Title: Our landlord moved into our attic. It's annoying. Please help. (Chicago, IL)

Question:
My boyfriend and I moved into our apartment about 5 months ago. When we moved we were told our unit was the top floor unit. Which makes sense since the only other door in our back stairs was to the attic. Well, about 2-3 months into the lease we started hearing someone in the attic a lot. Always after 7:30 or 8am and never after 10pm. It was mostly just people walking around but I'm guessing that attic isn't insulated because you can hear EVERYTHING. I have even heard someone up there humming to themselves while I'm watching tv.

As we've come to understand. The landlord is putting a small apartment in there. If you saw how small our apartment was you would understand how ridiculous this is. So anyway he's up there working on it between exactly 8am and 10pm most days of the week. Sucks for us because we can hear everything like it's happening in our apartment. And since my boyfriend works weird shifts, he gets woken up by this frequently. I get woken up by it every weekend.

They've now put a washer and dryer in there which is loud enough to hear from our apartment. It also vibrates our bedroom. I got woken up by it today at 8:15, and the same thing happened the day before. I can hear/feel it despite wearing ear plugs. We also have to deal with the fact that the stairs to the attic are directly above our bedroom so we hear loud footsteps every single day when he goes up and down the stairs.

I realize when he's doing work is within the realm of the municipal code's restrictions on when "construction" can be done, but I also am not happy being woken up at 8am on weekends. Same for my boyfriend since he now gets about 5 hours of sleep a night because of the noise. We moved with the expectation this actually was the top floor, especially because there is only one unit below us -- we have our own entrance and my boyfriend plays guitar in a small room over the stairwell so it won't bother people. Now the landlord has complained twice when he has played (he never plays past 7pm).

On top of this, our People's Gas account was just closed because someone opened an account for the "top floor" unit. Meaning the landlord did so for the attic. We now have to call and get this fixed. We have one gas meter in our entryway labeled as a different unit than ours, and the rest are in another part of the building. I am sure when we call people's gas this will get really confusing. Our heat hasn't been turned off, though. (Which also worries me because I don't want to be paying for the attic's heat and electricity if we are somehow considered the same unit.)

I looked up our building for code violations on the City's website. There are a few from 2013. Some for building without a permit, which I'm guessing they are still doing. One for the attic. It says they were building up there without a permit and that they could not keep the "unit" unless it had more windows because it only has a small front window and a skylight. Apparently he put in two bathrooms up there as well as a washer and dryer and a stove.

I realize this probably doesnt rise to the level of breaking our lease, but is there anything we can do? I told my boyfriend we might be able to get them to at least put carpet on the floors to make it quieter but I don't believe that would help very much anyway. If they rent this unit out I'm sure it'll be even louder since the landlord is a fairly quiet older gentleman and even he makes a pretty big amount of noise.

Thoughts?

Answer:
 First, check with your local Building Inspector to see if a building permit has been issued. If one has not, neither you, the town or your landlord have any idea if the house has a support structure to carry this extra weight.

Your statement of "They've now put a washer and dryer in there which is loud enough to hear from our apartment. It also vibrates our bedroom." should be mentioned to the Building department. This isn't right, if it were up to code, the vibrations shouldn't be this bad.

He could very well doing wiring up there that isn't up to code, further putting you in danger.

At a minimum, the Building Department should do an inspection of what he is doing and if it's safe.

You can ask in most cases that your name not be used and for all he knows one of the neighbors dimed him out.

I would do this first thing Monday.Answer #2: Usually there needs to be a building permit posted visibly somewhere on the building. If there is not, he's likely not obtained one.

Typically attic spaces cannot be used at living space without a sprinkler system and adequate escape routes...

I would report ASAP. Answer #3: Agree that you should check with code enforcement

> I realize this probably doesnt rise to the level of breaking our lease

I'm not sure about that; if this violates your rights to 'quiet enjoyment' then it would.


Title: Drug Charges Help (North Carolina)

Question:
Location: North Carolina

I was recently pulled over after driving down a road and seeing that a car was at the end because I saw the headlights since it was about 9pm or later at the time, so I turned around and the car followed me which turned out to be a police officer. After about a minute of following me he turned on his lights and I pulled over and he came up and asked me what I was doing. I simply told him I was driving around since I had never been down there before. He then proceeded to tell me that suspicious activity occurs down that road aka drugs ect ect. He asked if I had anything in the car and so I gave him the less than .5 grams of marijuana I had and told him I was planning on smoking it. He took it then patted me down and searched my car. Then proceeded to write me a ticked for possession of marijuana which he wrote that I had less than half and ounce which I had no where near that amount. He also wrote me a charge for paraphernalia. My questions are was he right to pull me over in the first place? What do people recommend I do? What are my chances of getting out of this situation? Another thing is that I have absolutely nothing on my record at all so this would be my first offense of any kind.

Answer:
 Yes he had a right to pull you over. You drove toward a police car, and when you noticed it, you drove away. That is probable cause to pull you over.

You will have a court date which you can go and plead guilty/not guilty. It's pretty clear you're guilty and will get penalties, which will most likely be a fine of some sort.

To minimize your punishment/charges, you can hire a criminal defense attorney and they will work for you.


Title: Custody issues with Ex (Houston, Texas)

Question:
TL;DR:  My Ex endangered our daughter by leaving her with a pedophile, now I'm looking to adjust our custody agreement to prevent him from endangering her further.

Question:  What actions can I take to immediately prevent my Ex from taking my daughter again, even for a short period of time.

Background:  My Ex husband and I have a custody agreement in place, but due to a recent event where it was revealed that he had left our 4 year old daughter alone with a pedophile during her weekends with him I am looking to have our agreement adjusted. He did not know at the time that the person was a pedophile, and the investigator says my daughter doesn't show signs of being abused.
Since this happened my Ex hasn't been in contact with me until a week ago where he began threatening to call the cops on me and report my daughter missing if I didn't give her to him. He will only give me vague answers to where he is living, and will not tell me who he's letting around my daughter or living with, any request for information is met with sharp angry replies about it not being my business, or are completely ignored. I don't have a lawyer, and I didn't have one when I filed for divorce, as lawyers are very expensive I have not been able to obtain one to help with this ongoing problem.

Sorry if this isn't enough information, I'm not sure what to put as I am completely ignorant when it comes to legal actions.

Answer:
 You need to get an attorney.

The attorney will advise you as to if getting a protection order would be advised.

The attorney will advise you that until an order for modification is put into place, or a protection order is established that you must comply with the court ordered visitation or be held in contempt of court.

To be honest, since he did not know that the person was a pedophile, I do not see it being a slam dunk on either of the motions.  But, let your attorney advise you.

You do not want to be doing this on your own.  Not only do you need help from an attorney navigating the process... You also need advice as to if you actions are a good idea.Answer #2: > he began threatening to call the cops on me and report my daughter missing if I didn't give her to him.

Are you keeping the child from him against the custody agreement? If so you cannot do this.

> He will only give me vague answers to where he is living

He can't do this. I am pretty sure in every US state there is a requirement that where the child resides with each party must be accurately disclosed to the other party.


Title: Schizophrenic Inlaw

Question:
So, I love my fiance. Her mother though....

Her mother gets about $700/mo for SSD and has no savings, but has about 50k from selling her home. $700 is not enough  to live on here, and she has moved in with us, but both my fiance and I hate it.  We both work full time and the MIL does dishes and watches NCIS all day. We get that it's from her disability, but it's frusterating, and we feel like she would not make it on her own. We'd like to look into a group home or some sort of assisted living, but our research so far indicates that we or her MIL would be paying oop until the $50k is gone, then medicaid might take over somehow?

Is there a trust or retirement fund we could put her mom's money into to save it for her? MIL is mid 50s.

Is there a way to get a POA when the MIL doesn't want to sign it over to us? She cannot take care of herself, and part of the paranoia means she doesn't want anyone to control her stuff. Understandable, but SHE CAN'T DO IT.

Is there a way to get her assisted living or a nursing home or something through the state? She has Medicare due to disability, but doesn't qualify for Medicaid unless we can figure out something to do with the $50k

Any advice? We've gone from getting married to almost breaking up over this, and neither of us want to have children with the MIL in the house.

Answer:
 1) What is the point of the trust fund? To hide money from the people who rendered a valuable service to her?

2) You can get a guardianship over her.  Speak to an elder law attorney;

3) Sure, spend the $50,000 on care and then use Medicaid.


Title: I'm in need of some serious help...

Question:
From the years of 2009 - 2013 I went to an undergraduate school in Indianapolis. During those years I didn't work and didn't file taxes.

I was just give a letter form the Indiana Department of Revenue stating that I owe over $100,000 in back taxes from December of 2012 from an online store like amazon or ebay. I'm not sure.

I'm freaking out because they are issuing a tax warrant and will take money from my bank account. I'm not sure what to do. Every time I call they say the information is coming from a payment processing company in Massachusetts, but I can't get any information from them because I don't have the account number it's connected to.

It's basically a dead end and I have no authority to get any information. Right now I am located in Connecticut, but this is all happening in Indiana.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am in tears right now and I don't want to lose my earned money or go to prison.

*Edit: My husband is on the phone with the Unemployment office and they are sending Indiana DOR my employment wage history. The woman he spoke with said I have barely made $10,000 in the past 8 years and that it stops abruptly in 2010 ( obviously because I started school). All of this is correct.
Topic:
Tax Law

Answer: You need to consult with an Indiana tax attorney yesterday.  This is too serious and too fact-specific to rely on Reddit advice. Check the Indiana bar website for attorney referral links, or call them and ask if they have a referral service.  Do this now.


Title: (Aurora/Denver Colorado)What happens if I don't report my DWAI to the dmv?

Question:
First off, thank you to anyone who can help :)

Background: I was arrested June 2016 and just recently convicted of a DWAI (not legally drunk but altered influence) and I was told by my lawyer I was supposed to report that to the DMV/registry immediately even before the conviction. I didn't realize that so I didn't do it. Now I have to report it to the DMV so they can take the appropriate action of mandating an interlock device in my car.

Heres my question: I plan on moving away from Colorado in just about a year, so what happens if I never tell the DMV about the DWAI? Can I get in trouble not reporting it? Or is it simply a matter of them taking my license in Colorado(?), which I don't really care about.

Answer: Further breaking of the law is a bad idea. Not sure where you are moving to but if they are a member of the drivers license compact you will still have issues. Please adult up and face the music


Title: I have my great uncle's WW2 POW diary from stalag 17B. Many people there contributed to it. How do I go about copyright?

Question:
Essentially this diary has a lot of poetry and artwork that i'd like to eventually publish somehow. However being all from different people that were in the stalag as the journal was passed around, i'm not sure how copyrighting something like this would work before I do anything with it.

Thoughts?

Edit: I'm in the USA, he was an american airman

Answer:
 Cool.

Of course, it's complicated.  Based on [this article section](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Public_domain#German_World_War_II_images), I think the diary will be in the public domain as of 70 years after the death of the last surviving author.  Until then, the authors, or more likely at this point their estates, retain copyright to the work.

Note that if the copyright expires, the work passes into the public domain, and although you could publish it without fear of losing a copyright infringement lawsuit, it would also be allowed for anyone else to grab a copy and then publish it themselves.


Question:
 In California, is it illegal for an employee to talk to one of the business partners of a company?
Question:I'll try to explain a little, it's awfully convoluted.. I'm working for a start-up in tech, we'll say company B. He took some of the people from his last start-up that tanked, Company A, when he started Company B. Coincidentally while at Company A we worked for another one of his investments(made a website), Company S.

Now last week he finds out that an old employee from the original start-up(Comp A) has been helping his business partner from Company S work on a totally unrelated project. The business partner at company S, this is his dream project, and it's unclear if my boss is even invested in the dream project. The ex-employee did not ask for permission to work with the business partner, my boss likened this to "a guy asking his bro's permission to date his ex". btw the dream project is not competing with the current/last business.

So when asking about this dream project I got screamed at with how terrible this ex-employee was, and how what he was doing was 1) illegal 2) would get him fired at "any business across the country". So, is my boss right or is he full of it, is it illegal for an employee to talk to a business partner without permission? Or is it immoral/bad in any way?

TL;DR: Can an employee legally talk to a business partner of their current boss, without asking for permission, to work on a project that is unrelated/non-competitive to the business they're employed at?
Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 it's certainly not illegal.

*that being said*, unless you are union, there is also nothing preventing your boss from firing you if he chooses. you have no protection there.


Title: When cops are investigating a potential case, is it legal for them to hack a IRC bouncer and pretend to be a mutual friend?

Question:
So, I /may/ have a case being investigated against me. However, nothing has come of it yet. Nonetheless, the police are obviously looking at potential evidence. Me and a mutual friend have been aware of their investigation and know what IP address they are using. On Thursday, 6:40PM ET, the investigator(s) exploited a bug in my friend's IRC bouncer to connect to it, disconnect him and try to talk with me as if they were him:

Properly formatted log at: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3ncjw2/when_cops_are_investigating_a_potential_case_is/cvmtdaf

Is this legal for the police to do? Or did they overstep some boundaries? My friend since upgraded his bouncer so that it's no longer vulnerable to the bug they used. However, on Friday they were trying to brute force their way in and we had to block their IP address using iptables. Note that prior to this they had not tried to serve me with a warrant or anything.

Answer:
 The police are allowed to lie during the course of an investigation.Answer #2: I'd be willing to bet that it was your mutual friend messing with you and not the police. Answer #3: The question of "was it legal" is dependent on a heck of a lot of factors that aren't known here.  Chief among those is whether said "bug" would be considered unauthorized access; whether they have authority to exploit that bug; and whether they have authority to present themselves as other people.

The third is most likely not an issue.  The other two may, but that's a deeper analysis than can be given here.


Title: My license in California has been suspended and I have NO idea how and where to start to get my license reinstated.

Question:
I am a 20 year old male who has gotten their license suspended and do not know where to begin. So back in February 2015, I got a speeding ticket. No biggie. But the very next day (This one I wanted to fight), I got another speeding ticket. Alright, that sucks. But it was tacked on that I had no proof of insurance, and I was going to appear in court to show it. My court date being so far away for that case, I simply forgot to handle the matter, I also had a lot of family issues going on. So I got a failure to appear and it said a trial was held without me, and the court finds me guilty and I owe $1,800. An attorney in barstow county, CA said the court does not accept payment plans. I felt as if I was set up for failure at this point. So I didn't do anything because I had no idea what to do. As time goes on, January of this year I was pulled over in Arizona for going too slow, and the cop was nice enough to not take my physical license or give me an impound. I took care of that matter and I am about to setup a payment plan. This month, I was pulled over in my girlfriends car for having brake lights out, and this cop took my license and wrote me a ticket for driving with a suspended license. Apparently, in California, driving with a suspended license carries a "No less than 5 days in jail" penalty. I was not arrested right there, but I have a court date in July.

So where do I even begin? I have 3 different courthouses to pay, and one of them does not accept payment plans. I'm not sure if I have an outstanding failure to appear, since they "Held a trial without me".

Also, does this mean when I go to my court date in July, they will arrest me for 5 days in jail? I'm stressing pretty hard about this nonsense. I'm not a criminal. I want to take care of these matters. I just don't know how to start, or where to start. I feel trapped. Thanks for taking the time to read guys.

Answer:
 Is this really nonsense? You really feel someone is setting you up for failure? You need to pull your head out of your ass dim bulb. All of this is your doing. Millions of people manage to drive without getting stopped and if they do take care of it in a responsible manner regardless of their financial situation.

At this point because you stuck your head in your ass things are far worse than it should be. So you either pay up or continue to make it worse. You either need to pay an attorney to sort it out for you or you need to talk to the clerk in each court to see what they are willing to do for a payment plan. They may not be willing to do that now. Maybe initially but when you skip court dates and ignore things there is little sympathy left or breaks given. And if you cannot get a payment plan you need to get some kind of loan, pay off the courts and then pay on that loan. There is nobody else to blame here. You are not a victim. You violated the law and ignored requirements to address it. Time to grow up.


Title: What can I do? Insurance Agent never gave our premium check to the company...

Question:
So my wife and I closed on a house in Bucks County, PA last February. Since that time I've had the most difficult time getting ahold of our insurance agent, and as such, we decided to go with a different insurer last October. I contacted the agent via Email, and requested that a refund check be sent to our address so I could pay the lender toward the new policy.

A few weeks later, he confirmed that the policy had been cancelled and that a refund check would be on its way.

Fast forward to December. I still have no check, and neither does the lender. In the meantime, our Mortgage payment has gone up by $100 a month because we haven't paid them for the new insurance yet. So I call our agent, and ask him when we could expect our check. He said that it would arrive in about a week or two.

I gave him the benefit of the doubt and waited until today to try to reach out to him again. I emailed him and did not hear from him for a couple hours, so I called the company that owns my insurance company, since his is the only contact information available for that company.

They informed me that no payment had EVER been received on the insurance policy, and that it had been cancelled as of April 5th of last year.

They had tried to contact me via USPS a couple of times regarding non-payment and I called my agent instead, and he told me not to worry, that he would "Take care of it".

Since he was my insurance agent, I obviously trusted that he would take care of it.

I asked the person I was speaking with if there was possibly another policy in my name. They confirmed that there wasn't.
I told them I would contact the agent again, and my lender to find out what was going on.

The lender told me to reach out to my title company, and the title company informed me that they had record of payment made out TO MY AGENT that was paid out on 2/27/15.

So we were without homeowner's insurance for six months last year, and I had no idea until today. And I still have no refund. And we're still paying an additional $100 a month.
What should I do??

TL;DR, My homeowner's insurance agent apparently kept my insurance premium and I was without insurance for six months of last year, didn't know it until today.

UPDATE: I decided to take this matter to the police. I showed them all email traffic between me and my agent, a copy of the check my title company sent to him, my HUD document, and the policy documents. They made copies of everything. They asked me not to investigate further and not to contact my agent. They believe this to be a criminal case and will be investigating it as such... I'll post updates.

Answer:
 Other legal issues aside, GET YOURSELF INSURANCE.  IMMEDIATELY.

Many companies allow you to pay monthly. Do it now. Borrow on a credit card if you have to. Borrow from friends. Eat Ramen for a month. Do whatever you need to do to get insured. Go online and get a policy tonight if you need to.


Title: Is an apartment liable for tire damage from spikes?

Question: My SO and I were going to visit a friend in an apartment building in Florida. Our friends gate code wasn't working to go in but the exit side of the gate was permanently wide open so we went straight through only for all four of our tires to immediately deflate and then we realized we had gone over tire spikes. When we went back to the front we noticed a stop severe tire damage sign  in the middle of the island between the in and out gate. It was at night and the sign not well lit and it was about 4-5 feet from the gate and farther back than where it starts. Could the apt still be held liable for the damage?

Answer:
 No they cannot. The spikes did their job.

You're not supposed to drive over spikes.Answer #2: >Our friends gate code wasn't working to go in but the exit side of the gate was permanently wide open so we went straight through only for all four of our tires to immediately deflate and then we realized we had gone over tire spikes.

why would the apartment complex be responsible for you going in the wrong way, which you knew was the wrong way....


Title: A friend asked me to help her follow her husband for a day to verify that he is indeed not cheating on her.

Question:
Is this even legal? If so, to what extent? Should I just decline to help?
EDIT: This friend is primarily a friend of my mother and I have never met her husband.
[Los Angeles]

Answer:
 It's not illegal to follow someone, providing they're in public and you don't violate other laws(wiretapping, trespassing) in the process.

Personally, I wouldn't get involved.


Title: Is this considered Health Insurance Fraud?

Question:
I work at a chiropractic office and have been asked to do something I am uncomfortable with.

We take insurance and there is one specific insurance company where we get reimbursed a maximum of $55 even if we do every covered service in the office.

Recently, I’ve been told that when a patient comes in with insurance from that company, to charge them our “cash add on price” for their therapy even though it’s a covered service under their insurance policy. I was told to do this in the interest of “maximizing billing”

This allows us to charge that patient $80 instead of $55.

Is this illegal?
If so, I want no part in this.

Answer: Yes, charging a patient more than your negotiated rate established in your contract with an in-network insurance is fraudulent.Answer #2: That is balance billing and is fraud. Answer #3: If your boss wishes to be paid more than $55 for his services, and the insurance company is not providing that, I'd suggest he no longer accept that insurance or he limit the range of services offered for customers with that insurance. As it stands, he's asking you to break the law.


Title: Suspended Liscence

Question: So my liscence was suspended on the 17th and today I was driving from my house to my parents house to live with them until my hearing for an occupational license next Thursday. On the way a cop pulled me over for not having a registration sticker which is a whole other story. Anyway he gave me a citation for driving with a suspended liscence which I understand is his job. I'm wondering if there is a realistic way of getting it dismissed. Thank you

Answer:
 Nope.  You drove.  Your license was suspended.  You knew that.  That's the end of the legal analysis here.  Answer #2: Nope. You clearly and obviously violated the law. Your license will likely be suspended longer and in some jurisdictions you could face jail time. Your location would help.

If Texas is correct (is that a new bot/site function?) then expect a $500 fine and an extension of your suspension. If your license was revoked due to DUI you are facing 180 days in jail additionally and the possibility of up to $2000 in fines. This is a criminal charge and you need a criminal defense attorney.


Title: Uninsured and license less motorist attempting to sue me for bodily injury.

Question:
I currently live in Albuquerque, NM.
On November 20th, 2015 I was involved in an accident. My car was a total loss. I have insurance through Progressive and on their end they found me 100% liable. Soon after I was contact by Geico about the other vehicle involved and they came to the decision that this was a case of mutual negligence and that I was responsible for 60% of damages. Now I'm getting information that the insurance via Geico is being paid out however the driver of the vehicle is attempting to sue me for bodily injury as well as lost wages. When I found this out I talked to my insurance which again is Progressive and they alerted me that the person operating the vehicle had no license or registration and had no insurance on their part at the time of the accident. Assuming the vehicle belonged to a relative I figured that's how the insurance via Geico was being paid out, however is there a case for her against me given the fact that she was operating without a license and had no insurance on her part? If it helps any I was able to pull up court records and it shows she's been cited without a license before earlier in 2015 and the case was dismissed.

Answer:
 >no license or registration and had no insurance

Has nothing to do with your possible liability. It won't effect the case.


Title: Suggested I xpost here from r/homeowners. I am in California. A city crew drilled a hole in my yard and caused a sewage flood. Next steps?

Question:
I am in California.

tl;dr - City drilled a hole in my yard and caused a sewage flood.  Problem may or may not have been exacerbated by existing conditions.  Plumber coming out today to confirm the problem and quote a repair price.  I am responsible for this section of the pipe but if the city broke it do I still have to pay for the repair?

Full story -
A city crew came by a few days ago and marked the sewer lines all up and down the street. This included drilling a 2" hole in my front yard near the sidewalk to find my sewer lateral line. We had a big rainstorm and the bore hole started flooding out water all weekend. I first thought was fresh water because it didn't look / smell like sewage. I turned my water valve to the house off and checked the meter and it wasn't moving so it had to be sewage. I am also pretty sure there were no fresh water lines near the hole but who knows.

I have a plumber coming out to take a look today and the city is coming out today as well to inspect.
I was able to get the water department to come out yesterday on Sunday and he confirmed that it wasn't fresh water so it's not their problem and he left.

Assuming it was the city that caused the problem how do I go about making sure I am not on the hook to pay the bill for the repair?

It is fine now but the next rain storm it is going to start flooding again. My house is uphill so it flows out to the street so I don't have to worry about it flooding into my yard or house mainly just a small portion of my yard, sidewalk, and then into the street. The pipe to the sewer is an ancient clay pipe so I think the problem may have been exacerbated by tree roots. I have a metal pipe coming from my house that feeds into the clay pipe. When I looked into the clean out of the metal pipe there was no water in there so it isn't making its way into my house. I am technically responsible for the entire lateral to the sewer but I don't want to have to pay to replace that pipe if the city busted it open.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 I would have contacted the city public works prior to having a plumber come out.  If the plumber digs it up to see what is wrong, then you have had 2 people disturbing the pipe area as opposed to only the city workers.

Are you sure that they used a drill?  It would be more common to use a vacuum truck which would involve some disturbance on the part of the excavators, but less than a drill.

A worker loosening the soil so the vacuum could extract it may very well have broken the clay pipe.  They break really easily.  The city needs to admit that first and tell you what their position is on the repair.  I would have them come out prior to anyone else digging it up.Answer #2: Claims against government entities often involve extra hoops with strict time limitations more onerous than usual statute of limitations rules.


Title: 2 dui's :( need legal advice. (if you do not know, please do not attempt to comment, i need people who know what they are talking about to help me out with advice)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > is there any way that they would drop it down to a lesser charge, give me house arrest, etc

It's possible, sure.  We can't guess as to whether it's likely.

The only answer here is for you to:

1.  Hire an attorney
2.  Stop drinking.

Answer #2: >(if you do not know, please do not attempt to comment, i need people who know what they are talking about to help me out with advice).

then get a lawyer.


Title: (California) Would I get full custody of our child? (father)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > I dont want full custody because I hear they never give the father that.

That sentence is illogical. Either you want it or not. Your theory on the legal system based on no fact is not relevant to what you want.

Expect CPS to come out. Why you decided to drive dangerously knowing your kid was in the car behind you is beyond me. You appear to be as much at fault here as her imo.

Go hire an attorney and file for custody. They will know the local judges and be better able to guess what might happen


Title: Will growing marijuana under PROP 64 in CA on my mothers (an elementary teacher) property (house) cause her problems if discovered?

Question:
The title says most of it.

We are in the south central LA area and my mom is an elementary school teacher in an near by district but her local union is under or a part of the AFT if that matters.

Google didn't bring up any clear stance on the issue from their side, but I assume since they are a state union that this is pretty much a non issue since she is not consuming it and thus would not test positive so I don't know what other level of involvement there is unless they start doing house visit.

The main issue would be someone coming over and suspecting growing the in the garage which is the main objective of the grow. It's out of sight, the smell will be contained pretty well and end up going through an industrial carbon filter so I'm not really concerned about it. It's totally concealed and I can do all the work I need in private.

She does **not** invite students over, or parents, or many fellow teachers for that matter, they usually take off. It's primarily family members or similarly close friends, only the immediate family is aware.

I'm considering anonymously calling the more local union and get it from them on who they see this. It may come down to her just not talking about it period, and as she always would come up clean for a drug test there should be no concern there.

Answer: She'd be an idiot to allow this. While she may not face legal consequences, depending on where California law ultimately ends up on the matter, it's entirely possible she'd face professional consequences. "Nobody will know" is bad insurance against that, because if you're wrong, she's likely done with her career, whether she wants to be or not. All it takes is one nosey neighbour or poorly-timed visit from a colleague.


Title: Taking on Wife’s debt in divorce.

Question:
Throwaway due to potential legal issues.

Let me start by saying that I love my wife, we have just had our first child together. We both want a few more and we are not thinking of getting divorced to get away from each other. We live in Oregon and have been married for just over one year.

So three days ago my wife asked me if I would be opposed to getting divorced for this reason:

My health insurance through my work costs 721 dollars a month for our family. If I was the only one on my insurance it would be 28 dollars a month. During the pregnancy her doctor said to her that if she wasn’t married she would qualify for Oregon Health Plan (my wife is a stay at home mom).

I am not opposed to that at all. As long as they have good coverage I will be more than happy to do that. Plus the difference in what I would pay over four years is around 33k.

So I started thinking and wondering if there were other ways this might be advantageous.

My wife had about 30k in CC debt when we met. She had a hard period in her life in her early twenties and was working part time at Wells Fargo. They gave her tons of credit over time and for a while she had to use it to pay her car payment/rent/car insurance. She has never been late on a payment and we are slowly paying it off. She has a great credit score. We would like to buy a house one day and she probably could if her DTI ratio was lower.

I on the other hand have never had a credit card, I have about 2,000 in debt and a shit credit score (mid 500’s).

Is there any benefit to me taking on her debt? Is this legal?

Sorry for the lengthy post. I am sure that I have missed some details. If you need more info just ask.

Thanks in advance!
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 In a divorce, if the courts proclaim for you to be responsible for your wife's debt, that means that you owe her the money. Credit card companies are not bound by divorce decrees, and have no obligation to change the debtor.

It is theoretically possible to see some benefit from getting divorced. And, it's possible to do so legally. But, it's not something to contemplate via self-help or from anonymous strangers on the internet.  There are simply too many landmines to give you any reasonable course of action. You could speak to a family law attorney or an estate attorney.


Title: [Austin, TX] - Leaking pipe covered by HOA, but won't pay for costs to rip out/repair drywall

Question: I recently noticed water coming out of the floor under my bathtub.  In order to diagnose the cause, I had to have the drywall ripped out in the bathroom.  The leak was in a common drain line, which is the responsibility of the HOA, per our HOA Documents.  The board has decided to pay for the actual repair of the leak, but they are refusing to pay for the costs to have the dry wall taken out, mold cleanup, and the costs to repair the wall after the leak has been fixed.  The HOA documents state that drywall is the responsibility of the owner.  Do I have any leg to stand on here?  The leak could not have been addressed without the removal of the drywall.  Not really sure what I was supposed to do to prevent more mold from forming on the inside of units.

Answer: This is going to be very dependent on the exact phrasing of the documents with regards to the drywall and damage caused by community property to individual units.


Title: Can my employer prevent my overtime?

Question:
I work a lot of overtime at my job. We are understaffed and pretty busy. It’s a union job so all of our overtime is voluntary. I choose to work 12 hour shifts fairly regularly.

Recently, one of my coworkers made a huge mistake. When they asked why it happened, he said he was too exhausted from working so much. Now they have told us all we can’t work more than 12 hours in a day.

The work I do means your stopping point is when someone relieves you or you finish what you’re working on. That’s it. So normally a little bit of cross over time happens. If that doesn’t happen, it’s a huge violation of our terms of employment. Can they legally tell us we can’t work that extra 15 minutes to turn our work over? Especially knowing it violates all our work policies?

Answer:
 Yes, your employer tells you when to clock in and out.

They will likely change the policy if it starts hurting the business.


Title: Scammed on PayPal via friends and family for goods that never showed up

Question:
I purchased a graphics card 75 days ago from someone online and after many excuses, lies, etc., they've stopped responding to my texts and messages.

&#x200B;

I will be disputing with PayPal and with my bank, but I want to know if there are any legal avenues I can pursue. I have (what I believe to be) the person's name as well as their phone number.

Answer:
 You have no recourse through Paypal; they will accept no disputes on F&F transfers used to purchase goods. The only means of reversing through Paypal is if the transaction is unauthorized, which it is not. Doing a chargeback will result in Paypal coming after you for the amount plus fees, and for amounts similar to what current GPUs cost, they report to credit agencies and sometimes sue.

You'll need to sue the seller in small claims.

Not a lawyer


Title: Discovered someone using stolen ID, what to do?

Question:
So I help perform background checks for the company that I work for. An applicant uploaded a driving license and European National ID card as proof of right to work. However, the photo on the driving license and the ID don’t match. After a bit of research stalking LinkedIn and Facebook, I found the original owner of the ID, so I’ve discovered that this is identity fraud.

As far as I’m aware, my company is doing nothing to tackle this, and in order to confirm that the id belongs to the original owner, I reached out and asked if it belongs to him; which it did.

Due to GDPR rules, I haven’t shared any information about the fraudster to the original owner, but I want to help him. Should I contact the police and let them know about the person using said fake ID or would sharing such information also breach GDPR?

I want to help the original owner reobtain his ID but don’t want to break any laws or lose my job in the process. Any ideas?

Answer: You should post this on /legalAdviceEU  ...they'll be more familiar with the law in your jurisdiction.


Title: (Virginia) Is my employer allowed to discriminate against me because I don't go to church?

Question:
Hi, I’m using a throwaway for fairly obvious reasons. I would really like to know whether my employer’s policies are legal.

So I work for a private educational institution that’s main target audience are members of a specific religion and is owned by members of that same religion. First off, I was chastised somewhat by my boss for a social media post on a personal profile about a personal belief I have that is controversial to members of the aforementioned church. I was told that the employee handbook prohibited criticizing this church (I personally don't think that the post actually criticized the church in question, but that's beside the point). I was mildly threatened and my boss asked me if I wanted to change my employment status in order to continue posting what I wanted on social media (specifically, anything contrary to this church's teachings). I felt a fair amount of pressure in the meeting and also learned that my boss had previously talked to another employee about them being promoted to my position if I were to leave or become part time because I didn’t support their church. Again, my place of employment is not officially affiliated with any religion. Another detail is that I used to be a member of this church but have since left. My boss noticed that I no longer attend and also asked me questions about that.

So I looked through the employee handbook and found this, which I thought was very odd and possibly illegal, considering that my place of employment is NOT owned by a religion:

>“In certain positions critical to the mission of [school], the administration may give preference to hiring members of [specific church].”

The next thing I found was in the handbook specifically for teachers, which states:

>“The life of the mind and the search for truth flourish only in an environment where academic freedom is protected and cherished. Broad freedom of inquiry and expression is guaranteed to all members of the [school] community including faculty, students, administration and staff. [School] restricts only those expressions or activities that disrupt the civility and order necessary for sustained and thoughtful inquiry or that undermine the mission of [school]. Specifically, [school] does not protect private communications by faculty to students or any public expressions that (1) contradict or oppose, rather than analyze or discuss, fundamental doctrines or policies of [specific church], (2) deliberately attack or deride [specific church] or its general leaders, … To help fulfill the spiritual, intellectual, and social potential of all its members, [school] protects the freedom to teach, discuss, research, and publish within these limits.”

Are these policies legal? Also, is it legal to censor what I say on social media about my former religion? I would like to protect myself and my employment as much as is possible.

Answer:
 Yes, they can punish you for your actions on social media. If you are giving the school a bad light they can end your employment.

I was under the impression  that private schools, especially religious ones do have the right to pick and choose certain people according to your religious preference.

My sister applied for a bookstore position at a very religious college in Virginia, bet you can guess which one, and part of the application was a paragraph on why she loved god. Answer #2: Not legal advice but it is a terrible idea to have your boss as a friend on Facebook.


Title: I (28F) got a ticket in Maine, USA for following too close. I strongly feel I didn't do anything wrong. Do I have a case in contesting it?

Question:
I got pulled over a few days ago in a town near the one I live in, in Maine. I honestly had no idea why I was being pulled over; I was just minding my own business getting to where I needed to go. The officer said he pulled me over because the dump truck in front of me flashed his lights, signaling to the officer, and he observed that I was tailgating the dump truck.

I said that I felt I was a safe distance behind (we were in a 25 zone going about 28) and that the dump truck had suddenly put his brakes on (probably because he saw the police car), which is why I was a bit closer to him than normal at that moment. I had been following that dump truck for about 5 miles, and I was at a reasonable and safe distance behind him the entire time. I still got a ticket for following too closely.

I don't tailgate, I get tailgated! I honestly can't believe this has happened to me. I don't speed or tailgate or drive dangerously in any way.

Do you think I have a case for contesting this ticket? I have a mostly clean record (one ticket 10 years ago for speeding). I would pay if I felt I had done something wrong, but I know I didn't and I don't want this on my record.

Thank you for reading. Please let me know if there's something I should add to this post. I'm pretty new to Reddit.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: Safe distance for 25 MPH is 2.5 car lengths. Were you an entire 2.5+ car lengths behind the dump truck? If not, you weren't being safe. If so, you can argue it and have a judge decide.


Title: Can a book author place a picture of somebody on the cover of his book without permission?

Question:
Hi,

a friend of mine showed me a picture of him on a book. The picture was taken at his high school years ago and the author of the book somehow must have gotten it from the school or something. Does anybody know if my friend is able to sue this author for using a picture of his face with no permission?

Thanks in advance.

Answer: The person who took the picture owns it. So if your friend took the picture they can sue. Otherwise not much they can do.


Title: Is a Public School allowed to censor the internet?

Question:
Since they are government administrations, wouldn’t a public school not be able to censor the internet because that would be government censorship of the media!
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 Not only *can* they,

They are **required** by Federal Law to do so.

It's called the [Children's Internet Protection Act.](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/54.520)

And yes, it's already been upheld by the Supreme Court.Answer #2: Lol. Yes schools can limit internet that they pay for.


Title: Do you give the police the right to search your phone if you hand it to them to see/hear information (i.e. let them speak to someone on your phone that can confirm your alibi)?

Question:
There have been a number of questions based on my TIFU post that I cannot answer. [https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/f1q3dn/tifu\_by\_getting\_busted\_by\_the\_cops\_while\_in\_my/](https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/f1q3dn/tifu_by_getting_busted_by_the_cops_while_in_my/)

Summary: I handed a police officer my phone so that he could confirm that I had permission to enter a home (Georgia). Later that evening, a law student lectured me and advised that “handing the phone” to the police was a rookie mistake. He suggested that I should have retained control of the phone and allowed the officer to listen to the call on speaker. Can some of you legally minded people weigh in on the appropriate actions to take since I'd like to share the link and it appears that I may need this advice in the future? Never thought I'd be a frequent flyer on this sub.

Answer:
 Can I just say, before I give you any sort of answer

Never ever listen to a law student for 20 minutes about literally anything. At some point it becomes about them showing off. Usually about fifteen seconds in.

Or a lawyer who doesn’t have experience practicing in a field for...a while

Law students know enough to be dangerous and don’t actually know anything. Lawyers outside their field don’t know anything without doing any research. That law student was a pompous ass.

Your question doesn’t seem to have a specific answer. In general, it is a good practice not to hand over your device unless the officer has good reason to demand it.  [This link](https://www.sgrlaw.com/hands-free-georgia-act-and-restriction-on-police-power-to-obtain-cellphone-data/) has some useful information.

Having said that, your situation was one of those where you weren’t in a spot where you were going to jail, or anything. And you wanted to get yourself out of trouble. And even if you handed the police your phone, they can’t search it without a warrant.

[Here’s a primer](https://www.eff.org/issues/know-your-rights). They could have seized your phone, but they couldn’t search it without a warrant. And you’d have plenty of time to contest such a warrant.

Bottom line: law students are sometimes (usually) pompous asses.

Source: was once a law student.


Title: [TN] I'm a diabetic and work for a retail chain. Boss tells me not to come back after taking a needed lunch.

Question: [TN] I'm a diabetic and work for a retail chain. I told my coworkers that I was going to lunch because it was not only my time to do so, but I had a low blood sugar. Boss that openly doesn't like me, tells me over text that I can't go to lunch at whatever time I like and after I say that I had no choice, because I could pass out, he says not to come back.

Answer:
 So, it works best if you follow your story with a specific question. Answer #2: If your company is large enough to have an HR department then definitely go there and talk to them about this.

Ask them if you are really fired for taking a break to fix your low blood sugar as a diabetic.  If they indicate you are fired ask them for written notice of that including the reason you're being fired.

You may wish to follow up with a complaint to governmental agency or ask a lawyer about your rights and what can be done to assert those rights.


Title: [CA, US] Friend's company changed her health care plan to an HDHP plan and never notified her -- now she has bills she had never anticipated paying; is there any recourse?

Question:
She had originally had a PPO plan and some time within the past 6 months the plan was changed to an HDHP plan with an enormous deductible. She now has lots of medical bills coming in that cost a lot more than she had planned.

I've read that [employers do not need to notify employees if they have changed plans](http://employment-law.freeadvice.com/employment-law/pensions_benefits/employer_change_insurance.htm), but I question the source and the accuracy post-Obamacare.
Topic:
Healthcare Law including HIPAA

Answer:
 I believe there is now a 60 day notice requirement.

http://www.heffins.com/sites/default/files/Benefits/2014-chart-annua-disclosures-and-notices.pdf

(middle of page 2)


Title: [School is in Colorado, I am calling from Florida] Can I get in legal trouble for contacting parents from the current directory of the high school I used to attend to ask for a business meeting?

Question:
I started a financial planning practice and have had trouble getting things started. I thought to contact the parents with the numbers in the current directory of the high school I used to attend to see if they were willing to have a meeting regarding finances with an alumni of the school their children currently attend. I have gotten lots of positive feed back from parents saying this was the way to go, however, someone I just called was very upset that I was calling them about something that was not school related, as the school said solicitors would not get ahold of their numbers. Someone from the school promptly called me and said there was a complaint and not to call them anymore, which I will happily not be calling her again. However, I plan to continue calling on the numbers in that book because of the success I have had and the mostly positive feedback I have gotten.
I am not selling anything, just asking for a meeting, I am an alumni.

My questions are:

1. Am I allowed to be calling in the first place?
2. Can legal action be taken against me if I continue?

Answer: You should be using the [Do Not Call Registry](https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/qa-telemarketers-sellers-about-dnc-provisions-tsr) to remove names of people who do not want to receive telemarketing. Since these are interstate calls, yes, you could be the recipient of legal complaints.


Title: Can we get rid of "tenant A B C D" etc, in r/legaladvice?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 A bad writer is a bad writer.  New rules won't make a difference. They'll just find a different way to be as confusing as possible.Answer #2: And my friend, who I'll call Pignards, told my uncle, who we'll call Beerdick (whom we'll never mention), that my sister, who we'll call Frjkehrjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjl3b__boop (and mention her every other sentence) that...

Brevity is wit. I'm not shy to TL;DR a post (preferably by not answering, or pleading for a summary) or readback the message to the poster.


Title: [UK] Scared single dad of 3, what can I do? [Divorce Advice]

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 You most definitely can argue about the percentage, that 50/50 split is a myth and a benefit/guarantee that noone gets screwed over.

Anyway, you can speak in friendly matters to her, tell her about those facts and that you would prefer things to be debated about the percentage, in the same comprehensible and simple way you just stated here. Seek her collaboration. If she does not collaborate and this is crucial to you, you must hire a family lawyer and gather evidence of your deserving of more percentage in the split.

So, all in all, talk to her, if not, convey to legal action.

Best of luck to you and your family!Answer #2: I'd suggest /r/legaladviceuk


Title: My parents are getting a divorce and my mom wants to put money into an account for my sisters.

Question: I just found out that my parents are going to be getting a divorce.  My sister called me and said my mom called her asking her and her fiance to set up bank accounts so my mom can put money in them and then they could give it back to her later.  She also contacted my other sister and they've told me she planned on asking me and my wife the same thing.  We are all adults.  I told my sisters not to do it without looking into it first, my gut tells me this is fishy. What can/should we do? Could we get in trouble for opening accounts and being complicit?

Answer: You should not do it.  Hiding assets during a divorce is an issue in obtaining an equitable split of properties.  It might not result in criminal proceedings but it could put your mom in hot water and involve you and your sister far more than you would want in this divorce with having to give up bank account information and being deposed.


Title: Petition to restore firearm rights in VA ?

Question:
Some background: raised by two active duty army parents so I knew how to use a rifle, shotgun, and semi-auto by the time I was 10. During my Freshman year of college I was in a long distance abusive relationship. He deleted contacts out of my phone, told me I couldn't talk to any of my friends (male or female). Being away 2 hours from family with nobody to talk to took a serious toll on my emotional well being. A counselor suggested when I got anxious to take a cold bath, stand in the cold, go tanning etc anything to kind of shock my body into realizing I'm ok. During the winter I went outside with a blanket on a cop stopped me. I was so taken back and scared I wanted nothing to do with him and refused to speak with him. They called my mother and voluntarily committed me for a few days. Fast forward 6 years and I'm living alone. I took a conceal carry class, purchased ammo, holster, you name it. When I went to actually purchase the firearm they told me I had to petition to have my rights restored because I was committed. Mind you I have never had any charges on me and have a spotless background check minus this imperfection. I finished my bachelors degree and now live and work in a rough area. When I called the police regarding a physical altercation at my work, they actually asked me why I wouldn't carry when I work in this area.

I looked up the petition I need to file and it's a lot of legal jargon. I've called the courts and they refuse to give me any information saying that if I need their help then I should look into finding a lawyer!! It seems like a simple form that I just need to submit with letters of recommendation. Is this something I really need a lawyer for?

Answer:
 > purchased ammo

Whoa, Nellie!  If you are a prohibited person it's illegal under Federal law for you to possess ammunition.  It's up to a 10 year sentence and $250,000 fine. I would give that ammo to somebody else for now to store. It does you no good without a gun.

http://www.rip.uscourts.gov/rip/supervision/firearmpossession/FirearmPossessionProhibition.pdf


Title: How can I fully punish an office theft?

Question:
I've had an office thief steal things consistently, though the stolen articles have had little monetary value. It would be stuff like board markers, or a free mug I got at an on-site company event. Recently, (s)he stole an iPhone charger which is now worth something. Also, it's a bit personal because they stole something not worth anything, but which had a high sentimental value to me.

I've reported each instance, and I've gotten completely ignored by the security team, even though there are security cameras almost directly above my desk. Either those are duds, someone on the nightly security team is the one stealing stuff, or they just don't care that pennies were stolen.

I've decided to take matters into my own hands and set up a spy camera on my desk. I need advice on how to catch him/her in the act, but stealing something that's not worth pennies. I'm not sure if leaving a $100 bill out on my desk is entrapment. But I'm also not sure if (s)he needs to steal anything worth over a certain threshold for it to become a criminal charge. There's no mention of this kind of thing in my employee handbook so I want to make sure there are not insignificant punishments via the law.

Of course there's no way to prove that whoever I record stealing from now on has also stolen everything in the past. That's why I'd like to leave something worth a lot on my desk to make sure just this one instance is incriminating enough.

Would this be entrapment? How much should I leave out for it to be criminal and undoubtedly fireable for? I have a cubicle so there's a very clear distinction between open and private space. And I keep my personal belongings in the corner furthest from the entrance. However, everything is visible from the entrance to the cubicle.

I'm in the bay area (California) working at a tech company.

Answer:
 You could film someone stealing the Mona Lisa and your job doesn't HAVE to fire them for it.

And not only could they refuse to fire the other guy, they could **at the same time** fire you for setting up a camera without permission.


Title: NJ: Is it legal for my boss to force people to have an election sign for his preferred candidate displayed on their property? He gave them out at work and has driven around to see who put them out. Those who didn’t were written up and threatened with firing. Our jobs have nothing to do with politics

Answer: For now comply with his demands but you should contact HR (if you determine that they are actually professional. Do not do this without researching that department), a lawyer who specializes in labor law, and/or the ACLU (they'll either directly interfere or direct you to the proper resources). This is a huge lawsuit waiting to happen and its HR's job, technically, to prevent this. Answer #2: NO


Title: Sister in law has gone missing, brother in law [in Pennsylvania] is claiming theft and threatening us [in Missouri] if we help her.

Question:
So I guess this is something of an update to [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4fa3s6/brother_in_law_threatening_to_call_cps_on_us/) post. My BIL did call CPS. They came out, checked our house, saw son's medical paperwork, realized BIL was full of shit, case was closed quickly.

However this led to a whole bunch of family drama that belongs more in /r/relationships than this sub, and eventually my MIL drove out to Pennsylvania (we're in Missouri) to talk to SIL because BIL does not allow her access to a phone, the internet or mail. MIL said that while she was there she talked to SIL through a window because SIL was afraid to let her in the house. According to MIL, during the visit SIL said that she did not know what her husband was calling the police, CPS, animal control, etc. She said her name was not on any bank accounts, utilities, a lease, etc. she is not allowed any communications that BIL does not monitor, he doesn't allow her to have a driver's license or any form of ID on her person, they're all locked in a safe she can't access, and the only money she gets is cash once a week that BIL gives her to run errands, which either he drives her to, or she goes on foot.

So that pretty much screams abuse and MIL wanted SIL to leave with her, but she refused. That was about 2 weeks ago. We talked about calling the police, but none of his treatment of SIL seems to be illegal, just skeevey, we were afraid that anything we do he could take out on her, and if she wasn't willing to leave it would all be in vain anyway.

Fast forward to today. My husband and MIL both got calls from an unidentified number. It was BIL screaming at them that SIL has disappeared and stolen the money he gave her to buy groceries and pay bills. He says he's going to call the police to report her for theft. He is sure she's staying with one of us, and we're going to be in trouble for aiding a fugitive if we don't call him back and "surrender her." He says he will make our lives hell if we don't "give her back." (I didn't talk to him directly, but both my husband and MIL said he used those phrases.) He didn’t say how long she’s been gone though.

None of us have seen her. Depending on her mode of transportation if she hasn’t been missing long she could still be on the move, which is what I'm hoping. If she does show up, then what? Can he actually report her for theft of money he gave her? If someone gives their spouse money to buy thing A (like groceries) and they buy thing B (like a greyhound ticket) instead, is that theft?  If so, could we get in trouble for helping her (MIL says she'll do it anyway, just wondering what that trouble could be)?

Alternatively, what if she doesn’t show up at our door? Should we call the police ourselves? If she contacts us, should we advise her to go to the police? Help her get to another place away from BIL?

It's also occurred to me that he might have done something to her and is calling us to cover his tracks which makes me think we should call the police ourselves, but at this point I’m not really sure what to do. Call the police in Pennsylvania and say “yes, we think SIL is missing, but we don’t know for how long”?

Answer:
 Please contact the police and file a missing persons report.

Or ask for a wellness check? Something that makes him have to explain to them where she is.Answer #2: Now that you know she's missing you could call the police in her town and file a missing persons report (I wouldn't trust BIL to have done it)...maybe better that MIL does it so she can tell the police about everything the SIL said....also might try reaching out to the domestic violence and/or women's shelters in her area...most likely you won't get any info from them but you may be able to get them to take your number down for your SIL to be able to get in contact with you (if yall are willing to do so)Answer #3: BIL is an abusive ass, full stop.   This has so many red flags for domestic abuse it isn't even funny.

I don't know much about Missouri resources (not from the region) but you can check out:

http://www.mocadsv.org/How%20to%20Get%20Help.aspx

Even if he isn't physically abusive, your post would indicate emotional and financial abuse (for gods sakes, doesn't allow her unmonitored communication).

What she's done isn't theft, and you're not in any legal danger for helping her. He can and possibly will try to make life difficult for y'all because he's an abusive asshole, but you're not in danger from the law.   Answer #4: I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. If BIL is really like that, then by all means, the best thing you could do for her if she contacts you is to get her in touch with a women's shelter. Answer #5: They are married, money is usually jointly owned by the married couple meaning either can do what they want with it.  She can't steal something she owns.


Title: [CA] Fathers employer denying day off request to go to DMV for expired license / Hostile Work Enviroment

Question:
Hi /legaladvice,

So some context:

My fathers renewed his California Drivers License via mail and waited approximately 4 weeks for it to arrive. As the date approached closer for its expiration I advised him to go to the DMV to check what was going on. I checked his online banking and saw the DMV had processed the check used to pay, but could see the first 4 numbers printed on it which I assumed are his drivers license number as it matched 3 of the 4 characters. So I inferred that they must have printed the wrong Drivers license number on the check which caused his account not to be marked as "Paid" which i'm sure would have mailed his license. The rest of the characters are not visible due to the bank blacking out the rest of the characters.

&#x200B;

My father works for a small company that employees probably a dozen people max, and right now it's considered busy season for them. I told my father to request from his boss (Owner of said company) a day off during the week so he could go to the DMV to resolve this issue as his Drivers license has expired and it has not arrived. His schedule is hectic and he usually works M - F 14-16 hour days, so it does not allow for any time to go to the DMV, so the only way would be to request a day off. I've tried calling the DMV on his behalf and have been on hold for up to 4 hours each time and have never gotten to anyone. He has been attempting this for the last 2 weeks and his boss keeps denying his requests even though my father has attempted to explain the situation. His boss keeps telling my father that it will arrive in the mail, and that it's just taking a long time due to the DMV backlog. To which I would say that is incorrect because the DMV would never let something lapse if paid with sufficient time for processing (as in this case, paid 2 months before expiring). His boss has also tried to calm my father down by offering "help" and telling my father to bring in the info and he can "check" for my father. He has also continued to schedule my father to drive the company van during this time and has not made any accommodations for an alternate to drive. I have never encountered an employer that has been this aggressive with requesting a day off and especially since it pertains to a State matter. My father just got off the phone with the boss asking for the Monday off (tomorrow) but has once again denied the request and has threatened to fire my father if he does not show up tomorrow for the shift. It seems like a lose lose situation for everyone in the event my father were to get pulled over.

&#x200B;

I believe this also ties to the overall experience my father has had with this company and boss. In the last year my fathers direct supervisor (guy #2 right below owner/boss) has become increasingly hostile towards my father. He continues to be aggressive and be verbally abusive to my father during jobs which according to my father are completely unprovoked. For example during a job said supervisor began yelling at my father for supposedly using the wrong cleaning solution and told him "He didn't know what he was f\*\*\*\* doing" and antagonized him during the whole job. He has done this multiple times on different jobs and seems to target my father specifically. Overall my father dreads working due to this supervisor. My dad has relayed this to the boss (owner of company) multiple times and every single time the boss says he will address it with my fathers supervisor to make it "better". The boss has also jokingly told my father that "thats just how he (my fathers supervisor) is and he will send him to anger management classes LOL". Usually when its matters of aggression from one employee to the other in my experience, theres usually an investigation done and some accommodation to mitigate this behavior. I've documented this behavior in some emails sent to my fathers boss, but his replies are just denials and the generic "I will address it with the aggressor".

&#x200B;

It seems to be combined with the lapses in general HR matters + my fathers boss's continual denial of a day off to go to the DMV it just feels "off" to me. It just seems to be they are incompetent or immoral and potentially breaking the law in some form. I know an employer isn't legally obligated to provide a day off, but isn't there any recourse in this matter?

Any help or even clarification is appreciated. Thanks!

Answer:
 First, you are way too involved in your father's business, emailing his boss for him and trying to resolve him DMV issues. This is not your wheelhouse. He needs to resolve these issues himself.

Secondly, nothing being described here is illegal. Answer #2: California has 61 DMVs that are open on Saturdays from 8 am to 5 pm so they’re not even keeping him from going to the DMV. Answer #3: None of that is illegal, nor is it a "hostile work environment" in the legal sense. Answer #4: >I know an employer isn't legally obligated to provide a day off, but isn't there any recourse in this matter?

Legal?  No.

And this isn't a "hostile work environment" as the law describes it.Answer #5: This is not a hostile work environment in the legal sense. That term has a specific meaning.

Your father's boss is not obligated to give him time off. Your father should not drive with an expired license. If he is fired for that, he should be able to collect unemployment.Answer #6: Nothing you’ve described is illegal. Escalate with HR or search for another job.


Title: Renting a room in a condo with 2 other roommates. One plans to break lease and leave the country. What can we do? [Ontario]

Question:
The 3 of us are on a joint lease for the condo.

The lease is supposed to end August 31st.

The Korean girl is planning on going back to Korea forever in May, breaking her lease.

From what I've read, the landlord would be legally in her right to not adjust the lease to allow a new person take over the Korean Girl's room, but the other roommate and I would still be on the hook for the full rent.

I'm unfortunately considering that the other roommate and I may have to take some sort of legal action against the roommate planning on breaking lease, but it seems kind of pointless since she'd just leave the country and never come back.

What can we do?

Answer:
 Have you talked to the landlord?  Explain that the two of you cannot afford all the rent and ask if you can get a new co-tenant for May-August.

The landlord doesn't want to have to deal with a tenant who doesn't pay.  He doesn't want to evict you.  He just wants the rent money.


Title: [NV]Parking in front of neighbors house

Question:
I'm sorry if this is not the right sub. Point me to the correct sub and I'll be on my way

So Ill start off with some context. There are 5 people that drive in my family. 4 of us have cars and can't store them all in the garage. The solution is to park two in the garage and two outside on the street.

So I come home from school and park in my usual parking spot, which is in front of the neighbor's house. This house is a vacation home for people to rent. As I arrive to my home I see two trash cans in my spot. I thought, "well tomorrow is trash day, I guess they didn't know where to put them." I get out of my car and move them to the proper place and this older gentlemen comes up to me and says that he placed those there so his son can park there. He told me I'm inside of the property line in an aggressive tone. So I just park my car on the other side of the street to not cause trouble. I then start researching that you cannot reserve a spot on the street.
I come back out after searching for awhile to just let him know that he cannot reserve a spot. I approached him calmly and stated that he cannot put trash cans in the street and that I can legally park there. He starts getting aggresive and says that I can park on the drive way. But with 4 cars and 5 people always leaving you would have to move one car each time the cars in the garage want to leave. He finally blows up and says " Go park your damn car there," and walks away. I kept my car on the other side of the street just to avoid any more troubles.

I just wanted to know if I was being a dick and should have let it alone?

tl;dr: They see me rolling, they hating

Answer: Its a public street. It may be in front of his house, but anyone can park there as long as the vehicle has plates. Its your call to make - run the risk of antagonizing this guy further who has shit communication skills or park on the other side of the street from now on? Up to you.


Title: Can the cops at the hospital reuse to let me see my mom?

Question:
(To clear it up, it’s not my mom, it’s my cousins mom.)
My cousin’s mom was stabbed by her drunk husband and taken to the hospital. When we arrived to the hospital, no one told her anything because they refused to release any info about her mom.

Everyone we talked to when we got here kept saying different things about when my cousin would be able to see her mom. It’s been 6 hours and finally ONE nurse came to tell us that she’s not legally allowed to tell us anything except for that she’s stable and she isn’t allowed any visitors.

Is this legal?? My aunt was the victim and her daughter can’t even know the status beside that she’s stable?? They won’t even let her in the room because  the deputies claim that the investigation is still undergo.

Answer: At this point, they’re protecting the patient. Domestic violence and other types of violent crimes are handled this way routinely. Stable is not always the same as conscious and communicative. Until mom can tell the nurses who is or isn’t allowed, they are not going to allow anyone for her safety.


Title: Does anyone know how to help my friend stop her HOA from taking her house?

Question:
My friend owns a condo in Florida and has it paid off. She has been renting it out. She has been paying her HOA fees, until recently, when major issues in her house stopped being fixed by her HOA. We're talking water leaking from the ceiling, broken appliances, unwashed exterior, etc. Apparently, to top it off, the HOA has been charging her a $500/month fee because her tenant, unbeknownst to her, has had her boyfriend illegally staying at the residence. The notices of these fees have been sent to her Florida residence, not her current residence. The HOA knows that she does not live there and has her current address. They are now filing a suit against her for not paying her fees and have given her less than 30 days to pay the illegal tenant fees and late fees (which she shouldn't have to pay), or they will repossess the house and she will lose it. They have tacked on lawyer fees almost double what she "owes" to almost $5000. To top it off, the suit they filed against her was also sent to the Florida condo residence, and her name was forged by the tenant. The number of illegal actions by the HOA is just adding up now...

My friend cannot afford to pay this crazy amount of money in time because she is a cancer survivor and has debt from her medical bills. She can't afford a lawyer, nor does she have time to get anything in order to fix this. She has kicked her tenants out and has buyers for her condo, and has tried reasoning with the HOA to allow her to sell and then pay them with the money from the sale. They will not allow this.

Otherwise, does anyone have any advice? This is ludicrous and I can't stand by and watch them do this to my wonderful friend.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer: My loathing of HOAs is well known. But who is responsible for ensuing that her tenants fulfill HOA requirements? Your friend is. And whether she is a cancer survivor means jack shit in terms of contracts and financial obligations. Nobody is a miracle worker here. Either pay or find a lawyer to fight it. That's the options.Answer #2: This isn't a sub for fundraising. Your friend is responsible for paying the money she owes. If her tenants have breached their contract with her, she may recover from them.


Title: Can't afford to miss work for a subpoena, what should I expect?

Question:
Hi everyone,

A couple of months ago I was subpoenaed to be a witness in a case that opened in 2017 and is going to trial here soon. I was checking my subpoena and it says I will need to be present for 11 days, all day, and (as with all subpoena's) if I'm not I will be in contempt of court and possibly arrested. I'm currently in college and taking classes over the summer (which will be happening during this case). I also work two jobs to support myself and have no way to afford taking 100 hours of leave from work. I've read that I may receive money for my lost wages (something like hourly wage levels or a small stipend), but my bills total over $1200/month so this will still be a large hit to me. That being said, I am curious if anyone has had a similar experience and if they know if I will be used for all 11 days in this trial or if I am able to ask to only be present for minimal days/hours. If it is any consolation, I do want to help as much as possible in this case, but I also don't want to lose my apartment and car in the process.

 I will be speaking to the lawyer that subpoenaed me, but I wanted to know if I have any rights in this situation.

Answer:
 You need to contact the lawyer that issued the subpoena.  You didn't give a jurisdiction, but the subpoena rule in your jurisdiction almost certainly has a provision like this:

*Avoid undue burden or expense. – A party or an attorney responsible for the issuance and service of a subpoena shall take reasonable steps to avoid imposing an undue burden or expense on a person subject to the subpoena. The court shall enforce this subdivision and impose upon the party or attorney in violation of this requirement an appropriate sanction that may include compensating the person unduly burdened for lost earnings and for reasonable attorney's fees.*

If the lawyer won't narrow what is required of you, by giving you a specific date/time to appear, or allowing you to be on telephone standby to appear upon a hours notice (or similar), you need to file an objection to the subpoena.  The trial judge will not be happy with this lawyer if it comes to that.


Title: Found stolen items, looking for advice on what to do next.

Question:
I posted recently about having some items stolen from room, however I didn't realize until they had been gone for several days. I live with a roommate and after going around searching, I found my items at a pawnshop and my roommate is the one who took them. My plan is to move out all my shit tomorrow while he is gone, my mom lives about 30 minutes away so ill be fine for now. My issue is what do about my lost items. If I were to ask the pawn shop to look at my camera and just walk out with it would I get into trouble? I have all the packaging but they are going to make me pay to buy it back. Also what if I were to just take his TV as I moved out? Im guessing thats considered theft but there must be something I can do. Also would be interested in any info regarding the lease in my situation. It runs out in a month but I don't want to waste 800$ paying rent for an apartment I'm not living at.

Location is Indiana

Answer:
 Report it to the police, they will recover the items and there will be a record of who pawned the items as they usually have to provide some kind of ID.

Edit

Do not get yourself into trouble by taking something that does not belong to you, and no pawn shop would believe your story anyway.

'Hey, someone stole that item you have right there from me, here is the box or proof i bought it.' will not work.

You should probably inform them that it might be the one that was stolen from you so they can pull it from sale. Pawn shops are not aloud to sell stolen goods either.

Edit_

Make sure you contact a local police station, **not** 911/999 emergency number.Answer #2: Don't steal from a pawn shop. Contact the police. Answer #3: 1. You can't rob a pawn shop or steal your roommate's TV as revenge. If you do that, you're likely going to wind up in serious trouble.

2. Since you have proof that he stole your stuff and sold it, you should file a police report. That way, you can take the police report to the pawnbroker to try and recover your stolen items without having to purchase them. If they refuse to give them over, then you can go to court and [ask a judge to compel them](http://iga.in.gov/static-documents/c/9/2/c/c92cc141/TITLE28_AR7_ch5.pdf) to return your items.

3. As far as breaking the lease, you need to review the wording of your lease for your obligations here.Answer #4: Do NOT steal from a pawn shop. They typically have a ton of cameras and owners will go after thieves in court. Call the cops, tell them about the camera and give them whatever documents you have proving it's yours. The cops will retrieve it from the pawn shop.


Title: (HI) Driver hit a parked car that we are watching for a deployed sailor. Lied to her insurance. Where do we go from here?

Question:
EDIT: Location is Hawaii in case that isn't clear. The bot doesn't seem to think it is.

About a week ago, a woman hit a car that was parked across the street from our house. The car is pretty badly damaged. This car belongs to a deployed submariner who parked his car here so we could start it for him every once in a while so that the battery doesn't die. We have no way to directly contact him other than email and do not have power of attorney of his car.

Anyway, this woman tried to leave the scene of the accident and ended up at the end of the neighborhood around the corner. She called the police on herself though because her car would not move any further due to the damage. There is nothing in the police report considering it to be a hit and run. It just says minor motor vehicle collision.
The police did not take a statement from me because I did not witness it, but they gave me a copy of the police report which barely says anything. The girl's boyfriend showed up when we were talking to the police and offered to pay us cash instead of going through his insurance but we declined because it is not our car.

We called his insurance for him to report our side and we discovered he temporarily cancelled his insurance because he is going to be gone for half a year. They apparently told their insurance company that they already gave us three to four hundred dollars for the damages. First of all, this didn't happen. Second of all, the damages are going to be way more than that. The car is still sitting on the road because we really don't know what to do with it at this point in time so we have no clue how much the damage is worth. The drivers side rear tire is completely flat and off the axel, and that side is completely dented.

Is there anything we can do about her trying to lie to her insurance company? And what can we do to help this poor guy whose car probably got totaled while he was gone?

Answer:
 Do you have any idea what unit he is with? If you know his full name and other details, it might be worth trying to contact his command. Even if they're not able to relay things to him immediately, they'll at least know the first steps to take.Answer #2: > The car is still sitting on the road

> he temporarily cancelled his insurance because he is going to be gone for half a year.

Cancelling insurance was a mistake if the car is parked on the road...


Title: Co-signer is suing me

Question:
I'm in TN and I'm being sued in IL.
This is kind of crazy and it has become a cluster fuck, so any advice would be awesome. I had a loan go into default. Basically, I was under the assumption that the loan was in deferment since I qualified for it and submitted the proper work for my fellowship. I found out that the loan went into default when my co-signer sued me with a breach of contract. The bank never contacted me to tell me that payments are due.
The Plantiff is asking for close to 250,000 (pain and suffering) in repayment for various things. The Plantiff only paid 250 towards the loan and I already paid them that money back. When I found out that the loan was in default, I contacted the bank and arranged monthly payments with them.
 I got a lawyer to defend myself, but they did absolutely nothing, and they just withdrew from the case. The lawyer took all my savings and I have nothing now. Living far away from IL, it makes it very difficult to defend myself.
The plaintiff got a new lawyer recently too, and they were suppose to file a amended complaint, but that has yet to happen ( 3 months now). I have a few weeks left to get a new lawyer, but I do not have the money for this. Any advice would be awesome

Answer:
 Feels like a lot is missing from the story. Your cosigner is suing you for 100x what they paid? And your lawyer walked away?

Based on what you've written so far, this is the kind of thing where you show up and the judge laughs it out of court


Title: No running water in apartment for at least five days due to maintenance issue

Question:
Hey all, my apartment complex shut off the water yesterday for what was supposed to be four hours and now it will not be back until Tuesday at the earliest. I just overheard the maintenance guy and the plumber get into an altercation and the plumber walked out so Tuesday seems optimistic.

What at my rights here? Can I take the water I need to purchase off my rent.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm in Utah.

Answer:
 Running water is considered in Utah to be part of making a unit habitable, and not providing running water is a violation of the Fit Habitation Act. Your remedies are available [here](http://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title57/Chapter22/57-22-S6.html).

Water renders one unable to clean or eat (you have to do dishes, clean food, etc.).

I'd call up your property manager and first see what they're willing to grant you. If it comes back 'nothing', then send them a written notice of deficiency (per the instructions linked above) with a request for 4 days' of credit to be applied to your account.

As a landlord, 'no water' is an all-hands-on-deck kind of emergency. Especially in the winter (thankfully mild at the moment).


Title: [DE] Underpaid, paid under the table, horrible living conditions and some mental abuse by former employer

Question:
I was employed in the state of Delaware from late 2009 to mid 2012. The reason I am posting now is because I believe that some of the behaviors of my former employer are currently continuing.

For the first year and a half that I was working, I was being paid under the table and at minimum wage. I would work 50+ hours a week (some weeks closer to 80 hours) and not receive and overtime pay. One reason I stayed was because of some promises that were made (verbally of course) of a great future opportunity.

It wasn't until later that I demanded to have taxes taken out or I would quit. When I finally received a check, it was a handwritten check that was less than I was making before when I was being paid in cash. I was told that the check would be equal to my cash pay after a "raise".

I was also living in an "apartment" that was owned by my former employer. It wasn't until later that I found out this "apartment" was zoned at that time for commercial space.

On top of all of this there were times when I would be called fat, stupid and incapable of doing my job. Looking back now I see that it was almost a stockholm syndrome type of situation. My wife finally convinced me during the summer of 2012
to leave this terrible job.

Now I know there are other employees who worked for this employer who were paid the same way that I was, in cash and under the table, and one of them is still there.

Is there anything I could possibly do to either receive back pay, or is it too late now? Can I report this somewhere (department of labor)? I just want to see this nonsense stopped

Answer: Take this as a lesson to not work under the table. An employer who would pay you under the table would have no qualms about breaking other laws.  You can still report them to the IRS or your State's Dept or Revenue or Taxation but there's noting you can do about any pay you might be owed.


Title: I stole money from my company and they likely found out on Friday. What can I expect?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Well, you're right that that's a sob story, though none of it is relevant.

You'll be fired with cause, so no unemployment, and your employer can report you to the local prosecutor for embezzlement/theft. Without knowing your state, I can't guess at what statutes are in play, so it could be anywhere from a few months to a few years and possibly up to ten or fifteen grand in fines.

Given your wife's conditions, does she not qualify for some kind of government assistance? Answer #2: Fired, criminal charges, and obviously paying back the money you stole. Answer #3: I know you came here with the specific legal problem and you're preoccupied with other things, but your wife should find out if she's eligible for disability. This may never have had to happen.


Title: Can I legally leave my union? (California)

Question: I am a county worker and I am wondering if it is possible to leave my union and stop paying union dues? Because of Janus I'm wondering what can be done.

Answer:
 Legally, yes.  You can refuse to pay the dues.  Contact HR or whomever handles your payroll deductions, and contact the union and inform them of your decision in writing.

The thing is that once you do so, you're still entitled to the benefits of all collective bargaining done on your behalf.  But if enough people choose the same road as you do, the union will collapse.  You would then, essentially, have the same rights as a McDonald's worker -- state laws that govern minimum wage and overtime and a few other things, but that's all.

Without collective bargaining, the county can reduce your pay, change or eliminate benefits, eliminate your pension going forward (or drastically increase your contributions), and change other conditions of your employment, such as the value of seniority, working hours, holidays, leave, etc.  And you would have no recourse of ability to negotiate or change any of those things, unless you are so highly valued the county is willing to make a separate deal with you -- which, frankly, is unlikely.

It's up to you whether the protections that collective bargaining provides is worth the amount you pay in dues.

ETA: more information


Title: Grandma and dad died. House sold and now my dad's sister has vanished. (California)

Question:
She's the trustee. She sold the house and half of that money was supposed to go to my dad which then goes to me.

House sold mid December. She hasn't been reachable since. Is it really that easy to steal the estate money like that?

Idk what he fuck to do and apparently either does my probate attorney.

Answer:
 You'll have to track her down. I don't have much experience using investigators, but they do exist. The natural option for me is to file a lawsuit against her and subpoena all of her financial records, hopefully she has a credit card with a major issuer like Visa and that might help reveal where she went.

Remember, most people aren't smart enough to really disappear, and she's a stupid person. The major issue here is finding her before she blows the money.


Title: I'm growing a company that rents out inflatables for parties as a very young adult. I'm worried we could be held liable if a kid gets hurt. How should I proceed to avoid liability issues while minimizing the cost of doing so?

Question:
We're based in Kansas. Should I just make a waiver for customers to sign based off a template one on the internet? Is this enough legal protection or do I absolutely need something like insurance to cover my bases? We've prepared and are about to have our first event, do I even need to worry about stuff like insurance now while we're so small, and if not, when? Our end goal is to grow the company quickly to sell it. Thanks for any and all responses

edit: also, I realize it seems like a terrible time to start a company based on parties during covid-19, but it shouldn't be a legal issue where I am. And I personally don't consider it immoral. I just want legal advice.

Answer: You absolutely need insurance before your first event.


Title: Boss tells me not to eat lunch with coworker...can he do this?

Question:
So my boss tells the coworker and I (we are peers, neither reports to the other) that we cannot eat lunch together anymore. he didn't give a reason, just said others had noticed, and he wanted it to stop.
Little info to help:  We work in a department of 11, we are all salaried, we do not report to each other and there is no influence to be gained or lost by eating together, other members of the department eat together often...the only ones told not to are myself and one other person.  There is no perception of fraternization, because I am a lesbian and the other person is a gay male.  This company is located in TN, and is a huge company.

Answer:
 My guess:  OP and her co-worker are the only homosexuals in the department and somehow their lunching is too gay for others to handle.

To my knowledge, sexual orientation is not a protected class for employment discrimination under Federal EEOC or the [Tennessee Human Rights Act.](http://www.workplacefairness.org/file_TN)

I cannot imagine what the OP's boss thinks is to be gained by enforcing middle school clique rules in her lunchroom.


Title: Just got a couple of tickets, do I have a case?

Question:
california

edit 1: I should mention the officer watched this other driver honking and trying to cut past me and cutting me off and did nothing to stop it. Only when I retaliated did he put on his lights.

Everything in this post is alleged and never actually happened. It's a scenario I'm role playing with you guys.

One day I was driving down a street in a new car in my grandfathers name the day after it was bought. My insurance was up to date but in the name of another car. So I am driving down and make a left turn possibly without a signal? Don't remember and I was in a new area and I think I somehow rolled past a stop sign. I was distracted by something when I did it and it's all a little bit of a blur but this prius behind me was honking at me and driving strangely behind me. He/she pulls past me on the right sorta forcing me to another lane and I get really upset and stupid. I speed up and cross into a middle yellow lane or whatever and cut her off and brake a little bit. Officer pulls me over and I immediately ask him to pull her over as well questionning why he isn't and he responds with how he can only pull over one car or something. I obviously don't have new insurance for the car yet but I am thinking he pulled me over because this was a relatively expensive car. so we are fumbling with the stuff and he sees that my actually car is a 1997 lincoln and he sorta starts going easier on me. He really could have fucked me with reckless driving and arrested me and impounded the car maybe. So he wrote me a ticket for unsafe lane change, red light, following to closely, and insurance not in car. He explains how he could have marked me off for more things and that the red light was a school red light ticket. I didn't see one but it's really all a blur. It's a sunday scenario and maybe he was talking about a flashing school walk light? i have no idea. and he mumbled about how i was following to closely to the car but thats really me speeding up to cut him/her back off. So I'm really not sure what I can do here. I really don't remember if I did any other violation before all this took place besides the stop sign one but it could be. I don't remember.

Answer:
 I think you need to see somebody about your mental health.  That should be priority #1.Answer #2: No where in this jumble of words did I see a legal question or issue. From the gist of it I see that you broke some traffic laws. A cop saw you and ticketed you for those traffic laws.

Seems like and open and shut case. Pay the tickets.

Also, use paragraphs and properly formatted sentences.