Title: [KY] Skipping Jury Duty

Question:
So my dad has never before in his life been called for Jury Duty, but at age 69 he gets summoned, unfortunately during the time we've bought a cruise. We petitioned for him to be deferred until the next cycle, but instead they gave us days off, unfortunately they only give us the days off of the actual cruise, not the days off starting and ending with our flight.

According to the KY gov site the penalty for skipping jury duty is a $100 fine or 3 days in jail.

How likely is jail? Again 69 year old man with no former court issues.

Is the fine per day missed or just a one time fine no matter how many days you miss?

If we hadn't already invested approximately $2000 in the trip it would be one thing, but at this point we can get no returns on anything.
Thank you!

Answer: He should contact the jury services people again, explain the situation, and ask for a different date.Answer #2: Does he have health issues like he is partially death?


Title: Should I go to the police station I was called to?

Question:
I’m currently attending a four year university, and the week before winter break there was some vandalism (which I didn’t take part in, and there is zero evidence that I could’ve been there) at a nearby residence hall. The same night, the following two things happened: I cut my hand bad (got 6 stitches the next morning), and I encountered the police at my own residence hall for an unrelated case.

That unrelated case has since been closed, and I’ve heard from the people involved in that one that the injury to my hand is the only lead they have in the vandalism case, since they probably believe I cut it during that.

This morning that same officer I talked to in my building called me and asked me to come to the police station for 10 pm tonight, and although I feel I’m innocent in this, I am worried that if I go I may self incriminate myself. It was so long ago that I don’t remember what I told him or the hospital as to what happened, and I don’t want to mix up any details.

I still have yet to call back the number he left me, and I’m thinking for may be a good idea to exercise my 5th amendment rights, but don’t know how i should or if it’s even a good idea.

What should I do?
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 You shouldn't go without first talking with a lawyer.  You shouldn't go without a lawyer.  You shouldn't go, period.

They think you were involved in something, possibly the vandalism.  Your cut hand adds to that thinking.

Nothing you can say will talk you out of being arrested, if they have enough to arrest you they will.


Title: Being a guardian for little sister

Question: In California - Can a parent turn over their rights to a 16 year old who would care for the little sister? The 16 year old works, has a safe place to live lined up. Has been acting as the parent for a couple of years, dealing with school issues and stuff.

Answer: I seriously doubt it. First, the 16 year old would have to be emancipated to be able to live on their own. That is a feat in and of itself. Then, the 16 year old would have to go over the high bar of showing the court they can take care of themselves to the ever unlikely goal of being able to take care of another person too.


Title: Moved out of rental home and was charged $9000 in repairs

Question:
It is a laughable number. This is in addition to the $1200 deposit they're keeping. We left the house in good condition, given we had lived in a 5 person roommate situation for 3 years. We weren't expecting the full deposit back, but were hopeful for a couple hundred bucks or so. Any holes or dents were nicely patched, we steamcleaned the carpets, professionally cleaned the empty house, pressure washed the garage floor and every concrete patio, cleaned the gutters....you get the gist. The repairs they are charging us for are absurd and unreasonable.
What options do we have to go against this? They are threatening to send the debt to collections if we dont pay within 30 days. There are 2 names on the lease, do we each get that debt? Is this one of those things that they throw out an insanely high number and settle for way leas later? Does renters insurance help with this at all?
 I dont even know where to start with this, any help is greatly appreciated!! The rental company is Waypoint Homes if anyone has any experience with them.

Answer:
 You don't owe them for whatever it costs for them to maintain their property from normal wear and tear (and it's not your responsibility to maintain things like the gutters unless it says so in your rental contract).

Tell them to send you an itemized bill for any damages that they claim you owe them for.  After you receive it, then tell them that if they don't refund you the full security deposit (minus those specific charges that you think are reasonable), then you will take them to court for what they owe to you.

>There are 2 names on the lease, do we each get that debt?

The two people on the lease are jointly and severally liable to the landlord for any damages (they both owe the full amount but the landlord can't collect more than the full amount).  The other people were presumably subletting from those two people and are liable to them for their share of any damages.

>Is this one of those things that they throw out an insanely high number and settle for way leas later?

Possibly

>Does renters insurance help with this at all?

Not likely.Answer #2: Itemized bill? $9,000 would be tough to do unless you mashed holes in walls and broke all the appliances.

If they haven't supplied an itemized bill, then you have the right to demand one. If you do have an itemized bill, please post it here.


Title: [PA] Wife's first ticket was a 3345(a) -- Passing a school bus with lights. Automatic 60-day license suspension if convicted. Do we have any hope?

Question:
The bus was on the other side of the road, traveling in the opposite direction as her. From what she told me, she had stopped while the bus picked up the first round of kids. Then the bus turned off its lights and proceeded, and then immediately turned on its lights again to pick up another group of kids closer. She was close to the bus when the yellow lights turned on, and was passing as the stop sign came out. She was surprised when an unmarked car pulled her over. On the ticket, the cop wrote that the sign was out and flashing.

&#x200B;

We weren't even aware of the suspension part until we received a letter in the mail from a lawyer (who has good reviews) offering to help us avoid the suspension. What I'm asking is, is there any hope in this case? It's a long shot, but if anyone in PA has experience with this law or other traffic law, I would really appreciate any advice. The only options were to mail in \*guilt\* or \*not guilty\*, so we chose \*not guilty\* so she could at least plea her case.

&#x200B;

If she doesn't want to lose her job (which would be awful), it will cost us a fortune to transport her to and from work. Or 10-15 more hours/week in public transit.

&#x200B;

Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 >If she doesn't want to lose her job (which would be awful), it will cost us a fortune to transport her to and from work. Or 10-15 more hours/week in public transit.

It sounds like you should probably retain a lawyer, then. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that a lawyer could convince the officer to drop or rewrite the ticket for a lesser offense if your wife has never had any other ticket issues.


Title: Involuntary Manslaughter Defence

Question:
So, this question comes after a dream I had a while ago that has stuck with me. If it’s against the rules, please let me know (deleted from r/legaladvice since everyone on reddit is a ****ing pedant).

Say you travel abroad for work, come home early and find your wife naked in the shower with another man, you forcefully remove him from the shower to kick him out of your house (as within your rights as property owner) but he slips and falls, cracking his head open on the tiled floor, starts bleeding profusely and dies.

The charge is technically involuntary manslaughter but you were still acting within your rights. If you are in a state similar to Florida, do stand your ground laws apply? What would the best defence be, and would jail time be unavoidable? What would the most likely result be (in your experience) with a good defence?

Answer: How would that be acting within your rights though?  From the sound of your premise a person living at the property would have invited him in so I don't see how stand your ground would apply.


Title: Adult verbally harassed my son

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Meh. Better your son learn at 15 what it means to ignore someone than to spend their time looking for something to be offended about. Let it go.Answer #2: How badly was he injured by the words?Answer #3: Report it to the school if you want (because it likely violates their rules) but one incident at this level doesn't rise to the level of legally actionable harassment

IANAL


Title: Can People say that have smoked marijuana?

Question:
Tldr: Can you get in trouble with law enforcement if you claim to have smoked marijuana over an anonymous survey online?

So I am a freshman in college in the state of Alabama in the United States. I am currently writing my final paper on marijuana legalization and on health risks/benefits. For the final paper we have to do a lot of field working, like interviewing and researching first hand in the local area. So my question is, if I put up an anonymous survey online, and asked my classmates to fill it out and they answer yes to having smoked marijuana, can they be charged with anything and can you link something to back yourself up? From my knowledge I would say law enforcement couldn't do anything about it, but I just wanted to make sure for the safety of the people in my class. Sorry if this is not the right place to post this, if not just let me know where to move it. I thought r/trees at first but I felt people here would have a better understating about law.

Answer:
 > Can People say that have smoked marijuana?

Dude. They already know.Answer #2: Statements by a defendant ALONE (i.e. confessions) are not enough to convict. This is the corpus delecti rule. However, statements alone are enough for law enforcement to investigate and possibly get search warrants.

I'm not saying any of that would or would not happen in your case, it's just what's possible. Answer #3: In most states, possession of the substance is illegal, having it in your system or having admitted to using it isn't really chargeable.

Not to mention it would be a colossal waste of time for a department to track down these cases.


Title: [Ohio] I was in a car accident (16 year old)

Question:
I was in a 3 car accident. I hit the end of one car that then hit the one in front of it. The 2 other cars walked away with virtually no damage and everyone was okay. My car took the brunt of it and is in pretty bad shape. I have a court date scheduled. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, what do I do?
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 You hire an attorney because it sounds like you have been charged with a crime.

What exactly are you being charged with?


Title: (Georgia) My son got a speeding ticket last night while under probation for a different traffic violation.

Question:
My 17 year old son got a speeding ticket (first time offense) last night for going 56 in a 35. He was trying to get home before curfew but I doubt that matters.

I have no problem with paying the ticket, what I'm worried about is that he got a ticket back in October for entering the median lane while trying to get in the left turning lane earlier on the way to school. We went to court for that, and I wanted it off his record so they had him take a driving class, do community service, and put him on probation. We were supposed to go to court in January to finish up the ticket but the courts closed due to weather and our new date is this Thursday. This was in a different county than his speeding ticket.

Will the court ask him if he's committed other offenses/will he lose his license when they see he just got a speeding ticket?

Answer:
 > He was trying to get home before curfew but I doubt that matters.

It does not, no.

> Will the court ask him if he's committed other offenses

Likely, yes.  This is the entire point of this process.  Your son was offered the chance to prove that his first offense was a one-time-only problem, and he blew it.

> will he lose his license when they see he just got a speeding ticket?

I don't know the terms of your son's probation.  It's unlikely that he'd have his license suspended for a pair of traffic infractions.  What were the two statutes he was charged with violating?


Title: The USPS is Screwing me over, I don't know what to do or who do I seek help with?

Question:
Last year, I sent a parcel to a Latin American country. Now they sent it back because apparently the items were prohibited. Fine, i lost money on the shipping but w.e at least i am getting my things back right? WRONG. they sent me a track number and I was tracking it until it stopped showing any kind of scans.. last time was in Miami, FL.

I made a few phone calls and even the people I spoke to were in shocked, they knew (and they told me as well) that I should have gotten my parcel by then (the time i was speaking to the agents), I filed a claim of a lost parcel within the United States. I sent all the information and i thought, well.. at least it is insured. But guess what? they just sent me a letter denying my claim because it is not the usps fault that my parcel had prohibited items, (which again. its fine... it was my fault, i accept it) and they had no alternative but to deny my claim.

I couldn't believe it and I went to the usps website to track down my parcel and i found out that IT HAS BEEN MANIPULATED. because it is showing that the parcel is being withheld in the country I sent it to, But how is that possible if they sent it back and it was in Miami, Fl before I started to make the phone calls and filling the claims.. Please I need help with this case.

I can tell all these to the USPS and tell them to review the phone calls i made and everything but I'm afraid the will manipulate those as well (If the haven't done so yet) I don't know what to do, or where to turn, any advice will be helpful.

**Edit: Pardon my English, it is not my first language and I am a little irritated. Thanks for reading!

Answer:
 USPS is under sovereign immunity. Which means they are connected to the federal government and can't get sued.

So if you got a really expensive antique collectible item in the mail shattered and broken. Tough shit.


Title: In the case of a custody battle, can the courts make an order requiring one of the parents to put the other parent as beneficiary on their life insurance?

Answer: Yes. That happens relatively frequently.


Title: Starting a Journal and want to make sure it can not be used against me. Is there something I can write to make this not possible?

Question:
Further explanation: I am a college student in California and aside from drinking occasionally while being under 21 I do not break any laws or plan on it. I just started a random thought journal for practicing my writing in my free time, to give me something to do, release stress, etc. I started making rules for it and it has sort of become a game and I wanted to cover my bases both as part of this little game and in case I ever find myself in legal trouble and it might be used against me. Its in Google Docs if that matters, but I wanted to have a disclaimer that basically says "nothing I say in this journal is really what I believe or think and is not usable against me in court." How do I say that so it would not be usable in a court to describe any intent I have or my state of mind?

edit: I also want to clarify that it is my intellectual property and do not want to have issues if I become famous and publish it.
Topic:
Background Checks and Expungements

Answer:
 > How do I say that so it would not be usable in a court to describe any intent I have or my state of mind?

You can't.  Not possible.

You can't just sprinkle some magic words on a document and make it inadmissible in court.  If you are writing fiction, you can attempt to make it clear that it's fiction, but a mere disclaimer will not automatically absolve you from having what you've written used against you.

> edit: I also want to clarify that it is my intellectual property and do not want to have issues if I become famous and publish it.

Short of registering it with the copyright office all you can really do is make sure the file has your name and the date on it.  Since it's on Google Docs, this is probably already in the file's metadata.


Title: Previous renter of my house is still registering my address as his own and now the cops are showing up to my house looking for him. Please help!

Question: Ok so a little back story first. My father in law bought my current house in 2004 and rented it out as a side business. In 2017, my husband and I get married and move to Tucson, Arizona so he can start a new job. My father in law tell us that the previous renter of this house had moved out recently, so we move in! The first couple months we still keep getting this guys mail, no red flags, we just figure that he just hasn't gotten around to forwarding his mail yet. (For the purpose of this story, we are going to call him Adam) So about 3 months into living in this house, the cops so up to my door looking for Adam the previous renter. I let them know that I just moved to this house and he was the old renter but no longer lives here. But then it keeps happening! Cops keep showing up to my house looking for Adam, and collection agency's are calling my husbands phone asking for adam. But of course we keep telling them the same thing, he no longer lives here and we dont know who this guy is. In 2018, my FIL decided that he no longer wants this house so we end up buying from him, so now we officially own our house. We still keep Adam's mail this whole time to. But for about 2 years cops stop coming to our house looking for him, cool! That is until THIS MORNING. At  7 am today, a cop came to our door looking for Adam. The cop was questioning my husband at the door asking if he knew adam, and that Adam was not in trouble, he just wanted to "talk to him". (Umm of course we know Adam is in trouble, we are not dumb) But the cop notifies my husband that Adam registered our address as his own 2 weeks ago! I'm pretty irritated at this point, is there anything I can do to prevent Adam from using our address? Oh sidebar here, but I snooped Adam's facebook to see what this dude was about and he has a picture of my house on there as well. And I'm talking like full front picture of the front of my house showing the numbers and everything, so any stranger snooping his facebook would probably think he still lives here, should I be concerned about that or am I just being super paranoid? Any advice would be helpful. Oh and one more thing, should I tell my neighbors what's going on? I'm kinda worried about what they will think with cops showing up to my house a lot more than they should lol.

Answer: I would definitely give your neighbors a heads up. It sounds like the police may be thinking that Adam still lives there, and you’re hiding him. Our neighbors used to rent out their house and they had some tenants that were addicts and always in trouble with the law. Even two years after they had been evicted (with a police escort) if no one answered the door there, detectives would come knock on MY door asking if I had seen “my neighbors” recently. I had to repeatedly explain to multiple detectives that I watched the people they were looking for be physically removed from the property and those tenants have been long gone for YEARS and they (the police) really should leave the new tenants alone.


Title: Someone poured a strip of gravel and dirt across my property to drive on.

Question:
(Illinois) I live on a corner lot, and there is a valley on the left side of my house the stretches to the next block over. There is a house on the other side of the valley, the back of the house facing mine, right outside my property line. At some point yesterday or this morning, a strip of gravel and dirt was poured down the other side of the valley for vehicle access, all on my property. I don't know who, or why. Is there any legal action I can take to find out who did this and have them remove it?

(Update) So my step father, who was the previous home owner, said that there is a strip of land going down the valley that is city owned, and the gravel may very well be on that strip. We will be having someone from the city come out and look at it, as we cannot find the paperwork that has the information needed.

Answer:
 We need some MS Paint!

It's probably pretty obvious who has done this.  If this leads to the back of your neighbor's property, pretty obviously they want to put in a deck or something and have figured out a cunning way to do so.  Go talk to them.  "Hey, neighbor.  Do you know anything about this gravel?"  Wait for answer.

Once you've established the culprit, which should not be hard at all, you can figure out what to do about it.  You're within your rights to demand immediate removal of the gravel and complete restoration of the property to its prior condition.

Is there a fence at the edge of your property?  Is is possible your neighbor made an honest mistake about where the property line is?  Is it possible you've made a mistake about where the property line is?  How much do you care about alienating your neighbor?  Lots of considerations about what, exactly, you should do about it.Answer #2: Property rights are almost absolute; as in the property owner has total control. Not that you would want to become enemies with your neighbor but you could put a fence/gate over the path to block access if you really wanted.

If the culprit refuses to stay off your property, and if you so incline, you could get a court ordered injunction


Title: CA - made an embarrassing mistake and don't know what to do legally or even morally.

Question:
This is truly humiliating. I apologize that it is long, I just have no where else to turn to for this minor issue as I am too embarrassed to tell anyone I know. This is so petty and stupid, I am deeply ashamed.

I live at a large condo complex and I am also a mother and divorced and single. Where I live it is very nice, we have security and a beautiful pool and hot tub for owners/renters. We are only allowed to have minimal guests.

I few weeks ago I met a man at the hot tub who seemed to be very nice and we struck up a conversation. Everything seemed very normal. I am very into gardening and he mentioned that he was a professional landscape architect. We started talking about my some of my plants that were dying and I couldn't understand why. He specifically said that he did not live at the complex, but was house sitting for a friend in order to take care of his friend's pets and plants while the friend was out of town for one week.

The next day he came over and helped me with my plants. He did a good job and was lovely. After that encounter, he came over for wine and a movie a couple nights later and one thing led to another. I DEEPLY REGRET THIS. It ends up he is a compulsive liar and just an all around horrible person. Anyhow, I rent and I absolutely do not want to stir up any drama and effect my relationship with my landlord. I ended up finding out that everything he told me about himself is basically a lie and since then it has been more and more lies piled upon one another.

I ended up asking him to leave. He left with my parking pass because I just didn't think of it, but whatever, I'll pay for a new one. I just wanted him gone. Meanwhile, he left some of his "man jewelry" at my place. I wanted to just throw it away and be rid of all evidence of him, but I didn't know if that was legal.

I have since told him I never want to see him again and he asked about the jewelry. I told him I had no idea what he was talking about and asked for my parking pass, he didn't really respond to my request in anyway. Things got ugly and I blocked his number.

This last Saturday evening (2 weeks after our last encounter) he is at the pool! This was totally unexpected, I thought the ordeal was over and done with. I am there with my son and just shocked. Everything is civil and I simply ask if he has my parking pass, he replies by saying that he thinks it is in his truck and will go get it and return. He never returns. After this I go the the security office and report that he is not a resident and has stolen my parking pass and they are understanding and kind and say they will look out for him and get me a new pass.

From a different number he then calls me and asks again about the jewelry. Apparently it has sentimental value. I again tell him I have no idea what he is talking about. I do however have it.

I want nothing to do with this guy and I don't want him near my complex, myself, or my child. I don't know what to do. At this point I could care less about the parking pass, they are already issuing me a new pass based off of the conversation Saturday.

Should I just continue the lie and throw away the jewelry? Am I legally responsible for something that a "guest" left at my place who is not a tenant or even a friend? Should I keep his number blocked and forget about it? Should I unblock his number and tell him I found the jewelry and that he can pick it up at Security and when he does pick up the jewelry he needs show proof that he has residency? He's a very big guy, has proven himself to be a fraud and I'm pretty afraid to be honest. I feel like I dug myself into a hole and I don't know what the best option is. I realize that I should have just returned the jewelry in the first place, but I was holding onto it until I got my parking pass, kind of like an even exchange situation. Anyhow, I screwed up, what do I do to get out of this? Please be kind, I feel awful and afraid enough as it is, thank you in advance for any help this community can provide.

Answer: Give his jewelry back. Meet him at the lobby of the local police station if you're that worried about him.


Title: (Berkeley, CA) Verbally abusive housemate wants to evict my friend. My friend wants to leave but after they find suitable housing. Can they evict? Options?

Question:
Posting this for a friend living in Berkeley, CA.

The situation:  The co-tenant has become increasingly hostile, being verbally abusive and refusing to share common space.  My friend has been looking for new housing because they weren't getting along, but the conflict keeps getting worse.  The co-tenant is now threatening to evict my friend.

**The details:**

1) Both my friend and the co-tenant are on the lease.  The lease is currently month-to-month.

2) Co-tenant was living there first.

3) As far as I know neither my friend nor the co-tenant has done anything that is grounds for eviction.

**My questions:**

1)  Is there any state/local law that gives one tenant the right to evict their co-tenant?  (AFAIK there is no clause regarding that in the lease, but I haven't seen the lease).

2)  If one housemate is being verbally abusive towards another, is there any legal redress?  (I don't think my friend has felt herself to be in physical danger).

3)  The building management has said in the past that they "cannot" return partial security deposits, which may mean my friend will have to deal with the hostile housemate (or a replacement housemate) to get her deposit back.  Any suggestions on how to navigate that?

About #3)  It occurs to me that since it is a month-to-month lease, and since my friend is on the lease, she could simply give her 30-day notice to the building management/landlord and put the onus of finding an acceptable replacement on the co-tenant if he wanted to stay there.  Does anyone see a flaw in that idea?

Thanks very much for any suggestions/advice.  Much appreciated!

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 1- Only a landlord can evict. Not the tenant on the same lease.

2- no

3- Nope. Part of signing a lease with someone.

There might be a problem because both parties are going to have to end the contract. Your friend needs to talk to the LL.


Title: [VA] Room mate filed restraining order against me and I may get kicked out of college

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You should get an attorney to represent you on the protection order.  To this attorney, you should be honest about what happened.

These are not trivial matters, and could cause you long term problems.  Also, you are not doing a very good job advocating for your cause here, talking about seagull flying up to your room with lit cigarettes in it's mouth.

As soon as I heard that, I stopped believing anything you had to say.  My guess is that you were smoking... and missed getting busted, and as you were running around laughing about the close calls, comments were made that other person construed as a threat.

I'm not saying that that's what happened.  I'm saying you are not doing a very good job of telling your story, and you should be represented by an attorney who can speak on your behalf in court.


Title: Teen Daughter caught shoplifting in WA State. Preparing for the worst - what should I expect?

Question:
Hey guys.  My 15 year old daughter was caught shoplifting from a department store on Friday night.  The value of the items is <$500.  I have read up on the laws she broke etc.  I have no experience in criminal court involving a minor/guardian situation.  What should I expect of the process?

Any advice/things to look out for?  I am almost-certainly not going to provide her a lawyer (assuming there is occasion for one, I do not know).

ETA:  What kind of costs should I expect for a lawyer?

How does the actual process go forward?  We are waiting on "paperwork," but what is the schedule as far as first hearing, etc.?

ETA2: Thank you for your responses.  I am looking into getting her a lawyer or at the very least getting a public defender set up.  I may literally not be able to afford a lawyer right now, but I will see what I can pull together.

Answer: If this is her first time getting in trouble there is likely a first time offender program that will keep it off her record if she completes community service and pays fines. Her chances to qualify increases if she has an attorney.Answer #2: As a minor she probably is entitled to a public defender. You should help her navigate that process. Yes she fucked up but she will be punished enough through the process. Help your daughter, fifteen-year-olds are incredibly stupid and this could follow her for years.Answer #3: Get her a lawyer. Your lesson now may ruin her career prospects and education options, and all because she messed up. 15 year olds don't get consequences like adults do.


Title: Getting calls claiming to be DoJ buy I feel like it's a scammer.

Question: I've received two calls from different numbers from someone claiming to be from the Department of Justice. I don't answer numbers I don't recognize as I get a lot of calls from people claiming I won a free cruise if I just give them all my info blah blah blah. Both calls have been from the same person (different numbers but Washington DC area code) and were a couple weeks apart. They leave a message saying nothing more than their name, that they are from the DoJ, and I need to call them back. I've received no mail from them trying to contact me and I'm a little dubious that a federal agent would reach out to me this way. I can think of no reason they would try to be contacting me. Is this normal operating procedure for the DoJ? What reason would they have for contacting me in this manner without sending me something more official? Am I right to be suspicious of this activity? Or am I just being paranoid in thinking that someone is impersonating a federal agent? Thanks.

Answer: If you are concerned about the impersonation, look up the DoJ phone number in Washington DC - not using the number you were given i the voicemail - and ask to speak with that person.


Title: What can happen if a minor doesn’t get a break?

Question: Im a minor that works at Taco Bell for almost a year now & I barely get breaks. I’ve gotten about 5 breaks since I’ve been working there. What can I do? Whats the most that can happen?

Answer: Depends on your location.


Title: [MS] Single mother looking for sole custody from abusive father

Question:
My ex-boyfriend and I had a child a fee years ago. We split shortly after due to him being extremely abusive, emotionally and physically.

We went to court over custody, and I ended up hiring a bad lawyer to represent me in court because I was not ready to undergo that level of stress immediately after getting out of an abusive relationship. My ex ended up getting custody more than I would have liked, and everytime I drop my child off he verbally abuses me on front of her. I have no evidence that he abuses her, but he has admitted to not watching her while she is at his house.

He has recently threatened to take me back to court so that he can receive sole custody. I only want what is best for my child, and am a nervous wreck everytime he has her afraid that he will do something.

He also has about a couple thousand piled up from child support, and makes bare minimum payments because 'he doesnt want me to spend it on myself'. I live with my mother, work fulltime, and barely have enough to pay for groceries every week.

He only cares about having control, and is willing to use my child to do so.

If I take him to court for sole custody, what are my chances of winning? I will be speaking with lawyers soon, and am putting together evidence I have of his abuse. Among these is a video of him screaming and breaking down the door to the room me and my child were inside. This video is however older than 1 year. Is that going to be inadmissable?

What should I ask the lawyers when I go to see them? What is my best plan of action? I am just trying to do what id best for my child, and right now that is getting her away from him. Thanks for any help.

Answer:
 Do you have proof that he abused the child? While physical abuse towards you is concerning, and you should report it to the police if it happens again, it is not viewed as important in determining sole custody as abuse against the child.

Was the video clip of him breaking down the door recorded before or after your initial case? If it's not new evidence, it may be barred from coming in.

You need to focus your case specifically on what makes him an unfit parent, and the potential risk to the child. It's a very high bar to ask to strip a parent's rights away; so your case needs to be correspondingly strong as well. But if you truly believe your child to be in danger, you don't really have a choice. All you can do is document, document, document.

That being said, what do you mean "he has admitted to not watching her while she is at his house"? I like to think I'm a pretty good da, and I don't have my eye on my twins 24/7. If they're in the toy room playing while I'm cooking dinner, I'm not being abusive. But if you're implying he leaves a 3 year old alone in the house while he goes out to the bar; sure, I can see the concern.


Title: My mom disabled my Google account (NV/CA)

Question:
My mother (in CA) and I (in NV) went No Contact about a year ago due to long-standing familial issues. And, for about a year now, she has been attempting to log into my Google account and aquire my contact information. Usually I get a series of text messages or emails , but tonight she disabled my account.

While I have been able to brush these things off for a while, her attempts have become increasingly radical. She even drove up to the city I live in a while ago trying to find me. She lied to a friend to try to get my address, but thankfully they gave her the wrong one.

This is not the first time she's done something like this:  when I was younger, she was excessively restrictive and invasive. Because of this lifelong trend, my anxiety is officially off the charts.

Tl;Dr: My mom is stalking/harassing me. What can I do?
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer: In addition to legal stuff setup 2 factor authentication in everything.


Title: Quick question on workplace laws (Florida)

Question: Hey guys! I just have a quick question on if there's any laws covering this issue. My workplace (a huge cellphone/tablet/computer company) does not allow us to use the bathroom on the clock. We get written up if we get caught using the bathroom without clocking out. I find this insane and just wondering if this is allowed?

Answer:
 Do they allow you to use the bathroom on your break?

OSHA requires bathrooms to be available to employees, however employees can be required to not take unreasonable amounts of time for bathroom breaks.  Your employer can require that you use the restroom on your breaks.


Title: So my brother got beat up by tweakers while camping in Alaska

Question: My brother was camping in Homer, Alaska when the operator of the camp ground evicted a couple of tweakers while they were away. Upon their return, they took it out on my brother. They were arrested, my brother spent some time in the hospital, and is fairly messed up. Their four case isn't until the end of November. I don't know anything about these people, but it seems fucked up that they could do this and not have to provide some sort of restitution for what they did to him. I tried looking for an attorney around there, but it's Homer, Alaska and I only came up with divorce lawyers and the like. I have no idea how or if we should proceed. Is this worth it, are there ways to find out if these people could pay anything at all, and how the hell do I find someone in that far corner of the country who could help?

Answer: Likely they have no money worth suing for. Check with the victims advocates in Homer. Call the courts and ask if you can't find it. There is victim assistance funds that may be available.


Title: [CA]I was forced to take a class at my private school for doing something they claim was "illegal".

Question:
Story: I am 16, and in 10th grade, I said a lot of trash on the google hangouts the school provided, they claimed that what I sent the people in the group chat as "illegal" (it was a filthy frank Video). To stay at the school they forced me to take the most difficult class, Leadership Development, in substitution for PE. To get my PE credits I need to do sport article summaries. I also need to take counseling from the Head of the School Board whenever he asks, and he has full authority over me and my parents if we should pay for counselling outside of school.

They forced me to take another class, have counselling, change my "Physical Education" into writing articles, whom which the teacher hasn't given me a single assignment in that class (It has been over a month!). Not aloud to have a phone on campus, or communicate with the peers in the group chat.

I am wondering what things are justified, and if they are aloud to do this. It is a private school.

Answer:
 Private schools have pretty much unilateral authority to do what they want with their students education because you are free to not attend said school.

Everything they did is justified. Stop doing stupid shit on school provided materials and this won't happen.


Title: Did I rape my friend?

Question:
A girl I was hanging out with drugged me. She most likely put both GHB or MDMA in my beer without me knowing. We both just planned to drop a tab of acid. I have screen shots from her friend saying she was going to do it. I ended up having sex with her without her consent. But I was in no frame of mind to make a decision based on being drugged very heavily. Being that she was the one that drugged me
am I safe? She said she might press charges. I only have ever taken acid and smoked weed before. Her reasoning in the screen shots her friend sent me was to make me more open to take more drugs in the future so I would be more fun. I’m freaking out. Please help me.

Answer:
 Say nothing more about it to anyone- if she presses charges do not respond to her just lawyer up and listen to every word they say and obey them.

Stop discussing it or texting about it with your friends.
Just like you are collecting screenshots as evidence so are they.
Not another word.Answer #2: Don't talk about this to anybody but your attorney. Stop using drugs. Answer #3: Save all those screenshots and messages, do not call the cops and report her drugging you until you talk to a lawyer (do this ASAP) who will tell you how best to handle and report this so as to not expose yourself to any potential charges if in fact you committed a crime (other than drug possession, but a lot of prosecutors will look the other way on that if a more serious crime is being reported. Your local attorney will know more about the local practice regarding this.), and if the cops want you to give a full statement about that night take a lawyer, if questioned about or arrested for the sex get a lawyer. I am not sure if you committed a crime because intoxication (even involuntary intoxication) as a defense is a very fact specific issue and it isn't clear from this info if you how intoxicated you were and if you were still cognizant of what you were doing (DO NOT PROVIDE MORE DETAILS, SEE A LAWYER AND TELL NO ONE BUT HIM THOSE DETAILS - IN FACT YOU'VE ALREADY OVERSHARED, DELETE THIS), but I know she did commit a crime and should be punished for it. IANAL

Edit: oh, and stop doing drugs and get new friends


Title: I always dreamed of being an actor in a broadway show, but now that I have the part I'm not sure if I'm being sexually harassed?

Question:
So, I'm going to be a little light on details because otherwise it would be incredibly easy to find me, but I got the part as a minor role (speaking wise, stage time is pretty good) in a broadway musical. I was, and am super pumped as this is literally a life long dream come true. I get along pretty well with most of the cast, with one exception... and that would be the woman who heads the costume crew. To make a long story short I slept with a guy she was dating (I didn't know at the time) years ago. I didn't think it would be much of an issue, i mean we weren't going to be best pals or anything but it didn't seem to get in the way of either of us doing out job. That is, until the first preview we did of the show (for those who don't know, previews are public shows that precede the official opening, and are often attended by critics and bloggers and industry professionals. So... I had thought the preview went fine, until I had gotten off stage. The character that I portray wears tight, sheer pants, and the costume director had asked me to wear a white g string with the outfit, however in dressing myself in the morning I had chosen to wear a black thong with a thicker, lacy string. Sadly, it turned out that the thong was completely visible through the pants (I saw some cell phone pictures an audience member took and posted online, it wasn't a good look.)
The woman who does costume (let's call her Vanessa) was pretty pissed, and rightfully so. She put a lot of work into those outfits and me having my underwear showing distracted from all of that and made her work look like a joke. I was pretty embarrassed from the whole ordeal. When I show up to next rehearsal there is a small package waiting for me on my table. they are a 3 pack of new thongs for me. The only difference was these ones are an extra small when I usually wear a medium, and a very thin g string style. She told me that I had to wear thongs they would need to be the kind i couldn't show through fabric, so she got me something that was too small for that. It's now the only underwear that I have to wear during dress rehearsals and performance. I can feel it pretty much constantly, and it makes doing things like dancing difficult, to say the least. I've worn them the last four days and by the time I get home from work my crack is slightly red. Because the material is so small and so cheap, it becomes saturated with sweat easily, which makes it incredibly itchy. I tried to talk to her about it but she just said she was in charge of clothing and that it was in the shows best interest to have underwear that stays invisible (note, you have to wear underwear with stage outfits because gross) '

She hasn't acknowledged the fact that i have a wedgie outright, but there was a moment when she was putting the finishing touches on our outfits and she went to pull my pants up slightly (this is all very normal) however when she lifted the pants she inadvertently grabbed the waistband of my underwear. I honestly think it might have been on purpose, but there's no way to know (I mean, i've accidentally pulled my thong up when adjusting leggings just out and about a bunch of times, so it isn't like that never happens). When she lifted it up I made a grimace and attracting the attention of my cast members. I don't think they knew but I still had to stand there feeling an incredibly embarrassing area get rubbed and chafed. We were just about to go on and everyone was watching me so i couldn't adjust myself for the next half hour.

I did talk with her about the underwear, apologizing for the mishap at the preview. I explained that the thong she had me wear became saturated with sweat and was a little small. She offered to get me two to wear per day so I would have a fresh one, but maintained that she needed me to wear a thong that wouldn't show underneath the pants so it had to be a small g-string. The next rehearsal she offered to use some talcum powder to keep the moisture down.The next rehearsal she offered to use some talcum powder to keep the moisture down. She keeps her talcom powder in the mini fridge freezer compartment to keep the humidity down, and when she applied the powder she asked me to lower my pants, and pulled the thong back to make room and dumped a sizable portion down. My male coworkers were in the room, and while they are all super professional and respectful and I usually have no issue changing or anything in front of them, they were totally aware that I had just had freezing powder dumped into my thong. Again, it isn't like she just put the talcum powder in the freezer for me, she's always kept it there and usually it being cold actually feels really nice. just... not there when its unexpected. I asked for the talcum powder to be room temp from then on and she obliged.

I can't help but think that she's doing this in part to embarrasses me, and honestly it's working. At the same time, she isn't wrong that she is in charge of outfits and that I did kind of mess up with underwear before so it would make some kind of sense for her to get underwear for me. I don't know, what do you think?

Answer: Your wardrobe artist needs to touch your clothes.


Title: [TX] Working on Software at a night job?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 IANAL, but these are dangerous waters you are treading.  I'm going to borrow some advice I've seen on the topic before because I researched the same thing myself.

Be careful what kind of businesses they are. As a salaried employee, you are a usually a legal agent for your regular job, and with agency comes a legal responsibility not to aid in competitors business.   And brother, the definition of what can be a competitor is looser than you might think.

Even holding a second job without clearing it through legal can run you afoul of your main job depending on the policies you agreed to in the course of being employed there, let alone to work for your own company on their time.  If they were able to prove you conducted business during time they were paying you to work for them, you're setting yourself up to be potentially sued.

IF you decide to do this, my recommendations are:

1.  Don't tell ANYONE you are doing this.
2.  Don't share ANY resources.  Don't conduct business for both companies from any shared equipment - separate computer, separate everything!
3.  Use a VPN to help cover tracks digitally for anything you're doing for your own company.
4.  Don't leave any evidence you're conducting work for your own company while on the clock for the other job.  No meetings, no publishing blogs, no holding conference calls or handling clients, software releases etc during the timeframe you are on the clock for the other job.

If you're just coding during those hours, and you are very careful, you might not get caught.  But if you are caught at best you'll lose your main job and at worst you may have significant liability.


Title: Accused of stealing

Question: [illinios]I was fired from work about 3 weeks ago. Loss prevention came in talked to me got a half assed confession called the cops but they didn't book me or charge me with anything. I also didn t speak with the cops. Now I got a letter for a civil suit in the amount of 15$ + 300 fee, and one from the board of license. I was accused of stealing drugs , highly doubt there's any evidence other than that half assed confession. What is my new step?

Answer:
 >got a half assed confession

Get a lawyer. Stop talking.

>one from the board of license.

Especially if it's going to affect your professional qualifications/your livelihood.


Title: I am a whistleblower/rape victim. My university is trying to punish me and not let me graduate. Help appreciated.

Question:
I am a senior at college living in Michigan. In 2014 I was sexually assaulted. I began receiving counseling while at school and was diagnosed with PTSD.

In 2014 I got an email from my school Dean of Students telling me that they heard I was suicidal. They told me that if I spoke about my suicidal thoughts with another student that they would expel me. I reported this because this is a huge violation of my rights. I reported this to the Department of Justice who opened an investigation.

After this there was some issues with allowing me to student teach (sign up for a teaching internship so I could graduate). I fought with them for a year about it. The education department kept coming up with reasons and saying that my assignments were missing, forms not turned in, ect.

I am now two weeks from graduating and they say they won't let me graduate because they think I left school 10 minutes early. A staff from my college also made concerning comments about how my political activism affects "perspective". I have this recorded.

I don't know what to do. I am graduating soon. And I honestly feel liek they are doing this to get back at me. I've had messages sent warning me to not do things like protest some of their decisions.

I'd appreciate any help.

Answer:
 >I am now two weeks from graduating and they say they won't let me graduate because they think I left school 10 minutes early

 So did you?


Title: Got a claim on my YouTube video for using "Waltz of the Flowers."

Question:
The song is part of YouTube's music library for users, which provides a large number of songs the are "eligible for monetization." However the claimant has the same song under a different name (On The Radio). Should I dispute it?

[Image](https://ibb.co/dUGGfF)

My concern isn't about the money I'm losing on the video, it's next to nothing anyways. But I'd like to take this opportunity to learn how to deal with this in the future.

Edit: Location - India

Answer: The song itself might be under public domain, but the recording could still be copyrighted. Is this a music file that was provided by youtube? You could try a different recording of the song (search for archival music recordings etc.)


Title: Gave friend $11k in various loans, then she skipped town. It's been 1.5 years and I know where she is now. How do I do this?

Question:
Hi r/LegalAdvice,

Before I start, I'm living in Ontario, Canada.

I'm in a bit of a situation and can use some help. About two years ago, a married couple that were very good friends of mine were in tight financial straights. The partner managing the finances would not let the other have control and continuously lied about paying the bills, only to come to her several months later with bills in excess of $2000. These bills were typically phone bills, which covered both partners and the wife's mother, who was in a distant rural community and needed her phone for safety reasons. I make a decent income for my age and felt compelled to help. The partner in charge of the bills was always ready to accept, and the wife reluctantly agreed for her mother's sake. It's worth noting that the wife has bank statements proving that she provided her share of the bills to her ex on a monthly basis, the ex just lied about paying the bills.

All in all, the loans totalled ~$11,000. The couple split up and the partner at fault skipped town and changed her number. The wife and I are still very good friends, and she recently found out where her ex lives. We've discussed it and she thinks I should sue for the money as her ex is unlikely to pay it back. However, she's concerned that there's a two year statue of limitations where I can go after the loan, and that is rapidly closing, as the loans were given from 2016 to 2017.

Fortunately, most of the requests for money were via text and all of them were done via electronic transfer, with the exception of maybe $600 done on debit. I can get screenshots of these texts or submit my old phone as evidence, along with bank statements.

I guess I'm just wondering:

* Is she correct about the statute of limitations?

* Do I just need to go to a small claims lawyer with the evidence? I imagine they'll explain from there how I go about the process.

* What happens when the person you're suing doesn't have enough money to pay you back the full amount?

Thank you so much for your time!

Answer:
 The limitation period in Ontario is 2 years. If you are going to pursue this, you need to do it ASAP.

You don't need a lawyer for small claims. The cost of a lawyer will quickly eat up that $11k if you want them to do all of the work. You can consult one now and then on a limited retainer for questions.Answer #2: Why isn’t your friend paying back her part of the loan?


Title: [SC]Child custody/visitation

Question:
I'm going to start off and say that this isn't for me but for my sister.

Basically in 2014 she signed a contract giving over custody of my nephew to the father. My understanding of the situation is that she was taken to sign the contract while the father had the child and it was implied that if she didn't sign he would not let her see the child.

* She was not given a chance to discuss it with a lawyer or our mother. At the time, if I remember correctly, she was 17.

* We have been unable to receive a copy of what she signed, so for all we know it could just be BS.

* I haven't seen my nephew since March 2014, my mother, the kids grandmother, hasn't seen him since December of that same year, and my sister has only got to see him one other time after that.

* The contract was signed in either March or April of 2014.

* The father had a history of using the child to control my sister. i.e go do this or I wont let you pick up the child.(Police were less than helpful in these situations)

We can't afford a lawyer. What are our options to get to have some kind of proper visitation or to fight for custody.

Answer:
 >We can't afford a lawyer.

Okay first of all, a lawyer would give your sister the best possible shot she has. (so if there is any options to save any money, loan any money, sell any items to pay a lawyer (also check r/personalfinance) that could make a huge difference).

And you might want to check out [this website](http://www.womenslaw.org/gethelp_state_type.php?type_name=State%20and%20Local%20Programs&state_code=SC).


Title: [NJ] My boss is trying to sell some potentially unsafe equipment and hide the fact that it failed inspection

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Call the inspector again, inform them that the sticker has been removed and the unit is being sold as safe.


Title: [NY] Is this Workplace Harassment and Mental Health Discrimination?

Question:
   For the past twenty months I have worked front desk for a hospitality company consisting of three hotels, any of which I could be placed at on any given day.

In December of 2014 I expressed concerns for my safety at one of these properties, Hotel P. I worked overnights with no other staff on property. Security was one on-call police officer who patrolled the streets between the hotels. It was common for vagrants to try to come in and the doors didn't always securely lock. My manager didn't often schedule me there but when she did, and I'd express my concerns, she'd just tell me I "had to get over my fears".

In April of 2015 I expressed concerns for my health. I had been working overnights full-time for seven months and my health had been steadily declining due to lack of sleep. My manager agreed to move me to days after our new overnight employee was trained. However for two months this employee was trained on days and never put on an overnight shift.

On June 27, 2015 I submitted a two week notice citing health and safety concerns. On July 6 my manager called me into her office and offered to immediately move me to day shifts and never again place me at Hotel P if I stayed with the company and so I did.

In August of 2015 I informed my manager that my schedule was creating a serious work-family conflict. When I had been offered days I was told that it was an equal share of 7-3 and 3-11 shifts, however certain employees were receiving all 7-3 shifts. My manager dismissed my concerns stating that "she never gets to see her family either" and refused to address the fact that certain people were getting preferential treatment.

In January of 2016 I began to fall ill. I have suffered from depression for thirteen years and the stress from my hours was causing symptoms to resurface. I told my manager I was unable to work so many late night shifts. A front desk meeting was held where it was announced that we would rotate weeks of 7-3 and 3-11 shifts. When this didn't happen I was told that it "had never been in writing". Eventually, on February 13, I had to call in to a shift and my manager did not approve it. On February 17 I was scolded for my call in and written up for excessive tardiness.

On March 24, 2016 I overslept for a morning shift by two hours. I called to apologize and say I'd be right in, but was told not to bother by my supervisor. This was reported as a no call no show. On April 2, 2016 I was written up a second time for excessive tardiness. In this meeting with my manager and supervisor I was told that I could never call in again for any reason despite how much notice I gave. I was told that another call in would be a third write up and that I'd be suspended for 3 days and that one more call in after that would be a fourth write up and termination.

On May 21, 2016 my father died. I was scheduled to work the next three mornings and I was afraid to call in. I worked the next day, but due to my coworker's concerns for me, I asked for the next two off for bereavement, which was granted. I had the next six days off as I had previously requested a vacation for a camping trip I had planned.

During my time off, the next week's schedule came out. My first day back was May 31 at Hotel P. I called in. I didn't know what else to do. My manager had told me never to go "above her head" to my GM or HR with issues and I simply didn't feel I had the energy to address the issue while dealing with my depression and current family issues.

On June 2, 2016 my GM and HR assistant asked me to sit down and talk to them in the lobby during my shift. They presented me with a write up for "excessive unexcused call ins" (2/13, 3/24 & 5/31). I broke down and told them that I felt that my manager had been harassing me, targeting me, and threatening me. They did not have me sign the write up and asked me to create a letter listing my complaints and meet with them the next day. Due to my ongoing family issues I was in no state to write up a formal letter of complaint. I told them this and also that I felt discriminated against due to my depression. They offered to let me take the next three days off with vacation pay and meet again Tuesday, which I agreed to.

I do not know how to write up a formal letter of complaint of harassment or discrimination. Nor do I want to. I love my job, as long as I'm allowed to feel safe and not discriminated against. I don't know what to do. I feel like I should just find another job.

Answer: No, it doesn't appear to be. It appears that you are unable to perform the duties required of you for continued employment.


Title: [MD] Can a divorcee demand regular money from their partner if they no longer have dependent children?

Question:
My friend's parents are finally getting a divorce. The wife has been abusive of her husband/her kids for a long time, and the husband is finally going to file. However, my friend just told me that they're going to be settling in court since the wife refuses to agree to terms.

Most importantly, she wants her soon to be ex-husband to keep paying her money so she can continue to live in her house (the husband will move out once the divorce is final). My friend is concerned that she'll get the money because she'll claim that she was abused by her husband. My question is, is she legally allowed to do this, considering her children are over 18? (My friend still lives with her mother.) Regardless of the legality, is the judge likely to award her money? I want to reassure my friend/offer her courses of action she can take, but I have practically no knowledge of law.

Answer:
 She's not allowed to lie under oath, but spousal support is a thing. If one spouse's earning potential or career stagnated while they focussed on supporting the marriage, then the other spouse may be obliged to provide some financial support for a while after a divorce.

Your friend needs an attorney. His attorney can help him make sure any assessed support is in line with your jurisdiction's guidelines.


Title: Verizon removes/relocates tower, service drops dramatically. Have they breached contract?

Question:
We've been Verizon Wireless customers for 5+ years. We've always had strong service inside our house until recently when AEP came through with high power transmission lines and supposedly removed or relocated a Verizon tower (or possibly a Verizon transmitter from an AEP tower). Our service went from strong 4G to barely any 3G in our area in one day. Calls must now be made near a window and you must remain stationary. Sending and receiving data is terribly slow and inconsistent. I contacted Verizon and for weeks they denied that any tower had been changed. After several different interactions with Customer Service and Engineering, all I ever get is "you can purchase a wireless network extender for $250." I'm told this also requires high-speed Internet, which we don't have, as our Data plan WAS our high-speed Internet connection. Our bill is already $223 per month for two phones.

Is there anything I can rightfully expect in this situation? Is it part of their responsibility to maintain similar service to you as long as you're under contract? It has ruined our experience with Verizon, which had been great for years. I'd love to know what I can do. Thanks!

Edit: a bot said I needed to include that I was in West Virginia.

Answer:
 What are you trying to accomplish?  If you are just trying to get out of the contract early, you can probably do that with enough complaining to customer service.  I doubt they are legally obligated to do anything if it still somewhat functions, since wireless contracts do not guarantee the quality of service, and it sounds like it's still functional, just somewhat degraded.

If you are trying to get the service improved, that's probably not going to happen.  Putting up a cell tower costs millions of dollars and requires a long time; they are not going to bother with it if it only affects a handful of customers.

Also, $223 a month for two phones is kind of nuts.  An unlimited plan from Cricket (AT&T) costs $65 a month per line, and that includes taxes and everything else.


Title: Landlord Says I Have To Pay For Extra Month As I Did Not Give 60 Days, But Only Signed 1 Year Lease. What Are My Options?

Question:
I live in Toronto, Canada. As far as I've found - even though I only signed a 1 year lease term (starting March 1st 2016) - I still need to give the landlord 60 days notice prior to leaving/moving out. Because I did not know this and only gave notice January 22nd 2017 (I was told today) they are saying I must stay until March 31st 2017 - and also pay for the extra months rent.

Is there anything I can do about this? There is nothing in my lease agreement/contract about the lease going longer than one year or the 60 day notice. Only that the lease term is for one year commencing on March 1st 2016. Is it Ontario laws that state the 60 day notice.

Answer: Yep, you need to give 60 days notice. There's nothing you can do about that.


Title: [OH] Do you need to be on the lease for fair housing laws regarding service animals to apply?

Question:
Sorry if this sounds stupid. It's my first time moving out (sort of, I'm moving in with my sister), and I'm disabled with a service animal. Management at the apartment said I'd need to be on the lease for the laws regarding service animals (waiving pet fees, etc) to apply. Legally I'm not subleasing & can't under the lease, but can otherwise move in without issue (save my dog). I'm wondering if it states anywhere that you need to be on the lease? More out of curiosity than anything, because I'm aware I have other options. But if they're wrong, y'know, it'd be useful. I would be paying part of the rent if that makes a difference, just not officially.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: If you're not on the lease (unless you are an approved month to month) you aren't a tenant, have no relationship with the landlord, and the landlord had no duty to you and you have no rights


Title: Last night, I as well as two of my friends received MIP’s. Is there anything we can do to ensure these don’t end up on our record?

Question:
Two of my friends and I received MIP’s last night. Our ages are 17, 17, 18, and we live in Michigan. We were at a graduation party, where us two 17 year olds had a couple drinks, and the 18 year old had a significant amount more to drink. At around midnight, we were forced to leave the graduation party, and headed to a party a couple blocks away. We had a completely sober driver. Upon arrival to the party, we were told to leave, so we did. Upon returning to our car, a police officer pulled up to talk to us. At this point our 18 year old friend was throwing up on the side of the road. The officer asked us all if we had been drinking, and we told him we had been. We all got breathalyzed. The driver blew a .00, my two friends blew a .05 and .08, and I blew a .06. Us 3 that blew over then received MIP’s and our parents were contacted. My friend and I who blew a .06 are positive we could have passed field sobriety tests. All 3 of us are accepted into universities and are curious as how to how we can go about getting this off our record?
Topic:
Alcohol Related Other than DUI

Answer:
 The 18 yr old is in the most trouble. The 17 yr olds will likely have this sealed on their juvenile records.

Take advantage of public defenders if you qualify. Show up in court dressed nicely. Be apologetic and acquiescent and polite. Most often, judges and prosecutors will order some sort of program for first time offenses (like a diversion program; different names everywhere) where if you complete the terms, the charges don't go on your record.

If you ever apply for jobs like attorney, FBI, firefighter, nurse, etc, and they ask if you have ever been charged with a crime, you still have to say yes, and explain you were a stupid kid who learned your lesson, and you should be fine. Lots of kids get MIP's. They want to see your honesty and ability to admit fault. But the charges shouldn't  show up on background checks if you get a diversion program.

In the future, don't admit that you were drinking to the cops.


Title: Insurance company denying my step dad's long term care coverage, claiming he was seen driving. (he doesn't even own a car) Appeal department tells us to wait for record request to complete (they won't tell us which doctor). Does he need a lawyer?

Question:
My step dad got into a car wreck and became disabled, and been on long term care coverage for two years, then suddenly, he got the denial of claim letter in october. We sent in an appeal form right away. We got an acknowledgement of appeal in beginning of dec. We are waiting and waiting and his bills are starting to stack skyhigh. When I called them, they told us they are still waiting for a doctor to respond to the record request. They won't tell us who. My dad is worried that some dumbass secretary threw away the request letter from the insurance company. They won't let us push the doctor(whoever it is) either, saying that THEY have to be the one to ask and recieve. The claims person also added that they take 4~6 weeks once claim is recieved. We are on week 4.

I don't understand how they can continue to withhold coverage on some record request, when they denied the claim on the basis of being seen driving (which he didn't do. He can't. He doesn't even own a car).

Is there anything we can do to push this process along? I feel like he should've gotten a lawyer long time ago, but long term care is awfully niche and specific. I don't even know how to find one.

We are in Virginia.
Topic:
Insurance

Answer:
 IANL, but I swear, sometimes they just chuck people out of the system to see if they will fight back. I have had this done to me with 2 medical insurance policies and a friend on disability, receiving letters, "You were found to be ineligible due to {nonexistent reason}."Answer #2: When I had a similar experience the ONLY thing that progressed my appeal was to call the insurance provider customer service, ask for the claims specialist department and then ask them to do a "provider callout" with me still on the line as a three way call. Every time I scheduled a provider callout with a customer support person, they either didn't happen or the results were not included in my appeal paperwork.Answer #3: Hi. I know this area well. I think a lawyer would be useful. Here's what you need to look for in your state:

If your father got his policy through his employer, it is almost certainly governed by a federal law called "ERISA." If that's the case, you want an ERISA specialist. Just google "ERISA Specialist Virginia" and several names should pop up.

If your father got his policy through any other means, aka bought it himself, you need an "insurance bad faith specialist." Google "insurance bad faith specialist Virginia" and several names should again pop up.

Best of luck.


Title: Can an employer fire a woman for not shaving when they have no rules about men shaving?

Question:
I work in an office with 22 people in East Tennessee. I'm an at will employee. There are 5 women, the rest are men. We have no face to face contact with clients or our contractors. The dress code in our handbook isn't strict at all- no rules about hair length, restrictions on beard or facial hair, no rules about women's hair or body hair. Around 10 of the men have facial hair, 3 of those have really huge bushy beards. None of them have ever had anything said to them about the way their hair looks or anything.

Today my boss pulled me aside and said he noticed I haven't been shaving my armpits. Which I haven't, because the prescription deodorant I use hurts horribly when I shave because my skin is so irritated (I told him this). I never wear shirts without sleeves and don't do work that exposes my arm pits in an obvious way, so he must've just now noticed it. But he told me I had to shave it from now on. I brought up the fact that the guys aren't required to shave anything and asked what was different about me not doing it. He said it's different because I'm a woman and it's unhygienic. I just went back to my desk and didn't push it.

I don't want the rules to change for anyone, I just want to not get in trouble for not hurting myself every day to remove something that the guys are allowed to have. Is there anything I can do?

Answer: "Unhygienic?"  Why unhygienic for a woman but not for a man.  In reality, he just doesn't like it.


Title: My mom went with me to the bank with me to force me to take out all of my money and I think she might putting it in another bank account savings where I can't even touch it, please advise.

Question: Sometime this week my brother and mom opened a new bank account for only savings of when things go south in the family after they lecture me of having to move $1k to PayPal to get new parts for a PC to replace the really old one that I have, they talked about it in how everyone has to put it in, to which I can't even say anything because my opinion on such never exists and they question me on why I don't say the big things to them. They even went as far as that they want to take out ALL of my money and probably wants to put some of it in that savings account. A couple of days ago my mom dragged me outside of the house to go to the bank because she wants me to take out all of the money, which is almost $10k that I earned, just today she told me that both me and my father that we have a habit of spending money that we see which is false, I only had ever really spent $1k for just for specific reason but won't ever spend as much afterwards. I have no clue what to do, can someone give me advice on this matter please?

Answer:
 You’re 19 with 10k saved. You’re doing just fine. Your mom can pound sand. Stop at the bank and make sure you’re the only name on the account. Additionally it might be worth starting a new account that only you have access to/are aware of its existence. Then stop telling other people how much you have saved, it’s none of their business.Answer #2: > I'm currently 19.

Then you need to start saying "no" to requests like this. You are now your first line of protection.

A legal dispute over this money would probably justify hiring an attorney - $10,000 isn't small change, and is often more than small claims justifies.


Title: Is our landlord allowed to lock us out of our basement? (Southern Virginia)

Question:
Hi! We are 3 young tenants in a Southern Virginia rental home. When we signed our lease in May, our landlord did not disclose that we would not have access to the basement. This is problematic because there is very little storage space in the house. After we requested access (it was padlocked), he told us that it was off-limits due to "insurance reasons." Is this legal, and do we have any recourse that we can do to get access?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer: What's your goal here? To break your lease? There is no legal means to force your landlord to remove that padlock and if you break it yourself you will be in a world of shit. All you can do is break your lease and then fight it in court if he sues you.  Sounds like you are getting the bedrooms, bathrooms, and common areas your lease says you will get.


Title: What is the longest prison sentence ever given to anybody in the United States?

Question: What is the record for the longest prison sentence that has ever been handed down to a single person in the United States?

Answer: [Here you go](http://lmgtfy.com/?q=record+longest+prison+sentence+united+states)


Title: just got defrauded by book keeper for $95,620

Question:
Just found out in the last 48 hours that a book keeper stole $95,620 from our business over the course of 90 days through a series of checks and payments to her creditors.  At this point I'm attempting to strong arm her into paying me back to avoid calling the police.

Am I subjecting myself to ask risk by not calling the police right away?  Am I right to hold out and try and squeeze the money out of her.  Everyone is telling me to call the police and to get her but my thought are with this insane pressure to perform she will possibly get me the money in one weeks time.  I understand that this could give her an opportunity to flea the jurisdiction but I don't see that as a risk.

Sitting her feeling like an idiot for not catching this faster.  You literally just don't expect somebody to be so bold and rip you off right to your face.  I feel like one of those ponzi victims...never saw it coming.

Answer:
 >  At this point I'm attempting to strong arm her into paying me back to avoid calling the police.

This is doomed to failure.  Even if she wanted to, the money already went to her creditors.  If she had the money to pay you, she would have paid THEM in the first place without stealing it.

**Call the police.**  In some jurisdictions, if you accept a partial payment from her, the matter becomes civil and you can no longer file criminal charges against her.Answer #2: >my thought are with this insane pressure to perform she will possibly get me the money in one weeks time

What makes you think she could come up with 95k in one week's time? Not many book keepers have that kind of cash sitting around, not to mention that many of these fraudulent checks were written to her creditors.

I suggest you get your lawyer's advice on this ASAP.
Answer #3: Call the cops right this fucking minute unless you want to have the book keeper flee. Jesus don't let her know you know until the cops arrive...


Title: Did I just fuck up big time? [NJ]

Question:
I was stopped by a cop on the day before Christmas Eve for suspected intoxication which I wasn't. But the cop discovered my license was expired, and it had slipped my mind that it was. Cop seemed chill and just told me it wasn't a big deal, renew the license, and pay the fine. I was okay with this.

So I renewed my license today and then went home to pay the fine. It was about $60 for pleading guilty to diriving with an expired license. However I told my mother and she freaked out, she says that I could go to jail for pleading to this.

I checked some websites, and I am getting conflicting information. Some say I could go to jail for up to 60 days, have my license revoked for 180 days, AND get a $500 fine. The ticket I got just says to plead guilty, pay the $60, and I don't have to go to court or anything.

So which is it? I'm feeling very confused by the contradictions here.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 If you paid the fine already, then the matter is considered closed. The fine is your sentence essentially.

You aren’t going to jail.


Title: Was told auto dial was legal, is that true?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Yes they can use an auto-dialer, but they have to limit the amount of times it calls you in a day, and if you answer there are rules about calling back for the day.
The company I work for will not use an auto-dialer on a cell phone number if they are aware its a cell phone number.

Source: I work for a large debt collector, not in the call center though.


Title: [Florida] Trying to get a polygraph report for a polygraph I took for entrance into a local college's police academy.

Question:
I have attempted to get into the police academy that is attached to the college I attend.

A polygraph was required. I showed deception during the polygraph for the question, "Are you withholding information about your personal involvement with illegal drugs?".

For the record, I've never done, sold, touched, seen illegal drugs. Period.

Anyways, they denied me entrance based on thie results.

I was denied the chance to retake the polygraph because "it woulldn't matter because I(selection center coordinator for the academy) still have the one that shows deception". There is also no appeals process because the selection center coordinator apparently spoke with the director of the academy and he was in agreement with him about not letting me in.

I am attempting to get a copy of the polygraph report and all materials used(audio/video recordings, polygraph questions, etc.) based on Chapter 119 Florida Statutes because I would like to take these records to an independent polygrapher for review.

I have called the police academy and was told I couldn't request those records(that was told to me by a front office person, who then tried to find the selection center coordinator, but couldn't locate him, so I'm going to call back later). I was also told by the polygrapher who conducted the polygraph that she does not supply any testing materials to applicants(she works for an outside company who was contracted to perform polygraphs for the academy).

Do I have any options, or am I out of luck?

Answer:
 You may have the right under that subsection to review your own test.

Which is not the same thing at all as being able to take it to a third party to review for you.

And even if you fight this and make a big deal out of it and FORCE them to turn it over against their will, then you can take it to your guy who can say "Nope, he 100% told the truth" and they can still deny you admission based on their results.


Title: Scandal about to break: veterinarian investigated for narcotics distribution - Protection from libel and slander [CA]

Question:
A scandal will be breaking in my city, probably later today. A local veterinarian was raided two days ago by the DEA, local sheriff and the state licensing board. Apparently she was flagged for writing prescriptions for vicodin (not generally used in veterinary medicine) for her ex-con, 20 years younger boyfriend and his friends.

She is my former employer, and when other staff members and I noticed that we were getting shipments of thousands of pills of valium and xanax that were never logged or prescribed to patients, a few of us sent tips to the DEA. She has botched 3 surgeries that we're aware of in the last few months. Two of the pets died.

Issue 1) Many of her clients are still in contact with us, her old staff. They will be asking us questions. What can I say when clients ask me questions about what I know? Basically, I want to say as much as I can without getting sued for slander.

Issue 2) Apparently the news may come and try to interview us today. Can I say anything and still protect myself from libel?

The obvious answer is "no comment," but I think that clients and pet owners deserve to know about her lack of ethics. This has been building for a year and a half, and frankly, we're pretty grateful that the truth is finally coming out.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: You're a witness to at least most of the stuff going on.  You shouldn't say anything to anybody (forget about who think deserves to know, because in the end the lack of ethics has nothing to do with them really), because whatever you do say/leak will only serve to damage the criminal case against the individual.


Title: Found an iPod nano at school and contacted the owner via Facebook but she had "seen" the message and ignored it. Legal to keep?

Question:
I live in British Columbia, Canada

Basically, I found an iPod nano at school (not naming which one for personal reasons) and found the owner's name via connecting it to iTunes for Windows. Then, I used the owner's name and searched her up via Facebook and sent her a private message. Now I don't know if she had actually received the message or not as Facebook is a pain to use nowadays and really confusing but it did say she had "seen" the message. Now my school isn't exactly big and I am most likely sure she's the only one holding the name "Jane Doe" (censored for obvious reasons) I am refusing to turn it into the office as I know that far too many scams has happened where someone claiming to have lost something valuable just taking whatever is of value the office has (the staff never really make sure it's that person's anyways) Therefore, is it legal for me to keep the iPod now?

Answer:
 >  I am refusing to turn it into the office as I know that far too many scams has happened where someone claiming to have lost something valuable just taking whatever is of value the office has

That's not your concern.Answer #2: Where did you find it at school? Hint: if it's from a bicycle bag or her study table while she went to the bathroom then it is not "found".

Are you really trying to get it back to her? You could try to message her friends.

Are you just going through the motions but really want to keep it?


Title: [GA] Im genuinely thinking about filing my first lawsuit ever(landlord-tenant law)

Question:
First off, I have spoken to attorneys over free consultations.   Every attorney i have talked to said my attempted eviction was illegal. But, I wanted to post here and get some outside thoughts as i read more about this type of law on my own

**Background**

In January of 2018, I caught a random virus and had to have major open heart surgery and was bed ridden for a period of 3 months.

**Summary of my complaints**

Landlord broke their own lease repeatedly entering my apartment without proper notice and outside of the hours outlined in the lease.  They also used my personal property inside of lease.

Additionally, I believe this would also be a violation of my protections as a disabled american as I asked for accomodations of having them not enter my apartment at night time(defined as 8pm to 3am)  as a i recovered from heart surgery and the late night entry was impeding my recovery.

**Detailed Issues**

*1)*  In decemeber 2017,  a noise complaint was filed against my apartment for loud rap music at 4am in the morning.  At this point of time,  I had been on a work assignment for work for a period of 1 month and had given no one else access to my apartment.

*2)*  There was a leak in my apartment at Midnight. I called emergency maintence and the night security gaurd entered my apartment and stayed on my couch texting between the hours of 12:30 and 5:00am. Long after the maintence staff had solved the emergecy issue and would not leave.

*3)*  After this leak, there were 7 occassions over a period of 3  months where staff entered my apartment without notice  between the hours of 8pm to 3am to "recheck" the repair.  They claim the repair was completed in 1 week and didnt reimburse me rent, yet they can use that as reason to enter my apartment without notice 3 months after the fact at all hours of the day?

*4)*   I came home one night at 10pm and there was a woman sitting on my couch.  The front staff later claimed she was an interpreter for maintanance staff.  None of our maintanence staff are hispanic or foreign. They are all from the deep south and have no reason to need an interpreter and they were not present in my apartment to use the interpreter

*5)*  In my lease, it says that upon EVERY entry they are required to leave a written notice stating they entered my apartment.  They never once did this and they refused to provide these after the fact

*6)* deleted my lease from my online account and refused to provide me with a nother copy and i had to have a lawyer contact them to get it and it took them a total of 3 months to provide my lease

*7)*  When I complained and i threatened to sue them, they lied and said my behavior was "threatning" and sent me a letter saying I had 3 days to move out .  I did not say anything that would be construed as physically threatning anyone.  The worst thing i said is that if you do not give me a copy of my lease, i will sue you for it.

*8)* After kickin gme out,  They started sending me late notices of my next months rent 25 days before it was due.  They sent on average 2 emails a day saying that my october rent is past due and i need to login and pay it immediately.

I had an attorney contact them and they said they were system automated messages. None  of my old neighbors got these messages.

**This has to be illegal in some regard Category**

Our maintence guy was accused of putting chlorine tablets in peoples drinking water by an ex employee.

I asked that this employee not enter my residence. He entered the next night at 8 pm.

**Current situation**

I moved out and they sent me my move out damages and are actually refunding me $110.

**What I think i can get**

I believe I have a good case of landlord harrassment, illegal eviction, discrimination my disability, and breaking of the lease entry requirements..

I am thinking i can get the move paid for, the cost of my temporary housing when i had to move out in 3 days, and rent back during the months that I was unable to use the apartment.

**Questions**

These people made my life a living fucking hell for a period of a year.  I have the financial resources to sue and im pissed.

Do you think this is a strong case?  i think i have limited upside in terms of financial gains, but i think what they did was blatantly against my lease so i have a hard time seeing that i lose

Answer: This question can really only be answered by one of the attorneys you've talked to.  They've already said it sounds like a viable case, and they know the local court system far better than random internet strangers do.


Title: [US, FL] Punched in the face 10 times by a bouncer.

Question:
I was at a club and I was resting my head on the bar, the bartender comes over and tells me to pick my head up, I tell him no. Again, heHe then tells me to pick my head up. Again, I say no. He calls the security over and he tells the security to escort me off the premises. The security grabs me by the arm and drags me from the club. I say "I want my $10 cover back" and they ignore my statement and continue to push me away from the premises.

They try to throw me off the premises and I resist (nonviolently) so they choke hold me and drag me by the neck off the preimses. I then proceeded to spit on the bouncer and he starts to come after me. I run away and I call 911. I go back because I still wanted my $10 and the bouncer comes after me and punches me in the face, he then pins me to the ground and continues to punch me repeatedly in the face. I say "I'm sorry" and he says "naw spitting is disrespectful" and continues to punch me in the face.

The police show up and don't listen to a word I say and tell me to get off the property before they arrest me. I run behind a house and call an uber to get home.

When I get home I drove to the nearest hospital and get a CT scan to check for damages. Right now I'm in the ER waiting for the results. My face is swollen, it's 4 am an I'm probably going to miss school tomorrow.

I should also note that I'm 5' 4" 130 lbs and the bouncer was over 6 foot and over 200 pounds.

I guess me question is, what kind of damages is the nightclub/bouncer responsible for?

(Pics)[https://imgur.com/a/U6pqT44]

Answer:
 IANAL, Once they ask you to leave and you don't do so immediately, you are trespassing and they can use force to remove you.

Also, learn to control yourself while youre drinking. You were in the wrong this entire time, bro.Answer #2: You do realize that spitting on someone is assault, right?Answer #3: If you are that small, you should learn to pick your battles better. Answer #4: Top comment is absolutely correct. Sorry my dude, I know you are a bit frustrated right now but there's no legal course you can follow where you will win. Better try to rest up and make sure there are no damages to your body.

It's just a bad night, bad experience. Just move on and learn from it.


Title: First Criminal Offense

Question: I currently live in Massachusetts and was recently let go from my retail job for shoplifting around over 1,700$ in a year. I know, stupid and I am destroying myself over it. I agreed to pay the sum within 30 days, however, MA law puts this as a felon (obviously) and I now am waiting for a court date. I have never been to court or handled anything like this besides a citation for driving without a license a couple years back. Do I/will I need a lawyer? How will this affect my ability to get another job and for how long? Also being my first offense and that I admitted to the crime to the retailer's Loss Prevention, what's the likeness of me going to prison?

Answer:
 Yes. You need a lawyer. If there’s any chance of avoiding a felony conviction you should try to make that so.

It would be difficult to get almost any job with a background check with a felony theft conviction.


Title: (OH) New mom and possibly custody battle (26)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You using illegal drugs is a problem. You using illegal drugs while being the primary caregiver to a small child is a problem.

Stop using and get rid of everything.

You are correct that it will be a long couple months (4+) to get it fully out of you.


Title: Seeking advice: hotel denied me a room I had confirmed and paid for weeks ago...

Question:
I was denied lodging to a room I already paid for. The card I used to rent room was lost in the city earlier but it had already been charged to my account days ago. I drove 5 hours, had tickets for new year's event in the city, but was denied room in a derogatory manner after no wrong doing other than my loosing my card.  No other options for security deposit hold were accepted including cash. I was humiliated and forced to drive 5 hours home missing th
e event and loosing even more money. They would not give me proof that they've would refund my prepaid room and said, "..sorry, can't help." When I asked if I could ait in the lobby to get a second opinion he sarcastically told me, OH SURE!!! I am just MADE of time. No additional help was sent. I left I  tears exhausted qnd humiliated. What are my rights?

Update:
I have heard hotels can refuse lodging to people who appear dangerous or intoxicated. Keep in mind I am 5'3, 100 lbs, and was wearing a peacoat and dress. Was my Steve Madden purse on a terrorist list or something?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 I had a similar situation in Reno.  Booked a hotel in advance, along the way my bank card stopped working at gas stations.  Nearly ended up stranded there; got to the hotel and suddenly they want a security deposit and insisted they'll only take it on a card.  Fortunately I had $50 cash, and talked a manager into making the exception, writing out a receipt for the cash as a deposit that would be returned at checkout.

What I'm saying is their policy is discretionary.  They're free to enforce whatever arrangement they want in order to rent the room to you.  How you handle the situation sometimes makes all the difference too.  Or they could just be jerks.

The only thing you can do at this point is write a letter to the owner/corporate.


Title: Puppy was euthanized after it got loose from home and attacked another dog. Honest curiosity who is in the right?

Question:
My boss's bull mastiff puppy Daisy (4 months) got out of their home while on vacation. The puppy tumbled into the neighbors yard and from the neighbors perspective her Chihuahua was fodder for her.

This is what gets me.
1. She's 4 months old.
2. She lives in a home with 7 family members and 4 children.
3. 2 other adult dogs reside with her at home. She has no aggressive history and is the most gentle and playful puppy. She snuggles with the dogs and a 1 year old baby.

Now with this being said. She was obtained after the incident with the neighbors dog and put down immediately due to "vicious nature" the condition the Chihuahua was left in was dire but treatable. Daisy also had bruises and marks everywhere from a fight, yet was killed with no second thought.

Now the woman with the Chihuahua is demanding compensation. Who is in the right and what should be done?

My boss is losing her mind over her lost furry baby.

Answer:
 The owner did not properly control get property and as a result damage was caused to someone else's property. So yes, the owner owes for those damages caused by her negligent actions/lack of actions.

The age of the dog and temperament in the home mean nothing.


Title: Will this bankrupt company prosecute me for theft??

Question: Recently a buisness I worked for filed bankruptcy. Every single store nation wide is closing by July. I have been clean the whole year I worked there until everyone heard the news we went bankrupt and then everyone started stealing like crazy. I joined in on this and stole a few things. Probably no more then 200$ worth. Sounds like a lot but to all these other people stealing You wouldn't think so. So i decided to quit a few weeks ago because I found a new job. Now a employee that still works there has warned me that he got fired for stealing and that my name is on the list. He claimed that Lp wasnt going to prosecute him as a felon but only if he told the truth about what he has stole and paid for it. I know LP Is known to make deals. Is it smarter to confess and bring back the stuff, or wait it out and see if anyone ever contacts me??

Answer: LP can't prosecute (assuming you are in the US, don't know about other countries), but LP can call the police. If contacted by the police, say nothing and get a lawyer.Answer #2: The company doesn't prosecute. The district attorney does. A bankrupt company may actually be **more** likely to file a report and request prosecution because they need to recoup their losses from your theft to pay their creditors.


Title: Landlord says I owe rent from 2014, Boston MA.

Question:
What are the statute of limitations for MA?  Landlord is saying I owe rent from 2014 and 2013. I no longer live in the apartment. He contacted me out of the blue. I paid on time and do not owe him money.

What are the legal actions he could take if he feels I do owe him?

Answer: After a quick check it looks like the statute of limitations on this matter is likely six years (contracts not "under seal"). As well even if that's not the correct applicable category in Massachusetts the statute of limitations only generally goes down to as little as three years. Without months it's hard to tell but it seems like he's within his rights to seek rent still.


Title: [Australia] Is the judge guy right? Would this be a criminal act in Australia?

Question:
http://www.blankmediagames.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=89201&p=2925287#p2925287

Context: Town of Salem is an online flash game where players play a game similar to the mafia party game. Some people like to use the anonymity of the internet to spout racist stuff.

In the linked post a player was banned, and posted an appeal demanding to be unbanned, saying that Australian regulations require companies to provide players with the reason they are banned. The bot provides the reason, and the judge (volunteer who looks at in game reports) posts a snippet that seems to show that in Australia posting hate speech online is a crime.

Is the judge correct? Could someone be prosecuted for saying stuff like that?

(If you’re looking at the in-game report make sure you click the highlighter next to their name in order to easily see what they said)

Answer: Yeah they're right. And, assuming you're the individual in question (cause I can't imagine anyone else would think this is worth addressing), you should take this as a note to stop being racist.