Title: How to leave an at-will employment situation without 2 weeks notice

Question: Hi! I have a terrible, heinous, make-you-feel-like-your-less-than-cockroach-poop job. Thankfully, I will be leaving soon for another and going to grad school, but   I’m worried that if I give two weeks, they’ll shaft my hours and make life a living hell (they’ve done it to departing employees before). That said, I’m worried that if I don’t give two weeks, there might be paycheck issues (it’s direct deposit, but my horrible bosses son is somehow qualified to do payroll). Any advice for how to leave without two weeks and still get paid in a timely manner? I am not at all worried about references (my gm is great and leaving for similar reasons), just compensation.

Answer:
 You finish your last day and say "This was my last day. I'm done."

Your earned wages are your earned wages and must be paid out.Answer #2: > Any advice for how to leave without two weeks and still get paid in a timely manner?

You just say, "I quit," and then walk out.

Your state's laws dictate when you're entitled to your final pay.  If your employer fails to abide by the law concerning your final pay, you can either file a wage claim with your state's department of labor, or, if you're in one of the states that lacks a state-level DOL, with the federal DOL.


Title: I think I need to sue Amex, VRBO, and their payment company, Vacation Rent Payment.

Question:
I am a (now former) VRBO host. Amex allowed an obviously fraudulent chargeback and that has put my account in the negative with VRP. I cancelled my last guest since I will no longer be using VRBO and they are refusing to refund the 2nd guest because my account is negative.
VRBO doesn't have any power to force VRP to refund the guest. They are two completely separate companies.
Bottom line VRP is trying to keep guest B's payment to cover the losses of guest A's fraudulent chargeback. *a host does not get paid out until after a guest checks in, I cancelled guest B so I have never, nor will I ever, have her funds.
If anyone has any advice, I'd certainly appreciate it.

Answer: Your recourse is to sue the guest who did the chargeback.


Title: Coin-Operated Gamecube - How do I do this legally?

Question:
I'm part of a club on a NYS college campus, and we're setting up a few arcade games in the student lounge to provide funding for scholarships and large projects the students wish to do.

We have an extra coin-acceptor and I've got a GameCube I'm willing to donate, so I'd like to put together a coin-operated super smash brothers game.

The way I'd have it set up is that a quarter goes into the coin acceptor, and it adds 30 minutes to a coundown timer. As long as the timer is above 0, the controllers are enabled. When it hits 0, the controllers are electronically disconnected from the unit and any game in progress is paused.

I want this to be legal, so I'm concerned about the difference between the idea of the money being for use of the game (and all its licencing) vs the money being used to "rent" use of the controllers for pre-determined periods of time.

I don't even know where to start looking to see if this is allowed, or if Nintendo has special licensing in place that would guide a project like this to be completed within set terms. It's a nonprofit, so if it absolutely requires me contacting Nintendo directly to set terms I probably could reach an agreement, as we've done this once before with SEGA-AM3 for upgrading the hardware on one of their coin-op machines. I'd just rather have this gamecube one done as soon as possible instead of wading through legal departments.

Answer: Nintendo owns the rights to the game and the system. It will be tough to get them to consent to it. They probably would deny it. Heck, they're suing someone for throwing a Pokemon themed party. Answer #2: Instead of coin operated stuff, I'd suggest renting out the space that just happens to have a gamecube there.


Title: Disability Parking out of state

Question:
So I am a (relatively recently) disabled college student. I am a resident of Colorado, but I’m from Washington state and my family is still there. My doctor agrees a disability parking placard is the best bet for me due to limited walking ability. The problem arises because my car is registered under my dad’s name in Washington state, with Washington insurance. Colorado does not accept insurance from Washington, and I can’t afford my own insurance plan, so even if I got the title transferred I can’t get Colorado plates. I know to get a placard in CO/most states you need the car registered under your name and registered in the same state you are applying for the placard in. Can I change the title in WA and keep the car registered there, and get a disability placard in WA, even though I am a CO resident? I know some states have lax rules about car registration for out of state students who go back and forth. Basically my question is are there any feasible options for me to get a disability placard so I can drive between classes and keep going to school? Thanks so much for any advice you can provide.
Topic:
Disability Issues

Answer: You do not need a vehicle or a license to get a placard. I have a severely disabled family member that gets rides from friends and family, she keeps her placard in her purse and then puts it up - in whatever vehicle she's in - if parking requires her to use it at her destination.


Title: (USA) Driver hit me head on in front of son's house and ran into house to chug beers

Question:
Yep, I live in the middle of nowhere and some idiot who was drunk drove into my lane and hit me head on. He was turning into his sons house and right after the accident (he did make sure I was ok and admitted he wasn't looking ahead) he went into his sons house to get beer to "calm his nerves"

i could tell he was already drunk and i got the feeling he was doing this to cover his ass and tell the police he drank after the accident.

when the officer arrived (took 20 minutes and the guy had drank 2 beers at this point), i told the officer that he appeared drunk after the crash and immediately went to drink a beer. i told him he admitted fault.

the officer claimed that there may not be sufficient evidence to make it 100% his fault. and that because he drank at the property, he couldn't test for that.

at the end, the officer couldn't prove fault. Even after i told him that the driver immediately admitted fault (he must've lied), the fact he drank beers right after, and that he was in my fucking lane?

what the fuck do i do?!?!?!

Answer:
 You let your insurance do what you pay them to do. File a claim.Answer #2: This is exactly why you bought car insurance. Call them up and tell them.Answer #3: NAL: You file an insurance claim, tell your side of the story and let them do the leg work. While it sucks that guy was driving drunk, the important thing is that you're okay and your car can be repaired/replaced. Let the insurance companies duke it out, you've done everything that can be reasonably expected of you. Answer #4: There was a case once where the perp did the same thing after a serious fatal crash... but good detective work found the perps blood on his steering wheel, where it was proven his BAL was too high at the moment of the impact.

That said, your only recorse is to contact your insurance company.

And for next time, get a dash cam, and record everything.  All conversations, even if just on your phone.


Title: [CA] Can my school force me to do volunteer work for the Salvation Army?

Question:
Not sure if this goes here but I don't know where else to ask.

My public high school has an event called "project day" every 6 weeks. It's a pass or fail grade, and it does count for a credit. I'm a senior, and this Friday we have to either volunteer for a retirement home, or volunteer for the Salvation Army.

Students had an option for which organisation to assist with. However, this information was distributed via English classes, which I'm not a part of. Instead, I received a letter saying I'm signed up to volunteer for the Salvation Army by default as the retirement home had enough volunteers.

I don't support the Salvation Army at all. They're one of the worst organisations out there in my opinion. I emailed my teacher asking to switch me for this exact reason, but she never responded.

Can my school force me to volunteer or else they'll give me a failing grade? Who do I talk to so I don't have to volunteer for the Salvation Army?

Tl,dr; My high school is forcing me to volunteer for the Salvation Army, an organisation I do not want to help. Can they do this? How do I avoid this?

Answer:
 Schools requiring volunteer work or community service is definitely legal.  Here's a discussion:

http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1149&context=lcp

However the Salvation Army is an [explicitly religious](http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/what-we-believe) organization and there's a good argument that you shouldn't be required to do work for them specifically.  Speak to the teacher in person, no cowardly emailing, and tell them you wish to complete the community service requirement in some other way.  If the teacher is unhelpful speak to the principal.  If the principal is unhelpful speak to the superintendent.

If the school is absolutely unwilling to bend, you might consider contacting the local branch of the ACLU.


Title: Can Kroger press charges against my friend?

Question: Earlier today my friend went to his local Kroger and asked for $20 cash back on one of the self-checkout machines. He didn't get the cash from the machine and so he went to an attendant to ask them for help. They kept his receipt, gave him the money, and sent him on his way. Later that day, he needed to make another cash-back transaction. After he did it this time, the money still didn't come out. So he went to an attendant and asked for help. They told him that they have been having issues with a gentleman doing the exact same thing repeatedly. They wrote down his full name, and they have his receipt. Can they press charges against him and say that he has been lying about receiving cash back from those machines?

Answer:
 If they have evidence that he is lying about it, they can absolutely report the matter to the police, who will investigate and take the case to the prosecutor's office.

It is they who press charges.Answer #2: So basically your entire post is a lie and your question is actually about whether or not your, "friend" will get in trouble for this obviously illegal thing?


Title: (PA) Told I needed to cut my hair to keep promotion.

Question:
Just a brief question about if this is discrimination.

I was recently given a promotion at work. I work in a bar and I am currently working in the position and was told that I cannot keep the position much longer unless I cut my hair. Pretty much only until we do our hiring for the season, so they can put an "attractive girl" in the position. Unless I cut my hair.

I'm a man with shoulder length hair, that I keep tied back. No where in the employee manual kept on the floor or that was given to me when I was hired (4 years ago) does it say men cannot have long hair.

I'm just curious if this sounds like discrimination, or if there's ground for them to require this of me. With PA being an At Will state, I'm worried that if I call them out on the double standard, they can fire me. I feel like it's not even legal for them to tell me that when the girls that work there have very long hair.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Answer:
 It isn't discrimination unless the length of your hair is related to your religion.

Employers can establish different dress and hygiene codes for male and female employees. Answer #2: Just cut your damn hair and be professional about it. If they want you to look more professional and you refuse, absolutely they can demote you. it's not illegal. Jobs can have requirements about your appearance. They have dress codes, etc, if you don't follow it, they can let you go. And they can it change any time they want to. Recently my job changed their dress code policy to say that women cannot wear leggings, and as a leggings lover I didn't like it but I suck it up and comply because leggings are less important to me than my job, and I would like to stay employed here.


Title: [Montreal, Quebec, Canada] Landlord asking for $50 fine for bounced rent cheque that THEY first lost, then found, then submitted and clashed with my car payment that left me $2 short of the rent amount. Do I have grounds to refuse? (Details in text).

Question:
* Gave landlord 2 post-dated rent cheques - for April and May.

* 10/10 times rent has gone out from my account on the 1st business day of the month.

* **1st of May** - Rent fails to go out - I wonder why. Stop wondering because could be n number of issues between landlord and my bank account.

* **10th of May** - Admin asst sees me walking to my apt, says, "You didn't pay rent for May". I'm dumbfounded, I clearly remember giving her 2 post-dated cheques. I say, "Really?". She replies, "I saw your name on the 'rent-not-paid' list" (This is a list to whom they deliver a stern "pay your rent" letter).

* I say, "Ok, hold on, let me check to see my bank balance if it went out". I check, nope, rent still not gone through. I am in a bit of panic. I pull out my chequebook, and go to the office. *Before I go there* I call my girlfriend (we live together), and she clearly remembers giving them 2 post-dated cheques.

* I go to the office, where the admin asst., and the landlord are there. I pull out my chequebook, and say, "Ok, can you guys please check, because I am with Bank X, and this is what the cheque looks like."

* They fumble through the cabinet, and whaddaya know, there's my cheque for May right there.

* Landlord apologies, and I think that's the end of that.

* They deposit the cheque the next day, and I am unaware that because my car payment has gone out the day before, I am not $2 short of the rent. **The cheque bounces**.

* I get a call from the rental office on the 14th saying the cheque bounced. I go through the motions and (bloody hell) I figure out what happened.

* I got to them on the 15th and give them another cheque, and make sure I have the entire amount this time.

* In my lease, there is a clause that if the cheque bounces that I must pay $50 fine for any reason whatsoever.

* I feel that it was negligence on their part that caused this to happen and that I should not have to pay any fine.

* I wonder, what if the admin asst never encountered me on the day she did? Then I would have received a stern letter, and (according to the same lease) this time, have had to pay a $150 rent-non payment fine.

---

Do I have grounds to refuse the $50 fine?

Answer: This is your fault for not keeping track of your balance. When you write a check you have to act like the money isn't in your account anymore.  Furthermore, the party you write a check to has no obligation to deposit it right away. "You waited to long" only becomes germane after several months, not several weeks, when the check staledates. A couple of weeks is nothing.


Title: [CA] Other driver hit and totaled family member's car on the freeway. Their insurance (Geico) says they cannot legally compensate family member for more than the value Geico's third party estimate service determined my car was worth. Is this true?

Question:
A bit more detail: the collision was 100% the other driver's fault. He fell asleep at the wheel and collided with my family member's rear bumper at high speed and totaled the vehicle. Insurance agreed that it was the other driver's fault, inspected the vehicle, and determined it was totaled. They then told us that their third-party value estimate service valued the car at ~$6000. When we asked for a little more, being that it would be very difficult to purchase an equivalent car at this price without paying some out-of-pocket, and just for the inconvenience, they claimed that they could not legally compensate us for more than the value they specified (plus a few odds and ends like registration costs on the new vehicle).

I spoke to a friend who has some legal experience but is not a lawyer. They said that Geico's claim was a lie, and they were limited only by the total value of the policy of the other driver. I wanted to get more than one source on this before calling them out, but my google fu has been failing me, so I wanted to check in here so I can be very sure.

Are they legally allowed to give us more than the value of the car + some related fees? How much leverage do we have and how can we best negotiate more money if so? The car in question was one we all loved, and if Geico lied to us about how much they were allowed to pay out (we requested a pretty reasonable amount, top-range bluebook plus a bit extra for registration and related fees, only about $1500 more than the value they offered), we are feeling especially inclined to milk them for more money, since lying about this would be a particularly scummy thing to do.

Any advice?

Answer: You're entitled to the fair market value of the car before the accident occurred. If you think their estimate is too low, you can send them evidence to back up your claim, like identical cars with similar mileage and in similar condition for sale in your area. If those other cars are selling for around $6,000, and the fair market value is $6,000, then $6,000 is what you get. Answer #2: They're legally allowed to pay you as much as they want. They're not legally *required* to pay you any more than the fair market value of the car before the crash. If you sued the driver and won, you would receive the same amount.


Title: My Mother signed up for a credit card in my name, recently passed away. Unbeknownst to me, she racked up a $5,000 balance.

Question:
I'll try to keep this brief and skip most unnecessary details. My Mother (52F) signed me (25M) up for a Discover card without my permission just under two years or so ago. This was not desirable, but from what I understood, closing it would hurt my credit. I decided to keep it as an emergency credit line, should anything happen. Recently, my Fiance was laid off, and we still had three months left on a lease I could not afford on my own. We managed to hold out until the end of the lease, and found a nice (and far less expensive) place to move into, however by this time our funds were basically depleted. I used this card for the first time, in order to get a cash advance to cover the security deposit so we could move in. On the day we were to start the move (about six weeks ago), my Mother passed away in her sleep very unexpectedly. The financial situation (Read: her debts) did not look too bad, and my Father was able to handle the expenses for what followed with only some difficulty, although we were crushed emotionally. I recently remembered the cash advance I had made and sought to pay it, however I did not have access to the Discover account. Using her email and devices, I managed to gain access to the account, only to find that she had been apparently using the card for some time now, and had racked up a substantial balance. We just got out of one hole, and although my Fiance is thankfully employed again, this is a major hit to our finances. Do I have any options here?

Thanks in advance.

Answer: No, you don't have options, because when you used the credit card, you accepted the debt as yours. You had a responsibility to notify the credit card company that the card was issued without your authorization as soon as you discovered that fact.


Title: I think I was just illegal evicted. Ohio

Question: My wife and I signed a joint lease for a townhome that has 2 months left on it. We were offered a chance to rent a country house which is far better for our situation. We moved into their house but intended to just maintain the lease on our townhome instead of breaking it since the fees to break it would equal about the same as just finishing out the lease. We got a notice of a final bill from our energy company so I went to ask the manager at the townhouses why. With no contact to us they had been told by our neighbors that we moved and even though we were current on rent they removed our remaining few possessions, listed, and then rented the apartment. I found this out after going to remove them when I was told they had terminated our lease. Our lease has an early move out fee of 150 dollars but that pales in comparison to the thousands we have paid in rent without knowing when our townhome was listed and then re-rented to another tenant. There is an Abondonment Clause in the lease but it specifically includes failure to pay rent which we are current on having just paid August's rent on July 31. Is this an illegal eviction?  Can we get our rent and property value paid back to us?  As well I would like to know what electricity or water was used by them after we left as it will be on our bill but we didn't use it.  I have already emailed 2 law offices. Just curious about the thoughts here.

Answer:
 It is time to sue here.

1) This is absolutely an illegal eviction.

2) A lease is selling someone exclusive rights to use a property. They can't possibly sell two different people exclusive rights to the same property.
Answer #2: >Is this an illegal eviction?  Can we get our rent and property value paid back to us?

Yes and yes. Unless you told your landlord that you were specifically moving out and terminating the lease early, you have a right to possession of the premises until your lease ends as long as you are paying rent. The landlord cannot collect rent from tenants under more than one lease for the same unit. Answer #3: Contact the Ohio bar association and they will refer you to a lawyer that will help you recoup your money and money for belongings. This is absolutely illegal.


Title: The IRS says I can’t sell my screenprints and shirts at vending events anymore because I didn’t report and pay them for art sales at a charity event, but I didn’t sell anything at that event.

Question: Hey about a year ago a friend and I participated in this charity event that was a total bust. We didn’t sell anything and so we didn’t report anything to the IRS. Then we got a letter from the IRS saying that we didn’t report it and so we owed them 45 bucks.  We did pay it but we paid it late. The letter also said we are not allowed to sell at events anymore.  The thing is we are wanting to get our vending licenses for summer vending events, and we don’t know if that’s going screw us over.  Do you think I can call the IRS and be able to vend again? Do I need to get a lawyer involved? Did I wait too long to do anything about since it was at least over a year ago ?

Answer:
 My guess is you don't want the IRS but the Utah department of Revenue (or whatever they are called) and this is a sales tax issue.

Call them and ask.

My educated guess from working in a different state is that as long as you paid what you owed you can get the license, and they will tell you what is required.

But honestly start by calling them.


Title: Assaulted by an MD, should I see a lawyer? If so what kind? Or should I just complain to the ethics board?

Question:
hello,
I have a medical implant that needs to be occasional modified by a doctor, with a rather large needle.  I had seen this new doctor for the 2nd time when he took the needle and jabbed hard in an area 6-7 inches away from even the edge of the implant (the needle needs to go directly in the middle of the device) causing severe pain, bleeding and intense fear. I had a relative there with me who witnessed it, and after the MD did that, he took me into a private room where he said very threatening things to me before sticking me with the needle again and filling the pump correctly.

I've talked to a lawyer and they've said that the only thing I can do is complain to the ethics board, that because there was no permanent physical damage that I cannot do anything.

However, this has had such a traumatic effect on me that I really can no longer work with doctors without have intense fear of being attacked.  While I do want to complain to prevent other people from going through this, it does seem absurd that assaulting a patient with a medical instrument isn't something a lawyer can deal with.

Did I talk to the wrong person, would this person really have had to stab me in my heart with the needle and caused permanent heart damage to be able to have a case against him? They've already inflicted grievous psychological wounds that have seriously altered my ability to get proper care,

Answer:
 I'll ignore the fact that your story is incredibly far fetched.

Malpractice is fact specific and costs a lot of money...so if you have no real damages except for "grievious psychological wounds" that I'm sure you've been treating with a psychiatrist for, it wouldn't be worth it financially to litigate your case from a malpractice standpoint.

Civil battery would be another story since you don't necessarily need expert testimony, however you still don't have much by way of damages except for those psych bills that I'm sure you've been incurring to date instead of just using legal buzzwords in your post.

Also, there is the fact working against you that there is much more to this story and the doctor in all likelihood had permission from you to do the procedure, thus defeating any battery claims you could come up with.


Title: Served with a summons by a deb collector

Question:
 *(reposted because bot said no location and it never showed on front page)*

\-- throw away account for privacy

Hello folks. I'm here hoping you can at least tell if it's worth getting a lawyer or should I go to court or just let them pass the judgment? Story, summons and questions below. Please ask me any additional questions as needed and thank you in advance for any advice you can give. Location is Washington state, US.

**Summons**: From the time of serving (2 days ago), I have 20 days to respond to a court summon. It says if I don't, they will rule in favor of the plaintiff. They want 2300 (the original bills amount), plus 1k legal fees, plus statutory attorney fees of 200, plus reasonable attorney fees, plus a few other small fees. It's for bills that were due in 2014 (3 total), 2015 (1 total) and 2018 (3 total).

**Story**: This is a specific set of medical bills for my wife that weren't being sent to us originally (the 2014-2015 bills) and then we missed the newer ones they sent in 2018. When I found this out (before the 2018 ones), I reached out to original biller (the hospital) but they wouldn't work with us. I reached out to the financial company but they would only set us up with a payment plan that included additional interest and fees if we wouldn't pay it all up front. My past dealings with these sorts of companies told me I should ignore them and wait for a better deal (they'd pass it on or it would hit my wife's credit, which is already shit), AND they were incredibly rude and annoying, so I did just that.

So in short, I could have paid the more recent bills (the 2018 ones) if I had been paying attention when they came in (my wife has horrible credit and we previously hadn't been paying much attention to mail with her name). I should have paid the 2014-2015 bills but didn't know about them until they went to collections. I also could have made a deal with the financial company previous to this, even if they are egregious assholes. Those things make me think I'm just screwed here.

I have the money to pay, but it will completely tap my meager savings, which is heart-wrenching since I've only just built it back up after having been laid off and out of work for 6 months about two years ago.

**Questions**

1. Is there anything I can do beyond just agreeing with the summons details and letting them pass judgment for probably 4-5k? The financial company is rude, mean, and abrasive and I don't like dealing with them. But it looks like I've lost this one?
2. Would getting a lawyer help in any way? At this point, I think I'm just adding to my fees.
3. Is there any reason to show up to court?
4. Any advice beyond paying it?
5. What happens if they pass judgment on me? Do cops show up at my door asking for payment? Do they put a lien on my house?

*TLDR*; I've got a 4-5k court summons and I don't know what to do.

Answer:
 If you dont show up, they will win a default judgement for their ask.  A judgement will hang out on her credit for at least 10 years (some jurisdictions allow up to another 10 year extension).  No cop is going to show up at your door, but the court may demand an accounting of her assets.

If it isnt paid, they will a) attempt to garnish wages or b) if they figure out where she banks, one day, you will wake up to find amy account with her name on it completely drained.  And this will keep happening until the judgement is paid in full. When a bank receives a court order for this, they can not inform you until after the draining has occurred.  So, the question is: does your wife feel like spending the next 20 years either unbanked or with an axe hanging over her head.

A bit of practical advice:  when a debt has gone to the collection stage, it is no longer a customer service relationship, it is a collectibility issue.  They dont care if you find them abrasive,  they dont want to do business with you anymore, they just want money.  And less than friendly dealings have a better chance of coming through.

Your best bet to avoid a default judgement is to contact them and offer a settlement (this will involve the fees/interest prior to charge off).  To do so, you would have to get past your aversion to their attitude towards you.


Title: Apartment had my car towed while on a business trip

Question:
Hopefully this should be cut and dry (I suspect that the answer lies in my lease), but I would love an outside opinion as well.

Facts... I live in Texas.  I was on an overseas business trip for almost 3 months.  During month 1, my apartment complex put out letters on the doors of everyone in the complex informing the residents that they were issuing parking permits and that anyone without a permit would be towed.  The changes would be enforced within a month of the date the notices went out.  I was never called or sent an email (my normal form of communication with the property managers) about this change.

I arrived home to find out that my car had in fact been towed.  I've incurred ~$450 in charges due to this incident between paying for the towing fees etc.  I dodged a real bullet here, my car was towed only a few days before I arrived home.  Had I been gone longer, or had the towing company taken it sooner, I could have been out thousands in storage fees.

To be made whole, I want to recover the cost of the tow, and I want to make sure that the property managers communicate with me via email when there is a policy change so that we can avoid these kinds of things in the future.

Answer: Was the complex's office aware that you would be away and that only email would be a reasonable way to reach you?


Title: Advice for father trying to take children on holiday abroad (USA) x-post from r/divorce

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 If you can't get her to agree to a passport, you'd have to get a court order. As in a divorce. A divorce court would likely allow you to take the kids to Spain and get passports if her only objection is a fear of flying.

Divorces can last a few months or a few years, depending on the parties and the issues. It's impossible to predict. Answer #2: It sounds like you have a relationship problem more than a legal one. Your wife can keep the children from getting a US passport. I would not recommend trying to get them an EU passport behind her back either.Answer #3: If they have passports, you can just take them and deal with the fallout from your wife (this is a relationship as opposed to a legal matter). Keep in mind that if this is the catalyst for a divorce, it may not go well for you as a judge will not look favorably on you for taking the kids out of the country against the wishes of their mother.

If they do not have passports, this gets more complicated. Your wife is right to be concerned as you are considered a high flight risk. A judge may agree with her, and the courts tend to err on the side of keeping minor children within the borders of the US.

In any case, you should be aware that taking children out of the country and away from their parent and against the wishes of said parent is a VERY bold move and inherently risky. You need to discuss this with a family law attorney before doing anything.


Title: Neighbor brandished AR-15 rifle at me. Sheriff's deputy said nothing he can do. Is that true?

Question:
Ohio. Today I spotted my neighbor mowing down a small meadow area I have as part of my landscaping design. He was well into my property by more than 40 feet from the recently surveyed line, so I went over to ask him why he was doing that. He was on his mower as I walked onto his driveway and shouted to get his attention. I never got closer than 80 feet from him as these are large properties. Suddenly he shut down his mower, started screaming at me about not letting him do what he wants, and ran into his house. A minute later he popped out holding an AR-15 and continued shouting, and threatening to kill me. He did not point the weapon at me, but just waved it around.

I called the sheriff's department and a deputy came out, talked to him, and told me there's nothing he can do because it's not illegal to carry a weapon on your own property. He also said neighbor denied the threat to my life and told him he felt threatened by me, despite my being unarmed and standing still so far from him we had to shout. He did file a report and said he'd send to to the prosecutor's office, and recommended I file a criminal order of protection.

Did the deputy inform me accurately? Despite the fact that I was on the neighbor's driveway, it seems like menacing and brandishing charges should be possible. I wanted him arrested but the deputy declined for reasons stated.

1. Is there a way to escalate this within a sheriff's department, and should I try?
2. Without charges, can I even get a criminal order of protection in Ohio? This neighbor has always been unstable and volatile, and after this I'm feel iffy about being outside or letting my dog out into my fenced yard.

Answer: Put of cameras to charge him with trespassing and destruction of property.


Title: I am getting bullied, harassed, and physically threatened at work and would like to know my legal advice.

Question:
I posted in r/relationships asking for advice on this situation and was directed here. I copied and pasted my post here, hopefully that is okay? Thank you in advance for your help.

>Okay, I posted asking for advice in a less populated subreddit specific to hotel employees, but am a pretty frequent lurker of this subreddit and wanted help. Since my last post (linked below - didn't get much attention), things escalated pretty quickly when I caught Donald selling rooms on the side. (Basically renting rooms by the hour, keeping the cash, and cleaning them back up himself). Here is my [original post](http://www.reddit.com/r/relationships/comments/310i6w/i_27f_am_a_recently_promoted_hotel_supervisor_and/).

>Friday things escalated massively and I have no idea how to act around the guy anymore. Even though I had proof that he was doing sketchy shit on the side, Donald vehemently denied everything, avoided every question I asked and cut me off when I tried to talk to our GM. My GM didn't want to deal with Donald anymore, so he left and told me he would call me later to discuss it. The minute my GM left the building, Donald came up to my desk and asked me to come outside and talk to him. I told him that I didn't think we had anything to discuss and that I had a ton of work to do before I left for the day. He said he would either confront me outside, or at my desk and that I could choose. Not wanting to cause a scene, I stepped outside with him. He immediately got in my face and said that there was no way he was guilty. He asked why I had such a hard on for him, and why I was trying to get him in trouble. At this point I just said "You have to admit it looks sketchy" and walked back into the office. He followed me in and continued to scream at me, so I told him that I didn't want to discuss it and tried to walk to the front desk.

>He then cut me off, closed the door to the front desk and kept blocking my path to it. I admit that I got defensive and argued a little when he kept coming at me, but I quickly started to repeat that I didn't want to talk to him right now. He then started screaming that he had nothing to do with the guest we were discussing (the one who paid him cash on the side to stay in the room). He told me to look in our reservation system and I would see that he didn't touch her reservation. I pulled up the reservation in question, and sure enough his name was alllll over it. At this point, he corners me at my desk and is just screaming at the top of his lungs at me. I am a 5'1 little white woman and he is a muscled 6 foot black man, I started shaking like a leaf. He was scaring me. I told him that the conversation was over. That he needed to walk away from me, but he just talked over me louder and ignored what I was saying. My coworker, Sally, came up and told him to leave saying that it looked like he was about to hit me.

>Donald left for a few minutes, then came back and yelled at me again. I was just sitting at my desk at this point, looking down, shaking, and trying not to cry. He decides now would be the perfect time to yell "You don't get to play the little scared white girl and make me the big scary black man." Again, Sally told him to leave and he did. I honestly felt physically threatened. He was raising his arms and bowing up like he planned to push or hit me. I don't know how to describe it because I have never been in a situation quite like it. I was scared of him for sure.

>As soon as I left the building, I called my GM and told him everything that had happened. He called Donald and told him to go home for the day. He then told me that Donald was suspended pending investigation.

>On Saturday, my boss called me and told me that Donald was definitely getting fired and that he was going to do it that day. He called me on Sunday and said the same thing. Monday morning, he still hadn't fired Donald but he had been trying to call him to do so. Then, my GM apparently talked to his boss and told her everything and they decided that with so little documentation, Donald could sue us and win. They gave him his job back. He will be here in 2 hours and I have no clue how to handle it.

>I am his boss and he scares the shit out of me. It shouldn't be like this. He shouldn't have a job. I am pissed at my upper management and completely unsure how to handle things from here on out.
Any advice you can give would be helpful!!

>Tl;Dr - I caught an employee doing shady shit, turned him into my GM. Employee cornered me and made me feel threatened, boss didn't fire him. Not sure how to handle working with someone I am scared of now.

>Edit: He is here to apologize. He wants to talk to me alone. Soooo not comfortable. Wish me luck.

Edit - I forgot to mention that I am in Texas!

Edit 2: Just noticed the title. I meant legal options! Sorry about that, long day.

Answer:
 Report the threats to your GM, if he continues to ignore him, report them to your HR department if you have one.

If you dont have an HR department, and the GM continues to ignore you time to start looking for a new job.

Also, dont be alone with him, if he wants to have a "confrontation" at your desk, all the better that's him causing a scene infront of witnesses.Answer #2: Texas is a one-party recording consent state.  Get a voice recorder or video-and-sound recorder, keep it in your pocket and turned on, and save any future interactions with "Donald".


Title: I'm going to court tomorrow for a ticket that is impossible for me to pay. Location Ohio

Question:
I am an AmeriCorps volunteer (government volunteer program), as part of AmeriCorps I only receive a living stipend of ~850 dollars a month after taxes. The ticket I was issued for speeding (41 in a village whose entire speed limit is 25) is literally 32% of my biweekly paycheck.
Obviously, I’m already struggling extremely financially. I asked for a continuance and still wasn’t able to pay by my new court date, which I was out of town for. They issued a warrant for me, but luckily I had someone pay my bond.
I know it was stupid to not address this earlier, but now I’m indebted to my friend and still might get stuck paying the ticket, which is impossible for me.

My new court date is tomorrow and I am terrified of being forced to pay anything more. I’m not sure what I should say in court when they ask me what my plea is. I am so desperately broke and not sure what my options are here. Please help?

Answer: Ask for a payment planAnswer #2: You can explain this to the court and throw yourself at their mercy. The court may be willing to waive the fee, decrease it, or allow a structuring a payment plan. I would suggest in the future not committing crimes you can't afford to handle the ramifications of.


Title: [CA] After a 30 day notice, can my landlord force me to leave for "one weekend and one weekday per week" so that she can show my room to new tenants?

Question: I'm currently renting a bedroom in a house in Solano County. I'll be moving out by the 4th. My landlord is demanding that I provide her with one weekend and one weekday each week until then where I won't be here so she can show the room. All of my property is still here, and I've paid for the entirety of October.

Answer:
 It's your space until 11/4. Your landlord can't force you to not be present when she tries to show the space.

I'd politely email her back and advise you'd like to be present for any showings.Answer #2: I just went through the same thing in Cal recently.

Civil Code 1354 states she can give notice to enter within a 24 notice. Normal business hours are Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., unless permission is obtained from you. She cannot show the house too frequently either, or you can claim a disturbance of "peaceful enjoyment."

Also, you may be home, she CANNOT force you out. When she shows up, I would have my video camera ready. If she attempts to force you out, call the police, so they can explain your rights to her.

If things persist to get worse, she HAS the right to enter, but CANNOT force entry. You can deny her entry, at which point she would have to file for eviction against you, but you would have a chance to tell your side of the story to a judge.

Most important, document, document everything.Answer #3: Also, document EVERYTHING when you move out. Take video of the whole apartment. Someone who'll do this will also play games with your security deposit.


Title: If I'm allowed to pump $20 of gas first, and then go in and pay with a $20 bill, and the cashier says they don't accept cash, am I legally entitled to claim that it's a debt and I don't need to pay? See comments for more details.

Question:
It's not a common scenario, because one generally must prepay.

But in [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/badlegaladvice/comments/hwbc89/us_senator_gives_out_terrible_advice/), redditors claim that the Mississippi state senator gave bad legal advice for this exact same scenario.  But it's also noted that if someone allowed you to pump first and then pay, that would be considered "a debt" and would fall under the rule that a $20 bill is legal tender for any such debt.

EDIT:  Upon further research, there actually are a few states and cities that ban cashless retail establishments. See https://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2019/08/is-it-legal-for-businesses-to-refuse-to-take-cash.html. I haven't dug into the law to see if the refusal actually eliminates your debt.

I wonder how that would be handled in the case of a stubborn retail owner. Would one have to call the police to enforce such a civil dispute? Or would it still be a crime to leave the establishment if they didn't accept the cash?

Answer: If they don’t tell you beforehand that they don’t accept cash then you can use cash to pay. If they don’t accept it then it doesn’t mean you don’t owe it. It means they now have to make arrangements with you to come collect at your convenience.


Title: Got arrested in Las Vegas, NV with some e and xanax at the day club, any advice?

Question:
This would be my first offense ever so I'm pretty nervous about whats going to happen.
I was bringing some drugs in for my friends and I dropped 9 e pills and 2 xanax at the security check...I got scheduled for a court date with the charge of possession of a controlled substance (felony charge). I live in California so I'll have to drive back to Vegas to go to court, does anyone have some advice? Should I lawyer up for something like this? What kind of sentence can I expect?

Answer:
 You absolutely 100% need a lawyer, especially if you've got a felony charge. Sometimes lawyers aren't for proving innocence but are for negotiating the mildest possible punishment.Answer #2: >Should I lawyer up for something like this?

You should absolutely get a lawyer if you are facing a felony.


Title: Hired by a Shoe Designer: Fashion Industry job opprotunity gone very wrong. Advice please :)

Question:
I Started working here as an unpaid intern in January. The business owner scouted me and asked me if id like to work for her because she would pay me well after some months if i proved myself capable of the demanding job.
She kept no timesheet system durring my internship but i know i was working well over 35-45hrs a week. There was no work schedule, she would call or text when we where going to work on a whim, sometimes within the same day, sometimes the night before, and sometimes she'd keep me hanging till the day was wasted before she decided to message me and say "nevermind we dont have to go in today im tired." Reguardless she expected me to post on the business social media accounts every 3 hours even if she had "given me the day off".
There was no written job description. Just verbal assignments given by her. There was no implimented break system. When i asked her about the timesheets or breaks she just casually said "oh just take your break sometime at 9 then sometime between noon and 1, or you can just combine your break. But never really gave us time to stop work and take breaks. I was probably only really able to take breaks for a few days scattered here or there. And if we where scheduled to work an event then there where no breaks at all.

So there was all that work with no pay and i was but 1 of 2 employees.
So its safe to assume we really did everything. When i asked about any of the above concerns she would simply tell me " industry jobs are different then what you're probably used to."

Im independent therefore i need to make my own income. I was searching for other work durring my time as an unpaid intern but the whimsical schedule made it hard to make interview appointments or provide hours of availability. Granted im at fault for being gullible and not quitting the internship due to the ever lingering promise of being paid well and being hired soon as her Personal Assistant.( The words she kept repeating to me. )

As i became more and more poor working for her i requested a leave of absence to find a job that pays me or i suggested that she could hire me instead. At the beginning of april. Her response was that she would allow me to go look for a different job, or that i could send her an email and continue to prove myself and she would hire me.
At the time i had no money for rent and was backed in a corner so i took her offer and stuck it out expecting to be hired within april.

The company schedule at the beginning of the month was "so busy" she refused to tell me when she was hiring me but promised that id be hired on in time to pay rent. Before long it was nearing the end of the month and her response was that she would officially hire me as a paid employee May 1st. I was devastated. To top it off it was too late to look elsewhere and be hired sooner.

 Then there was discussion of my Pay. It was to be salary, paid biweekly. She gave no specific payday dates. The amount she offered initially to pay me was 1200 a month for my fulltime work. I turned it down and said i would work for no less than 1800 a month, to which she agreed.

Nothing but a general job application form, a confidentiality agreement i cant even read/understand, and an employee equipment check out for my workphone and tablet was filled out.

At the beginning of may I asked her for time off from the 18th through the 31st of the month. She agreed and allowed me the time away from work. I have an email confirmation of this. She had no other employees at this time. I was the only one working in the office. I worked for two weeks. she messaged me on the 16th of the month in the middle of the night saying that i had to work an event she just scheduled on the 26th or that my job was at risk. Knowing full well that i had nonrefundable plane tickets my boyfriend paid for so that i could see him before he leaves the country. He was the only reason i didnt starve to death while working for her. I told her that i could not cancel my trip and that the decision to fire me for it was up to her. She got pissed. I worked on the 15th and 14th of that week. While i was on my trip i asked her to confirm weather or not i was fired and also what day i would be paid because it was already the 26th of the month. At the beginning of my employment she said she would pay me direct deposit in full and that i would do my own taxes. On the 26th She told me i wasnt in the system yet so she couldn't pay me direct deposit, and that she would have my pay for me when i get back. (One of her longer term employees informed me that she never had a "system" before and that she always payed inconsistently over paypal). She still has not confirned if i am fired or not. So i dont know if my pay will include the 2.5 weeks i worked or just the 2. Not to mention its late.

Im now back from my trip wanting to collect my pay today and my boss says she's busy. If she where to refuse to pay me at all or avoid me altogether what actions could i take?

I just want to know how i should approach this.

Thank you So much for reading this long post 📪 💝💝💝

Answer:
 NAL, but you should file a wage claim with the CA DOL (link below). Unpaid internships are only legal under certain circumstances, and this doesn't sound like it meets the bill. (2nd link)

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

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm


Title: My Dad may have lost all his money to a Con

Question:
I don’t really know much about this topic, but common sense tells me that my dad has been conned out of a substantial amount of money. (Well substantial for him!)

So- a little background, my dad had an inheritance that he has been living off of in his retirement, he is 70. He is a bit paranoid about the banks and such here, ie: he bought a bunch of silver because it’s allegedly safer when hyperinflation hits. He did his own “research” (didn’t consult anyone) and decided to move his money offshore. He has 2 bank accounts, and one “precious metals storage facility” in offshore locations.

To set up a corporation, trust, and these accounts, he used a company that caters to ex-pats and the like. He paid them $2500, and it was all set up.  The guy there, we will call Sam.

Well...less than a year later, one of the overseas banks is under indictment and refusing to wire any money out- to be honest, I’m not even sure its a real bank, I’ve called and there is only one person who ever answers, and they won’t help or tell you anything about the bank or the management. (Even with account verification) And the icing on this cake is that there appear to be fraudulent atm transactions that go over the daily $ and transaction # limits- but the $$$ is just gone from his account.

The other “bank” has a website that still has placeholder text at the bottom-like a free to build your own website deal.

So, in all of this, Sam is basically acting like its just that my dad doesn’t know what he’s doing, but the indictment is real,  the fake seeming banks are really where he had my dad wire his money, and now- the money is basically gone.

My dad didn’t have a lot to begin with but losing this money is pretty catastrophic for him. Paying a lawyer will just make it worse.

Any suggestions? He’s afraid to go after Sam who “helped” him create all the accounts for fear that he will lose his one connection to these
Banks. As it is, Sam is the only one who can get any information for him.

I tried calling the embassy’s in the countries where the banks operate, but they said they couldn’t help.

I’m at a loss, and always impressed with the good advice people give here. If you can help, thank you!

Answer: You're gonna be out of luck, especially since it's out of country. Sorry to say that but the only thing you can do is maybe call the police in that respective country.


Title: (WI) Statutory rape law Q. How likely will it be for the 18 (M) to get off with little penalty? Important details inside.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 To get off with little penalty? Incredibly unlikely.

The 18 year old is being charged with multiple felonies and will likely end up having to register as a sex offender and possibly see prison time.

So to answer your question, very fucked.


Title: (MI) Neighbor of homeowner is threatening legal action for supposed failure to disclose.

Question:
Earlier this year my wife and I sold our home. We were on good terms with our female neighbor (FN) and, several years prior to selling, I mentioned in passing the home might need a new chimney liner due to the drywall around the chimney "bubbling" when it got cold out. This was readily visible (literally impossible to miss; it was a section about 2 feet by 8 feet high on an interior wall leading to the bedroom). I never had this inspected, so the root cause being a chimney liner was complete speculation on my part (I am unaware if it even has one, let alone if it is cracked or intact).

I was contacted last week by the buyer (an unrelated third party) asking about whether it was safe to use the heat since our female neighbor (FN) told him it could cause the house to blow up. I told him that the heat in the house was fine, and that we had had no issues.

I received a text message from FN this morning threatening legal action against me unless I paid to have a new chimney liner installed, citing safety/fire hazard concerns and claiming I'd failed to disclose this issue. So I have several questions:

1) Does FN have legal standing to bring a suit against me? I believe the answer is "no," (but that's why I'm asking here), but she seems hell-bent on trying to convince the buyer to.

2) Would this qualify as failure to disclose? I did not cite this issue in the disclosure form (admittedly, a boneheaded move on my part) because I was unaware of the root cause(s) of the issue (i.e. the drywall bubbling), did not want to speculate, and it did not appear to be a structural issue.

3) The buyer had a home inspection performed prior to purchasing the home. Given that the "bubbling" was readily visible and that a qualified inspector was likely to note it and speculate about root cause(s), does this absolve (or diminish) my prior lack of mentioning this issue?

I appreciate any help, and thanks for the good work you folk do here!

Edit: For perspective, the bubbling looked something like this only much more extensive: http://inspectapedia.com/sickhouse/Effloresence_034_raki-logaland17DFs.jpg

Edit 2: to clarify, FN was not part of the sale. I sold the house to the buyer. I had told FN about my suspicion a few years ago and she has now inserted herself into the situation and seems to be trying to convince the buyer to sue based on this.

Answer: Point 3 is probably the one that protects you. Tell her to take it up with the company giving sub-par inspections if she feels that's what happened.


Title: [USA, MA] My church is protecting pedophiles and documenting their actions in “confidential documents” that are locked away, but accesible to me. Is there a law that protects me if I take these documents and turn them into the police?

Question:
I have been a part of a religious group that protects pedophiles by not reporting allegations to the police or to the members of the congregation. (This is based on what they call a biblical ‘2 witness rule’, meaning if there’s not two witnesses it didn’t happen)

In turn, this allows the pedophile to roam freely regardless of how many accusations are made against them if there is only one witness to the sexual assault.

I won’t mention the religious group but widely known and can be found on the news or through google.

The leaders of the church document all these allegations and keep files on the alleged pedophiles, which they seal away ‘confidentially’ in a back room.

Being a respected member of the congregation in the past, I have access to these files but fear that if I take them without permission I can be charged with things such as:
*breaking and entering or trespassing
*theft
*breach of confidentiality

I don’t want to break the law but I can’t bear to see this go on.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: Just take them hand them to the authorities sometime you have to make a sacrifice to help/save others from further harm and get retribution for those who had been wronged what is a few months of community service when you spared a child from a lifetime of anguish  and depression seems like a worthy sacrifice to me


Title: Employer reduced my hourly pay without warning, they claim they gave me a raise by mistake.

Question:
I work for a well known grocery store in California. Back in November of last year I got a raise from 12.70 to 15.50 (at the time I thought this was because I changed job titles). Then at the start of the year I was boosted to 16.50 when I asked why I was told that it was because of a scheduled pay increase for my pay bracket.

Fast forward to the start of March I realized the my pay was reduced down to 14.50 with no warning or explanation. I talked to my manager and they opened a case for me with payroll, but when I called back a few days payroll told me that they couldn't help me and that I should talk to HR. I emailed and called HR and after a week or so of waiting they told me that my original raise back in November was a mistake and that now I was being played the correct hourly amount.

I didn't think they could just reduce my pay without notice, even if it was a mistake. Is there anything I can do in this situation? I'm sorry if this is rambling I'm kinda stressing out right now.

Any help or insight would be appreciated thank you.

Answer: Call California workforce and labor and put a complaint into them. they well do an investigation. In Missouri it’s against the law to do that, happened to my daughter and I told her exactly what to do.Answer #2: You can file a wage claim and threaten to quit unless it is rectified, work it out someway through HR/management, or accept the $1.80 raise and move on.


Title: UK Am I at all obligated to reveal my disability to potential employers?

Question: This might be a stupid question, but here we go. So, when you apply for jobs via some kind of application form it will ask you if you are disabled, according to UK law, in which case I just select yes and provide the details. However, recently I've been emailing round my CV to companies in the view to trying to get an internship for the summer and one finally got back to me, I went in yesterday and hung out for a day doing a couple of jobs and they told me to email them again to discuss my availability for the summer. Currently, I have scoliosis, asthma, epilepsy, and autism (and a couple of other things but they're sort of in process and I can't provide medical evidence). Looking at me you can't tell I'm disabled (except when I use my walking stick, which isn't every day) but I am in a lot of pain from the scoliosis and I can't work as strenuously as other people my age. So, to my question, am I obligated to tell the company that I am disabled, and, if so, are they obligated to do anything about it or can they refuse to employ me?

Answer: This question might get more qualified folks answering it if you post at /r/LegalAdviceUK


Title: Someone I know wants to sue the school on grounds of the Hatch Act.

Question: So basically I'm a high school student, and every Monday, we have this morning announcement video the whole school watches, which is made by students. This Monday's announcements had a skit on who people would vote for, which showed interviews of students around the school, and who they would vote for, and it intentionally poked fun at a certain real candidate. Someone I know, who is an avid supporter of the candidate was actually offended by the announcements and said he plans to sue the school for a shit-ton of money on grounds of defamation of the candidate, the Hatch act, and the fact that the teacher "failed" to stop the kids from showing this skit. I personally think he's taking this whole thing out of proportion and is uncalled for, but does he actually have any legal ground here? Edit: My location is Clark County Nevada.

Answer:
 No.

 First he should read [this form](https://osc.gov/resources/osc13.pdf) for filing Hatch Act complaints. Almost nothing a public high school official does would fall under the category of "things state and local employees can't do under the Hatch Act".

Secondly, I'm almost positive the Hatch Act doesn't provide a private cause of action you could bring a civil suit under. [This page](http://www.fedsmith.com/2014/05/05/hatch-act-modifications-reflected-in-new-opm-rule/) implies that the only remedy available is dismissal or suspension of the offending employee.

Thirdly, you can't sue for defamation on someone else's behalf except under very specific circumstances (normally when a parent sues on behalf of a child).

Finally, the students who produced the skit were exercising their First Amendment rights and that is protected speech. The school is more likely to get in trouble for refusing the performers the ability to do a political satire piece than they are for allowing it.


Title: Does living in a house for an extended period of time make it yours after the sole owner dies even if your name isn’t on the title or deed? (Ohio - USA)

Question:
Ohio, USA: I have a family member (Alice) who has been living in her elderly parent’s home for the past several years, at least seven years I believe.

Recently her last parent passed away and Alice is now occupying the house by herself. Her name is not on the deed or the title.

Alice’s parent’s will apparently had everything split equally between Alice and her sister, Gina, including the home, and now Gina wants her fair share. Gina wants her half of the house which I assume means selling it. Selling it would of course force Alice to move.

Alice claims that since she’s lived there for 7 years she basically owns it, she says it’s her home. I assume she sees it as domestic partnership situation, when you live with someone for so long you can be considered legally married.  She seems to believe if you live somewhere for an extended period of time can you claim ownership of a house. Is that true at all?

The house was paid off, but allegedly Alice took out a sizable loan against the home for some extra cash when her parent was still alive.

What rights does Alice have? What rights does Gina have? How does the loan against the house affect the will?
Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer:
 No, Alice is not the sole owner here. How did Alice take a loan out against the home if her name is not on the deed?

Alice and Gina own the home together, from the sounds of it. Gina can go to court to request a partition by sale.


Title: My friend has warrants in three states and was pulled over an hour ago. I haven't heard from him since.

Question:
He has a NJ bench warrant (municipal) for failure to appear in the state he was pulled over in; a PA warrant for theft in another (also on probation for theft in that state); and skipped a violation of probation hearing in MD this morning in a third state.

He got pulled over about an hour ago, texted me to let me know, and I haven't heard from him since.

What is likely to happen? Will they extradite him to face charges in all three states? How do I go about getting information so I can let his mom and kids know what's up?
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 Probably booked at the station.

You can call the local station and request info.

The family should hire a lawyer.  Your friend is not megafucked, but their weekend just went into the shitter.


Title: [Wa. State] If I'm to be pulled over, would the officer accept a picture on my phone of my car's registration certificate? Insurance card as well?

Question:
I dont like keeping them in my glove box for break-in purposes, and it's impractical to keep them in my wallet.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 >keeping them in my glove box for break-in purposes

It is an infraction to not have your paper registration in the vehicle in WA.  The cops will want it so it can be scanned for the electronic ticketing. If they have to type in your vehicle information manually they will add the failure to display registration infraction just making them do extra work.

----------------------

[RCW 46.16A.180(1)(b) - Registration certificates—Formats—Requirements—Penalty—Exception.](https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.16A.180)

(1) A registration certificate must be:

- (a) Signed by the registered owner, or if a firm or corporation, the signature of one of its officers or other authorized agent, to be valid;
- (b) Carried in the vehicle for which it is issued; and
- (c) Provided to law enforcement and the department by the operator of the vehicle upon demand.

--------------------

Otherwise, WA does allow electronic insurance cards.

----------------------

[RCW 46.30.030(1) - Insurance identification card.](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.30.030)

*(1) Whenever an insurance company issues or renews a motor vehicle liability insurance policy, the company shall provide the policyholder with an identification card as specified by the department of licensing. At the policyholder's request, the insurer shall provide the policyholder a card for each vehicle covered under the policy.* **The card required by this section may be provided in either paper or electronic format. Acceptable electronic formats include the display of electronic images on a cellular phone or any other type of portable electronic device.**


Title: Being blackmailed...what can I do?

Question: I'm in Pennsylvania. I did something bad a long time ago. It's not illegal, but it would severely damage my reputation if people found out. Somebody has proof that I did this, and they want $25,000 in hush money. The problem is, they've contacted me anonymously on the internet (through Facebook, with a fake name). I don't know who it is but they want to get paid. They say if the cops find out about this, (s)he will send the info to my family and office, and I'll probably get fired. What can I legally do? Can (s)he be charged with a crime for this? And how can I identify this person and make sure they don't release anything? I don't have the money to pay.

Answer:
 Here's the real problem:

*The price of blackmail always goes up.*

Even if you could pay the money,  the blackmailer would just be back for more. Eventually you wouldn't be able to borrow or steal enough to pay off any more. So, sooner or later you will have to face this problem of your past anyhow.  Get it over with. Get an attorney and go to the police through the attorney.

Mark Twain was right when he said "*If you have to swallow a frog, get it over with*"

Besides, there's even a chance that when the blackmailer finds out the police are looking for him, he'll decide that publishing will just give them a better chance of finding him.


Title: Wife divorcing me and doesn't want to kick me out

Question:
Hi Reddit, I was hit last night with a divorce and it started with her friend ringing the door and serving me papers, then when I tried to talk her about it she called the cops on me... after the cops left she said I can still live here but she wants a divorce. And the whole night she kept trying to talk to me but I just couldn't anymore I was hurt. We have 2 kids 2 and 11.

Now my questions are

1. Is that against the law for her friend to serve me?

2. Should I move out or stay put for now?

3. Should I hire a divorce lawyer?

4. Any more advice would be great

Update

I live in California

Update 2

Any good lawyers in OC?

Update 3:

Thank you all for the advice. I will be talking to a lawyer Monday and move on from there

Answer:
 1. No.

2. Stay put.  Don't concede any ground now that you're divorcing without your lawyer telling you to.
3. Yes.

4. Tons of advice.

Be calm and rational.  Don't make any knee-jerk decisions like drianing your bank accounts of absconding with the children.

Don't talk about the divorce with anyone but your lawyer; that means no friends, no family, no soon-to-be-ex-wife, and definitely not your kid.

Document all of your belongings of value.  This means jewelry, cars, investment accounts, family heirlooms, furniture.  You don't want part of it to go missing and be left out of the proceedings.

Get help if you need it.  It takes a great mental toll on someone to be surprised by this.  Seek therapy if you want it.

Let the school your child attends know so they can watch out for signs of the kid acting out and help the kid through the process.  Stress like this can manifest in odd ways in children.


Title: (KY) Can I get into trouble if I'm accused of abusive texts?

Question:
So I had a very negative experience with a local waterproofing company.  After multiple communications with the owner, of which I was never abusive or rude, I finally filed a formal complaint with the BBB.  The owner of the waterproofing company and I exchange multiple messages. In the mean time I almost experience another flood, send video documentation to the owner's cell phone (which I thought was his business phone not personal phone) and he promises a refund.  Two weeks later the owner refuses my refund through a communication via the BBB.

I get fed up and post a Youtube video detailing my experience. The video isn't negative, it isn't positive it's just the facts.  The next morning the waterproofing company owner sends me the following email and cc's the BBB :

*Waterloggd2015,*

*I just received the you tube video you posted on social media bad mouthing my company and the way we do business.  (My attorney will be reviewing that.)  I have read and responded to ALL your complaints with the BBB and Angies List.  You have sent derogatory emails to my employees questioning their business ethics along with mine.  You have sent me demanding and profain texts messages all throughout the night on my personal cell phone.  I am completely done responding to your rude and unrealistic demands.*

*All other correspondence will be passed through my attorney.*

*Please stop harassing myself and my company.*

I never sent harassing texts or emails.  I was never vulgar or abusive. The video will stay up. I can handle the civil suit.  Do I have to worry about any criminal repercussions?  Do I have any recourse?  Should I backup my phone so I can show  snapshot that I never sent those texts?

I never even logged a complaint on Angie's list. WTF?

Answer:
 Ignore him and stop communicating with him.

You aren't going to be charged criminally unless you threatened someone, and he probably doesn't have any grounds for a suit if what you've written is accurate.


Title: [Texas] I think my 5 year relationship is about to end. Who gets the animals?

Question:
Due to a few things that have happened here recently, I think my relationship is coming to its end. It's very sad but the one thing I am most concerned about is my dog.

So my fiance gave him to me for Christmas about three years ago. It was the understanding that this was MY dog. I have soley paid for all his medical bills, he has been registered/chipped under my name only, I pay for his groomer. The only thing we typically go half on is his food. I'm terrified that hes going to try to keep him since he initially bought him. What rights do I have/what would I need to do to ensure I get to keep him?

Answer:
 If the dog was a gift, then you get to keep him.  Save and make copies of all communications and medical bills.  If your fiance tries to keep the dog, then you may have to go to small claims court to determine possession.  Answer #2: The dog is yours.

It might be smart to house him somewhere safe. You don't want to get in the situation where you are sueing your ex for the *value* of your dog since the dog is 'nowhere to be found'.Answer #3: You're good.
1. It was a gift.
2. Chipped and registered in your name only (big plus).
3.  If you have copies of medical bills/grooming that'll help your case (if there is a case to become of this).

If your feeling that the relationship is going to end in near future, like less than 2 weeks.  I would consider trying to move YOUR dog to a friend or family.Answer #4: You may want to send your dog to a friend's or relative's if push comes to shove.


Title: (WA) Me (22m) giving my brother (16m) a toy

Question:
So to preface, I want to state that my parents are both very conservative and it had caused a lot of emotional stress growing up in my teenage years.  I had dealt with suicidal feelings and depression and I never wanted my younger brother to go through what I did.  Now for the issue.

So my brother and I have always been very close and open in communication.  And one day we discusses sex/masterbation.  My parents are not at all accepting of it and don't like me telling my brother anything that contradicts their world views.  However, during the talk my brother showed interest in having a toy for his "alone time".  Me being the older brother I am, I figured it would be a good gift for his birthday.  All went well and he loved it.  We didn't really bring it up much after that aside from me checking to make sure he was keeping hygienic with it.  However, my parents recently came upon the toy when looking in his room.  They asked me if I had given it to him and I initially denied it given how anti-self pleasure they were.  But when my father talked about finding whoever gave it to him and having him/her arrested if they were overage, I quaked in my boots as you could imagine.  I ended up confiding the truth to my mother because I knew eventually my brother would tell them the truth when asked.

But now for the advice part.  I don't know if they will try to press charges or not.  If they do, what could I expect?  The only thing I could find with a quick google search was "corruption of a minor".  But how would that even play out?  I haven't ever "corrupted" my brother.  I always have and always will advocate for him doing what he feels is best and I'll always support him.  But is there anything I'm missing?  I'm not some pedophile trying to exploit a minor.  I'm just... being an older brother.  I'm just really overwhelmed and confused and am hoping for some information and advice going forward

Answer:
 Dog Law specialist here.

I strongly suggest you stop sexually grooming your underaged brother, or doing a spot-on impression of sexually grooming your underaged brother. Answer #2: > But is there anything I'm missing?

Sound judgment, to be blunt.

There were more than a few ways to support your underage brother's sexual curiosity that didn't involve gifting a sex toy.

Having said that, I don't think you've done anything illegal. Sex toys aren't regulated objects in the majority of locations and there's no legal impediment to a minor owning one. You didn't give it with the intent to groom your brother for sexual purposes and he's not doing anything illegal with it.


Title: As a student in a public school, what are my rights pertaining to my property and its seizure?

Question:
This question is more out of curiosity than related to a current issue I'm facing, so I'm not in dire need of a straight answer. While discussing constitutional rights with some friends, the topic of a schools rights to seizing items from a student, specifically cell phones. I did some quick research and came up with some basic court rulings and the outline of laws on this matter. What I understand is that while a minor is attending a public or private school, in loco parentis applies, meaning that as I understand it the school acts as the minor's parent or guardian during that time. However, what some of the answers I've received in regards to a school official's right to search a student or their property (example being a cell phone) have varied.

 Some articles stated that officials only require probable suspicion, others saying that they require probable cause beyond a reasonable doubt. Does it vary between states and school districts? Or is there a definitive answer? Finally, a friend of mine brought up a specific instance in which a teacher at our high school required that all students turn in their cell phones at the start of class. I'm sure it's legal if it's gone on for this long without being shut down, but how does the law factor into this policy, if it is not mandated by the district or state? How would a lack of parental or student consent factor into this?

Thank you for any information you may be able to give, I have little knowledge on actual law beyond what google has to say so it would be nice to hear what actual experts have to say. Additionally, I live in Washington State and attend school in the Evergreen School District. I apologize if it's not specific enough to provide further info but it's as much information as I'd like to publically release.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 >Some articles stated that officials only require probable suspicion, others saying that they require probable cause beyond a reasonable doubt.

I hope that no one actually wrote an article using either one of those gibberish phrases.

The nickle version of it is that the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that school officials must have a reasonable suspicion of a rules violation to search. Each state's courts could, in theory, impose a higher burden.


Title: (MN) Wife may die of cancer and planning ahead for our kids and estate

Question:
My wife has been diagnosed with breast cancer.  She is 'mid to late' stage III and her cancer is the type that is not only very aggressive, but our treatment options are limited and if she does not respond to them she will die.  The odds of relapse are high if she does respond to treatment.  In short, the only positive we have is she does not have metastatic breast cancer.  We are hoping for the best, but need to begin preparing for the worst.

We live in Minnesota.  We have two children, ages five and three.  Our oldest child was diagnosed with Autism a few months ago.  We were planning to return to Wisconsin where the majority of our family is located in order to increase our support as we helped our child.  That is now being delayed until my wife is finished with treatment, as I have a job now where I qualify for FMLA.  We have some assets, including two cars (both not paid off), a house (ditto), and several thousand dollars in savings.  I am afraid we will burn through that rather quickly.  We do not have wills, living directives, or anything similar.  I have a life insurance policy, she has a small policy through my employer that will cover funeral expenses (if we are lucky).  We have just started discussions on some things, but frankly we are both overwhelmed and may not be thinking of what we need too right now.

My questions are as follows:
1.  I imagine we will need to sit down and get some things hammered out with an attorney like a will and living directives.  What else would we need to consider getting arranged ahead of time?  Is there one discipline of law we should focus on for an attorney, or is this a case were we may need to consult with multiple attorneys?
2.  I imagine we do not need to worry about a custody issue with our children, but if she would die what would I need to do or consider in order to ensure if something happened to me that our children would be in custody of someone we trust?  Are there any special things we would need to consider given our oldest child's special needs?
3.  What pitfalls happen in these processes that we should be aware of?  For example, we are planning a return to Wisconsin, so do I need an attorney for Wisconsin or Minnesota to start these processes?  Does things we generate now transfer between states?
4.  Is there anything we can do right now to best protect our assets and avoid bankruptcy or minimize the risk of such?

Thank you for any input that can be offered.

Answer:
 I don’t know your exact financial situation, and I know this is not pertaining to your wife specifically, but if I were you, I would take some of the savings and pay one car off if possible. Reason being, if/when she passes and you fall on real hard times and the bank starts to reposes items, you at least have one car free and clear that’s your’s no matter what. Plus one less payment you need to worry about. I know it’s small in the realm of things your going through right now, but I think that will make a big difference in the future. You can still go to work, appointments for the kids, and see family without the burden of the bank on you for the car.Answer #2: Your wife needs a will.

You need a durable POA, including medical, to handle things should things get bad.

Check your homeowners insurance. Some have clauses that pay off the remaining balance of the mortgage if one of the holders passes on.

Custody *SHOULD* be an automatic thing, considering you share a marital home and, presumably, parenting duties for two biologically shared children. If step-children are involved, GET AN ATTORNEY.

Honestly, I would call around and speak with an attorney anyway. Some offer free consultations and may be able to better guide you


Title: My MIL is posting blatant lies about me on her blog [NM]

Question:
Okay, so my MIL is posting on her blog, saying things about me that are 100% not true. She is then cross linking these things to Facebook where my family, employer, ect can see them.

It is seriously hurting my reputation and I just want to know if there is anyway I can get these things taken down, legally. I don't know if I have any rights in this or if I'm just SOL and have to deal with these lies floating around out there for all to see.

Answer: If it is negatively impacting your employment prospects you may have a viable libel case. Contact an attorney and have them send your MIL a cease and desist letter, if she doesn't cease and desist then take her to civil court.Answer #2: It depends on the nature of the lies.  From a legal perspective, there's a difference between calling you shady or dishonest versus accusing you of being a pedophile, for instance.


Title: Neighbor calling police and filing noise complaints for garage weightlifting

Question:
This is in Wisconsin. We're a club group, so we try to be as professional as possible.

I along with a group of friends have been weightlifting in our friends garage gym. It's in suburbia, so weightlifting in a garage is not a thing people see every single day. Homeowner friend (we'll call him Mike) has a neighbor (call him Dan) who lives across the street. Anyway, last summer Dan offered to mow Mike's lawn all summer under the pretense that he would do it for free as Dan has a really nice riding lawnmower, is retired, etc. Come the end of the summer, Dan presented Mike with a bill for all the times he mowed his lawn. Mike, being the super nice guy he is, payed Dan what he asked, but told Dan he no longer wishes for him to mow his lawn.

Fast forward to now, we've been lifting in the garage since late March/early April about 5 days a week every week. We have rubber matting, bumper plates, and only lift between the hours of 4pm-7pm so as not to disturb people when they're sleeping. We're not running a business, no one pays dues or anything like that, we're just a group of people who enjoy being fit and lifting together.

Saturday (6/27): No one has ever approached us about being too loud or anything until this past Saturday when one of us was approached by Dan. Dan asked person to stop dropping the bar as it was shaking Dan's house. Person told Dan he did not believe it was shaking Dan's house as it was the equivalent of a person repeatedly jumping up and down on a matted garage. Dan did not push the issue. We do not lift on Sundays so no one was at the house that day

Monday (6/29): In the middle of everyone's workout a police officer (Officer Z) shows up. Officer Z informs us that there was a noise complaint by a named complainant. Officer Z sat a few houses down the road with his windows down and could not hear anything. Officer Z informed people that if there were repeated noise complaints that it could result in a citation, but he did not believe there was much of an issue.

Tuesday (6/30): Midway through our workout a different officer arrives. Officer X states that there was another noise complaint by a complainant who wished to remain anonymous. He gave us the same speech and further told us that if the officers continually get called they can give a citation to the homeowner for repeated calls (for example, this often happens in domestic abuse cases). We asked Officer X what our next steps would be to keep this from happening as none of us want Mike to receive any form of ticket, but he didn't have a concrete answer other than close the garage door or stop lifting completely. The problem is that even if we shut the door, Dan will see all of our cars outside when we're lifting and most likely call the officers again.

What advice do people have for approaching this situation with the police? I don't see how it's fair that we would have to stop lifting when we're on private property and it's really only one person (we believe it was Dan wishing to remain anonymous the second time) repeatedly calling. How is this noise any different than someone who does woodworking with saws/noisy equipment in their garages or runs their lawnmower?

edit: formatting/wording

Answer:
 How about during your next couple sessions just play board games or something else that can be entertaining for your group but very quiet while recording the entire session on a phone. When your neighbor sees all the cars again and calls the cops you'll have video evidence that there was absolutely no noise and he's making false calls.Answer #2: so giving a ticket for the noise complaint is entirely up to the discretion of the officer.  just b/c they get repeated calls doesn't really automatically mean you get a citation.  the police should have a dB meter to measure the noise, if it's above a certain level at a certain distance, then they can cite you.  but even if it isn't and you get cited, you can fight that citation.

if the neighbor continues to call, and you don't get cited, ask the police how you can stop the harassment, if they don't know.  call the duty officer at the police station and ask.

after a certain # of false calls.  the police may no longer respond to anonymous complaints and/or start charging a fee to the person calling the complaint to respond.

start documenting every time the police responded to a complaint, if you can show a history of unwarranted complaints, you have a stronger case.  Answer #3: I'm not sure what exactly the officer meant to say, but you can't get a ticket for "repeated calls" when you aren't doing anything wrong.  Just ignore him and proceed with what you're doing.  Answer #4: Paragraphs are our friends.


Title: School degree switch and bait

Question: I am a licensed acupuncturist with a masters degree in traditional oriental medicine.   Recently my alumni school offered an upgrade program to get our doctorates which is known as a DAOM, Doctorate of acupuncture and oriental medicine. All our documents have DAOM degree awarded after we complete a semester of extra courses.  Well mid semester we all received an email even cohorts that graduated last fall, stating they are changing our degree title to doctorate of acupuncture and Chinese medicine DACM.  They switch one letter in the degree to decipher it from post grad DAOM.  All students signed up for the DAOM degree....first cohort's diplomas have DAOM and the school is sending new diplomas with the changed title.  We also signed up for the known title DAOM in our field all our contracts have DAOM and this new title is not known in our field.  The school just sent out an email saying they made a mistake and have completely ignored any inquiry. Does the study body have grounds to dispute this and what do you guys suggest we do to get the degree title we signed up for, paid for, and we're guaranteed upon signing  up for this program.

Answer: What is the accrediting body for this institution/program?


Title: Managers refusing to give employees their tips

Question:
I work in the state of nevada as a server. Our restaurant requires servers to tip bussers 2% of sales and food runners 3% of sales. The tips all get put in an envelope and handed over to managment. Then management divys up the tips in the office "whenever they get time". They have made a new rule that if tipped employees dont clock out they will not get paid for that day. I am pretty sure this is very illegal. Im looking for some advice on how to proceed. Also is it legal for management to take care of tips behind closed doors? Many times in my employment of 8 years at least three people have been yelled at for dicussing tips or sales. Any advice on either question would be great

Edit : a word
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 When you say "will not get paid for that day," I am assuming you are talking about not getting tips for the day rather than not getting paid the paltry (well below minimum wage) hourly rate that servers make?

Mandatory tip pooling *is* legal in the state of Nevada as long as the employer doesn't take a cut of it; however, the tips need to be distributed among the employees. That includes you.

Edit: [Source.](http://labor.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/labornvgov/content/Employer/Tip%20Guide%202017.pdf)

When it comes to being a server, rules like this mean that it's a good time to start looking for employment somewhere else when policies like this are instituted. Keep track of any and all tips, paystubs, etc., you receive. If you are not paid appropriately / being shorted on tips where you are making less than the NV minimum wage of $8.25, then consider filing a wage claim with the state of Nevada. You can find more information about that [here.](http://labor.nv.gov/About/Forms/FORMS_FOR_EMPLOYEES/) Please note that in the state of Nevada, you will need to attempt to ask your employer for the wages owed yourself before filing a wage claim.


Title: [Illinois] Over the summer of 2018 I found out a friend had posted a NSFW video to pornhub without my consent, is it too late to do anything?

Question:
He recorded the video which I knew, I said it was okay as long as he didn't post it anywhere and he was also instructed to not cum inside of me (did anyways then vehemently swore up and down that he didnt even though I found out I was pregnant - it was an early loss). The following year of 2018 we made up which was when he told me that he said I told him to finish in me (I didn't), and that he'd uploaded the video (he said that he'd lost it) And asked me if it was okay - it wasn't. We recently had a falling out again and I basically told him that what he did with the video and everything else was fucked up - which he then denied doing yet again even though I have screenshots and the literal title of the video saying otherwise. Is there anything that I can do?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 File a Content Removal Request on Pornhub.Answer #2: If it is you, talk to the shelter before your "friends" there is a statute in most states for "revenge po rn " and that is ACTUALLY what it is.

Consent or not! Revenge porn is bad porn


Title: Can I sue the State of California for relocation expenses?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You can sue anyone you would like.  You are highly unlikely to win, though.


Title: Legality of human fertilization

Question:
[US/Finland] I'm in the US as of right now, but I am going back to Finland, and I'll be hopping back and forth to each every once in a while. that being said:

Let's say that after I die, I'd like to be cremated and used to fertilize yams. Would this be legal? If so, where would it be legal (US, EU, etc.)?

Edit: format and locations

Answer: Like you want your ashes spread over yams? Why wouldn't that be legal?Answer #2: I am unaware of anything stopping me from dumping someones ashes in my personal garden (of yams or anything else) there may be rules about commercial farms doing that though.


Title: Federal law against interstate shipping queen ants

Question: I wanted to set up a formicarium. Is there really a federal law against interstate shipping of a queen ants? If there is, it's understable why and it is great but what about if the particular species is from a neighbouring state and the ant species exists in both the states?

Answer:
 Yes most likely. There are a lot of laws regulating these sorts of things, because what is present in one area might not be quite the same as it is in another area, even if it's the same species. Anything being introduced in a non native area has a chance of becoming invasive, or even carrying parasites that may only be present in one location where they live, but not the other. Or maybe someone misidentifies something and imports something entirely different. You'd want to check with your state's Fish and Wildlife department. Answer #2: I think you want a UDSA APHIS Permit PPQ-526.

This subreddit has a strict rule against linking to video, but if you go to Youtube and search for " lPyvXMSZZ3I ", I think the first video that that search returns will point you in the right direction.


Title: Seems fishy, but I was told it’s 100% legal.

Question:
Ok so I know this guy (not a friend more of an acquaintance) that asked if I wanted to earn some “free” money. First off free money never sounds legal to me, so that’s why I need some advice.

So he has a bank manager call me who tells me about having these ghosts accounts that the bank needs to liquidate after so many months into account holders accounts. Only catch is, I am suppose to take it all out in cash, meet up with the bank manager and give half of it to him.

Seems like there would be no trail to the actually bank employer and all the money trails go under my name. Now is this legal or do I stray away from it and don’t even bother?

Answer:
 There is no chance this is not a scam.  Run, do not walk, away from this.Answer #2: >	is this legal

lol, you know it’s not man.  Unclaimed money goes to the state.  Not random people with no relationship to the owner and the shady ass bank manager who is committing a felony.  Do not do this Answer #3: This is 100% a scam being played on you. Here's how it goes:

Someone puts money in your account.

You withdraw money from your account and give it to a total stranger.

The initial deposit into your account gets reversed, putting your account into the negative if needed.

You ask the bank where the money went, they tell you it was stolen or a fake check or something.

Meanwhile you handed thousands of dollars of your own money in cash to a total stranger you will never see again. And the bank is investigating you for having tried to stall out of hacked accounts or for trying to cash fake checks.

Con artists use people's greed to make them do stupid things. Don't fall for it.


Title: [Ontario] University Student Driving ticket for hand-held communication - Need Legal Advice

Question:
On June 2, 2015, I received a driving ticket for hand-held communications which carried a fine of 280 dollars. I'm a university student and can not afford a lawyer or the fine for that matter, so I was hoping you guys at reddit could help me out. I've already conducted some research on the matter but I want to see what you guys have to advise for my next steps.

This is the honest truth, but you don't have to believe it.
Situation: I was 30 minutes - 1 hour late from picking my mom up after her job since I was in a meeting related to my job.
As I approach a red light when I head out to pick up my mom, I receive a call from her and as I'm about to touch the speaker phone button on my phone, I see a cop in a beige coloured car signalling me to approach the curb. So I did so and received a ticket for hand-held communications for a ridiculous 280 dollars, this is my first ticket and I'm only 19. I can't afford that amount and neither can I afford to have that on my record. I want to do whatever it takes to get it off my record and hopefully, dismissed.

Thanks for your help, I'm currently studying for my upcoming exams and this just added a large amount of stress on my shoulders, so I really appreciate any help.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 > I can't afford that amount and neither can I afford to have that on my record.

This is not a defense to breaking the law.

You could go to court and ask about having the charge reduced. Answer #2: >I want to do whatever it takes to get it off my record and hopefully, dismissed.

But you were caught red-handed, so I doubt that is going to happen.

You can go to court on your assigned court day, maybe ask whoever is prosecuting the ticket to let you plead down to a lower offense, and maybe you'll get lucky and they'll let you.

All else fails try to ask for a payment plan.