Title: [US] [CO] Long delay in wife's green card application, she is currently in the US on an F1 visa, is pregnant and due during the upcoming semester. Can the application process be expedited or can she get relief from the F1 requirement that she be a full-time student?

Question:
We were married on Aug 1st 2016, and submitted the application for change of status (I-485) as well as the other relevant forms on Sept 14th 2016. As on Feb 11th 2017 we have been waiting for USCIS to schedule the interview. It is now beyond what USCIS has said is the normal processing time.

I have contacted USCIS on the phone twice and they have suggested I schedule an appointment with my local field office (Denver) as they schedule the interviews. I have attempted to schedule an interview but they have never had any available interview times on their website, and there is no phone number for the field office to contact.

I have contacted my senator's office for help, but they have not been able to provide any new information, or speed up the process.

My wife is currently 16 weeks pregnant, and is due on Dec 22nd, right around the time her finals will be for the fall semester. Additionally she commutes to work via bicycle which will be very difficult if not impossible later in the pregnancy.

We had been hoping the green card would be approved before the fall semester started so she would not be required to maintain full time student status. Are their any options to expedite the application process due to the circumstances, or to get relief from the F1 full time student requirement?

Answer:
 USCIS Application Support Center

Address: 15037 E Colfax Ave, Aurora, CO 80011

Phone:(800) 375-5283

Hours: Open today · 8AM–4PM


Title: Cleaning lady stole my cat

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Phone the Police (regular number, not 911). They've abducted your pet. Report this ASAP.

You can proove ownership if you can produce photos of you with the cat at any time prior to its dissappearance. A police detective will want to see some photos of the cat (as opposed to "its a cat. its black. white nose.")

edit: "We cannot not take such accusations." What kind of cleaning company is that?


Title: Parents declared someone else's child as theirs for us visa. Can it still hurt us?

Question:
It's been 13 years. I was under 18 when this happened.

Located cali

Answer:
 Yes. It's a felony offense.Answer #2: The OP’s question is not super clear. Can someone weigh in on the following, which may be what s/he meant to ask:

OP is the child of the parents. When immigrating or obtaining US visas, the parents declared OP as well as another young person—not their child—as being their children. If this is uncovered, there would obviously be consequences for the parent. If OP was otherwise eligible for the visa or immigration status, does the fraud with regard to the non-child compromise OP’s visa or status? What about the other child’s visa or status?Answer #3: You need to talk to a immigration lawyer. Knowingly or unknowingly giving false information can result in the visa being revoked, this is on another level, At best your parents would get their visa revoked and they might go easy on you and let you keep yours due to length of time passed and your age.


Title: Got in wreck, asked officer if I'd be liable for cost of damage to public property, he said no. Got a bill from the State to pay.

Question:
TxDOT (Texas Dept. Of Transportation) sent me a letter today asking me to pay ~$1k for damage to public property. I didn't hit any cars, but I damaged a cable barrier at the shoulder in order to swerve into the median and avoid stopped traffic so I didn't rear end anyone (wasn't texting or distracted, I came around a curve and over a hill and saw a quarter mile of brake lights very suddenly, had to brake from 60-0mph).

What are my options? One of the confounding factors: my family has since changed auto insurance carriers, from Geico to Allstate. Who do I talk to? How can I get this removed, reduced, or otherwise fixed without paying out of pocket?

Answer: Send the bill to the insurance carrier you had at the time of the accident.


Title: Reporting a speeder (CA, USA)

Question: There's a guy down my block who consistently speeds (at least 40mph) through our tiny residential neighborhood on his motorcycle.  Other neighbors have complained, but so far, nothing has happened.  Yesterday, the guy put up a dashcam video of one of his rides on Facebook showing him riding on a local freeway, going between 90 and [143mph](http://imgur.com/a/7B049).  Mind you, this content is public, and anyone can see it.  Can I report this to anyone (i.e. CHP)?  We have a lot of elderly people and kids in our neighborhood, and I worry that this guy is going to seriously injure someone.

Answer:
 You can send to the police, but they will choose what, if anything to do.

You may be able to request a speed trap in your neighborhood too through your pd.


Title: Mother fainted at work due to prolonged work place harassment, company never set her up with health insurance despite being charged for it

Question:
Hello, to begin with this will be a bit long and I will add a tl;dr to recap at the bottom. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

To begin with my mother is a US citizen, and has been working for four months at a ‘used  clothing store’. She was hired as a supervisor and since she started she has dealt with constant insubordination, harassment, and general rudeness from her coworkers. She had reported and written statements in regards to this numerous times to her boss, for him to not really take action or to simply let go of a few employees if they truly did a number of more offenses.

Her coworkers constantly accuse her of not wanting to work, yelling at them, etc. but none of them are true nor have they been written.

The climax came on Saturday when my mother’s high blood pressure sky-rocketed, causing her to faint after a coworker yelled at her and berated her accusing her of being lazy, not wanting to work, etc.

When my mom passed out, none of coworkers seemed to care nor be bothered- a customer called the paramedics for her. Out of the hospital my mom realized she never really got any information regarding her health insurance despite going to an HR enrollment seminar and getting charged for it for the past three checks (bi-weekly) payments.

So now my mom is stuck at her job until all of this gets assorted, no health insurance (despite being charged for it), and forced to return to work with coworkers who harass her endlessly.

Due to the situations above, would it be advice-able to seek the services of an attorney (since this corporation failed to file her paperwork for insurance but have been charging her for it), it is it a waste of time? (She isn’t the only employee being harassed there).

Tl;dr: moms blood pressure shoots up causing her to faint at work due to harassment from coworkers, job failed to provide her health insurance despite already charging her for it, worth it to seek legal action?

Answer: The harassment isn't actionable. The insurance issue might be. Has she asked about it?


Title: Someone went through my phone without my permission. Can I press charges?

Question: Pretty much what the title says, I'm in arizona, in the US if that makes a difference

Answer:
 You can't "press charges".  You can report the matter to the police and they can decide whether a crime's been commited and whether they'll take action.

Who is this person?  How did they have access to your phone?


Title: [Pennsylvania] I Got my First DUI August 25th

Question:
As stated in title and would like to add that I was taken to the police barracks for a mugshot and to get my fingerprints taken without my rights being read. A friend of mine informed me that there is a loophole to allow for rights to not be read.

Regardless, I just wanted to know what my best course of action is as well as how hard It can expect to be hit with punishment.

Answer:
 >A friend of mine informed me that there is a loophole to allow for rights to not be read.

It's not a loophole.

You must be read your Miranda rights before you're subjected to a custodial line of interrogation.  If you were never subjected to this, then they don't need to read you your Miranda rights.

>Regardless, I just wanted to know what my best course of action is as well as how hard It can expect to be hit with punishment.

Best course of action is to retain the services of a criminal defense attorney, perhaps one that specializes in DUI cases, and listen to that attorney and do exactly as they say.

Here's PA's laws on DUI:

[https://www.dmv.pa.gov/Information-Centers/Laws-Regulations/Pages/DUI-Legislation.aspx](https://www.dmv.pa.gov/Information-Centers/Laws-Regulations/Pages/DUI-Legislation.aspx)

Looks like you might not be up against anything super-duper-serious if your BAC was low and this was your first offense.


Title: Appropriate use of deadly force ambiguity

Question:
I am looking for some information on acceptable use of deadly force in unusual circumstances of danger. I've looked into this a lot myself and have received conflicting information. I know this will depend highly on location, but I have residences in both Texas and New York so I'd like to know the differences between the two, if possible.

I know that in Texas there is no duty to retreat fromassailants in your own home or car. I've read that you can still get in trouble for advancing on an assailant that turns their back on you (something even more likely to result in trouble in New York).

However, as someone with tactical training and knowledge, if I put myself in the place of a potential assailant intent on causing harm, I could potentially retreat temporarily multiple times during the course of a single armed interaction, in order to gain or regain tactical advantage.

The way the law is applied seems to me to grant an advantage to an informed assailant attempting to harm any defender dutifully adhering to the letter of the law. My main question is this: at what point can someone actively pursue and fully incapacitate (which may necessitate their death) an assailant even after they have turned their back and retreated?

I've seen some people say that this is NEVER alright, which just HAS to be false. Taken to its extreme, if someone wrote to you before an encounter that they would employ his tactic in order to hopefully kill you, then you should be able to pursue and incapacitate once you've gained an initial advantage. There must be somewhere in the middle where this is also true. Perhaps if they appeared to retreat multiple times already and then reappeared on a flank and attempted to kill you, at some point you should be able to attempt to end it for good. What if you know the attacker and are aware of their military training and their intention to fight a battle with you in the same way they would fight a battle in wartime. There are other considerations, but I just wanted to include a few hypotheticals to demonstrate my thought processes on the matter.

On a related note, when there are multiple assailants, would it be acceptable to finish off a downed opponent if you were legitimately fearful that they could re-enter the fight while you were distracted by remaining combatants? Under normal circumstances, if I shot an aggressor in the chest and knocked them down I would stop shooting them unless they weee actively pointing a ranged weapon at me. But if I needed to immediately turn and deal with another threat I would probably just continue shooting and aim for the head since there would be no way for me to know how incapacitated they were and no time for me to accurately assess that. The same would also apply, in my mind, if another attacker was not immediately threatening me, but I needed to leave the vicinity of the first attacker to check on potential attacks on family members in other parts of the building.

I've seen a lot of armchair lawyers brush off the potential need for this kind of particularly decisive deadly use of force, cautioning that it will always result in a judgement against you. I have read about cases where people defended themselves in similar manners to what I'm describing and were not charged by police, though, so I'm curious what some of the experts on here might have to say about all of this.

Answer:
 So nice of Mall Ninja to grace us with your presence.

The law isn't written anywhere near that level of granularity. Whether or not your actions in any particular circumstance were lawful will depend on the particulars, and most importantly what a jury will believe.
Answer #2: You are overthinking this.  If someone attacks you and then runs off, you call the cops.  The attacker is not coming back to attack you.  You have no right to hunt people down and hurt them.  That is assault and battery.  You will go to jail.  There is literally nothing ambiguous about that.

You are not in a movie.  You are not an important person being chased by assassins.  You are a boring nobody sitting at a computer.  If these are actual fears you hold then consult a therapist.  If you own a gun then sell it, because you are obviously not fit to own one.


Title: My boyfriend stole my dog. We haven't gotten her microchipped yet and I'm scared he's going to have his mom or sister do it in their names. How can I get her back? I know where she is.

Question: Boyfriend of 4 years pulled a knife on me. Called the cops because I'm done. STILL like a dumbass didnt give them all info I had on him to protect him and decided not to help prosecute (seriously considering changing my stance if it helps get my dog back.) Anyways, after the police left (he refused to answer the door) he took my dog to his sister's. I tried to stop it to no avail. My dog could also be where he is, his moms. He took her papers out of my room so I dont have those either. I do have her previous owners number still with text messages proving I went and bought her, sent them pics and everything. Also the emergency vet has my info down as co-owner but they call me first. Since I found the dog, I have paid everything for it, in cash. We haven't been able to microchip her yet because I've been struggling financially caring for 2 people and a dog. She is spoiled rotten with the best dog food and treats and toys though, I'd never never let her go hungry. I walk her for 2 hours every morning. I walk by a sherriff substation, no cameras though. I'm just not sure what to do to get her back. I dont want retaliation if I take the police to his sisters and she truly has nothing to do with any of this. But I know they will help their brother and son and if he tells them to microchip her in their names, they will. And my main concern is I have no solid proof she's mine. Like I said before if it helps me get her back, I will help with prosecution. Do I file a stolen dog report and give their addresses? Do I do civil standbys or whatever and go myself to get her?

Answer:
 Personally, I'd call the police and explain what happened. Say you were too scared to stop him taking her and the papers. Your texts with the previous owner and proof of ownership.

They may say it's a civil matter but you at least need a police report before they can micro chip her.


Title: I signed something under coercion. What can I do now?

Question:
When I was moving out of my apartment, the landlord forced me to sign a paper that said I pay for the damages done to this place, etc.  He was absolutely lying and I did no damages. This is the way landlords earn some money in the area I'm living in.

So he closed the door and wouldn't let me out until I sign the paper and write my bank account information. I had a plane ticket, so I signed it, but I wrote an incorrect account number.

What will happen to me next? What can I do to prevent him from getting money from me? Will he be able to get money from my bank account? He has my real account information from our rental contract.

BTW, he already has my security deposit. But he wants more money.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 To clarify, your landlord physically prevented you from leaving your home unless you signed?Answer #2: > Will he be able to get money from my bank account?

Likely not.  Was he already making ACH debits?  Either way, call your bank and tell them not to process any requests for money from your account without specific authorization.

> What will happen to me next?

Presuming he can't make a withdrawal, and doesn't have a credit card to charge, he'd need to sue you to recover any money from you.


Title: My mother has my SSN. Will the SSA let me change it?

Question: A judge found her to be abusive and otherwise unfit when I was a minor, and gave my father sole custody. The judge also issued a no-contact order she repeatedly violated with no consequences. Recently she created an "anti-corruption" blog that manipulates the facts of our family problems with omissions, half-truths, etc. for her benefit. Unfortunately, it also reveals sensitive medical and academic records she shouldn't have, for the purpose of reinforcing her narrative. She has been recruiting people on social media who believe her stories and the persona she's constructed for various purposes,  and sending strangers to the house I share with my father. The other day a man wearing a backpack and reflective shades (it was not sunny) wanted me to let him in and said he had gifts and my social security card. He refused to identify himself. I did not file a police report. Days before a group of people with the same backpack and car were ringing the doorbell and looking through the windows and around the property. I never got the plate number because I didn't want to unlock my door.  I don't feel safe using the same SSN number, but I don't know that any of this could amount to convincing grounds to change my number as far as the govt is concerned.

Answer: Call the copsAnswer #2: No, you're not likely to be able to change the number unless you can show evidence of a pattern of abuse and harassment using that number. See [SSA information](https://faq.ssa.gov/link/portal/34011/34019/article/3789/can-i-change-my-social-security-number). Call the cops about the strangers hanging around. If you are still a minor, you can have your father discuss with his attorney the blog disclosing information. See /r/personalfinance/wiki/identity_theft for information about locking down your credit report.


Title: Boss routinely paying us late, and lately not at all

Question:
Ok so I'm a short-time lurker and first time poster, never put up a post on reddit before and no one I know personally are involved in law, which brings me here!

I live in Perth, Western Australia and I work for a company as a wedding videographer and editor. It's great fun and I love what I do but our boss is a bit disorganised. (Scratch that; he's out and out a bad person but we're here to talk about paychecks and not the other stuff).

I work casually, generally three days editing and one wedding to shoot per week. Boss doesn't process payslips for all of us but so far he's at least been consistent with me. When things are running normally, we get paid on a weekly basis. One problem is that we may sometimes go a week without. The following week isn't the sum of the outstanding paychecks, but only the next one up, so when he does get around to it, we're not caught up, we're still a week behind.

This month has been particularly bad now, and the consistency is out the window. Some of us are still getting paid on time, on a weekly basis, others like myself have just been forgotten about.

The week ending the 19th of March is still an outstanding payment despite the fact I have the payslip for that week. I've been paid for the week following (ending the 26th) and had nothing else so far.

I've stressed to him and reminded him that I need him to pay me, he acknowledges his mistake and promises he'll get right on it, but never does.

I really wanted to look at some legal options before kicking up a storm in his office demanding my money and if anyone was wondering, I am searching for another job. The man is condescending, rude, childish, far from professional and possibly a psychopath.

One more important detail; one of his former employees discovered that he hadn't been paid a cent of superannuation over his five years of working there. He had plenty of evidence and paperwork to make the case, took the boss to court and somehow lost. It's a watered down, second hand story but I was wondering just how that's possible?

TLDR; Boss missed a weeks pay, and has yet to pay me for last week, I brought it to his attention three times, he hasn't done anything, asking politely isn't going to work. What are my legal options?

Answer: /r/auslaw and find a new job


Title: Please help. Need advice, sexual assault victim

Question:
I am making this post as the victim's friend and encouraging the victim (lets call her Sally) to take action. I'm trying my best to help the victim and give advice on how to start the whole process. Location in the USA. Two days ago  Sally, a mutual friend of the mine and Sally (lets call mutual friend bob), 4 of bobs friends, and I went to a club/bar. We all drank alcohol that night. I had my back turned for a moment and was separated from Sally. This is where everything goes wrong.

It took about 15 minutes to get back into contact with Sally, I sent a text saying I was by the door of the club. Sally met me there with Bob, and one of Bob's friend's, the assaulter (lets call him Ray). Sally is upset, crying and tells me to get Ray away from her. Sally also said Ray had her phone. Bob said to us Ray was really "feeling Sally and we should get out of here."  I go up to Ray get her phone back, Ray verbally confessed that he is "sorry" to me over and over. At this time I just want Sally to be okay and we leave (shes a mess, won't tell me what happened).

 On the way back home, Sally tells me what happened. Ray groped her, forced him to hold her hands, kiss him, kept pulling him back to her as she tried to escape, Ray told her they were in the club lost for an hour and he would get a hotel for themselves for the night... Thank goodness she was able to see my text before he took her phone away. When we got home, I texted Bob what his friend did and summing up what he said was , " I've never seen Ray do this before. Ill take full responsibility for what happened tonight. I hope you two are okay." I'm trying to help Sally out, shes scared and doesn't know what to do. I don't know how to proceed. We didn't file a police report (yet), and we didn't make a scene at the club. All we have for evidence is Sally's confession, the verbal responses from Bob and Ray, and also Bob's text.

:edit For those asking, he touched her breasts, and butt to say the least. Assault may be the wrong word. Its sexual battery. The state is PA.

Answer:
 This is a criminal matter.

Your friend needs to report the incident to police ASAP.


Title: New interns are paid at a “standard rate” that is ~$4 more than me PER HOUR doing the same tasks

Question:
I’ve been working as a mechanical engineering intern since beginning of summer and just found out that the new fall interns are making a much higher wage than me. (I’m making $17/hr and new hires are making $21/hr)

The explanation given to me was that the standard changed after I signed the contract extending my internship so they are unlikely to change my salary.

They also specifically said that “this is not because you are a woman” and that “discussing salary with your coworkers is unprofessional”.

It also turns out that I am the only person in this company that is affected by this circumstance.

I understand that it is not uncommon to have wage differences, but I feel that I am performing really well at work (hence they asked if I wanted to extend the  contract) and also helping train these new interns. I also had a fairly good relationship with my manager and coworkers so I feel a bit hurt that this happened.

I scheduled a meeting this week to further discuss this with my manager.

The two questions I have are:
1) Is there anything I can bring up to defend my situation?
2) How do I argue without sounding too demanding?

Any advice helps, thanks!

Answer:
 As an intern you can discuss your pay with others since you aren’t management.  They can say it’s unprofessional, but they can’t bar you for discussing it.

Absent an employment contract and/or union agreement (and in the USA), this is legal.


Title: (Hypothetical) what happens if someone died and there is no proof on anyone?

Question: Was watching this movie about this couple which got me wondering - if I was a rich man and married a woman without a prenup who now wants a divorce (I want to avoid giving her anything) let’s say she sleeps in another room and one morning I wake up earlier than her and smother her with a pillow. I then call the police and tell them I just found her like this. What would happen next? There would be no evidence it was me or that I murdered her. If she was afraid of me and mentioned it to one of her friends would that be enough suspicion to warrant arrest? Would the simple act of there being no other possible cause of death lead to me being convicted of murder? This is totally hypothetical lol

Answer:
 I love that you think that suffocation leaves no evidence. Please never lose that innocence.

If someone dies unexpectedly, there's often at least a cursory police investigation, often including an autopsy. Someone who dies of suffocation will have clear signs of it in their blood, lungs, and capillary blood vessels. If your partner struggles, there'll also be signs of the resulting injuries, as well. If a coroner looks into the death of your wife, it'll likely be clear that it wasn't a natural death, at which point the question moves from "how did this tragedy happen" to "who did this." No points for guessing who the prime suspect is in a lot of at-home sudden deaths.Answer #2: Well they would perform an autopsy to determine cause of death so they would be able to tell she died of asphyxiation.


Title: Should I arrange for alimony in my pre-nuptial agreement?

Question:
I am a teacher earning less than $40,000/year. He is a first year resident soon to be doctor who will obviously earn much more than me.
He is the one who wants the pre-nup. I didn't want one, but. I agreed to do it since he said it was important to him. We will in South Carolina.

I am the type of person who is extremely self sufficient. I hate taking from others, and the idea of alimony leaves a terrible taste in my mouth. Prior to meeting with my lawyer, I told my fiance that I wouldn't ask for it.

However, after meeting with my lawyer, I was given many horror stories in which the wealthier partner cheated on the poorer one and vindictively left them in the lurch, or there were stories where one partner became disabled during the marriage and unable to work and was left without support after the marriage. This really scared me. Right now, I feel 100% that my fiance would never cheat, but isn't that what everyone says? I'm worried that I'm being naive and not looking out for myself by not wanting alimony.

I brought this up to my fiance, and now he sees me as wanting to sponge off of his money after we're married. I see it as a security blanket. I hate the fact that he sees me that way, and I hate the idea of alimony. I like to think I could live on my own after divorce, but now I'm just not sure what to do. I'm scared I'm being naive and idealistic now. I need advice and am feeling really lost.

Answer:
 You should listen to your attorney. And if this conversation leads to problems with your relationship, you should do a little relationship math to imagine what is going to happen in a few years when he is making a zillion dollars and meets a hot nurse. Answer #2: I'm confused, often what people will do in a prenup is waive alimony or set a low rate.  You CAN leave it out of the prenup altogether by not waiving it or setting it and in the event of a divorce you will figure it out through the courts.

However, since it sounds like he is going to be a doctor and doesn't have an inheritance or family business, it sounds like his purpose of having you sign the prenup IS to waive alimony.  Which is bullshit IMO.  Prenups are great for pre-existing businesses or family assets that need to be protected or figuring out alimony in advance.  If the pure purpose of the prenup is to waive your right to alimony?  Fuck him.


Title: Brother (20m) assaulted me in July. I (22F) filed a report but didn't press charges. May need surgery for retinal detachment due to injury sustained, need advice on how to seek compensation. (CA)

Question:
This is my throwaway. Back in late July, my brother assaulted me while high on narcotics and I filed a report with the police but did not press charges (because my parents promised me they would evict him if I didn't). He struck my eye which gave a shiner for about a week which I have photographic evidence of on my phone.

Cut to now, I have just come from the optometrist who told me I have all the symptoms of retinal detachment. It is not hereditary, nobody in my family has had this happen to them, and we are both sure it is a result of the injury I sustained when my brother assaulted me. I will need a follow up appointment but if worst comes to worst, I will need surgery so that I do not lose vision in that eye completely. I have insurance (VSP), but it won't pay for the follow up appointment which makes me uneasy about the surgery and how much I'll have to pay if it comes down to it. I didn't ask how much that would be, I was sort of in shock when it happened, but I'll do more research.

What are my next steps as far as pursuing compensation? Is this worth seeking damages from my brother? Honestly, any advice would be soo appreciated.

Ps. Sorry if I'm using some legal terminology wrong. I'm really angry, scared, and nervous.

Answer:
 Not legal advice.

OP, I have a condition where retinal detachment is a strong possibility, choroidal hemangioma.  Do you have health insurance?  If so, your follow up should be with an ophthalmologist and that would fall under the medical portion of your policy.  Make sure you use an excellent Doctor, you don't want to mess up your retina and a detached retina is supposedly very, very painful.

ETA:  an optometrist is for glasses only.  They can tell if there is a problem with your retina (dilation and then shining the light straight into your eye to see the retina at the back of your eye) but I would never trust one to treat retinal problems.


Title: School fight - parents want to sue

Question:
**A bit of context** \- I'm 13 years old in middle school in the state of Texas. I'm the one who punched the kid

This happened at the high school that I and the other person have a class at in the morning.

&#x200B;

So I was sitting with my friends talking about video games or some shit and the topic of the test we're about to take comes up. This other kid who we were talking to, Jacob (not his actual name) says "Oh I'm gonna pass this test because I know German (its a German test) unlike Kevin (not my actual name) because Kevin's stupid and doesn't know German." I already had a bad morning and I really didn't like this kid. So after he says this I got pissed off and punched him in the face and told him to shut up. That was that. He didn't fight back or even say anything for a while after he just kinda sat there. I had been telling this kid that I didn't like him and for him to leave me alone but he wouldn't listen and kept doing things like calling me stupid (mostly teasing but it annoyed me) Anyway, after the test I talk to my other friend behind me and eventually Jacob joins in on the conversation. He didn't seem mad or anything and nothing really came of it until I got home.

When I got home (it was a Friday) my parents confronted me and told me his parents called the school and were super upset, my mom told me later that Jacob's parents wanted to sue us. Now when I first heard this I thought there was no way this would go through at all. I got 3 days of in-school suspension and didn't hear about it again until Wednesday (today) I learn when I get home that my parents had a meeting with an officer that comes to the school like twice a week about what was happening. They say they're trying to pursue it and I could get either a class A or C misdemeanor. They told me that the officer would pull me out of class tomorrow and ask me about it as well as ask Jacob and some other people who witnessed it. My dad also told me that if they end up winning it and I do get the misdemeanor they could use that to sue us. I learned all of this probably like an hour ago by the way and I'm still somewhat confused and angry. My mom told me not to worry but I'm just a bit scared lol. Anyway, this is all I can think to write, I'm going to write up what all happened Friday in as much detail as I can and give that to the officer tomorrow

**Extra info:**

Jacob is older than me but shorter and a bit chubbier

The two friends sitting next to me were in view of a camera but Jacob and I just so happened to be in a blind spot when I punched him.

I'm not a very muscular person but it was a pretty good punch and Jacob has a pretty bad bruise on his cheek.

Pretty much everyone who's asked me about it has been on my side about it (I'm not sure if this is important at all)

On Monday when the Vice Principal gave me in school suspension she had me write a brief summary on what happened and I'm gonna ask for that tomorrow

Jacob wasn't even mad at me and was telling jokes to me in Science class today and being friendly to me, I'm not sure he even knows his parents are trying to sue, I don't blame Jacob for any of this.

Sorry if this doesn't make any sense I'm a pretty bad writer, feel free to ask any questions.

&#x200B;

**So I just spoke to my mom.** My mom called a friend who is an attorney (I'm pretty sure) and he and another friend said they were nervous with me talking to the officer and that I may say something that contradicts my story since I'm nervous but me and my parents think it would be suspicious if I don't wanna talk to the cop. So, I think what I'll do is write the letter explaining everything and then basically just follow the letter by word when he asks me questions and if he starts interrogating me or something I'll something along the lines of "I don't feel comfortable talking about this anymore without my parents."
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 You have committed the crime of Battery.

You can be both criminally charged AND sued for damages such as hospital bills.

Your parents should be hiring a lawyer specializing in juvenile court cases.


Title: Just found out my daughter was molested by our old neighbor [California]

Question:
Acting on the advice of her therapist, last night my adult daughter told me about how she was molested by our then-neighbor starting when she was about four.  She doesn't know exactly how long it went on.  That was about 15 years ago.

I was totally blindsided.  The man was a kindly grandfather with a ton of grandchildren and an immaculately maintained house, and coincidentally his father had been a friend of my family's so we'd known the family peripherally for many years before we moved next door.  All of the neighborhood kids spent time at his house and I never got the faintest hint of anything amiss.  As a single father I welcomed any help I could get.

My daughter says she repressed the memory of the abuse for years and she only came to recognize what had happened when she was comforting a friend who was raped.

My first priority - after making sure my daughter has the love and support she needs - is making sure the man doesn't do this again.  He's still alive, and still living in the same cute little house, and presumably still has kids coming over all the time.

I think it's beyond the statute of limitations, but I'm not sure of the details of California law.  My daughter lives out of state now, which might further complicate things.  There's no physical evidence, and the man never took off his clothes so she couldn't give any kind of physical description beyond what would be apparent to anyone.  For my part, I couldn't have even said with certainty that the two of them had ever been alone in the house together.  I didn't think there were that many times she was over there without her brother and while I'm fairly certain he was a widower I remember a woman being there frequently, but I can't remember if she lived there.

How do I proceed?  What can I expect from the local police?  Should I be going to another agency?  What can they do if the statute of limitations has expired?  Neither of us is thrilled about the idea of a trial, but I think my daughter is willing to give whatever testimony is needed if it'll help keep this from happening to someone else - or possibly stop ongoing abuse.

I'm still more numb than anything.  I've had a couple of bursts of anger and a castration fantasy or two - and another kind of anger after finding out that the real reason her mother pulled her out of Girl Scouts was because she came home with a consent form for sexual abuse education and she didn't want our daughter exposed to that.

I can google the relevant laws but it's hard to get my brain into research mode right now and I could really use some advice from actual humans.

Answer: Did you ask your daughter if she wants that? I think that's the most important part here.Answer #2: Report it to the police. Let them take it from there. In CA the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse is eight years after she reaches the age of majority ie 26. It sounds like she’s only about 19 from your post (age 4 + 15 years ago). Who knows what evidence the police might find. Victim or witness testimony is evidence. It sounds highly likely there are more victims. At a minimum you will hopefully stop other kids from being hurt.


Title: [MO] Recording lectures at public university?

Question: Hello, I know Missouri is a single party state (where only one party has to allow for recording...right?). How does it work if a college professor says you can't voice record her lectures? Does that trump, the single party law?

Answer:
 If it's a lecture and she's the one talking, then "one party," in this case the only party, hasn't consented.

You should follow the professor's policy.  Even if it's legal, schools can have an enforce their own rules and policies and discipline you for violating them.


Title: Heroine was hidden in a package that was transported to coworker.

Question: My coworker had me meet her husband on my way to work to get her tennis shoes for her. I found a syringe (with needle) full of heroine hidden under the sole of the shoe. I confronted her, told my boss, she took the bag. I’m not longer in possession and was unaware of it. I was suspicious due to previous information I acquired about my coworker so that is why I checked the shoes. There is also a lot of Venmo transaction between me and the coworker because she claimed that her Venmo would not let her transfer the funds to her account. She asked me for help so she would transfer those funds to my Venmo and I would transfer them to my bank and pull them out of the ATM. Over 3 days, it was a total of $1000. I would meet her and her husband in the parking lot of the bank to give them the money. I also know that cops are watching the husband, reasons unknown. I can be linked to this now and want to know if I should go to the police or just let it go. Going to the police would cause a lot of drama and problems that I feel like I can’t handle but I am worried that I will ultimately get in trouble in the future. What should I do?

Answer: You should shut up and talk to no one but an attorney about this. You look like you are very much a part of a drug ring and that you are now having second thoughts and trying to back out. Attorney, now. If you are contacted by the cops before you talk to an attorney you say this and only this: "I am asserting my 5th amendment right to remain silent, I will not talk to you without my attorney present. I do not consent to any searches."


Title: Nazi Swastikas in Public Schools

Question:
I'm asking this here instead of r/legaladvice because this is a hypothetical scenario.

Would it be constitutional for an American public school to prohibit students from wearing Nazi swastikas (or similarly offensive items such as Confederate flags)? My understanding of the Tinker test is that a student can do anything traditionally protected by the first amendment as long as it does not cause a "substantial disruption" to the educational environment. Could speech ever be considered a substantial disruption based solely on its content, or do substantial disruptions require some transgressions in manner of delivery?

The reason I'm unsure is because although it is easy to see how Nazi emblems could cause substantial disruption, banning them would amount to viewpoint discrimination.

Answer:
 Of course the school can ban Nazi iconography. There is no valid argument to equate such to "freedom of speech" of any value or merit.

Put another way: would anyone doubt that a school could ban a student from wearing a sandwich board that bore the words "I hate niggers"? No, right? A nazi symbol is the iconographic equivalent, and while a sufficiently motivated student (assuming support) could sustain an argument over it, he or she would never win that argument. Answer #2: The government stopping you from wearing it to school is different than them saying you can never wear it.  Having a tshirt that says "kill the principal" can have the same impact a swastika can.  You are allowed to wear them, just not to school.  You have no right to wear what you want whenever.


Title: Arkansas - Keeping someone off property

Question:
(Sorry if I flared incorrectly, I didn't know what to put this under)

I have a house in Arkansas that my best friend is renting.  She is in the process of divorcing her husband and he goes through times where he is agreeable and nice but will quickly turn and start harassing her (mostly via text).

Yesterday, he went to the house to get their son.  He was inside and belittling her and she kicked him out.  Then he came back and pushed past her 13 year old son to get in.  He harassed her a little more and made mention of having a key to the house.  I don’t know if that’s true but I am changing the locks anyway.

My two questions are this:

1.  Do I, as the owner of the house, have any legal way to keep him off the property?  He tends to be a bully and I’m hoping that if I step in, he can’t use it against her.
2.  Does he have a right to enter the house even though he isn’t on the lease (and never has been) because they are only in the process of divorce?

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 If your friend is renting the house, then **she** can call the police when he does this. If she tells anyone to leave and they refuse, tell her to call 911 and report the trespassing and concern for her safety.

**You** as the landlord can also tell him that his never allowed on your property (unless invited by her as a guest). If he ignores that, you can call the police yourself.

If he never lived there as a resident, he has no right to enter just because they are married/getting divorced.


Title: [MO] Looking for recourse after court accepts police officer's demonstrably false testimony

Question: In 2014 I was arrested while protesting in Missouri and charged with "Interfering with an Officer."  I took a video recording of my own arrest.  I had legal representation in this case, and in the process of discovery, my arresting officer provided a written testimony (which I have a copy of) containing a narrative of my arrest that is directly contradicted by the video I took of the incident.  Despite the fact that I presented my video as evidence proving the officer's testimony was full of lies, the court made me complete 25 hours of community service and pay a court fee, after which my case was dismissed.  My case has now officially been dismissed, and I am looking for ways to hold the officer who provided the false testimony accountable for his lies.  My question is the following: Is it best to file a complaint with the police department, to seek legal representation for a law suit, to do both, to do neither, or to take some other action?  Please keep in mind that I have little to no financial resources to invest in legal representation.

Answer:
 > Is it best to file a complaint with the police department, to seek legal representation for a law suit, to do both, to do neither, or to take some other action?

You need to speak with an attorney.

> Please keep in mind that I have little to no financial resources to invest in legal representation.

I will keep that in mind.  But I'm also keeping in mind your lack of legal knowledge and expertise, and balancing the two against each other.  One of them wins.


Title: I (20M) was just told that monday is veterans day and that courts wouldn't be open on that day, i havw an outstanding balance with the court i was going to pay on Monday for a ticket. It says it needs to be paid before the 13th.

Question: Is there anything I can do so that I don't go to jail? Do you think that I could ask the judge to extend the payment period if I plead my case? I'm really freaked out and I really don't want to go to jail as I'm trying to get into a college right now.

Answer:
 It most likely won't make it to a judge till sometime after the 13th. The on call judge for the holiday isn't working on people's fines, they are usually just reviewing PC for new arrests over the holiday weekend.

At least where I work in WA.

Show up as the doors open to where you pay the fine on Tuesday and pay it. I would be willing to bet that will work.

In the future. Plan better.


Title: confused on my ticket

Question: so I was driving home last night and got pulled over for my tints on my car he ticket the cop gave me was 172.200A - failure to describe hazmat on shipping papers. can anyone explain this I'm so confused as to what I got a ticket for. the state this all happened in was NJ

Answer: You're best bet is to call the court.  Could be he wrote the wrong code section.  Before you ask, no, that doesn't invalidate the ticket or mean you can beat it in court.


Title: [CA] 19 years old and being sued by my auto insurance company..

Question:
Hi all,

In late July I was involved in an at fault accident doing my 90 mile commute to my work. I managed to total my car and the other person’s. I have full coverage and as do they. My limits were $5000 because that’s all I could afford, and it was my understand that as long as the other party has full coverage, I won’t be responsible for their damages (I’ve now learned this is incorrect...).

Well just yesterday, two months after the accident, I received a letter from the other party’s insurance USAA claiming that after accepting the $5000 contribution from my insurance, Mercury, I have a balance of $11,600 and that if I don’t make a payment within 30 days, there will be legal action against me. I immediately called USAA and they said I’d have to speak with this other group to go over my payment options, and I attempted to call but they’re closed until Monday.

I’m absolutely freaking out. I do not have anywhere close to this much money, and I’m a full time university student who’s working 30 hours a week and barely making anything since all my money is paying for my tuition. USAA says that they already have an attorney against me, but my mom’s and dad’s advice was to let them take me to court. I’m so worried and I’m freaking out. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.
Topic:
Insurance

Answer:
 Is the $5K limit on liability, collision, medical? You saying you have $5K limit doesn’t give me any information on what is covered.

No matter what happens with this your auto insurance rate is going to increase so get ready for that.


Title: My daughters school wants to have a meeting because she (correctly) used the word "erect" in a class presentation.

Question:
I will keep this as brief as possible. My daughter is in 10th grade. She is a good student and an all around good kid. She's been taking dance classes for years and is big into "traditional" types of dance (styles that has been around for a long time vs more modern dance styles). She also likes to learn and practice different styles of dancing from around the world.

Everyone in her social studies class was given an assignment to write a paper and give a 10 minute presentation on a relevant topic of their choosing. She chose to compare and contrast a traditional style of dance from South America, North America, and Europe.  She didn't ask for any help except with how to do some things in Powerpoint.

The day she was scheduled to present there was a sub, so the class was a little rowdy to begin with. A boy went before her and slipped some inappropriate pictures into his presentation (not pornography, but like Victoria's secret). This got the whole class worked up and the sub had a very hard time controlling them. (There was a camera recording the presentations and I was sent a copy "to prepare for our meeting"). When he was done, my daughter went up and was about 5 minutes into her presentation when she said a certain dance style was more "erect" than another. This really sent the class over the edge and the poor sub had to call the principal's office. The only problem is that he told the principal that is was **her** presentation that caused the problems not the boy before her. He's not a mean man and I feel sorry for him but he's ancient. He was a sub when I was her age and may have some memory issues.

Now they want to meet with my wife and I "to discuss the inappropriate language used during the presentation."  How should I prepare for this? Can the school do anything? Neither of my kids has ever gotten in trouble before.  It's like they didn't even watch the video.

If it matters, she has a twin brother and knows about "boy stuff", but neither her paper nor presentation were in any way sexual.

Thanks for reading.

Answer:
 > How should I prepare for this? Can the school do anything?

Um, just go to the meeting and discuss the situation. This really isn't a legal issue.

> she has a twin brother and knows about "boy stuff"

Of course she does, she's in 10th grade. Answer #2: This isn't really a legal problem.  You go sit, listen and nod politely while imagining a painful fantasy about the school administration of your choice.  Pretend to be concerned and thank them for bringing it to your attention.

Then take your daughter out for a nice dinner and forget all about it.  Answer #3: Wow, I've heard some Stupid School Tricks on this sub, but this one is really special.

Just go to the meeting.  Try not to be defensive.  Maybe bring her prepared notes showing she planned to use the word all along, and maybe print out some examples of the word being used in dance literature to demonstrate it was appropriate.

Hopefully this is just a pro forma thing, but at this point, it's purely a school administrative issue, and not a legal one.


Title: Should I share all the evidence that I have with the opposing party lawyer right away?

Question:
I filed a Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (discrimination) federal lawsuit against my ex-employer. The opponent lawyer and I had a telephonic conversation today. I said I do have several screenshots that will prove my allegations. He said he would like to have a look. My question - should I send him everything I have upfront? Or lawyers will select their approach and draft their response based on the evidence I have?

I am sorry if this is a basic question but for most pro-se litigants movies are the only courtroom dramas they have ever seen.

Location: US federal court

Answer: Oh you need an attorney right now or else you're going to be obliterated on this claim against an actual attorney.


Title: Drivers intimidating bicyclists, Philadelphia

Question:
I live in Philadelphia PA, and bike as my primary mode of transportation. I follow the laws closely, but sometimes cars do not appreciate that. I have recently been revved, yelled at, and threatened by a driver behind me who was frustrated. Note again, I am following all bike laws. I know cyclists do not have a good reputation, but that's not me. If I have video proof of this sort of thing happening (meaning I start recording my rides, and I get raged data again), do I have any legal recourse to charge a driver with simple assault? What sort of procedure would be involved? Is there any chance of a lawsuit or criminal proceedings succeeding?

Thanks!

Answer:
 If you ever feel threatened by a driver you can call the police and report it. Any proof you have the police will take and decide if a criminal case can be pursued. You (or any other citizen) almost never has the right to decide if criminal charges are brought up.

Even if the driver isn't wrong enough to be charged criminally you can use the police to keep yourself safe.

You can sue the driver if there is any damage done (if an angry driver damages your or the bike for example) but those would be civil charges. Assuming your bike is not worth $12,000+ you can use small claims court to seek payment for damages and you will not need a lawyer. Any expenses over that will have to be taken to a higher court where lawyers would be advised.


Title: Let's say, hypothetically, I broke the law...

Question:
Let's say, hypothetically, I violated Georgia law 40-6-181, as in, I speeded in excess amount of the limits given

Let's say, hypothetically, I got a ticket for it.

Let's say, hypothetically, that ticket does not state whether or not I drove in a two-lane road or highway, as demanded in Georgia law 40-6-187, which states:

"(a) In every charge of violation of any speed regulation in this chapter, the summons, uniform traffic citation, official charging instrument, or notice to appear shall specify the speed at which the defendant is alleged to have driven, the maximum speed applicable within the district or at the location, **and whether the violation occurred on a two-lane road or highway.**"

Let's say, hypothetically, this ticket only named the roads I was on, and not if they were a highway or two-lane road.

What can I do with this information?

Answer:
 Hypothetically nothing. The hypothetical name of the hypothetical road would hypothetically identify what type of road it hypothetically was. Say US 1 vs Hypothetical Lane.

If you argued in court that the missing information voided the citation the court would likely just correct the ticket as a clerical error and move on.Answer #2: You're not clever, and nothing would happen because of that minor clerical error.


Title: I have 9 bench warrants for traffic tickets. Can I just show up at court and put myself on the docket and not get arrested?

Question:
I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Two years ago I was pulled over twice on the same day, receiving 3 tickets each time. Less than a month later I received 3 more tickets. They are:

3 No proof - Liability insurance,

3 Improper license plate display,

2 No drivers license

1 Suspended or revoked drivers license.

I went to court and they gave me community service. I only did a little bit of it and went back to court on my next date. They gave me community service again. I did a little bit of it and then didn't go back to court. I received a letter informing me that all of the tickets have been upgraded to the maximum fines and that I have 9 bench warrants.

I was lazy and unmotivated.

I have now had a job for 4 months and have saved about $2,000.

My questions are: Can I just show up tomorrow morning, put myself on the docket, and speak with the Judge?

Is there a chance that I'll be arrested?

Is there a chance of getting my fines lowered and making a payment plan?

Thank you very much for your time.

Answer:
 You don't "put yourself on the docket".  You can hire an attorney to see if it's possible to avoid being arrested, or at least if you have to be, to do it on better terms.Answer #2: Its tomorrow and now you are asking? I wish you the best of luck.

You really need a lawyer.Answer #3: There is some chance you'd get arrested.

Driving on a suspended license is a [criminal offense](https://law.justia.com/codes/oklahoma/2014/title-47/section-47-6-303/) that you then failed to appear on. Use some of the money you've saved from your job to consult an attorney.


Title: Do I have to let a realtor in? - Washington

Question:
I’m asking this for a friend who is having several problems with her landlord (which is also her mom).

She lives in Washington state and was told she had 30 days to evacuate because her mom wants to sell the house.  Even though no evictions are allowed she wants out and found a place and is moving Saturday.

She lives with her fiancée and preschooler.

Her mom/landlord notified her that the realtor would be coming Thursday to take pictures and if the house wasn’t clean she would move stuff to get pictures.  She told her mom no because of all the CV19 issues.

Can she legally deny access to the landlord/realtor? And if her landlord/mom still insists what action can she take?

Answer: Giving notice to vacate is not an eviction. Eviction is what happens after if the person refuses to move out after receiving proper notice.


Title: Landlord is surprising me with $1400 of exterminator bills after I reported bedbugs. I live in a multiple unit apartment in Wisconsin.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 If the lease doesn't specify who would be responsible for pest remediation, then the onus generally falls onto the property owner (landlord). This can be subverted if the landlord believes you brought them into the house due to unsanitary conditions, but that would likely require a civil suit. Answer #2: What the fuck is the exterminator doing? Are we talking non-toxic spray in infested areas or is he actually heating your place up?

I'm from Minnesota. We had bedbugs a few months after moving in. Landlords sent an exterminator over who rid the problem by spraying the infested areas. Charged our landlords 80 bucks and we split the bill. This was about half a year ago. We probably didn't even have to split the bill but the money was so petty I didn't care.

TL;DR $1400 is excessive unless they are heating the entire apartment/heating your matress in a truck and it doesn't sound like this due to:

> We only had to leave for a few hours


Title: I was placed in handcuffs and driven to the police station. The officer didn't read me my Miranda rights. Can this help me in court?

Question: I got busted for possession of marijuana in Wisconsin, handcuffed, brought to the station, finger-printed, and had my mugshot taken. Does this count as an arrest? The officer didn't read me my Miranda rights, so I think I've got the basis for a legal defense. Am I correct? What could this mean for me?

Answer: You don't have to be read your miranda rights unless you are being interrogated. If you were just being arrested, they don't have to.


Title: Job interview/disability question

Question:
Hey everyone, I have a question about an inappropriate comment made to me during a job interview.
A little background on the situation. I was born completely deaf in my left ear. We didn't find out until I was 7 years old. I wear two hearing aids, but I can function without them. I am pretty sensitive about my hearing loss after years of bullying and unnecessary remarks. on most occasions, I don't wear my hearing aids, probably out of stubbornness. I've been on the job hunt for 3 months, and although I have accepted a position, I have a question about a comment made during a job interview. The interview was for a younger, start up company in a major city in Pennsylvania. The interview started with two people. I had mentioned my hearing disability and hearing aids to them, and they assured me that I would be comfortable in their working environment. The interview continued on, and people constantly switched in and out of the room. The first interviewer left the room and the third interviewer entered during the conversation about my disability. The 3rd interviewer asked me a couple questions then followed up with what I thought my biggest struggle was. I answered the question by referring back to the conversation he walked in on about my disability, and how difficult it was to deal with growing up, in large lecture halls during college, but despite that, I still have always worked just as hard to get where I am now. While I was answering this question, the VP I would be working under walks in, and sits down. As I finished up my answer, the VP says "Well, you do look deaf." I was kind of taken back, and asked if maybe he noticed I was leaning in with my left ear, showing preference to my left ear? To which he replied, "It was just a joke." I was pretty embarrassed. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable the rest of the interview, and obviously didn't get the job.

I'm just kind of curious. I've never really discussed my disability with employers before this new job search before. Can they make comments about a disability like that, is that in any way discriminatory? I really felt like up until that point I had a really good interview, and would've had a good shot at getting the job. After his comment, I really felt out of place and thought I blew it. Should I contact they're HR department? They are equal opportunity employers.

Answer: For future reference, when they ask you that question, a better answer is something along the lines of "It used to be [random thing], but not anymore because [I went to training/learned how to fix it/I overcame it] and now it's not a problem anymore."


Title: 115 I’m not sure if I’ve actually been married for the last 21+ years because of church shenanigans

Question:
I originally posted this in /r/churchdrama, and it was suggested I post it here. I am in Oregon. The marriage license was purchased in Marion Co., but we were married in Yamhill Co. (or Polk Co., the county lines are a little confusing).

This is very, very long. Thank goodness for LiveJournal or I wouldn’t have remembered half of the conversations and details. TL;DR at the bottom.

Our cast:

FJ: Father Jim, the old priest who married us

Y: FJ’s secretary

FT: Father Terry, the young priest that was allegedly helping us (You need an old priest and a young priest for a horror show like this.)

S: FT’s secretary

CC: County Clerk(s), I feel no need to differentiate between them

H: Husband (or guy I’ve been shacked up with?) of 21 years

Me: Me

Preamble: 1997 was a crazy year. My father died early in ‘97. In September, H proposed. My mom also decided to sell our house around the same time (I was still living at home) and my aunt, who already owned the adjacent property, bought our home, my mom moved into an apartment, and aunt wanted me out of the house by the end of the year. H and I bought a manufactured home and rented a parcel of land with the understanding it’d be ready by the end of the year. It wasn’t. Aunt wasn’t happy but our own house was ready by Feb. 14, ‘98 so she didn’t have to wait too long.

H and I had been dating 2 years so we thought we were ready for marriage. We wanted to get married at St. Joseph’s church because it is my very religious MIL’s favorite church (my own family, not so big on religion, so I was flexible) but they were booked out for a year and a half. However, I lived near a small, rural, historic church called St. Michael’s. We could get married there right at the beginning of January 1998.

However, the Catholic church required us to have several meetings with FJ and with a married Catholic couple to council us about the whole being married thing. H and I were both working full-time, buying a house, going to these counseling sessions, buying dresses and renting tuxes, and I was still processing my father’s death, so the 4 months between Sept. ‘97 and Jan. ‘98 were absolutely bonkers. It’s only with the help of a dear friend and my wonderful mother and other family and friends that we pulled this show off.

I told you that story to tell you this one.

Some weeks after the wedding, the CC's office called and asked if we intended to use that license because it was about to expire. We said we already had, so they said to contact FJ and make sure he submitted the rest of the paperwork. When I called FJ's office, though, Y told me he'd fallen ill and been forced to retire. But Y said she'd look through his papers and see what she could find. I never heard back from her or the CC, so huge procrastinator that I am, I hoped/assumed that it was taken care of.

Fast forward 9 and a half years to June 2007. I didn’t have enough other stuff to worry about, so I started dwelling on this marriage license issue. Was it ever resolved? Have we, in fact, been lying to the IRS, Social Security, etc? I'd never seen the license, I didn't think, because H bought it, but we had a Marriage Certificate that FJ and we had signed, witnessed by my sister and H's father, and stamped by the CC. Maybe that was what they wanted to see? I'd put it in the wedding album. I finally dug the album out so I could look at it, but it didn't say anywhere that it needed to go back to the CC's office. H finally told me to quit fretting and just call the CC already. Turns out FJ never filed the paperwork. And this certificate, though signed and witnessed, etc., means bupkiss legally. We're married, the clerk assured us, but we can't prove it. According to the clerk, our options are thus:

Find the original license and have FJ submit the two pages that need to go back to the CC (the third page he's supposed to keep for his records)
If the CC's two pages are missing, bring in the third page, it's still good enough as long as it's got FJ's signature.
If all the pages of the license are well and truly missing, buy a new license and get the priest--the same priest who married us--to sign it.
If we can't get FJ, get a new license and a new priest and start all over. Yes, she said start over.
After leaving messages, I finally spoke to someone from the church, and it turned out a lot of things didn't get signed or filed back in FJ's last days. But S said she was on it, and hopefully they'd have something in a few days. S said it was a good thing we had the marriage certificate, though. It counted for something in their books, at least.

S called back the next day and H talked to her. He told me that she asked for a copy of the marriage certificate, and she'd have to talk to the archdiocese and the CC, but this would get straightened out. Around this time, it dawned o me H had bought the license in the county he lived in, while St. Michael’s was in another county. Part of me wondered if the problem might be that FJ accidentally sent the license to the wrong county, but surely they would have returned it. Besides, it sounded like S couldn't find the church's copy anywhere. By this point, I’m thinking we shoulda just shacked up. Or eloped to Vegas.

So I played phone tag with S for a couple weeks, and I thought we finally almost just about got the marriage license deal sorted out. H had to take our marriage certificate to CC and use the number on it to get a duplicate of the marriage license. Then mail that duplicate to S, who'd give it to FT, who'll take it to FJ for his signature. Yes, FJ was still alive! Hallelujah! Then S would mail that back to the CC and we should be officially and 100% legal. Yay!

I was so glad FJ was still alive, though I admit it is mostly for selfish reasons. S repeated what CC had told me: if there was no way to get FJ’s signature, we'd have to get a new license and get married all over again. I had no idea legally what that would mean for the previous 10 years. Did we lie on our tax returns filing married-joint? Should my social security card still have my maiden name on it? I was so relieved we wouldn't have to find out.

But, of course, someone wasn't getting something right. H went to the court house with the marriage certificate and was told he could not get a duplicate of the license. CC said we had to come in together (I’m severely disabled and try to avoid going out if possible) and get a new license and sign it there, then get FJ to sign it. But CC also says she talked to S and was told FJ was dead. She said if he's not, then he can sign the license, but if he is, then we need to get a notarized affidavit from my sister (she's a witness on the marriage certificate along with H’s dad, but he’d since passed away) stating when and where we were married and all that.

This was getting frustrating and ridiculous. S had said mail the license to her, she'd give it to FT who regularly visited FJ in the retirement home and he'd take it to FJ to sign. I said, "FJ? He's still... with us?" She said, "Yes, he's still with us." And then she went on to say that if he wasn't still alive, we'd have to start over. Those dreaded words haunted me.

I honestly wondered if a priest would forge the signature of a dead priest on a license just to make a problem go away.

We went to the court house and I thought things were finally straightened out. We signed a new copy of the marriage license. CC said she talked to S again, and S confirmed FJ was alive and in a nursing home in Portland. So we sent the license to S, who’d give it to FT, who'd take it to FJ. I promised myself I'd check back in a couple weeks and see if it was all done. I was going keep on top of it, and not wait another 10 years! Hahaha!

I waited a month and heard nothing, so I called the CC and asked if they'd received the marriage license yet. They said no. So I left a message with the church asking for a status update. FT called back and left a message saying he had no idea what I was talking about. H called back and was told FT was in a meeting and S ha been out on medical leave. I had no idea what was really going on so I retreated to my default position of hoping someone else would take take of it and put it out of my mind.

Fast forward 12 years to present day, and I was retelling this story. My sister had converted to Catholicism and I don’t know if she asked around or what, but she had it on good authority that FJ had died soon after our wedding, that it was the last thing he ever did officially as a priest. But I realized “You can find anything on Google!” and sure enough I found FJ’s obituary. However, he didn’t die in ‘98, he died in Nov. 2007, not long after my endeavor to get his signature on the marriage license.

So did he ever sign that license? Did S ever submit the license to CC? I’m afraid to call the CC because, if they didn’t get FJ’s signature, then our only option is to get remarried. Jebus. If only our state recognized common law marriage, I wouldn’t care. I know people say, “it’s just a signature on a piece of paper, what matters is the life you’ve built together,” but it’s still aggravating and stressful when you think you’ve you’ve done your part and you put your trust in others to do theirs, and all you get is the runaround.

Moral: Don’t procrastinate, stay on top of stuff, and don’t trust anyone to do their job without you riding their butt and watching them like a hawk.

TL;DR: The priest who married us was old and ill and retired soon after without signing or submitting our marriage license. I discover this almost 10 years later and am told by county clerk I need to get the old priest’s signature on a new license, or get a new marriage license and “start over.” Church assures us new priest will get old priest’s sig. despite conflicting reports of old priest being alive or dead. 12 years from then, I still don’t know if sig. was obtained, but now I know old priest is definitely dead so if the county still hasn’t received it, then we need a new license, new priest, and new wedding. Sorry if this TL;DR needs a TL;DR.

Answer:
 Way too long.

1. Find out if a marriage license was ever filed.

2. If not, get a new marriage license and a civil marriage, and ask the church to reimburse you the cost for their failure to act.

You are married according to your church and your faith, because your marriage was performed by an officiant from your church. If you do not have a civil marriage, you can obtain one without having a priest officiate. Civil and religious marriage are two different things.


Title: [PA] Older man man taking pictures of my underage son from his house?

Question:
Previously, we've had encounters with this man. In January of 2016, he once found money in our alleyway next to my sons car, addressed it to my son, and mailed it to our house. Which was weird because he only lives across the street from us. Anyway, my son opened the envelope and read the note he left along with the money. The note just said that he found money in the alleyway next to the car and returned it. Sounds like a nice guy right? He also left his phone number in the envelope. So my son, not thinking that anything was wrong, called the man to thank him for returning the money. He answered, said thank you, but then he began to say sexual things to my son. This things regarded his looks, his voice, etc. This made him feel very uneasy, however, we couldn't do much about it since no crime was committed. We remained cautious throughout the next couple of months.

Fast forwarding to today, my 16 year old son was washing his car outside in our alleyway. Once my son was finished with car he sat down on our stairs to relax for a bit. While looking around, he saw that same man in his house (which is directly across from our alleyway) taking pictures of him from his window. One the man saw that my son was looking at him, he immediately disappeared. So, my son comes running inside to tell me what happened. I immediately called the police to file a report, they came to our house, took down some information, and they said they would get back to us.

Was any crime committed since my son was on our own property? Is there any laws that prohibit taking photographs of minors in Pennsylvania?

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer:
 No crime was committed if your son was in a place he could be seen from public.

Anyone can take pictures of anyone else in a public place.Answer #2: FYI, I'm sure he lied about finding money.


Title: (Tenant Law and Rights, AZ) My apartment complex is forcing me to remove my reptiles.

Question:
On 6/17/2015, I called my apartment complex to let them know that my air conditioner is not functioning properly. They said that they could send somebody over, but I declined, because in the event they have to cut the power, I need to be here. They wanted to know why that was, because I request that every time. I told them it is typically because of my fish tank and the filter pumps, but I house reptiles as well.

The leasing attendant informed me this was a violation of my policy, and forwarded me to the assistant manager. He also claimed that this was a violation of my lease. So, I looked into my lease, and it specifically states

A. Under this agreement your pet will be kept inside your apartment at all times except when on a leash and
accompanied by you and under your control. You agree to walk your pet in designated areas only and immediately
remove any pet refuse to a proper waste receptacle. Any damage caused by your pet to our property or the
property of others is your responsibility.
B. If, in our sole discretion, the pet becomes annoying, bothersome, or in any way a nuisance to other residents or to
the Community's operation, upon notice from us, you agree to remove the pet from the premises immediately.
C. In consideration of us agreeing to allow you to maintain a pet in your apartment, you will agree to deposit with us ,
upon execution of this Lease, the additional sum of $ - This additional security deposit is subject to all of the
same provisions as described in your Standard Apartment Lease Agreement under the heading of Deposits.
D. To cover the expenses of preparing your apartment for future occupancy, you agree to pay one−time pet
sanitation fee. This fee does not cover any damages to the apartment caused by your pet.
E. The sum of $ - per month will be added to the rent as a pet fee and is nonrefundable, but is a charge, in addition
to the rent payable under your Lease.
F. We do not have a weight restriction. We accept domestic pets only.
G. A pet interview will be conducted for all pets. No aggressive pets will be allowed.
H. Pet Exceptions: Birds and fish are exempt from deposit requirements, however, resident remains financially responsible
for any damage to the apartment directly associated to the care/keeping of the pet, (i.e. water damage from leaking or
broken tank, aquarium rock in the garbage disposal/drain).
I. Assistive Animals: An additional medical release form must be provided by a Physician as verification for assistive animals.
NOTE: Assistive animals are not considered pets, however owner must still abide by 'Pet Agreement' section A.
They are caged animals, so I am not sure if they follow the same guide lines, however due to the ambiguity of the lease, it does not mention reptiles, amphibious creates, or anything thereof. They have implicitly stated that I cannot own these creatures. I have cooperated, and can provide a pet deposit, but I suspect they will refuse the gesture by taking me to court.

Now, I understand that I acknowledged I had no pets, but arbitrarily are they constituted as such, due to their caged nature?

Never the less, I emailed the complex manager, and referenced a statute of arizona law, that prohibits people from owning venomous, wild, or carnivorous species, which I do not. She said that because my reptiles were not domesticate animals, they are not allowed, nor are guinea pigs, hamster, rabbits, and gerbils.

Domestic? Legally speaking, they depend on me for their care, and for their food. They are also passive animals, housed in secured cages. While they may not meet the criteria as a species, these particular animals I own are, in fact, domesticated by me - raised in captivity, from eggs.

After a lengthy email detailing what they were (a ball python, a house gecko, a corn snake, and a bearded dragon) she told me that I violated policy, and that they are not allowed. She also claimed that they witnessed me walking a dog the day I reported the air conditioner incident, and this morning, when she sent this email....

First of all, the reptile does not implicitly forbid me from owning a reptile or an exotic species.

Secondly, it does not mention caged animals, sans aquaria and bird

Third, I feel that the dog claim is an attempt to bully me into court, painting my situation as impossible to overcome, because they are forbidden. I feel that she cannot adequately prove that my reptilian species are detrimental to community operation or residential safety to a degree that would warrant an eviction, so she is claiming I have a dog.

Well....I have never met this lady. I have also met the assistant manager one time, in my work uniform. My complex has roughly 700 tenants - how could he possibly finger me to my corresponding unit number, having met me once in passing? I did not even formally introduce myself! Not to mention, they said that I was walking it near their office...I live on the other end of the complex, right near a designated dog potty area,....why the hell would I be near the office, when they have already called my reptiles into question?

I feel discriminated against, black-mailed, and think that it is a conspiracy to forcibly remove me. The letter they sent me states

" You are hereby notified that you have committed a breach of your lease agreement and/or your obligations under the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act pursuant to A.R.S Section 33-1368(A)  by committing the following acts

You have violated your lease agreement by having unauthorized pets in your apartment home. (Dog, bearded dragon house gecko, ball python, and a corn snake.) You have been assessed a 300 fine for having unauthorized pets in the community. Please remove all pets from the premises.

You are hereby notified that if the above-referenced breaches are not remedied within ten days your lease will terminate and you will be required to vacate the premises within ten days after service of this notice as set forth in Arizona Law. Understand, that if you fial to remedy the above listed breaches in the specified time, even if you vacate the premises instead, you will still be responsible for all rent as outlined in your agreement. You will be responsible for releasing charges, cleaning charges, attorneys fees, collection costs and possible other charges. Should you fail to remedy, resulting in your tenancy terminating, and then also fail to vacate the premises within ten days, a special/forcible detainer action will be filed against you pursuant to arizona law to obbtain possession of the subject premises.

I contacted the parent company, a local news team, and I am actively involved in herpetology groups on facebook. I have a lot of people backing me up, but it boils down to whether or not this is a battle that can even be won.

Thank you for taking the time to read my lengthy tirade and I appreciate any and all input.

Answer:
 It doesn't matter how they're kept, they're still pets. If you didn't go through the procedures specified in the lease to have them legitimately, you probably did violate your lease.
Answer #2: They're not going to be classified as a domestic animal or a fish. Also did you register them with the office and pay the additional fees for each pet? It doesn't sound like it, if you had registered and paid fees, you could probably make the case they knew about the reptiles and gave you permission.

The dog and gecko would probably be okay, the python, corn snake, and bearded dragon are going to be the real problem, the courts are more than likely going to classify them as an exotic pet.

Your best bet might be finding one of the people in the herpetology group that could take them temporarily until you find a new apartment.


Title: 2y9m after extremely minor accident, con artist fraudulently suing my father for 100k in "damages" (Maryland)

Question:
So 2y9m after my dad had an **extremely** minor accident (from his story--I was not there), he received a letter saying he is being sued for 100k in "damages". He was apparently behind this lady at a stop sign, she started to go, then slammed on her brakes and he hit her back bumper at <=5mph. He tells me she was up standing and walking around the entire time waiting for the police and an ambulance was not called/used at all. She also apparently had a friend in another car that was behind my dad's, which further makes this sound like a set-up.

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I know that lawyers like to use the "soft tissue injuries can takes weeks or months to manifest" argument, but this is an extremely obvious case of a low-life creating a fraudulent case, RIGHT before the 3 year statute of limitations come up, and trying to take advantage of the system for a quick buck. She is using one of those infomercial law-firms you see on TV always advertising (bragging almost) how they can sue damn near anyone for damn near anything. Don't know how these people sleep at night, but that's a topic for another subreddit... The language in the case is the good ol' "he slammed into me and my neck and back are destroyed, my life ruined, I'm totally crippled, haven't been able to work or enjoy life, etc, etc, etc" the whole 9 yards of BS you see in these fraudulent cases.

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He's already called his insurance company (USAA) and has faxed all the details they requested to them. He's going to be assigned an "agent".

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How do these cases usually go? My father is 80 years old, has suffered strokes in the past, and is very stressed out about this. I'm just trying to get any advice I can so that I can possibly ease his mind and help him.

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Thanks in advance for any information/advice.

Answer: His insurance company will handle it. Tell your dad this is why he pays USAA :)


Title: How can I buy an RV for a travel job and make my company pay for it

Question:
I am in the US. And my job has me at specific sites for up to 1.5 years at a time.

I recently got a job that is 100% travel. The company will pay for a hotel or house but what I want to do is get an RV and live in that while working at different sites. All my company requires is receipts of my payments up to a certain amount (the higher end of a hotel cost in the area). I have a few ideas.

1.	Start a company that would buy the RV, pay for the utilities and park fees, insurance, service requirements. Then charge myself one payment a month of the total of all these things including RV rent at whatever rental market rate is.

2.	Buy it myself and get a full per-diem rate from the company, the catch is after a year this is considered income and would hurt me with certain obligations based on my income.

3.	Buy it myself and submit separate receipts for each expense. The problem with this is that I want to be able to make a higher than required payment on the RV allowing me to ride it out for the few months a year I get breaks at home.

All of these would save my company money over a hotel cost and I could still pay off my RV faster than normal.
What do you guys think is the best option and how would I go about doing it?
I am leaning more towards #1 Allowing me to pay off the note faster and keep it separate from my income as I would spend enough money (buy paying more to the loan) to have zero profits or net loss a year for the company. I am really asking this sub so people can tell me if any of these ideas will be breaking US law and if they are how can I avoid breaking the law while benefiting the most from the situation?

Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 > What do you guys think is the best option and how would I go about doing it?

Ask them really nicely.

None of them sound particularly great to me.

There are lots of things you are not considering.  Insurance, maintenance, cost of gas, among other things.  I don't think a company would be interested in added those risks to their business model.

You can ask, however.


Title: Can a landlord increase my grandmothers rent on her rent controlled apartment (in Queens NY) if I'm living with her for an extended period of time.

Question:
My grandmother has lived in the same apartment in Astoria for fifty years under rent control. Recently I moved to NY in pursuit of a career in music. I was welcomed in to my grandmothers apartment (rent free) for as long as I need to stay.  I decided that I would at least stay a minimum of two years before making any decisions to leave NY due to a lack of success here.

Today my grandmother's landlord came to take a look at some things that needed to be fixed in the apartment. This is the first time she's ever come to see about repairing anything here. When she found out I was living here she asked how long I'd be staying. I told her I planned on being here for at least two years and she responded by saying to my grandmother, "since you're under rent control we have to talk about him staying her for a long period of time because there are certain allegations that need to be addressed."

I have no idea what this could possibly mean. I'm worried somehow the landlord will raise my grandmothers rent because of my staying here. I don't even know if that's legal to be honest.

My grandmother has been here for fifty years, under rent control and has been denied any help with broken pipes, leaking faucets, broken windows, flaking ceilings and  many other issues. My staying here isn't just a benefit for me but I'm able to help her with mundane day to day tasks that she has a hard time with nowadays.

Should I be concerned about the landlords statement to my grandmother?

TL;DR: Just moved in to my grandmother's NY rent controlled apartment and her landlord says there are "allegations that need to be addressed" if I stay here. Should I be worried?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 To the best of my knowledge, family members are allowed to move in and rent cannot be raised.

I think I know what's going on here. If a tenant dies or needs to be moved into a nursing home, and their family member has resided in the apartment for two years or more, the family member 'inherits' the apartment -- that is, the family member may take over the lease and controlled rent on the apartment is still in effect.

As your grandmother has been there for fifty years, she's probably paying well below market rates hence the landlord may be doing everything possible to prevent a relative from inheriting the tenancy. Further, the landlord may be desperate to prevent a legal tenant--which you would be--from insisting on necessary repairs that would be enforced by the rent control board.

There's a lot of information on the NYC website; if you have difficulty getting your questions answered, a 311 call, or a visit to your local city council rep might be very helpful.Answer #2: Google for New York City Tenant associations and groups that would know how to help you. NYC has very specific LL/Tenant laws and you need someone knowledgeable in those laws.


Title: Is it legal to set up harmless booby-traps?

Question:
I just saw a video where someone put a fake package on his porch that makes a very loud noise when moved, and has caught several people attempting to steal his package. I know that harmful booby-traps are illegal, but if you just had something set up to spray people with water, make a loud noise, or take their picture and inform them they're on camera, is that legal?

State is WA, if that matters.

Answer:
 > take their picture and inform them they're on camera

Legal.

Spraying people can be considered assault, loud noises possibly could since there is the potential of hearing loss.Answer #2: I live in WA. I had a neighbor that had this crazy alarm system installed on his house. Whenever the alarm tripped, it would set off a strobe light and all the lights in the house would go on and off repeatedly. The cops would show up pretty quick because it freaked everyone out.

I always wondered what would happen if an epileptic tried to rob the place.


Title: [LA] Had a gun pulled on me, cops let the guy go.

Question:
So I had a gun pulled on me around two houses down from where I live. I just moved back to my hometown, and one of the guys I was with apparently owed him money. We were sitting in my friends driveway (the guy who owed the person money) in a car while my friend went inside.  The guy then came up to my window, pulled out a gun, pointed it at me, and told me to give him my phone. After that he left, but one of the people in the car with me knew who he was and where he lived, cops were called, the guy was caught, but after denying it the cops said they would work with him and he admitted to taking the phone but not to having a gun. The guy gave the cops the phone and the cops let the guy off with a theft charge. The guy lives extremely close and probably knows where I live and that I called the cops on him, I feel like the cops could have done more and I can't believe they just let him go. The cops said that because they couldn't find a gun they couldn't charge him with armed robbery or bring him to jail, so I'm worried as hell any time I walk anywhere around here. Was there seriously nothing else the cops could do? Like I said the guy lives right next to me, knows I called the cops on him, I don't feel safe in this area anymore at all, do I have any options here?

Edit: I'm not sure why the hell everyone thinks I was buying drugs.

We were at my friends house, when we drove up there the guy was already there. I moved into the area 2 days ago, I wasn't buying drugs.

Answer: With no video proof or another witness, it's your word against his. Sounds like you are in a neighborhood that you could benefit from conceal carry permit and some firearms defense training.


Title: [PA] Help! I need immediate advice regarding abusive roommate and lease amendment/new lease

Question:
Hi. I need some help with a very manipulative roommate. I have know this person for 2 years, and after the first year of living together it became anxiety hell for me. We are co-signers on a lease and that lease ends August 31st 2015.
She is moving out, but I want to stay.
The landlord has offered we both sign a lease amendment that takes her off of the lease. If this happens, the lease is extended to end July 31, 2016. What this means is that I will owe her the last month's rent, which we paid when we signed the lease initially. The roommate is demanding that she will only sign the amendment if I provide her with the last month's rent and the deposit by August 15th. To me, this is not really a good financial situation, because I will have to wait until Sept 31st or so to actually re-claim that money I would be giving her- I'd be out over 1k for the entire month of August, and that just seems like a sacrifice I don't want to make for the sake of someone I cannot stand, and don't want to help.
The other option is, I sign a new lease with just myself on the lease and reimburse her last month's rent, 1/2 the deposit and some other fee that would total MORE than if we signed the amendment. I can't (don't want to) afford to pay her that either, which she is also demanding by Aug 1st.

She is basically blackmailing me- if we sign the lease amendment I am out $1025 and if I sign a new lease all together I owe her $1537, which she wants all by August 1st.

If I am not getting the deposit back until last Sept, can she really demand that I pay her by August 1st? She has also made secret (illegal in PA) recordings of me, broken my things and generally been a real dickbag.

What are my options? I am supposed to talk to my landlord by TODAY to decide to end the lease, get a new lease, or sign the addendum.

Answer: That is not blackmail. She's putting you in a difficult situation, which is not illegal.


Title: [Georgia] My younger brother is 17 and plans to runaway from home three weeks before he turns 18. He will not be staying at my home nor will I know his whereabouts. What are my rights if police officers come to my home trying to interrogate me?

Question:
As the title says, my brother plans to runaway from home when he graduates from high school. I've made it clear that he will not be allowed to stay at my place during that time as I do not want to be charged with harboring a minor. He will be turning 18 3 weeks later.

I have leads where he may be staying, but his whereabouts will be legitimately unknown to me. He says he's going to cut off contact with me during that time period so that no one can trace back where he is. I have encouraged him to wait until he's 18, but he has made up his mind.

If our parents do send the police to my home, which I have no doubt they will, what are my rights?

Answer: Seems like this is a lot of headache for three weeks. Why can't your brother tough it out?Answer #2: DONT speak with anybody without an attorney. I don't know GA law here, but it's possible your actions of knowing without reporting, especially as a close family member, may bring you liability. the harbor ing is a smart no go, but the rest may still be an issue. Answer #3: I have no idea about Georgia, but the resource officer at my high school a few years ago told everyone that in Missouri after someone turns 17 the police don't treat it like a typical runaway in that they investigate, try to find the person and if they do they can't tell the parents and no one gets in trouble. Might be worth looking to see if this is true in Georgia (or if it is even true in Missouri and the cop was just full of it) and then he could just stay with you and avoid this whole mess. I'm assuming May 20th is his high school graduation date. Just saying I know an awful lot of people from my tiny hick high school that skipped town the day they graduated and it didn't work out particularly well for any of them.


Title: My employer in Florida hasnt paid us for the last two pay periods. What can I do?

Question: They have numerous reasons why they havent paid us. From being part of a law suit, to the payment processor dropping us are a couple of reasons why they say they havent paid us. The company has not paid only my department, but it has failed to pay most of the company. Last week, some of us were given a "gift" of $200 to hold us over. I cant pay my bills. I dont know what to do. Please help me. Thank you.

Answer:
 File for unemployment as well as start looking for a new job, since now getting paid often means the company has no money and is going bankrupt.Answer #2: Chances are if they can't pay you or most of the other employees, the company is a sinking ship anyway. You might be able to get what you are owed by suing the owners, but it's likely they will file for bankruptcy in the near future.Answer #3: File a complaint with the US Department of Labor.

http://www.dol.gov/wecanhelp/howtofilecomplaint.htm