Title: So there's this garbage collection truck that comes every Tuesday morning at around 6:30. But that's not my problem.

Question: What is my problem is that they've made it a habit of chatting amongst themselves and not parking off to the side, but in the middle. of. the. street. And they have been known to talk for upwards of a half hour, mostly not even getting the trash until they leave. This obviously blocks the road and prevents people from leaving their homes for work. I called Waste Management and even the company that supplies their truck along with the plate number. And they all said they've been reprimanded and stuff like that, yet nothing seems like it's changed at all. And my neighbors have done the same as well. What should I do?

Answer:
 Call the police and tell them someone is blocking traffic. Every. Time. They. Do. It.

Pictures and video will help you convince the police what happened if the garbage men split before the police show up.Answer #2: The first time they get a ticket from the police for repeatedly blocking traffic, they're likely to not have that job anymore. I'd call the non-emergency line, or the traffic division (if your town has one) of the police and report them. Answer #3: Are they under contract with your city?

I've always had great luck reaching out to a city councillor if that's an option for you. Councillors jump all over these kinds of things and get the problem solved quickly.

We had similar problems with our city's waste management contractors when their contract with the city was expiring — the workers stopped caring and things went to pot. Trash wasn't picked up, bins were being destroyed, it was mayhem. Answer #4: Dude, go take a video of them from a hidden location and post it and send a link to the trash company.  If that doesn't work then tweet the link to the trash company.  If that does not work then contact police traffic enforcement and ask them to investigate.Answer #5: Get your landlord involved.  Their contractors (Waste Management and it's employees) are preventing you from accessing or leaving your home.

I guarantee you that if your landlord calls Waste Management, rips into the manager there, and questions why they are paying thousands of dollars a year to a trash company that blocks the road to the apartment complex, heads will roll.Answer #6: If they are in your way could you not just ask then to move?


Title: Comic-con videographer with a grudge against me wants to make a cringe compilation, starring yours truly. I can't make this up. Do I have any legal recourse if he releases such a video?

Question:
Throwaway.

Bay Area, California.

Guy who I went to film school with turned out to have hated my guts, as I found out the hard way when I was looking at various celebrity guests recordings on his YouTube channel.

It turns out he's been complaining about me on his business channel (where he keeps his portfolio clips, old film projects, and comic-con interviews/panels/etc.) and has said he'll use every piece of footage/audio of me to make a mock video.

He hasn't gone through on his threat yet, but he's still very active in the local con scene. We go to the same conventions, and often to the same panels.

Each con has an agreement about being recorded - but I don't know if the release policy covers something like this, especially as he's not an official staffer (he works under his own agency). I've e-mailed all the conventions involved - all have referred to their harassment policies and told me to contact staff if he does try anything.

I know any text stuff he says is free speech - they're his opinions - and the only thing I'm really concerned about is footage of me, as I consider myself pretty private. I also don't think I'm doing anything 'cringy', but that's subjective.

I know California has cyberbullying laws, but that's only for schools.

**tl;dr: film school classmate hates me enough to threaten to release a 'cringe compilation' of me. Is there anything I can do to get him to knock it off if/when he releases it?**

Answer:
 If he is using photos and videos he took pr has permission to use, it is doubtful you have any remedy to get him to take them down. If he uses photos or media you own, you may force a takedown under DMCA, but assuming the images are taken in public, you have no right to privacy and can not force them down.

Depending on what exactly he does with them, you may. It is an extremely high bar to show intentional torts for mental anguish. If he is calling people to harm or threaten you, it would be different. But if he is just posting photos with "get a load of this guy" commentary, sadly, there is little to do to prevent or stop it.

If he makes false statements about you with the posts, and you can prove financial damages from them, it may be possible you have a civil claim for libel. See an attorney if this happens as it is too fact specific for us to determine.


Title: Domestic Violence and Family Law

Question:
Family law cases, including domestic violence and child custody, represent the largest category of cases closed by LSC grantees each year. Millions of women, men, and children experience domestic violence in the U.S. every year. Legal aid is essential to protect domestic violence victims and their families and to help them overcome many associated problems that can endanger their safety and stability.

In 2016 LSC grantees closed 115,977 domestic violence cases involving nearly 282,014 victims and their families. This represents nearly 16% of all cases closed by grantees nationwide.
Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime. On average, nearly **20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.** During one year, this equates to more than 10 million individuals.

Often survivors face additional legal problems. Ninety-seven percent of low-income households with survivors of recent domestic violence or sexual assault experienced at least one other civil legal problem in the past year, including 67% that have experienced 6+ problems.

A study by the Institute for Policy Integrity found that civil legal aid is more effective than access to shelters or counseling services in reducing domestic violence—by as much as 21%. Increasing a woman’s chances of obtaining a protective order is the most effective way that legal assistance can reduce domestic violence. Survivors of domestic violence rate the filing of a protective order as one of their two most effective tools for stopping domestic violence, second only to leaving the abuser. Representation is critical in these cases as **83% of victims represented by an attorney successfully obtained a protective order, compared to only 32% of victims without an attorney.**

LSC grantees help clients [provide safe, stable environments for their children](http://www.lsc.gov/legal-aid-helps-domestic-violence-survivor-save-her-home), [build violence-free lives](http://www.lsc.gov/protecting-mother-six-domestic-violence-alaska), and [reunite with their families](http://www.lsc.gov/helping-father-reunite-his-children).

Answer:
 > 282,014 victims and their families.

That's roughly the population of Newark, NJ. Wow.Answer #2: I think what's really helpful here are some of the hard numbers. When we get people who waffle about seeking out a lawyer or civil legal aid, quoting that

> 83% of victims represented by an attorney successfully obtained a protective order, compared to only 32% of victims without an attorney.

might help really hit home why what we're telling them is important.

> 67% that have experienced 6+ problems.

What were the most common problems? I'm assuming eviction, at least...Answer #3: Hi Sarah!

Thanks again for doing this. I just have a question regarding the statements above, and it could just be your wording.

>Increasing a woman’s chances of obtaining a protective order is the most effective way that legal assistance can reduce domestic violence.

I assume, LSC helps male victims as well. Do you have a breakdown of the number of victims that use LSC services along gender lines? 80/20 women? 70/30 women?Answer #4: What does a typical "intervention" look like? Meaning, what steps does LSC take to help a battered person obtain an order of protection?


Title: (Louisiana) Cop was already going 9 over the limit and pulled me over for speeding when I passed him. Worth fighting?

Question:
Yesterday I was driving back home to Houston from New Orleans on I-10. It happened on one of the 2-lane bridges in Louisiana, while I was going with the flow of traffic on cruise-control. Everyone in my lane (the left) started slowing down and merging into the right lane behind a cop. The cop seemed to be going the [assumed] limit of 70mph, and I was going a little over that. It took a while, but I eventually passed the cop (SLOWLY) and he promptly flipped on his lights, siren, and pulled me over.

He told me that he was going 69mph and that's how he clocked me going 74mph in a 60 zone.

While I don't doubt that I am indeed guilty of the crime, how can a cop that's breaking the law punish me for doing the same crime? Is there any way for me to fight this, and is it worth the trouble? I'll have to drive 4-5 hours to see the judge that I am assigned to for this since I live out of state. I also have no evidence of his speed, since I wasn't recording our conversation or anything. Would his car have any sort of GPS recording in it that would prove that he was breaking the law well before he pulled me over?

LA also seems to have a severe lack of speed limit signs on that road. The whole thing felt like an easy way for cops to pull people over when they need to feel important or if the department needs more money...

Answer:
 > Is there any way for me to fight this, and is it worth the trouble?

No.Answer #2: "but, Your Honor! HE was doing it too!" is not a defense.


Title: I was part of a shipping scam, I could use help

Question: Hello, I was recently involved in a shipping scam. The scam, as I am sure a lot of you have seen involves a phony job posting. I saw one on craigslist and it was some executive assistant position. I messaged them and a few weeks later I got a reply about a shipping company. I gave them some information about myself and they started sending me packages. I received 3 at the same time and they sent me shipping labels as well. I placed the labels and sent the packages away. After this I got really suspicious and did more online research and found the re shipping scam. The scammers steal credit cards and buy things and send them to me only for me to reship them to them. I have not resent any more packages and they plan on sending me more. I have told them to sop and they threaten legal action. I know the legal action is bs and it wont happen since theyre running a scam. I just don't want to have any legal problems. I am planning on sending every package back to where it came from and contacting company's support to let them know what is going on. I also filed a police report and told them what happened. I also contacted the postal inspector and filed a complaint. I am still really nervous since they have my address. I gave them my ss number at the hiring but no bank info. I am not worried too much about them opening credit card in my name since I cant even do that with my current credit. I feel so ashamed and embarrassed and feel like I put my family at risk. Any help on how I should proceed will really help.

Answer: They aren't coming to your house, if that's what you're worried about, considering the fact that they likely live in an entirely different country and can also pick up a new  mule without the added cost of plane tickets. Please put an alert on your credit, if nothing else. Taking out a line of credit in your name is the least of your worries when it comes to your compromised SSN. If you're so inclined, consider doing an actual credit freeze instead: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/1353/how-do-i-put-freeze-my-credit-report.html. [This]( http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/1375/i-may-have-been-victim-fraud-or-identity-theft-how-can-i-put-fraud-alert-my-credit-report.html)  link is from the same site but more comprehensive.


Title: A box of my dads electronics disappeared a year ago. Today some of the electronics started using his Netflix account. I tracked down their location and provided my dad with the show and he found the exact house that is using his roku. What are our options?

Question:
The title says most but my dad has been theorizing that movers stole a box of electronics from him just over a year ago. This included a roku, some old laptops, a PlayStation 3, but most importantly 2 TB hard drives that had his life's memories on them. He has tried contacting the movers peacefully and offering to pay top dollar to get the hard drives back however they deny ever taking them.

Tonight I tried getting on Netflix and saw that the roku was watching the smurfs. I was able to track down their IP address through the Netflix website and was able to provide a location for my dad to check which was within a 10 min drive of his house. He drove by a house that was in the area and playing the smurfs. He didn't want to knock on the door so late but he plans on returning there tomorrow. What are some of our options for perhaps getting some of his stuff back?

Location [US, IL]
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 Computer crimes investigator here.

When we (the police) get an IP address, we send a subpoena to the provider, who tells us which customer had that IP address at that date and time.

Finding a house that is playing the same movie in the same zip code or whatever is not conclusive enough for anything at all.

You're not batman.

Make a police report and let them investigate.

He should absolutely NOT go back there.Answer #2: While you're *not* playing Batman, keep in mind that the person who is now using those electronics may have purchased them from a pawn shop. They may not be the actual thieves. It only matters in the sense that they may also be victims.


Title: [GA] Apartment complex has failed to fix our AC for the past month, electric bill is $200

Question:
Hey guys,

So for the past month and a half or so, our AC has been having issues. Mid-May, we realized the AC was struggling to cool our apartment; the AC would run all day but not drop below 75 most days. Some days it just wouldn't get below 82.I put in a maintenance request, and it was "fixed" to some degree.Later in May we started to have the same issues and it was fixed once again.

All month we've been having slight issues with it, but it worked to some degree and were tired of having to keep putting maintenance orders in so we just sucked up the slightly above room-temp temperature.

Until a few days ago. The AC just stopped working completely a few days ago, and began to push out warm air. We put in a maintenance request, the guy came to work on it, and told us to keep it running all day to have it 'catch up". It still didn't work, and got progressively worse. The temperature inside has gotten up to 90 degrees and I've been forced to couch surf for the past 3 days since the apartment is completely uninhabitable in the heat.

My question is, is there anything I can do to make more permentant repairs? I'm getting a copy of my lease later today to see if anything is explicitly stated about repairs, but wanted to ask you guys first.

Also, our electricity bill was $200 for this past month. This is more than double our average bill, and I suspect it's due to the AC being broken. Is there anything I can do to get the complex to pay for a portion of it?

Thanks guy!

Answer:
 The AC unit has a Freon leak. One that apparently can't be sealed by whatever leak stop they tried using. Without Freon it won't work at all, it'll just run 24/7. If it's not blowing out cold air its *never going to start blowing out cold air*. Unplug it because its not doing anything.

How old is it? Is it a window unit?

You probably need a new/replacement unit. And unless AC is in the lease they don't have to do anything about it.


Title: Copywrite on fast food?

Question:
Does anyone know how often fast food companies are required to to change the year on their sauce labels?  For example:  Lets say I have a McDonalds Dipping sauce that says  "©2005" is it safe to assume that sauce is from 2005?

This is only important to a scientific study I am doing.  Ideally I am hoping they have to update the copywrite yearly because that will help me get an more precise date of what I am looking at.

I just need help because I know nothing about copy writes and business.

Answer:
 > Lets say I have a McDonalds Dipping sauce that says "©2005" is it safe to assume that sauce is from 2005?

No. Copyright here refers to the printed material on the sauce package. The year refers to the year that an author working for McDonalds wrote the words for the package.


Title: if we live in a hotel, how we we go about getting rid of an unwanted person that lives with us?

Question: would we have to evict them, or can we just talk to the hotel manager and say we want them out?

Answer:
 Just change rooms and don’t give them a key?  Hotels aren’t zoned residential so I don’t think tenant laws would apply
Nal


Title: Is it illegal for me to run away with my brother when I turn 18?

Question:
He just told me he's gay and I know that my parents will make his life as hard as mine, as they didn't accept me either and told my siblings that being gay was a sin and So is transgenderism. So, when I take off on my eighteenth birthday, (he will be turning 14 a couple months after that) is that even legal? Or would that be kidnapping?

Edit: forgot to add my state- North Dakota.

Answer:
 You may leave when you are 18.  A minor may not leave without the permission of the parent.  So your brother, at age 14, cannot freely leave.  However, if your parents consent, he would be permitted to live elsewhere.  Do you have a supportive relative who would be willing and able to care for him?

Also, being 18 and taking care of a 14-year old is right up there in difficulty.  The likelihood that you could earn enough money to support the two of you, while being a supportive parent to your brother are slim.Answer #2: That would be kidnapping.


Title: My business is being harassed by a group of people on facebook.

Question:
A group of people (theyre all friends) whom I have never met or had any interaction with have begun to rate my business terribly. They have also left reviews calling my husband a rapist and a promotor of rape. Im not sure what to so at this point. They’re all 18 to 25. The damage has been done. I would just like them to leave me alone. How do you send a Cease and desist if you dont have an address to mail it to?

I couldn’t change the title for some reason but Im in Kentucky.

Answer:
 Firstly, if you can prove that these ratings and posts:

1. Are Not Grounded in Reality

2. Are harming your business

You can claim damages against them.

Consider this a major plus.

With the cease and desist, it may be worth your while to consult formal legal help.


Title: [KY] Car salesman took my information for personal use.

Question: Hi everyone! My cousin tried to buy a car on Friday and had me try to co-sign for her. I love a few hours away so I provided my information via phone. She ended up not being approved, but the salesman took my information and today tried to add me on Facebook, send me a messenger request, and also texted me to tell me I had a “cute voice”, that I “look like a metal rock girl”, and tiredness to hit on me and invite me to a show in my town here soon. I’m wildly uncomfortable that he took my personal information after having never met me. Who knows what else he recorded....my social? My work information? My home address?? Who knows. I don’t feel particularly scared or threatened, and I already complained to the store manager. Are there any security or privacy laws that he’s violated by doing this, or is there perhaps a higher authority I can report this to? Thanks a bunch!

Answer:
 > Are there any security or privacy laws that he’s violated by doing this, or is there perhaps a higher authority I can report this to?

You can report it to the dealership. Which you have already done. They may or may not discipline him.

> Who knows what else he recorded....my social? My work information? My home address?

You gave him your social security number on the phone? While this is not unusual, why... oh, I see, you were going to co-sign. Yeah, don't do that. No co-signing.


Title: Wrongful Termination

Question:
Hello,

My friend was recently terminated from his job as an associate at a Planet Fitness in Ohio. He was dating a co-worker there, and she "coincidentally" broke up with him immediately after he was fired. She also has a good relationship with the manager that fired him. He has worked there for 9 months, and never missed work or was ever late. His reason for being terminated was that "he did not offer a new member a tour of the gym", and he has made clear that he would have given a tour if the member asked him for one. The manager attempted to fire him over the phone, but could not get ahold of him, so did it when he showed up for his shift. We have reason to believe his ex-gf (who is still an employee there) was involved with getting him fired. She and the manager are close friends, as i said above. She also showed no emotion when he was fired, and broke up with him 3 days later. He went in there today and asked for a copy of the company policy and a file of the complaint, but she (the manager) refused to give him a file of the complaint. He wants to contact my father-in-law, who is a lawyer and pursue this further. Any advice on what to do next, and is it worth hiring a lawyer?

Answer:
 what's your theory?  sexual harassment?  I don't see any retaliation or quid pro quo. doesn't seem to indicate a power imbalance between the two.

firing someone for dating a coworker is fine. firing someone for not giving a tour is fine. firing someone because another employee you like better whispered something in your ear is fine.

and the employee manual won't save him. it's not an employment contract.


Title: Employer policies around discussing salary in the US

Question:
See [this thread](https://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7e8r3x/what_is_unethical_as_fuck_but_is_extremely_common/dq3droa/). Seems like a good bit of armchair lawyering, a few people saying they have close experience with it, but there's a fair amount there that sounds sketchy, so I was wondering if I could get a couple questions answered:

1. If an employer writes "don't discuss salary" in their policies, can that be used against them in the absence of any actual firing? I.e. could the NLRB go after them preemptively, or would there have to be a wrongful termination suit, or a report involving an actual firing? (I noticed, for example, that all of the cases listed [on this site](https://www.govdocs.com/can-employees-discuss-pay-salaries/) involve actual enforcement of the policy.)

2. In the case of a firing that is nominally "without cause", how does such a written policy affect their position in a wrongful termination suit? Intuitively, it seems like it would be the kind of thing that would cause headaches for the employer, but it also seems like if that were the case, employers' lawyers would universally tell them to stay away from these policies. (And anyway, I know that the law is often counterintuitive).

Answer:
 Saw that thread this morning, and there was a lot of misinformation.  The biggest being not knowing how at-will employment interacts with specific employment laws.  But besides that, there's a huge misconception about how the NLRA deals with protected concerted activity (which includes discussing salary).  The biggest distinguishing point is that the NLRA only covers employees eligible to unionize.  You might think that's a lot of people, but there's one major carve out: Management & Supervisors.  If you're in a supervisory role, you're not able to unionize (broadly speaking).  So a company can make all kinds of restrictions on those employees that wouldn't be allowable on others.  So when you can fire the VP of Marketing for talking about his pay, but not his administrative assistant.

In answer to your specific questions

1) The NLRB won't have standing or cause to investigate without some kind of enforcement of the policy.  There would need to be disciplinary action or termination as a result of the policy.

2) Again, the policy would need to be invoked or the stated reason for the firing would need to be shown to be mere subtext for the true reason (a violation of this rule).  If you get laid off or fired and never have any issue with salary discussion, it doesn't matter what the policy is.  If you discuss pay and are disciplined for it, that's a violation (assuming you qualify under the NLRA).  If you discuss pay and then they "just so happen" to lay you off without cause immediately after, you can make a case


Title: what kind of legal action can I take to return money from a charge dispute with a customers bank?

Question: I sold an e-gift card on ebay recently. I asked the buyer if they would like me to print and mail it, send the code then, or both. They requested I send them the code (all this is documented), so I did. This was January 4th it was sold. In the middle of march their credit card company disputed the charge, siding with their customer who is pretending i did not send them this code. Pay pal helped me defend myself, I showed the ebay messages, and I compiled other documentation of the sale. I have a recording from where I called Victoria secret customer service to find out that the card was used the day after purchase in the full amount. I was not able to send that to the bank or paypal because it was a sound file. The bank is still disputing the charge, and this person is still pretending I never sent the item.

Answer: I'm surprised Paypal helped you at all; Ebay specifically prohibits the sale of e-gift cards for exactly this reason. I think your only recourse is small claims at this point. You won't be eligible for Ebay seller protection.


Title: [CA] I committed sexual battery on a UC campus, and may be reported. What should I do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 * Stop talking about it.
* If anyone asks anything or if this is brought up in any way by the police, or the campus police, *don't say anything* and get an attorney.
* Consider getting the help you need and resigning from your position of authority because clearly you don't respect women enough to be in a position of power over them. Answer #2: Definiteoy stop talking about it, admit nothing, and lawyer directly up. Also, delete this post. It's a confession with enough information to identify you. Answer #3: Stop talking about it to anyone.
Stop posting about it online.
Stop, just stop.

In the morning you call an criminal law attorney and do ONLY what he says. Answer #4: Shut up, lawyer up, and stay calm. Admit nothing. If the police want to talk to you, repeat only this line, "Id like to speak with my attorney, i have nothing else to say. Please get my attorney. Thank you. " no other words.

I am not your attorney.


Title: Worked at Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) for restaurant Maggie's in August - September. Holding off on pay.

Question:
Hi,

Between August and September I worked for restaurant Maggie's, CNE is a huge event in Toronto, ON.

It was three weeks of work, almost every single day, except for the random off day they gave. They weren't that great but I needed the money. What I mean by that is things like, although they legally are supposed to give us 30 mins breaks for any shifts over 5 hours and a bit, they were barely giving us one 15 minute break in a shift. Even then, it wasn't regular, it was when they felt like it. Some of my breaks were actually in the last hour of my shift.

I'm currently in the UK, I'm a student here and they found out that about me. I think because they found that out, that I won't be in Canada soon after I stopped working there, they might think it's okay to not send me my cheques. They've currently sent me none.

A few weeks ago received a text from my family member, who wrote to her acting like it was me, saying I still haven't received anything. She said it as because she didn't have my SIN (social insurance number). That's bullshit because I gave it to her three times. Once when I applied on a form and now twice over text. My family member texted her again now, and she's saying she didn't have a mailing address. So what's she been doing all this time? It's BS.

What can I do? Please help me if you can with any advice.

It's difficult because I'm in the UK now for my final university year too.

Answer:
 You can call ministry of labor and they will help you get your money back and you can also put in a work complaint. See if they can open a case with your family member as the contact on file.

Toll-free: 1-800-531-5551

Tel: 416-326-7160

TTY: 1-866-567-8893


Title: Photo used without consent

Question:
Hi legaladvice, I have a weird one for you.

Someone I know customized their credit card using a photo of me (where you would normally put a photo of a pet, if that's your thing) without my consent. They do not live in the same state as I do (Washington/Utah).

I'm wondering if there is anything, legally, I can do about this? The individual was confronted about it, but they are still using the card and never acknowledged that I was (and am) very uncomfortable with my face being front and center on their credit card.

I haven't been able to find any useful information, so there likely may be nothing I can do. I would prefer not to escalate the issue if it's possible, but I'm not even sure if there is anything the bank can do. What are your thoughts?

Edit: thank you everyone for your responses. I didn't think there was much I could do, but it was worth a shot. I appreciate everyone's time!
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 How did they get the photo? Who took the photo they used? What is your relationship to this person? Answer #2: It's very unlikely that putting a photograph of you on their own personal credit card is a use that would require your permission as the subject of the photo.

If the credit card user did not take the photo themselves, then they would technically need a proper license or other permission from the copyright holder to reproduce it, although just printing it on their own credit card is unlikely to make them liable for any damages unless the photograph's copyright has been registered (in which case there are statutory damages that could apply). It may be a violation of their credit card company's terms and conditions for their photo cards; the odds of the company doing anything about it are likely slim, but you could have the copyright holder contact them to file a complaint.

If the credit card user took the photograph themselves, then there is no issue with copyright, though, so unless the photograph is being used or displayed in a way that violates some other law (revenge porn, defamation, fraud/ID theft, etc.) I doubt you have any legal method to resolve this.


Title: Can a gun legally be confiscated from a drunk?

Question:
So I'm the 15 year old son of a drunk and I live in the same house with him part of the year. He is constantly drunk and owns a handgun. I, and several other people don't feel safe in the house when he's intoxicated and was wondering if there was any recourse

Edit: I'm in Montana, USA

Answer:
 It is not illegal to be a drunk and a gun owner.

In your state, you cannot be intoxicated and conceal carry.

If you are threatened with the gun by your father, call the police/CPS and report it.


Title: [TX] My mother refuses to give me money from a check that was written to me a few years ago. I deposited it into my account, which she had control over, and she then took it and put it into a new savings account I can't access. I want it back.

Question:
Sorry if you guys see this type of question a lot. I searched the subreddit and saw similar questions, but none of the comments really gave light for my predicament.

*Slightly more detail:

Okay. When I was in high school, my step-grandparents wrote me a check for 20,000 dollars. My mother threatened me with various punishments (grounding, taking my computer away, etc) to deposit the check into my savings account which she has direct control over. I did not sign over the check, but I deposited it into that account. She then took the money out of that account and put it into a different account which I have no control over.

Fast forward to now. I'm in college, currently unable to work because of my course load, and due to certain circumstances, I have become increasingly desperate for money, and I'm finally at the point where I'm considering legal action.

*Do I have legal rights/ownership of this money?

EDIT: Perhaps a better way to phrase this would be: Would I have any legal standing to claim this money in, say, a small claims court or similar?

Answer:
 you put the money into a shared account.  she has a legal right to anything deposited into that account.  no wonder she was so threatening for you to deposit it there.

if you want to get it back, you have to sue her for it.


Title: Friend being abused by parents

Question: One of my friends is being abused by her parents. They beat her and slap her and punish her for being a female and the oldest in the house. She is coming up on her driving test soon and is scared of what’s going to happen to her if she fails. They’ve also forced her into a dodgy job that pays her in cash well below the minimum wage. Slight problem is that she is 19. Is there anything I can do or tell her to do? If there is something for her to do I think she’ll be too scared to do it.

Answer: She can absolutely move out any time she decides she wants to do that. Being 19 doesn't complicate anything, it makes them very simple; she's an adult and she just leaves or she just stays. She can call the police any time she's assaulted, but if he goal is to get out of the house it is as simple as walking out the door then never walking back through it.


Title: Finding marijuana in a new home?

Question:
So, this situation happened to me years ago. I never thought of it then, but I am curious now.

Yeaars ago when I was in college, my buddy and I moved into a new apartment our last year discovered some contraband.

It was a 4 bedroom apartment that already had 2 guys living in it. Originally there were 4 guys roomming together. 2 moved out and left college. A couple months later, my buddy John and I moved into this place.

Well, it was pretty messy. John and I cleaned up the place and moved our stuff in after making some space for our things among the current tenet's things. The other 2 roommates pointed at some things on the kitchen table and informed us thes eitems belonged to the 2 other guys that had moved. On the table were a few travel coffee mugs, a shirt, the soft sided cooler, and a couple of knick knacks.

Anyway, we left the stuff there and didnt touch it for 2 months (lazy college kids) assuming it would get reclaimed (we were told it might be reclaimed). Literally, did not put a finger on any of it.

2 months later, I needed a travel mug, and so I picked up one of the travel mugs the former roommates left behind. Opened it up, and lo and behold was a very large bag of marijuana.

Now, my buddy John and I...uh, properly disposed of this surprising discovery.

But it lead me to wonder what would have happened had somehow that been found by someone *not* us before we found it.

Lets say an employee of the apartment or law enforcement somehow discover this marijuana in a former tenet's travel mug in our kitchen, and we have no idea it was there.

What would happen?

Answer:
 So broadly speaking, in order to convict you of possession of marijuana, the state has to prove a guilty state of mind. This means you have to have intentionally or at least knowingly possessed. So it being there without your knowledge would be a complete bar to conviction. So if you testified to everything you said above and the jury decided to believe you, you would be not guilty.

BUT back in the real world, outside of legal theory, intent can be inferred from your possession of it. If a cop had legal cause to be in your house and had legal justification to open that travel mug, you would have almost certainly been arrested and likely convicted. It is very common to use that defense thst you didn't even know that it wss there. Unless the previous tenants fessed up to leaving ot there and the jury had bought that you hadn't looked, you'd almost certainly have been convicted.


Title: [Detroit, MI] Chase bank is attempting to steal from my family

Question:
I realize no one on here is obligated to give advice/care about any of these issues, which is why I'd like to thank you all in advance for reading this, and even more so for any contributions you may have.

First, a little bit about my situation. I'm currently on a mortgage through Chase bank with my dad (long story, doesn't really pertain to the situation anyway). It's a different scenario than usual, but it works for us.

This morning I got an email from Capital One, stating that there was recently a change in my credit report. I logged on and found that Chase had hit me for a delinquent/derogatory payment. The thing is, we have never missed a payment. We have records of every payment made. They've been trying to get us to pay more than is required of us since around July/August of last year.

My dad has spent countless hours on the phone with them, trying to see what it's all about. They've told him that they'd take care of it, that there would be no late fees, and everything would be taken care of. This was last month. Now, my credit report is going  to be affected.

I'd like to record all future phone conversations with them. I've read that some states are two party consent, and some you only need one.

I realize this isn't much to go on. I'm pretty frustrated about the whole thing, and I feel like I'm going to have to dig pretty deep on this one to figure out what the deal is. Right now, I'd just some general advice on the course of action to take against these people. Again, any and all advice is welcome.

Answer:
 Does the bank manage your escrow? Because it sounds like either your insurance or property tax went up, so they needed to adjust your payment amount to keep the escrow account funded. And then by only making your regular payments, you've really only been making partial payments. If that's the case, I think the bank is in the right on this.

But if you manage the escrow account separately and it's a fixed rate mortgage; then it does sound odd. Answer #2: Yea there's basically no useful information here. Why have they been trying to get you to pay more? That sounds odd. They don't just randomly ask for more money, so they likely have a very good reason. If you refused, the derogatory mark on your credit may very well be valid.

Bottom line, we need more details.


Title: Need help interpreting a text from an American law school book.

Question:
Hey /r/legaladvice!

I am currently helping a friend interpret an American law school text into more understandable Danish, and we've both gotten stuck on this one part that I cannot understand myself. I was hoping someone with the relevant tort law experience could shed light on what this segment means

"Courts recognize formal exceptions to this basic approach when triers of fact may not rely on their own life experiences in formulating reasonableness standards. These exceptions include individual conduct that violates an explicit norm established by a safety statute; conduct that, although unreasonable, escapes liability because the conduct constitutes a failure to rescue a stranger from danger; and conduct that breaches a special norm arising out of a preexisting relationship between the parties. All of these formal exceptions involve courts delegating standard-setting responsibilities to external sources other than the informal social customs previously encountered by triers of fact in their life experiences. Once proven by evidence at trial, they establish the relevant standards of care. "

This is from the California Law Review, with the title "Learned Hand's Paradox: An Essay on Custom in Negligence Law by James A. Henderson, Jr.*"

From what I could gleam from this, the doctrine suggested here is that Courts can pull in experts to determine the reasonableness of an action when the jury itself cannot be trusted to make that decision based on life decisions. Is that anywhere near correct?

Thanks in advance!

Answer:
 Not quite. The "basic approach" that is named but not described is, presumably, that jurors are the ones who determine what constitutes a reasonable standard of care, generally based on prevailing social norms. This paragraph lists circumstances that depart from that general rule, where the reasonable standard of care is defined by another source (and that definition is then to be applied by jurors, or judges in bench trials). So, for example, if there is a specific safety statute governing certain conduct, what constitutes reasonable care is defined by that statute, not jurors' understanding of norms/life experience. Similarly, if there is a preexisting special relationship between two parties so as to create a special standard of care, jurors must apply that special standard.

It's not about use of experts per se, but rather who defines/determines the standard of care in a certain circumstance. Which is not to say, for example, that no experts were consulted when the legislature wrote a safety statute -- it just does not mean those experts will be brought into court to testify as to the standard of care.


Title: Combination of an incredibly common legal advice question, and an incredibly rare one: can someone avoid child support obligations by entering the witness protection program?

Question: Yes I am asking hypothetically. But say I'm mixed up with some bad bad dudes. Like...DOJ is all up in their business kind of bad dudes. And my problems are further complicated by a pretty massive child support obligation. Would entering the WPP (assume federal, USA) get me out of that obligation? Seems like a new identity would not want to maintain ties, financial or otherwise, with that former life.

Answer:
 > Would entering the WPP (assume federal, USA) get me out of that obligation?

The WPP has various levels of support.  Only the highest level is the one people think of, with new identities and everything.  In the majority of cases, the people involved just get relocated without getting new identities.  They can still pay their support obligations.


Title: Why are schools interested in knowing whether an individual was sexually assaulted off-campus by a stranger?

Answer:
 You're going to have to give a lot more info. High school? College? Nursing school? What country? If the US what state? How is the question asked? Is everyone asked?

For example, in Utah, BYU has been investigating *victims* of sexual assault. This controversial practice would be difficult if they didn't know who had been sexually assaulted.


Title: [NY] Buyer of used car I am selling wants me to put a lower sell price on the bill of sale. Should I?

Question:
I am selling a car as part of the settlement of my mothers trust, as the car is a trust asset. The buyer of the car wants me to put on the bill of sale $500, but we are actually selling the car for $2850.

If I refuse to do this the sale will probably fall through, but I cannot help but think that I am leaving myself open to legal consequences if I do this.

If i insist on my copy of the bill of sale the 2850 is accurately stated and I leave his copy blank (leaving him to put whatever he desires) and sign that, am I still leaving myself vulnerable?

[edit] I insisted that all the documents have the correct amount, and the buyer agreed. Car has been sold. Thanks for your replies.

Answer:
 Fraud. Tax evasion. Don't do it. Find another buyer. Answer #2: You don't sign a document with blank spaces.

He's doing this to reduce the amount he has to pay in vehicle title/registration fees.

Going along with this can come back and bite you in the ass in so many ways that it should be an automatic "no" just on those grounds.

Do you have a duty to sell the car at market value? Then why did you sell it for $500 when blue book is $2500? Oh, so did you lie about the sale price? Did you maybe sell it for $500 and then take a kickback under the table from the buyer? Tell you what, we're going to have to look into every single thing you've done regarding this trust now. Go grab some lube and get comfortable.


Title: So my check bounces at my new job

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 It probably doesn't actually 'bounce' if you were to cash it somewhere else. You're employer though is most likely using some money laundering scheme.Answer #2: > he told me to ONLY take my check next door to a liquor store that is connected to the restaurant and cash it there only. If I take it anywhere else it will bounce

So basically they're paying you in cash, but the cash is handed to you by a second corporation that may or may not be officially associated with the first. This is shadier than a shady thing that's shady.

Get out.Answer #3: The only thing I can think of is the place you work at might have a kick back system with the place next door. Party stores tend to charge for cashing checks, they might be kicking back to the owner of your work in exchange for them directing their checks there. However I would still think that if you took the check to a bank it should not bounce.

Actually something else just occurred to me. Is it possible that your work owner might have another arrangement with the store owner to not even cash the checks but return them to him and be reimbursed in cash. The store pockets the money they take for charging and the owner doesnt have to deal with bank fee's?

I agree this whole situation seems very shady. Your pay check should be able to be cashed at any bank where you do business or have an account.


Title: Do merchants have to accept military ID as a valid form of ID?

Question: In FL. The person doesn't believe my IDs are real/valid. I do look like I'm 18 but I'm 24 . All IDs are in good order.

Answer: They can refuse any ID they want. Think of it this way. The penalties for selling to a minor are on the cashier themselves, not the company. That minimum wage register jockey is the one facing the fines, not the store. So they tend to err on the side of caution if their training wasn't sufficient, and the law backs them up on that.


Title: Fiduciary abuse of my disabled sister

Question:
[Kansas]

About two years ago my sister[23] who is like a 12 year old moved out of my mother's house to state funded program that lets them try to live as independently as possible with 24/7 staff taking care of all the residents in the neighborhood they set up there. This was initiated because while still living with my mother she had a support worker coming to the house to teach sister to clean dishes, cook food ect., things my mother could have taught her but always said sister didn't have the ability to learn. It came about that sister said to her worker that my mother was having her clean up the cigarette butts that the neighbor of the duplex was flicking into the yard and then it was learned that my mother was putting her down disability checks and sister's check's into the same account at the bank.

So this state program more or less (from what I gather) told my mom that it was fiduciary abuse to not have separate accounts and that they recommend sister live in their neighborhood under their program and receive their services there.

So now two years later sister is moving back home to mother's and I have text message screenshots of my mother saying that again she is having sister's money being put into her account along with her own.

I think I'll call the adult/child abuse hotline but I wondered if there was any other number I could call. On Monday their money will be deposited and my sister's money will once again be spent on what my mother wants to buy for herself. My sister does not have the capacity to stand up for herself or to even know that something isn't right.

Who all do I call to stop this and get my mother for this fiduciary abuse because this is the second time and she very well knows she has to have separate accounts for the checks but refuses to do so?

Answer: APS is where to go. You might also contact her old social worker and let her know what is going on.


Title: (California) $160,000 in back pay owed?

Question:
So my wife works for a multi national retailer and had 15 years with this company when she moved abroad with the intention of transferring to one of their stores in that country.
She returned to the US after 5 years never having transferred (pregnancy and moving away from area where there was a store). She then got rehired at a store in the US but at a lower pay rate. The position she was hired for requires lots of prior experience but her pay didn't reflect on that and she thought because she had been gone for 5 years this was "normal".
She has now been with them another 10 years and is starting to hear that she had the right to be hired back at her old pay rate. We have done he math and it adds up to around $17,500 per year in lost wages.
Is there a case to be made for retroactively receiving this money that she had the right to all along?

Answer:
 The wages weren't lost. She got paid whatever she agreed to work for.  Unless this was below minimum wage she doesn't have the right to any more.Answer #2: > She has now been with them another 10 years and is starting to hear that she had the right to be hired back at her old pay rate.

Heard where?

>  Is there a case to be made for retroactively receiving this money that she had the right to all along?

No, she wasn't entitled to that amount. Absent a contract guaranteeing a specific rate, employers are free to pay their employees whatever they'd like as long as they pay minimum wage.


Title: Parents are gifting me $1M property, but want to maintain 1% ownership because they don't like my partner

Question:
Location is in Canada.

My parents signed a contract to buy an apartment via presale a few years ago. This year, they removed their names from the contract and gave me the exclusive right to buy the apartment, which will be constructed next year. However, they strongly disapprove of my new partner, and want to retain 1% ownership of the apartment for reasons unclear to me.

The price of the apartment has doubled from 500k to 1M. However, I am unable to fully finance a mortgage for the remainder of the 500k myself without assistance from my parents. Neither would it be easy for my parents to finance it alone without my assistance.

My parents despise my partner and do not want the property to ever fall in my partner's hands. What are the legal ramifications of giving them 1% ownership in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in down payment? Would I be able to sell the property or make other decisions unilaterally with 99% ownership?

Answer:
 You should speak to an estate and family law attorney for your general questions.

I will say that were I in your shoes I'd likely reject the "gift" because it is a very thinly veiled control mechanism that will cause substantial ill will to pervade your daily life.


Title: Employer requiring work on approved vacation

Question:
I received an email yesterday from our administrator. I was on a scheduled vacation day and apparently there was a coverage issue in the morning. In the email she said, “Also, although I know you were off today CarterLawler, there is an expectation that in times of shortages, we all have to work a little extra.”

FWIW, I’m a salaried exempt employee in NYS.  Should I formally request the vacation hours be credited back to me as I was required to work on a scheduled vacation day?

Edit: Location is New York State

Answer:
 >Should I formally request the vacation hours be credited back to me as I was required to work on a scheduled vacation day?

Yes. If they say no, then you have a problem.

Make sure to print out the email and provide that as justification for getting your vacation time back.Answer #2: Do you fill out a timesheet? Answer #3: >Should I formally request the vacation hours be credited back to me as I was required to work on a scheduled vacation day?

I would, depending on the system your company has setup. If you're expected to work, then I don't see the 'Time Off' part of 'Paid Time Off.' Just know they can still fire you, though if your company were to pay out for vacation, they would need to pay you for what you worked.Answer #4: I would say, sorry but I am currently in Mexico and don't think I can make it into the office today. Answer #5: Ignore the email and when you get back to the office just tell them you were doing vacation stuff. You can say you never saw the email or just simply say you had other obligations and couldn’t come in.


Title: Streaming tv shows not on Netflix/Hulu/etc.

Question:
Location is Pennsylvania, USA. I know that it's illegal to download torrents of tv shows due to copyright laws. Is it unlawful to watch shows/movies on a website streaming them (knowing that's likely unlawful for the hosts to post them) if you don't personally download them?

Edit: more scenario information in the parentheses

Answer: You're prob not going to get a letter about it but its still technically illegal. Torrenting is worse because of the distribution aspect of it, as with torrenting each client is uploading their downloaded portions to the rest of the swarm.Answer #2: Still illegal.


Title: I haven’t had hot water in my apartment for 27 days and still ongoing. [Arizona]

Question:
I live in Arizona and my girlfriend and I moved into a “newly renovated” apartment complex in June. This place has been nothing but problems and we’ve had a 27 day streak with no hot water. This issue has happened in the past where management would shut off the water without notice and when it came back on we’d be without hot water for a few days. Now it’s almost been a month and we’ve had no hot water.

Many tenants have notified the management team, including myself. All responses to this issue have been, “We’re looking into the issue and can’t seem to find the problem. Just hang in there with us while we work this out.” Per the management team, it seems like the problem is with temperature control. Some tenants are getting uncomfortably scorching hot water and others, like myself, are getting ice cold water.

I’m scheduled to talk once more with the management team tomorrow to discuss what the issue is. I’ll also be explaining why I’ll be withholding rent and requesting a copy of our lease.

My question here is how can I protect myself as a renter in this situation? Would it be possible to break my lease with minimal penalties?

Any other advise or information would be gratefully appreciated!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 This statute says what your recourse is as a tenant:

https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/01364.HtmAnswer #2: \>  I’ll also be explaining why I’ll be withholding rent and requesting a copy of our lease.

I'd get everyone in the building on board. Nobody pays rent and landlord will have to do something.Answer #3: You can also try contacting your city's code enforcement department and report the issueAnswer #4: Get some local legal advice on withholding rent. If you don’t do it correctly, it could backfire and be used against you to evict. May be better to pay now and pursue it in small claims court later.

Check with local code enforcement. You all may have more traction with the overly hot water as a scald hazard. Most codes limit hot water at 120 F.

https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Hot_Water_Temperature_Laws.php#ARAnswer #5: Never withhold rent. It's one thing  everybody wants to do but it can shoot you in the foot if you do it. You dont pay rent and he evicts you and you say to the judge there was no hot water and they  will want proof.

Go to code enforcement. Also have a lawyer wright a letter letting him know what can and may legally happen if he dose not rectify the issue immediately.


Title: Sexually harassed at work

Question: I (19f) have worked at a store since I was 16. They recently hired temp people for covid, and one of them was put in my department. The first day I worked alone with him he sexually harassed me. He got too close to me after asking him repeatedly to back up, said he would take pictures of my ass, and repeatedly was trying to get me to go to an area without a camera so he could fuck me. Creepy as fuck right? I ended up reporting and he got suspended. The manager of the store said the guy that harassed me wasn't going to be scheduled to work while I was there if he came back. The company has a zero tolerance policy but I walked in today and the guy that harassed me was standing at the door working (it's been about 2 weeks). I was obviously very uncomfortable because he had to know I reported him, he knows where I work, and i fear he's gonna try to hurt me or retaliate in some other way. The company is disregarding my safety and putting me in danger by allowing this to happen, I just dont really know where to go from here. Any advice would be appreciated

Answer: Put a formal complaint to HR. Tell them they are opening the company to a lawsuit since they are not enforcing their own zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment.Answer #2: Formal complaint to HR is one solid method. If it continues and the company does nothing, the company becomes liable too under the 1968 Civil Rights Act. In which case, you have cause to sue both the company and the offender. I'd start documenting the incidents yourself. Write it down. The date and exactly what happened and be as descriptive as possible. Also keep a copy of the formal complaint you give to HR. If you can do more to get your story corroborated, that would be good too.


Title: [CA] What do I do if a police officer isn't listening to me?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > So yesterday I somehow got put into a surprise altercation with an older woman.

Why don't you tell us what happened?

The police don't have to be nice to you.


Title: [California] There is a policy in UC school gyms that prevents students from recording each other in the gym. Is this legal?

Question:
https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech/photographers-rights
>Taking photographs and video of things that are plainly visible in public spaces is a constitutional right—and that includes transportation facilities, the outside of federal buildings, and police and other government officials carrying out their duties

I can see how the school gym is not an open and public space since you have to swipe your student card (and have previously purchased a student gym membership) to enter the facility. But it's unclear to me whether recording, even if it's against the gym's policy, is allowed.

I assume if this was a private gym, then I would have to abide by their rules. But since UC schools are state institutions, what is the verdict?

Answer:
 They are still educational institutions and can have nearly any rules they want for their students.

I can think of not one reason why this rule would be illegal.


Title: [MI] How do I make it clear that I do not consent to a search?

Question:
This took place in a small town in the middle of nowhere Michigan.

It was around 11:00 pm, and I was driving alone to go see a friend. I was pulled over for "registration tags obscured by dirt" according to the officer. This was on a back county road and it was completely deserted. We went through the normal license and registration stuff, and then he told me to get out of the car. I complied, and he asked if I minded if he searched my car. I said that I don't consent to a search, and he kinda just grabbed me and put me against the car and started patting me down, but it did not feel very professional, and he made a couple of creepy comments while doing it. Then he basically just announced he was searching the car anyway, did so, found absolutely nothing, gave me another uncomfortable pat down, and told me I could go.

Obviously I didn't handle this very well, considering how weird everything got, so I wanted to post here to ask about how to properly handle a situation like this in the future. What should I do if I'm pulled over and the officer asks to search my car?

Answer: IMO, you did fine.  You say "I don't consent to a search."  Then you let them do whatever they're going to do, and contest it or complain later.  You do not try to intervene or argue at the time.  It won't work and could get you arrested.


Title: Mom stole from me?

Question:
So I'm 22 and in Texas, and one of my most expensive possessions is a watch from my dad that means a lot. It's probably worth a couple thousand dollars. My mom took it one day, saying that she would get it resized for me (since it never fully fit well), but then soon changed her story to her just not wanting me to have it anymore. But it's my watch. I wore it every day -- it was given to me. It's been around 15 months now of me asking for it back, and she refuses -- a lot of it being with the attitude of "I'm your mom, anything that's yours is actually mine", which just isn't true....

Is there anything I can do about this? Is this legally wrong? I really can't tell if I can do anything about it, and it's driving me crazy and it's starting to look like she actually will just never give it back when it wasn't hers to take in the first place.

Answer:
 If your father gave it to you, yes, it's theft and you should call the police (non-emergency line of course). They're willingness to act could go either way. Most likely, they'll tell you it's a civil matter due to so much time passing since the *theft*. If they refuse to act, you can sue her in small claims court for the current value of the watch. I realize the watch most likely has more sedimental value than monetary value but in most cases small claims court will only find a judgement of the value of the item you lost.

Also, it's obvious, but saying it anyway, do either of the actions will most likely further tarnish your relationship with your mother.

> a lot of it being with the attitude of "I'm your mom, anything that's yours is actually mine", which just isn't true....

Technically it was true... when you were 17. The day you hit 18 that flew out the window.


Title: [IN] Employer is editing my timecard to matched closer to scheduled hours, rather than hours worked.

Question: I decided to check my timecards to see how much my upcoming check would be. I found that my employer has been going back and editing my hours. For example, I am scheduled 6-2, actually clock in at 5:55 and don't clock out til 2:45. They edit it to say that I clocked in at 6 and left at 2:30. I am an hourly employee, so all these small edits add up. What recourse do I have? What steps should I take?

Answer:
 An employer is allowed to round time, but only if it is done consistently. So 5:55 can become 6:00 but 2:55 has to be 3:00, not 2:45.

This is completely legal. It also means that if you are consistently showing up 5 minutes early and leaving 5 minutes late, that they never have to pay you for your time.

In your example, I believe that 2:45 should have rounded to 3:00, not 2:30 unless it was actually 2:44, in which case, rounding it back to 2:30 is completely fine.


Title: Company accidentally sent an ordered product twice and now they want their money back - Netherlands

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 The company has the right to ask for the return of their extra bag of dog food, as long as they pay for the shipping back.

It seems they are trying to find a win-win scenario and offer you that bag at a reduced price - you win by getting a discount, they win by not having the ship the bag back to themselves.

If you have a dog and will use that food (which is likely not that perishable), it seems like you'd come out ahead by accepting their discounted price... but if you want to ask them to pay for the shipment back, that is also an option.

You do NOT have the option of just keeping merchandise you did not pay for though.

EDIT:

/u/Korll provided a Dutch law below.Answer #2: Sounds like you owe them a bag of dog food or the money for it. If the roles were flipped, I'm pretty sure you'd want your money, too.


Title: Speeding ticket- was not speeding, HELP

Question:
I need help with a traffic ticket I was given by an officer using a hand laser while walking (making it very inaccurate).

I was not speeding and I am being charged over $220. How can I contest this when I cannot make it to court?

*More details: It's a sunny day. I'm driving on left lane. The cop was finishing up with someone else on the left shoulder. He was walking back to his car when I was passing by and made a gesture. Didn't realize what that meant so I kept going. He chased and pulled me over on right shoulder. He seemed angry I didn't respond to his hand gesture. I apologized and didn't know what he meant.

I saw him from miles away so I was already monitoring my speed

*EDIT: This was in Dallas TX, the ticket code says excessive speed, marked as going 79 in a 65 but was actually going 65-70 and was in the left-most lane. There were cars going much faster than me.

Answer:
 If the LASER was affected by the officer walking, the effect would be that it would not lock the target in and display a speed.

If the officer was able to keep the beam on your car, then the reading is good.

LASER is a *very* accurate way to determine a vechile's speed.


Title: It's been a week can we change the locks to our apartments yet?

Question:
This is in California, we all (in our complex) realized EVERYONE'S KEYS OPEN EVERYONE'S DOORS. We ALL have master keys! There are 22 of us! We have ALL tried our landlord but NO response for a full week now. Nobody feels safe especially since high turnover.

How long do we have to wait until we can change the locks on our doors? A week? A month? A year?

Answer: Change the locks. Preserve the old one so you can put it back on when you move out. If you get sued, defend yourself. This is a basic safety issue.


Title: So, my dog ran into a glass door and broke it at the kennel, TX

Question:
First off, the dog is not cut or bleeding and I've been told is okay.  Now onto the question..

I got a text from the kennel keeping our dogs during while we were camping this weekend, that one of the dogs ran into the glass door and the door broke. This is not a kennel that keeps the dogs in small kennels all day, they spend only the overnight in their 5x8 kennels. During the day they are in a yard or indoors in a large room.

We like this place because they are not in the smaller kennels all day and they get exercise while we are out of town.

Now, this being said, I'm not against having to pay, if it is something I am liable for. Is this something that falls under what I should or would have to pay for? Or should I see if their insurance would cover it and offer to cover the deductible?

Edit:  [Said Idiots](http://i.imgur.com/IZm4TL2.jpg) the black one is the one that broke the door.

Edit #2

The owner said I was in no was responsible for the door, and the worker that spoke to me about the door should not have asked me about that without speaking to her first. They did have my dog looked at, at the vet I normally use. The big baby is fine. He tripped over another small dog and fell into the door.

I did offer to pay 100 towards the door. Again, I know I am not responsible, and the owner did not ask me to do this. However for the sake of supporting a small local business that I have had a good relationship with, I wanted to do this. Thanks guys for all the help.

Answer:
 Ooh, a Dog Law thread that isn't a bite incident! Game on!

The owner is not liable in this case. The dogs were given to the kennel's care. They assume responsibility for the dog's damage to their property. Dogs lack agency; they aren't held responsible for their actions in these circumstances.

You offer to pay nothing. With all due respect to my furry clients: dogs are idiots. They're known to have trouble seeing glass doors; I had a beagle bounce off of one once loud enough that the entire room shook. Answer #2: They have a glass door in a dog kennel?

How stupid is that?

Dogs don't automatically understand glass doors and the concept of transparent materials. My dog knows our glass sliding door. But it was open and she ran through the screen door and bent it.

A kennel should have materials designed for dogs. She ran into the glass door because she didn't know it was a door. They should have had a solid door, or plexiglass with some markings on it to protect their clients.

I would flip this around and tell them you will get back to them after checking out your dog to make sure she is not injured. Answer #3: Did you sign anything when you dropped them off?  Unless you signed something stating you would be responsible for property damage caused by your dogs then no, no way you are responsible for a broken door.Answer #4: Have you tried calling them and asking?

Because if they don't want to charge you (and they shouldn't) this is all moot.


Title: Sexual assault accusations

Question:
Hey I’m from NY and I have an ex-“best”friend, lets call her Sam, who I have slept with a few times in the past. We would always cuddle half naked and playful grab each other’s asses. Last time I was over, which was several months ago, she smoked and I was drunk and high. We fell asleep cuddling and I woke up to her putting my hands on her breasts. We ended up having sex that night and i went home. This was how she’d initate sex in the past.

The next day Sam came up to me pissed off saying that the night was nonconsensual. This confused me and I recounted with her what happened last night reminding her that she initiated like she used to and even pulled out a vibrator for herself. She continued to deny that it was consensual, said that she was asleep and didn’t pull out a vibrator. After she said that left.

This was the first time I ever any issues with her and thought I may have hurt her feelings. I want to apologize and sent her this text after the argument:

 “Sam
 What bothers me most is the fact that it takes me so long to gather my thoughts and respond. From my point of view, last night occurred without thought. When I become aroused, for what ever reason that may have caused it, I don't think and just act. The thoughts of how you are in your current state, what you mean to me, what I should be doing instead. These things are wiped clean from my mind. I truly am sorry that it caused you to feel the way you do, no matter how the situation would've occurred.
Driving home last night I realized that what we did was not supposed to happen. I didn't know how you would react just yet, 'tis why I didn't bring it up yet. The thing that i realize now, more then ever, is that when sexual situations occur, my brain shuts off. And that scares the shit out of me. Like the first time we ever had sex, you asked me why I didn't use a condom the next day. I didn't fully realize that until then and was terrified out my mind that I went against something I clearly stated I wouldn't do beforehand.
What I am trying to say is that I didn't mean to hurt you in anyway and that I do need help with situations that are like these. I don't know why my brain shuts off but I do know that I do need to take control of this, fast. It seems like I am better able to express my thoughts through text but I do want to speak with you about this face to face to see where you are at and how you feel. I don't want you to think that my part in what happened was the result of any negative way you think I might view you, because it really isn't. I do want to be able to resolve this between us.
Before I finish this message I'd like to say that I realized that I am one who molds how they treat others greatly based on their needs, desires, etc to get along with them well. With you I realized that your level of comfort with your friends is high, and it truly isn't the same with me. For me I guess it becomes a line that one it is crossed means something else. That's why I need your help to be firm when things like, sleeping in the same bed and ass slapping/grabbing aren't done because I'm aware now that in those moments I would actually allow it even if I don't agree with them later on.”

Later on in the week, Sam reach out to me for help to find a job, being that I was personally she go to first for help or moral support. Soon after me helping her find a spot, she goes back to talking to me how we used to, asking to study together and taking naps together again. Besides one or two times, I haven’t slept in the same bed as her though I would still talk to her from time to time and help her with things when she needed it.

After a few months, I had to cut her off because my gf (let’s call her Vicky) heard about the last time Sam and I slept together (I slept with Sam before I met Vicky) and how this she said that it was nonconsenual. Sam then attempted to tarnish my reputation on her snapchat story (though a mutual friend of ours told her how she is flirtatious and promiscuous without me asking him to). She also told my older brother and 2 of her friends that the last time we had sex was unconcensual.

After a month of not speaking to her, I had to befriend her and lie to her saying that Vicky and I broke up. This was because Sam happens to be friends with Vicky’s older sister, who does anything to make my gf’s life miserable, and told her that Vicky and I were dating. That created issues between Vicky’s parents and Vicky.

Now I am in a position where I am “best friends” with Sam. Though I sure that the last time Sam and I had sex was consensual, i think that she will accuse me of sexual assault and bring me to court if I break things off with her again.

Should I be worried?

PS she still tells me that she missed talking to me and my family and that she also missed the food I’d bring her when we “broke up” (she used the term in quotes)

Answer:
 Stop talking to crazy people and you won't find yourself in crazy situations.

There's nothing we can recommend about what may happen -- who knows? Stop having sex with people whose recollection of whether the sex was consensual is unreliable. Answer #2: My suggestion -- you should cut her off as soon as possible. Stop seeing her, stop talking to her, block her from social media, and block her number. If the police come to talk to you, lawyer up, but beyond that you should stop talking about this with anyone other than your attorney.

You say that the sex was consensual, she apparently disagrees, and while that's still up in the air you are at risk of being reported to the police and having your reputation tarnished socially as well. It doesn't make sense to continue the relationship with that sword hanging above your head.


Title: Annulment in Illinois? What qualifies as "fraud"? Help :(

Question:
Hey Reddit. Coming to you today in the hopes you can provide some valuable advice.

**Her situation**: My friend, let's call her Ashley. Ashley is a natural born US Citizen. Your typical all-American woman. She met a guy who was extremely nice, "loving" and caring. They dated for 7-8 months. He revealed to her that he's illegal. They eloped and had a civil marriage. They moved in together. Immediately, he turned extremely mean and alcoholic. He started making really weird threats as in "If I go down, you're going down with me" and some other disturbing insurance-related jokes. He has even admitted to raping her via txt msg. Overall, the relationship turned very sour very quickly. Not even a month in, she started feeling frauded. She moved out shortly after.

**The Lawyers**: She has consulted a couple of lawyers. She wants a divorce given this horrible situation. However 3 out of the 4 lawyers have said that in IL, "fraud" is defined by family law. Family law states that "fraud" doesn't include being frauded by an illegal, but rather inability to have sex or when the other person has STDs. She's upset over this, because she doesn't want a divorce. She doesn't see it as a fair situation.

**The law in IL**: Annulment in Illinois is:
* One spouse could not consent to be married. This can be because of:
* Mental disability
* Influence of drugs or alcohol
* Force, duress, or fraud
* One spouse cannot have sexual intercourse. The other spouse must not have known this at the time of the marriage.
* One spouse was under age 18 and did not have consent from a parent, guardian, or court.
* The marriage was illegal.

I feel like the law was created just for this specific scenario -- an illegal frauds a US Citizen into marriage. It seems absurd that in IL, this isn't covered by the law.

So, what should she do here? Can she file for annulment? Any advice?

Answer: "Being a jerk" isn't grounds for an annulment. And that's what the guy is, a jerk. Your friend knew his legal status and voluntarily married him anyway. He got what he wanted, and so he stopped pretending to be decent. Advise your friend to seek a divorce, but an annulment isn't happening.


Title: [UK] Advice on forced sale of house by ex

Question:
Asking on behalf of my girlfriend.

Brief background: her parents split a little over 5 years ago when her father left her mother for another woman (they were never legally married but were together for 25+ years). Since then he has not contributed to the mortgage or maintenance of the property. Her mother has just now received a letter from his solicitor demanding she sell the property. Here's where it gets tricky - when they first split up he signed the house over to her mother. His name still appears on the mortgage, though.

Does he have any claim to the property?

They are seeking legal advice and speaking to the solicitor responsible for the previous agreement, but in the meantime her mother is panicking and I'd like to be able to calm everyone down if there's nothing to worry about.

Answer:
 While you will need a UK solicitor ASAP, I would suggest that it is *incredibly* likely that he has a claim to some of the value in the home.

The court will likely start with looking at how much he has contributed in money over the 25 years, and then adjust the division of assets after (there is a presumption that the division follows the money - but it's only a presumption, it's likely to be adjusted).

Once the value is established, the current owner has a choice - pay out the ex-husband the value (say by getting a new mortgage) or by selling the property and dividing the proceeds.  Yes, under the law he can force a sale of the property to realize his share.  The court can delay the sale for an appropriate amount of time (up to a year typically) to allow for things like the end of the school year, or time to secure a new home to live in, but the court will almost certainly order a sale to realize the value if the present owner cannot pay him out his share.


Title: My name was mentioned in a podcast

Question:
I’m not sure what to do in this situation.  I’m a young adult 20-25 who doesn’t make a lot and am in student debt because I’m still going to school. I like to google my name from time to time to see what pops up. Also I have some friends that do that too and they will google themselves an other fallen friends from the past.  Well a friend told me about a podcast that my ex made.  And told me I should listen to the things that were said about me.

So I went out to the site to see what the fuse was about. Turns out my ex from 5 years ago was talking about me in an abuse podcast. We were very toxic for each other. We never were physical only mentally ill, I have adhd and anxiety while she was bi polar. Anyways she talked about my suicide attempts, my anger issues, my obsessiveness I used to have. She failed to mention how she told everyone at school about my personal issues and mental health issues (suicide and my struggles with my abuse as a kid) I have since worked on so hard to move past. She also mentioned various other things that were personal that were our actions that we caused each other to do. Like she would bite me but I would flawl my elbow cuz it hurt so bad. So she said I would nudge her. Just a bunch of little things about us but only gave her side of the story about how horrible I was. When she was horrible to me. She would force sex on me, force me to say things and do things I would never want to do. So because of all this toxicity we both made a huge scene when we broke it off.

Anyways she mentioned many of these things in a podcast and even mentioned my name and places of reference that people would know. It makes me scared because I feel taken advantage of. To share my personal struggles and stories and intimate moments without my consent. What can I do? Do I have any rights?

I’ve already contacted the company and they are reviewing the content. But it makes me worry even more, are they going to wonder about our past relationship now and ask both of us questions? Are they going to bring in lawyers and talk about us?  I’m even scared to ask this because it makes me feel wrong for being worried. I’m just not sure what’s going to happen next and what I’m allowed to ask or talk about.

Any advice would be appreciated thank you!
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: Did she say anything untruthful; that has caused you provable, financial damages?


Title: I got an OWI while in college around ten years ago in Indiana. How can I look up the exact dates of my conviction and when my probation ended? Trying to make sure I'll be able to visit Canada at the end of the summer...

Question:
Hey guys,

Real quick rundown of what I did:

* Couple weeks into college at Indiana University (fall 2003), I (19m at the time) got arrested for OWI and for having paraphernalia in my car.

* While this case was still pending, I got arrested again with weed in my dorm room, charged with felony paraphernalia (apparently if you've already been busted with a bong once the second time is a felony)  and intent to sell (I had a little under an ounce and since it was divided into separate bags they said I was selling it).

* I was fortunate enough to have a good lawyer who got all of my charges dropped on the condition that I plead guilty to the OWI. I did, and I was on probation for a while (I don't remember exactly how long), did some counseling and time served from my two nights in the drunk tank.

* I finished probation without getting into more trouble, and since then I've had a clean record aside from some parking tickets, and a public urination citation in Chicago which I'm pretty sure I was able to pay a fine for to avoid it going on my record.

So, now it's 2015 and I'm 30 years old, and I'm planning a trip at the end of the summer which will involve flying into Montreal and then biking/camping from there to Boston with a friend. The issue is Canada has a very strict policy on people with DUI offenses on their record, and is known to turn people away at the border if they have a record. In fact, this happened to me a few years after I finished probation (I was driving to Toronto with some friends for a weekend and the border agents wouldn't let me in so I had to spend the night in a hotel on the border).

Now, I've been doing some research on this and apparently once an offense is over 10 years old, you are "Deemed Rehabilitated" and can be allowed in (though it's still up to the discretion of the border agent). This is automatic once you've reached 10 years without another offense, but they also offer a form you can fill out and send in to request "deemed rehabilitation" earlier.

So, I guess what I'm trying to figure out is:

* What's the best way to look up the exact dates of my conviction and when my probation ended in Indiana to ensure it's over ten years ago? I tried emailing the office of the lawyer who represented me, but got no response. Might try calling next.

* What's the best way to make sure my public urination ticket won't count as a subsequent offense, which nullifies the ten year thing?

* Is there anything else I can do to ensure I won't be turned away at the Canada border? I'm very excited about this trip, but it requires a ton of planning and preparation and getting turned away at the border would ruin the whole thing.

* Any other thoughts?

**tldr:** Was extremely stupid and got an OWI. since then i've had no offenses. want to look up my records to make sure this happened a full ten years ago, because i want to travel through Canada on a trip.

Thanks everyone.

Answer:
 1. Call the Indiana State Police records office in Indianapolis.

Note that you may also be able to get your conviction expunged under Indiana law.


Title: A party I was at got out of control and a fight started. A girl at the party is accusing me of punching her when I know for sure that I did not.

Question:
A party I was at got out of control and a fight broke out. This girl has posted on Facebook my name and my pictures with a caption similar to "Girls in university of reddit area, look out for OP because he punches women. He is a woman beater, please share this with his future employers and spread the word".

I was not concerned and only interacted with her through Facebook messenger to try and get the post taken down explaining that it was a misunderstanding and it was not me who hit her. Today I have people coming up to me telling me that I am famous. I am worried and would like to know what I can do legally to put out the fire. Thank you in advance.

Answer:
 Don’t talk to the police without a lawyer.

If served a lawsuit, respond.Answer #2: Legally you can pay a lawyer to write a cease and desist letter.

Answer #3: Pay a lawyer a small fee and send a cease and desist. While they hold no legal weight, it's generally enough to scare people.Answer #4: Were you involved in the fight?

Did you hit anyone?

How do you know so positively that you did not hit her and can anyone/anything back this up as proof?


Title: I (20F) lent my mother's friend (50sM) $1200, he still owes me $600 and he's ducking my calls.

Question:
Hi, I desperately need advice and I'm a college student so I don't have a lot of options. I'm on my phone so this may be weirdly formatted, forgive me.

The background:

In January 2013, my mother's friend's father passed away in another country. He had to go home because there are rites involved that he had to complete and he had no money. He asked my mother if he could borrow some money from me (side note, he told her he'd ask for 1200, he told me he needed 1500) and since I considered him something like an uncle I have him all the money I had available through Moneygram. Funerals are a BFD where I'm from and he couldn't miss it. He went home, came back and gave me $600 that summer.

The problem:
I had to take the GREs in November 2014 and so I called him in October, letting him know that I needed that money back. He told me to call him back in the first week of November. I did, he has been ducking my calls ever since. I went and spoke to his pastor (culturally there's a process you go through in these matters) in order to resolve the issue. His pastor told me he would repay me in January. His pastor is now ducking my calls. Not having this money has led to me not being able to send my GRE scores in time, I got rejected from 2 schools because of it. At this point I'm livid, do I have any options legally?

Tl;dr: I lent a grown ass man with a full time job money, he refuses to pay me back.

Answer: You sue him in small claims court


Title: Should I delete a clients E-mail asking to be forgotten [GDPR]

Question:
Hi there. Title basically says it all. Under GDPR everyone has "the right to be forgotten". Some clients have already e\-mailed me asking to exercise this right. The question is whether I should delete this e\-mail or save it to later document that I have fulfilled the request.

My lawyer hasn't been able to answer yet, so I'm looking for other input. Thank you
Topic:
Non-US

Answer:
 Under GDPR, data that is archived/stored and not actually being processed, accessed, or used is treated differently. Archive the email for possible reference in the future and you should be okay. Have your lawyer continue to research though to confirm. The punishments for violating GDPR are no joke.Answer #2: One would think that keeping the request and your email reply would be necessary to document that you received a request and complied with it.

But feel free to offer to the clients the option of sending a second request asking you to delete the first request... then keep the second request as proof you complied with both requests.

Lather, rinse, repeat.Answer #3: A correspondence is not a customer record. You have no obligation under GDPR to delete it, the same way a customer who goes to the Apple store can't demand that Apple delete their image from the security tapes. Or the same way you can't demand a school delete your transcripts or attendance record. The GDPR doesn't cover all data.


Title: [MA] Roommate smashed a pane of glass in the front door of our apartment building, can our landlord try to evict us?

Question:
I left my apartment building (6 units) this morning and noticed a huge pane of glass from the front door of the street entrance to our building was shattered with shards everywhere and some blood on the pieces. Took some photos and sent to my landlord to notify her. I text my 3 roommates to show them the damage.

A couple hours later 2 officers from our local police department knock on our apartment door and say a trail of blood led up the stairs to our unit. They say everything's ok but asked if I was cut or if I heard anything. I told them I was fine but hadn't seen my roommates so I couldn't answer for them.

I text the roommates again again saying the police showed up at our door and asked if everything was ok. "Tony" texts me and says  "Mike" did something stupid and he had to take him to the ER. He wouldn't give any other details other than that Mike didn't want him to tell us what happened. Mike hasn't responded to texts and we don't know where he is.

Assuming Mike is fine, my concern is that the police report to the landlord that the blood led up to our unit, and the landlord (who we have an okay relationship with) will try to use this to evict us. Would it be legal for her to do so or am I panicking for nothing?

Answer:
 Most likely the landlord will demand "Mike" to pay for a new window and carpet cleaning. Either that or it will get taken out of your security deposit at the lease's end.Answer #2: Expect your relationship to go from okay to not that willing to work with you in the near future/may not want to renew your lease. Answer #3: Mike will have to pay to replace the window and any cleaning necessary.  Expect your unit to get inspected for damage when you leave; they're going to be looking for blood in the carpet, any damage that looks like it might be caused by fights or incidents of rage, etc.

Expect your landlord to question exactly *why* Mike smashed the window and whether its likely to happen again - its one thing if Mike had an epileptic fit and fell; its entirely another if he was drunk, on drugs, naked, and chased his girlfriend through the window with an axe after a screaming fistfight.

BTW, its easier to remove blood stains when they're fresh, so if there are carpet (or furniture) stains, you might want to tackle them soon.

How did you not notice a trail of blood-drops leading to your front door?


Title: My 11 year old niece has been denied the ability to communicate with or see her mother. Last night, the father and step-mother extended that same verdict to our entire family, and are refusing ANY of us communication or visits with her. We are her rock, her support, & her love. WE NEED LEGAL HELP!

Question:
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Without more context and your location, we really can't help you.Answer #2: You conveniently left out why dad was granted sole custody.

I have a feeling you wont tell us why though.Answer #3: They can legally do this because you have no right to see or communicate with a child that is not yours. The custody agreement gives dad the power to decide who gets to see the child.

Your only recourse at this point is getting your sister an attorney.

However, courts don't just strip custody from one parent for fun. Why was sole custody awarded to dad?Answer #4: The mother has been denied contact by whom? The court? Is there a custody agreement in place?

Sadly, outside of the mother, there is little extended family can do to force visitation with a child unless there is a highly compelling reason. It would certainly be an uphill battle.

You can speak with a family law attorney in your area to get the details. Google the local bar association and ask for recommendations.Answer #5: If the mother does not have a lawyer, tell her to get one NOW. This morning. I would have hoped in 8 years she has at least contacted a few but I saw no mention of any kind of legal aid on her side.


Title: Arrested for drug possession [update]

Question:
alabama

I went to jail yesterday and notified my parents who then bailed me out ($20,000) and pulled me from attending my university. I have my first court date in september for possession of drug paraphernalia and am now searching for a lawyer in my defense. The court date for the possession of a controlled substance is to be announced. I am very anxious about what is going to happen to me. Whats the best and worst case senario to what may happen to me as an 18 year old first time offender who has never had a problem with the law prior to this incident besides a seat belt violation??

http://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/2dyemb/al_hospitalized_for_drug_psychosis/

Answer:
 Son, if your bail was $20K, this isn't a possession case with a paraphernalia kicker.

Lying to us here isn't going to get you more accurate information, other than you badly need a good lawyer.


Title: Can my landlord force me to live in my old apartment? (CA)

Question:
I signed a 1 year lease that is set to expire in July 2019. Rent for June has already been paid and rent will be paid for July as well.

I found a new apartment and the lease began this month (June). I told my old landlord/leasing company that I had turned off power at my old place since I will be at my new place. They told me I could not just abandon their property and have to keep my power on.

I am looking for my copy of the lease right now to see if anything like this was stated but I wanted to know is this even legal? I am paying my rent, and I am still coming back to the unit almost everyday to clean and slowly move things over. I have not abandoned it and am not trying to break my lease; I am still paying rent. Can they force me to keep on the power and if so is that all that is required to keep the place from being "abandoned"? My new place is much nicer and I much rather sleep and live there for the next few weeks. Also all other utilities at the old place are paid by the leasing company. Only electricity was under my name. This is in California.

Answer: It's entirely possible your lease requires the power be kept on for the duration of your lease and there is nothing inherently unenforceable about that.


Title: [TN] Mother-in-law getting divorce from mentally unstable husband, he won't leave her house.

Question:
My mother-in-law moved down the road from us six years ago. She got married two years ago. Her now husband has a prescription pain killer abuse problem and without medication has become more and more unstable to the point she feels threatened and unsafe in her own house.  She has moved in with us for the past week. He is still living there.

She started the divorce process about a month ago. She also filed for an order of protection and has a hearing for that next week. She has a state paid lawyer for that.

My question is there any routes she can explore to have him leave her house now? Her name is on the mortgage, bills are in her name, etc. They did have a joint checking account up until a week ago, but she has created a new account since. The lawyer said that state doesn't like people being put out of a home, but it doesn't seem right that she is exactly that and he is staying in her house.

Answer:
 He doesn't have to leave until he's legally served notice to end his tenancy or a judge grants an order of protection and he can't be there anymore because of it.

She can get the ball rolling and serve him 30 days written notice to leave.

That's all assuming that the home is entirely your mother's.
Answer #2: > The lawyer said that state doesn't like people being put out of a home, but it doesn't seem right that she is exactly that

She's not.  She left her home voluntarily.  And she does have a place to stay, which is more what the law is concerned about.

She should speak to her divorce attorney about her options.  Depending on the situation, she may be able to evict him as a tenant.  He may also have ownership rights of some kind, which means that this would have to be dealt with as part of the divorce process.  Her divorce attorney needs to advise her there.


Title: Ex-Girlfriend and her new boyfriend forced me out of home

Question:
I have lived with girlfriend for past 10 years. Several months ago, she decided to move out of our home to go live with her new boyfriend. A few months ago, ex-girlfriend decided to have order of protection against me. Order of protection was granted and I was ordered to leave my home while it was in effect. During this time, ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend moved into the house.

Now, order of protection is gone but I cannot return to my home because ex-girlfriend has told me that new boyfriend has a gun and will kill me with it if I ever try to return home.

Location: Belleville, IL

Answer:
 You say "our home", you say "my home", you say "the house".

Who's house is it (i.e., who's name is on the deed/lease/mortgage... whatever)?

And what do you want to happen?