Title: [TX] USPS will NOT deliver my housemates mail, don't know why..

Question:
I don't know if there's anything that can be done about this, legally speaking, but I might as well ask just in case since we've run out of ideas.

My housemate (my husband's best friend) moved into our house in June of this year. Before he moved, he changed his address online using the USPS website (showed me the email confirmation in May to make sure he entered the address correctly, he did, and he had also already changed his ID so that it listed our address).

Around September he had still not got ANY mail, and any personal mail he had sent to him was returned to sender. We contacted USPS and they asked him to come and fill in some paperwork to change his address (despite him already doing it online). He went in, filled in the paperwork, no problem. For ONE DAY ONLY he received some mail (one bill and one baby shower invite) and that was it. No more mail, again, and any orders he was expecting just disappeared into thin air. He had also been waiting for a backpack he had ordered in July so he called about that and they informed him that it was at customs and would be arriving at OUR ADDRESS (he double checked) in a month or two.

In October he called USPS again and told them he wasn't receiving his mail again so the mailman left a slip in our mailbox to write down all the tenants of our house that would be receiving mail to our address. Did that, wrote his name at the top. *Still* no mail for him, yet I get every man and his dog's mail for some unknown reason, as well as all of my own (I assume all the random mail I get belongs to previous owners, I even had a cop come and leave a court order on our door at one point).

It is now December and he has still not received anymore mail since the one random day of mail he got. He called USPS *again* and they just told him they couldn't do anything about it since he's already filled in everything he possibly could. He then called the seller again about his backpack, only to find out it had been tracked and reportedly delivered TO HIS OLD ADDRESS, and they couldn't do anything about it BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN SIGNED FOR. How can that even happen?! I saw the order and he had definitely listed our address, and we're not even in the same zip code as where he used to live, it makes no sense..

What can he do about this? He's called anyone and everyone he can within USPS trying to sort this out. He's had to resort to having his packages delivered to his girlfriend's house which is a bit of an inconvenience, but he still can't receive any other kind of mail which he's pretty bummed about.

Answer: Just wondering, have you personally talked to your regular mailman?  It might be him filtering it out on his own.  I know you said you filled out the slip, but without a face and a specific conversation, he might be confused.  You might also try affixing a sign inside your mailbox with all the names of people who accept mail there.  I lived in a little country part of town for a while and the mailman had so much time on his hands, he would even cross out previous tenants names when the mail said "previoustenant OR current resident" and I know for sure that any mail with anyone else's name on it was filtered out whether it was supposed to come here or not.  It doesn't make sense that the automated system at the mail sorting center would be failing here, it seems like something being done at the delivery step.


Title: A police horse ran toward me and stepped on and crushed my foot. An non-mounted officer then told me I could file a report at the police station- where I was then arrested for disorderly conduct.

Question:
I'm a 5 foot, 120 pound girl. ~~Is this entrapment?~~ The officer TOLD me to go to the station to report what happened. I was not being rude or disorderly. I was crying and explaining to the officer behind glass at the station where I was grabbed up by the female officer and thrown in a cell. She was extremely rough and left bruises all over my body. I have court in two days. Any advice?

Edit: Throwing out entrapment. Thanks playaspec and mcherm!

Answer: Take pictures of the bruises.


Title: [California] Friend fell for a Secret Shopper Scam

Question:
A close friend of mine fell for a secret shopper scam.  He deposited, what is most likely, a fake check.  And even spent a bit of the money before looking into the details even more.  This all happened today!  He came to me wondering what he could do.  And in truth I'm not sure what (if anything) there is I can do!

So, with that said, what can I do to help him?  Who can he talk to inside or outside of the bank to protect himself and possibly not pay any massive penalties or fees?  Also how the h**l do I get justice for my friend?

Answer:
 He can pay the money back and pay the fees associated with depositing a bad check. Answer #2: He owes the penalties and/or fees.

>Also how the h**l do I get justice for my friend?

You don’t. He will never find that scammer.


Title: Boss is threatening to report items he GAVE me as stolen.

Question: I worked for a private investigative company as a PI. This particular company was very sketchy, giving me jobs in a state that I did not carry a PI license in but I had to do it or I wouldn’t have work. They have me 2 cameras, a tripod and a laptop. While they did pay well for the four months I worked there they really fucked me over by canning me without warning. I never signed anything saying I had to give the stuff back if they fire me. Do I have to give it back? Should they be in trouble?

Answer: Uhh.. yeah you have to give it back.  It's their property.


Title: Today I got caught in an abandon church, looking for advice.

Question:
Hi everyone. So I live in Pennsylvania. Today a friend and I were exploring an abandon church and someone called the cops on us. The church has been abandon for a few years now and no one has paid taxes on it for 5 years. We got in through an open window. I wanted to take pictures of the inside for a video project that I am making. I had no intent to steal anything and we did not create any damages, like I said the window was open already.

I know what I did was wrong and that I shouldn’t have gone inside without permission but I am freaking out about what is going to happen to me. I don’t have a criminal record of any kind, I attend college and have good grades and I am a paramedic. I actually knew the cop that caught us. I am afraid that if I have charges pressed against me that it will ruin my chances of getting jobs in the future. The cop was nice and said that we were stupid but that he has to report to the landowner what happened and it will be up to them if they press charges.

I wanted to take it upon myself to apologize to the landowner in hopes that they do not press charges but I was unable to find any contact information besides a PO Box. The local tax page says that it is owned by a business but when I called the numbers that I found they are no longer connected. Taxes haven’t been paid on the property for 5 years. I called the local municipal building as well and they had no contact information for the business. Would it be stupid if me to send an apology letter to the PO box explaining what happened?
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: You probably should do nothing without talking to a lawyer.  But if it was me I would not write a letter admitting guilt to anyone especially since most likely the owner will never be contacted.


Title: Advice about police questions

Question:
Local county police contacted my brother-in-law and asked if he could come to the station so they could ask him questions about a violent crime that took place in his neighborhood.  He is a black man, and he has seen YouTube videos from attorneys that say never talk to police; rather, always assert your right to remain silent and say nothing.  Should he go down to the station and answer their questions?  He is innocent, but also paranoid that somehow he will get framed, or just be in over his head.  He can't afford an attorney.
Location: Southern California

Answer:
 NEVER talk to police without your attorney present.
I can not stress enough, the word NEVER.
If I knew how to make the word NEVER bigger....


Title: Grandpa Passed, Grandma going to be left out most likely.

Question:
Will Has not been read. I know its a big thing but the rest of my family isn't getting ahead of this so I figured getting some questions answered is a good idea.

So my grandpa never technically married my grandma. Not sure why but they have been living together for 25 years. However, its Florida. I don't believe common law marriage is in effect. Now this is where its get tricky. My grandma has a place to live but had lived at this house for 25 years. They(Daughter and son) are gunna sell it for quite a bit think 2-3 mil+. Thank god no fire sale but she hasn't had any say in any kind of thing. I believe power of Attorney went to his kids (son and daughter) since they made all the decisions regarding his in home nurses and such.

My dad moved back from Africa to take care of my grandpa for the last year because my grandpa couldn't. Now its a year out of work with bills piling up and trying to get a job but this area is terrible for the tech/network admin jobs hes has in the past. Think CTO or the most senior network admin guy in your company.

The will be read on Tuesday the 2nd. Not sure whats going to happen because he never talked to anyone about it. The daughter and son are already going against his spoken wishes.

Once the will is read and they end up shutting my grandma out. Which is very likely to happen she will be left with next to nothing. The apartment she has to live at is paid by him for the last 20 years so I'm not sure whats going to happen there. My grandma has some money that has been doing well in the market but shes still in a risk on mode, her finances are another entire conversation. Not to mention my dad is now stuck because hes been out of work for so long and in a place with no jobs that are the correct caliber.

Im mainly looking for help in regards to Common law which doesn't exist in florida and how I can make sure my grandma at least gets enough to live for the rest of her life.

I'm just not sure what to do. I wanna tell my grandma to get a lawyer but shes a very submissive woman and will take whats given to her vs fighting for whats hers. Im not trying to start a legal fight over someones money thats dead but for the well being of my grandma I have to do whats necessary.

Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer:
 An estate attorney would be a great idea.Answer #2: If she's left out of her partner's will and doesn't want to get a lawyer, then she's going to get hosed. If she's competent, that's a decision she's allowed to make.

"Get a lawyer" is exactly the right advice. There's not really a lot more to say. While it's possible she'll be left out anyways, an expert is a lot more likely to spot some reason she should be given a share of the estate even if left out of the will or intentionally disinherited.


Title: My husband's boss is threatening legal action for an IG/FB post of a celebrity's bicycle

Question:
1) Background
My husband, H, works in a bicycle shop as the main mechanic. This bicycle shop is owned by his boss, B. H is a diligent worker. Taxes are reported, it's all above-the-board. No contract signed, just at-will employment. H gave his boss verbal notice of intent to leave with more-than-generous time - 5 weeks notice, currently 2 weeks left til the date. At which point he intends to start his own independent bicycle servicing business. As the ramp-up for this, he has started an instagram page and has been posting bicycle content, all originally-created content, just to build up a portfolio and to start participating in the community. No outright advertising or promoting or soliciting as of yet.
2) To the incident at hand

A celebrity, C, dropped his bike at the shop for servicing. H serviced it like he would any other customer bike. H got pictures and video of him working on and riding C's bike (pictures are on the inside of the shop, video is on the sidewalk outside of the shop) and posted it to his IG and FB, to show how happy and proud he was to have worked on this bike. You can DM me and I'll point you to the post. The bike was picked up, no interaction. A fellow employee of the shop showed B the post because, honestly, it's quite a funny and interesting one. B is unhappy, likely because he sees the post as H promoting his own business and becoming a competitor (which isn't completely off target, but H did put in his own labor to this bike and we're trying to do a native/organic approach with his IG rather than "HEY PAY ME TO FIX YOUR BIKE")

3) The specific message from B:

Hey, \[employee\] brought to me that you posted video and photos of \[celebrity’s\] bike on your personal Facebook. This is against customers privacy law, and against shop policy. Please delete this post ASAP to avoid further legal action. Same goes if you posted anything related on any other websites. Appreciate your understanding.

4) Our thoughts and questions:

Is B pulling a scare tactic on H, or is there actual grounds for legal action? There were no losses. No detriment to character, whether to B's shop or C himself. B did not make H sign any NDA or contract assigning store ownership of H's IP created while as an employee. Not even a social media policy. B HIMSELF took a photo of C's bike and featured it on the shop instagram, so it seems hypocritical re: customer privacy. The only thing I can think of is that some pictures were taken inside the shop itself, but could B actually come after H with legal action?
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer: First it would be entirely legal to terminate him for this.  Furthermore it’s possible that he doesn’t own the copyright for the photograph, if taking photographs of work is a part of his job then the picture would be a work for hire which would make the shop the owner of the picture.  Though I don’t know that there is any privacy law that would be applicable.


Title: Landlord says tenants will no longer be notified in advance of apartment showings (Indiana)

Question:
My landlord sent an email to all current residents stating:

>Our community is currently 100% occupied, which means we will sometimes need to show resident apartments. This does not mean we are leasing your specific apartment, but using it as a model to show the apartment style. We will rotate between apartments and you will not be emailed every time we have an appointment scheduled. Please let us know if you have any questions.

I was under the impression that this behavior would violate renter's privacy laws. Not giving advance notice before the landlord enters the apartment is illegal...right?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 They have to give you notice. Give them something in writing that you must be given notice and you do not permit entry for a showing unless reasonable notice is given. If they ever show up unannounced and you're home, don't let them in.

http://www.in.gov/isdh/files/Tenants_Rights_doc.pdf


Title: Employment law question

Question:
 My boss just popped a random drug test on us.  They found something (spoon?) in men’s bathroom.  They only made all the guys go take the test, not the girls too.  It was a female employee who found the item. Cleaning the men’s’ restroom apparently. So every single guy failed for THC. However, they are only firing those individuals with a “worse” drug in their system than THC.

Buddy failed for coke. He is gone. Another failed for meth, he is gone.

How is this legal and fair?  I know it’s jurisdiction al, but isn’t there something wrong going on here?  Non government food service job.

Answer:
 You say that you "know it's jurisdictional" but they you fail to list what jurisdiction (state) you're in.

If you're in the US, it's almost certain they had the right to drug test you -- especially if they found evidence.

The fact that they found whatever evidence of on-the-job drug use in the men's room is more than enough to justify testing only the men. As a private employer, just about any evidence is sufficient. The fact that a female employee found and reported the evidence is entirely irrelevant.

What can be done is that you all can stop spending what little money you make in this job on hard drugs that will ruin your lives and get you fired from your jobs.

What makes you think it's *not* legal and fair? What's unfair about it -- drug free workplaces have been a thing for decades, employment drug tests, both initial and ongoing, have been a thing for decades. Illegal drugs have been illegal for decades. No one in the US as a right to do meth or heroin and just about every employer has the right to ensure that their employees -- particularly those interacting with people and the food they eat -- aren't doing those kinds of drugs.

The fact that they didn't fire the pot smokers shows how progressive and lenient they are.


Title: How should we proceed? Homeless ask for legal advice

Question: [deleted]

Answer: This doesn't even begin to sound right. Sound more like someone is asking in a roundabout way how to establish a new identity for whatever reason.


Title: Hey I live in Colorado can I get evicted by my Roomate?

Question:
I've lived here for about 7 months my Roomate is on the lease but i am not. I have been paying rent not damaging anything essentially I've been perfect.

She just left me a note that said this is your 30 days notice. Is she allowed to do this? I thought only the landlord could do that??? Please and thank you everyone this is buggen me out.

Answer: If you're not on the lease and your roommate is the one who let you move in, then yes, she is your landlord and can terminate your tenancy with proper notice.


Title: Is it true that in kansas they have to destroy your State ID when you get your learner's permit or driver's licence? Can I go on a flight just fine once I get my learner's permit hard copy?

Question:
I guess its not exactly a legal advice question?? but Im not sure where exactly to ask these questions. I just had this happen at the DMV and im anxious since I have a flight coming up next month to visit friends.

I didnt exactly expect them to cut my ID in half before giving it back (along with my temp paper permit) after I passed the test otherwise I would have timed this in relation to my trip differently.

Answer:
 You cannot hold a Kansas ID card and a Kansas Drivers License at the same time. From https://www.ksrevenue.org/dovdlfaq.html

“I have a valid ID card. When I went in to renew my driver’s license I was told I had to surrender my ID. Why?”

“During the 2003 legislative session, Kansas lawmakers passed a bill requiring that an individual could hold either a valid Kansas driver’s license or a valid Kansas ID card, but not both.”


Title: [Los Angeles, CA] Private high school denied psychiatrists request to waive language requirement due to learning disability

Question:
Hi, I am a sophomore in a *private* high school and I have high functioning autism and one of the areas I struggle in majorly is in language skills (eg. Making Inferences, Realizing Emotion Behind Words, etc), and this shows majorly in my foreign language course.  I got straight A's in all classes last year except for a C- in chinese, which I'm already a grade level behind in.

All in all, I went to a psychiatrist specialized in learning disabilities (who originally diagnosed my autism) for a language specific evaluation.  She used a bunch of fancy terms and stuff and recommended a waiver from the chinese requirement due to the fact that my autism is holding me back.  The school flat out denied this request.

I know the ADA has some requirements for schools (including private) to accommodate health issues or other laws.  Would this apply?

* PS: This is not me trying to say I'm special, or trying to get sympathy.  This class causes a lot of stress and it affects my GPA.  I don't want to leave the school because it's usually very good and it's pretty well regarded and I generally like it here.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: The ADA cannot be used to change the core curriculum of a private school.Answer #2: What's the problem? You passed. Why do you need a waiver?


Title: (CA, USA) Will a misdemeanor as a juvenile show up on an employment background check?

Question:
I was arrested for shoplifting when I was 17. I was read my rights, gave them my information then was taken home and that was the end of that. I believe they said it was a misdemeanor. I was given a court date but after a couple weeks, they said the court meeting was canceled. I'm not 100% sure why it was canceled but I believe they looked at my prior clean records and considered I was a good student and would never do anything again.

&#x200B;

I'm 21 now and I just signed up for a background check by a company for an internship. I never had my juvenile records expunged. Is anything going to show up on my background check?

Answer: Very likely no.  Even assuming the juvenile petition was found true (the equivalent in juvenile court of a "conviction"), which isn't quite clear from what you remember, juvenile convictions in California are sealed, which means that most potential employers will have no idea the conviction exists, and further you are entitled to answer that you have no criminal record.  Employers are specifically forbidden by California law from considering such convictions or asking about them - Labor Code Sec. 432.7(a)(2).


Title: [PA] Possible dirty U/A

Question: Before my probation started I was a heavy smoker. I have been on probation for over 40 days now. I never had a initial drug test, which I thought he would of done. I'm going to report in early next month and i'm guessing he expects me to be clean by 60+ days and will drug test me for the first time then. I'm still failing at home drug tests even though I have been sober since probation started. What can I do? I'm really nervous i'm going to get violated even though I have been completely sober and been following the rules of my probation..

Answer: Have y'all called your probation officer? What about the attorney who helped you?


Title: Wife wants a trial separation. Any advise would be helpful. (Texas)

Question:
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 You might want to post on /r/relationship_advice.

For legal advice, don't be a dick, maintain a close relationship with your kids, make sure you have at least one solo bank account with some money & at least one separate credit card.


Title: (Multi-state) Is there any state that has a law where parents can have their kids work for them for free? this seems ludicrous.

Question:
I was redirected here from regular legal advice.

I have seen laws that state you must pay any employee age 16 and up, at least minimum wage. The child labor laws are for under 16 and exclude several types of jobs, but ultimately you can get your kid a working certificate, but they still need to be paid. I haven't seen any exceptions to this when it comes to a family run business.

Answer: I can require my children do chores without compensation.


Title: My friend is in deep shit over fraud CA

Question:
Basically my boy had a scam where every time he went to eat somewhere (Carl's Jr. In and out Applebee's chillis ect) he would call the manger the next day and complain to get free stuff.

 He did this so much (about 43 times eventually a franchise owner at one of the spots caught on or something and had him arrested for theft by decibt and fraud. What advice do you have should I share with him? Thanks

Answer: He will be very lucky to get out of this without a criminal records. Hope all those microwaved Applebees meals were worth it! He needs to get an attorney and only talk to this attorney.


Title: (Iowa) "dangerous" limb over neighbors house

Question:
I just got back from vacation, and found a letter from my neighbor telling me I need to remove the limb on my tree that is hanging over his house. He described it as a danger.

I just moved in a couple months ago, and haven't met this guy yet. He claims he tried to get the last 2 owners to remove the limb with no success. He said it dropped 2 dead branches while I was gone, but i didnt see them. I was concerned before about this limb as it does hang over quite a bit, but appears healthy. From what I understand, he has the right to remove limbs over his property. I have no problem with this, I just don't want to pay for it. I don't care if trimming hurts the tree. If it wasn't for the limb in question I could safely down the tree myself in an afternoon

I was told to have it removed, or he will do it soon and send me the bill. He could easily trim the branches allegedly scraping his roof, so I'm not sure why he has never attempted it.

The tree/limb looks green and healthy. What am I actually liable for under state law?

Answer: If it's healthy tell him to piss off and pay for it himself. If you want to cover yourself have an arborist inspect it and send him the report as evidence it's not your problem.


Title: [Illinois] I'm a teacher. My classroom has only one door and zero windows. Is this ok?

Question: Pretty much as the title described... I'm a teacher and I have an interior classroom.  My classroom has only one door and zero windows. It's literally cinderblocks except for that one door. This doesn't seem safe (fires, fights, shooters, etc) and I was going to ask my principal about it. In order to get anything done, it would help if I knew the exact fire code violation if there is one. Thanks!

Answer:
 This, from the applicable Chicago code, would seem generally to make that allowable:

>In all occupancies except hazardous use units, one exit shall be permitted from any room or space designed or used for an occupancy of not more than 50 persons and: (1) having an area not exceeding 1,200 square feet; or (2) used for business, mercantile, industrial or storage use, not exceeding 4,000 square feet, provided the travel distance from the exit door to the most remote point in the room or space does not exceed 75 feet, or 115 feet if equipped throughout with a standard automatic sprinkler system as defined in Chapter 15-16 of this Code.

You can check for a local code if you're not in Chicago (though they're generally standardized and quite similar).
 Anecdotally, rooms in all kinds of business, commercial, and educational settings have only one door.


Title: The door to my apartment house is broken and a dude leaves ads in my post. Can I force the owner to change the door?

Question:
Throwaway account. I live in Sweden and I don't know if you guys can help me specifically since I know many people here are from the US, but any input would be highly appreciated!

I live in a private owned apartment house with five other apartments in it. It's the classic one with a front door into the hallway/staircase with the doors to the apartments there. Lately the front door has become skewed or broken in some way, and you need to manually keep the lock open with your key when you close it for the door to lock completely. When functioning it's locked 24/7 and can be opened both with a number combination or a key.

A couple of weeks ago someone got into the staircase and put a paper with an ad into my apartment through the postal hole in the door. It was for a local game shop where I earlier played a lot of card games and was a regular but isn't anymore. I didn't really think of it, until I got a message on Facebook from this dude who was (is) a regular asking me if I got the paper and are coming to the tournament. I said no and that I'm not playing anymore and he didn't press on. I got another one in my post last weekend, and again he wrote to me. I asked if he was intentionally going to my home to put the paper in my post and he said that he wanted to especially invite me. I got some bad vibes and called a friend who works in the shop and they never made any ads for the tournaments! I then asked my neighbors if they got the ad and they had which I think is super weird.

After the message about specially invite me I haven't heard anything from him. I'm home at my parents for the week in another town, and just now got a text from my neighbor who said that the dude has been hanging around in the staircase, knocking on my door and waiting for God knows what! My neighbor got mad and sent him away but I feel scared about going home now. I live by myself and i don't feel safe in my home anymore.

We (the neighbours) talked to the owner of the house some weeks ago about the door and apparently it needs to be replaced, but that they are going to start renovate the entrance/staircase soon and are going to replace it at the same time. Is there any way I can force them to change the door earlier? Or fix it somehow? Everyone in the house tries to be super careful when closing the door but it's very tricky to get it right, sometimes when it seems locked its not. Appreciate all the help!

Answer: In the US, I would tell you to send the landlord a certified/registered letter about the door and specifically mention the safety threat re possible stalkers.  In Sweeden there is probably some local council you could contact.  Also, the police might be helpful in that a police report establishes the risk and police telling the landlord to fix the lock would prob make him do it.


Title: 23 year old who's mother used text messages without my permission or knowledge in court.

Question:
Hello Legal advice, this happened about two months ago and I finally thought this might be a good place to ask a question I have had since this story occurred.

The short version is my parents were recently divorced and are currently in a legal battle over my 8 year old brother, both myself (23) and my other brother who is 22 are not involved.  The final settlement happened about a year ago, however recently my mother claimed that my father was psychologically unstable and wanted a judge to order an evaluation.  This motion was turned down by the judge, but it is from this hearing my question arises.  During the hearing my mother's lawyer produced text messages off of my Ipad, which he had printed out to use against my father.

Nothing damning was shown, as I said the judge threw the motion out effectively ruling in my dad's favor.  However the text messages were allowed to stand as (something I forget the legal term but it was not evidence).  Yesterday I confronted my mother about it, the first time we had spoken in two months, and basically she said yes she took them without my permission but "anything to beat my dad".

How she got them was that I was visiting my father while my younger brother was with him, and in the hurry of getting my brother ready to go back to my mom's on time grabbed my Ipad instead of my brothers and put it in his backpack.  Realizing the mistake that evening we got the Ipad back the next day but in that time, less than 24 hours, she had brought my Ipad to her lawyer and he went through all of my messages assumedly from all my contacts although only messages between my girlfriend and I were produced in court.

My question is, how in the world was this legal?  Why did two lawyers, both my parents and a JUDGE allow a private conversation to be read out loud in a courtroom without stated permission or knowledge of the event.  Also, until yesterday I had assumed it was my mother who had read through my messages, but according to her it was her lawyer who went through them when she gave him the Ipad.

In the conversation with my girlfriend you could find anything you might imagine two 23 year olds would discuss, including many sexually explicit pictures.  We had come to grips with my mother seeing all of those, but now apparently a lawyer went through and saw all those images.  This means a man who I have never met, probably in his 50’s went through MY Ipad and saw dozens of pictures of my girlfriend naked without either of our consent.

If this is indeed illegal which ethically I have a strong sense it must be.  How could I go about finding recourse?

Thank you so much in advance, I tried to leave out many details to keep the post short.  Feel free to ask any questions.  One thing I must add is that on my Ipad there is no password for my lock screen, however there is on my phone.  In the future I will always keep all of my devices password protected.

P.S This happened in Florida.

Answer:
 To be perfectly honest with you, family courts are a complete shitshow that rely heavily on the judge's personal leaning.

To more directly answer the question though, whose account is the iPad's data plan in?


Title: [VA] Cop pulled me over for talking on my cell phone while driving in a state that allows it

Question: Today I was driving back from Maryland to Virginia. While on the bridge going into Virginia I received a call and answered it while on the bridge. A Maryland police officer saw this and pulled me over while I was in Virginia. The officer told me Maryland does not allow drivers to talk on cell phones while driving and I explained to him that when I answered the call I was in Virginia. He disagreed and issued me a fine of $80. How do I avoid paying this fine?

Answer: Interesting point. Actually having had a brief google it would appear that as soon as you get on a bridge from VA to MD you are in fact in MD, and I would assume that is the case going the other way. Basically, the Potomac belongs to MD and VA doesn't start until the land starts.


Title: Landlord has decided to limit parking but new rules aren't in lease. Ames, Iowa.

Question:
We own four vehicles and park all four in the driveway of the house we rent. Off street parking was a major factor in our decision to live here as street parking is hard to come by around this area and paid places are expensive.

The lease doesn't explicitly state a number of vehicles allowed, it just says that vehicles parked in the driveway must be registered and in good working condition, no vehicle work in the driveway is allowed and we may not park far enough back to block the sidewalk.

Our landlord sent us an email saying that he will be parking his RV and boat in the driveway for the winter and he needed the driveway clear on the day he plans to bring them here. Then he also said that he wanted to let us know ahead of time because we will probably only be able to fit 2 cars afterwards so he wants us to have time to make other arrangements.

We are concerned because two of us work very late at night and all the street parking around here is generally full, so there's a good chance we'd have to walk 4-5 blocks late at night and there has been a lot of crime around here in the past few months. That's why it was important to have stable parking right at our door.

So I am here to ask anyone who might know: how does this work in terms of the lease: Are we out of luck because the lease doesn't explicitly say we can park 4 cars in the driveway? Or is the landlord out of luck because he didn't specify how *few* we could park? Hoping for the former but fearing for the latter...thank you

Answer:
 Your landlord signed over his rights to use the property when he leased it to you. For the period of time of the lease, and any exceptions will be noted in the lease (for example they can inspect etc).

If you choose to negotiate this, I'd find out the price of parking your cars offsite, double or triple that, and ask for that much of a discount on your rent. He may go along with it if he's worried about the security of his RV and boat. But that is entirely up to you, you can also tell him no. He has no legal claim to use of the driveway while you have a lease.

If you do negotiate a discount, get it in writing as an addendum to the lease. Answer #2: Do you rent he whole home? And is it outlined he uses the driveway half of the year to store his stuff?


Title: Police said I am not allowed to drive with a Romanian DL in Illinois and they sent me to court. What should I do in court?

Question:
Hi guys! I have a Romaian Driver's Linces and I was involved in an accident that was not my fault. The policeman said that I am illegal to drive in the State of Illinois and they sent me to court. I have looked in several places and with the exception of one they all say that I am legal to drive. [This](http://ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=062500050K6-102) is where I found the law that states that I am legal to drive! ILCS 5/6-102(2)

Should I be worried? What could be some problems? I am not familiar with how the US law system works so what should I do in court?

PS: I am a student on an F-1 visa. I am not a permanent resident or citizen of the US.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: [Cyberdrive Illinois](http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/dsd_a112.pdf) says you're good to go as long as your license is still valid. that's all you need to say in court - you're an international student with a current license from your home country.


Title: I was hired back freelance for a job I had quit a month prior. Upon receiving my pay stub for my invoice they deducted taxes, benefits, and 401k even though I am not an employee and not receiving those benefits.

Question:
Los Angeles, CA

Like posted, I was hired back to my job as a freelance to assist in some technical issues they were having a month after I quit. I never filled out any paperwork and my invoice was direct deposited into my account they had on file. I noticed the amount I received was almost $400 less than my invoice I submitted. They deducted all federal and state taxes as well as Dental, Vision, and 401k. But I'm not receiving their benefits and haven't since I quit.

Previously, while employed, they hired me freelance to assist on another project, completely separate from my day to day job. The invoice I submitted then was paid in full.

I don't know why this invoice was treated any different than the previous one and why they took out all these deductions?

Do I have any legal stand to receive my full invoice?

Thanks.

Answer:
 What did accounting (or HR) say when you asked about this?

And freelance doesn't automatically or necessarily mean taxes aren't taken out. But if you're invoicing as an independent contractor then no, they shouldn't. So just talk to them, probably a clerical error or communication problem.


Title: Can my parents go to jail for abuse and neglect?

Question:
I’m a 16 year old from Missouri.

My parents physically abused me and my siblings (we even have audio of them *beating* my 9 year old brother). They kicked me out of the house, and because of all this, I suffer from severe depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Yes, I have been diagnosed with PTSD, meaning my parents did something wrong.

Can the law get involved with this?

Answer:
 Yes. Call the police. Right now.Answer #2: Missouri’s Office of Child Advocate has an abuse hotline at 1-800-392-3738. They may be able to help walk you through some of your next steps.Answer #3: Please call CPS yourself or report to a mandated reporter (teacher, school admin) RIGHT NOWAnswer #4: Yes -- in MO, child abuse is a Class C felony - up to 7 years in prison (but a minimum of one year); if abuse results in serious emotional or physical injury, Class B felony - between 5 and 15 years in prison. From what I can gather, it will probably be a Class B felony.

You should contact the Missouri Department of Social Services at 1-800-392-3738.

Please take care of yourselfAnswer #5: Find an adult that you trust- a teacher or guidance counselor at school, the parent of a friend, a relative who you trust. Confide in anyone. If you don't have any of these people available to you, please contact your police department. You are a child and this abuse is NOT your fault.Answer #6: Sorry this is happening. Call the police.

Your parents can't kick out their minor children. they are required by law to provide them with food, shelter and the basics until they reach age 18. Are you the oldest? How old are the others?


Title: My sister needs help getting auto insurance, DUI history

Question:
My older sister who is 28 and from Phoenix, Arizona recently got dropped from her auto insurance provider GEICO because her husband failed to report DUI's (or something along those lines). Long story short, they are separated but not legally, and they have not divorced. She needs her car for work and being a mother but is getting really high rates.

Is there anything she could do to find an auto coverage policy that is solely for her and her own vehicle? She now lives in her own different place and will be the only driver of the car.

Any feedback and advice is greatly appreciated, thank you very much.

Also, any recommendations for auto insurance companies or assistance?

Edit 1: Thank you all VERY much for your responses thus far.

Answer: You might have better luck in /r/insurance


Title: [Not OP] Does this redditor have grounds for a suit against his apartment complex or their hired (pest control) contractors?

Answer:
 I'm not intimately familiar with South African law, but in most jurisdictions, yes, that would be both criminal and tortious. It would be grossly negligent to use toxic pesticides in a water main, and likely runs afoul of a number of laws regarding dumping, poisoning, tampering with municipal services, and any of a number of other factors.

Who, specifically, is liable and who, specifically, is culpable is quite sensitive to the specific facts, but at least one of the two now has a serious legal problem. Realistically, both do.


Title: [ON, CAN] Exposed to infectious disease at work, is there any recourse?

Question:
I work as a field technician visiting different sites to repair medical equipment. I received a call from the company I work for on Friday informing me that I was in proximity to an airborne pathogen (mid-May) and considered 'high risk' due to being within 5 ft of the contaminated equipment at the customer's lab. I was informed that I would need a shot, bloodwork, to take medication (a prophylactic) and to seek medical aid ASAP.

Went to the doctor that day (they had never heard of such an obscure pathogen and had to call the facility I was working at to get the details). The doctor prescribed two types of medication and blood work. I will have to take the pills for 3-6 weeks and blood work every 6 weeks.

I do not like taking pills when I do not have to. I know they are preventative and precautionary but it is upsetting.

Is there any recourse?

Questions that may be asked:

I was not informed of the potential of this pathogen being present. Wearing PPE was not recommended or offered (airborne anyway but still). They went through the visitor logs to establish who was on site and where they were working.

*wasn't sure of the flair so went with safe Canada

*Edit: fickle subreddit with some sensitive users! Wow the voting. Top posts with assumed and unhelpful responses... interesting show you guys run in this sub. Appreciate you all taking the time, some are more right than others and some just comment to comment by the looks of it.*

*To add: Looks like the company is looking further into it and refresher training for OSHA was not sent around this year and a few other safety protocols were not followed by the looks of things. Also, for those unfamiliar, big operations typically have staff and outside staff watch a 10-30 minute presentation on the dangers of that particular work site (loud noises, what horns mean what, chemicals in building X, wear xx PPE in yy area, etc), complete a test, and sign off on it.*
Topic:
Canada

Answer: The only damages you have were taken care of, your medical expenses. I don't see what kind of recourse you might have.


Title: Pawn shop ring

Question:
My mom bought a ring online from a pawnshop a state over. Later she pawned it as a loan with the option of buying it back. They discovered it was stolen and sent it to the original store for the cops to take and give back to the owner. Now the pawnshop and one of the cops said she has to pay the local store the money back for the ring she bought from the same corporation in the state over. Which then they say the other store will pay her back... (sure)
They keep calling and harrassing her telling her she needs to pay them back the over $400 now which she doesnt have in the first place.
Any advice would be appreciated. She also then saw it reliated on the website as well and copied that info and it has the same serial number. Then after calling and asking why that is they state it was listed by mistake.

Answer:
 It's not on your mother to reimburse a pawnshop for stolen goods she bought in good faith. If the pawnshop she bought it from was above board, then she never knew anything about the ring being stolen and had no real reason to suspect it.

They may try to sue her. If a lawyer is an option, ie not small claims, she should get one. This seems like an internal matter for that chain of pawnshops, and honestly, feels more than a little scammy.


Title: [MI] Kid ran a red light and hit my car I just got the called it is totaled.

Question:
Back in September 2017 I financed a 2010 Malibu LTZ that cost me $10,000 that I paid 2000 up front. I have been paying$200 a month since and have only made 4 payments. On December 30th on my way to work a new driver ran a red light and T-boned my rear driver side wheel and bent it in.

I was just called by my insurance agent and they told me the car is totaled. I have never been in a situation like this and was hoping maybe somebody could give me some advice here? What should I expect next? I've never been in anything like this and don't want to leave the situation with anything less than what I want into it with as it was completely not my fault. I had full coverage insurance

Answer: They will pay you the fair market value of the car which may or may not be equal to the outstanding loan balance. The lender will probably call the loan due in full once they realize the security interest has been totaled.


Title: Im 17 and i gave a 16 year old a hickey, and her parents found out, can i get sued or get into legal trouble for it?

Question: Okay so i am 17 and this girl is either 16 or 17, i dont know for sure. So i gave her a hickey and her parents found out and are extremely mad, as any parent would be. Both the mom and the father called me and they were both furious, the girl told her parents that apparently she had said no to it but she really didnt. If she really didnt want she couldve easily pushed me away or left the car. Moreover i am terrifed of getting sued or getting into legal trouble. btw i live in texas. Can i get into any legal trouble for what i did?

Answer:
 >but she really didnt. If she really didnt want she couldve easily pushed me away or left the car.

But what did she actually say, OP? This sounds suspiciously like an excuse for something you know she didn't actually want to do.


Title: cesarean section + pharmacy parking lot pothole

Question: My wife has a prescription for pain medication after leaving the hospital. We went to fill it and went over a pothole in the parking lot of a pharmacy. The pothole appeared to be level after a light rain. My wife is now feeling a constant pain. What are my next steps?

Answer:
 > What are my next steps?

You should take your wife to see her doctor, or to urgent care.

There really isn't a legal issue here.Answer #2: I agree with the previous comments, it could also be that the hospital medication has worn off and now she's feeling more pain. And she'll be in quite a bit of pain throughout her recovery, after all, they have to completely cut through the muscles in your stomach.


Title: [Washington] Can I be banned from a store because a friend was caught shoplifting?

Question:
Two of my friends and I were in a store, when we were approached by the store director.  He told my friend to take the item out of his pocket.  He then asked us to leave and never return.  I didn't say or do anything, so I'm wondering what my rights are.

EDIT: Thanks for the advice, everybody.

Answer: You don't have any right to return to the store. If you do you could be trespassed. The store has the right to refuse service to anyone. Including the friend of a thief. I would suggest finding better friends to hang with. Answer #2: Get better friends. Next time it could be a car and then you will be in some serious trouble.


Title: Employment Terminated While Seeking Medical Leave/Accommodation [TX]

Question:
After several months working customer service, doing a lot of typing, my wrists developed severe pain. There wasn’t a specific incident or accident that caused this. I worked with my doctor and a specialist to get it treated. The pain was due to poor workstation ergonomics and overuse. I provided notice and attempted to either start the process for medical leave, or to continue working but with the absences excused and an updated workstation.

My job has a no-fault attendance policy where absences incurred accrue points, and there’s grounds for termination once you reach a certain threshold. I gained points for taking time off to visit the doctor, as well as each full day and half day absence I took to manage the pain. The doctor’s notes I provided did not excuse the absences. Likewise, my immediate managers were unable to mitigate the points.

I was eventually provided an ADA form to give my specialist, but before I could have that fulfilled, I was terminated for attendance. I later learned that the Help Desk I was in contact with over email did not follow protocol, and that HR should have overseen the entire process for medical accommodations and leave. HR said I shouldn’t have been terminated while a request was pending. Unfortunately there wasn’t an onsite HR for me to utilize to help prevent the situation.

As for my questions:

Is this wrongful termination? I realize Texas is a right-to-work state with at-will employment, but I’m not sure how that interacts with medical situations that arise on the job.

Is there a case to be made that my job is responsible for this medical condition that has developed even though there wasn’t a specific workplace accident?

I was verbally informed of my termination over the phone, but there hasn’t been any further documentation, and they haven’t requested me to turn in my badge. Am I actually terminated, or is this some sort of employment limbo?

Can I file for unemployment?

Is there a legal time frame my employer is obligated to pay me for my final hours?

What are the best next steps to take?

Answer:
 >I realize Texas is a right-to-work state

Right to work has to do with compulsory union dues, not getting hurt.

Now on to the matters at hand:

* You likely were not there long enough for FMLA. You need to be employed for 12 months to be eligible.

* You may or may not be eligible for workers comp. This is going to be fact specific. Texas requires you file within 30 days of the injury (or knowing of the injury). It's also difficult (but certainly not impossible) to prove repetitive use injuries in general, particularly in regards to typing. (You're on reddit typing right now)

* Minor injuries do not *usually* do not make someone qualify for ADA protections.

Honestly though just contact an employment lawyer, many will give you a free consultation. There's a few fact specific things here and a few things they will need to clear up with you.


Title: Is there a way to take the Bar Exam without meeting the pre-requisites? I'm sure it sounds bizarre, but I'm interested in Law as a hobby and it would give me a goal to aim for

Question:
That may have come off like /r/iamverysmart and I'm sorry if that's the case. I'm actually really uncomfortable asking a weird and probably dumb question.

I'm pretty much 100% positive that I cannot take it, but I figured I'd ask anyways.

This is what I know. Most states require a law degree before taking the Bar Exam. A few states allow you to become a lawyer if you pass the Bar and complete an apprenticeship.

I'm in California where law school is not required. However, everything I've read heavily implies I'm SOL with the Bar or even the First Year Exam.

Is there something like the PSAT equivalent?

Again, I'm sure this is weird, but I really enjoy being tested. I get a rush from figuring things out and getting my mind to piece everything together. I sometimes find sample Bar Exams online and love how it makes me think. Even when I get a question wrong, I enjoy figuring it out.

I'm definitely in a personal rut and think it would be really rewarding

Answer:
 > Is there something like the PSAT equivalent?

There's the LSAT, which is the test you take before you get into law school.

In the states where you don't have to go to law school, you *do* have to have significant time working under a practicing attorney - basically, on-the-job training.  If you don't have that, then no, I don't believe any place in the country will allow you to sit for the bar.Answer #2: As people have said you can't take the bar exam with either going to law school or "reading the law" which is an like an extensive apprenticeship.

I suppose what you could do is find old study materials for the bar exam.  BarBri is one company that produces sample questions. You can usually find these materials at a law library.

Not my idea of fun to relive the 2 months of hell studying for the bar exam, but whatever floats your boat.

Reading your other responses, I'm pretty sure you would actually hate it.  Usually there is not a "correct" answer but instead a "best" answer and usually there are 2 answers that are right, but the correct answer is "more right".  It sucks.


Title: (TN) Charged by University of making a threat- how screwed am i?

Question:
Hello,

I posted the following tweet on twitter after hearing that the university had removed an organization from campus that I am a member of. I was mad and did not seriously mean anything. It spoke to the belief among my fellow students of a metaphorical war between the administration and students.

The tweet was {(Name of employee redacted), there will be blood}

I have been charged by the University of violating the following rule-

"Making an oral or written statement (including
electronically) that an objectively reasonable person
hearing or reading the statement would interpret as
a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of
unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of
individuals, although the speaker need not mean to carry
out the act of unlawful violence in order to constitute a
violation of this rule."

I am trying to work on my defense and I have found that the University's rule is almost vertabim from Virginia v. Black. I keep finding that intent is usually a key element of determining if speech is protected or not. I would appreciate any advice on how I can argue that this was not a true threat.

Answer:
 > Virginia v. Black

The university does not have to follow legal precedents. This is not a First Amendment issue. The university can judge you by their code of conduct and expel you regardless of what legal arguments you make. That said, an attorney versed in these matters could be helpful at least to consult with.

Edit: Non-legally, their language is "reasonable person." So you essentially have to convince them that anyone who thought your tweet was a threat was not reacting reasonably.

Paging /u/I_work_in_HIED


Title: [Hypothetical][USA] Alice takes photos of Cindy. Do Cindy's wishes about the use of the photos trump Alice's, even if Cindy signed a contract relinquishing all rights?

Question: Suppose a glamour model "Cindy" is paid to star in some photos, with the photographer "Alice" retaining all rights to the images via signed contract. Then, Cindy decides she doesn't like the photos, and wants to rescind her consent to use them.  Even though Cindy signed a contract giving all the rights to Alice, can Cindy legally force Alice to take the photos off her website (since they contain Cindy's image)?

Answer: No. Cindy is SoL if Alice is unwilling to renegotiate.


Title: Shouting kids and the absentee mother. USA, WA, Everett.

Question: For the last few years living at this apartment complex in WA the children have been just awful, screaming their heads off from noon till night. Lately however, they have started standing in front of the balcony of a parent or friend and just shout their name over and over. I finally had enough and told the kid to stop yelling outside my windows. His mother who was no where to be seen until after the incident told me not to talk to her kid. I assert that I have the right to tell him to shut his trap if he's yelling outside my window's. After telling the kid off several times, the mother say's she is going to take it to the office. Am I in any real danger?

Answer: It's probably best if you ignore the kid moving forward, and simply file noise complaints with the office / the police.


Title: HELP. Ryanair has 'Completely Destroyed' my baggage, what should I do?

Question:
Had a flight with Ryanair from Barcelona to Rome. Checked in my red rucksack. Arrive in Rome and it is nowhere to be seen. I lodge a missing baggage claim with the ryanair attendant. Then today I receive an email from Ryanair with the words: 'DAMAGE REPORT FOR YOUR BAG COMPLETELY DESTROYED'.
wtfffffff anyone have any advice? Really considering getting a lawyer to make sure these bastards pay me.

Edit: This is the entirety of the email: http://imgur.com/Z9WEuig

Answer:
 Ryanair is bound by the Montreal Convention, which specifies certain things you must do and the maximum they must compensate you.

You must file a claim within 7 days of arrival! If you don't, they owe you nothing.

The maximum they will pay you is US$1685.19. See: http://theconversation.com/what-to-claim-for-lost-delayed-or-damaged-bags-on-overseas-flights-32111 - don't bother asking for more, they'll tell you to pound sand.

I checked out their baggage claim form: https://baggageclaims.ryanair.com/ - you should fill this out ASAP. It looks like they want you to provide them with receipts or proof of purchase of anything that was in that bag you lost.

Hopefully you have something. If you don't, they may resist but you should still be able to get compensation, it will just be harder.

Given that the max you can get is under $2000 I wouldn't recommend a lawyer. Read up on the Montreal Convention and know your rights, and do your best to follow their rules. They already admitted your bag is destroyed so you're a lot further along than many people.


Title: How do you voluntarily give up custody if all parties agree?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You need to adopt the child. If the mother agrees to you adopting the kid, then you essentially replace her as the legal parent.


Title: In high school (Grade 12) do I have to attend a diversity presentation that I don't believe in?

Question:
Not sure if this actually goes here but...

In the next week or so, my school is going to be having a "diversity presentation". From the sounds of it, it is very much against my religious beliefs.
 I plan to attend, because I don't want to cause trouble over nothing, but if it gets way out to left field I will leave.
Keep in mind that I don't actively discriminate against certain people, but I dont need to be told that "It's okay to ________".
If anyone tries to stop me or say I must stay, do I have anything (Basic human rights, or possibly a law/act) that I can use to defend myself?
Thanks!

Answer:
 If you walk out of a required school event, your school is well within their rights to punish you. Answer #2: It's against your beliefs to listen to opinions you don't agree with?Answer #3: How exactly do you expect diversity to be against your beliefs? Do you not believe in minorities?

Where are you located?


Title: If my house catches afire in an honest to god accident and I choose not to report it, is it considered illegal and/or arson?

Question: Just a random question that came up in a conversation with a friend

Answer:
 Report it to who?

I know someone who had a kitchen fire that damaged the house but was able to be put out without the fire department needing to come out. They had to report it to their insurance company to get them to pay to fix the kitchen, but if they had wanted to pay out of pocket they could have avoided that. Their insurance did not require that they file a report with the fire department or anything.


Title: What happens if u declare bankruptcy?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: If you're Michael Scott, nothing. Answer #2: Is this the broadest question ever posted here? I put forth that yes, it is.


Title: [MN] Hypothetically, how screwed would this guy be if stories on 4Chan were true?

Question:
The story in question: https://i.imgur.com/B6h4d23.jpg

Obviously fake, but I'm wondering what, legally, would happen to someone who actually did something this stupid. How would the legal system approach it if the fact that OP stabbed himself never came to light, and what would happen if OP's deception were discovered?

Answer:
 If he's never caught, he's never caught.  Same goes for any crime that you get away with.

If they did figure it out (and in real life, they would in about 5 seconds), he'd be charged with DUI plus a variety of obstruction of justice/impeding an investigation type charges.  They might throw in some assault charges for hitting a cop if they were feeling frisky.


Title: Neighbor's rabbits and our cat

Question: [deleted]

Answer: You're responsible for your animal's actions if you let it out.  You either need to properly fence in your outdoor area to contain the cat, or keep it indoors.  If you can't, I would suggest finding a farm that would take it in as a mouser.Answer #2: Conservative numbers suggest housecats kill 2-3 billion birds a year in the US alone. As a biologist I ask that you make your cat an indoor cat as birds are one of the most declining groups on the planet.Answer #3: Honestly, it's safer for both the rabbits *and your cat* to keep your cat indoors.Answer #4: There is no real recourse other than to keep your animals under your control at all times. Yes, cats like to roam, but you're responsible for their behavior.


Title: If a DHS drone is going over my property, can I shoot it down?

Question:
In a leaked DHS memo, it is claimed that the tactics of federal officers in Portland this past week will be rolled out to different cities across America, in addition to having drones on standby “if they are needed”.

The question is, if one of these drones is flying over my land, can I shoot it down and be legally justified in doing so?

Answer:
 no. you don't own the air space and it would be reckless to use a weapon to shoot down a drone.Answer #2: No.  For a variety of reasons this would be illegal on both federal and state levels.Answer #3: On a practical note, the drones they refer to are not little quadcopters. You would need a surface to aid missile to shoot one down.Answer #4: Assuming you're in a place where you're legally allowed to discharge a weapon and it's safe to do so, it's still destruction of someone's property, government or no.

If a small child drives a remote controlled car onto your lawn and you shoot it, "but it was on my property" is not unlikely to be a winning defense if you're sued for destruction of property.Answer #5: As awesome as it would be to shoot down fed drones, it’s actually about as illegal as shooting at a real plane that’s coming into land. FAA dont mess aroundAnswer #6: No. You dont own the air space above your property.


Title: [PA] Neighbors throwing loud late parties and shutting down the public road?

Question:
This is an ongoing issue. I live on a dead-end street and am the last house on this road. I rent.

The neighbor's house is beside mine and about 100 feet away is their new party deck facing the side of my house. It is currently midnight and the neighbors are throwing a huge party. It includes drugs, alcohol, and small children.

I know there is weed there because I can smell it. There are also people smoking weed in my back yard. The parties often filter into my yard and people go there to pee in the dark and do drugs away from sight of the kids. I have found paraphernalia the day after.

They also have "shut down" the entire road using "caution" tape similar to something you would see at a construction site. There are dogs barking, there is music blasting and I have to wake up for work tomorrow.

The biggest problem with all of this is that they used to tell me these parties were going to happen. Now, they have the mayor of our town over there plus the chief of police is actually there partying with them.

Yes, small town.

How can I deal with this? I seem to be the only person on the street who has to work on the weekends during these loud parties. They are way out of the Boro noise ordinance. These parties can go on until 4am. If I walk over, I am one female against over 30 drunks. If I call the police the officers are actually partying or have partied with them. I can not break my lease as I just moved here and am locked in.

Tomorrow, I know I will have to go out back and pick up all the beer cans they threw in my yard.

Any advice GREATLY appreciated.

Answer: Put up an outdoor light to light up your back yard. Also put up a camera so you can record the urinating and drug use on your property. See if you can get state police involved. Also, if you can consult an attorney about getting out of your lease because of the living conditions. Best of luck.


Title: [NJ] Purchased boat with my brother, he wants to sell, I don't, he is threatening to sue.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 What's the total amount he is asking for?

Only $500? Or $500 plus all the half-payments he has made to date?

You'd probably be legally in the right, but practically I'd offer him the $500 to stop bugging you about it.


Title: [MD] My realtor is now trying to get us to buy a house after telling her we are no longer interested in a flooded basement.

Question:
I posted to this sub earlier about my realtor being unprofessional. But later deleted my post so I’ll give a bit of background here.

My husband and I found a house we love after 6 months, it was pricey for a rowhome (146k) but it was newly renovated even though it was built in the 1940’s.

We put our offer out there and it was accepted after previous buyers WERE going to buy it only a month prior but they dropped out “due to financial reasons” we were told. My realtor has not been on our side this whole time. She is inexperienced, she was hired because she was a former coworker of mine and my husbands. We decided to give her a chance, she has had this job for only one year.

Many times throughout showings she would suggest things in the house that was “off” or things she would find concerning, this made us put a lot of trust into her.

Anyway, we chose this house. We have not went to settlement yet, that is in two weeks (assuming we go through). After we put in an offer and signed papers stating we would use the prior buyers’ inspection report (which had NOTHING in it about water damage or flooding or drainage issues) we went to visit the house two days after signing papers to find the basement was flooded due to nonstop rain over he course of those two days. We asked her at this point if he buyers knew about this issue, she said they had no idea and were on vacation out of the country and they were hard to contact at this point.

A week goes by and our realtor contacts us and says the sellers agent refuses to let us get another inspection done. Now I’m freaking out - this has to mean there’s a bigger issue somewhere in the house that wasn’t found on the report.

Our realtor and the other realtor now agree that my husband and I CANNOT have a second inspection done and now my realtor is telling my husband and I that we have to go to settlement and there’s no way to fix this, and we also cannot have an inspection done.

Am I allowed to back out without proof that this flooding isn’t a more serious issue? Is my realtor allowed to force us into this sale?
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 Your realtor isn't forcing you to do anything. You freely chose to use the prior buyer's inspection rather than your own. You freely chose to enter into a contract with the seller without having an inspection of your own. This is all on you and unless there is something in the contract that allows you to back out, you're on the hookAnswer #2: >  Is my realtor allowed to force us into this sale?

No one's "forcing you into a sale".  You signed a contract.  Your contract is binding.  The contract decides when and how you can terminate the contract.

What in the contract do you believe will let you out at this point?Answer #3: You don't have to buy this house. You can always not sign a contract. But there may be financial penalties depending on what you agreed to.


Title: My family friend now living in Canada is being imprisoned by her in-laws in their home

Question:
Not sure if this is the right place to post this. I have a family friend from South Asia who recently was married to a Canadian citizen several months back. Being South Asian, the wedding was arranged. In any case, it so happens that there are severe circumstances with her in-laws that lead me to believe that she is being imprisoned at their home against her will (they live in Canada).

A few facts. First of all, it is apparent that her husband is actually gay. In an effort to protect the reputation of their family, the husband and his parents have put my family friend in complete lock down. They have taken away her cell phone, do not let her go on line, and of course don't let her out of the house either. She was able to sneak a phone call in to her father back home but otherwise they monitor her phone calls.

They have not turned to physical abuse but I don't know how far they can take it. As I live in the States, I am not certain as to what the procedures are to get her safe.

Her citizenship/legal status is not a concern. If ultimately she ends up going back to South Asia, that's cool with everyone involved. She has PR status through the marriage.

If we call the police, can we file a complaint? Would they check to make sure that she is safe, and if so, get her to a women's shelter or similar location to be away from her in-laws? That will give us time to get to Canada to check up on her, and figure out next steps from a legal perspective.

I'm very familiar with the resources available in the States. I am sure they are similar in Canada, but I would want to avoid a situation where the police get involved, then leave, and she is stuck with a family that suddenly becomes more increasingly hostile. Since she is also a permanent resident, can she visit my parents in the U.S.?

Thanks for any advise/help

Answer: Call the police and let them investigate everything. Yes, they will check on her and talk to her.


Title: Is it legal use a stun gun on someone trying to break into my car if I catch them? It is legal to carry them in CO, and use for self-defense. Can it be used to defend your property?

Answer:
 (I am a proud gun owner and licensed for CCW)

Let's put aside legality for a second...

...and let's talk about practicality.  There are very few circumstances where you will win with a stun gun against someone with a knife or actual gun.  I will also add that unless you are regularly practicing on using your stun gun in a few different scenarios, you are likely to have your weapon used against you, you will drop it, etc.

My personal opinion on the matter (outside an immediate threat to great bodily harm/death) is to retreat/avoid the situation all together.  No amount of stuff (possessions) is worth trading your life for.

See someone breaking into your car?  Fuck it, that's what insurance and a day in court is for.

Some drunk asshole pulls a knife on you?  Book it!  Sprint as fast as you can and get yourself out of there.

See some shady shit going on and have a sudden urge to be a superhero?  Call 911 and report what you see.


Title: My boss told me to take leave from work due to my back injury. I come back to work with doctor's notes and I'm being fired for absenteeism?

Question:
I need a lawyer to help me out. I have a few legal questions.

I sustained a work injury to my back and I'm facing back surgery here soon. It was months ago when the the injury was sustained at work, and I failed to fill out a worker's comp notice. Admittedly, I know this was a mistake, as my worker's comp was denied. However, I attempted to go back to work anyways, but my boss would send me home because he could see that I was in pain and I could not walk very well.

I want to make this clear, I did NOT request off work. My boss told me to take time off work because he was worried about my health. I have been seeing a chiropractor and my family physician for over a month and I have notes from both of them.

Today, I go back to work (as noted by my doctor that it should be okay to return to work) and I try my best to do my job. As difficult as it was, I tried to find things to do. By the end of the day, I am pulled aside by the General Manager and the HR lady, who set me in the office and give a notice of termination for absenteeism. I was so baffled by it that I didn't know what to say, other than ask if it was okay if I resigned instead, due to my back injury and inability to perform my normal duties, to which they agreed. The HR lady said that she would shred the termination notice and expects a letter of resignation tomorrow (Thursday).

Now that I've had time to sit and think about this whole fiasco, it dawned upon me that I might be getting screwed here. My boss (who hired me and had no idea that this was happening) told me to take leave of work. I was told to leave work and seek medical attention. Upon my return, they fire me for being absent?

I'm horribly confused by this prospect. I did what I was told and now I'm being punished. I've already contacted my doctor to obtain a written note on formal letter head to confirm my visits/condition/ and need for back surgery.

Reddit, please help me. United States citizen. Kentucky.

Answer: Do you qualify for fmla? The HR lady is nuts. Do not resign. File for unemployment.


Title: Pregnant girlfriend getting fired for taking time off.

Question: My girlfriend is pregnant and is due very soon. She got a doctors note today that she should not be working until after the baby is born. When she gave the note to her manager he claimed that the note was worded incorrectly and that she could have today off but if she tried to take off the whole time that he would terminate her employment. We are getting a new doctors note that is worded more "correctly" today. What can we do if he still tries to fire her?

Answer: Does she qualify for fmla?


Title: I rented a room last month, and thee landlord is now changing everything in the house.

Question:
Hi /r/legaladvice, how is everyone today?

So I am renting a room in Baltimore city, MD. I just moved in last month, and was the first tenant. Upon moving in, while signing the lease, it was explained to me that I would have kitchen privledges, and there was a lot of paperwork signed based on kitchen rules. None of those rules are really too pertinent to this.

The last month here has been hell. He decided to turn the living room into another bedroom. In doing that, there has been drywall dust all over the house that was not cleaned up, banging out all hours of the day/night, and its just been overall madness. In the last month, he has moved a male and female into one bedroom, a woman and her 5 and 8 year old sons into another bedroom, a woman and her 16 year old son sharing another bedroom, my landlord here everyday, and a subcontractor, his wife, and his son all doing work at crazy hours. Last night they were banging like crazy until after midnight. Let me also add that he does not have a building perrnit. Anyway, so today he tells me I have to get all of my food out of the kitchen, because he is turning the kitchen into ANOTHER bedroom and a second bathroom, even though he hasn't even finished putting in the last bedroom. I asked what I am supposed to do about my food and how am I supposed to eat, and he said I was on my own there.. That maybe I could buy my own refrigerator, microwave, and some hotplates and put them in my room. There is no ventilation in my room. Also he has had to cut the electfelectfricity out for hours at a time.. Leaving me sitting in a hot bedroom with no entertainment.

 Obviously, I am not so happy and am planning on moving out, but am really strapped for cash. He is bugging me about rent, but I really can't afford to pay rent if I am trying to be out by the end of the month. Is there any suggestions for me? Should I just not pay him and see if he will take some sort of payment plan after I move? Should I have him evict me for nonpayment even though the reason I am moving out because literally all the terms of the lease have changed since I have moved in? Is it legal for him to have us cook in our rooms after it was explained at first that there was going to be full kitchen privledges? Should I turn him in for not having a building permit so I can eat the rest of this month? Can I somehow get money from him for the 100$+ food in the refrigerator I now have to get rid of or else it will go bad because he is making me move it out of the kitchen even though I dont have another refrigerator to put it in, so it is going to go bad? What can I do?

Thank you guys so much! Any and all advice is much appreciated!

--wiz

Answer:
 > Let me also add that he does not have a building perrnit.

Report this to the city immediately. They can come out an order all work to stop.

>  Anyway, so today he tells me I have to get all of my food out of the kitchen

Is there another kitchen? A house has to have a kitchen to be considered a legally habitable place. Again, tell the city. Don't move your food. Make him dispose of it, then you can sue him once you are moved out. Make an inventory right now of all the food you have.

> There is no ventilation in my room.

Is there a window? A room has to have a window to be a bedroom.

This guy sounds shady as all hell.


Title: (Wisconsin) Can someone go into my vehicle and take things if the vehicle is on their property?

Question:
I'm 34, fully self-dependent, live with my boyfriend, support myself, own my car, etc.

Every once in a while I'll come over to my mom's house, chill with my niece, watch a movie or help with the garden and lawn projects, stay overnight if I don't feel like driving home.  She's an empty nester so she loves the company.

Today, after spending last night at her house, I was just getting out of the shower and grabbing my stuff to head home when I heard her rustling around in the kitchen, presumably home on her lunchbreak.

I didn't think much of it till she came stomping up to me with the "You fucked up" look and I'm like..."What?"

She says "Well, I cleaned out your car." I was taken aback but not the way she wanted, I think she honestly still thinks I'm 10 and she can trick me into confessing that I smuggle drugs or have sick porn or automatic weapons hidden under the seat or something.

She went through my car, said it smelled bad (yes, I used to smoke and my car DOES smell stale), threw away whatever she deemed to be garbage, then took my basket of clean, folded laundry inside and put it in the washer.

I know, I know.  My mother broke into my car and did my laundry. What the fuck am I complaining about. She isn't that sweet little Mom, though, this is a woman with an agenda and it was a deliberate search for dirt on me. She uses information to control people and thats what she was out for.

For example, underneath my clothes in the basket was my trusty ol' sketchbook, where I keep these cute little drawings and doodles that my father and I send via snail mail back and forth.  None of them make any sense, they're pretty much only funny to us, and it's this neat little nerdy thing I have with my dad (whom she hates).

She asked me about them! What they were and if my dad and I are writing back and forth in code! Half of them are just doodles of chickens without any words at all! Who goes through someone else's things like that?!?

Also, I was leaving, I had just washed that laundry, now I'm still here waiting for the wash to finish so I can haul a bunch of wet clothes home to dry and refold.

So I completely blew my stack and went off on her, I don't deal with anger very well so it started out as a sputtering "That's completely invasive! Like walking into someones home and going through their underwear drawer! I never asked you to go into my car!"

--Then at some point I completely lost it and started yelling about what if I had drugs in there? What if I had $3000 worth of coke in a fucking baggie under the front seat, she just tossed it out while snooping through my car (which is MY CAR, my name on title only, bought with my money) and now Enrique and Gordo are going to come for me and my whole damned family!

I yelled a lot about other drugs too, but finally I said I'm going to have to lock my car now and she said what she  always said and I would like to know if she is right.

She says if my car is on her property, she can go into it, clean it, take anything she wants out.  Even if it is locked. (Why don't I lock my car? It's a 2005 rusty pos, this is rural Wisconsin, and no one locks their cars, especially at home in the country). And she says she can consent to police searching my car if its on her property (That one I believe).

I'm not a drug runner, I don't have a bunch of cocaine or weapons in my car.  I do carry my hitter but its nondescript and its always in my purse, near me.

So I'm not trying to sue my mom or anything, I'd just like to be right about some part of this, like her not being able to break into my car and search it (even if its locked?) because it's on her land.

I did google it but can't find anything specific.

Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Most of your post is unnecessary for the question at hand.

it is not legal for anyone to break into your car and take your personal belongings.  Call the police and make a report.

Start locking your car doors.

Reconsider your relationship with your mother going forward.


Title: Marijuana law in Utah

Question: So I got pulled over in Utah driving from California. When the cop asked me to show insurance and registration, I started looking for it in my glove compartment and it was a red bag with weed there, the weed was inside, he didn't see it, but he asked what was in this bag. I responded that it is my personal stuff there. Then he asked if it is weed and pipes there, so on that I didn't know my rights that I could not answering this question and I said yes. So they checked it, searched my whole car, found a grinder and a little more weed less then 1 oz. The ticket for it is 1400$. It doesn't make sense to hire a lawyer because it cost a lot more, 2000-2500$. The court is coming soon, so maybe you have an advice what should I say in court to avoid paying or lower the fine. I don't have any criminal history. I have prescription for weed in California which probably doesn't matter to them.

Answer:
 >I have prescription for weed in California which probably doesn't matter to them.

I will do the gentle nitpicking;  it's a "recommendation".   Only a tiny number of research subjects have a "prescription", because marijuana isn't an FDA-approved medicine.

California MMJ cards are honored in Arizona, but not in Utah.

You should hire a defense attorney in Utah to represent you.   The extra costs are generally a lot less than the collateral damage of a drug conviction.


Title: [California] At what point the money deposited into my account by mistake will become mine? It's been 5 years.

Question:
Hi,

in June 2012, my bank account was deposited with $50,000 (give or take a few hundred) that I knew nothing about. I called the bank, and was told that they'll investigate it and it's best if I'm not touching the money. A few weeks passed, nothing happened. I called again after 1 month, again was told that there's an ongoing investigation.

After 3 months, I called again, and was told that they know nothing about this and the money is mine. I explained everything, they opened a new investigation and once again, nothing happened.

After 1 year, I went into the bank to discuss this. They promised that they will get to the bottom of this. I called again after a month, and was told that they have no idea what I'm talking about and there's no record of any recent investigation.

Now it's been over 5 years and the money is there. At what point can I call this money mine and move on from it? I mean, I know 50K doesn't just appear out of thin air and there's always a chance that someone will come after it at some point. What is my best course of action regarding this issue?

Orange county, California.

Edit: Thank you all. Will talk to a lawyer next week!

Answer:
 That's weird, in June 2012 I lost $50K.Answer #2: I had a little over $1000 deposited in mine about a decade ago. At the time, this was a ton of money to me. Bank told me it was deposited in an ATM and no way to track it. They said the person who deposited it would have to know the account number they wrote down, and since they obviously wrote theirs incorrectly, they wouldn't recall. Bank manager told me to wait a few months and if I haven't heard anything it's mine.

At the time it seemed legit, but now I feel the bank didn't do it's due diligence.


Title: (US) - Walmart Distribution Center caused injury, about to lose job, can't find another, and baby on the way might die

Question:
This is kind of confusing. I've been working at Walmart since May of this year and after about a month or so working there, I've noticed my hands falling asleep, numbness, swollen, and tingling. At my 3 month mark, I decided to get tested for carpal tunnel and it was agreed upon by the doctors I now have carpal tunnel and was likely caused from that place. Before working there, I was a stay-at-home dad and student for about a year and a half. Walmart gave me 90 days of "light duty" and if I didn't get better, they would put me on a personal leave of absence - unpaid. I also submitted a claim to get workmen's comp (right away, 3 months ago) so I can go have the surgery without accruing too much debt from not working while I recover (mind you, I had no problems before working here). That claim is yet to be completed and was told that I was unlikely going to be covered. With that said, my hands and wrists have been in extreme pain and just typing this here are making my hands fall asleep.
I asked Walmart if I could switch "positions" but that wouldn't be fair to everyone else (agreeable). So at my 6 month, I was going to put in for a request to switch because that was their policy. My 6 month is Nov 6th. On Oct. 31st, a new policy goes into effect where you must now wait 1 year before switching to a new position. I talked with everyone at the company (HR Manager, and Distribution Center Manager) and they won't work with me. I am also a disabled Army Afghan War Veteran (no hand issues in the Army) and have a wife and 19 month old at home. My wife is also pregnant and doctors told us our baby has ARPKD (Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Disease) and probably won't live when she is born. 1/20,000 babies get this. Our baby may not be able to breathe on her own when she comes out and will likely die (so say the doctors)...if she survives that outcome, she will need dialysis for her kidneys and eventually need kidney transplants every 15 years (after her first one at 22lbs). There is risk of infection and she will likely be admitted to the hospital 3-4 times a year (so say the doctors). I told Walmart this, thinking maybe they would work with me a little, but they don't care. They always claim they help families in need but that is completely a lie. My hands hurt constantly day in and day out and on Nov 5th, I'll be without a job because that ends my 90 day mark of light duty. I've also been applying for other jobs in the area (about 15 or so now) and haven't heard anything back. Been applying for the two months or so. We aren't in dire need (at this point) but I like to be prepared and will be when I don't have an income coming in from a job. I'm receiving disability benefits from the VA, which I greatly appreciate and feel I deserve. Anyways, just wondering if anyone has any advice? I can take them to court but I feel like that isn't the right answer and I don't want to put too much on my wife during this time in her pregnancy. She is about 26 weeks along. I also have many family members who work for this place. Oh I also cannot claim unemployment because I must be "able to work" according to the unemployment laws, which I'm not (if I was laid off due to injury)...
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Answer:
 > My wife is also pregnant and doctors told us our baby has ARPKD (Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Disease) and probably won't live when she is born. 1/20,000 babies get this. Our baby may not be able to breathe on her own when she comes out and will likely die (so say the doctors)...if she survives that outcome, she will need dialysis for her kidneys and eventually need kidney transplants every 15 years (after her first one at 22lbs). There is risk of infection and she will likely be admitted to the hospital 3-4 times a year (so say the doctors).

I hate to be that guy, but have you consider aborting and trying again? I don't want to sound callous, but it's a disease with a high fatality rate that if it doesn't kill the baby outright will become absurdly expensive for your family.


Title: [AR] SWIM Cancelled DirecTV due to Religious reasons.

Question:
This is bizarre, but it had me thinking. Please keep in mind, I could give two shits whether someone celebrates pride month or not.

I have a friend that is very religious, and saw that DirecTV was posting pride stuff on their website, and changed their logo to a rainbow logo (stay with me here). My friend didn't want to support the company any more, so she canceled her service, and went with Hulu Live (better service IMO). Now they are still charging her even though they said she wouldn't be charged. She talked to several people and they all gave her the runaround until someone finally said, "Sorry, your religion doesn't mean anything to us."

Is this legal? Not really looking for a lawsuit, just curious.

Thanks.

Answer: No, her objection to a logo, religious or not, does not suddenly invalidate the contract she signed.


Title: State consent laws and a terrible lying “18” yr old

Question:
I met this guy online for about two years, he is in college and holds a job so I always assumed he was 18 as he was always showing college papers and never in school during hs hours, nonetheless he flies over to meet me and then I get police at my door at 5am saying his mom is on the phone and he’s actually 16! What the hell can do to protect myself
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 Stop doing sex things with people over the internet that you don't actually know?

Hire an attorney?Answer #2: Edit: flies over to meet you? Where is he from? Both parties from Florida?

Florida statutory rape law is violated when a person has consensual sexual intercourse with an individual under Age 18. Close in age exemptions exist, allowing minors aged 16 or 17 to engage in sexual intercourse with a partner no older than age 23.

 cut ties with the guy, walk away. If police file charges you contact an attorney and say nothing to law enforcement until the attorney tells you to.

Source: https://www.ageofconsent.net/states/florida


Title: My job laid off 120 workers, claimed it was "coronavirus" related, but I'm a stay at home worker! The real reason seems to clear out older employees. Anything I can do?

Question:
I live in Vancouver, Washington.

My company was bought out about four years ago by another company.  Old company had stock options, 401k, ect, and really seemed to value their employees. Now the new owners are bragging about shutting down sites and outsourcing constantly in the town halls.

I'm the oldest team member and have trained everyone on my team at one point. They hired a "floater" to be able to handle when we go on vacations, ect. During the start of the virus, I asked directly in a team meeting if we need to be worried about our jobs, and was told no... many times.

Then on March 30th, I was pulled into a call with HR and told I was part of a mass layoff. They claim it was due to the coronavirus, but they refused to say they would hire me back when the pandemic was over like most other companies would tell you.

Instead, I got this 3-week severance package and all over it talks about the separation of older workers act, and now that I'm 41, an attached document gave a list of all the employees let go, and they all were in their late 30's to high 50's with a sprinkling of a 22 or 23-year-old call centre worker.

I'm sure there's nothing I can do about it. It feels like the CEO jumped on the Coronavirus to clean house of all the employees who were grandfathered into their pay scales and benefits. Right now, it seems like the company who hired me is completely dead now. Not a single person from the old group is left.

It was like someone came in and gutted everything, and is wearing my old company like a skin suit, keeping the brand we worked so hard to maintain while shitting all the people who put in the hard work and effort to make that company what it was out the back, like a zombie parasite.

&#x200B;

Edit:
My main question : Is there anything I can actually do? Should I sue them?

It feels shady as hell. the severance they gave me was only 3 weeks worth of pay and they even "taxed" it almost $1400! I asked the HR what they took out, and she is going to "Bring in payroll to explain" Like I'm a damn idiot.

Answer:
 > the severance they gave me was only 3 weeks worth of pay and they even "taxed" it almost $1400! I asked the HR what they took out, and she is going to "Bring in payroll to explain" Like I'm a damn idiot.

Lump sum payments have different withholding rules. If you didn't know that, perhaps payroll can explain it.


Title: A lesbian couple want a child, using my sperm. It will be conceived naturally, weird I know. What are the laws concerning paternal responsibility and child support in Texas. I really don't like or want children, and as a college student, I absolutely can not handle paying child support.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Using natural methods, there is **nothing** you can do that removes the possibility of child support.

Even if the women don't ever want to pursue you for child support, if they ever apply for government aid (Welfare, TANF, food stamps, etc, etc), the government **will** come after **YOU** for child support.

This is not a hypothetical - it has happened before.

Do NOT do this.Answer #2: Don't do it. The only way to avoid child support is through a licensed medical facility. If you put your penis in her vagina and get her pregnant you are the biological father with all the responsibility that comes with and literally nothing you guys agree on between you changes that.

> weird I know

No, it's not weird. That's how most babies are conceived.  Some people actually enjoy the process. It's just stupid if you don't want to be on the hook for child support.Answer #3: >I really don't like or want children, and as a college student, I absolutely can not handle paying child support.

Then don't do it?? lmao like how is this even questionable. so many risks, absolutely 0 rewardsAnswer #4: >  I really don't like or want children, and as a college student, I absolutely can not handle paying child support.

Then you shouldn't even consider this. No matter what the couple says, you're exposing yourself to 18 years of child support payments.  Courts in Texas have held that [sperm donors are responsible for child support.](http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1752229.html)
Answer #5: Don't do this. Just don't. If you're not going the artificial insemination route, stay far, far, far away.


Title: Why exactly is insider trading illegal?

Question: I'm suggesting it shouldn't be but is there a justification beyond "it's not fair." Everybody has advantages and disadvantages to deal with but the information one is highly illegal.

Answer: The problem is that insider trading severely disadvantages the other shareholders, typically violates a fiduciary duty, and also destabilizes the whole market.


Title: I recently received “the American community survey” in the mail. It says my response is required by law but I have neither the time or desire to fill it out. Are there any repercussions if I just ignore it?

Answer:
 You must complete it. It is a mandatory survey by the census bureau. If you fail to complete and return it, you can expect a visit from a census worker.

Federal, appellate, and circuit courts have upheld the census does not violate peoples 4th amendment rights or the right to free speech, and the SCOTUS denied a petition from the 5th circuit for a writ of certiorari (request to have the higher court review). So you would not have any luck if you tried to refuse and take it to court on grounds you should not be made to complete a survey.

Do you seriously not have the eleven minutes it takes to fill it out? It is an important data-gathering survey, used to help determine what states and regions need resources in the future. It can make a difference in your own hometown obtaining federal/state/private grants for necessities for example. ACS (anonymized) data is used by private industry as well as public to determine needs and allocate resources. It is not collected out of governmental boredom; the answers are kept confidential under penalty of IIRC 5 years in federal prison on top of enormous fines.

Just fill it out. Answer #2: You couldn't be bothered to Google it?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Community_Survey


Title: Can a juror be punished for considering evidence they've been told to disregard?

Question: Obviously if they never mention they've considered the evidence no one will ever know, but can they openly discuss it with other jurors during deliberations?  Would it jeopardize the verdict?

Answer: It could lead to a mistrial