question that require a perfectly clean record).

If this was when you were a minor you should have it expunged or at minimum it shouldn't come up on a standard background check.  Go to your county courthouse and ask for the legal library, there they have librarians you can ask questions and they will help you find templates to file with the court to do whatever it is you want to do - no lawyer fees, just court fees.


Title: (VA) Reckless Driving - am I fucked?

Question:
Ive read everything on the internet so far but just looking to get another opinion. I have already read all the yada yada about how reckless driving in VA is a criminal offense punishable by a huge fine, jail or whatever, but I need a realistic estimate.

19/F first offense reckless driving, never gotten pulled over before, going 86 in a 70, but i swear i was 82, 83 max ( drive a bright red car if that makes a difference and is a true fact). Got pulled in Lawrenceville VA.

Dont really feel like telling my parents but i guess im going to have too when my insurance skyrockets. Whats my fine look like, also recommendations on lawyers and what not or can I just roll up to this thing by myself and hope for the best? Am i fucked?

Answer: You are if you don't hire an attorney.


Title: [New York City] First time offense, going 72 in a 50. How do I talk down my charge?

Question:
The fine I have to pay is around $203 and it's 6 points on my record. I'm a college student and don't have a lot of money. How do I make my case attractive to the judge for a possible reduction?

 If this matters, there were cars next to me, I was on a highway, I didn't say anything to the officer other than reply to his questions. He didn't ask if I knew why I was pulled over, he just told me. I was very polite overall, hands on wheel and I turned my music off. He was on a speed trap I guess and he got me when there was a curve in the road and I didn't see him. He didn't turn on his lights automatically, there was about 10 seconds of him driving behind me, and then he turned them on when we were approaching a safe place to pullover. All help is greatly appreciated

Answer:
 22 MPH over the limit is a very serious speed in New York City. Your story doesn't really matter; while it helps that your demeanor with the officer was professional, you were still breaking the law.

You should either find a lawyer who can help you with this case, or go to the trial prepared to potentially pay the maximum fine. You may get lucky in that the officer doesn't show up, but even then with this speed you may be SOL. If this is your first offense, and the judge/DA are feeling generous that day, you may be able to get it reduced. No real other recourse you have.


Title: [GA] Can I safely tell my therapist about ongoing illegal activities I'm engaged in?

Question:
Yes, I'm referring to drugs. I'm starting therapy soon, and I'd like to know how safe it is to disclose ongoing illegal drug use to a therapist. (No, I'm not just talking about marijuana.) IANAL, but my understanding of therapist-patient confidentiality is that therapists can't disclose anything that a patient reveals, including anything illegal, in a session, unless the therapist believes that the patient is an imminent danger to himself or others. So my questions are:

* Is this correct?

* Is there any realistic chance that a therapist could decide that my drug use constitutes an imminent danger to myself and report it to the police? For myself, I don't consider my drug use dangerous at all, but I'm sure different therapists have different opinions about what level is safe (and I'm sure for many of them that opinion is "no level at all"). What kind of latitude does an individual therapist have in deciding what constitutes an imminent danger?

Thanks for any advice. My primary concern is being able to be open and honest with my therapist in order to give them the most complete picture of what's going on with me, without me risking going to jail.

Answer:
 Mentioning drug/substance abuse should not be a problem.  Short of talks of murder/assault/terrorism/etc, your therapist will keep what is said confidential.  Answer #2: I'm gonna go ahead and say (from a lot of first hand experience with therapists and substance abusers) that most therapists and psychiatrists worth anything will encourage you to get yourself into a program for rehab and if you don't they may decide to report you in order to get you the rehab/help you need.

Most therapists would argue that continued drug use is harming yourself. Substance abuse is seen my the mental health community as a symptom of an underlying mental illness- most good therapists and psychiatrists are going to work to get you off the drugs so you can actually start working to heal yourself.

Edited to add: this is assuming your drug use is a problem and an addiction. If you casually use drugs occasionally you'll be fine.


Title: Swerved a driver and ruined car

Question:
My bf (not on my insurance) was driving my car and we were about to go through a green light when a car sped through their red light causing us to swerve and messing up my car.. I have liability in Alabama.

I did not call the police or exchange information. I will be filling out a police report. Maybe, they can check the traffic cameras for the license plate.

Is it possible for me to have my car fixed with their insurance?

Answer: Wait.  Your car got messed up just because he had to swerve?  Or did he actually hit something/something hit him?


Title: (NJ) I was sent a refund check from an out of state college I do not attend

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Of course you can't keep the money. You contact the school in question and tell them they have sent you a check in error.


Title: Severe mental illness, college policies over-riding my rights

Question: I have schizophrenia(as documented in my initial diagnosis) and I had to withdraw from college(this term on 09/18/2015)(specifically Broward College in South Florida). I was told in person in the administration office by an employee that my diagnosis papers(diagnosis date 03/2014) were sufficient enough for a 100% refund. I relocated to north florida with family without a doctor telling me to do so because I don't need a doctor to tell me the voices are a sign of something dangerous and unhealthy. I received a notice and my papers back today in the mail stating that what I submitted was not sufficient enough and would need a doctor to send them a letter within the term period. I can do that since I have been to the doctor twice since then, received new medication and will be getting a 2nd ultrasound(this time of my heart muscles) next week. However the Dean of Broward College South Campus called me personally and she said Broward College has policies that state that they need the letter but even then they still hold the right(because of their policies) to decline the refund regardless of what the doctor says. I need to know my rights in the state of florida and at a federal level regarding this. Broward College acts more like business than a place of education. In my mind they should be thankful i took myself out of there and into a safe place within 3 days of voices appearing and having a psychotic episode in the middle of class because the voices only appeared during class do to the fact it doesnt take a genius to tell my teachers were only there to collect a paycheck and not give 2 cares about the students, thats what set off my symptoms.

Answer:
 > I need to know my rights in the state of florida and at a federal level regarding this.

Your legal rights will be defined predominantly by the paperwork you signed when enrolling in the school.  As far as I know, they aren't required to refund your tuition for a voluntary withdrawal from school, though their internal policies may grant you that.  If they have a refund/withdrawal policy, you could sue for breach of contract if they fail to honor it.

/u/I_work_in_HIED, care to weigh in?


Title: [CA] I think I'm the victim of insurance fraud/abuse from my psychiatrist and their contracted lab testing company, but I don't really know what to do or how to diagnose the situation.

Question:
I have been seeing my psychiatrist (he is part of a larger group of psychiatrists) since January. Last month the receptionist was having everyone pee into a cup for mandatory testing. She assured me that it was to determine whether or not everyone was taking their medications. I didn't think much of it because it sounded pretty sensible and standard, although in my 2-3 years of being a psychiatric patient I had never been required to do this.

Skip to the end of August, I get an explanation of benefits from my insurance (I'm 20 and under my Dad's plan) for the day that I had the urine test. Apparently the company that did it was not in network, so I was left to pay 50% of the bill. Here's the thing. The bill was $2,200. They did roughly 24 different tests. Being suspicious, I googled the name of the testing company. I could not find a single website for it other than some contact info on various "yellow books" type websites. There were some results showing this lab as being in Oregon, so I searched the lab's name on the Oregon Secretary of State's site. Every single person registered with the company on the SOS database is the exact same person. And every single location (including the primary place of business) is a 2 story house in a suburb in Southern Oregon, in a completely different area from the one that my search results showed. In addition, the date that the lab (an LLC) was formed was last December in 2014. At this point I'm almost completely sure that I'm being screwed by both my psychiatrist and this lab.

At this time my mom also calls them to ask why they ran out-of-network tests without asking us. They claim that they can't help with the billing, but they gave her a number of some guy (let's call him John Johnson) who apparently is their contact at the testing lab. According to them, John usually is able to resolve the issues. We call the number twice and leave a voicemail at what sounds like someone's house (the answering machine said "Hi you've reached the 'Johnson's etc etc etc").

All of this happened in between appointments. I just had one today, so I asked for a printout of all of the tests that were run and what the results were. The heading on the printout confirmed that the address which I found searching for online was for the right company (not the address from the SOS, but from google searches). I pressed them again on the fact that it was out of network and kind of ridiculous to run all of these tests (they ran a "pain panel" that tested for 24 different narcotics, opioids, benzodiazepines, cyclic antidepressants, and more) since I only take one medication and it's an SSRI. They played dumb and directed me again to John Johnson, but gave me a different number this time. However, they told me that he will be able to waive my portion of the bill since the insurance already paid their's, however they needed to include it in the bill anyway because otherwise the insurance would think it is fraud. Is that not a damning statement? What do you guys think? What can I do? I already left a message at my insurance's fraud hotline last week, but not response yet. Thanks for any help.

EDIT: I just called a different number that was under the name of the lab on my test result printouts. It's a separate company. I contacted them and actually got to their billing department. They said that the lab's policy is to waive charges that are sent to the patient in excess of what is paid by the insurance.

Given the seemingly ridiculous amount of tests that were run on me, does this constitute insurance fraud?
Topic:
Insurance

Answer:
 TL;DR:  OP has insurance under parent as he's under 21.  Goes to a psychiatrist.

One day the receptionist makes OP pee in a cup for drug testing, apparently looking for illicit use as well as compliance.  Later, OP gets a bill for a crapload of money because the drug testing was done by an out-of-network lab.  OP tries to investigate the lab and finds that they're new and appear to have an address in a residential area.

OP's mom tries to find out why they used an O-o-N lab, to get the number of a contact for the lab. However, the phone number goes to what sounds like a residential/personal voicemail.

OP got a different number for the lab and was told they'd wave the charges the insurance didn't cover.

OP wants to know if this is insurance fraud.


Title: (NC) Reporting Animal Cruelty -- do we have a case?

Question:
I will try to make this as brief as possible while including all relevant details.

My mother volunteers as a foster for an animal rescue organisation. A few weeks ago she adopted 3 kittens to a local man. He claimed that he had never owned a cat before but seemed at the time that he would provide a good home. He said all the right things and was very gentle during his in-home visit.

Last week, my mom called him to make arrangements to take the kittens to be spayed and neutered. He started being sketchy and evasive. Finally he says X has "stubbed his toe" and should he take the kitten to the vet? She tells him to take the kitten to the vet and he does so. The kitten is on the brink of death. Multiple broken bones, jaw screwed up so badly he can't even eat, nails clipped painfully short, etc etc. It was so bad that the vet wanted to euthanize but the animal rescue somehow came up with the funds to operate and save the kitten's life. The kitten is now in recovery.

When they asked the man what happened to the cat, he got very evasive and said that he had been out of town, a pet sitter had been with the cat, a housekeeper had been there while he was gone. They asked for the contact information of the pet sitter and housekeeper but the man claimed that he "lost" it.

They sent two volunteers over and asked the man for the other two kittens back, but he said one of them had run away and had been missing for a week (even though he told my mom over the phone the day prior that the now missing cat was sitting in his lap and he was petting her). They did manage to get the third kitten back from him somehow. They have been searching the area around his apartment for the missing one for a week but she is nowhere to be found.

They talked to the vet again and the vet recalled that the same man had been there previously with a kitten with a broken leg. He claimed it had fallen from the 2nd story balcony of his apartment. (At this point we know he lied when he claimed that he had never owned pets before).

They called the local animal shelters. He adopted several kittens from the shelter in our city back in March, and just today (!!!) he adopted three more from the shelter in the next town over.

The animal rescue organisation called the police and today they sent an officer over to speak with the man, but the officer didn't have all of the details. My mom was able to speak with the officer on the phone today after the visit, and the officer was fairly rude and kept interrupting her during their conversation. He didn't think the man had been abusing the kittens because basically the apartment was clean and well-furnished, and had several cat toys. This man is very charming and does a good job of presenting like a safe and normal home. However the officer became more concerned after speaking with my mom today and learning more of the details. He says is going back over there tomorrow.

I am just sick with grief and I feel powerless to do anything. I am worried that the police won't take this seriously. I'm also worried that this man will get off because it seems that we don't have enough proof to get any kind of justice. I am worried that he will keep adopting kittens from other shelters or even just unsuspecting people on Craigslist and keep hurting/killing them.

What are the chances that we actually get some kind of conviction for this creep? What are our best options going forward?

Thanks so much for your help

Answer:
 It sounds like there were quite a few other people who witnessed the kittens injuries. including a Vet. Maybe the police would be more responsive if the Vet called them as well. Answer #2: You may want to spread the man's info around to all local rescues, especially those that work closely with shelters.
Shopping around shelters for animals to abuse is pretty typical of a serial abuser.

I'm so sorry this isn't being handled more actively by animal control.
At least maybe getting animal rescue groups on board you can get the word out to not adopt to this person.

This had to be done in my area to someone who had been found guilty of abusing dogs, even with video evidence, but was still managing to adopt and buy animals.

Getting rescue groups involved at least put the photo of him and his wife out there and can prevent some animals into getting into their hands.
(sadly can't do anything about the animals they get from CL or kijiji. )Answer #3: if you feel like the police are not taking you seriously over the phone, bring paper copies of evidence for everything you wrote out her to the police station, such as medical records and statements from the shelters where the cats were adopted.

speaking as an animal rescuer, sorry, but animal rescuers are flakes.  you guys will have more credibility if you have paperwork showing support from experts with recognized authority such as the vet or the manager of a brick and mortar shelter that has a board of directors and shit.


Title: MN-ND Doctor told me I don't deserve a transplant caused me to fall into suicidal depression

Question:
  Throw away because I have a lot of friends who use this site.

&#x200B;

A little back story. I live in North Dakota. I had my transplants in Minnesota and the doctor I’m asking about is from there. I was born with only one kidney and was in a car accident at the age of 16 that caused my kidney to fail. I have since received 2 kidney transplants. Both transplants failed with in the first 6 months, at no fault of my own. The first kidney failed due to toxicity from the anti-rejection medication I was on. The second kidney failed due to it having a virus, when they transplanted it, which badly damaged it. I meet with the doctor in 2013-2014, I’m not certain of the date I would have to look it up.

&#x200B;

After the second transplant failed, like with the first, I had to be placed back on to the donor list. To be placed on the list I must be approved by the head of the Transplant Department. It was during this appointment the doctor told me that I don’t deserve another transplant. In his words, “Why should waste a kidney on you when you have already had 2 fail within 6 months? Why should we give it to you and not to someone who actually deserves it?”

&#x200B;

After this meeting with the doctor I fell into a deep suicidal depression. What he said was all I could think about. Till in my mind it became true, I didn't deserve a transplant. I deserved to die. I fell hard into a depression. In my mind all I could think was, “What’s the point of continuing on if I was going to not receive another transplant because I didn’t deserve one and end up dying a slow death hooked up to a dialysis machine?”  With my depression I gained a lot of weight. Enough weight to stop me from being eligible to get a transplant. In a way I gained the weight to stop myself from getting a transplant because I didn’t want them to waste a kidney on me when someone else who could use it more than me could have it.

&#x200B;

I fell so far into depression that I had attempted suicide. The only reason I am still alive is because I forgot to load the chamber. When I pulled the trigger all I heard was a hard-metallic snap of the hammer hitting an empty chamber.  I ended up throwing up from the extreme rush after the failed attempt. I kept having suicidal thoughts but never tried again after the failed attempt. None of my family or friends know how depressed I really became.

&#x200B;

I continued to be severely depressed until recently. When I finally started to accept that maybe what that doctor said to me might not be true. I took nearly 4 years of doctors, friends and family constantly telling me that I am loved and that there was no reason for me to not get a transplant. That none of the failures were my fault. I even had friends offer to get checked to see if they were a match to give me a kidney. I am on the transplant list right now thanks to my kidney doctor fighting to get me put on it. I’m currently on the inactive list due to my weight. I am working on that right now but with the constant reminder of what that doctor said to me makes a very slow process.

&#x200B;

Now that I am okay with receiving a transplant and no longer have what that doctor said constantly pulsing in my mind; don't get me wrong, what the doctor said to me is still in my mind and is still constant struggle to suppresses. I want to know if there is any legal recourse I can take against the doctor? Am I making mountains out of anthills? Should I be worried about have repercussions from trying to take legal action against him?

&#x200B;

TL:DR Doctor told me a don't deserve a transplant fell into a suicidal depression because of what he said. Is there any thing I can do?

Answer: He has a horrible bedside manner and your feelings are valid, but legally I don’t see where he did anything wrong. The sad truth is that there are far more people needing organs than there are actual organs to hand out. The hospitals have to formulate ways to prioritize patients so that the people with the greatest chances for success are the ones who receive them. The common person would be appalled at the reasons you can be rejected for placement on a transplant list. Some that come to mind: past drug use (even if now sober); social alcohol use; age; even pending criminal charges. I’ve seen all of those listed as reasons for rejection. The doctors decision was simply one of statistics, as tough as that is to hear because to you, your life means everything. He needs some serious re-education in how to break this sort of news, but he didn’t cause any actionable harm.


Title: Cousins house was sold in Foreclosure while he was in jail and never served.

Question: My cousin just found out his house was auctioned at a foreclosure sale while he was in jail, (marijuana).   The court is going to affirm the sale on Monday.   The house is in Illinois,  he is in Missouri serving his time.   He was never served, had no clue this was happening.   He obviously can't appear in court and can't afford an attorney.  He has a sister who has power of attorney for him.   What can he do?

Answer:
 > He was never served

That's unlikely.  You probably mean he wasn't served *personally*, which is generally not required.  Service can be accomplished through lots of alternate means.  In most places, for things like foreclosure, a nail-and-mail to the house in question is considered plenty.

Your sister, who has POA, can look into the foreclosure suit, whether there was proper service, whether they want to challenge, et cetera.


Title: [LA] Fired a month after a meeting with corporate to report sexual harassment

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >I did a quick search and found that being fired to avoid give me a promotion and bonuses is grounds for wrongful termination

Where did you read this? Absent a contract, you can be fired for any reason that does not violate a labor law.

Now, firing or disciplining someone because they engaged in a legally protected activity (i.e. reporting sexual harassment to HR) is textbook retaliation. For that you should contact the EEOC immediately and file a complaint.

You should also file for unemployment. The company will probably deny it, but once you appeal they will have to prove misconduct, so you'll get your money in the end.Answer #2: First, just because you were due a promotion doesn't mean they fired you to avoid it. It doesn't really sound like that's why they fired you.

Firing you for attempting to form a union is not allowed, but you would have to have proof of that.

If you're an at will employee they can fire you for any reason or no reason. If you think you may have a case you can consult with employment law attorneys in your area and they'll be able to give you a better idea.

In the meantime, apply for unemployment.


Title: A company sends me home with paperwork to sign after an interview, over the weekend, I changed my mind. Am I accountable?

Question:
Let's meet Harold. Harold calls me in, checks my resume and is very thorough and straightforward. The brash attitude might just seem like an asshole-ish trait, which I am fine with because I am an asshole too.

We gOT along. We also laughed. But I honestly thought I can't count. Must've been a receptionist mistake, even prior to an interview with him, I came in expecting to just do a practice run.

A day after, Harold actually calls me in. He's the lead marketing and sales guy. I have no idea how to do all the SEO jazz like I mentioned but he wants me in. During the interview, when he spotted my lack of specialization, he made a deal to have a specific cap for my per hour pay, let's say we agreed to 13 per hour instead of a 17. Which I think is a fair pay considering I the lack skills they displayed on the ad, he spoke to me about being able to learn fast. I think I can.

But, the weekend arrives, I have nothing. I can't research. I feel like I need a lot of time to establish knowledge in this field. Plus, I got called in by another recruiter who I happened to send a resume two weeks ago. They want me in and I like this one better.

Before the weekend, I saw Harold again (second time) and I got the papers to sign, W4, W2 etc. But I need copies of my documents, so David the COO just told me to come back next week, feeling desperate (this was before the call from my other potential employer) I was almost convinced to sign right there and then.

Technically, I have papers to be signed but I never signed papers that they have. However, I am someone who likes to honor a person who saw something in me. I truly admire and respect that, but truthfully, I think I'm going to have a hard time with them. I want to decline but I am afraid they might (Harold specifically) scream at me or ask me to pay for the loss of company time (i.e: making them wait for 4 days including weekends for my decision) **How do I tell Harold that I changed my mind?** would email be better than call since I can log the entry?

----

Should I call him or email him? I have research done but not enough, I guess it would be a courtesy to also send it to him? He seems like an extremely busy fellow too. I was able to wait more than an hour while he manages his company's errands. So a call wouldn't cut it, or would it? And am I going to be in deep sh*t if I call for a sudden withdrawal? I signed the papers but they're still with me at my home.

TL;DR - A very sticky situation. I did not sign anything back yet and I might just burn a bridge with this big company.

Need advice please...
Topic:
Business Law

Answer: Dude. 90% of that was unnecessary. Just tell them that you aren't taking the job. Phone call, email, singing telegram... It doesn't matter. Answer #2: Without knowing where you are or what you signed, we can't be of any use to you. Bona fide employment contracts are rare in the USA but common elsewhere, so although it sounds as if you're in the US and almost assuredly in an at-will employment situation you can extract yourself from with an email or phone call, we can't help without you explaining what exactly you signed.


Title: Landlord lets herself over daily, is this normal? (TX)

Question:
I very recently moved to Houston for a new job, and found myself renting a room in a 4 bedroom house with three other women. Everyone has their own separate lease to their room, and gets along pretty okay, however, our landlord is here at the house incessantly. She owns the house but doesn't live here, and will come and go as she pleases, nearly literally every single day.

It isnt that problematic as I keep to myself, but lately, she has been very talkative and wont leave us alone.  She will come over daily to do, as she says, chores, such as vacuuming, mowing the lawn, etc., but it really seems like she comes over to spend time and talk to myself and the other girls. She's even knocked on my bedroom door as I was getting in bed at 8pm, as I work early, wanting to talk about one of the other tenants. I do not want to be visited daily by my landlord, simply because I value my privacy and time to myself. I am an older woman who does not really want to spend their little leisure time gabbing with their landlord.

Additionally, she keeps the thermostat locked and set at 78 degrees fahrenheit, which doesnt sound that bad but gets quite hot in the Texas heat. She does pay for the electricity, so I assume she probably has some right to set the temp, but idk.

Do we have any right to tell her to kind of lay back on visiting every single day? Or is she entitled to visit whenever she wishes, as we merely rent rooms of a house?  Is she allowed to set and lock the thermostat, or are we allowed to change it?

   I'd very much appreciate any perspective on the issue, thank you!

Answer:
 NAL, but you should have a say about the temperature, because well, you live there. Also, no it isn’t normal that she lets herself over on a daily basis. If you don’t want her knocking on your door, I’d tell her that you like your privacy, maybe set a time where you don’t want to be disturbed unless it’s an emergency. Answer #2: It sounds like you all are renting rooms in the house, and your lease/tenancy is specifically for a room and not the common area(s). In these types of cases, the landlord generally does not need to give notice to enter unless they are going into your individual room.Answer #3: Who is responsible for cleaning the common areas?  If it is the landlord it is hard for you to argue it is excessive for her to be there daily cleaning.  If it falls on you and the other tenants maybe you should talk to them and see how they feel about her social visits.Answer #4: Just a suggestion but maybe a do not disturb sign on your door. Answer #5: If your lease is only for an individual room, then she has the right to visit and use the common areas of the house. She cannot force you to talk to her or engage in any interaction with her.

She has the right to set the thermostat at whatever she wants, barring a clause in the lease that says otherwise.  I would suggest the 4 of you offer to pay a portion of the electricity bill in return for the ability to set it yourselves.Answer #6: She sounds lonely, which of course, is not your problem. Someone else suggested a ‘do not disturb’ sign, which is a good starting place.


Title: My problem neighbor sent me a text explicitly asking if I wanted to buy pot, w/ prices and everything; if I show it to our landlord / the cops will I have to let them go through everything else in my phone?

Question:
I'd rather not let them go through all of my personal messages, but my neighbors are making it impossible to live with them. I was switching from negotiating with them to talking to the landlord anyway because they're in direct violation of their lease with the noise they make, but he doesn't seem particularly keen to take real action. Their music is "only during the day," which means 2pm - 11pm, and very technically not a violation of the cities noise ordinances; my state doesn't have quiet enjoyment either.

I've finally got a way to get my life back from the constant, inescapable noise, but I don't want them going full CSI on my phone and seeing personal texts to my wife or anything either. That just kind of freaks me out.

Answer:
 Screenshot it. Then email it to yourself.

Then print it.


Title: Can you legally take possession of a car that does not belong to you or your spouse?

Question:
So my parents are getting divorced, and one of the points of contention is who gets the cars. All of the family cars are in my paternal grandmother’s name (hers is the only one of the title), but my mother believes she has a right to them due to the fact that she was married to my father and he has “control” of the vehicles. Legally can she retain possession of a car that is not in her name? She has not made any payments for any of the cars, her name is on the insurance though.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Those are your grandmother's cars then. Since neither parent owns one, I doubt the judge will even listen to any talk about getting a car during the divorce and asset splitting.


Title: [MA] Can I be charged for underage drinking after I was assaulted?

Question:
A bit of a backstory and apology about the length of this post before I get to the crucial point(TLDR at the bottom):

So on this last Saturday night a group of friend's and I went out to another friends house for her birthday party where underage drinking ensued for all of us college aged kids. Her parents were home and didn't realize how many people were going to be attending so at around 11:30 P.M. she kicked everyone out. This was all well and fine as we had a completely sober driver and were going to make our way to another party.

As we were in the parking lot out in front of her house (about 20-30 kids at this time) her mother is yelling from inside for all of us to be quiet. My friend T begins ushering everyone to be quiet as per the mother's request. Everyone agrees and begins to quiet down except for this one guy who I'll call C. C says to my friend something along the lines of "I'll quiet you the fuck down when I come over there and beat your ass." my friend T not wanting anything to do with this says "calm down, I'm just trying to get everyone to quiet down as our friends mom asked us to do." So we believe that C has calmed down a bit from his alcohol/drug induced rage to where he sees his mistake after T's apology.

We head out in search of another party that we were told about and another car behind us of our friends that had a completely sober driver. We are on the highway when we notice a car coming flying by us 80-90 MPH and then slamming on their breaks, falling back behind us and then flying passed us again. It's at that point that we realize that it was C that was driving erratically with a car full of passengers following us to try and get to the party we were on route to.

We were almost at our destination when we got a call from another friend telling us that the party got busted so we pulled into a parking lot to talk to the car full of people we knew about where we were going to go when C followed us in. Everyone gets out and we start talking and at this point C decides hes going to begin bragging about how his recruiter got 6 charges waived off of him so he could be put into the marine corps pool. (he knew my friend L that was with us who is also in the marine corps pool).

At this point we decided we were going to cut our losses and head back to T's house for a little while to hangout on the condition that we were all extremely quiet, as to not wake up his father, his mother said it was fine for us to come over. This is when C said to T to give him his address as he wanted to come to with his friends, of which I only knew one of. Because of C's earlier threatens to T, T said no it was only going to be us and the kids that we knew. C was not taking no for an answer and began verbally harassing T to get his address.

After about ten minutes of them arguing T finally agrees to text him the address. C gives T his phone number and T texts him a fake address a few towns over. We could tell that if C came to T's house there would be problems and didn't want anything to do with it. We leave to go to T's house with the car of our other friends following us and making sure that C is not following us.

We arrive at T's house and go to his backyard where we begin to light a fire to hangout at for a little while till the other car goes home and the rest of us crash at T's place. After only a few minutes T said for L and I to follow him out to the front. I being slightly intoxicated was confused at first as to what was going on but the sound of empty glasses being smashed on the pavement and beer cans being thrown tipped me off the C had somehow found us. (one of our other friends had their snapchat maps location on and someone in C's car told him the location).

Staying on T's property T shouted to C that they needed to leave and weren't welcome here. That is when C got up into T's face shouting at him and asking "why the fuck" he wasn't welcome here. I realized I knew someone, D that came with C. I went over to D and said "hey man can you please try to get him to leave? we want nothing to do with this." D replied "Man I can try but he's a big fucking dude" (which is true, C makes me, a 6'2" 215 pound guy look small). D approached him and said "C, c'mon lets just leave it's not worth it." the rest of the passengers in C's car were visibly uncomfortable with being there and realized that they weren't welcome.

C ignored D and proceeded to yell at T saying that he should let him come over. It was at this point where C grabbed T on the forearm and started walking closer to him and pushing him back. T then grabbed C's forearm and kind of just held his ground. At that C shouted "why the fuck are you trying to push me." T replied "what are you talking about I'm not."

Then out of nowhere C punched T in the face with a left hook. then punched L in the face with a right hook. I completely in shock began to realize what was happening and went to try and tackle C to the ground to prevent him from attacking my other friends more. This is when C got on top of me and was attempting to punch me but I had grabbed both of his hands so he was unable to and was now shouting "fucking cut the shit and just get the fuck out of here." C must've seen the crazy in my eyes or something because he quickly opened both of his fists and said "my hands are open my hands are open let me go and I'll back away." I let go of C and he and his friends got into his car and burned out at they were leaving and left a solid 20 foot skid mark on the pavement.

In the process of this exchange T is left with a bloodied face and swollen lips, L has a swollen eye, and I have a bruise on my head, swollen jaw and most likely a concussion from hitting the ground. T called the police to see if there was anything that could be done. We explained everything to them and we were told that since the police had not seen anything happen they were unfortunately unable to make any arrests but if we wanted to press charges then to let them know. The police took down everyone's information and T's mom came out to talk to them. We told the cops that we currently didn't want to press charges as we didn't feel that our injuries were to bad (adrenaline and alcohol talking).

Today rolls around and L calls his recruiter to explain to him what happened as is required and was assured by his recruiter that C would be promptly removed from the pool and most likely unable to join any other branch of the armed forces as he was known to the recruiter for causing trouble and the recruiter was looking for any solid excuse already to remove him. T talked to his father and his father is now urging him to press charges.

My major question is can T, L, and I be held responsible for underage drinking or have any charges filed against us for that? We have about 6 other witnesses that were there to confirm what happened.

TLDR: After underage drinking two friends and I were assaulted by someone who was asked to leave one friend's property. Can we be charged with underage drinking if we go forward with pressing charges against him for assault and battery.

Again I apologize for the Length of this post, thank you in advance for the advice.

Answer: Well, there's no way I'm going to read all of that, but the basic answer is yes: a crime victim can still be charged with any crimes they committed. As a practical matter, most police officers and prosecutors tend to be much more interested in prosecuting violent crimes than underage drinking.


Title: [GA] Someone is using my 135 acre property to profit from with a hunting lease

Question:
A while back, I hired a guy (Ricky), to watch over and manage this 135 acre property because I moved away from Georgia. Previously, while I was away, I heard from my lawyer (a local in the town of where this property is located) that Ricky was using my land to lease to some hunters. I then notified my lawyer to tell Ricky to cease all activities and I did not take any legal action at that time. Annoyingly, I actually ended up settling with him because he had "managed" the property for 5 years and he demanded payment for that.

Now, I am trying to lease the land myself to some hunters. I've had some people go out to check out the land to offer leasing bids, and while one person was at the property, she said she talked with someone who was hunting on the land. She told me that the hunter said that he had a lease with someone named Ricky. I want to take legal action against him, but how can I prove that he was in the wrong? Thanks in advanced!

Answer:
 Get a statement from the person who made these claims.Answer #2: Contact local hunting associations/clubs.  If Ricky is up to his old tricks, he'll probably have a contract with at least one of them.  Check craiglist, local hunting forums, things like that.  Anywhere he could advertise.

With the contract in hand it becomes a lot easier to prove he's ... defrauding you? Criminal Trespass?  I'm sure an attorney would be able to tell you what you could stick him with.


Title: Im legally old enough to smoke in PA. I want to buy some cigars in pa for my friends birthday, but my ID is from NJ. Can stores refuse to serve me?

Question: Can I be refused service because of my ID?

Answer: Yes, stores can refuse to serve you for any reason not protected by law (race, ethnicity, religion, etc.).


Title: Can you guys help a brother in need?

Question:
[removed]
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Your buddy needs to make a post here with the legal problem and legal question. Not link to another sub.


Title: Nonpaying tenants – squatting for months – just declared bankruptcy to further stall

Question:
Ok – right off the bat, we screwed up with our due diligence. We should have seen the 75k in credit card debt as the red flag that is was when renting a million dollar house but the family had good excuses. The mother was recovering from cancer – the father was making 200k+ in a corporate job – and we bought the excuse that they had just gotten behind on credit card payments because of the health issues. We were naive because they had said they were renting with an option to buy.  We let that cloud our judgment.

So with that out of the way – here’s where we stand. They’ve been living there for  4 months now. The house is old and as part of the contract we signed they agreed that they would accept the house in the condition it was in at the time they walked it. From day one, it seems this family was determined to find issues with the house as an excuse for not paying rent.

First it was that there weren’t 3 prong (grounded?) plugs at every outlet. I would have thought this was self-evident at the time of renting but that was the reason given.  There was always something else, nothing that could seriously be claimed as affecting the habitability of the house.  This continues for a month or so until, and this is where it sucks for us, she finally hits the mother lode and finds a bit of mold in the basement. We spring into action because mold is no joke and hire a professional remediation service that comes in – removes the mold – and then leaves air scrubbers for multiple days to get the remaining spores. This was not enough for her and she determined the house was now “inhabitable”.  She continued to live there, of course…

Seeing the writing on the wall we started the eviction process. They stalled as much as possible, missing deadline after deadline until recently announcing that they planned to file for bankruptcy. This meant we had to get another lawyer, and looks like we need to start the process all over again. All the while, they continue to live in the house and as best we can tell have been refusing to pay for services there (lawn service hadn’t been paid in months)

We are in a well-off part of CT– their kids are in private colleges and private grade schools. She drives a nice car and (if our real estate agent’s due diligence is to be believed) the father is making 200k+ a year. If the latter isn't in fact the case, he lied on the application documents.

I hate the fact that beyond the thousands in lawyer fees and lost rent, I’m likely going to have to assume their bills for the heat and electric. I know I can set it at the lowest legal amount but they will no doubt crank it back up to 75 degrees as they have it now.  Shame on me for not seeing the writing on the wall earlier but I hadn’t anticipated how greatly they’d take advantage of us.

What are my options here? Their credit is already trashed with the credit card debt so it looks like their play is to just get as much free living out of the house as possible.

I’m half tempted to plop a big sign on the yard that says “RESIDENTS UNDER EVICTION FOR NON PAYMENT “ or maybe just buy up some google ads for their names to the same effect. We can’t have been the first people they’ve done this to…

Answer:
 If possible get eviction judgment before they file for BK, to get them out ASAP.  Based on their income they probably are not eligible for a Chapter 7 case, so keep up to date if their case is dismissed without a discharge. If they get a discharge you will not be able to collect any rent that came due before bk case filed. Answer #2: >What are my options here?

To follow your attorney's advice as to the fastest and easiest path toward having them out of your property and stopping the bleeding.  It may be worth talking to your lawyer about some kind of settlement offer to your tenant where you reduce or (ouch) even forgive the current debt they owe in exchange for them surrendering the property just to stop having to throw additional money into the situation.

>I’m half tempted to plop a big sign on the yard that says “RESIDENTS UNDER EVICTION FOR NON PAYMENT “

Talk to your lawyer about this course of action.  General good advice is to evaluate actions you may take at his point from the perspective of "does this lead to getting me my money, or just appeal to some sense of vengeance?"  If the action doesn't move you in some way toward an improved situation, it may not be worth taking.


Title: Consent while intoxicated laws only applicable in sexual cases...?

Question: In Alabama are there any laws against talking somebody that is intoxicated into consenting to give money or the keys to their car, et cetera...? Or any kind of way to get the money back or have coverage if the person wrecks the car?

Answer:
 Issues of capacity can exist with anything where capacity is a factor. Capacity is a factor in the formation of a contract: if someone's too drunk to understand what they're doing, and if they take steps to repudiate the contract promptly when they become soberly aware of it, then they may well get out of it and have grounds to, for example, sue for their money back.

Capacity is _not_ an issue in whether you're insured to use someone else's car, though. Either their policy covers incidental use by others, in which case you're likely covered under their insurance, or it doesn't (rare), in which case no amount of sobriety on their part would make it okay for you to drive their car without some other insurance.

The reason intoxication is so widely associated with _sexual_ consent is that people generally don't get into complicated contractual relationships when they're blackout anywhere near as often, or with anywhere near as much apparent drama, as they have poorly-considered sex or abuse one another's sexual boundaries in the presence of alcohol.


Title: I'm worried my company is breaking the law.

Question:
Hi all. I made an account to explain the situation. I work for a dinner boat company. I serve/bartend/manage cruises. I'm an hourly employee and the work is seasonal. Right now is the slow part of the year and I work maybe 15-20 hours a week. We are located in Oregon.

Once a year we do a trip to Washington and do multiple cruises a day for 10 days. My company changes the way we are compensated from hourly to day wages.

- Pay is $100/day + gratuity split evenly with the entire crew (including salary managers)

- Per Diem is $25/day to be given to you in cash the day before we leave.

I felt like this was wrong since I am a non exempt employee and I asked why I was put on a day wage. I was told it's a "salary". Frustrated, I asked why am I not protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act. My executive manager was stumped, and asked head of HR for help in explaining, which they couldn't answer either. So they asked the General Manager to explain it, but he/she couldn't as well. The President of the company waited until we returned and then wrote this in the monthly newsletter which you can read in the link I included just below.

http://i.imgur.com/JfWCrQ6.jpg

- We aren't an overnight vessel. We do multiple dining/sightseeing cruises a day.
-We sleep in a hotel and not the boat.
-I'm considered a service staff hourly employee all times of the year except for these 10 days.
- Federal Seaman Act is a very old law, and I'm honestly not sure where he says what it says when I wikipedia the law.

A second issue came up the other day during a manager meeting. One of the employees was talking about staff needing to leave early and he/she spent an extra hour cleaning up after the cruise. The salary manager piped in and said "Oh, you all should text me if that happens because if I see your clock out at a weird time I just automatically fix it." (meaning they put it to where they expect it to be) I haven't really monitored my hours, and I often stay later than scheduled because you never actually know when cleanup will be done. (Said salary manager gets a bonus for low employee costs)

I have no intentions to sue my company, however, if these actions are illegal it will change my stance on wanting to continue a long term commitment to the company.

I can answer and clarify more questions. Please help me out here.

Answer:
 I'm not sure about the first issue. The act is old but I have no idea if it still applies or if it's no longer relevant.

The second one sounds shady. The manager should not be changing time cards. But without keeping your own records of hours, you can't really prove any wrong doing.


Title: Debit Card “Surcharge/ Fees”

Question:
This takes place in CA. I recently went to a burger place, and lady at the register wanted to charge me 25 cents for using a debit card. I thought this was odd.

I questioned the fee, and she ended up removing it from my total. This upsets me even more, since had I not questioned the fee, they would have basically stolen 25 cents.

This restaurant does NOT have a visible sign disclosing that there’s a fee for using debit cards either. Isn’t this illegal? What should you do when you encounter this?

*Taken from an online source: “Surcharges cannot be imposed on debit or prepaid debit transactions. This holds true even if a cardholder chooses "credit" as an option when using their debit card.

Convenience fees, like surcharges, must be clearly displayed at the point of sale. Therefore, if you discover a fee only after the transaction is processed, you can submit a complaint with your credit card network.”*

Answer: You should do exactly what you did-object to the fee. If they insist on charging it, take your business elsewhere.


Title: Prostitution vs Porn

Question:
This is a weird topic I am sure.... (IN the US, in a state where prostitution is illegal)

While I fully understand that prostitution is illegal, making porn is not.

If I have someone pay me to be in their "porno" would that be technically legal?

or if I ran a business where they pay me to shoot the video, edit the video, pay for the video but they are having sex with me on the video. Technically they are not paying for the sex....

I just am wondering if I would get in any trouble for this.

Answer:
 do you really think the system is that dumb?

Pornography industry is HIGHLY regulated. Ask any of the attorneys on here (I'm not one) -- massive amounts of recordkeeping etc. It would be trivial to show that your proposed operation isn't a genuine pornography studio unless you were willing to go through all that.Answer #2: Do you plan to distribute the videos? Because if your business model is "pay to bang me and get your own video souvenir" that isn't going to fly. Answer #3: the only state that has adopted the attitude that making porn is not the same as prostitution is california. everywhere else, you could be on thin ice, depending on how hard a boner the local DA wants to get.


Title: What are this policeman's intentions?

Question: Okay I live in a low income apartment complex and 2 weeks ago there was a fight. One of the neighbors beat up the other one pretty bad, he needed an ambulance. The police were investigating and a group of them came into my apartment and stood in a circle asking questions. Fine, but one of them has been back 4 times to my place. He comes off duty in normal clothes, not in a police car but in his Toyota. He barges through my door and starts talking to me. He has asked many odd questions like: 'do you think I am handsome?' I said yes even though I am not gay. Also he asked for my phone number I said no not if it wasnt for official business to which he said 'I can throw you in jail if you fuck with me'. He has also asked if I thought he smelled good to which I said yes even though I am not gay. I am concerned about these visits because at the end of the day he's a cop, god knows what he could do to me. How should I deal with this?

Answer:
 > What are this policeman's intentions?

and...

> He has asked many odd questions like: 'do you think I am handsome?'

> Also he asked for my phone number

> He has also asked if I thought he smelled good

You don't need to be Matlock to know what his intentions are. Come on.... you trolling us? He wants to explore your chocolate starfish.

Advice, don't let him in. Tell him you're not interested. Be very clear about this. File a report at his police station if the harassment continues. Answer #2: I would call his desk sergeant and keep your doors locked.Answer #3: He's trolling, his account is 0 days old, he has 3 dumb posts (including this one), and he has no comments.Answer #4: Have you tried locking your door? You have no obligation to let him in, and if you are afraid he's not there officially you can call the police. Answer #5: You need to [contact SPVM](https://spvm.qc.ca/en/Contact) and file a complaint against this officer. This is completely out of line, and needs to be handled now.


Title: Can you force a DNA test even if the mother refuses?

Question:
The guy thinks he's the father of the child (3 weeks old) but the mother says he's not.

Can the guy or the court compel the mother to allow a DNA test?

**Thanks**.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Yes, a court can and will order a DNA test against the wishes of either parent, if one is reasonably necessary to determine paternity. If mom's not cooperating, maybe-dad should seek a court order, and likely wants a lawyer.Answer #2: Yes a court WILL compel the mother to do a DNA test if paternity is questioned. Is he going to file a paternity claim stating he believes he is the father and wants custody?

 Answer #3: It depends on your location. In many canadian provinces courts cannot force the mother or child to submit to a DNA test, however if he files for custody/access and she refuses to allow one the court is allowed to draw the inference that she is refuses because she knows the child is his.


Title: Stepmom grabbed sister by hair to reprimand her. What options does my mom have?

Question:
For reference: sister is 17, dad and step mom have been married for about 1.5 years. This happened in their home. My mom has full custody, dad has visitation a few times a week.

Story: sister jokingly called little brother (14) a dummy at the dinner table, because it pertained to the conversation that was held. Stepmom grabs her by the hair and pulls her in close to say words that sister can't remember because she was in so much pain (allegedly). Brother and sister's boyfriend witnessed.

Paris, TN

My mom is obviously furious (especially since the relationship between herself and my dad and stepmom is not great) and just wants to know if this gives her any kind of leverage or can be on her side in later fights, if needed, or how this kind of behavior is looked at in the court.

Answer: She is welcome to go to court but what does she expect them to do. The judge will tell step mom not to do it again. Thats about it. The stepmom was inappropriate but it is not going to mean that dad loses custody. The real solution is for mom and dad to talk about it.


Title: (FL) I'm an adjunct instructor who received unemployment from two colleges in the summer of 2016. One of the schools later filed an appeal, which I was not aware of, then won, and now the state wants me to pay them back over $800.

Question:
The story is a little more complicated but essentially as a school employee I can receive unemployment assistance over breaks like the summer. As an adjunct this is incredibly helpful because I can actually pay my bills. It's the bare minimum but vital for me. I do have more than one job, too, but it’s a huge chunk of money to go without for three to four months.

In the 2015-16 school year I taught at two different colleges, the local community college (CC) and a junior college (JC) located about an hour away. I commuted 4 hours a week to JC (was never reimbursed) and in the spring semester they had offered me classes in the fall 2016 semester. I accepted at the time when it was asked of me, even though I wasn't a big fan of the administration or the commute. I accepted though for a couple of reasons:

For one, my department at the local CC had just gotten a new provost, which significantly upset the apple cart. Because of the drama and politics involved, none of us adjuncts could be guaranteed any fall 2016 classes, so we were left hanging. (We wouldn’t be assigned classes until 3 weeks before the fall semester started.)

The other reason I accepted is that the JC had opened up a full-time faculty position for the job I had as an adjunct. I was one of two adjuncts they had hired to teach these classes and the only one teaching 3 (the other adjunct commuted only once a week for a face-to-face class and taught two more online). He and I basically anchored the entire department because they had needed teachers so desperately. (They had offered me the job a week before their semester started.) The other adjunct wasn’t applying to that full time position because he had another job lined up elsewhere. Other faculty in the department encouraged me to apply, saying I was essentially a shoo-in because I was doing so much work for the college.

In the meantime, it’s the summer. I have no guarantee of a job at CC but I am teaching one class on campus at JC once a week. I request unemployment from the state and report all of my income. Both schools approved the request. With the CC I had to let unemployment know that there wasn’t a guarantee of employment once the summer ended, but with the JC, I reported that I was returning there in the fall of 2016.

I do apply to the full time position at JC and only hear back in the form of a letter in late July saying they hired someone else for the position. I wasn’t even interviewed. It definitely hurt that they didn’t even consider me and I guess you could say that was the final nail in the coffin.

By then I HAD finally heard back from CC and was offered 3 classes. Because the CC pays more per class, because I wouldn’t be commuting and spending $40/week on gas, and because of my dissatisfaction with the administration at the JC, I decided I did not want to work for JC anymore. I let them know that I wouldn’t be returning after all. I thought that was that.

On an early December afternoon my phone rings twice, leaving two voicemails in a row. I was in an appointment and unable to answer my phone. When I listen to the messages later, it’s the unemployment office requesting my presence at an appeal (!). I had missed some kind of adjudication! I was so confused. I hadn’t received anything in the mail, so I log on to my account and sure enough, there’s a notice of appeal. I hadn’t logged on in months because I hadn’t been requesting assistance for months, and before then I’d always received physical mail from them. Needless to say I freaked out because I’m not someone who misses phone court appointments.

I was able to get a hold of someone at unemployment to explain that I didn’t know about the hearing and I didn’t even quite understand what was going on, but by then a decision had already been made. The state had ruled in favor of the JC and I now owe them the payments they’d made to me over the summer. The JC’s position is that I claimed to unemployment that I would be returning to them but that I had in fact not returned, so they wanted their money back.

I DID file my own appeal against the decision because I didn’t know about the hearing in the first place. The NEW hearing is set for this Tuesday (1/24) at 2pm (15 minutes after one of my classes ends...). I have absolutely no idea what to do or to say. When I initially filed the unemployment I WAS fully intending to work at the JC. I also did not continue to request benefits from them after I finished working for them in the summer. But I just don’t know if I have a leg to stand on. I barely make $15,000 a year as an adjunct. Trying to pay back over $800 is beyond my means.

Is there anything I can do or say? Or is this hopeless? How can I avoid making these mistakes in the future, too? Thank you all very much. Sorry this was such a novel.

Edited for formatting.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 >  The JC’s position is that I claimed I to unemployment that I would be returning to them but that I had in fact not returned, so they wanted their money back.

So they are saying you turn down work they offered you?  That can in some cases be enough to disqualify somebody.

A timeline would be helpful here of major dates, like when you worked, when you stopped working, when you claimed benefits, when you were planning to return to work, etc.


Title: [PA] Landlord makes it easy for tenants to steal electric from other tenants

Question:
Checked out a place the other day, and in the basement they have a washer and dryer hookup. You plug your washer/dryer into your A, B, C or D socket when you want to use it, and you're charged accordingly.  Doesn't take a lot of brainpower to realize the issue with this. We brought up it and the agent said it's "built on trust" to make sure people don't steal.

We want to address this before we sign the lease. We want to be protected.  Is this setup even legal? What does this sub think I should do?

Answer: There's no legal issue here.  If you don't like the apartment, don't sign the lease.  Answer #2: It's legal as tenants are aware of it and agree to the terms. Assuming your breaker box is in your unit, you could just flip the breaker when not in use.


Title: Got scammed out of buying an IG account - do I have any recourse? [NYC]

Question:
For marketing purposes, I was trying to purchase a small (<500k) IG account. Bought the account in person, changed recovery email, etc. I even recorded the conversation.

I've now gotten home after driving and noticed that they were able to change the recovery email again and they are unresponsive...pretty much got scammed. This cost me several hundred dollars...

Not sure what other information I should provide here. I tried calling NYPD and they were uninterested. Should I be trying to reach out to King's County Computer Crimes Unit?

Answer: You can sue the person you purchased the account from to get a refund.


Title: Lien Notice After I Sold Motorcycle (Orange County, California)

Question:
So last July I put my motorcycle up for sale on /r/orangecounty and had a guy who lives nearby come and pick it up. We signed the title over to him and that same day i cancelled my insurance and did the release of liability form online. I have messages from him on reddit and still have the release of liability paperwork in my desk.

Fast forward to today, I have received a notice of pending lien sale from a tow yard in which i am listed as the registered owner and the guy i sold it to is an "interested party"

[Lien Notice](http://imgur.com/a/8E9ak)

So i did a [DMV vehicle history check](http://imgur.com/a/8E9ak) and it looks like im still the registered owner and the guy i sold to is listed as a Buyer. There is a third "buyer" as well. I cant make heads or tails of this.

Should i let it go to auction, respond with a declaration of opposition, talk to someone who specializes in horse law since this was once my metal steed?

Thanks in advance legal minds!

Answer: Someone bought it and skipped title to sell it. Newest owner eventually got towed.


Title: Neighbor is changing the fence without notifying us, putting up a stone wall.

Question:
The fence was originally on our side, because the previous owner of the home had the fence rebuilt (old one was apparently 50+ years old, falling apart like our side fence that we are redoing in a month). So, today I hear noise coming from the back yard. They are already tearing it down.  I talk to the workers and they say a stone wall is going up instead. We got no notice whatsoever. We are in the process of redoing our backyard, so we got tools and and stuff back there, along with my motorcycle and some odds and ends. Anything I need to stay aware of legally? Lady never spoke with us about redoing the fence, not even a warning so we can at least get stuff away from the fence. Since the fence was paid by the previous owner of my home, we actually have stuff attactched to the fence like some hanging lights for our patio.

Sorry for being all over the place... I'm just really annoyed by the situation because they started at 6:00AM, and I got off work at midnight today/last night however you want to phrase it.

Answer:
 Without a survey to show the actual property lines, there is no real way to determine whose fence it is.

You need to talk to the neighbor and find out their intentions.   At this point, I would let them finish what they are doing, since it seems they just want to build a wall and didn't care to tell anyone.

Inform them that you have pets that could have gotten out, so you want notice next time they plan to open up the property.

Don't mention anything about the fence being shared, or your previous owner paying for it (you can't actually prove that).

Take pictures of what you have on the fence now, and explain to the neighbor that you plan to reinstall these things when construction is done.

In the end, you just need something to keep your pets in, that doesn't cost you anything.  Answer #2: Hire a land surveyor.


Title: (Florida USA) what to expect if I report (against her wishes) my pregnant gf was assaulted resulting in miscarriage?

Question:
My gf is 9 weeks pregnant with twins and was attacked by a friend. She is afraid to report to the police and does not want to press charges. She miscarried one of the babies and is at risk of losing the other. She doesn't want to get police involved but I feel obligated since she lost a child. I'm trying to read up on statutes but it's very hard for me to understand and was hoping someone could break it down in lay mans terms

Thanks in advance

Answer:
 What can you expect?

There will be criminal charges against the person who attacked your girlfriend.  Quite possibly [manslaughter charges](http://leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0782/Sections/0782.09.html), if it was a fight, or worse if it was a premeditated assault.

Your girlfriend will be pissed that you reported it, despite her wishes.  The "friend" will be pissed too.

You will maybe feel better about it.

The police and the DA will not stop their investigation, or drop charges, if you change your mind.  So realize that once you set this ball in motion, it's going to stay in motion.


Title: Looking to terminate my parental rights to my daughter... (NJ)

Question:
I need to use an anonymous account because I know this is shameful and terrible but I feel like I have no other choice. I am looking to terminate my parental rights to my daughter. It sounds horrible, and like I am a deadbeat father. Maybe I am. Still, I really need help...

My daughter is nine years old, and autistic. She is low functioning, and needs care pretty much 24/7. My now ex-wife left me due to how difficult it has been for me, caring for her. We have joint custody currently, mostly because of her insistance. While my ex enjoys taking care of Julie, our daughter, I do not. Julie is violent, extremely hostile and aggressive toward me and strangers. I've tried my best to keep her entertained and loved while she stays over, it always fails. I can't sustain any new relationships or friendships, most of my old ones left after my child's birth. I am depressed, and suffer from anxiety ever since Julie turned three and began to vocalize. I've lost many jobs because I can't accomodate them and my daughter's needs at the same time. I'm currently unemployed, and living off unemployment checks while I job hunt.

I also pay child support. Most of it seems to go to Julie, and it is very expensive. I have to pay $2,500 a month and I've tried to keep up but I am falling behind. My ex intends to jail me for this, and does not have the patience to deal with me. I keep wanting her to put Julie in a home for kids with special needs but my ex refuses, wanting to care for her herself BUT ALSO wanting me to share the bulk of that. I just can't deal with it anymore. The courts seem to side with my ex in regards to Julie, and refuse to take my concerns seriously. In fact, one of the judges shamed me really badly for not wanting to "take responsibility"...

I have heard that termination of parental rights is possible but difficult. I think it might be for the best if I did. Julie and I have not bonded. She seems to detest staying over with me. I can never provide her with what she needs. I don't feel like I have much in-put on her life or any real say in how to raise her. I am tired of being beaten by my own child, and having her scream that she wants me dead every single time I see her. I don't feel like I can even provide to her financially anymore either. I don't feel like a father. I feel like a glorified babysitter...and one who isn't equipped to deal with a low functioning autistic girl.

What are my options? Can I, realistically, have my rights severed? Can I hold off on making payments to an attorney until I get a job or is payment required upfront, typically it's been the latter for me but I've only ever used a divorce attorney?

If I can't terminate my rights, can I have the court look into housing my daughter in a home for special needs kids? I think it would be more beneficial for her. Her mother seems to be keeping her in a toddler-like state and is enabling her bad behavior instead of trying to improve it.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 You cannot term your right. That is not a thing without adoption.

You dont have to visit. You dont have to have any relationship with her. You cannot force mom to put her in a care facility when she is perfectly fine living with mom. You dont have to like how mom is dealing with her but she isnt unsafe. Answer #2: > I think it might be for the best if I did.

Based on your story no it isn't in your child's best interest.

But if you have no income then I would certainly look into getting a lawyer to petiotion the court to lower you child support payments.
Answer #3: As has been said, you can't remove her right to the support from a parent.

You and the mother chose to have a child (or engage in activities that led to said child). You can choose to not see the child, but you are still obligated to support. You do not have the right to put the child in a home, unless you have sole custody. You'd still be liable for the costs.

The only answer is to get a job, send the cheque, and stay out of the way.


Title: Fired via text message from owner’s wife (he is incapacitated with regrettable medical issues)

Question:
I know I have no legal recourse, I’m just curious what are my chances of getting unemployment from this sudden termination.

Some background:  worked at this family business for 5 years, was employed just before it opened and grew with the business.  Worked many weekends and holidays so the owners could vacation and have their weekends off.  Opened and closed the business , ordered inventory, wrote checks, had a key (I.e. trusted employee).

  Owners wife took over management duties while he is sadly hospitalized with a debilitating mystery illness (as far as I’ve heard).

  I see my new schedule, and my hours had been cut in half.  I politely ask her if I’m being punished for some reason.  She proceeds to explode on me about her sick husband and how I didn’t reply to her text earlier and that she is now glad she had my attention (on my day off, vacation time.  I should add that I ended up working half my vacation for her while she tended to her husband).

  Now, this is where I could have shown more restraint.  I told her that she shouldn’t be such a bitch to people who keep her business open for her.  Now, this may sound harsh but we (the owner his wife and employees) all curse in life and in text and have worked together for years so it’s not completely outlandish.  Indeed, often when I am not working she has closed the business to avoid working herself so I wasn’t reaching in my claims of keeping it open for her (but mostly for her husband , he’s alright ).
  I was immediately fired with no specific reason given though I must surmise it’s because I suggested she was being a bitch.  She has acted very hostile and childish in her subsequent communications.

TLDR:
Am I fucked out of unemployment since I suggested the owners wife  was a bitch in a personal text message during my vacation?

Answer: Chances are you may be owed unemployment, and guessing they have some labor issues with wage and hour should one push it.


Title: BF gave me $15k towards a house, can I protect him in case of an ugly break up?

Question: Toronto, Canada....I bought a cottage this year.  My bf had a hiccup in his financial past and could not be on the mortgage.  He had $15 000 saved and gave it to me to put towards the place.  Is there any kind of paperwork we can have done up that protects him in case of a break up?  Something that legally binds me to give him his $15 000 back?   I would love to say that we will never break up, or screw him over, but, lets face it, break ups don't bring out the best in people.  I emailed my real estate lawyer, but she didn't reply.

Answer:
 > Is there any kind of paperwork we can have done up that protects him in case of a break up?

Sure.  A contract for repayment, or a promissory note, would do just that.Answer #2: Is he lending you $15k or is he putting it towards the purchase of a jointly owned asset?


Title: Lady is threatening to call the police because my dog ran over to her dog and barked at it. Help.

Question:
**The Players**

* Older lady known as OL
* Her big looking poodle mix but it’s not a poodle. Its waist high. Probably 50lbs or more
* Me
* my tiny Pekingese who probably weighs 15lbs.
* We live in a circle drive

**the History**

* I guess my dog ran up to her dog a few months ago and barked at it. OL was practically walking by our yard and ALWAYS stops to let our dog sniff our grass and slowly walks by our area. I think he ran over to them and barked at them introducing himself to the dog. OLs dog growled/barked back.

* 2 weeks ago were walking our dog around the circle and their dog not in a leash comes over to where we were walking and starts growling at us. Her husband comes around to him and just stands there. I’m the one having to grab my dog. My kids are scared. I am actually terrified to walk that area now because will their dog be off its leash roaming their non enclosed yard. We still walk though just take precautions. Not walking around them. Waiting for her to get far ahead or inside her house.

**The Rundown**

* Today I see them coming. We’re playing in the yard with water. I have my dog on his leash. I take him inside. I slowly open the door to tell my kids to come in. I didn’t want them out there with her as we have been finding it weird she just walks to our yard and and walks very slowly letting her dog sniff our area. We have found this weird and have commented on it as to why she’s doing it. My dog runs over there I can’t catch him.  There almost infront of our house. My kids can’t catch him. My daughter finally gets to him. OL cussing daughter out. She’s 10. I say I’m so sorry she huffs off and says something like let’s go this way to her dog. All they did was bark at each other and maybe growl. No biting. No scratching or anything.

* She comes over and tells me I don’t care like I am an uncaring pet owner. (I went inside to avoid this. He just got out of the crack in the door)
* she’s calling the police the next time. I say fine do it.
* I remind her about her dog not being on a leash and coming to my dog and growling and barking at him. She said that never happened. I say you need to talk to your husband then. She said her dog never growls. Okay. I saw and heard it growling and barking today. I guess she never saw the incident at her house and her husband never mentioned it.

So she’s calling the police on me. For what? My dog growling at her dog or barking at it.

She said she can’t walk in peace. I can’t either with her dog being loose at their house without a fence.

What can I do. I’m terrified right now. I’m afraid I fucked up and let him escape accidentally and now she’s gonna call the police.

I did record the interaction. Just to tell my husband. He’s not home and I need advice.

**Am I fucked?**

My state NY.

I don’t want to lose my dog.

I already wait for her to walk while I’m walking. Don’t walk close to her because of what happened at her house. I took him inside when I saw her to avoid this. He just escaped through the crack. I know this bad. I am fixing to cry. Please be easy on me.

Answer: Not a lawyer but unless your dog bit her, exactly what crime is she alleging was committed?  This lady is full of shit.  Install some exterior security cameras and if she calls the police you have proof that you haven't done anything wrong.


Title: My boyfriends dog bit someone, if they file a lawsuit he can't pay court costs or the hospital bill and will likely wind up in jail which means he loses the first decent job he's had. Texas, USA

Question: Before someone suggests a loan, his credit is shot to shit because his sites stole Hus identity and opened a ton of accounts in his name as soon as he turned 18. Is there anything that can be done to avoid jail?

Answer:
 You don't go to jail for being unable to pay a civil judgement. His wages may be garnished depending on Texas' law.

That says, he needs to clean up his credit report and start disputing the identify theft stuff.


Title: [CA][Los Angeles] Not getting paid for "trial" period at restaurant.

Question:
I worked at a restaurant as a dish washer for about 5 1/2 hours as a "trial" period. I decided not to continue with them after that time. I gave them my information, it's been a week and haven't received any sort of compensation for my work.

What do I do if I do not get paid? There's no proof that I actually worked that night, I didn't sign in or anything like that. I just showed up and got to work, then left.

Answer:
 First, Labor Laws dictate that you must be paid for **all** hours worked.  This includes 'trial periods'.

To get paid, you can to file a wage claim with the California Department of Labor:

https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/HowToFileWageClaim.htm

You may also consider reporting the restaurant: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/howtoreportviolationtobofe.htm


Title: [Canada] Tenant in the house parked his broken car in my driveway spot for several weeks and is giving me the run around.

Question:
Location is Alberta, Canada.

The property owner rents out this house as two separate units - the basement where my roommate and I live, and the 1st and 2nd floors where this tenant lives with some others.

There is one parking spot in the driveway at the side of the house. I confirmed with the landlord that it is my spot.

One of the upstairs tenants crashed his car a few weeks ago. He limped it home and parked on the street. The city told him he can't keep it on the street, so he backed it up into my spot when I wasn't home. It has a flat tire and the bumper is falling off, in addition to lots of minor body damage. It's been sitting there for weeks.

I spoke with the property owner, who spoke with him and told him it's not his spot.

The tenant then spoke with me over the phone, giving me a sob story about how he's a student, he's strapped for money, he had a death in the family recently, he lost his job a while ago and is just starting a new one now, and if I would be so kind as to let him keep his car there until he can afford to get it fixed.

I was fine with it for a week or two if he was getting the money together, but it's been 3 weeks at this point and he hasn't shown that he will move the car. I personally don't believe the sob story.

Towing his car would be justified at this point, right? While legally I would be in the right, I really don't want to for fear of retaliation against my car or property.

Thanks.

Answer:
 Alternatively... Ask him to pay for the spot... A neighbor feud is stressful... I know this isn't legal advice, but it's a happy middle ground to prevent legal problems.Answer #2: You may be allowed to get the car towed legally if his car is blocking yours, but if it's not or if it's just in your spot the best answer is going to the landlord and letting them call in the tow because it's their property and their responsibility to enforce.

It make*s* the situation less open to retaliation from your neighbor, and puts the onus of being the "bad guy" on your landlord instead of you.

Edit: forgot the "s"


Title: Fired for sleeping in my car while on break. What are my options?

Question:
This takes place in the area of Kalamazoo, Michigan.

I worked in the office environment for a shipping company. I had been put there by a job placement agency, who at the time were the ones signing my paychecks.

On the afternoon of April 27, I clocked out for my lunch hour as I had done basically every day for the 60+ days I had been working there. I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry and I was kind of tired so I went to my car, set my phone alarm, sat in the drivers seat and closed my eyes. I woke up when the alarm went off and returned to work.

That evening, I went to see a movie. When I got out, I had a very concerned sounding voicemail from the job agency and I noticed my email account was locked. When I managed to get a hold of them again, they confirmed that my employment was being terminated. They listed two reasons: one being the nap in my car, and two being that apparently I was only supposed to be taking half-hour breaks.

1) I have never heard of a placement agency dictating breaks before, and I had confirmed with the logistics company multiple times that the hour lunch was what was expected of me. As mentioned, I had been doing this for two months.

2) I was not on company time during the nap, I was not at my desk or anything like that, and I returned on time and it was not at an unusual hour.

I have already filed for unemployment. But there seems something extremely fishy about all of this, and I am wondering if I have any semblance of a case for wrongful termination or anything of that sort. Or if there is anything I can submit to strengthen my unemployment case. Or just... anything at all.

Thank you for any input.

Answer: Nothing about that is wrongful termination. You can be fired for any reason or no reason as long as they are not discriminating against a protected class.


Title: [PA] Police want my phone as part of an investigation into a sex crime

Question:
Location: Pennsylvania

To make a long story short, I reported a "friend" of mine to the child abuse hotline after his teen daughter broke down and told me he's been abusing her. Since then, she lost her nerve to tell her story to the children's bureau.

Her father pursued me for nude photos when I was a teenager (17) and the trooper would like my phone in order to try to find evidence of the father requesting them from me while I was underage. He says that if the daughter won't tell him what happened, he wants to have an alternative route in order to put the father in jail and protect the daughter. The trooper is reaching out to other women who may have had inappropriate contact with him while underage to form a case.

I haven't found it yet, but what risks do I have handing my (decade old) phone over? As much as I didn't want to get involved with this legally, it's more important to me that the child is protected. I'm not sure what I need to do to cover my bases and I'd appreciate any guidance.

Answer:
 You need an attorney before you take another step.Answer #2: You want an agreement with the state nothing they find on the phone will be used against you. The only way you are getting that is with an attorney.Answer #3: You need an attorney.

Even with an attorney you’re probably giving up the phone for several months or even years.  Personally I’d be willing to take that hit but you should be aware. Answer #4: My philosophy is to never let the police search my belongings (i.e. phone, computer, house, car etc.) without a warrant or my attorney saying it’s okay.