Title: (KY) Refrigerator broke in apartment 3 days ago. Maintenance still hasn't fixed it. Do they have to pay for the ruined food?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 For the lost food/medicine you might be able to put a claim to your renters insurance.Answer #2: As someone else pointed out, the food and medicine were probably ready for the trash in about 4-5 hours, (especially the medicine).  I wouldn't consider this a reasonable amount of time to alert maintenance, and have them fix the problem.

They should have come by now, and I would press that point, but I think that food/medicine was lost when the fridge died.Answer #3: You could send a demands letter and then follow up with small claims. THe catch though is thats a great way to damage your relationship with you landlord/maintenance.


Title: Cancer patient provided with wrong medication.

Question:
I'm a concerned individual that heard about this happening to a person I hold dear to my heart.

About a couple of months ago, my friend was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. After seeing a doctor and being prescribed with medicine to initiate his treatment, it was difficult for his doctor to understand why the medicine (which is usually quite effective) was not working. After investigating why his white blood cell count was more elevated with each bi-weekly blood test, the doctor discovered that he was provided with the wrong medicine at the pharmacy where he went to pick it up.

In summary, he was prescribed the correct medicine to treat his leukemia by his doctor, but the medicine he was provided by the pharmacy was not what had been prescribed.

An important thing to consider is that he is an active university student at an educational institution with prestige, and the healthcare institution in which he received the incorrect medication is also of notable mention.

Any advice would truly be appreciated.

Edit: State is California.

**[Update]** The bottle reads:

**Quetiapine Tab 100mg
Generic For: Seroquel
Round light orange tablet.**

**[Update #2]
The medicine he was supposed to have been taking is called SPRYCEL (dasatinib)**.

Honestly, thank you so much for the support. I showed my friend this thread and he is currently following it. He is attempting to collect all of the necessary documentation. Again, thank you so much for showing us support!! You guys are awesome!!

Answer:
 First, report the mix up to the pharmacy. Second, report the issue to the state Board of Pharmacy. They take these things very seriously. The pharmacist's job is to verify the prescription and make sure its right before giving it to the patient.

Now, if he suffered injury, then he may have a lawsuit against the pharmacy (see a personal injury attorney for a free consultation). If the "injury" is just that the meds didn't work, then this probably isn't going to work for you.  As an example, if a patient was allergic to penicillin but the pharmacy gave the patient penicillin, and then the patient took it and was hospitalized, that's damage.


Title: Legality of Courted Ordered 12-Step Meetings (Texas)

Question:
I was arrested earlier this year for driving while intoxicated (first offense of any kind).  The only way I was able to get out of jail was via a personal recognizance bond.  Little did I know that a stipulation of such a bond was that I would be required to plea into a specialty court here in Bexar County, Texas.  I did not qualify for the DWI court because this is my first offense.  I was sent to screen for the Mental Health Court and was accepted.

A requirement of me being in the Mental Health Court was that I attend in patient recovery at a local facility, which I did.

Now...this is where it gets interesting.

I am a staunch atheist.  I don't believe in a 'higher power' of any sort and to be quite frank I think religions are typically awful.

So...while being court ordered into a government funded rehab I was forced to attend both peer led AA groups 4x a week and AA and NA groups led by outside members of such programs.  I would have been kicked out and sent to a lockdown facility had I chosen to not attend such groups.

To me, this looks like an obvious violation of the separation of Church and State and that I was forced to attend meetings of a 'spiritual' nature (bullshit, this was religious and founded by white Protestants) that opened with the Serenity Prayer and closed with the Lord's Prayer.

So as such this would also be a violation of my First Amendment rights unless for some reason I no longer have rights while on probation.

The second issue is that after completing my in patient rehab I was then court ordered to an Oxford House for an unknown period of time and am currently living there despite having a familial home that I could live at.

From a strictly legal standpoint I don't know if there is anything "illegal" about forcing alcoholics, addicts, mentally ill, etc to live together, but it seems like a poor idea to me.

My issue is that I am being required to attend a minimum of 3 meetings per week of AA (or another 12 step group) and work the steps with a sponsor.

Here's a list of the steps that deal directly with God.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Well, that's a whole lotta God!

Merriam-Webster defines a 'Religion' as:

A) the belief in a god or in a group of gods. (12 Steps surely hit this)

B) an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods. (I'm not sure about the worship part...but it is organized).

C) an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group (looks that way).

So...in short not only have I have my religious rights violated by being required to attend a government funded rehab that forced me to attend 12 step meetings they are being still violated by being court ordered into an Oxford house that requires me to attend 12 step meetings.

I broke the law.  I drove intoxicated and put both my life and other's at risk.  I have no issue with serving jail time, paying fines, or blowing in a mobile breathalyzer 3x a day or having random UAs, etc.

I draw the line at having my religious rights trampled and being forced to participate in the cult of AA.  I am thoroughly disgusted by the sheer idiocy of the 12-Step programs and the fact this nation's rehab and recovery is based off an archaic program.

Do I have any legal recourse?

Answer: Did you ask your PO or the court for a non-religious alternative?  Because you're allowed to do that, and there are tons of non-religious rehab groups.


Title: Can I take money out of a bank account that has my name on it even if I don’t use it anymore.

Question:
Basically the title. I used to live with a woman who had fucked me over. Kicked me out without noticed transferred all the money from our joint account into her own bank account. Cancelled me google service and my car insurance as well as putting all of my belongings on her front porch and locking the doors. She managed to keep my $300 sunglasses and some brand new tennis shoes I had just bought though. Me being 19 at the time and in my first job ever for only a month at that time. I was kinda screwed. My then girlfriend helped me tremendously finding a new place to live and helping me with buying a phone.
This woman however forgot to take my name off of our joint bank account and still uses it to this day. I was curious if there were any laws against me withdrawing money from this account. I currently live in Florida.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Answer: If you do that, expect her to sue you in small claims for the money back. Especially if she can prove you didn't contribute.


Title: [PA] Can I use a snippet of a song as part of a music review on a podcast or radio show?

Answer: Yes.  Commentary/criticism is a recognized fair use of a portion of a copyrighted work. Just don't use more than is necessary to illustrate your point.


Title: My Childhood Abuser Still Lives Free & Unregistered in a City 20 Miles From Me

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 First and foremost you need to get into counseling to help you deal with this.

Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot you can do. It was reported to the police, investigated, and for whatever reason didn't go anywhere. That's pretty much the end of it. Let me help you clear up one of your mistakes. You didn't file charged. You can't. You reported the crime, and after investigating it seems the the decision was made not to file charges.

There really is nothing more you can do here as far as he is concerned. There is a lot you can do as far as you are concerned.Answer #2: You can follow-up with the police, but you can't force them to investigate or the prosecutor to file charges.


Title: I had my house splattered with paint, and the person I think that did it, matches the color of paint with their house exterior.

Question: Is there anywhere I can go to get it tested to see if its a perfect match? I think who did it grabbed it out of their garage and just smothered the front of my house. I checked on google street view for confirmation. Cops wont do anything. Im in Calgary Alberta, Canada by the way.

Answer:
 I'm in the US. You should go read about the FBI and bullet lead analysis. It might provide an answer.

Try contacting your homeowner's insurance.


Title: "Secret Santa" actually pyramid scheme. What do

Question:
Location: Across several states, including Missouri, Kansas, OK, etc ....

I almost fell for a pyramid scheme, dressed up as a secret santa .... I'm sure you've heard about what's been going around on Facebook lately (link for reference: http://www.snopes.com/secret-sisters-gift-exchange/)

I was asked to join by a friend, and I said sure, because if I was out 10$ I wouldn't even really care. Plus I don't mind sending someone a secret santa Christmas gift. I already knew what I'd send the girl I got, which was going to be a bottle of my favorite high-end face cleanser.

I didn't send her it yet because I wanted to wait closer to the holidays, but I did post the message on my Facebook to see who else wanted to join. Hey, maybe you'll receive some cute little things. Maybe you will not.

A few of my friends expressed interest, and I sent them the information. Now the girl who had 'recruited' me was going to get some fun little gifts ---- awesome, she's a super nice person and deserves a bit of extra holiday cheer.

A few days later, I saw the article I just posted above saying it is actually a pyramid scheme/chain letter and illegal by sending said gifts through the mail. Now, being a criminal justice graduate I feel like a complete idiot. I know that this was going around on Facebook for a good solid few days or so amongst friends, but as far as I know no one actually sent anything which is good (including myself.) Good.

So since no one has sent any 'gifts,' were any laws broken and can any of us be charged for anything.

Also, is there a way I could set up a LEGAL secret gift exchange (but only artwork, like paintings and drawings people have made) instead, since it seemed like a lot of people wanted to participate and now we're all confused ....

tl;dr I'm dumb (and apparently so are a lot of other smart people) and we fell for a "secret santa" which actually turned out to be a pyramid scheme. No one I know actually sent a gift through the mail, though. Was the law broken simply by sheepishly following the crowd and posting the chain on FB, or is the actual illegal part the exchanging of gifts through mail

Answer:
 eh, I don't think you need to worry so much about any charges coming out of this.  It's a scam in that it's a pyramid and not sustainable (if you look at the math, it would require more than the population of the USA to participate by the 11th level).  I don't think anyone who is sharing it is doing it out of intent to take advantage of anyone, just that they are gullible and hopeful for some gifts.  Answer #2: Just think if everyone willing to gamble $10 on this donated to local soup kitchen or toy drive with no expectation of return.  That would be Santa at his best.

We really need to invest more in teaching math and critical thinking.Answer #3: /r/secretsanta/Answer #4: I don't get it.  Why is this a scam?Answer #5: Elfster is a great app/website for organising Secret Santas with. can invite just who you want and set limits etc


Title: Scambaited what might have been the wrong guys

Question: I was on scammer.info, a site where you can get scammer numbers and got a particular tech support number, the first thing I said was "Yo yo, I heard ya'all were switching from the IRS scam to the tech support scam" and then they said they were going to contact law enforcement. When I went on scammer.info and asked if I should be concerned they said only if I was using my real number, which I was.

Answer: This is like a drug dealer dialing the police because you didn't pay for your weed. You're fine.


Title: Breastfeeding without a cover in a Church - told to cover or leave

Question:
I have been attending MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) this past year. It is held in a church. The leader, Laura, lectured us about how we needed to use a cover while we nurse our babies during MOPS meetings. If our babies would not nurse without a cover, we were told we needed to leave the room and go to a separate nursing area. Obviously this was upsetting for a few reasons. Not only because breastfeeding was presented as something shameful, but also because the law in my state (South Carolina) dictates that moms can breastfeed anywhere without a cover.

Anyway - I have been trying to get them to change their minds on this stance, and Laura called me today to let me know the church would continue making us breastfeed with a cover. If we did not use a cover, then we would be asked to leave.

Her reasoning was that there are men, etc around. However, the main reason she cited was that the church did not want to be sued if a man were to ‘lock eyes with a women while she is breastfeeding.’ Legally speaking, does she have any ground?

Answer: Under [the law](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t63c005.php) you mentioned, you can breastfeed wherever you are authorized to be.  If a religious organization authorizes you to be in their place of worship, you can breastfeed there.  If they tell you not to come back, you can no longer breastfeed there.  Whether you think their reasoning is stupid or not, they don't have to let you come back, so if they said that you can either cover or leave, then either cover or leave.


Title: [NJ] Internship Rescinded - Legal?

Question:
I'm currently a junior attending college in Ohio, but I interviewed for and accepted an internship offer with a Fortune 500 company in NJ. I received the written offer signed by them, signed it myself, and emailed it back on January 25, 2016.

As of last Thursday, April 14, I got an e-mail stating that I would no longer be needed this summer and that my offer had been rescinded. I tried to do some research, but I'm not sure where exactly to look. I do see that employment is at-will, so if that's the simple answer I guess that I'm out of luck.

Where I find a potential issue, although it may not be legally actionable, is in the fact that I turned down two other internship offers to accept their offer. Beyond that, had I not accepted the offer, I'm sure that I could have received other offers in the time period between my acceptance and today's revocation. While I do have solid grades and experience that could show that, I do also know that the law typically doesn't care about what could have happened.

Unfortunately, the recruiting time frame is about over for internships at this point. I have reached out to the two companies that I had to turn down, but both have filled their intern classes and could not take me on. Although it may seem minor, having a solid junior internship is pretty crucial for the career I hope to pursue. For what it's worth, I'm continuing to search for summer employment even though my odds are not fantastic at getting something "good".

I'm sure that I couldn't win in a lawsuit against a major corporation, but is this all legal? If nothing else, could you all just put my mind at rest and let me know that there's nothing else I could do and that I just got short end of the stick here.

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide. If you can't give a definitive answer, I would love any tips for resources I can comb through myself. Beyond that, I'd be happy to answer any additional questions you may have.

Answer: At the school I am at, if a company does this or any other shady things to a student they are blacklisted from recruiting from the school and students are warned about working with them in the future.  I would reach out to your career office and tell them about the incident.Answer #2: Yep, not much you can do besides try to keep those contacts warm for the future and talk with the faculty/staff coordinator if it was for credit.


Title: I was assaulted at a bar and have footage.

Question: Last wednesday i was physically assaulted at a bar. i did nothing except tell the guy no when he approached my group of friends and kept putting his hand in my face. He struck me and fed me several shots to the head and then threw me into a table. I have the video footage of the bar and the guys face as well know of the guys name. The event promoter of the night said he hired that guy and it was his friend. They are trying to offer me a low amount of money to not report it to police. i am scared for my safety. I think they might be drug dealers and i don't even do drugs. Any advice would be accepted thank you. Canada

Answer: You should tell the police about what happened, including the part where they tried to bribe you.


Title: (KS) Should I file a claim for worker's comp if I'm only a little sore?

Question: I really don't know anything about worker's comp claims but I slipped and fell on the ice in the parking lot of my office today and my back is a little sore. I told a couple of my superiors and one of my coworkers saw it happen. Should I file for workers comp and see a doctor even though my back is only a little sore?

Answer: Is this an employee only parking lot or used by customers and employees both?


Title: College campus parking ticket entrapment?

Question: My college campus has parking lot with a building in the middle of it that is surrounded by fencing on 3 sides, with one non-fenced side facing the street. The parking lot is essentially identical on either the left or right side of the building. Parking is legally permitted by the College on the left and back sides of the fence but not the right side of the fence. There is no 'No Parking' sign on the right side of the fence. I had parked on the right side of the fence, as students do every single day, and when I came back to my car the entire row of cars on the right side of the fence had $150 parking tickets for parking in a restricted area. The school is refusing my appeal for the ticket for lack of signage. Is there any sort of law I can state about required 'No Parking' signs? Or is the campus able to fine students every day with no effort to actually stop unknowing students from parking there? Thanks.

Answer:
 >There is no 'No Parking' sign on the right side of the fence.

...

>The school is refusing my appeal for the ticket for lack of signage.

So what's your question?


Title: Texas Employer is requiring us to clock out for restroom breaks.

Question: As stated in the title my employer is going to start making us clock out for restroom breaks and water breaks. I work in a weld shop it gets pretty hot so I drink alot of water. Do I have any grounds to stand on or am I better off looking for another job?

Answer:
 Well you should probably start looking for another job because even though you are likely in the right to say you must be paid that won’t change the fact that you work for crazy assholes.

Infrequent breaks that are less than 20 min in duration are compensable under the FLSA as administered by DOL.  However, it should be noted that they are generally not required to provide you with such breaks.Answer #2: [29 CFR 785.18 - Rest](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/785.18) states:  Rest periods of short duration, running from 5 minutes to about 20 minutes, are common in industry. They promote the efficiency of the employee and are customarily paid for as working time. They must be counted as hours worked. Compensable time of rest periods may not be offset against other working time such as compensable waiting time or on-call time.

Further, [FLSA Fact Sheet 53](https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs53.htm) states:  It is immaterial with respect to compensability of such breaks whether the employee drinks coffee, smokes, goes to the rest room, etc.


Title: [Scotland] Family wants memorial to transgender child taken down (likely because it uses their chosen name). Do the family have any legal recourse if it is not removed?

Question:
A student society at the University I work at posted a memorial on facebook for a trans student who passed away recently. The student in question was an adult, and had legally changed their name.

They were estranged from their family (though we are unsure whether this was legally formalized). The family has been in touch with the society asking that they take down the post, as they don't want the student mentioned on social media. Given their non-acceptance of their child's identity, it seems likely that this is because the post uses the student's legal name rather than their dead name.

Given the circumstances, the society is understandably unhappy about taking the post down. These concerns also have implications for any physical memorials. If the post were to remain, would the family have any legal grounds to do anything?

Answer:
 You're better off posting this at /r/legaladviceuk. The U.S. and the UK have very different speech laws.Answer #2: Does the society have an advisor?  Does the campus have a student legal aid office?

The relatives can't pressure the club directly through facebook, so they'll pressure it indirectly through the school.  I would get out in front of it by seeking on-campus legal advice and then the school's acknowledgement/approval.


Title: [California] Will a court grant a restraining order against people who haven't been violent?

Question:
The background to my story is someone ruined my cousin's life and drove her to suicide. My cousin was given guardianship of her friend's son after her friend and her husband died. This person planted drugs in the car and garage and called the police and CPS about it and she was charged and child was taken into foster care, did something to the deed of her condo and it was stolen from her and sold, lied about things she did at work to her fired, hacked into her computer and planted disgusting porn involving children and alerted the police about that, impersonated her at the bank and stole all her money and hit my cousin with a motorcycle leaving her badly injured. After all of this my cousin committed suicide. Months after this the actions started to come unraveled when footage from a camera showed the bike speeding away (with a plate registered to the person) and the person was caught receiving a tax return in my cousins name.

Everything came out eventually. This person was arrested and jailed for everything she did to my cousin and for other crimes related to marijuana and obstructing justice. I have done my best to move on. This was over a decade ago. The person's parents have begun to do to me what I believe is harassment. Same to other members of my family, including my 90 year old grandmother who is in a retirement home. The person who hurt my cousin has cancer. Her parents want us to forgive her before she dies. They have come to my house in person 9 times, sent me 15 letters, had 2 different lawyers send me letters asking me to meet with this person in jail while she is still "well". I have had over 30 phone calls from them, I have been visited by someone claiming to be a minister and also received a letter from him telling me to forgive and one of her parents has come to my job 3 times. They visited my 90 year old grandmother 4 times before we made it with the home that they have to stay away. They have also went to see my teenage niece at the bus stop outside of her school (she was just a baby when this happened) and visited my brother over a dozen time at his job and sent him a bunch of letters. They stood in front of my aunt and uncles car and blocked them in their driveway and only left when my aunt started dialing the police.

We want them to leave us alone. I don't care if their daughter has cancer and none of us want to meet or forgive her. Her parents have not been violent or threatening but my family has been through enough. If we got a lawyer and tried to get a restraining order in court would the court even bother with something like this? The prosecutor back then during this person's trial was great to our family but he has long since retired so we can't ask him what we should do. We have copies of the letters, phone records and security video from mine and my brother's place of work to help prove our case. All of this happened in California from January of this year until now.

Answer:
 This is actually much simpler all you have to do is figure out which prison she's in and then call them up. Tell then that the inmate is trying to communicate with you and is harassing you. Explain that **the inmate is having relatives contact you** on a regular basis going to your house etc.

They'll come down HARD on her.

California prisoner lookup
http://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov


Title: Wondering if any legal recourse can be done by my parents if I move out of their house

Question: 18 year old, female, New York State. The relationship I have with my parents is a huge strain on my life. After a huge argument we got into the other day, I don’t think I can stay with them anymore. I plan to go crash at a friend’s place until I can get my own. But I was wondering if they could call the police on me if I leave or anything of that sort.

Answer: Nope. But you should bring any stuff you care about with you, if you leave it you may never get it back.Answer #2: They can call the police; no one can stop them. If that happens, you show the police your ID that proves you are a legal adult and tell the officers that you left of your own free will and are safe and happy.


Title: I’m getting an ESA and my landlord wants to charge me over $1000 in fees. (NC)

Question:
I recently have been approved to get an emotional support animal, I have chosen a dog, due to my emotional disorder/trauma. when I moved into my apartment, I was made to sign an agreement about essays and service animals. This agreement outlined a $500 deposit, a $50 monthly rent increase, and a $750 move out “cleaning fee” for ESAs or service animals, as this is a pet-free building.

looking into it, I believe it is not legal for my landlord to tack on these charges for an ESA if the proper documentation is available. I wanted to be sure before i bring it up with them. is this “contract” legal? are the fees legal? TIA!
Topic:
Disability Issues

Answer: How many rentals does your landlord own?Answer #2: What documentation did you give your landlord? A letter from your therapist or something you found online?


Title: CEO dating my manager, HR knows and I'm hitting a brick wall at doing my job and growing.

Question:
I work as an inside sales rep in Houston TX. My job is to bring in new accounts. I get paid a commission on new account sales also. On top of bringing in new accounts I get a low salary to do customer service.

I have not been able to land hardly any accounts due to the crazy high pricing I'm forced to offer new accounts. I have presented this issue to the CEO and he talks about big game to adjust sales strategy but it never happens.

With little to no commission on new accounts I feel I spend most of my day managing orders or dealing with pricing conflicts.

I was on the verge of quitting until I expressed my issues to a coworker who also has the same issues. Eventually we had a large group of employees all having the same issue and we find out some disturbing facts.

Our manager gets paid more depending on how high the GP is, while we get paid on growth. This would explain the push for high pricing. She's also screwing the CEO. They are in a secret relationship and got her promotion after they started dating.

We hired a PI and found out they live together, bought a house earlier this year and that means our HR lady knows because she had to verify employment for the mortgage contract.

What can we do at this point? We have proof of conflict of interest but our boss, her boss and HR all know about the issue.

What legal grounds do we have? We want to grow our positions and their relationship is standing in the way.

Answer:
 >What can we do at this point?

Nothing.

There is nothing illegal here.  The company is free to manage its business poorly.

Get a new job.


Title: Sister’s ex boyfriend posted porn online of her because he was mad at her

Question: So my sister went missing for a few days and wouldn’t contact family.  After a couple of days I decided to google her name and her first and last name was posted on multiple sites such as Xnxx and pornhub.  After finding this out and speaking with her she said her ex boyfriend posted it without her consent because he was angry with her. My mom spoke with his family and he has admitted to them that he did it because he was angry.  My mom is speaking to an attorney this week but what usually happens with these cases ? It’s literally her full name, she’s having trouble getting a job, she’s extremely suicidal because of it. Do these cases usually get the porn taken down ? I feel so bad for her and I figured if you guys could give me some hints about the outlook of these court cases maybe it could help.  She also might have been 17 in some of the videos because they dated before she turned 18 also.

Answer:
 Yeah, your parents are taking the correct course of actions and obviously an attorney will be able to point them in the correct direction.

There is likely a civil claim and a criminal case here.

With respect tot the boyfriend who posted it, he could face some very serious consequences for posting them, especially if she was underaged at the time.

Answer #2: Location isn't optional. Immediately have her contact the police. Do not contact the sites yet.Answer #3: You need to go to the police immediately, and potentially check your sister into a hospital if she’s suicidal. Answer #4: If she was underage in the time of recording, he can face serious child pornography accusations and probably face prison time, especially if he was 18+...


Title: Physically assaulted multiple times by an adult with autism spectrum disorder - what should I do? (Indiana)

Question:
I have a couple questions concerning this issue and I'll try to keep it brief, but please read everything before judging because this IS a person I care about and would like to avoid any confrontation if possible. I'm more just curious about a few things. I live in Indiana.

6 weeks ago I was hired to tutor a 26 year old male (I'll call him Jake) with severe autism accompanied by "mental retardation" (Those are the words his mother used as his diagnosis). His mother is a psychiatrist, and my paychecks come from Illiana Psychiatric Associates. I'm pretty sure she gets funding from the government to pay her staff also (I've heard her mention this), but she is basically my boss. I work in her home and help her with many other things as well, like cleaning and even medical billing.

His other teacher has a degree in special education and has worked with him for 4 years. Prior to this, Jake was completely nonverbal. When I started 6 weeks ago, he is now able to communicate through an iPad and in a very limited manner verbally. You wouldn't think it at first, but he's incredibly smart and capable of deep conversation like any other person. Through the iPad, we've discussed poetry, music, his autism, etc. It's obvious that his mental capacity is 100% there, but due to his autism, it's communicating his thoughts verbally that he struggles with. He has a blog where he writes beautiful poems, which is why I was hired as I have an English teaching degree.

I was warned that he can be aggressive and violent, but I never signed any waiver or paper of any kind. Basically, he has assaulted me many times. During one incident, he put me in a chokehold and ripped out a chunk of my hair. During another, he bit me so hard that it broke the skin and I had a massive bruise/lump. I took pictures of all of my injuries right after they happened.

I understand that due to his disorder, he is impulsive and has a hard time controlling his actions. He often hits and hurts himself as well. However, there is a difference between when he gets aggressive while trying to communicate (out of frustration and impulsivity), and when he gets aggressive when he wants something. The former is more mild while the latter is more violent and scary. He acts out the most when he wants a car ride or ice cream and is not immediately given it. I also have followed the safety precautions his mom gave me; after he ripped out my hair, she told me to wear hats, so I did. There's also a room I have had to lock myself in where he can't reach me until he calms down. The day he bit me, he came at me two additional times, striking me once and then I was able to lock myself in that room.

Again, I understand it's hard for him to control his actions, but I also know that he is aware his actions are wrong, because afterwards, he usually apologizes to me on the iPad, saying, "I'm sorry for my violence." I do care about him and it's fulfilling teaching him, and we've had conversations about how the violence, hitting, grabbing and biting is unacceptable.

What I'm concerned about is the fact that his mom has asked me not to tell anyone about this, especially my parents for some reason (I'm 24). I'm also alone with him more often lately. I'm really worried there will be an incident where I am cornered or trapped, or severely injured, or unable to calm him. I want this job to work out for his sake, but for the record I'm looking for a new one. If an incident happens like the one I just described, what will happen if I need to call the police? I'm just concerned for my safety and the fact that I may need intervention at some point. He is 6' 1" and pretty big, while I am 5' 1" and 110 pounds.

I have no knowledge of the rights of people with disabilities and law enforcement. Would he be arrested or restrained? Would he be charged with assault? I do not wish this on him at all, but again, I'm concerned for my safety when I am alone with him.

The second layer to this is the shittier one. I'm also looking for another job because his mom is very hard to work for. I never have a schedule; she calls me in the morning when she's ready for me to come in, and I never know when I'm getting off. I often work all day, 10 or 11 hours, 6 days a week. When I'm off work and I don't immediately return calls or am busy, she becomes irate, although I have been very available to her and done many things that weren't originally included in the job description.

She also verbally abuses her staff when the tiniest things are not done the specific way she wants it. She gets very angry and screams, calling us stupid and irresponsible. She is a mess, as in her house is extremely disorganised and she is always running late, and she usually blames her staff somehow for "making her late." Recently, she had accused me and other staff of stealing from her, which is absurd. It's very strange specific things, like she accused one person of taking an old filing cabinet from the garage. She accused me of taking 4 of her dresses, which I did not do (she's 69 and also has cameras all over her house, I would not take her clothes). However, I know that I have been all over her house moving and organizing things for her. She claims she has me on camera taking the 4 dresses and is threatening to call the police. She does have cameras all over, meaning the assaults are on camera too.

It's a shitty situation all around. Sorry for rambling. My main question is not about her accusations which I know are false, but what would happen if I needed to call the police on Jake for assaulting me?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Answer:
 Practical advice: quit and find a new job, this dude needs a level of care beyond what you’re qualified to provide, and his mother sounds like a nightmare to work for.

Legally, you can call the police if you’re assaulted, even if you’re a care provider. Whether or not anything will come of it is going to be up to the police and district attorney’s office. If you have the police called on you by this woman for allegedly stealing, decline to speak with them without an attorney present. Consider calling adult protective services for these two, it sounds like she’s not altogether there and the situation is only going to get worse.Answer #2: Asperger's/ Autism is not a " dodge the law free" card.  You were assaulted, call the police.Answer #3: Everything you have said constitutes battery. You may file in civil court.


Title: (NY) Estranged Dad emptied me and my two sister's Uniform gift to minors accounts and is living off of it. What do I do?

Question:
Story:

Mom divorcing dad over severe abuse.  Dad is the custodian on all of the accounts.  In an effort to draw out his divorce he has emptied me and my two sister's Uniform Gift to minors account at Lord Abbott amounting to $35,000 in each account (105k total just to reiterate).  He claims that the money belongs to him.

I don't know what my rights are and I don't know where to begin to get this money back if that's even possible.  Me and my sisters are no longer minors and were not minors when the emptying took place.

Due to his abuse of us in the past I have no cares about whatever punishment this world gives him, I just want to make sure my sister's are financially secure.
Thanks for any advice i can get, I'm so upset it's hard for me to type this out.
Love.

Answer:
 >I don't know what my rights are

He stole money that belonged to you. Sue him for breach of fiduciary duty. You need to talk to a lawyer stat.

>Me and my sisters are no longer minors.

UGMA accounts should be transferred at 21 in NYS.


Title: I am a student who got an MIC shortly before my 21st birthday. This is my first offense ever and today I found out my license is getting suspended for a year?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Arizona is pretty tough on illegal drinking. A MIC can lead to a two-year license suspension (eligible for work permit at court's discretion). Perhaps nothing you can do now, but probably worth speaking to an attorney about this.

If you follow the process your *criminal* record might end up in good shape but since driving is a separate issue, a privilege, your criminal situation doesn't necessarily change anything with regards to your license.


Title: Can I be liable for a participant having a seizure under the supervision of my staff? (Ontario)

Question:
I run a small recreational activities business. We have staff members bring these activities to different places (mostly for kids).

We are fully insured, but our insurance states that it is only valid when all participants sign the waiver and there is a supervisor present.

One of our staff did an event at a school today. He had only one of the teachers sign the waiver on behalf of all the participants (students under 18).

So one of the students has epilepsy, but probably a mild case of it because the teachers did not know about it. She participated and everything was going fine, but then suddenly she fell and had a seizure. The paramedics were called, but they said everything was okay and left after 20 minutes. She was fine afterwards.

Apparently, she purposely didn't tell anyone of her condition because she was afraid that it would prevent her from participating.

I'm just wondering what I should be doing right now. I'm glad the student is okay, but also worried about the possibility of legal action.

If the parents were to sue, would we be liable? Any input would be appreciated. This happened in Ontario. Thanks in advance.

Answer:
 It *sounds* like she doesn't have a strong case:

>Apparently, she purposely didn't tell anyone of her condition because she was afraid that it would prevent her from participating.

If you can corroborate this with testimony or the like, it means she knowingly entered the event knowing it could have caused a seizure. In the unlikely event this goes to court, this may be grounds to prevent her from collecting damages. It also depends on if this event is the sort of thing an epileptic person could reasonably suspect might cause a seizure (e.g., if it was a rave party or a bible reading circle).


Title: Friend was fired after closing a 5 millon dollar 3% commission deal

Question:
A good friend of mine worked for a granite and marble company where you get 3% commission for deals that you close. On his second deal he closed a 5 million dollar deal but was fired immediately and the commission was closed under a coworkers name, so he wouldn't get any of this money. I asked him why he didn't take legal action and told me that in the paper work that he signed after landing the job it stated that he was listed as an unpaid intern until he closed his first deal and at the moment was more worried about finding another job because his family is financially unstable and needs to help them pay bills. But apparently in the first deal that he closed, which was for a smaller amount, was also put under his coworkers name so when he closed the second deal for 5 million he was still "legally" considered an unpaid intern.
I'm here today asking for redditors on /r/LegalAdvice for help in finding out if what this company did was legal along with seeing if there is anything my friend can do about this situation.

Thank you in advance!!!

Edit 1: Location is Houston, Tx

Edit 2: The coworker who took the commission was in fact his the owner of the company

Answer:
 He needs to speak with an attorney. Like immediately. This is $150,000 at stake.Answer #2: > it stated that he was listed as an unpaid intern until he closed his first deal

FYI this is illegal. Unpaid interns can't bring the company value.Answer #3: Need to know a location. He probably has a good claim on that commission, but the question is if the state would help him collect or if it is all on him.

Even if he has to take them to court, it would be worth the legal expense and hastle for a $150k judgement.Answer #4: That's 150k. He probably has a case. He needs to talk to a lawyer, as that is a lot of money he might possibly get.Answer #5: This is $150,000. He should have lawyer auditions. I'm sure there'll be a line out the door. Answer #6: Why would a company fire someone who landed a deal this big so soon? Is it possible your mate has left out some details?


Title: [NY] Ex-gf using phone I'm paying for

Question:
I'm on my own T-Mobile account but I have an EIP balance of $550+ for a Samsung GS6 that my ex-gf is using on her new boyfriend's plan.

Before we split, we agreed that she would pay me $50 a month until the phone was paid off. That was the first week of September. It is not Oct. 11 and she has ignored communication with me (by email and her work, but she apparently no longer works there).

According to T-Mobile customer service, I am still technically the owner of the phone.

What are my options for trying to go after her for the money and/or the phone itself?

Answer: Small claims court.


Title: My TV was wrongly given away

Question:
This happened in Lawrence, Kansas in a fraternity house about a week ago. I had an old HDTV that weighed around 200 lbs. I was storing it in the basement and the president of the house assumed it was there because it didn't belong to anyone. He wound up telling a worker who asked about the TV that it was ok for said worker to take the TV. I found out a few hours after it was taken and requested by text message that the worker return my TV. He refused saying that he was told the TV was free game and that it was too heavy to move again. I then offered to pick up the TV myself so we traded texts for the next week. We couldn't find a date for me to pick it up and he wound up getting impatient. He put the TV out for the trash to take about a week ago. He is now claiming that he warned me he would throw it out if I couldn't pick it up in time. I requested compensation for my TV but he refused.

What options do I have for getting compensation for the TV? And is it the president's fault for saying it is available, the guys fault for refusing to return it, or my fault for not picking up the TV in a timely manner? Should I file a police report or do something else?

Answer:
 I'm not sure why you think the guy who got it is responsible for returning it to you, and it actually sounds like the guy was quite reasonable (I wouldn't want to store a giant TV for more than a week if I only got it to cut it up for scrap metal or whatever).  It sounds like it was transferred in good faith, and so your beef is really with whoever gave away your TV.  Though I don't know, storing your property in a common area of a frathouse without labeling it is basically abandonment.
Answer #2: Sue.  That TV was worth maybe $50?  (I had to take a similar TV to the electronic drop off at the dump.  I literally couldn't give it away)Answer #3: I had to put a similar one out on the street as I couldn't even sell it for 20 bucks.Answer #4: Did you have permission to store your personal belongings in that part of the house? Answer #5: He's lying about putting it out in the trash.


Title: Probably going to stop paying credit card debt

Question: I recently had a really bad knee injury and required surgery, so I am struggling with money right now. I currently owe about 13000 in credit card debt, if I stopped making payments, what kind of trouble can I expect to get into? Other than damaging my credit score. I am in California btw.

Answer:
 Civil litigation, leading to a bank levy (your creditor taking their money right out of your bank account) or wage garnishment (same for your wages).

Depending on your total debt-to-income ratio, it might be worth speaking to a bankruptcy attorney.


Title: (CA) landlord said I am responsible for replacing a 20 year old washing machine

Question:
I have lived in my apartment for about 5 years. The lease is very vague but states that anything needing repairs must be reported to the landlord or building management, and that I CANNOT make any repairs myself.

My landlord is an Eldery woman who doesn’t have 100% of a grip on things anymore. She has recently hired a company to manage the building, but everytime I call them with a complaint they just call her and she comes knocking on my door.

Anyways, my washer and dryer are part of my apartment. My bedroom has a cut out in the wall where they are stacked, with pipes and everything behind it. Very much permanent, was here for years and was advertised as part of the unit when I was shown the apartment. There is still an online listing up for my unit that advertises appliances.

They both have just crapped out. The dryer hasn’t been working for a long time, I usually have to put my laundry to dry 4-5 times and it squeaks like Crazy! I’ve just thought I could deal with it, but now my washer is filled with water that won’t drain, and as soon as it spins it turns off.

I called the building management and told them about this. They told me they would send someone to fix my washer and dryer. About an hour later my landlord knocked on my door. She told me they don’t maintain the dryers or washers in the unit. The thing is, her and the handyman have came to check on my washer and dryer before? I remember he spent about 20 minutes looking down the lint trap and checking if there was any dust behind it, and asking me if I clean it everytime I use it (lol, yes I do) She also told me that since I broke it, so I have to pay to get it fixed or buy a new one. I’m like ?? I checked the serial number and the washer dryer set is literally 25 years old! I think it’s lifespan is just over.  I’m really not trying to spend $1,500 I don’t have on a replacement stacking washer dryer, nor do I want to pay the $5.00 it costs to do one load of laundry. She’s charging $2.50 for these tiny machines that can’t even wash 1 king size blankets

Is my landlord in the wrong? And if she is, how can I get repairs made when the management company just circles back to her?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 I don't know if you're entitled to anything in terms of having laundry machines in your unit. I do know that no court will require you to replace a 25-year-old machine with a brand-new one, even if you were inarguably 100% responsible for the machine breaking. At best she's entitled to the value of a washer and dryer comparable to what was in there, and and if they were old the value was zero. A quick Google suggests that the expected life for laundry machines would be around 10-15 years or less.Answer #2: Landlords are generally responsible for maintaining appliances that come with the apartment, but you may be responsible for damage to those appliances. The big question here is whether you actually damaged the washing machine. If you didn't, it should be your landlord's responsibility. If your landlord is correct and the damage was actually your fault, then you are on the hook.

Oftentimes there are free legal clinics for landlord-tenant issues. You may want to investigate to see if there is one near you where an attorney could help remind the landlord of her duties.


Title: Friends child was smothered by mother and now is in the hospital from the seizures it caused. (MN)

Question:
As the title says my friends wife has been going through postpartum depression without his knowledge. She couldn’t handle their 16 month olds crying any longer and smothered him multiple times. It caused him to have seizures and they had to take a helicopter to Mayo hospital to get help. She admitted to it later on.  He has been put into a medical induced coma.

The wife is in the stress ward and possibly going to jail and losing custody of her two boys. My friend is going through a ton and has been using his FMLA to be by his son’s side the whole time. They are saying his son will be in the hospital at least for 2 more weeks. Then they aren’t sure he will eat solid foods again or how much or if he has brain damage.

My question is- is there anything he can do for home bills or should he call a lawyer about medical bills? He will more than likely lose his home being the only person that has a job in his family anymore. Should he be worried about losing his children too? Any advice would be very helpful.

Answer:
 File for social security for the child. This may take time but it will help with money. He should also talk to a hospital social worker about financial programs that might be able to help.

As his friend, you could also consider doing a community fundraiser to help with housing bills.


Title: (CA) Does employer have right to financial restitution for excessive bathroom breaks?

Question:
A likely soon to be former coworker of mine would take excessive bathroom breaks.  As far as I am aware, he was warned about it, and he did NOT provide a medical reason. It got much better afterward, but still excessive in my opinion.

We are given 10 minute breaks every 4 hrs, and a 1 hour lunch each day. (California)

He initially would spend up to 30 min at a time. Up to 2 hrs a day. Spent over 8 hrs in one particular week.

There are screenshots taken by me of security video with date & timestamps of him entering and exiting the bathroom.

Don't think employer fully grasped the time spent in the bathroom.

Employee did not show up today as his requests for wage increase and to work from home were denied again.

Can screenshots and video footage be used by my employer to demand financial restitution?

Answer:
 >There are screenshots taken by me of security video with date & timestamps of him entering and exiting the bathroom.

Sorry - is this your role in the company?Answer #2: Hmm. Someone who needs a lot of bathroom time would prefer to work from home, to the point that he will quit if he can't. Seems to me that IBS or similar is more likely than deliberate fraud. And that your opinion that his bathroom use was "excessive" may not be relevant.Answer #3: Why on earth would your employer inform you about another employees medical status in any regard? I would be careful because if one of my employees approached me with this kind of information about another worker I’d likely fire them. This is not taking initiative. If he doesn’t work for YOU this is none of your business. Answer #4: They would have to sue him, and they don't have a great case.  They'd basically have to prove intentional fraud, which is difficult.  It's unlikely to be worth the money they'd spend on a lawyer.


Title: My School plans to fail from a class for conspiracy to maintain a solution manual.

Question: I messaged the author of the textbook we are using to see if I could get a copy of the solution manual for it. Upon submitting a fake request and being denied the publisher contacted my school. My school says they are going to remove me the class and fail me for this action. I want to know if there is anything I can do? Is it an offense to attempt to buy a solution manual? What should I do to appeal? Feel free to ask for more details if needed. Thanks.

Answer:
 You tried to cheat and got caught. That is almost certainly a major violation of your school's academic conduct code. You're lucky you aren't being expelled.Answer #2: There likely is an appeal process. But you violated your school policy on cheating. This isn't a legal issue. It is a school policy issue.

Answer #3: You should stop cheating and committing fraud and plan to retake the class.

You’re going to have zero recourse here.


Title: If one of my parents was forging my signature and using my name for tax purposes, what would be the best course of action?

Question:
Hypothetically, imagine my family is quite abusive, and say I’d like to cut contact with them and gtfo (I’m an adult).

However, in this hypothetical situation, I found out I’m making $300,000 a year that I never see. I don’t do my taxes—my dad has always refused to show me how to. The $300,000 is from tax dividends.

Further, according to my mother, I own companies—and my dad forged my signature on god knows what. I also have no access to any of my insurance accounts. I’m literally clueless about how any of that works, since every time I’ve tried to ask about it my dad says no and implies I’m too stupid to handle it.

I’ve no clue what to do. I’d like to pack and and move next year, but it seems he’s literally enmeshed me in his life. Best case, I can find a way to take all the stock that’s under my name and then run. But if I can just get out of this and break contact, that’d be great.

I’m assuming I should first start by getting as much proof/documents as possible and then going to an attorney. But I’m quite stumped on how to do that, I don’t have access to the mail my dad gets under my name, and he controls my finances right now, so I don’t want to piss him off.

Answer: Uh, bud. You're going to need a finance attorney immediately. You might be doing illegal stuff and not even know it.


Title: Chicken Bone in my Wendy's Nugget

Question:
Just got back from going through a Wendy's and bit into my chicken nugget. It had a small bone in it and almost choked on it. Not sure if I can do anything as it was scary, see attached picture on size.

Thoughts?

http://imgur.com/gallery/QHU2yBI

Location: Canada, Vancouver

Answer: Most likely not. You have no damages. Sadly you don't get free nuggets for life for *almost potentially dying*. You're welcome to call them and complain. They'll most likely shoot you a free coupon for a few free frosties.Answer #2: Contact the Wendy's you went to. They will probably replace the nugget for you.


Title: I made a mistake that lead to a physical assault on me

Question:
I’m sorry this is long. I am expected to graduate in a week and so is the other person. This person was make rude comments behind my back for a year and I decided to take revenge finally so I flipped his license plate upside down. It took 5 minutes to do and it was meant to be more of a pain in the ass sort of thing that was super petty. Found out about 2 weeks after I did it that he had to go to a funeral and missed his flight for it.

I told someone I did it and they ended up telling him. I told him I thought someone else did (which was a lie about it because, again, it wasn’t my intention to make this happen at all and wanted it to go away) and then ended up just telling him I indeed did flip his plate and I was sorry I did it. I definitely wasn’t intending it to go that far.

He then physically assaulted me in front of my house and also blamed scratches on his car by me (even though I didn’t scratch his car). I do not want to take action against him whatsoever since I know I also made a mistake here. After this occurred, I even venmoed him $200 for his missed flight and got the scratches out of his car by polishing it myself late in the night. To make sure I’m safe for the next week, I emailed the Title IX office about my concerns. I didn’t give names and asked for possible resources to use for the future.

I’m not sure if he is satisfied with this though even after he did physically attack me. I’m a little worried he’ll call someone for car vandalism even after I have done everything to remediate the situation up until now. I’ve tried apologizing but he isn’t taking it and my ex-gf called me saying she was going to encourage him to press charges (which I’m not sure if he will do or not). I know I did something wrong and that’s why I’ve been trying to fix this and I certainly don’t want any other physical situation here. I just want to be safe. I’m curious as to know what I should do in case he takes action against me in any way.

Answer:
 It’s not a crime to flip someone’s license plate upside down.

It is a crime to assault someone.

Stop talking to this person and stop admitting guilt.


Title: Discriminated for being homeless

Question:
Hi, I wanted to share my frustration and confusion about some events that happened to me recently in hopes of understanding if and what legal options may be available to me.

It's a long post, TL;DR @ bottom

So well umm.. I've been living on the the street for a few months now and up until recentlt I've had no problems with LEOs or any places I go into for a sit or some rest. But, a few weeks ago I was sitting in a local McDonald's that I visited everyday. I was always a paying customer, I befriended a few of the employees and one of the managers. Some times they would buy me foods without me asking and some times they would come and sit with me for chatting during break time.
Well one morning I'm sitting by myself when a manager approached me and says "This isn't a place to hang out and charge your phone. You need to leave." I told her I was going to order some food then but she said "No. You can leave, we don't want your business." So I expressed displeasure and said I was unhappy with her decision, but left without making a scene.
Later that night I returned thinking everything is O.K. now since it's a new shift with different manager but suddenly police appear and trespass me indefinitely.

I'm not the only person to sit for hours in there on their phone or laptop without buying anything. I always spent $, helped clean the place, was friends with employees and manager and suddenly being threatened of being arrested if I return really upsets me.

Then, just yesterday I'm sitting in Taco Bell across from the McDonald's when police appear without warning and I'm trespasses from there too. I wasn't in there for more than 15 minutes, not bothering anyone. To be fair my clothes are a little dirty but I bathe, my hair is long and I have a beard but thats it. I always keep to myself, nnever begging for $ or being a nuisance. I don't understand what the problem is.

I feel I'm being discriminated against just for being homeless and looking like I do. Is there anything I can do to be able to return to these places?

I apologize for such a long post.

TL;DR: I'm homeless and trespased from at least 2 restaurants I patronized everyday. Is there anything I can do? I'm in Florida

Edit: location (?)

Edit 2: Thanks for your replies everyone. I won't have to be in this situation much longer. Can't wait to live like I used to. Being a transient sucks! Blessings.

Answer:
 It's private property of a private company, they are more than free to trespass whoever they want whenever they want. The next time a business tell you to leave, do not go back. You have my sympathy, but there are other McDonalds. Answer #2: > Is there anything I can do?

Find another place to go. They don't want your "business" there.


Title: What are the chances of my sister winning a case? She was assaulted by a fast food employee. California

Question: [removed]

Answer: Well what are her damages? Does she have medical bills? Did she miss months of work due to her injuries? Did she develop a severe case of PTSD due to the trauma from the attack and the injuries? Is she permanently disfigured or disabled?


Title: [Florida] My friend (who is a dumbass lmao) placed a bounty on some kids head for $300

Question: So this kid has been spreading rumors about him selling pills to a kid who OD’d. My friend being the brilliant human being he is, decides to post on his snap chat saying the first person at this kids college to beat his ass and take a video of it get $300. Just out of plain curiosity, is this legal?

Answer:
 Requesting someone to beat the shit out of someone? No it's not legal I would call the cops on that asap.

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/is-it-a-crime-to-ask-someone-to-beat-a-person-up--3420521.htmlAnswer #2: No- its not. It is considered criminal conspiracy. The elements of a criminal conspiracy are:

1. That the Defendant entered into an agreement with another person to commit a criminal act.  (known as the object of the conspiracy).
2. That the Defendant performed an act in furtherance, no matter how substantial or insubstantial that act might be, of the criminal act which is the object of the conspiracy.

Here, your friend's offer (e.g. making a post to the internet, texting someone, or spreading the word, etc.) is the act in furtherance of the object of the conspiracy, and once someone accepts the offer, we then have the "agreement".  Conspiracy has the same criminal sentencing imports as the principal offense, and in certain cases (known as "forcible felonies") carry a minimum of double the sentence of the principal charge.

Alternatively, this can also be charged under criminal threat laws. It is generally illegal to make threats of bodily harm- it's usually charged under a "terroristic threatening" law - but each state describes this differently, but outlaws the same basic act.


Title: [MO] What options do we have against adoptive sons’ abusive grandfather?

Question:
Background: As foster parents we took placement of 3 boys (now 9, 13, and 14; part of a larger sibling set of 5 boys) almost 2 years ago. Their younger brothers (now 6 and 7) are placed with a family that we are now pretty close with (all 5 boys originally were placed with them as a kinship placement). In all likelihood, all 5 will be adopted later this year by their respective parents.

The original cause for their removal was that they were physically beaten and abused by their maternal grandfather after they left their biological mother due to her inability to support all 5 of them. A large amount of the trauma they now have, which has shown through anxiety, anger, PTSD, bed-wetting, etc., was caused by him. We also suspect that he sexually abused them and may have even been grooming the youngest 3 for further sexual abuse. Obviously the physical abuse was bad enough to have the boys removed, but Grandpa was somehow never charged with a crime. He still lives in the area, specifically in the same town as the youngest 2 and their soon-to-be adoptive family.

Recently, at the boys’ sporting events, they have spotted Grandpa (who somehow has other grandchildren living with him now), who spotted them and apparently sent someone he knows over to communicate with the boys. They were told to stay away, but remained in the same seating area watching the boys. The parents of the youngest 2 have inquired about a restraining order but have been told by friends who are supposedly “in the know” that this isn’t possible since Grandpa wasn’t charged with a crime.

So my questions are: Is this true? Is it not possible to seek some kind of restraining order against him? Also, is it still possible to press charges against him on behalf of the boys? I have no idea what the statute of limitations is in this case, but the abuse happened less than 4 years ago.

Answer: If you want to pursue that option you should talk to the kid's caseworker. You're likely not allowed to do this but they may be able to help you out.


Title: Careless and prohibited driving ticket question

Question:
Hi there. Arkansas speaking.

In September I was driving down the interstate (going the speed limit) in the righthand lane. I sneezed and when I did so I guess I slightly turned the wheel and I hit a parked car on the shoulder and flipped my vehicle. Miraculously, I was unharmed except for a citation for careless and prohibited driving. I know that it says under that law that you can receive that ticket for hitting a parked vehicle, but I mean...I sneezed... if my body had chosen ten seconds before or after to sneeze then I wouldn’t be in this situation. My ticket is just shy of $200 and I really cant afford it so I’m going to court tomorrow to see if I can get it lowered or taken off or something. Any advice? Do I stand a chance?

Answer: You didn't get a ticket because you sneezed. You got a ticket because you failed to control your vehicle and struck a parked car at highway speed. If that had been a stranded motorist or a police officer making a traffic stop you probably would have killed them.  So if you're going to ask for leniency don't try to downplay what happened.


Title: What would happen if Leonardo da Vinci ce back to life and wanted the mona Lisa back?

Question:
I know his heir sold it but could he sue for it back or could he just take it?
ce should have been came. Sorry about that.

Answer:
 Unfortunately, I don’t believe there are any laws nor any precedent on what happens to property if the original owner comes back to life.

Law generally follow past practice or written laws and neither cover this.

The good news is that no one has had to figure this out nor is a case like this anticipated.

My guess is that if da Vinci was in fact dead, and his heir had the legal right to sell it when he sold it, that da Vinci would be out of luck.  But he could always paint another one.Answer #2: He would go around saying, "I'm Leonardo!  Give me back the Mona Lisa!"

And nobody would believe him.

He could sue, but the courts wouldn't believe he was really Leonardo either.


Title: Is it possible for a US state to become part of the EU and still be part of the US?

Question:
I'm lying here trying to sleep, but instead, my brain has decided that thinking about this is what I really ought to be doing.

It seems to me that so long as a state adhered to both EU and US law, it could theoretically be a part of both, and I don't recall there being anything in the US constitution that states could only be a part of the US, although I very well could be wrong on that...

Answer:
 EU admittance criteria is determined by Article 49 of the Maastricht Treaty with these criteria

1. Be a European state
2. Respect and commit to promote Article 2 values – including human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, human rights (specifically minority rights), pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality
3. Have its application unanimously approved by the Council of the EU
4. Have its application approved by a majority vote of the European Parliament

We immediately hit a stumbling block with number 1. A US state is not a "European State".


Title: Clocking out 7 min early in the USA. Can an employer dock pay for clocking out between 1-7 minutes early?

Answer: They are not required to round. They must pay you for what you worked -- they can't take away pay that you have earned -- but obviously if you clock out seven minutes early they don't have to pay you for the seven minutes that you did not work.


Title: Guy I rent RV space to has not payed me my rent and has threatened to beat me to a pulp. Oregon

Question:
I rent a space on my property to a guy to store his RV on and he keeps his belongings in it. Once in a while he will stay there if he is in town. While I was doing yard work I unplugged the power cable to his RV and forgot to plug it back in. I received a furious text from him a couple of days later saying that I had destroyed valuable medicine that was in the fridge that he had in there and that I had better pay up or else. I texted back that was not aware that there was anything in there and that it was not intentional. No response. Fast forward a week. I was reorganizing my garage and thought it would be a good idea to run the plug into the garage as a more secure solution so it wouldn't become unplugged. (it was run loosely across the driveway). I took the plug out of the exterior box and walked it over to my garage and plugged it in inside. Fast forward to today where I received two voice mails from him. The most recent asking why I am messing with him and if I wanted to fight him. The first was him yelling at me that I unplugged the truck again. I called him to explain that it was not unplugged and that I had made it more secure. He launched into a tirade telling me how stupid I was and that it had come unplugged in the back. I told him I had no idea as I thought the line ran into the truck. He was not hearing it. He would not let me speak and the insults and swears continued. He told me that he was going to come over and beat it out of me if I didn't pay him over a thousand dollars for what was lost in his fridge. I told him that was not going to happen. I also told him that he had not payed me for the rent this month. He told me he would not pay it. I said that wanted him gone as I felt threatened since he wanted to be violent and he has keys to my place. We have no rental agreement and he would pay me at the beginning of each month. He told me that he would leave at the end of the month. I told he had not payed and I wanted him gone.

My question and concern is what can I do? Can I have his vehicle towed off the property? He never technically lived at my place. It was more of a storage agreement.

Answer: You might have to go through the eviction process in Oregon. It's puzzling that he might have expensive medicine in a refrigerator but not live there.


Title: Yikes - Accidental Shoplifting at Whole Foods...will the cops come to my door?

Question:
Preface: This was a total accident, which I know probably sounds like something everyone says, but it's the truth. :(

I was in Whole Foods today shopping and put a couple glass jars in my purse to prevent them from rolling around in the basket and breaking, with full intentions of paying for them at the register.  That said, I was also in Whole Foods for like an hour, and totally forgot.

I paid for everything else, and was on my way to the door, when the LP guy stopped me and told me to come with him.  I couldn't figure it out at first and he told me to stop playing games, he saw me leave with the stuff in my bag.  It clicked and I flipped out and was super cooperative, because I've never shoplifted, don't have any kind of criminal record, and was totally totally embarrassed.

He took me to the back of the store where I dug through the bag to retrieve the bottles, and apologized, offered to pay for all of them, etc.  The total cost of the bottles was more than they allow for someone to just walk away, and he was initially going to call the cops, but I pled and pled and eventually ended up crying because I don't have a criminal record of any sort, I'm 30 and again, have never shoplifted in my life, and this was all a huge mistake because I am a flighty ditz.

Eventually he ran my background check with the last 4 of my Soc and agreed that I didn't have any criminal record whatsoever, and at least he said that he believed it was a mistake or forgetfulness on my part. He agreed not to call the cops or press charges, contingent on me never stepping foot in that store again (not a whole chain ban, just that one location), and then took a pic of my license, made me sign a sheet of paper that I admittedly didn't even read because I was crying too hard, and then took my picture.  He legitimately was a really nice guy, and tried to talk me down from my crazy sobbing by asking me some conversational, non-invasive questions, and offering me tissues.

So now I'm sitting at home flipping out and wondering about the likelihood that the cops will arrive at my door later in life.  Illinois Statute of Limitations on misdemeanor theft is 18 months, and I fully expect a civil penalty of between $100 and $1000, which I'll pay gladly, but I really don't want cops rolling up in 8 months to arrest me for what was a huge oversight on my part.

What do you think, Reddit?  Am I gonna serve jail time despite LP telling me he wouldn't press charges?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 TL;DR: OP puts glass jars in purse, forgets about them, gets stopped by LP, OP says it's a mistake, LP agrees and lets her go after promising not to come back to the store.

No, OP, you're not going to have SWAT bust in your door. You're fine. Answer #2: The LP's statement is not binding.  He can call the police at any time, or his bosses could, or whatever.

Practically speaking, it's unlikely.Answer #3: >Eventually he ran my background check with the last 4 of my Soc and agreed that I didn't have any criminal record.

I don't think this is a thing they can do...I don't buy that. Feel free to point out that I'm wrong, but most jurisdictions sort by name/DOB. Answer #4: If the store doesn't involve the police while you're still there, that's most likely the end of the matter.

You may receive a letter in the mail from a law firm representing Whole Foods demanding the payment of a couple hundred dollars in restitution in exchange for not suing you.

If Whole Foods participates in the national retail theft database project, then your information might get entered there too.  It's a private, shared database maintained and accessed by participating retail chains.  If you apply for work at any one of them, you may encounter resistance if they check it as part of the application review process.


Title: I have been falsely accused of rape in NYS... what should I do?

Question:
I have been falsely accused of rape. I am facing a felony charge and am extremely scared. I have a pending court date. I have a previously established history of anxiety and depression related to extreme stress, and am not only fearing prison but also the fear of being wrongfully slandered and persecuted for a crime i did not commit.
Location - New York State
I do not want to do anything stupid, but I am worried about losing my cool. Please help with advice...

Answer:
 Get an attorney.Answer #2: I'm sure your lawyer will tell you this, but in the meantime: Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut. Do not fight this on Facebook. Don't call your friends (mutual or otherwise) to explain what happened or didn't happen. Don't text anyone about this. Don't talk to *anyone* except your attorney. These people can be called to testify against you, and even though you may think they only have good things to say, things can go very wrong on the stand.

Edit: I didn't mean to sound bitchy. I just really, really wanted to emphasize the importance of not talking to anyone but your lawyer.


Title: Curfew violation on my criminal record for the rest of my life?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Why are you so fearful that a curfew violation will have any long lasting impacts on your life?


Title: Can I be charged again? (3rd degree harassment)

Question:
Hello,

Back in June I was notified by the Juvenile Probation office that I had been charged with harassment. Long story short, I had my trial last week on Thursday (10/4) and the charges were dropped. Then this past Tuesday (10/9) we were contacted by a police officer stating that I had been saying threatening things towards the victim to another person. I’m wondering if I could be charged again and be brought back to court again. It seems like to me that the victims in the last case were not satisfied with the decision that the court had made and are trying to go after me again.

Location: Pennsylvania

Answer: It sounds like a separate incident.  Yes, you can be charged for separate incidents involving the same alleged victim.


Title: [NJ] Employer is sometimes giving real paychecks with stubs, sometimes giving handwritten checks without stubs, but no documentation for where our tax money went.

Question:
My job has been switching back and forth between normal paychecks with stubs and handwritten personal checks without pay stubs. Whenever we receive the handwritten checks we are told that the taxes have been taken out already. However, we are receiving no documentation about where our tax money has gone.  When I receive a paycheck with a stub, it doesn’t reflect the income I made from weeks when I received a handwritten check. I believe that I will be on the hook for these handwritten checks come tax time, even though I’m being led to believe it’s been taken care of.

My last paycheck was supposed to be $1049 gross. I received a handwritten, personal check for $880.  I don’t know where that $169 went, or if it is the proper amount that was supposed to be taken out. This has been going on at my job for months and management refuses to give any of us a straight answer regarding how it will affect us during tax season, which makes me even more concerned that something shady is happening. Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer: NJ law requires paystubs.  It doesn't matter if your check is handwritten or processed.  File a complaint with the DOL.


Title: Adidas charged me 12% sales tax and is now attempting to cover it up

Question:
So I had bought a new pair of shoes roughly a week ago. The price of the shoe was 120$ so I was surprised when I noticed the sales tax had came to 14.40$. I did some research and figured that no state county or city in the USA charges 12% sales tax, and the city my card had been charged from was Portland Oregon, where there is 0% sales tax, and the county which I'm from only charges 7%. This is obviously illegal so I email adidas about this situation and now I have no charge on my card, but my shoes are still being shipped, I believe they attempted to wipe off the record that this ever happened but I still have my receipt from the purchase. So what I was wondering if I still have grounds for a lawsuit as many people had to have been affected by this, and not just me. Would I be able to sue for over charging sales tax and maybe reach a settlement?  I've been using this as my reference http://www.taxrates.com/blog/2013/07/31/suing-over-sales-tax/

edit: not damages dont know why I put that

Answer:
 Sounds like you're getting shoes for free now. That's pretty much the opposite of damages. What would a suit bring you if you have no damages?Answer #2: If you have no charge on your card, they may be in the middle of re-billing the sale and putting in the correct taxes. The correct charge would be $128.40 if my math is right (adding 7% for your location's sales tax rate).

If you get the shoes and you see that your card is again charged incorrectly higher than it should be, just dispute the charge with your credit card company. That should sort it out.

Edit - do not waste your time thinking about a class action lawsuit over a minor error.


Title: [PA] Banker wants to know if woman with dementia can sign a Durable POA

Question:
So trying to keep this as vague as possible so I don't get fired/sued. A consumer wants to know if he can get a Durable POA on his mother. His father passed, and all of his father's relationships with us were jointly held with his mother, who is currently in a nursing home with dementia.

As of now he has no access to the funds in the joint accounts and so, to my knowledge, cannot set up an estate with those funds because they are owned by his mother who has dementia.

Can this consumer get a durable on his mom so he can start setting up an estate and pay bills? I really hate this stuff because as a front line banker I can only do as asked even if it looks like elder abuse. Although sometimes its a case like this where the guy just needs to get shit done for his folks. Halp?

Answer:
 No. First an estate could only be open after she is deceased. If she has dementia then she cannot sign a POA.

IANAL but he needs to consult one. I believe the correct course of action here would be to have a court appoint him as guardian/custodian as she is incompetant.  Answer #2: He could've before he opened his dumb mouth. Now that you know she has dementia, I wouldn't rely on anything that isn't signed by a judge.


Title: Landlord moved in renters to the basement below our home, set our thermostat to 84 to keep the basement warm and wants us to split the utilities as if the renters were 1 person [DC]

Question:
We (4 adults) live in a single family home with a basement that has been converted into a separate apartment with entrance. The basement is fully connected to the main level but separated by closed doors. The landlord moved in a family (2 adults 1 baby) into the basement recently.

The whole house shares one thermostat and is heated by gas. We try to keep the thermostat low to save money, but this makes the basement cold. The landlord has repeatedly asked us to keep the thermostat warmer so the basement residents are comfortable. He came in when no one was home and turned the thermostat up to 84! We've compromised and kept it at 71, which is still much higher than what we previously set it at (68 at most).

Now, the gas bill has come in and its double what we used to pay before the couple moved in downstairs. On top of that, our landlord wants us to split the utilities 5 ways - so the family in the basement would pay altogether what each of us pay separately.

What kind of rights do we have in this situation? Can we demand that he install a separate thermostat and energy meter? Or can we demand that we split the utilities 6 ways, so each of the adults living in the house are paying an even share?

Answer:
 What does your lease say (if anything) about utilities?Answer #2: IANAL.  But I've read on this subreddit, and other places, that in some states there are laws that say the landlord can not charge for utilities on a unit unless it is metered separately from other rental units.  In your position I'd quickly look into that.Answer #3: I had a somewhat similar experience, but in NY. Also, I'm not a lawyer.

In my circumstances, I lost power to part of my apartment because my neighbors didn't pay their bill and got shut off. The electric company came out to investigate what they called a "shared meter" situation, and wires were subsequently rewired.

So yeah, call the gas and electric companies and ask about a shared meter on multiple units. Especially if it's your name on the bill.

Also, does this basement unit not have heating units? Is LL relying on the basement being heated by the unbearable warmth in your place? I'm sure some sort of code enforcement agency would be interested if that's the case.

Is the thermostat in a common area where the LL has regular access? I don't know about you, but I'd be pissed if he just waltzed into space that I pay rent for, without notice, to jack up my gas bill. Answer #4: I would look into the fact that the basement might not be a legal rental.Answer #5: When does the lease expire? or is it month-to-month? Also, definitely don't agree to splitting it 5 ways, or 6. Go for 7 at the least; even if the kid isn't 18, he still needs to be warm, more so than you guys. Best solution is we will continue to pay what we did last month, and you can control the thermostat.


Title: I was detained for no reason

Question:
I was going into a bar and they told me i was too drunk. So after that I went to the curb and sat down on the curb and at that point they arrested me. I was sitting there on the curb and they told me I was arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest. I have two witnesses that watched me get arrested and watched me not resist anything while sitting on the curb and not trying to get into the bar. I feel violated and illegally arrested is there a case there for a lawyer if I bring it against them?
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: Were you charged, arrested, or just detained?


Title: Texas - Officer wrote me 4 tickets last month. Found out he was fired today.

Question:
So the police officer was not literally fired today, I just found out about it today.

Last month on the 20th, I was pulled over for speeding, passing on the right, not using a turn signal, and having expired registration.

I was driving 73 in a 70, this was a point in time when the right lane was going faster than the left lane, dunno about the turn signal, and my registration was for 7/17. So it was not expired until august.

It started off normally enough, but when I informed him of the firearm in the center console between the seat, he immediately asked me to step out of the vehicle. I asked him "Is that a request or a lawful order." His response was. "You are going to play it like that huh?" And from there he assumed I was being a sov cit jackass. He asked to see my license and said. "Your state issued license, not the one you printed off on your computer at home."

From there it spiraled with him being a total jackass to me. Several times during the stop he would quickly reach for his weapon, but never drew it. I wrote it off as him being nervous until he took my information. The way he did it was by jerking my drivers license and LTC out of my hand. He asked where my insurance was and I pointed to it. He said. "So either you or me is going to reach for it. I will let you guess which one will leave you happy."

I opened the console where it was and handed him the insurance card.

He went into his car for 15 minutes and came back with his ticket machine. He had me digitally sign the ticket on his machine and before he handed me my ticket he asked me. "Oh by the way do you consent to me giving you these citations? " In an extremely sarcastic voice.

He placed it on my dashbored and told me "You have a... day." Leaving a pause where you would normally say nice in "Have a nice day."

Well after this I considered getting a lawyer, but I decided against it as this guy was using a body cam and would have had the dash cam running.

I waited until the 10th day, you have 10 calendar days in this jurisdiction, to go to court. I pleaded not guilty and requested a trial.

They set one for 5 days from now, but I found out today that the police officer has been terminated for misconduct. I am not going to list the city as it is easily googleable so I will leave it at that.

Couple of questions.

First did I just win the traffic citation lottery here? I mean the officer was fired for misconduct and I am thinking that if the video and audio of that stop plays in court, I will be gold.

Second would a lawyer be a good idea right now? Seeing as the officer is terminated would this just be auto dismissed or would he actually show up to court for this?

Lots of fun questions strolling through my head but the biggest is how likely will this be to get thrown out?

Answer:
 You'd be hard pressed to find a judge who *wouldn't* dismiss the 73 in a 70, whether the former officer showed up or not. That's less than a 5% difference and could easily be argued that it's due to mechanical inaccuracy of your speedometer. Answer #2: >I am thinking that if the video and audio of that stop plays in court, I will be gold.

I wouldn't agree to this at all.  If the officer does not show, there may be problems laying a foundation for using the video/audio.

You're better off with no evidence against you, than with what you think is favorable evidence.Answer #3: On this site:

https://www.dmv.org/tx-texas/registration-renewal.php

it says:

"You must renew your TX registration annually by the last day of the month in which it expires."Answer #4: If you go to court and the policeman is not there to attest to testify, the tickets will most likely be dismissed by the judgeAnswer #5: I'm thinking if you go in with a citation for expired registration that wasn't expired in the first place they might just assume that the whole thing is bs. But you never know.


Title: City wants to raise water prices by 55% due to lost revenue. There's gotta be something, right?

Question:
Southern California.

The gist of it is that the city wants to raise water prices by 55% over three years. This is due to lost revenue since the city told everyone to conserve water / that we'd be fined if we watered lawns more than three times a week (something absurd).

Where do I even start? I ask here, on Reddit, because a chunk of the city is upset with this and no one knows what we can do, if anything. So far the tactic is to call officials, but I'm unsure if that's going to make any real difference.

There is no knowledge which is not power, so comment everything that comes to mind regarding this situation.

Thanks..!

Answer:
 You could wait until the next election and  vote them out.

Or you could try for a recall election and vote them out.

You are of course going to be stuck with the fact that whoever you replace them with is still going to have to find a way to pay for your water supply.


Title: (NJ) I did something stupid and I know it. When my wife filed for divorce I took all the money from our bank account. I told her I would leave some so she could write her lawyer a check but I bought my girlfriend a car instead and it bounced.

Question:
Also when my wife filed for divorce she filed it under adultery. How screwed am I? I fully admit I am an idiot.

New Jersey

Answer:
 This will most likely be considered a dissipation of marital assets.  The court has a lot of discretion to fashion equitable remedies to address this.  By way of example, it could:

* Award her a larger portion of the remaining marital property
* Award you a larger share of marital debt
* Grant her a larger award of alimony
* And so on.

You should probably expect the judge to be displeased upon hearing of this development.Answer #2: Smart move, bud. Time to stop doing things without consulting your lawyer first.


Title: If I had a site with an answer key for what my class is currently doing, Do I have any Legal Obligation to shut it down if so requested by a teacher?

Question:
Title explains most of the problem. Do I have any legal obligation to shut it down? United States/Indiana
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer: No but you can and will be expelled from school if you do keep it up.Answer #2: There are potential copyright issues, by the bigger problem is your certain expulsion if you fail to comply.


Title: “What’s his is hers, what’s hers is his.” How exactly do community property laws work in Texas?

Question:
I have an uncle whose wife committed spousal identity theft by opening credit cards in his name without his consent. The amount she has taken is over $10,000 across multiple banks and Walmart. The amount is not including the social security checks she’s been stealing from her son.

Would my uncle be responsible in paying anything? He’s planning on going to see an attorney on Tuesday, are there any specific questions he should ask? My uncle also seeks to divorce her.

This takes place in Texas. Idk if this affects the case but they were married in Mexico.

These are the steps my parents and I have done to help my uncle already:
- file a police report
- called the banks
- called the bureau
- file an affidavit
- and send supporting documentation to the banks

Thank you in advance.

Answer:
 He's seeing an attorney in two days.

Some randos on the internet couldn't possibly give you any better third-hand advice than his actual attorney will give him.


Title: Had handshake agreement to help a startup in exchange for equity, documented with quarterly letter; now that I'm leaving CEO thinks he can force a buyout

Question:
[Update per bot request: Location is US.]

So yeah, I know, written contracts are good things to have.

I agreed to help out a startup part time in exchange for equity. The founder was a friend, so we had a handshake agreement. Two years in, we've had a series of communication issues, and I've decided to leave. It's also not clear whether the company will succeed or not.

Now that I've stated my intentions, the founder believes he can buy out my equity at a valuation derived from last year's ARR.

While I didn't have a written contract, every quarter he would issue me a letter granting additional fully vested equity. My question is: does the text of these letters effectively serve as a contract? And, does the lack of a repurchase clause in these letters mean that he cannot force a buyout of my equity?

Standard letter text:

> Dear {me},

> In acknowledgement of the quality of services you have rendered to {company} in the ongoing development of {product}, you are being granted an additional share of equity in {company}.

> You are being granted an N% equity share in {company} effective {date}. Your total share of partner equity in {company} as of that date is X%.

> Your ownership equity falls into the Class B ownership category outlined in the {company} operating agreement and does not include voting rights.

> By terms of our agreement, any future dilution of your equity share will be equivalent to the dilution of the Class A shares of {company}.

> Best,
> {founder}
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 > [Update per bot request: Location is US.]

Every state has different laws. Saying that you are in the "US" probably will not be sufficient to get you an answer.


Title: Emancipation

Question:
I have schizophrenia. I am 29. My brother is my legal guardian He helped me find a host provider home, ending my homelessness. On occasion he buys me things, and takes me to lunch/breakfast/dinner. He is very generous but there’s a problem.

I am not going to spend the rest of my life here. He wants me to. I am treated like a baby. If I take home candy, I have to ask permission from my provider to eat it, and usually get yelled at for asking. I can’t ask a simple question, like “Can I have some of my soda?” without hearing something like “What’s wrong with you? Is life only about soda? What if noone gave you soda, what would happen then?”

In addition, I’m regularly accused of things like stealing a bottle of wine, or peeing on the (leaking) bathroom floor, and I am threatened with penalties, like canceling a visit with my family or taking either money from me, or something I bought with money I earned. and after I confess to something I didn’t do, it goes on my permanent record, and I lose whatever it was anyway, (the money/trip to the buffet, whatever.)

At one point my provider’s sister, (who lives with us,) was alone with me and a low functioning client and slapped him very hard because he wouldn’t go to sleep. I told him what happened, and he asked me what I should do about it. I said forgive her. I was afraid he would react negatively with me if I didn’t say that.

For the past 5 years my brother has refused to allow me to get a job. Even though I am demonstrably stable. He is afraid I will lose my benefits. Many people have jobs and benefits, *there is an agency working for me whose job it is to handle that, and they handle that well.*

I’m also not allowed to spend my own money on things of religious importance to me.

I am a painkiller addict. If I lived on my own, I could combat this addiction better, by replacing it with other things. (Coffee.) My grandma said she was prescribed vicodin but didn’t use it. I saw the bottle when I was wrapping presents in her room on christmas. I got sweaty. My vision blurred. My train of thought was replaced by a train of desire. I took some, hoping she wouldn’t notice. She did.

My brother called to condescend to me, and tell me how disappointed in me he was. He made me tell my provider that I took them, which I did. Then I realized a legal guardian probable is not allowed to force their...guardee? To confess to a crime to their host provider.

I want to get a part time job to allow me to pay for the internet so I can study programming, I already have a tech job offer based on my Free Code Camp certificate. Also, I’m getting very sick of rice rice rice ramen rice mac and cheese rice for dinner. What I eat isn’t healthy, and it makes it more difficult to energize myself to do things like exercise, or whatever.

It seems like finding the home was the best thing he ever did, but it stops there.

I am starting to have nightmares, where everything I do, I ask permission first. I don’t mean I have a dream where the problem is I have to ask permission every 5 minutes, but that throughout my regular dreams, I ask permission every 5 minutes. The first time I ever woke up because a dream was so bad. I thought *“Oh my god it’s gotten to my dreams, this has to end now.”*

I read that the one thing you should do is avoid people at all costs who have contempt for you. I think this sums up my relationship with my brother fairly well. He wanted to tell me how disappointed in me he was, but having a job will lessen my symptoms, and I would afford replacement chemicals, and in short, I fully blame me making that decision on the symptoms I was experiencing at the time that would be gone by now if I had been able to spend my own money, and get a home of my own.

I want to sue for custody of myself again. I know my family will take it very badly, but I feel it must be done. Do I have a strong enough case to regain legal guardianship of myself?

Answer: You need more advice than reddit can give you. Contact an attorney