Title: Coworkers went through my phone without permission, showed pics and videos to everyone (NY)

Question:
Phone was sitting on a table at work. Coworker picked it up and went through my photos, which contained sexually explicit photos and videos. Coworker apparently showed other coworkers too, as they approached me about it today.

I'm so embarrassed. This is such an invasion of my privacy.

Are there any laws being broken here? Do I have any legal recourse?

Please don't tell me to put a passcode on my phone. Or not to take pics/videos. These were never even sent to anyone. That is not helpful and obviously I know that already.

Answer:
 File an HR complaint. I'm not sure if there's anything technically illegal about what they did if they did not send the photos to each other or otherwise steal them, but HR should definitely care that they went onto your phone without permission and showed each other your photos.

And add a passcode. Yeah, it makes unlocking your phone each time you want to use it a pain, but it stops these situations. Answer #2: >Please don't tell me to put a passcode on my phone.

Do you leave your car unlocked in a store parking lot?

This sounds like something that might be actionable under your company's policies, but it wasn't illegal. NY's revenge porn law only applies to posting pictures online and not showing them face to face.


Title: Brother's boss threw a party for employees and openly encouraged underage workers to drink (Michigan)

Question:
My brother works for a small startup with less than 10 employees. The boss decided to have a get together at his house last weekend for his workers, as they've been having a pretty good year. It started off innocuous enough. The boss had it catered by a local restaurant and was serving wine with dinner, but the few employees there who were underage (18-20) weren't drinking. As the night went on however, the owner began to get more and more drunk, eventually bringing out more alcohol, including liquor, and after a certain point began very vocally encouraging the underage employees (whom he obviously knows to be underage) to drink as well.

What might the legal ramifications of this be for the owner? Obviously giving alcohol to minors is a no-no, but it seems to me like the fact that this is an employer/employee situation might make this quite a bit more complicated. Basically.... what are the odds that my brother is going to need to look for a new job?

Answer:
 Is someone planning on telling on him?

If he wasn't caught during the party and no one got a DUI on the way home, how would the police know that this happened?Answer #2: It’s illegal, but did anyone get hurt? Sounds like not really a big deal.


Title: Website asking $65 for removal of my mugshot. How is this legal?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Your mugshot is public information. It's not blackmail or extortion, though it is an unsavory business model.


Title: Fiancé got stuck by a used needle at work

Question:
My Fiancé works as a nurse intern in an ER. I just found out this morning that she got stuck by a used needle while taking out the trash in a patients room to no fault of her own. The doctor had just thrown all the supplies in the trash without separating them. As of right now she’s going through lots of bloodwork to see if she has contracted anything from the patient. The patient is not high risk for anything in particular, but there is still a chance. She went to her manager and got help etc. Now she is getting bloodwork done.

My fear is that they’re going to try to get her to sign a bunch of paperwork to force her to not sue. I’m not sure I would be comfortable pushing her to sue, but I’m just a little freaked out right now and wanted some outside opinions on how to handle this.

Answer:
 Sue for what?

She was at work.  If she has injuries or medical issues as a result of an incident that happened at work, then worker's compensation will pay for her medical treatments as a result.

So she should not have other damages besides that, right?


Title: There was an attempt to serve me divorce papers at my apartment yesterday.

Question:
I read the rules and looked at the wikis and megathreads, I apologize if this was covered but I didn't see it so I figured it wouldn't hurt to post.

For the sake of time, I'm going to copy my post to r/divorce and paste it here.

I suppose I should introduce myself to this community. I am a longtime redditor who made this throwaway because my STBX knows my regular username. I am a 28 year old man who has two kids with my STBX. We became separated nearly a year ago, she was fed up with my drinking problem and had been shopping around, seeing other guys behind my back. We rented a home together, but when we became separated we each got our own apartments. I work full time and she is a student at our local community college. We went into all of this with the notion that if I got my drinking under control that we may be able to reconcile, but that was foolish; we were both dumb kids when we got together and I got her pregnant, we both always knew I loved her more deeply than she I, and I suppose it always lurked beneath the surface that ours was a marriage of convenience.

This past month things have really hit the fan. I had been spending weekends at her apartment, sharing a bed with her, being romantic, having fun with the kids together. I asked her a while back if she was seeing anyone else, I told her I knew that we were not recommitted and I wouldn't blame her for it but I thought I deserved to know where we stood. She insisted she was not. I came across evidence to the contrary, presented her with said evidence and told her I was uninterested in spending any more time with her outside of co-parenting. She seemed hurt by this and expressed regret as far as lying to me goes, but it seemed like we could manage to continue handling things amicably and outside of court. I went by her apartment to pick up the kids for a Thanksgiving meal at my grandmother's nursing home the week before the actual holiday. STBX's aunt was there. She utterly despises me, blames me for all of the failings of our marriage. She is also on the lease of STBX's apartment. STBX had given me permission to pick the kids up and get them ready at her place, but the aunt tried to tell me I was disallowed from taking them and called the police. The police sided with me, saying that since we are still married and have no custody agreement I was entitled to take the kids since STBX was at class and aunt had no custody. This enraged aunt, and is what set all of these wheels in motion.

STBX is under the thumb of this aunt emotionally and financially. I was driving past my apartment while working yesterday and noticed a small card on my door. It was from the sheriff's office, saying they had a matter that I needed to contact them about. I immediately called STBX and asked if she had filed, she tearfully said "Why do you ask?" She confessed that the aunt had forced her hand after what happened at her apartment. Now she is going back and forth on the phone with me, on one hand she is sorry and ashamed and just wants to handle things amicably, on the other she "hates me" and "will kill me" and yadda yadda yadda.

I am just floored. Not so much sad as shocked and angry that she would handle things this way after we had spoken so much about being up front and doing things amicably. I have not yet contacted the sheriff's office, I have been reading up on everything and trying to decide how to move forward. It seems, if I understand this correctly, that I am under no obligation to respond to the sheriff's notice. I assume it will be best for me to retain a lawyer before doing anything, but I'm uncertain as to how I should go about any of this.

STBX insists things will be cheaper and easier if I just allow her attorney to mediate, but that sounds like a load of bullshit to me. The vindictive part of me wants to make her go through with serving me using a private process server or something since she allowed her aunt to convince her to do things this way.

What should I do? Contact the sheriff's office today? Contact a lawyer first? I am at a loss.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this and respond.

Answer: Contact an attorney. Proceed with your divorce. Do not attempt to avoid process.


Title: I may be facing homelessness (New Jersey)

Question: I'm 20 years old, not in school, have a part time job that pays $10/hour in the state of New Jersey. I live with my father and brother. As the title says, I may be facing homelessness as my father is one who pays the rent and is facing jail time. I have no clue what to do as I don't make enough to live on my own and he's been the one paying rent so long as I paid my own bills (car insurance, phone bill, school stuff when I was in school). I also have a little brother who I would have to take care of as there's no where else for him to go.

Answer:
 You're an adult, you need to start adulting.

Get a second job, look into some sort of government assistance, find some roommates, or do whatever you need to do.

Either way, this really isn't a legal issue. You have to start figuring out how to take care of yourself.


Title: [Minnesota] Temporary Accommodations after surgery for permanent disability

Question:
My employer has been threatening to end my accommodations. I have radial nerve damage in my right hand/arm and had tendon transfer surgery 3 months ago. I returned to work after 1 month of disability leave but need accommodations to work. Currently I’m getting dictation software, work from home, and modified work schedule. The doctor expects I will need these accommodations for another 3-6 months, but after that I can return to the office and back to my normal work schedule. Am I protected by ADA (including amendments) and/or MHRA? Should I be worried? I have submitted all of my medical documentation but was told “I would be notified of HRs decision”. What decision? I thought they had to  provide reasonable accommodations.

[edit: added “reasonable” before accommodations because I know better]

Answer:
 > I thought they had to accommodate.

Employers are required to make reasonable accommodations. Dictation software is likely a reasonable accommodation. Working from home and a modified work schedule may or may not be reasonable, depending on what your job entails and what your employer needs.


Title: I gave my boss my notice a few days ago. I've had a situation come up where I need a day off between now and my last day, and my boss is telling me he will just make today my last day but will just consider it me resigning effective immediately versus him actually terminating me (Indiana)

Question:
So I gave notice to my current employer a number of days ago that my last day would be 10/17, and I received a response that my resignation was accepted. I'm getting a job in a different state, so between now and my last day, I planned on visiting my family in the area during my days off and saying goodbye. Everything was cool.

An issue popped up that my aunt and uncle (who I am extremely close with) would only be able to see me on a day that I worked. So, instead of just calling in on that day to say I wouldn't be there, I decided to put in for one of my vacation days in a advance (as to not screw my team). Now, I do recognize that it is short notice for a vacation request, and normally you would not request vacation after you've given notice. However, it is for something very important (saying goodbye to family) and there's nothing in our employee handbook that prevents us for putting in a vacation day with a pending resignation notice.

My boss pulled me into a meeting saying that he is not only not going to allow me to take a vacation day (completely his choice), he said that if I still wanted to go, then today would be my last day of employment. Now, the issue is that the wording he used is that he would take it as an official resignation for today. The thing is, I'm not resigning today. My resignation is for the 17th, which he has already accepted. I pull my HR manager into a meeting, and she tells me that even though I've given notice that my last day is the 17th, which he has accepted, my boss can still choose to end my employment under my resignation early and it wouldn't be considered termination. She said it would basically be they're accepting my resignation but they are just choosing to not except the length of it and let me go immediately.

My problem is that it not only screws me out of a big part of a paycheck, and I can't even claim unemployment for the couple weeks in between jobs because I wasnt terminated technically. I hate that I'm being put in a position of choosing to say goodbye to family and get a full paycheck/not screw over my team.

Can my boss do this? Can I be let go early and be told that it's not termination, but instead a resignation that I do not agree to?

Any help is really appreciated. Thanks

Answer:
 Yes they can unless your contract says otherwise. Answer #2: Yes, they can do this.

They are officially denying your request off. If you want off, you'll need to resign.

If you don't agree to resign, then you don't get off. If you take off, they'll just fire you.


Title: My community college will not offer an extra class that is vital for us to transfer. many students have signed a petition, but the department will not approve. Is there anything we can do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: IANAL, but your first mistake seems to be your assumption that the school owes you anything. On a personal note, instructors are occasionally allowed to sign off on extra students joining the class (case-by-case basis, even if they say otherwise). Alternatively, you could take the class at another community college and use those credits. Good luck.


Title: I'm an HOA president dealing with a plumbing nightmare. An owner wants us to reimburse her tenant for rent. What do you guys think? Colorado

Question:
I live in a 17 unit condo building. I am also a volunteer HOA member. Two nights ago a renter on the first floor knocks on my door and tells me about the raw sewage bubbling up in his kitchen sink. I shut off the building's water and call a plumber. We can't get the problem diagnosed so we put everyone in hotels for the next two nights. We finally get it diagnosed today and it will require jackhammers and back hoes to dig up the sewer line and replace it. So we offer one more night of hotels, work starts tomorrow. The HOA is, of course, paying for all this. The unit most affected is unit 105. We are putting their renter in a hotel, we've offered to hire movers to put all his affected belongings in a bedroom, we've hired a remediation company to clean and sanitize his unit after the repair, we're paying for new hardwood floors in that unit as they will be digging from that unit to get to the sewer line that has ruptured 7 feet under their unit.

My questions for you all is this: The owner of that unit wants to offer her renter cash for dealing with this. While I support her decision as a great gesture for a landlord to make, I'm super worried about that as I have 17 units worth of people who've all been put out, had to find hotels, missed out on sleep (the first night we woke people up with machine noises while we tried to clear drains) etc. This has been a huge inconvenience for everyone. If we start handing out cash to everyone we'll be bankrupt in a heartbeat.

Our HOA bylaws don't mention an inconvenience charge. We've never done that in the past when we had to spray for bedbugs, make people park on the street so we could use the lot for the crane for the new roof, etc. If we start reimbursing people for inconvenience I'm worried about the financial future of this org.

Any thoughts? Do we owe owners compensation for being inconvenienced?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Answer:
 If you've found them alternate housing and made necessary repairs to both the units and their belongings, I don't see an avenue to claim further damages just because it's "inconvenient".

Also.....if it impacts everyone and drains HOA funds, you'd probably need to make a special assessment against all HOA members to replenish funds aka take it all back from them.


Title: Giving name to a customer in retail?

Question:
So i work in retail and I just had a customer come in. Long story short, it ended up him demanding our names.

I did end up giving him my name, but is there any legal reason I would have to give him my name (in full or part), or could I have refused?

In MA

Thank you.

Answer:
 You have no legal obligation to give a customer your nameAnswer #2: You are not legally required to identify yourself to a customer. Your store may not be happy if you deny a customer request, and it would be legal (but crappy) for them to discipline you if they are not happy with you.Answer #3: When I worked retail I would give my first name but never my last. Answer #4: No. You could legally have refused to give your name.

Your workplace may have a separate policy.


Title: My friend and I Pulled over and went to Jail over one joint.

Question: So we are l leaving a college basketball game serious thought to take a lift down the road a cop is sitting hundred in traffic but will not let us turn left only run on the window to ask you to turn left he says no we may not that we may go down there and make a U-turn and then come back out but as he is Thomases directions he’s walking closer and closer the car till he sticks his head inside of our car. At that point he says he smells a strong odor of marijuana. We admit to having one joint on us. He tells us to pull over. Gives my friend a sobriety test which he passes then proceeded to search the car. I don’t know if he was giving consent to to that. Upon the search he found 1/4 of a Xanax under the drivers seat. My friends mom just died of cancer and use Xanax to deal with the anxiety of a death that was basically going to happen at any moment. Since he has no subscription for it or as he didn’t know he was there they gave him a felony charge  for a controlled substance. Is there any away we can fight this?

Answer: You can fight this by getting a lawyer. Having unprescribed medicine is no joke.


Title: (MN) Landlord permanently closing off a room

Question:
Hi All,

My apartment (3br with two apartment mates in my unit, and we’re sort of the middle unit in a triplex) has a fairly large storage room / walk-in closet. My landlord mentioned to me a few weeks ago that he’d be doing renovations on the neighboring apartment at some point, and that he’d keep me updated. He never updated me but yesterday I heard him smashing things with a sledgehammer in the other apartment.

This morning (Thursday), I got a text from him saying that on Saturday he’ll be closing off my storage room permanently and so I need to move my stuff out of there before this weekend. I really like having that storage, and it seems to me that this is way too short of a notice. The lease is up in two months and I’m moving then for other reasons.

I’ve generally had a good relationship with my landlord, so I’m planning to just have a conversation with him as soon as I can. I want to ask him to reduce the rent for the apartment (because I really don’t think he’d be willing to wait two months to continue with the renovation). We pay $1200/mo for rent and split it equally between the housemates.

Basically, I’m wondering what the rules/laws are around this? Is that normal, to close off a room of an apartment in the middle of a lease? What recourse would I have if this really went south? Does anyone have ideas about what I should do, or what a fair amount would be to ask for in terms of rent reduction (if at all)?

Thank you so much for any ideas or help!

Answer: Does your lease say you're leasing a room or the whole apartment?


Title: My Ex-Roommates are trying to sue me (OR)

Question:
I moved out of an apartment with 3 other roommates (we were 4 total) by signing a roommate release form with my landlord. The form was drawn up by my landlord and they witnessed each signature. Each of the roommates signed the release before I did, and after I signed, the landlord took my key and I thought all was done.

This is what happened:

The form states "on this day, MARCH 26, 2019, I, \[each of the roommates got a line where they printed their name\], resident at \[apartment name and door #\], \[city, state, and zip code\] release my roommate \[my name\] from any financial responsibility on the above apartment. ..." followed by some other info that only pertains to them. All of their signatures then follow with the date \[one signed on the 26th, the other two signed on the 30th\]

the part i signed states " On this day, MARCH 26, 2019, I \[my name\], resident at \[apartment name and door #\], \[city, state, and zip code\] relinquish all authority and lights to the above apartment. ..." then I signed the paper (on the 30th) and the landlord thanked me, asked for my key, and I was off.

I have since followed up with the landlord a few days after the form was signed to confirm that I have in fact been removed from the lease, and that they acknowledge the form all of the roommates and I signed, stating "you are no longer responsible for any financial issues regarding this apartment" after I asked to confirm I had done everything I was asked.

last night I was served papers of a pending small claims court summons. My ex-roommates are suing me for another month rent and utilities, a late fee, plus 'suffering' (an additional $320) for me, this is a lot of money.

What do I do? The form we all signed Isn't ambiguous at all, but I don't want to have to spend a bunch of money hiring a lawyer and all that. How do I get this case dismissed? Can I just submit the form to someone?

Answer:
 It's small claims court, you won't need to hire a lawyer.   Just go to the court hearing and tell your story to the judge.  Bring the roommate release form you and your roommates signed, and a copy of the original lease.
Unless you're leaving out something major, I'd expect this complaint to be dismissed.


Title: “Doors are unlocked - please don’t break windows”

Question:
I’m wondering about the legal implications of putting signs on your car - maybe stickers in the corners of the windows - plainly stating that the doors are unlocked, in an attempt to stop window-smashing break-ins ... would this violate some provision of your insurance or make you more liable in the event of outright vehicle theft or something like that?

Years ago I had to park in a lot where the cars got their windows smashed to steal stuff out of them at least once a year - after dealing with that a few times I always said that I’d happily agree to legally hand over everything in my car to the vandals when they came around, if only they didn’t break my windows.  That originally got me thinking about the “the car is unlocked” sign idea - but luckily I’ve been out of that parking situation for quite some time.

Now a buddy of mine is dealing with a parking lot that has had a rash of window-smashing thefts and it’s got me thinking about this again.  I’m not going to suggest that he do this but I’m curious about whether someone *could* do it without opening themselves up to liability of some kind.

Locationbot edit:  Illinois, I guess.  Though this is more of a general USA what if.

Answer: You seriously think they don't check the door before breaking a window anyway? Thieves are all about not drawing attention to themselves.


Title: [TX] I have a JD but am not licensed. Any tips for employment?

Question:
Backstory - I graduated last year, but I failed the bar a few times. I do plan on taking it again but I need a break (both mentally and physically). I want to work but I can't seem to get my foot in the door anywhere. Yes, I can probably get a minimum wage job at the local diner but I want something with at least an average college degree wage.

Many places think that I'm overqualified with a JD and think I'm going to quit as soon as I start so I can barely get an interview. Are there other career paths out there that I should be aware of for people who have the degree but not licensed? Google isn't very helpful and I know the people exist considering pass rates. You just only hear about the ones that actually passed.

(The ones I've heard so far are doc review, teaching, and being a landman. But no interviews yet.)

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer:
 >I failed the bar a few times. I do plan on taking it again but I need a break (both mentally and physically).

I disagree strongly with that--the farther out you get, the harder it gets, the more new law you have to learn, the worse your resume looks. I know a number of people who've failed several times; the ones who pushed through and took it until they passed are the ones whose careers recovered. Those people tended to do unpaid law-clerk jobs along with retail/restaurant to make ends meet.

> Yes, I can probably get a minimum wage job at the local diner but I want something with at least an average college degree wage.

Not a reasonable outlook. There are many, many licensed attorneys who are working as attorneys and aren't making an average college degree wage. You have to be realistic about what you can offer an employer: no bar license, no reasonable possibility of staying there long-term.

Employers prefer hiring people who are already working. Make yourself one of them. One option is temp agencies--they sometimes have odd, niche requests. What did you do before law school?Answer #2: If you're looking for doc review, check out the [Posse List.](http://www.theposselist.com/) . The term you're looking for is 'unadmitted' review. Generally pays $5-8/hr less than admitted reviews.

If you're looking for non legal work, leave the J.D. off your resume. There are few entry level jobs where a J.D. with no experience makes you more marketable.

Answer #3: You may be able to find something in medical billing if that's an interest. Some companies specialize in having JDs work on more complicated bills.


Title: (NM) "someone" stole my great grandfather's machine gun after my grandfather died.

Question:
My great grandfather obtained a German machine gun during WW1 and kept it in his house his entire life. After he passed my grandmother took possession of his house and the gun. She lived in the house the rest of her life with my grandfather, and raised 5 children. My mother is number 5. My grandmother died a few years back so that left everything to my grandfather. My grandfather died 6 months ago and he had a will. One son got a busieness another got a house and the three girls were to split the remaining house (originally great granfathers) and all of its effects. My mother is one of the girls and I have her power of attorney.

The gun in question is quite valuable but that's not the point with me. I grew up with my grandmother telling me the story that she had heard a million times from her uncles about how her father had obtained it. She would also bring it out of the closet and she would be the German and I'd be my great grandfather and we would reenact the story.

After grandfather died I went about asking if anyone was interested in owning the gun. None of the sons or grandchildren had any interest in it. The aunt who is currently living in grandfather's house and is the executor of the estate has no interest in it. The only one besides me who even thinks twice about the thing is sister 3s husband.

My aunt the executor texted me today to tell me that she's sorry, the gun is gone. She doesn't know when it went missing,  just that it must have been sometime after grandfather died. They (executor aunt and husband) were at the house 24/7 for at least 6 moths leading up to his death and had actually gotten the gun out of the closet in that time because they had found the firing pin and wanted them to be together.

What should I do? Call the cops? Confront sister 3? Go steal it back? I literally offered to buy it and was told no, that I could have it. I just needed to clear it with sister 3. I think when she heard about me asking around about it is when either her, her husband, or both went and stole it. If I got executor aunt to sign over her interest in the gun I would then own the majority, would that give me any more legal leverage? I'm pretty sure I can get her to do that.

Answer:
 Assuming the gun is appropriately registered, the ATF will want to know about it. The executor may have a duty to report to the ATF that it is missing. I say may, because the registered owner of a Title II gun is required to report, but info t know how that transfers to the executor. Possession of a machine gun that was not transferred correctly is a federal felony and worth about 10 years in club fed. It might be worth letting the executor know this can't just be given away and requires Federal paperwork.  As it is part of an inheritance, it can probably be transferred, tax free, on a Form 5.

It it was not appropriately registered, then let it go and let someone else take the risk. The gun can never be made legal in the US. Answer #2: You need to explain to your aunt that there are strict federal laws regarding the ownership and transfer of machineguns.  Federal laws with federal prison sentences and tens of thousands of dollars in fines attached.

If it's a legit, registered MG and it's just "hiding" it needs to be properly transferred on a Form 4.  It's a felony for anyone who's not the beneficiary to have it.

If it's been properly registered and stolen, the ATF needs to know ASAP.

If it was off the books and isn't registered, and someone in your family has it, they should know about the penalties and what will happen if they ever get caught with an unregistered MG


Title: [AZ] Coworker won't agree to surrender car after falling behind in payments

Question:
My girlfriend agreed to cosign on a car for a coworker, but the only way the bank would approve it is if she were the borrower and the coworker was the cosigner. The coworker fell behind in payments, and is now 33 days delinquent and currently owes $1100.

According to the bank, her options are either pay off the balance, wait for the car to be repossessed, or surrender the car to the dealership. She would prefer to surrender it ASAP, but the coworker has refused to do so. What can she do to get possession of the car again?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 If her name is on the title, she can just take it. Get a set of keys and drive it away. How to find it? Look in the work parking lot, obviously.Answer #2: > agreed to cosign on a car for a coworker

While I don't know your situation and IANAL, but this situation is _exactly_ why you never cosign for anyone (aside from parent to child, but that's another story). It's a great way to be screwed over!

Legally, the title's in both your names so you can just take the car to the dealership on your own if your coworker isn't willing to pay. The option you mentioned about someone else taking over the loan would also work, but I highly recommend your girlfriend getting out of that loan (other person takes sole responsibility) ASAP.Answer #3: I misread it, my fault.  That's even weirder.  Don't surrender it if you can help it.  Its a repossession and you will get hit with thousands in fee's and the dealer dumps the car at auction usually.  Depending on the car you could wind up eating like $7000


Title: Is it illegal to shoot down a drone (helicopter) in mid flight with a crossbow?

Question:
I shot a drone and the owner claimed he had legal rights to fly it over my lawn and that he paid $2,000 and has the right to claim it. What did I do with the drone as soon as it landed? I smash it! Because he's been flying it back in forth for two weeks now I gave him warnings even called the cops after that he continued harassing me.

So I got a little pissed off and decided to shoot his drone because he was harassing me and now filing a lawsuit. Another question to ask, can I counter sue for $2,000?

EDIT: Its a quadcopter
EDIT: I used a crossbow non-lethal I tied a rope so I can pull it down.

Answer:
 You are going to have to explain how a crossbow is 'non-lethal'.Answer #2: Absolutely not.

It is criminal mischief and the owner can sue you for damages. You do not own the air above you and cannot prevent planes, helicopter, hot air balloons, modeal aircraft or space orbiters from flying above your property.

That you don't like something is not harassment. I hate Ford cars, and that my neighbor continues to drive is Bronco past my house on a public street and park in his driveway doesn't give me any right in the least to react in a violent manner or destroy his property.

If he were to park in my driveway, I may have the vehicle towed or call the police and request a trespassing notice of citation be made, but I do NOT have the right to destroy the vehicle, scratch it, or cause any damae..

you admitted behavior was wholly wrong and illegal, and you owe the other person the full replacement cost. This week someone in NJ was arrested for shooting down a UAV thich wasn't even over his property and the operator has already hired a lawyer and initiated legal proceedings to collect damages. That shooter's life is about to get a little miserable, all because he acted rashly and wanted to enforce his will.

You cannot counter-sue for shit. It would be dismissed within minutes on the defense of 'failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted'. You have no damages no statutory claim or private right of action in the least. You essentially appointed yourself as a prosecuting attorney, judge, and executioner.


Title: Employers over paid me over 3 months, help! (Telus 3rd party dealer)

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Yup.


Title: Student of mine is being physically abused by her immigrant father and her mother does not have adoptive rights.

Question:
A student of mine (we'll call her Imani) came forward this week revealing that her father  has been verbally and physically abusive to her (14y/o) and her mother (we'll call her Tina) for the past 9 years and verbally abusive to her younger siblings.

The complicated part is that Imani is not legally adopted by Tina, and her dad is a Kenyan immigrant.  Imani has been here in the states (California) on a greencard "attached" (that's how Tina described it) to her dad.

The fear is that Tina has no rights to Imani in this situation if CPS (Child Protective Services) comes and takes her since Imani is 1) not a US citizen, and 2) not legally adopted by Tina.

Tina is the only mother that Imani has ever known.  Imani has been in the states with Tina (and her piece of trash immigrant father) for the last 10 years.

The father / husband bleeds Tina dry.  Tina is in no way financially dependent on the father but he will literally not leave and steals all of their money.

What options / rights do Tina and/or Imani have in this situation?  Please help.  Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 If you're a teacher, aren't you a ~~mandatory~~ mandated reporter? Shouldn't you be calling CPS regardless, and let them sort out whether Tina can act as a foster parent?Answer #2: You are a mandated reporter. It is not your place to worry about what happens. If abuse is happening or you think it is happening you HAVE to report it or risk losing your job.Answer #3: She could get standing as a parent on court if CPS removed the child. Fictive Kin can get standing. Step parents can get standing. Local laws and judges vary.

But as others have pointed out. The fact that you didn't report already is a violation of managed reporting laws. You don't get too but report because you don't know what will happen. You report. Period. Let CPS figure it out.


Title: Mom refused appointment with orthopedist, blocked by woman at registration desk misinterpreting ER paperwork

Question:
Hi all, thanks in advance for the advice. My mom tore ligaments in her knee (we think) and was put in a boot and given crutches at the ER, but no one did a thorough evaluation of her so we still don't know what's wrong or what the treatment/PT timeline should be. Woman at hospital registration desk refused to get her an appointment in the next 2 weeks because her interpretation of the ER paperwork is that the situation is not urgent, therefore she cannot schedule her an appointment in a reserved urgent timeslot over the next two weeks.

My mom definitely needs an evaluation of her injury before two weeks from now (18 days after the injury). Can I strong-arm the woman at this registration desk with a legal threat?

Thanks again.

Answer:
 No, but your mom can call back and ask to speak to the woman's supervisor, and walk up the chain of command until you find somebody willing to get the ER and the orthopedic depts on the same page.

ETA: most hospitals have a 'patient advocate' or similar title who can help sort out these kinds of snafus.


Title: [CT] This girl is giving sober consent to have sex before drinking. Will that hold up in court if she decides to go after me the next day? She texted me saying agreeing.

Answer: Why would you have sex with someone to begin with if you think this will become an issue?Answer #2: She needs to be able to consent at the time sex actually happens. There is no such things as an irrevocable blanket consent. If she is not capable of consenting then her prior consent won't really help you.


Title: [Washington State] Manager requiring doctors note after leaving work due to injury

Question:
I sprained a muscle in my back over the weekend.  I began having back spasms last night (sunday) and got up for work this morning.  About an hour in I was having continued spasms which were crippling.  My lead sent me home.  Now my manager is requiring me to obtain a medical note to be able to return to work.  If he does not require this of anyone else, can he require it of me?

edit:  they're offering me modified duty if I get a note

Answer: Would you prefer to just get fired? It's perfectly legal for him to require medical clearance to return to work. If you are having crippling spasms you should be seeing a doctor.  You're looking a gift horse in the mouth. This modified duty may allow you to keep your job while at the same time helping your back issues while you work with a doctor to control them.


Title: GFs ex-friend made a website with her picture and full name claiming she maliciously spreads herpes/STDs to him and other plus tons of other (admitted by him) false claims because in his own text "she wouldnt fuck him". In Ottawa,Ontario btw

Question:
 Its the first result on google when you google her name...

I have never been so upset about anything in my life. My gf was friends with this guy for a bit went on a date or 2 but where never where in a relationship together. We have every facebook log saved, and he admitted that he made the site because she would not have sex with him and later told her that he would remove it if she had sex with him. The post claims she tried to give him herpes, sleeps with anything that walks, is insane, implies she cheats ect,ect. We are in Ontario and I feel like the lawyer she has right now is putting minimum effort and just trying to take her money. Is there anyplace to go to help with stuff like this? The first result when you google her name are vile trash and lies and have been pulled up in school in front of the class, by her parents relatives ect. In Ottawa Ontario this is highly illegal and he has admitted to everything in texts and facebook chat. After making the site about her HE STILL was messaging her trying to get her to sleep with him months later, which obviously shows that he knew everything in the post is totally fake because why would you try to sleep with a psychopath who tried to give you stds.

What are her options with this. I dont know if we can afford a lawyer anymore, and this rich entitled brat is dragging the legal proceedings along because he knows that she is a college student and and was literally 18 when this happened with very limited money to spend on a lawyer while he has a few. As I mentioned before this is in ottawa ontario

Answer:
 Did you go to the police?  Demanding your GF sleep with him in order to do something is blackmail.Answer #2: [Here is a page that talks about what is happening exactly in your girlfriend's situation.](https://www.uottawa.ca/sexual-violence-support-and-prevention/cybersexual-violence)

Tell the police that he's trying to extort sexual acts through blackmail and they'll possibly set up a sting, or just outright arrest him. Answer #3: File a police report. Ask for a restraining order, that she is in fear of himAnswer #4: This is blackmail through and through. He has clearly given u enough evidence. Take it to the police, give them everything and let them take it from thereAnswer #5: Go to the police Answer #6: Police.Answer #7: Make a police report. This is harassment, blackmail, slander. Get a restraining orderAnswer #8: First off, tell her to get a new lawyer. Second of all, this seems to be illegal. File a police report immediately. Save copies of all the evidence, and cut off contact with himAnswer #9: At a minimum, a case for blasphemous libel, a criminal offense in Canada. Definitely worth contacting the police and trying to obtain a restraining order. Answer #10: Find a reputation/SEO company to bury his BS website in the meantime. Then if you have the time/money/patience find an attorney for a consultation to see if you have a case for libel et al.Answer #11: If you cant afford a lawyer contact the police, It seems this is libel and black mail. His claims would be easy to disprove unless their is more information to this.


Title: [WA] Divorced parents, 16 year old wants to spend less time with toxic mom

Question:
This is about my younger sister (16F), mom (40sF), and dad (50sM).

Let's call my younger sister Jamie. As per the original custody agreement, Jamie is primarily at Mom's and gets to go to Dad's on Thursdays and alternating weekends.
My parents have been letting Jamie choose, for the most part, which house to be at on a given day. Jamie tries to keep it around 50/50 and everybody's happy.
Recently my mom has been damaging to Jamie's mental health, to the point where Jamie started hair pulling and skin picking again (after not for 3 months). Jamie wants to spend more time at Dad's, but not completely cut Mom off. The problem is that Mom could create a situation where Jamie is just constantly dealing with guilt trips and manipulation whenever Jamie is at Mom's, which would result in Jamie temporarily cutting Mom out of the picture.
If this were to happen, I can 100% guarantee that Mom will get the courts involved. At 16 (17 by the end of January), does Jamie have the ability to choose which house to stay in?

Some other concerns: Maintenance and child support was calculated based off my dad's best 3 months. Almost immediately after the divorce was finalized, my dad's contract ended and he didn't find new work for 9 months. He hasn't paid maintenance in probably a year (the divorce was finalized 2-3 years ago). My mom's (now) husband moved in and put his name on the lease late 2016/early 2017 and they got married in August. My dad pays $1000 monthly in child support even though Jamie is basically 50/50 with time at each house, and my mom asks for additional money from dad to cover Jamie's bills. This says that there's no way she's spending all that money on Jamie each month. Basically, the financial situation here is mega unfair and totally screwing my dad, but if this went legal we're worried if a judge will see it that way.

TL;DR Divorced parents. Mom (custodial parent) is toxic to 16 year old, who wants to spend less time with Mom. Dad is supposed to be giving Mom a stupid amount of money despite new Stepdad and the fact that 16 year old splits time 50/50. If Mom makes this a court battle, Dad could get screwed. But Jamie needs to get out of said toxic situation.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 The courts will most likely listen to the requests of a 16 year old.

As an aside. The fact there is a step dad involved doesn't change the financial obligations of child support. Answer #2: Dad should've probably went back to court to have child support readjusted at some point.

Dad should go back to court to redo custody agreement. Courts will listen to a 16 year old. I think the cutoff is something like 13 where the courts take into account the child's wants.

Theoretically, if the "maintenance" is really alimony, and it is separate from child support in the court docs, Mom getting remarried *could* eliminate the need for alimony. But that's an issue for a lawyer.


Title: Ex husband asking 6 y/o inappropriate Q's

Question:
My ex will call my six year old daughter, but only asks her things about me. Never how she's doing, are how she's feeling. It's progressed over the last two years, despite the fact that I fill him in on the pertinent information.
Ex:
      Where is your mom working?
      Does your mom have a boyfriend?
      How much do you see her boyfriend?
      What's your mom been up to?
 Now he's asking things like:
      When is your mom Due?
      When did she quit her job?
      SO Caleb is paying for everything? I thought your mom was supposed to be taking care of you? ( we decided that it was better for me to finish school and stay home w/the kids since he has a great job and we don't need the extra income anymore)
 I ended up hanging the phone up on him at that point. He does NOT need to be asking a six year old this stuff. It's not fair to put her in the middle like that.
My question.....will I get in trouble for hanging up the phone when he starts putting her in the middle like that if I have already had conversations with him about how inappropriate it is and that I will end the conversation if he does?

We are still in the middle of a custody battle. I've had her for almost two years, and the court date is in july.

Answer: Why are you asking us instead of your attorney?Answer #2: If there a current court order for custody or visitation?


Title: My dr's malpractice insurance is impacting my care

Question: My PCP just informed me that her malpractice insurance wants her to stop prescribing mantienence pain medications to her chronic pain patients. They want her to send the patients to a pain clinic, or they will pull her insurance. She referred me to a local pain clinic and they don't want to see me, because I have a rare diseases and the clinic doesn't prescribe opioids. I take a low dose of tramadol daily. My question is, is this legal? Is it legal for the company to read my records, and to decide what my physician can and cannot prescribe? I'm well below the CDC recommendations for opioid limits. If it's not legal , what are my options?

Answer:
 Imagine if you went to your doc for a heart problem, and he said, "Sorry, that's very high risk and outside my specialty. I'm not the best doctor for that issue. Here's the name of a cardiologist you should see."

That would be reasonable, right?

This is just the same as that.

Opioid prescriptions are high risk, and must be carefully managed if they are to be of any benefit. The risk experts are telling the doc he has to refer those difficult, risky cases to a specialist. It's a completely reasonable practice.Answer #2: Having seen a lot of the behind the scenes legal stuff in the medical world I'm leaning towards thinking that her malpractice insurance company feels that she is high risk in regards to these meds.

Yes, they can tell her that they will revoke her policy if she continues to prescribe this class of medications.  But she also has the option to find a new company if she wants.

What I'm saying is that I'm thinking that you aren't being given the full picture on they why of it.

Is there another doctor in her practice who you could see for the maintenance of these meds?  If not I'm afraid that you will need to look for another provider to continue to monitor and prescribe these meds.Answer #3: Find a new doctor is about your only option.


Title: $2050 Fire Department Bill, what can I do?

Question: A few weeks back I was visiting San Francisco and had a severe panic attack. My wife called the ambulance since I did not have my medication on me and had not experienced a panic attack as severe as this one. I was transported to a hospital but half way there told the medic I was fine. Today I received a bill from the San Francisco Fire Department for $2050 for Emergency Medical Services. The Invoice has my Insurance Policy number  but it is not itemized and does not mention anything about my insurance paying for any of it. I have a high deductible health plan at $1000. What can I do, am I totally screwed here?

Answer:
 Yeah, you're screwed. Ambulances are expensive.Answer #2: You're not screwed. You requested emergency medical transport and got it. Now you have to pay the bill. This is how it works. You can file a claim with your insurance for anything over your deductible. They don't have to bill your insurance.Answer #3: Insurance claims rep here; there may be additional coverage under your auto policy, even though the medical emergency had nothing to do with your car.  Call your insurance company and ask if you have "PIP" or "Personal Injury Protection" coverage.  It's basically an add-on where you can claim medical damages without claiming vehicle damages.
Answer #4: > What can I do, am I totally screwed here?

You can submit it to your insurance company and see if they'll cover it. If they do, you'll just have the pay the deductible.


Title: Florida. Can I refuse to have a 'Service' animal in my store if it's very obviously not a Service Animal?

Question:
Usually I'm more than happy to have well behaved pets in my retail store, and slap a vest or such(indicate in some way it's a Service animal and not a pet) on your animal and I'll welcome well behaved animals in the food area (it's completely separate from the retail floor, customer must exit the retail area and walk across a small patio area).

However, today I had a gentleman in the food section with a dog that had a 'Service' vest on, and the dog was clearly not a service animal. I was at a lose at what to do. The dog, a medium sized poodle, was agitated, whining, always moving around to check stuff out, jumping up to its owner, jumping up to sniff at the serving counter, pulling its leash, and it scratched the door to try and leave.

Is there a clear cut, no gray area law that says I have to allow such an animal in my store if it's causing a disruption? I'd the owner claims it's a service animal, do I just have to turn a blind eye to this? Every other person who has brought in Service animals has been very kind and respectful, this really startled me.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: You can remove a service animal if it's misbehaving or out of control.  [See paragraph 3(f) here](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0400-0499/0413/Sections/0413.08.html)


Title: My boyfriend was just fired from his job at a major retail company (not Walmart) because they claim someone clocked using his numbers on a day he wasn't scheduled. What can he do?

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Business Law

Answer: They can fire him for this, unless there's a contract saying otherwise. Unless he's in a union, I'm willing to bet there is no such contract. They don't need proof, that's not required in employment law. He should start looking for work and file for unemployment.Answer #2: He can find a new job.


Title: Girlfriend's Rapist passed Polygraph test (Washington state)

Question:
Greetings everyone. I am met with a troubling matter, my girlfriend's rapist has passed his polygraph test and I am extremely worried whether justice will be served at all, although I am pretty angry too considering polygraphs are really easy to pull through. There is evidence however that the rape had happened, where would you guys think it would go? I will try to answer questions the best I could although for RCWs I would say it's at least RCW 9A.44.060

Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: Polygraphs are not useful in finding out the truth of the matter.  They are useful in developing leads but that's it.  Someone innocent can fail the polygraph and someone guilty can pass it.


Title: [CA]Neighbor's dog killed my dog

Question:
So the story goes as such:

In November of 2017, my neighbor's dog broke through the wooden fence that separated my yard from their yard. The dog then attacked my dog and we needed to bring him to the vet. We did not file a case (which looking back it now we should have) and they paid out of pocket for the vet bills. We told them to fix the fence but they have yet to do so.

Fast forward to recently, the neighbor's dog once again broke through another part of the fence and attacked one of my dogs. This time, my dog was killed in the attack on the spot with no time to get them to the vet and luckily my other dog was able to hide in a small area to avoid being attacked. In addition, we have video footage of my dog being attacked by the other dog in a vicious manner in my garage.

We did not know this was happening because my dog that was attacked had his lower jaw broken by the other dog and I'm assuming was unable to bark for help or assistance. My other dog was too scared to do anything.

When the incident happened, we called animal control right away and they took both dogs. They informed us they would be filing a report to list the dogs as "dangerous animals" and then we will see what results from that.

At this point, I'm wondering what I can do from a legal standpoint to my neighbors. I currently live in California. What kind of attorney I should contact, if any? I was also recommended to bring them to small claims court but I don't even know the process and how to continue from there.

Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 You'd spend more money on an attorney than you'd ever recoup. From a legal standpoint dogs are considered property. You can sue for the market value of the dog as well as damage to the fence. Those are your damages. From a fellow furkid lover,  I'm sorry for your loss. Answer #2: Dog Law specialist here.

Sorry for your loss. Dogs are considered property by the state; at most you’d recoup the cost of a “replacement” dog.

It sucks, but you likely have little legal recourse.


Title: What to do with an unlicensed car that's been sitting in the driveway of the house we rent?

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice! I hope this is the right subreddit to ask this in. If not please point me in the right direction!

We are located in Indiana. My 3 roommates and I moved into this house about 3 months ago. When we moved in, there was an unlicensed (abandoned looking) car parked in the side of our backlot. It never got in the way of us parking so we didn't think anything of it but now it just looks bad and I would like to get rid of it if we can.

The car obviously hasn't moved since we have lived there and we have no idea how long this car has been parked there before us. Can we get it towed somewhere? Do we call the police? Should we ask our landlord what to do with it? He isn't the nicest guy so I'm afraid he could turn this into a bigger issue, which we don't want. Also, is there anyway this could get turned around on us and get us in legal trouble?

If anyone needs anymore information I would be more than happy to answer questions. Thanks in advance!

Answer: The first thing to do is contact your landlord.  If it's on his property, getting rid of it is his concern.


Title: Disgusting and Unsanitary bedding arrangements in hotel. Can I take any legal action in this matter to help compensate for my horrifying experience

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 You were given $120+.  At most you may be entitled to that night in the hotel and nothing more.Answer #2: Well, the hotel does not have access to a time machine, and I doubt you wish to let them beat you upside the head until you can no longer remember your experience.

All they can do is:

* Not let the problem happen again (which they did by moving you)
* Compensate you (they gave you dining credit and champagne).
* Apologize (which it sounds like they did).

Ask if they removed the charge for that first night (they should have done so), and if not, demand that. Also, you can ask to switch the dining credit for a credit against your room expense for the remaining time.Answer #3: No. You weren't entitled to the dinning credit or bottle of Champaign either. You have no damages to sue for.Answer #4: Nope. Sounds like you've been made whole and then some. Move on with your life.


Title: Can they sue (California)

Question: Ok if I was in a bank during a bank robbery and the robbers made everyone sign a NDA. Can the robbers actually sue if we talked to the police.

Answer:
 Being held at gunpoint is one of the few situations where you could actually claim duress.Answer #2: Not only are contracts made under duress generally void, but so are contracts that contemplate a criminal purpose, and concealing evidence of a bank robbery is pretty clearly intended to obstruct justice.

Furthermore, contractual obligations like NDAs do not override court orders such as subpoenas.


Title: Uncle just died, his step mom is manipulating his wife into just dumping his ashes and being done with it. My grandmother (his real mom) wants to have a service. What can she do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 What stops your grandma from talking to your uncle's wife the same as your step-grandmother?

 You should  consider that funeral services, coffins, cemetery plots, etc., can cost thousands of dollars. What costs  are you asking his wife to incur in order to appease your grandmother? What did your uncle want?


Title: (IL) Underage drinking - need a way to keep my license

Question:
I was arrested for underage drinking and i know theres a zero tolerance law that will suspend my license for 3 months if im convicted.

Im on the last 2 weeks of a current 3 month suspension for too many speeding tickets and now this happens. I can't afford to do another 3 months, im lucky that i even still have a job. Its obliterated my savings account so i could keep paying my car loan and rent.

Im wondering if i have a good chance at getting the charge reduced to a non alcohol offense. Also as a worst case scenario what if i keep continuing out this case until after i turn 21 in 6 months, will my license still get suspended if i wait til then?

Thank you in advance

Answer: I'd rather you lose your license. Sounds like your dangerous enough that you need to be kept off the road.


Title: How to protect address and still receive alimony?

Question:
I'm posting for a family member (in North Carolina, USA) who escaped a marriage with a lot of domestic violence (including death threats). Her ex-husband pays her monthly alimony but sends it via paper check to a PO Box (this is so he does not know her address).  However, due to some unforeseen medical expenses, her finances are in trouble and affording the PO Box is getting harder. Her lawyer is no longer practicing law so he can't give her information/help.

Do you know how she can receive alimony and *NOT* reveal her address to her former abuser? She looked into the bank option (like, auto-deposit) but the bank tells her that whoever deposits the check will have access to her address, so that is a no-go. Is there some way to protect her in this situation?

Answer:
 http://www.ncdoj.gov/getdoc/772ff33a-b9eb-4c98-aca6-c50c6d1ad07b/2-5-4-1-Address-Confidentiality-Program.aspx

Check out the above website. This is an address confidentiality program run by the State of North Carolina. It is designed to help survivor just like your friend!


Title: Update on the attempt to force my brother into a HOA

Question:
[Original post](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/49kyd0/can_you_be_forced_into_a_hoa_and_made_to_follow/)

Sorry about the delay in posting this I had a pretty busy weekend.

As it turns out my brother already had his property surveyed when he was working with a neighbour to rent out some of the fields and from what he says there is a 0% chance that anyone from the subdivision actually owns any of his land. He debated getting another survey done but he was pretty sure that the letter from the lawyer would be enough.

The lawyer seemed pretty helpful and my brother sounded really happy with how the meeting went. Apparently it didn't look to the lawyer like he was doing anything that couldn't be seen as normal farm practices so he shouldn't worry about being sued for spreading manure. The donkeys and sheep were discussed but they ended up deciding that he would just increase his insurance, add more warning signs and fully wrap the wooden fence with new sheep fence along with replacing the older fencing.

He also got a letter that from what he read to me seems to cover the fact that he isn't doing anything that could be considered unusual farming practices. It also showed that he actually owns the land and said that unless the HOA has a dissenting survey they have no claim to his land. It ended saying that the HOA president should contact the lawyer and not my brother if he has any further issues.

Interestingly enough the lawyer couldn't find any homeowners association under the name the guy had given my brother. He said it's possible they just formed or changed their name but more than likely it's just some busybody sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. There is a small chance that they unofficially formed a HOA and never actually did anything but give themselves a name and some rules but the lawyer said that if they did it wouldn't change the fact that they can't force him to join.

So my brother and his wife are happy that things seemed to have been resolved. He bought a security camera for the front door so he can have a recording if the guy shows up again but that's hopefully the end of it.

Thanks for all your advice /r/Legaladvice!

Answer: Could you tell us about the guard donkeys?Answer #2: Thanks for the update!  Glad it's looking good for your brother.


Title: Oral chemotherapy-incomplete safety instructions

Question:
I started on a daily oral chemotherapy agent the other day. I was instructed to empty bladder often, increase fluids, and to be the only one who touches my pills (others should use gloves if they need to come in contact).

I was warned, and expected, nausea and vomiting. Vomiting started the second day. My sister, who works with oncology patients, pointed out that I should have been instructed to keep bodily fluids away from others, wipe down toilet, flush twice with lid down, as the drug is toxic to others and passes through fluids. I have small children at home. I couldn’t even begin to count how many times they may have come into contact with my fluids over the weekend. Nowhere in the drug/pharmacy print-out is there any kind of warning.

Aside from being concerned for my own kids, I’m worried about others on this drug and the lack of information. This doesn’t sit right with me. What can I do? Should I speak with a personal injury attorney? Is this just how it works with some of these drugs? Excuse me if I sound ignorant.

Answer:
 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medication_package_insert Should have been included with the chemotherapy agent.

How long ago was “the other day”?

Along with patient rights come patient responsibilities.

Which drug was it?

You can certainly talk with a lawyer, review your options.


Title: can I sue my Ex husband for deliberately attempting to financially destroy me?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 I'll confess to not making it to the end of the ranting.

But specifically:

>not removing my name from the home mortgage we share on our home in Chicago. He agreed to do this as our divorce degree stated 3 years ago.

If your ex-husband failed to take an action he was required to in the divorce, you can have your attorney seek to have him held in contempt of the order.

Orders to remove you from a loan can be complicated because sometimes the other party simply *cannot* comply.  They can't qualify for the loan alone, or no longer qualify for it at all.  It sounds like you have some reasons to think that he should have been able to comply and your lawyer can review that and take action if appropriate.


Title: Car wreck civil case

Question:
State: Arkansas

4 months ago an uninsured driver hit my car and totalled it. ( I only had liability)  She got a failure to yield ticket. I didn't have uninsured motorist at the time. ( stupidity of my end)

She was driving her boyfriend's car ( he had insurance)  but their was a coverage issue with her driving.   For 2 months I cant get answer.  The claims adjuster would never call me back.  I find out 3 days ago he is no  longer working there, and my claim was  handed over to someone else!

She said she needed a copy of the summons and police report.   Should I be sueing Insurance company too??

Im frustrated and don't know what to do.

Answer:
 No, you sue the driver.

If the insurance company will cover her then they will, either way it is she who owes you.


Title: Do I Have a Case Against my University? Admitted to Program with Insufficient Resources to Complete my Degree

Question:
I was admitted into a PhD program to study a topic \- controls in mechanical and aeronautical engineering. However, the University only has 1 professor in my department that studies in this field, there are no faculty available to put together a defense committee, there are not enough classes \(none, actually\) to get up to speed on the basics of my field, and I have been under funded to finish what classes I could. There are also major conflicts of interest with qualifying exam grading, and a local company I am asked to do work for even though my contract is for the university and not this external organization. It also does not help that my advisor is abusive and a poor project manager., but I doubt legal action can be taken for his personal leadership style.

 Do I have a possible legal case, since I was hired to do research in this field as a graduate student, but the university does not have the resources to make this research feasible. The only thing we have going for us is a nice lab. 1 person already quit 2 weeks ago, another person is quitting in August, and I am looking to quit ASAP because I cannot see how I can earn my degree in these conditions. I feel I was hired under false pretenses or under the illusion that the university had the resources to facilitate my research. The situation is complicated and tough to describe on a reddit post.

Answer:
 What exactly would you sue for? Do you pay tuition or are you on full scholarship/fellowship/TA-ship? Have you at least made some progress in your field of study towards a PhD?

The school doesn't seem to meet your needs regarding your educational goals, so if nothing else it's clearly time to transfer.Answer #2: I’m unsure about legal recourse, but I would find out who the accrediting bodies are for this program at your school & contact them. If this program has insufficient faculty, they should lose accreditation so they stop offering it to students.


Title: Burned out at the school parking lot

Question: So, I am using a temporary car because I crashed mine. The car I am using now is a V8 5.7 so even with a little gas it will do screeching noises. As I was leaving school, I accidentally pressed it down too much and did a little screeching sound for like 2 seconds. I proceed to exit and a car stops right infront of me. It ends up being a teacher and he said let me see your ID. I give him my ID and he takes a picture and leaves. I am kinda scared, because  I don't know what will happen tomorrow at school. We have a parking sticker at a school and it can get removed. What should I tell them if I get called up? I am planning to deny anything they tell me and ask them for proof should I be OK?

Answer:
 >  I accidentally pressed it down too much and did a little screeching sound for like 2 seconds.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuullllllllllllllllllllllllllllllssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttt

Tell them you are sorry and it wont happen again.


Title: City wants to cash 2 checks written out over 4 years ago by a person who died 3 years ago.

Question:
City I'm from is closing a city owned business that my dad had written two checks to over four years ago for a total value of $200. They contacted my mother recently saying they intend to cash these checks now. Is she obligated to allow this and what grounds does she have to deny it?

I am located in the US, Minnesota

Answer: It's still within the statute of limitations for written contracts which is 6 years. Is your mother on the account?


Title: do bars legally have to provide tap water?

Question:
i was at a bar and after drinking for a while with friends, one of us asked for a glass of water. the bartender said no water in a glass but we can buy bottled. this is unquestionably unethical at an establishment that serves liquor, and i hollered at the manager, who basically just told me its their policy, and then told him i hope hes happy keeping 1/2 cent glass of water because now me and my friends will spend our remaining 100+$ we would be spending that night somewhere else.

but this sounds like somewthing that might be required by the state alcohol regulatory agency.

i am curious about all the states but specifically i am in nj. this pissed me off enough that if there is some control board i can call to have the bar fined, i will

Answer:
 Nope, and I hope you know you sound like a douche-bag who can't even be bothered to use proper capitalization. Answer #2: By "hollered at the manager" do you mean that you yelled at him and got extremely upset over bar policy? Just so that you know, that $100+ is nothing, they make that and way way more in a night.

Besides, how hard would it have been for your friend to go into the bathroom and drink from the tap?Answer #3: They sell alcohol, why should they give away water?


Title: Implicit consent and accused of sexual assault?

Question:
FROM FLORIDA

Yesterday a girl came over to my place and we hung out and smoked weed together. Any ways, things got a little more heated and we started playing this "game" with me and took off her clothes as this "joke" and I guess I might have misinterpreted the signs or something. I decided to try and escalate things and I started touching her lady bits and tried to kiss her and then she FREAKED OUT!! She kicked me in the leg and started yelling at me to go away. Keep n mind, im still high asf and I dont know what the hell is going on. So anyways I still try to do touch her (bad move) and she gets really pissed and leaves. I dont pursue her again. Then a few hours later she texts me saying I sexually assaulted her and that she was going to report me. Now im fucking worried. I really thought that her getting naked was invitation for me to try and escalate this.

So can I get in trouble for this? Plus whos going to believe her? She came into my house, of free will, smoked weed with me, and got naked of free will. What kind of person is going to believe she isn't bullshitting? I really dont know why she freaked out. Maybe she has a history of abuse or something and I triggered those memories. Idk. What should I do? I didnt mean to hurt her and shes the one who started this shit. She came over, smoked weed, and got naked. Why would you do that unless your not wanting something more than that? I am 23 and she is 22 btw

Answer:
 Yes you can get in trouble for attempted sexual assault.

No, her prior behavior offers you no defense.Answer #2: They can say "no" at any time. You can get in trouble for this. Should you get questioned by the police, you tell them that you're going to remain silent until you have a chance to speak to a lawyer.Answer #3: There's a plausible argument that _continuing_ to try to touch her after she clearly expressed that she did not consent to it was assault, but whether anything will actually come of it or not is harder to guess at. Personally, I'd be more concerned about the possibility of drug charges, but I've been wrong on that before.

Don't contact her any further. If the police want to talk to you, or if you're arrested, state that you aren't answering questions without an attorney and then shut up until you can talk to an attorney. The only things you should answer are basic identity questions about yourself: your name, your address, and your phone number. Anything else - even "is the sky blue" - is something for your attorney to handle.

If you can't afford an attorney and you are arrested, remain silent until your arraignment, plead "not guilty," and request a public defender.

Best case, this blows over and nothing further comes of it. Worst case, well, that's what the attorney is for.


Title: Worst Mistake Ever

Question: My husband I got into a fight last night. He did kick me and scratch me but it was minor. To make him scared I dialed 911 and gave them the house number but not the full address. My husband stoped once I called the cops and I thought everything was fine that we would go to bed and life would continue as usual. but the cops found our apartment by the help of neighbors and arrested my husband. I feel so guilty because I did not want it to go this far. My husband besides the little hick up and piety things that I know will eventually go away is an awesome man. He loves me and our kids! I do not want to lose him though I feel because of this I already have. What should I do. I do not want him to get in trouble. I love my hubby. He is my baby....he is good person. I know abuse and last night it wasn't abuse it was just a couple fighting. my husband would never seriously hurt me. What can I do, I have to go to court at 10 they say that it is ok for me to bring my kids but I am scared. What if they want to arrest me too and take my kids away. I wrote a statement last night because the police told me to. I told them what happened and they arrest my baby! My husband, I need to save him. I did not mean for all this to happen. What do I do to make all of this go away..I want my husband home please help me.

Answer:
 Your location would be helpful (which is why there are multiple prompts)but...

Why are you surprised by the events? Your husband struck you, you called the cops, and he was arrested. This is typically how it works. You can show up at 10am and talk with the prosecuting attorney, but there is no guarantee they will listen.

On a side note, hitting and kicking your wife is abuse. That's not how normal couples argue. It typically escalates from there and something tells me this isn't the first time this has happened. Answer #2: If the kids are school-aged they need to be in school, not court.  If they are not school-aged only bring them if you have no one else to watch them.

Your husband's domestic violence case will not be the only one on the docket.  In almost every other case the victim (most likely wife or girlfriend) will say the same exact thing as you: it was a misunderstanding, I didn't want him arrested, I don't want to go forward, etc.

Expect a protection order to be issued today.  Your husband most likely will not be allowed to go to your house or contact you in any way.  He can ask for a public defender, if he qualifies financially.

You need to speak to the victim advocate when you get to court.  Many courts have domestic violence/anger management programs for the perpetrator that, upon successful completion, ends up with no conviction.  Quite a few places also have resources for the victim.


Title: Sexual assault?

Question: If a female child is poked on their buttocks by a male child is this assault? If a teacher were told and her response was "well try to stay away from him" is that illegal?

Answer:
 Dear christ please don't be one of those parents that wants to get a 6 year old arrested for "sexual assault." Answer #2: How old are these children?  You think the police should be called? Why would advice to stay away from somebody who is bothering you be illegal?Answer #3: > If a female child is poked on their buttocks by a male child is this assault?

No.

> If a teacher were told and her response was "well try to stay away from him" is that illegal?

No.

Edit: These answers are based on this being in the United States, Canada, or Europe. If this is in Saudi Arabia, the answer to both is "maybe."


Title: (Nevada) My stepson was arrested for a hit and run. He has a public defender says he is going to get the same penalty as a DUI even though that's not what my stepson was charged with.

Question:
To start I want to say that I do not in any way, shape or form condone his actions. My post isn't about that though, it's about his incompetent public defender and the shoddy legal representation that he is getting. No matter what he did, everyone should have a competent lawyer.

My stepson did something none of us are proud of. He was on his way home from a night out with his friends. There was an accident. He got scared because he had been drinking so he left the scene and came home. My wife and me had no idea about any of this until the cops came and arrested him 2 days later.

He has a public defender because we can't afford a lawyer otherwise. The public defender keeps telling us and him that my stepson can get up to 20 years in jail and that he won't get probation because the person he hit is still in the hospital and she's needed surgery. These are the penalties for a DUI but my stepson wasn't charged with a DUI. The cops didn't arrest him until 2 days later and although he was at a bar everyone shared a tab so there is no way they can prove how much he drank or even if he drank at all. There is no proof he drove drunk but the public defender keeps saying the same thing.

We've never had to go to court or deal with the law or lawyers before. Is there a process for requesting a different public defender? Also we want to know where to report this because an incompetent lawyer should not be a public defender.
Topic:
Douche

Answer:
 Nevada law, after October 2015, applies the same penalties to a Hit and Run with Bodily Injury as it does for a DUI.

It's appalling that you consider your stepson's PD "incompetent" and "shoddy" despite them giving you completely accurate information. They're not a magician with a time machine to go back and undo your Stepson's colossal fuckup. Did you think they were?


Title: [CO] The coordinator for my Alcohol Education/Therapy class passed away

Question:
Hello /r/legaladvice,

I'd like to get some input regarding an odd, tragic, and mildly frustrating situation which I've found myself in. As one might infer from the title of the post, I plead guilty to a DUI charge in June of '14, and have since been taking Level II Education/Therapy courses (Track D). The coordinator of the center I'd been attending had cancer - while I knew she was sick, she seemed very healthy, and gave every indication to the attendees that she would make a full recovery, as we all hoped. Last month she went in for emergency surgery, and the operation took a turn for the worse - she did not survive. In the wake of her passing, the center I had been attending was shut down, and the attendees were instructed by her intern to contact CDHS in order to receive discharge paperwork. On November 19th, I emailed the CDHS representative whose contact information I had been given, and received a bare-bones "please fill out and return back to me" response, along with a consent form. After filling out the form and sending it back, I did not hear anything from the CDHS representative for a week. Wanting to speed up the process, I sent out an email asking for a status update, and received the following response: "I received it. I'm working on releases now." I haven't heard anything since, although I did receive a very frustrating letter on Saturday from the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles indicating that I am "not in compliance" with my Alcohol Education/Therapy, and must surrender any/all drivers licenses or permits currently in my possession (fortunately I don't have any).

My questions (some phrased more as open-ended statements) are as follows:

i). From a probationary standpoint, I do not want this situation to give the impression that I have violated any of the terms of my probation. Is there anything I specifically need to provide to my probation officer at this stage to explain the nature of the situation, apart from a description of the current events? Would it be beneficial to have the intern of the program contact my PO directly?

ii). I'm worried that I may lose the hours I have spent at the center which was closed down. In total, I had over 70 hours of time, out of a total 110 required. The biggest issue the loss of the original hours presents is that, given the mandated two-hours-per-week model I've been following, I wouldn't have enough time to finish if I started from the beginning, given that my probationary period is scheduled to end in November of 2016.

iii). Is there anything the CDHS representative can legally do to nullify my hours? I am very frustrated after having waited two weeks to begin the process, but have remained polite in our correspondences in spite of the seemingly unnecessary amount of time it has taken to get this situation resolved. Her attitude seems snippy, for lack of a better word, and I worry that if I continue to push her for details she may simply throw out my information, thereby nullifying my progress.

I know there's quite a bit of information to take in here, but I sincerely appreciate it if you've read this far and have any constructive input to share. Thanks for taking the time to listen!

Answer:
 At this point you need to wait. Assuming you returned the form on the 19th and your contact did not take any extra time off for Thanksgiving, today is only the 5th business day they will have had the form. The wheels of government don't move that fast. My general rule of thumb is give them 10 business days to process and get back to you.

If you want more specific advice to your case, the best person to contact would be the attorney who represented you in court.


Title: How can you legally disappear?

Question: Say if you wanted to get away from everyone, yet you need new papers and a name. How would you legally do it?

Answer:
 There's no way to legally totally disappear, but you can make it hard to find you.  The first thing I would do is change my name, start a corporation in a state where the owners of a corporation aren't required to be publicly listed at the secretary of states website (Ohio comes to mind).  You could then use that company to found a few others if you wanted to get fancy, maybe add one overseas - I don't know much about foreign laws but there are some countries where you can be basically totally anonymous as the owner of a corp.  Next, you transact ALL business in the name of that company - meaning credit cards, bank accounts, your lease or mortgage, all of it.  Anything that involves you signing anything, the company is on that piece of paper, not you.  By doing that, you should make it fairly tough for anyone to find you.  Here's the drawback:  it'll cost you a couple grand to get this up and running, your taxes will be an absolute nightmare to figure out every quarter, and I have no idea what it might do to your credit score.  So unless you've got people looking for you because they want to kill you, I'd just put on a fake mustache and a weird hat and call it a day.Answer #2: There is generally no real way to change your name such that there is no trace at all of the change.

You could figure out a way to get into the Witness Protection Program, I suppose.


Title: Been living at same apartment for 2 years now and never signed a lease (terrible idea I know now). This is the last month and we reached a verbal agreement that the security deposit would be used for last month's rent if no damages occurred. Landlord does not feel the same way.

Question:
I am a 21yo college student and having been living in the same apartment above a bar for two years now with a good friend of mine.  There was never a lease prepared for me or my roommate to sign so for 2 years we would pay rent on the 1st of each month and there were never any issues. Now, we are finally moving out of this dump and May our last month. My landlord and I verbally agreed that the security deposit paid two years ago would be used for last months rent if no damages occurred. He texted me this morning and he does not feel the same way.

[the texts](http://imgur.com/a/d5KSK)

You are probably thinking, "Who is James?"... This apartment has 3br, but my buddy and I have been the only ones to live here for the entire two years, the other room has been filled by random people either we know or on craigslist (always interesting). The latest random was from craigslist (James) and he was the FIRST and ONLY person to sign a lease. He was a decent renter until he vanished in February to avoid paying child support I believe. James was the only one to cause any damage to the and the only one to sign a lease. His security deposit was taken.

Now, what does my landlord mean when he says we have not paid $XXXX the past two months? Well, when James disappeared he quit paying rent but since he signed a lease he was responsible for his portion of rent so my buddy and I only payed each of our 1/3's of the rent for the next two months. At the time my landlord was okay with this and he agreed that we did not have to cover the other 1/3 that James was responsible for.

ALSO, I live in Wisconsin if that helps with legal issues.

What should I do to prepare myself before I meet with him Monday?
Is this even worth fighting?
What legal standpoint can I take? If there even is one.
Anything helps here.

Sorry about any formatting issues, this is my first post.

Answer:
 You are completely wrong about the security deposit. It's for damages, not rent. Pay rent or you could get a pay or quit notice and then your landlord could go to court to evict.

Since you don't have a lease, it's going to be hard for your landlord to show you owe any more rent then you have actually been paying.

So IMO you're wrong about the security deposit but right about the rent. Your landlord also does not need to prepare a list for you until he has done a complete inspection.Answer #2: You need to pay rent. The landlord doesn't even have to deal with the damages and security deposit until after you vacate. Then he can do a walk through, assess any damages, and deduct accordingly. If you disagree with what he deducts, you can sue him for the return of your security deposit.


Title: Abusive and controlling parents took my documents to prevent me fro leaving. Should I go to the police or just get new ones?

Question: So long story short I am of Russian descent and hence my parents are extremely controlling. They are also abusive, especially in the last 6 months when I was close to finishing school and moving out. They have threatened my boyfriend that he will get hurt if he seems me again (him and I have worked through this and just meet secretly) and threatened to hurt me as well. After many unsuccessful attempts to sit down an calmly resolve everything I have decided to get a job, make money and move out. I am about two weeks from moving out but I have just discovered that my parents took all my documents (passport, insurance, residence permit, etc.). I know it's illegal to take my documents but they just say "we payed for it so it's ours. You can go back to Russia and make it all for yourself if you want to be so independent." So now I need an advice whether or not to call the police on that or to just make new documents (all I have is a school ID with my photo and name and scans of my documents.) Thank you for your replies :)

Answer:
 This situation has come up in this sub from time to time.

Having scans of your documents may help a lot. Many of the procedures below assume that the OP was born in the US. You should probably start with trying to get your Russian birth certificate. Go to your nearest Russian consulate with your scans and see if they can get you a replacement copy of your birth certificate. Then get a legal translator who is certified in your state to provide an official translation.

Check out /u/derspiny 's advice [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/8qvzuo/parents_locked_up_personal_documents_ive_moved/)

[This thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/88kg4w/ca_girlfriend_is_turning_18_in_3_days_need_advice/) has some pertinent advice

[This thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/7635jy/us_citizen_born_abroad_needs_to_replace_all_her/) also pertains to someone who was born outside of the US

You don't say what state you are in. [Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/7ptdt4/fl_friends_18_parents_withholding_legal_documents/) is advice for someone in Florida.

Discussion of this issue in [Washington State](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2f0tjo/washington_state_lost_all_forms_of_id_please_help/)

[The Red Cross](http://redcross.org) has some hopefully pertinent advice on [Where to Replace Vital Documents Lost in a Disaster](http://www.redcross.org/get-help/disaster-relief-and-recovery-services/recovering-financially).

[This post](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/3jlde0/illinoishow_do_i_replace_my_social_security_card/) pertains to Illinois.

In case this advice is getting repetitive, search in Google. I tried *replace ID site:reddit.com/r/legaladvice*.

Somewhere in this sub there are a couple of excellebt, very detailed threads in which young adults fleeing abusive homes were able to recoup all official documents.

[Last one](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/7tpjqi/my_parents_left_the_hospital_before_i_got_a_birth/)

Hope these help at least a little.


Title: (MI) Fitness center took a 6 month payment 4 days before selling to new owners and won't refund/respond. Next step?

Question:
My fiance and I each paid $209 for a 6 month gym membership with credit/debit cards on 10/27/16. We arrive to the gym to see that new owners took over the gym as of 10/31/16 (we were completely unaware of any ownership changes pending when we made the payment). After contacting previous owners (who we paid) about getting a refund, she told me to contact the current owner because our membership was to carry over.

After a LOT of back and forth, the new owners (who have been very helpful) said that no agreement was made to assume any existing memberships. The previous owner then told me that she was planning on paying the new gym owner directly for our membership - to which the new gym owner said he could not accept money from the old owners on our behalf and suggested to her to refund my fiance and I directly.

I sent a civil message to the previous owners who owe us money, explaining the entire situation AGAIN, and asking since she offered to pay the new owners directly on our behalf...why couldn't she simply refund the $418 directly to us?

She has been very hit or miss on responding to messages except saying "I'll take care of it" but not explaining what that means.

I'm assuming filing with small claim court is the next step? Do I tell the people who took our money before they sold the business that I'm going to take them to small claims if this doesn't get resolved or do I just have them served? I have a paper trail of all transactions and messages/e-mails from both the new and previous owners.

**edit** If I do take them to small claims court, can I ask them to pay for the filing/serving fees as well as what they owe if we win our case?

Thank you!

Answer:
 > I'm assuming filing with small claim court is the next step?

That is correct.

>  Do I tell the people who took our money before they sold the business that I'm going to take them to small claims if this doesn't get resolved or do I just have them served?

It's a good idea to send them a final letter asking for a refund, spelling out your reasons for the refund, and giving them a hard date to return your money.  Best not to mention the court system.


Title: Cross post from advice. My fiance screwed up a couple years ago... I've gotta help fix

Question:
A couple years ago my girlfriend, now fiancé took a job with Aerus Electrolux in Georgia. I had a great job, made plenty of of money, she just wanted a job to kill time and meet people. (We had just moved) I thought nothing more of it, and we lived our lives.
Fast forward a few months and we start realizing we are going to move again.
This is when I find out her boss has opened numerous lines if credit with her name and SSN. These alwere for equipment, and to help her credit (it was 735)..... I'm livid at this point, but not a lot we could accomplish. Lawyers won't touch it. The total amount is around 12 grand spread out over a few accounts. A couple are no name finance companies, I'm guessing they don't ask a lot of questions.
We froze her credit immediately. We did have a water and air purifier which were returned and we got a receipt. Her former boss agreed to pay off the accounts, which we got in writing. And he did, until now.
Bills arent being paid, we have filed disputes with the two that are behind, filing a fraud letter with the credit bureaus then a fraud affidavit...
Anybody know anything else?
Tl;Dr Fiance's ex boss opened lines of credit in her name. Quit paying shit, collectors have started. We're filling out fraud papers.

Answer:
 You should have contacted the police straight away for identity theft.Answer #2: Please remove the name of the company.

Were these lines of credit opened with her permission?


Title: MIL demanding POA - India

Question:
Hey all. I'm here on a recommendation from justnomil.

I'm a Canadian in India right now visiting with my fiancee. We are gay. Her mother is a mean manipulative generally bad person with control issues. She is also a closeted homophobe.

My fiancee has been accepted to school in Canada (yay closing the distance!) And the visa process has begun. The problem is, her mother is demanding power of attorney over my fiancee.

Fiancee gave power of attorney to her mother when she studied abroad 7 years ago as a 21 year old because she saw nothing wrong with it as her mother told her it was for joint-account banking purposes to "keep the account active" and for filing my fiance's taxes. It has since expired as it was for a period of 5 years.

Am I wrong to assume that's completely ridiculous? I assume banks and tax people have dealt with people living abroad and she should be able to do most things via fax or email, and can come home for anything she absolutely needs to be here for? Is there a logical reason for a homophobic evil person to have legal and medical power over their mentally competent adult child?

Answer:
 It might be a little more pricey, but you can likely find a tax accountant in Canada who understands India's taxation law, if you're near a big enough metropolitan center, who will be able to reconcile filing for your fiance easily enough (if they're even required to file when they're not earning an income in India.)

Internet banking will easily let you keep accounts active remotely, and international phone calls via Skype are really easy. Leave your MIL-to-be out of it for now, unless something comes up? Or find another trusted friend to handle it instead, it doesn't have to be a relative.


Title: 1st time DWI Offender, however I was not driving. Any Help, Advice, or shared experiences would be appreciated. (This is a repost from the Self section as requested)

Question: Long story short 2 weeks ago, I went into a restaurant ordered 2 drinks, decided I had too much once I got behind the wheel. I turned the ignition/heater on as it was 41 degrees outside and I didn't have a coat and passed out. Roughly 5 hours later I am woken up by police officers in the restaurant parking lot with puke and piss all over me and was arrested for DWI. I submitted to a blood test as I was not able to pass the sobriety test and was arrested. (I do not have the results) Ultimately I believe that something was slipped into my drink but that seems fairly irrelevant at this point. A police officer friend told me to get the tape where the video shows me sleeping it off in the car and to fight it, as the video will show I was being responsible not an offender. 2 Drinks should have left my system by 5 or 6 hours, that I needed to have the blood work tested for "Date Rape" and fight it that way. I spoke to an attorney and he offered his services for roughly $5000 to watch my case for me until it actually gets docketed, and then "WE" will try to have the D.A. throw it out on Obstruction of a Roadway Misdemeanor instead, as they may not have enough evidence to actually convict me. Thoughts or suggestions on how to proceed would be great.

Answer:
 You don't post where you're located, but in most cases DWI only requires being "in control" of the vehicle.  Sitting in the front seat with the ignition on is definitively "in control".

For a better read, you'll need to tell us the state and what statute you were charged with violating.


Title: Small Town DA continues to call my wife

Question:
My wife and her family are from a small rural town in Mississippi. My wife and I currently live in Kentucky and have lived there for the past 2.5 years. About a month ago she got a call from her hometown DA's office. They left her a voicemail and asked her to call them back. This is obviously mildly unsettling.

My wife returned the call and they asked her if any of her family members had been involved in any scrapes with the law. The answer to the question to the best of her knowledge was "NO." The person calling her said that he thought they must have mistaken her for someone else, and he would remove her from the call list.

Weeks go by, and again she gets a phone call. She was busy today so I called the DA and again tried to clear the matter up. I left a message for the DA clerk to call me back. He never did. I called back at the end of the day and spoke with another clerk who told me that she could not help me but would give a message to the clerk who called her to clear up the matter.

I'm concerned that this will not be resolved and she will continue to get phone calls. At what point does this become harassment? I do not think that we are in any way obligated to speak with the DAs office but I'm not opposed to helping them out if we can; however, this is becoming frustrating. Is there anything we can say to them so that they will not call us again? At what point should we pursue professional legal assistance?

Please keep in mind that this is a small town where everybody knows everybody, and I don't want to cause problems for her parents who are still there.

Thanks

Answer:
 >At what point does this become harassment?

With two phone calls in a month or more from someone trying to do their job?  You are not even in the universe of harassment.