Title: Online bank suddenly freezes my wife's checking account, does not explain why

Question:
My wife has an account with Aspiration, an online bank. The trouble started when Aspiration recently switched partners from Radius Bank to Coastal Bank. This required my wife to receive a new account number and routing number, as well as a new debit card for the checking account.

Upon getting her new account number, my wife updated her bank info for all linked accounts. The next step was to get her direct deposit paycheck transferred from the old Radius account to the new Coastal account, which she was able to schedule through the Aspiration website.

But the next day, she was not able to log in to the Aspiration site. My wife then called Aspiration customer service, and the rep told her that this signaled a frozen account.

At that point, she had not received any notice of the account being locked. It wasn’t until later that evening that an email came through stating that a “temporary block” had been placed on the account because they "needed to verify a few things.” They requested a photo ID and bank statements from linked accounts, including removed linked accts (which would be difficult to know without being able to log in). On top of that they said it could take 10 or more business days to resolve.

She immediately sent what information she could, but has not heard confirmation of receipt or any status updates in five days. This whole time she has no way of seeing the balance or anything to do with the acct. We are beginning to incur overdraft and interest charges as a result, and we have no idea how long it will take to sort this out.

My wife thinks someone may have tried to steal her identity, but I think the fact this happened during the account switch could mean that Aspiration messed up.

Do we need to lawyer up now? What liability does Aspiration have if they fumbled this? Is there anything we can do besides just hope they will reach out to us eventually?

tldr; My wife's online bank froze her account, won't tell us why, and they claim they need at least 10 business days to resolve.

Answer:
 If you do a simple search for "Aspiration Bank Reviews 2019". [There are a ton of people experiencing similar issues.](https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/reviews/aspiration.html) All of them this month.

Supermoney, a popular bank rating website, shows Aspiration with a "Strongly not recommended" rating.

I would get your money out ASAP and look for a possible class action at some point.

Unfortunately that doesn't help you in the short term, I would certainly advise closing the account and transferring funds away from this bank if and when you regain access to your account.


Title: Little brother sexually harassed, need advice

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice,
My 13 year old little brother was sexually harassed today at school by a fellow student. He double pantsed my brother (pulling down both his pants and underwear). The school is only giving him a warning. What can we do as a family to make sure this kid is punished severely?

This is in Houston, Texas. (United States)

Answer:
 Out of curiosity, how older are you OP?

Answer #2: I'm not a lawyer, but I'm really sorry OP that no one is taking this seriously. I get the whole "kids will be kids" thing, but this is going a step further. If you'd said "my underage sibling was forcibly undressed" I wonder if that would illicit a different response.Answer #3: One of my best friends at this age did this to me, whilst it's embarrassing it's not sexual harassment at all. The only thing that could increase his punishment if this is ongoing bullying, but if he reacts bad to this  that is more likely to get him bullied than anything else, it's just kids.


Title: Overcrowded Kennel

Question: I work in a pet grooming and boarding facility in Indiana. Every weekend (and especially holiday weekends)  we seem to find ourselves overbooked. When that happens we have dogs in wire crates stacked two high with 1 to 3 dogs in each. We have 18 legitimate kennels with secure walls and bars and that is what we show our customers, when they want to see where we keep their dogs, but when those fill up we put them in a different area full of the wire crates. Not only is it cramped, it is also hard to keep all of the kennels sanitized because the owner schedules 1 or 2 people to keep approximately 68 kennels clean. This weekend we have had one small dog attacked by a bigger dog (who would normally not attack any one) and another dog die from either a heat stroke or seizure (I'm not a vet, but the dog was prone to seizures and it's also been hot in the area where the wire creates are so those are the two most likely causes of death). There is no way there isn't one part of this that isn't illegal.

Answer: You need to make a report to Animal Control and let them investigate on a day you know it'll be that bad.


Title: [Montana] last year I was arrested and charged for assault which ended up on a local news website (and Google) but case was dismissed. News won't take story down, sue for libel?

Question:
Last year I was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon in Montana. The alleged "assault" was the threat of using a weapon to get a man to leave my house. He did then called the police and I was arrested. The local news picked up the story and posted my mugshot and other related photos on their website. This is now the first result when you Google my name. The story in the news article was little more than a copy and paste of the police report.

Well after an investigation, it came to light by witnesses that the police report was falsified by the complainant and even the complainant recanted. He gave a very different account of events which was the accurate story. That I was defending myself in my own home.

The case was dismissed with prejudice and he was charged.

I called the local news agency that published the story online and asked they take it down. Both because the pictures have been keeping me from getting jobs resulting in hardship and the story published is not true. They  refused stating that it's the people's right to have it up. Additionally they refused the amend the original story to show what happened later on in the case.

Can I sue them for libel? They have published a story that is untrue about me and has resulted in defamation of my character and hardship for me.

If nothing else, I simply want them to remove the images and story of me.

Answer:
 But the story is true.  You were actually arrested and charged based on those allegations.

At this point, you'll most likely need the assistance of a reputation management company to push those search results onto the second page.

Answer #2: Not only is it not libel, but the 1st amendment allows them to keep it up since the arrest did factually happen.Answer #3: It's not libel. You need to investigate services that offer to push this link down on google.


Title: [Missouri] Our lawyer basically instructed us to ignore my recently-deceased mother's CC debt

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Wills Trusts and Estates

Answer: You cannot distribute her money until her debts have been paid. PUT THE PROCESS OF PAYOUTS ON HOLD. Whoever is her administrator/executor (your dad?) can be held liable by her creditors otherwise


Title: [TX] Does a defendent in a parental rights termination case have the right to a public defender?

Question:
So I am in the process of adopting my son-in-law who is almost 10 years old. I have been in his life every day since he was 5 years old, and married his mother a little over a year and a half ago.

His biological father is currently serving a 10 year sentence on a felony drug charge (his second). He has never paid child support, and hasn’t physically seen or talked to the child for the last 7 years.

Our attorney sent him the paperwork a few weeks ago with out intent (or whatever it is called, to terminate his parental rights and for me to adopt the child). He had 21 or 30 days to “answer.” Yesterday was his final day to respond, and we already had a court date set for Friday morning in the event that he didn’t. Well we got word today that he sent a response yesterday, the final day, requesting a court appointed attorney.

I have the understanding that since this is a civil case, and not a criminal case, he is not guaranteed a public defender, is that correct? I tried digging online, and for the most part, that seems to be the case, but I saw in some places where there are some provisions in some states that do allow for public defenders in the case of a termination of parental rights case. I tried asking Uncle Google but I couldn’t find a definitive answer, so here I am.

My wife and I are both confident that he’s just doing this to be a thorn in our side, and that’s probably the case, but will the state appoint him a public defender or will they tell him to pound sand? And if the latter, I’m assuming if he really wants to be an extra pointy thorn, he has the ability to self-represent, with the approval of a bench warrant so he can be transferred from his current location to ours in order to make the trial?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 As far as I can tell, to get a court appointed attorney in the case of rights termination, the GOVERNMENT, has to be moving for termination. The only statute I could find was Tex. Fam. § 107.013, which says:

>in a suit filed **by a government entity** under Subtitle E in which the termination of the parent-child relationship....is requested, the court shall appoint an attorney ad litem.

Ask your lawyer for clarification but that's all I could find


Title: What's the deal with (NFA) gun trusts

Question: What is the benefit to having a trust? AFAIK, it's so that multiple people can legally posses an nfa item without transferring between and waiting since it is owned by a legal entity with multiple trustees. Is there any other benefit? Same initial transfer/manufacture taxes, wait times, and such correct?

Answer:
 Yes, the primary purpose of a NFA trust is to allow multiple people to possess the item without committing a felony or having to officially transfer between parties.  It also is an easy way to allow for inheritance.

Since [41F](https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/final-rule-41f-background-checks-responsible-persons-effective-july-13) all parties of the trust must submit fingerprints for background check.


Title: Is it legal?What should I do?

Question: My aunt had a boyfriend who was a car dealer and helped her with thing at her home (by his own will) now when we go to buy a car he charges us extra to repay what my aunt (owes him) what should I do?

Answer:
 Not buy a car forn him?

A car dealership can charge what it likes for a car.


Title: TIL Grand Theft is legal

Question: [removed]

Answer: Deleted since it isn't coherentAnswer #2: Maybe you should stop doing drugs.


Title: [CA]Landlord comes into my room when I go to work

Question:
I am renting a room in a house in Roseville, CA. In the morning, I tend to leave the window open for half an hour when I go jogging. One day, when I return, I find that the window was closed. I found that kind of weird, so I started setting motion detecting webcam on my laptop.

Surely enough, my landlord comes into my room when I am off to work, either to check on my stuff or to see if the window is open.

Just this morning I recorded him testing the dumbbells I have in my room.

Is this legal? Please advise.

Answer: Are you a tenant? If so, then your landlord is not allowed to enter without your permission. Answer #2: Is your landlord also your roommate?


Title: URGENT - Vehicle standing in bicycle lane (NYC)

Question:
Is there a law in NYC that states a vehicle cannot be standing in a bicycle lane? If yes, can someone direct me to it immediately?
Thank you so much!

Answer:
 I'm picturing OP redditing on his bike in front of a vehicle blocking the bike lane instead of trying to just drive around said vehicle.Answer #2: http://bikingrules.org/rules/rulesoftheroad

NYC TRAFFIC RULES PROTECTING CYCLISTS

RCNY § 4-08 (e)(9) It is against the law to park, stand or stop within or otherwise obstruct bike lanes.

RCNY § 4-12(p) Other vehicles shall not drive on or across bike lanes.

RCNY § 4-12(c) It is illegal to get out of a vehicle in a manner which endangers cyclists (often referred to as "dooring").


Title: I Need Legal Advice ASAP [Canada]

Question:
I financed a brand new Nissan from a Toronto dealership (against the advice of many of my friends who warned they are a bad dealership) in January 2017. The Car came with a one year protection against lost income, disability, or revoked licence. In case any of those things happened within a year, I can return the car and get my money back. The wording in the contract is very high-level regarding the coverage, but is explicitly mentioned that I am covered for a year.

I lost my job in mid-October due to seasonal layoffs. I contacted Nissan and informed them of my situation and they asked me to bring the car in on November 4 with a letter of termination. I did that and they said they will get back to me within a week as they have to deal with the third party insurance company. November 11: Follow up by e-mail and they ask for another week. November 18: They ask for proof that I applied to employment insurance (EI) to prove that I indeed lost my job. I provided them proof with EI application. Two days ago they get back to me saying that the insurance company needs proof that I have been receiving EI income for 3 months in order to prove that I indeed lost my job, but since three months from now is after one year, I am not covered under their policy.
My question is, is it to time to reach out to a lawyer? If so what kind.

Should I stop the direct deposit payments directly from my bank account?

Any advice is really appreciated.

Thank you.

Answer: Reach out the to the third party insurance company directly and get a copy of the actual income protection insurance policy you bought with the car. Do not stop making car payments.


Title: [IL] Dog Bite Laws in IL - If my dog wears a vest saying "Do Not Pet" am I more liable if he does bite someone?

Question:
Hi there!

I have a year-old Lab-mix. He's a rescue and is skittish around people until he gets to know them. He's never bitten anyone, but he'll occasionally snap in someone's general direction as a warning; he immediately backs off and doesn't advance.

[I have a large reflective red vest that says "DO NOT PET" on both sides.](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81mBEP2dfQL._SL1500_.jpg)

This is just to deter wild kids from running up and petting him without asking. I want him to become more relaxed around people and having them simply ignore him.

**On the off chance he ever does bite someone and they sue, will having my pup wear this vest make me more negligent? Or does it put the burden of proof more on the other person, as I took the precaution of ensuring they did not pet him?**

Please note I am not taking my dog to playgrounds and things like that. We have an outdoor bar in my town with volleyball courts and I plan on having my pup sit under my feet (stepping on his leash) the entire duration of our visit. I'm just thinking walking to/from the table if someone runs up and scares him.

Thank you in advance!

Edit: I realize that the harness won't prevent children/people from touching him, I'm interested in the legal repercussions of wearing the vest and if it make me more liable.  I've read that IL is a "strict liability" state, but if any one can provide links to past cases that would be great!

Answer:
 If your dog snaps at people, then you're going to want to muzzle your dog when in public while you're training that behaviour out, both for your dog's protection and for the protection of others. There are strap-based muzzles that are fairly comfortable for your dog to wear.

I don't believe the vest will change your liability.
Answer #2: The vest doesn't make you more liable, but Illinois has some very strict laws regarding dog-related injuries. Negligence has no bearing on the liability of the person in control of the dog, and unlike many states, the law addresses injuries other than bites (like falling due to the dog jumping up). Anybody in control of the dog at the time of the injurious action is liable, so make sure anybody watching your dog knows to keep it under control. And your responsibility, if it seems as though your dog is uncomfortable, is to remove the dog from the situation entirely.


Title: state trooper told me 78 in a 70, no speed listed on ticket, called number on ticket said i was recorded going 90 in a 70.

Question:
Franklin, TN (ticketed in Cumberland county TN)

There is no way I was going 90. 78 in a 70 maybe but no way. I called the county clerk as listed on my ticket and requested the speed I recorded, and was told I was going 90 in a 70.

 When I got pulled over a month ago, the state trooper told me that I was going 78 in a 70 and proceeded to give me a ticket. I asked for information on what kind of speed detection device was used and she said she was not able to give me that information.

There's no way I can be ticketed for a speed significantly higher than what the officer told me right? Especially if a speed was not listed on my ticket and if they could not give me the

 I'm going to fight this ticket, but any advice on how I should present my case would be greatly appreciated. I should mention the county I was ticketed in/would go to court in is 2 hours away from me, making this situation all the more frustrating.

Answer:
 So you have a copy of the ticket but a speed is not given on it?

Call up a local lawyer with experience in this area - the consultation should be free.Answer #2: While personal experiences may differ, usually I've found 9/10 times tickets like those get thrown out if there's discrepancies/misfilings/etc. right when you get to court.


Title: $1200 traffic ticket in Washington State

Question:
I was pulled over for driving in the left lane on a 2 lane state highway. I was approaching a busy on-ramp, and wanted to make room for oncoming cars before merging back to the right lane. Highway patrol was following me for approximately 30 seconds during this time, then he turned his lights on. I was surprised, and I pulled over to the left shoulder (which I have done once before without incident). The officer immediately gets on his PA and tells me to pull to the right side, which I do. He then approaches the window and tells me he’s writing me a $1000 ticket for pulling to the left, even though there was plenty room on the left shoulder. He also wrote me a $200 ticket for driving in the left lane. He didn’t even give me a chance to explain that I was waiting for the traffic from the on-ramp to safely disperse.
I learned after that it is illegal to pull to the left shoulder in my state, and I will never do that again. But $1200??
I am contesting the charges and hoping that the judge will at least greatly decrease my fine. What are the chances of that happening in traffic court? For the record, I was going around 60-62 mph (on a 60 mph road) and there were no other cars around other than the ones who were about to merge.

Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: Hire an attorney. It will cost a couple hundred bucks and it's your best chance of getting those tickets knocked down.


Title: Overtime automatically erased from timesheet

Question:
My employer has implemented a new overtime policy where all OT has to be pre-approved for hourly employees. OT is often accidentally accrued from things like being caught on the phone with a client past 5pm, coming back from your hour-long lunch :15 min early to prep for a meeting that starts at the same time you normally clock back in, getting lost in your work and accidentally clocking out :07 min late, etc.

This accidentally accrued OT can add up to 1-3 hours over the course of two weeks. We approve our time cards for accuracy every other Friday, and submit to Admin. My employer has decided that since accidentally accrued OT was not pre-approved, it is not valid. So they have begun wiping any OT not pre-approved from our time cards, and thus paychecks.

Is this wage theft?

We do get our lunch by the 5th hour of the day, mandated breaks, etc. No other potential violations I am aware of. In California. Non union IT company.

Answer:
 That is illegal. You can face disciplinary action for getting unapproved OT or you can be told to take longer lunches/leave early/come in late to compensate, but you must be paid for all time worked.

Luckily, California loves employees! Keep good notes about how much time is being removed and then file a wage claim if your manager refuses to pay the overtime.


Title: [California] Speeding ticket for going 100+ help please.

Question:
On a road trip for about a 6 hour drive up north , basically about to hit my destination but I’m dozing off a bit and I didn’t even realize the speed I was going (106 in a 65) (Inyo County) and got pulled over and ticketed. (Not in my own car however)

Here’s some details:

- Didn’t admit to the officer that I knew I was speeding , said something like “ I didn’t even realize I was going so fast , it’s been a long drive and / I’m really tired...I wasn’t even paying attention”

- I don’t live close at all to this area, so I don’t even think I can appear in court (6 hour drive)

I know I’m so fucked because I’m sure this ticket will end up in the $2000 range + huge insurance increases. I’m only 20 and I’m barely getting by as it is.  Is there ANYTHING I can do to make this whole ordeal easier? I’m stressing the fuck out.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 You're incredibly lucky to get off with just a ticket while driving drowsy.

You can hire an attorney that specializes in tickets but you'll also want to start saving your pennies for whatever the fine ends up being.

Hearing you say you didn't realize you were going so fast isn't going to be a novel experience for the cop that pulled you over. just be glad it wasn't Virginia. Answer #2: I was dozing off and didn't even realize that I was 40+ miles over the limit is not really a better excuse than I was in a hurry and didn't care about the limit.

You're looking at a lot of money so consult with a traffic attorney. Is the only ticket you got just speeding? Not something like reckless driving?


Title: Husband wants to kick wife and kids out of rented house (no lease), to let new girlfriend and kid move in. (NY)

Question:
I'm VERY unsure what to do here guys. Location is Upstate NY.

My Sister-in-law's husband has been seeing another girl for one year. My SIL found this out a month ago, I guess they were trying to work things out. Things were not going well, and this morning he told my SIL that she needs to take the kids, and move out tomorrow. My wife's parents are working on cleaning out a room in their house for them to stay in. Our house in Upstate NY is small (700sqft), so unfortunately we can't help room them.

The SIL's kids are 3 and 5, the older one has behavioral problems and sees a therapist. SIL does not work, but her husband does. Been married for ~5 years (they got married while pregnant with the first kid).   They house they're living in is owned by SIL's husband's cousin. They do not have a lease, or any type of formal agreement for their rented home in Upstate NY.

I KNOW this is not right, but my SIL and her parents are not very well educated legally. What should be done here? They're not looking for trouble, the husband isn't abusive as far as I know. No danger physically, but I think they just want to be rid of the situation.

My wife's parents (also live in Upstate NY) are VERY religious and VERY passive, they just do whatever people ask them to do for fear of going to hell for being bad people. They've mostly paid for everything the kids have needed so far. They have no retirement funds, but that's another story.

What steps should be done first here? Child support? Divorce? Spousal Support? Should my SIL just talk to a divorce lawyer Monday in Upstate NY and let him/her handle everything?

Location: Upstate NY

Answer:
 She can stay and deal with it in the divorce or she can move.

She does not have to move though. Answer #2: She has the right to stay.  The owner of the house could evict but it will take time.

Next step would be to hire an attorney and file for temporary spousal maintenance while the divorce is being finalized, then the divorce, + child support, child custody, spousal maintenance.


Title: (florida) Hi, it's another traffic violation.

Question:
Hi, I am a 17 year old who only got into driving 3 months or so ago. I got stopped for running a stop sign and not carrying my license. This was my first stop, but the fines are very high and I was wondering if I can get it reduced? I am confident I didn't completely blow the stop sign but I did run it but the fines are incredibly high. Is there any defense for lowering the fines besides explaining my financial problem?? I also read a bit and it seems (i dont know for sure) everyone automatically got a date at court when they got their citation. I have to plead not guilty according to this paper to even have a court meeting. I don't want to plead not guilty then plead for a lesser fine at court like a idiot. Is there some reason to this?

can I also vent? The cop was a asshole. there ya go.
also I know there are no grey areas. I am just consoling myself.

Answer:
 >I am confident I didn't completely blow the stop sign but I did run it

If you ran it then you ran it, there is shades of grey there.

You may have a better chance of reducing or dismissing the license violation if you show up and present your valid license.


Title: Storing A Gun In An Vehicle I Live In Without A Concealed Carry License.

Question:
I plan on living out of a van** while attending college so I don't get destroyed with debt. An issue with Wisconsin law is that, at 18 I can own a gun, but I must be 21 to have a concealed carry license. I can see legal issues arise if there was an altercation with me in my van with there being a firearm, even if it wasnt used. What is the safest (legally speaking) way to store a gun? Would a safe for the gun, unloaded and separated from its ammo be sufficient?

Sidenote, UW Madison allows guns on campus, just not taken into buildings with posted "NO GUNS" signs. Here are the resources I've seen https://www.wisconsin.edu/general-counsel/legal-topics/concealed-carry/ and http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/safety/concealedcarry.cfm

** Plan is to insulate the crap out of a cargo van and fabricate it to be a mini class B on the inside. My design comes from [this build] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvduJHmdPME) as well as some personal ideas. [Here's some screenshots of the design if you care, since the van part seems to be the only issue here...] (http://imgur.com/a/Eu3V5)

Location: Madison, Wisconsin

Answer:
 >I plan on living out of a van while attending college so I don't get destroyed with debt.

This is a terrible plan in general, and even worse in Wisconsin.

I'll defer to /u/snefsky for the specifics on Wisconsin law, but seriously... get a damn apartment.


Title: In movies police will pull you over and say your tail light is broken. Then they pull out there nightstick and break it. How do they get away with this?

Answer:
 They don't.  It's a freaking movie.Answer #2: How do they get away with it...

...in the movie?Answer #3: Only if they are Sheriff Buford Pusser.


Title: [Canada] Fair warning and retaliation.

Question:
The other day, I (19M) was out with a couple of friends (both male, one was 19 and the other was 21M) when someone (14M who we will call D) who I have been in conflict with for a few months comes up to me and starts harassing me. He starts spitting on me and swearing at me, calling me names like goof, greasy Mexican, pedophile, etc. I start walking away to avoid escalating the situation. We start walking through a parking lot and I turn around and see D walking towards me carrying a broomstick. He approaches me and starts motioning to hit me with it, calling me a pussy to motioning to block it. I start walking away again and he throws it at me. I start walking with my friends in a different direction and D follows. I turn around and tell him to fuck off and that he is not worth my time and start to walk away again. He kicks me in the back of the knee and lands 3 punches on me (didn't hurt at all and was still standing, but my glasses were a bit bent). At this point, I am ready to pick him up and slam him onto the pavement, but I didn't.

My question is, if I told him that if he hits me again, I will physically retaliate and he will have a bad time, can I retaliate?

Answer:
 > My question is, if I told him that if he hits me again, I will physically retaliate and he will have a bad time, can I retaliate?

If you feel the need to deploy self-defense, do so.  Don't warn him.  Warning doesn't help the situation at all.

A


Title: Apartment keeps dragging their feet about security deposit due to a discrepancy from management changeover.

Question:
At my previous apartment we paid our rent a month early which was fine until they got bought out by another company. In the process they switched over their payment system and forgot to credit us for our early payment. We explained this to the management when we noticed the problem and brought in the receipts. They said no problem and it would be fixed. Their new payment system was down for a good chunk of time after so we paid everything with physical checks and got receipts for the last few months.

We moved out in June and waited 45 days for our security deposits to come back, the legal requirement in Maryland. Turns out the apartment didn’t correct the money discrepancy, saying we owed a month of rent before they would release the deposit. The managers we worked with quit during this time so once again I had to go in and show the new one that we paid everything a month early. They acknowledged it was probably a mistake on their part and they would look into it. Life got busy for me (new job and wedding) so the issue went on the back burner for a few months. We recently got a call from the apartment company’s collector about the same issue so we copied and e-mailed all the receipts. This was 11/9/17 and I called the company again on Monday to ask what needs to happen next. The collector once again acknowledged that is was probably a problem on their end but that he would have to look at the apartment records.

I’m tired of the apartment company dragging their feet but I don't know what is a reasonable time before I take action. Do I keep calling the collector every week until they get their records? Should I send a demand letter at this point?

Answer:
 Send a formal demand letter with copies of all the evidence to the apartment company.  Tell them they have X days to give you your deposit in full.

If they fail, take them to small claims court.  It appears you have done every correct in keeping evidence and documentation of paying the disputed rent amount.


Title: How are people able to afford a lawyer?

Question:
This seems like a pretty basic question but I really don't know the answer to it.

I spent the past couple of hours reading through many of the threads here, and that has made me paranoid that I could be hit with a legal issue any time. I've never been involved with legal trouble and have never needed a lawyer, but my understanding is that having a lawyer on retainer is very expensive (in my head, I'm thinking <10k but close? I'm not sure why though) and you also pay hourly rate of several hundred dollars? Is everyone really that rich? I make six figures but I think I'd still be afraid to spend that kind of money.

Of course, I understand that personal injury lawyers usually take on a case for free and take 30-40% cut later, but what if someone thinks that I've wronged them and sue me (where in the best case scenario I come out not having won any money), and I'm forced to get a lawyer for my defense?

I think that at some point when I was signing paperwork for my job, there might have been a legal insurance option, but I think I ended up opting out of it. Is that something most people have? Or do people just pay out of pocket?

Okay, as for the location... let's say Ohio but it should really apply everywhere!

Answer:
 * Insurance.
* Legal aid.
* Pro bono attorneys, rarely.
* Negotiating a payment plan.
* Public defenders, if eligible.
* Group legal plans.
* Contingency payment arrangements, where they're applicable.
* Appear pro se and seek advice as needed, rather than hiring a lawyer for representation.
* Friends who went to law school.


Title: Streaming website

Question:
Im thinking of starting a website that will stream popular football (soccer) matches in my country. A huge TV company owns the license to broadcast these matches, but their users have to pay for it. My idea is to provide it for free. I will not be the one to upload these streams, it will be the users responsibility to upload these streams, my website will merely be a platform to view these streams. Is this in any way illegal? Will it be illegal to get ad revenues from these streams as well?

I live in norway

Answer:
 >Is this in any way illegal?

Yes.

>Will it be illegal to get ad revenues from these streams as
well?

Yes.


Title: (California) wife forgot to grab money from atm and the car behind her took it. Can police do anything?

Question:
My wife went to the bank drive thru atm and withdrew 460 bucks. With our screaming daughter in the car she forgot to grab the money. People informed us that the atm will suck money back in if not taken right away so we called bank. The customer service rep said there was no way there was enough time for the car behind her to get the money so they credited her the 460. This week they email saying their investigation shows that the money did leave the atm and they are taking the money back out of her account. We accept that it was my wife's fault. But in my eyes the person who drove up and stole the money is a thief and broke the law by taking the money and not turning it in.
Could cops take the footage from the atm and the card information from the person that used atm right after her to make an arrest?
Or would this not be a crime at all somehow?
I'm not a legal expert. But we both make min wage so 460 is a lot of money to lose even though it was money we saved to lose in Vegas.
Thank you.

Answer: They *could*, sure.  There's no way to force them to do so.  Your only option is to report them and hope.


Title: Please help, my Ex was found guilty of Harassment and Disorderly Behavior by our university's conduct office. I've graduated and she's coming after me since I'm no longer a protected student.

Question:
I just graduated this past may from college and spent the last 3 months stressed and pushed to my breaking point because of my crazy ex girlfriend. I broke up with her and over the course of an entire week she went from "I miss you please don't do this" to "Fuck you, you're going to give me closure because I fucking deserve it. I am not crazy, you're crazy and you can't run from me." I documented every text message, Facebook message, and Snapchat message and sent it all to our university's Public Safety office. I immediately had a "No Contact Order" placed against her which prohibited her from contacting me via physical, electronic, or third parties (people passing messages to me for her). She violated the No Contact Order several times and each time was documented. After building a case against her and documenting the stalking, harassment, and threats she made against me she was found responsible for Harassment and Disorderly Behavior but not Stalking or Refusal to Comply. She received a warning and has to write a 3 page, double spaced paper about what she did wrong.

Since graduating I have blocked her on all forms of social media and all other platforms I could think of. Just this past week she contacted me over Steam (a gaming service that we were friends on but I forgot) telling me about how I wronged her and how she wanted to talk and get closure, but if I didn't want to talk "it would be fine." I responded saying "Do not contact me ANYWHERE, EVER again. Lose my contact information. Leave me and my friends alone." I was met with a swift response as a paragraph with numerous insults and threats against me. She explained how her dad had friends on the police force and she would have a "talk with them" if I contact her. She also explained how her cousins are lawyers and she will "be telling them about the fake Title IX stuff you pulled on me" and "some day, people are going to hear about the fake Title IX you filed on me, the defamation of my character, and the load of shit you pulled."

I have not responded to her and I have continued to block her on any other gaming services we used in the past. I have forwarded screenshots of the messages sent to me to the University but they told me they can't do anything because I am not a student anymore.

For context I want to pursue a career in Law Enforcement and am scared of her ruining my potential future employment opportunities. I am in California and she is from New York where our university is located, but she's in another state last I heard for the summer for an internship.

My question is can I file a restraining order against her and would that even protect me? Are any of the things she said to me actual threats in a legal sense? Since she was already found responsible for Harassment and Disorderly Behavior under our university's policies can that be presented in court to work in my favor? Can I sue the school because one of their students is harassing me?

I was sexually assaulted in February by a different girl while we dated and sexually assaulted again in April by another, other girl. I have not been able to process or heal from either assault because my ex was the most present threat for the months following both assaults. I want her out of my life and I want to live in peace without fear of her ruining any potential employment or hurting me or my family.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: Block her everywhere from everything. Do not respond to her. She may be trying to bait you so that you respond in a threatening manner which she will then use against you. Go no contact. These are the types of people who can and will make your life hard with absolutely no qualms.Answer #2: Ianal. Go to the actual police? Universities are infamous for trying to handle things like this without involving the police. Get a real restraining order with actual legal consequences and not just an assignment. I mean she says she knows people but it wouldn't suprise me if she was just trying to intimidate you into not reporting her. Also she will contimue to contact you because she never actually faced consequences. Document any other ways she tries to talk to you and keep reporting her threats. Make a paper trail.Answer #3: Make sure you have all of the documentation you gave to your school and copies of their documents. I can only assume that they will help your case if she does try to accuse you of anything.Answer #4: INAL, but it sounds like you have grounds for a restraining order. If she has threatened you and you have that documentation, you should try.


Title: Ex trying to steal 950 from me. What can I do

Question: As the title imply's me and my ex broke up around a November. I let her have pretty much everything she wanted from the house including pets and most of my and our stuff. The only thing I wanted was my Xbox and my TV, which I planned to sell. But she really liked the TV so she offered to buy it from me, so like an idiot I agreed to accept payments and told her to send it to my friend because I owed him because I didn't think we were ending on a bad note. Well months and months have gone by and she is now completely ignoring me or anyone who knows me. I don't have a written contract but I do have some texts left over as proof. Is there anything I can do. I can post the screenshots

Answer: You can sue her in small claims court


Title: Need a divorce, cant get a hold of soon to be ex-wife

Question:
So, out of stupidity I got married  to someone I thought I loved. She didnt feel the same way so we just split up. We were in the stages of getting a divorce then we stopped talking. Now i cant get a hold of her. Phone, facebook, nothing. I need the divorce, but dont know how to get a hold of her. Is there anything I can do to still get a divorce?
Edit: I live in Arkansas.

Answer: My ex-husband got a divorce from me without my knowledge (Long story short, we got married on a whim 16 years ago, he went to prison 2 weeks later, I left him and hadn't spoken to him since). I didn't even find out I was divorced until 3 years later. Anyway, I think what he did was he got an attorney, who advised him to take out an ad in a newspaper stating he was seeking me for a divorce. After running the ad for something like 30 days with no response, he was allowed to proceed with the divorce. Not really sure of the exact details, but definitely get in contact with an attorney and they can guide you through it.


Title: Auto-Insurance is saying the damage to my car isn't water damage; denying coverage

Question:
I'm located in Florida.

I drove through water over that was over a road and it was deeper than I thought. I cleaned up my vehicle and tried getting it up and running on my own. After I realized the damage was worse than I thought, I took it to the dealership.

They denied warranty claim because they found water in the intake manifold.

USAA sent out an adjuster and said that upon his inspection, he doesn't see evidence of water damage.

If it is water damaged, the insurance will cover it. If it isn't, it's covered by power train warranty.

Neither will agree and I'm just stuck without a vehicle. What do I do?

Answer: Contact USAA for their dispute process. Contact an attorney to help pick who to sue. File Insurance complaint if you want to go that route http://www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/Consumers/needourhelp.htm


Title: (Colorado) is it legal for the cops and my super to say I can't smoke weed in my apartment or balcony because my neighbor doesn't like the smell that comes thru the ducts in to her place and the smoke that comes in to her babies room?

Answer: Yes, and I hope you are trolling. This belongs on /r/denvercirclejerk


Title: I want to go to america but i dont know what do i need

Question:
I want to go to
America but i dont know what pappers im gonna need. I also live in Serbia and i know english pretty good.... Any advice?

Answer: If you want to come to the United States for the purpose of living and working, you will need an appropriate visa to do so. The easiest way is probably to receive an employer-sponsored visa such as an H1-B, which allows workers with specific skills to come to the United States and work. The other way to do so is by winning the Green Card lottery to obtain legal permanent residence, although this is difficult to do. Coming to the United States as a tourist or for education is much easier than coming to live and work.Answer #2: At 18, you probably would have the best chance of immigrating on a H1B workers visa or a student visa for one of the universities here. The thing is, you'll need to have a job offer or university acceptance letter to get in first. It's not cheap or fast.


Title: What are my rights?

Question: In mid-June we found out my girlfriend is pregnant. Since then we had an argument over my drug abuse and we split up. I’m totally clean now, however she has blocked my number and I’m not allowed to speak to her at work. So I don’t know when she is due or anything other than she is pregnant. How can I go about this in the most legal way so I still have rights? Is she required to tell me information in anyway since she’s pregnant with my kid? I’m really worried I’m not going to find out when she is due, then she will give birth and I won’t be on the birth certificate so I won’t get to have a relationship with my child.

Answer:
 > Is she required to tell me information in anyway since she’s pregnant with my kid?

No.

> I’m not going to find out when she is due, then she will give birth and I  won’t be on the birth certificate so I won’t get to have a relationship  with my child.

When she gives birth, you can consult with a family law attorney and petition the court to establish paternity, custody, and child support.

Pregnancies last about nine months, give or take, so it won't be too difficult to figure out when the child should have been born.  Up until that moment, though, it's 100% up to the mother how she goes about her pregnancy and who she keeps informed of what.


Title: [GA] Is it legal for me to send text messages to people who post on Craigslist looking for their lost pet? I have a business that helps find pets via Facebook and am wondering if i could have issues doing this.

Question:
A typical situation would be posting a lot dog or cat ad in the lost and found section of craigslist. I would respond basically saying, “ hello i work with —— company and we help people recover their lost animals in your area. Here is our website if you’re interesting in our services.” Is this in compliance with laws?
Topic:
Business Law

Answer: NAL, but typically Craigslist ads of all sorts have a small disclaimer toward the bottom that says “do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers”, so in the *absence* of that text (users have the option to opt-in or out of solicitation when creating their post) I suppose it would be fair game.


Title: Is it legal to 'hide' my child from the government?

Question:
Is it legal to take your children off the grid? I don't want to put my children in public school, and I want to raise them in a more primitive manner. I want to keep them away from technology and modern people. I will be on Hawaii at the time of my birth.

Is it legal to keep children out of school and off government records? If not, what's the punishment if I'm caught?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 This is a rough question because you're asking in large part about a parent's right to really limit a child's ability to develop into an adult with a reasonable degree of free agency.

Children need education. Homeschooling is obviously an option *but* homeschool doesn't mean total neglect where you let the kid DIY their educational trajectory. Situations where children are isolated often coincide with abuse, sexual exploitation, and neglect. I wouldn't be shocked if an attempt to cloister the child triggered some degree of scrutiny.


Title: Cannot Find Legal Aid or Pro Bono work for my divorce. Also, can I lose joint custody if I have to rent a bedroom and I get my two oldest children every other weekend?

Question:
I have tried to search and search but have found nothing that everyone says is out there in these aspects.

If anyone can assist to find this in the San Diego, CA area, please let me know of a link, an email to email you at to get further details instead of posting on here.

Bottom line is the wife put me in situations such as ditching our apartment lease after 6 days, and I was stuck with it because it costs $2,000 for early termination of the contract and I live paycheck to paycheck but now since we split the tax return, I have the exact amount to cancel and terminate and get into a bedroom to rent somewhere.

I do not know if she can use this against me to try for full legal custody by saying I have to rent out a bedroom and that is not acceptable for our children.

 I have twin size futon mattresses that fold for all of us now as I planned for space saving things and to ensure my children have their own bed mattress to sleep on?

Answer:
 No one will private message or email you. Pro bono is rare in family law. Search father's/men's rights in your area. They may  referrals to cheaper attorneys.

Depending on the age and sex of this children it may preclude over night visitation. Depends on the situation and the judge.


Title: Would it be illegal to use a product to create another, and then sell it? Ex: You buy a digital clock, then build a shelf that you want to sell with a built in digital clock(the one you bought). Is this steeling?

Question: I live in Texas btw.

Answer:
 >Is this steeling?

Not generally. In my experience with shelves, it's much more likely for it to be wooding. It could be plasticing or glassing, too. While steeling is a possibility, the cost can be prohibitive.


Title: Iowa: My girlfriend was pulled over while sitting in a parking lot and was given a court summons for driving with a suspended license.

Question:
She was sitting in a parking lot when an officer pulled up, ran her plates, and pulled her over after following her a few blocks from the lot. She now must appear in court, what do I do? What do we expect? Apparently the maximum sentence here is 1 year in prison and $1500, how do we ensure we keep her out of prison?

 I don't have legal experience so I don't know what information you need in order to give advice but I will provide anything needed. This is a very serious matter so please don't down vote due toy inexperience.

Not that it matters but the only reason she was driving was because I was exhausted working 13 hour days and we were dropping her friend off a few blocks away.

Answer:
 She drove on a public roadway

Her license was suspended

Seems the elements are present. I doubt she will go to jail but the fine will be hefty.Answer #2: I highly doubt she will go to prison, that'll cost a lot more then just fining her. However she might end up probation with a bill if you're worried that bad talk to a lawyer and maybe stop doing favors like that when said friend "a few blocks away"


Title: [MA] [17] I was involved in a road argument and the other man attempted to hit me with his car

Question:
Two days ago i was attempting to make a left turn and the man in the car behind me told me to “take the fucking turn” and i responded by telling him to “suck a dick”. After i took the left turn the man proceeded to also take the turn (he wasn’t going to take it originally) and i pulled over to enter my driveway and the man pulled over in-front of me and got out of his car. I then exited my car and we began arguing. After i believe he went back to his car and took a picture of me and my car (but i’m not sure). He then got in his car and backed very fast and stopped in front of me (i was still outside of the car) and then began doing a burnout and sped off. A minute or two after this i was taking my dogs out to go to use the bathroom and the man passed by again and yelled “i know where you live” so i flipped him off while standing on the sidewalk on the corner of the street. He then took a U Turn and was driving towards me and got on the curb and tried to hit me with his truck. How should i proceed and will i get into any trouble if i file a report?
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: You should call the police and report him and his threats, especially since he does know where you live. While calling people names isn't a great thing to do, physically trying to assault you is criminal.


Title: Legal question and idk if this the correct place

Question:
Hypothetically if a trans aka gender change attacks you and you seem you are going to be harmed but you don't know they are trans and attack back at full force not holding back is it considered hitting a Woman or Male or will you get in trouble for technically hitting a woman even though she turned to a Male or vice versa?
Don't put hate comments it's just a question if its considered self defense I'm asking when they are physically harming you and you defend yourself.

Answer: No, gender is not a consideration when it comes to self defense.


Title: [WA] Mother is increasingly getting more physically disabled, is there any way that I can get my drivers license early?

Question:
My mom has health problems (chronic pain, nerve issues, glaucoma to name the big three) that complicates her ability to grocery shop and provide transportation for me. Since she has lost her usual insurance (due to divorce), her physical condition has begun to worsen at a faster pace.

I am 16, going to be 17 in July. I currently am attending driver's ed, and as such have an instruction permit. I plan to do the Running Start program, which will require transportation as it is not provided by the school district. At my current pace, I will be eligible with a license by the middle of November.

I have researched an ORL on the DOL site, but it's not provided to teens explicitly.

Granted I complete driver's ed, pass DOL tests, and log the required 50+ hours of driving, do I have any options towards potentially getting my IDL at least a month or two early? If so, will my mom need to seek some sort of paperwork from a doctor proving her as disabled?

*TL;DR My mom's physical health is deteriorating to a point that I am wondering if it could be possible to get my IDL earlier than the 6 months required for graduating from permit to said IDL.*

Answer: IANAL, I would recommend checking with your DMV. In Nevada, if you were 14 and had a parent with a medical disability, you were allowed to get your license, the DMV had all of the info for it


Title: Personal liability as supervisor in workplace injury (NY)

Question:
I was the supervisor at a job site at which an employee suffered an eye injury when he splashed a cup full of epoxy that he was mixing into his face.

Initial first aid was applied per the MSDS for the material in question and I then took him to the ER where we were met by our manager from the office.

He will be fine, no lost sight, but significant medical costs were incurred during treatment that I would have thought the company's insurance would be covering.  Problem is a lot of questions are now being asked of me by the office staff and I'm being asked to submit a statement explaining the incident from my perspective (where i was, what I was doing, how I responded when I was informed of the incident).

Maybe I'm being paranoid, but is there any way that the insurance company could try to blame me personally in order to reduce the company's liability and this the size of the check they'll have to cut?
Topic:
Insurance

Answer: Nope, not unless you splashed epoxy in their face on purpose.


Title: (PA/Pittsburgh) Landlord directly cause pregnant fiance to go to the emergency room, is he liable for costs of that trip?

Question:
Hello and thanks for any info in advance.

Ill get right in to it, my fiance, who is a nurse, had just gotten home from work around 8am, took a shower and went to bed. We live on the first floor of a large old house converted to 3 apartments, we have the whole first floor.

The landlord at around 9:00am was in the basement and began using a gas powered snake to work on some sewage issues. He ran this for anywhere from 45mins to an hour on and off. The basement is fairly closed off, no windows, one door down a winding stairwell in the back of the basement and another in the front that leads directly outside, that was the only door open. He was in the middle of the basement, behind some walls, no fans, right under our bedroom, running the snake.

After just finishing her 12 hour shift the engine running wasnt enough to wake her up, luckly though we had CO detectors that went off and woke her up. She woke up dizzy and light headed, opened some windows, went outside and called me. She then called her doctor (OB since shes pregnant) who advised her to call 911. They sent out cops, an ambulance and the fire department. The fire department went it and got instant high readings for carbon monoxide and recommended we not go back in for a few hours, they went to the top two floors and got similar readings and had to evacuate a couple on the third floor that were sleeping and did not have their own detectors.

The ambulance gave my fiance oxygen and another call to her doctor lead to them taking her to the emergency room to get more oxygen, blood tests and check on the baby.

Everything in the emergency room turned out ok, she did have some elevated CO levels in her blood but after some more time on oxygen they said she was fine to leave and the baby would likely be ok since she never lost consciousness.

I did call an injury lawyer after this all happened and they said they wouldnt take the case unless there was obvious long term damage to her or the baby (which we wouldnt know until he was born and had a doctor put his/her name to the cause being CO exposure) otherwise it wouldnt be cost effective for us to go through them.

My question though, is that since this is a direct result of actions from the landlord, is he responsible (the CO was very obviously a direct result of running the gas powered snake in the un-ventilated basement, the officers and firemen both scolded him for it but not much else) for the bills we will get from the ambulance ride and emergency room visit? If so how do we go about getting that from him when the time comes (the bills have not come in yet, she does have insurance but do not believe it covers everything that happened that day)?

Edit*(just to be clear, I am not looking for a payday, or damages, punitive etc. just want whatever costs we are leftover with from the ambulance/hospital trip paid for since he caused them, other then that accidents happen and hopefully no long term harm was done)

Answer: You have the advice of one MedMal attorney. You likely don't have much recourse here, and if it was caught early, they'll be no lasting effects. You can sue for the bills of the ambulance ride and ER visit. Anything not covered by insurance, demand payment, and sue if he doesn't comply.Answer #2: Yes, the landlord is responsible.  You can simply demand that he pay those bills, and sue in small claims court if the landlord doesn't agree. Answer #3: Other than this incident how is your relationship with your landlord? If it's generally positive you maybe able to get an agreement regarding monetary amounts off the rent equal to the hospital bills. Sometimes people are more amenable to this type of proposition than outright repayment. Answer #4: Would the health insurance company have any advice for the OP?  I imagine they'd want to subrogate (sue the landlord themselves) and what I've read here they often try to cover the deductibles when doing this.Answer #5: That's a strong *possibly*, but no one can say for certain without looking at the personal details of your case. Consider a consult with a med-mal lawyer and/or a lawyer with knowledge in tenant law.


Title: If the father of my baby signs the birth certificate, will my baby be required to have the fathers last name?

Question: I want my son to have my last name instead of his dads and someone told me that if his father signed the birth certificate then the baby has to have his last name, which I do NOT want. Is this true?

Answer:
 No. The childs name can be anything you want.

I assume you are not married to the father? If the father refuses to voluntarily sign the birth cert. if the name isnt what he wants, let him refuse. Register the babies birth, and then bring a paternity action. The hospital social worker can help you with resources if you end up needing to do that, often the state social services will do it at no cost to you.


Title: Need advice on coworker who shared my nude photos with employees from HR

Question:
Hi everyone. I am a 30F and the man in question is 32M. Basically what happened is that we had been friends at work (or so I thought) for about three months. Occassionally flirted, but he is married so yeah.

On New Years eve I had a bit too many drinks to drink and well, to make a long story short, I sexted him and sent him some nude photos of myself. Nothing too "nasty", just tasteful closeups of areas.

He never actually responded and left my messages on "read".

We returned from work on the 6th and I found out that he had shared my photos with some employees from HR. He works in IT which sits next to HR and he showed them, trying to get me in trouble. I feel so increidbly backstabbed by the ordeal which was essentially just an accident. Instead of talking to me about it and telling me he didn't want any photos on that night or whatever, then I would not feel so hurt. Anyways if this was just about feelings, I would deal with the issues with my therapist.

What has happened is that HR has reprimanded me and he painted the situation to make it look like I was the aggressor and he was the victim (instead of me, whose personal intimate photos were shared with others!). I did not consent to these photos being shared, I must stress that! I work and live in NJ which is also where these events transpired, which i believe has revenge porn laws, correct?

Do I have any recourse for him sharing my intimate photos without my express permission? I tried to do some research on the laws to see if what he did was legal but it shonestyl hard to understand and I really need some guidance on how to furthe rprotect myself.

TLDR, sent some nude photos to coworker, who shared them with some HR employees and got me in trouble. I believe this to be a case of revenge porn (or close to it) and I'm wondering how to legally proceed.

Location is Jersey City, NJ.

Answer:
 You sent him unsolicited nudes and he filed a complaint with HR. You don’t have a case and there is a chance you could be terminated.Answer #2: You got drunk and sent nude pics to a married co-worker, who reported you to HR. That he showed HR what you sent him doesn’t make it “revenge porn” or “backstabbing”.

It’s understandable that you’re embarrassed by this and don’t want it to affect your job, but the solution to this is not to try and invent a crime or blame others. The best way forward is to admit you made an error, apologize, and be completely professional at work from now on.


Title: A member of my family has been advised not to talk about details of his case with anyone besides his lawyer but his job is now demanding he speak openly or have his position terminated

Question:
I can't go into a ton of detail because I know basically nothing, but I just found this out today. From what I know, the legal battle only tangentially involves him. It is a civil suit of some sort, against a community organization he did volunteer work for in an administrative capacity. The volunteer work was similar, but not the same, as what he does for his job. He has been terminated from one other position for not disclosing the lawsuit, so at the outset of this job he made sure to make it clear that he was involved in a civil suit indirectly. The legal case doesn't involve his job at all beyond that and doesn't affect his performance.

Now, months after being hired to this new position, he has been told that if he doesn't speak openly about the case with his bosses, he will be fired. This directly contradicts the advice of his lawyer. Does he have any legal protection or recourse? He has found a potential new job in a completely unrelated field, but I would rather not see him unlawfully fired for something he has so little power in especially if he can protect himself from it.

I'm sure he has already asked all these questions and sought help in the matter, but it just seems like having his livelihood threatened to try to get him to potentially compromise his legal case or go against his judgment and lawyer's advice shouldn't be legal, right?

edit: He lives in Indiana

Answer:
 >Does he have any legal protection or recourse?

Absolutely not. His lawyer's advice has no bearing on his boss and while his is a personal matter:

> The volunteer work was similar, but not the same, as what he does for his job.

There are a number of professions where final disposition of this suit could threaten the work of his current employer. They don't have a right to know, but if I were representing them, I would say its not worth employing him without knowing.

>  He has found a potential new job in a completely unrelated field,

I would take that job till this suit blows over. He can talk to his lawyer and see if they will talk or send a letter to his boss. He can respectfully tell his boss that while he gives no fucks he is going to follow his lawyers advice and resign if they need it. Offering the resignation will be a nice favor for them as it means no issues with termination which could have the door open again once this matter is resolved.


Title: DMV won't allow my boyfriend to reapply for his license over a probation stipulation, even though he completed probation 3-4 years ago.

Question:
I'll keep this short and to the point. We are located in New York.

My boyfriend is 30 years old and made some really bad mistakes when he was a young man. He was missing a stable family in his life and acted out. When he was 21 he got a felony DUI. He got assigned public defender and the judge that was overseeing his case was notorious for imposing maximum sentencing on offenders. He was even quoted for publically stating his personal goal was to have some obscene amount of total years sentenced to prison under his belt before he retired.

My boyfriend was lucky to get away with mandatory 7 years probation. Part of his probation stipulation was that if he were to reapply for his license, he could only do so if he had a vehicle with the interlock device in it. This was not ordered by the judge himself, but was only a probation stipulation, meaning that once probation was signed off as being completed, he would no longer be held to those standards.

My boyfriend took this as an opportunity to get his life together. He worked tirelessly, passed every drug test, went to every meeting, etc. He didn't make a single mistake for 7 years. He decided to wait until his probation ended before reapplying for his license because he would then no longer be required to have the interlock device.

He completed probation 3 to 4 years ago, and has been fighting with the DMV ever since about getting his license back. The DMV told him that he still needed the interlock device, but he argued that once he signed the papers that he completed probation, that was no longer a requirement for him. This was not a judge ordered stipulation, it was strictly through probation. They originally said that this could be because of a paperwork error, and they told him to have his probation officer write and sign a letter that explained that he would no longer require this device. He got the letter and sent it in, and the DMV responded that the letter was not specific enough and to contact the judge or his past public defender to get his file and send them the specifics. But, both the judge and the public defender will not see him. He works so hard and was ready to move on with his life years ago, but this has really been crushing his confidence in securing his future and causing him to become depressed. Neither of us have the extra money for the device let alone another car to go with it. I am a full time college student. My question is this: what else can he do?

Answer: You might consider contacting your Assembly member or state senator’s office and seeing if they can help. Much cheaper than an attorney. Worst they can say is “no”. Answer #2: There might be an issue with the DMV. DUIs trigger both criminal law and administrative law issues. Just because he's done with the criminal side of things and probation doesn't mean everything is kosher on the administrative (DMV, licensing) side.


Title: (OK)(NY?) I wrote a very personal letter to my immediate family stating why I no longer wish to be a Jehovah's Witness. Is there a legal document I can attach stating the letter is to not be forwarded to the Jehovah's Witness headquarters in New York?

Question:
I have not sent the letter to my immediate family yet and it is specifically address to my parents and siblings. I won't attach the letter in this post, but it's basically stating I can't in good conscience be a part of this organization I was born into and I wish to keep my relationship with my family. I stopped attending more than a year ago and have avoided talking to the church elders on why I stopped attending. This has strained my relationship with my family and they still do talk to me, but I think they deserve to know why I stopped going. I can't do it in person because it would be too difficult for me.

I was 14 when I was baptized (basically signing a long life contract to be a Jehovah's Witness) and technically if I no longer wished to be one I would have to write a letter addressed to the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in New York stating I would like to disassociate and they will then make an announcement at my local Kingdom Hall "__________ is no longer a Jehovah's Witness" and every Jehovah's Witness will then shun me, including my family.

I don't want to write a formal letter because I don't want to play by their rules. I don't want them having any authority over me. I don't want my family to be forced to shun me. They can still shun me if they wish to, but I don't want it to be official.

I don't want them forwarding this letter to the local elders who would have to send it to New York as my "disassociating letter". Is there a legal document I can attach stating they can not forward my letter that was addressed specifically to them and if they do is there any legal action I can take?

Answer:
 You don't have to write this letter in the first place. Answer #2: This isn't legal advice, since the contract you entered when being baptized is symbolic and not a tangible contract.

You're not required to formally dissociate from the Church, and you'll still be considered a member by other JW's.  If you wanted to be taken off of their internal membership rosters you do need to write a disassociation letter.  Whether or not this is important to you is your choice.

I strongly recommend seeking out some therapy for dealing with this emotional strain.  This can be a turbulent time, and having someone impartial to discuss it with can be a tremendous help.Answer #3: Today seems to be "Is this religious ceremony for a teenager a life long binding contract?" day on LA.

The answer is No.

You do not need to write this letter. Assuming you are over 18, these people have no control over your attendance or lack thereof of church. I am sure there is an ex JW subreddit that can help you with the practical and emotional toil this will take/has taken already.Answer #4: No and No. Answer #5: No, they are allowed to share the letter with anyone they wish to.


Title: Why do people always say not to disclose the fact that you have a dash cam after a wreck?

Question: I usually see this in the comments on videos where a driver with a dashcam is wrongly accused of being at fault by the other driver involved in the wreck (although sometimes even the wreck happening at all is a lie). Just about everyone says to not tell them you have a dashcam? Why is that?

Answer: If you let the other party establish that they are a liar the rest of the process will go very easy for you.Answer #2: NAL, but spent years in insurance, specifically as a liability/injury adjuster. Best thing you can do after an accident (bedsides the obvious of making sure everyone is okay, getting out of the road, etc.), is take pictures of scenes and damage, exchange info, get police out/report ASAP if able to, call your own and/or their insurance company - depending on the accident. Keep conversation with the other party to a minimum. Pay attention to how they’re acting - ie if they’re walking around fine but then the ambulance comes and they decide to act incapacitated, try to get pics/video. But nothing good really comes of trying to “work it out” with the other party on the scene. Tensions and adrenaline are high, and you pay your insurance for a reason. Let your adjuster do the tough conversations and work.Answer #3: Perhaps out of fear that some lunatic may try to steal it and destroy it.Answer #4: It’s asymmetric information. In any conflict when one party has information that the other does not they have an advantage. A lot of big words to say never show your hole cardsAnswer #5: It's much like the advice not to speak to police without your lawyer by your side - what the camera shows might not be as exculpatory as you believe.


Title: Out trash company collected tons of payments, some up to a year in advance on Friday. They went out of business Saturday. MI

Question:
I’m assuming I’m just out of luck for paying six months in advance, but is there anyway I can get my money back? I paid with my card. I heard that they also filed for bankruptcy.

I think it’s ridiculous that they would call customers for payments and let them pay in advance and then close their business the next day. Over 6000 customers are now without trash and scrambling to find someone.

Answer:
 Collecting payments that are more than normal and then filing bankruptcy immediately after sounds in fraud. If you can do a charge back, get a few other victims and hire a bankruptcy attorney who can litigate.Answer #2: >Over 6000 customers are now without trash and scrambling to find someone

I am sure you mean that over 6,000 customers have a lot of trash.

But seriously, there is no harm in seeing if your credit card company will process a charge back, because if you cannot recover funds that way, you may never get a penny back after the bankruptcy is complete.

And go find another trash hauler, since this one is clearly not going to do the job.Answer #3: I think you should call the local district attorney's office. They could not possibly have been unaware that the business was about to close. This is fraud.Answer #4: Call your card company and see if you can do a charge back


Title: Legal question regarding fitting rooms in NYS

Question:
I was recently at a store with my wife who was shopping for herself and when I went to enter a unisex fitting room with her an associate stopped us and said it was against the law. I'm fairly certain that is not the case, but am having trouble finding anything legally regarding occupancy of fitting rooms. I'm planning on calling their corporate offices and complaining about the issue, but would like to have some ammo going in, can anyone help me?

Update: I contacted their corporate offices and have asked for their policy on fitting rooms in writing. Also, I should have clarified that they asserted that two people of the same gender were fine going in together, but a man and a woman was not allowed.

Answer:
 I'm a lawyer in NY.  There are three parts to this answer, and part three is the most important.

1). I am not personally aware of any law prohibiting two people from being in a dressing room together, although I suppose in theory there could be something on the books from back in the day regarding two people of the opposite sex disrobing in public or something like that.

2). This goes double if you are in NYC, because God knows what sort of ordinances the city has had to pass to keep teenagers from hooking up basically everywhere.

3). Here's the important one:  so what?  Even if you're right, what do you think you're going to accomplish by alerting a retail chain to the fact that one of their hourly employees is lacking training as an attorney?  Pretty sure they know that already, and regardless of what the "law" is, it's a very common theft-prevention policy to prohibit more than one person from going in there.  So what's your deal?  What terrible harm did you suffer here?  I assume the salesperson didn't bill you hourly for this "legal advice?"  You're throwing good time after wasted.  Let it go, unless you really just want to give some CSR a good laugh.Answer #2: It's not illegal but it certainly is (and should be) against corporate policy.  They don't want you stealing, and they don't want you fucking in the fitting rooms.Answer #3: Do you mean that you tried going into the fitting room area, or you both wanted to go into the same room? Many companies have a one person per room policy, and although it may not be illegal to allow two people in one room they have every right to enforce a one person per room policy.


Title: What gov't agencies can I complain to?

Question:
Facts:  Have been receiving medical supplies from a company in Ohio, where I live.
I never received a bill for copayments, even after I called them telling them so.
After about a year and a half I got a letter from a collection agency.
I called the agency and offered to pay the bill after they sent me a letter stating they would not report anything to any credit rating company. (I have an excellent credit score and want to keep it that way.)
I did not receive this letter after a month, so I called again, this time speaking with a supervisor who said she would send the letter.  This was two days ago.
Yesterday, without my knowledge or consent, my credit card was charged about half the amount of the bill owed - $219.29 (of $389.77) by the company, not the collection agency.
This seems a bit criminal to me.  Who can I file complaints with?

Answer: You can report to Attorney General, but how did they get your card number in first place?Answer #2: When you say you are "receiving medical supplies" are these supplies you ordered or are they just sending you stuff you never asked for?


Title: [Missouri] Recently enlisted in the military and my current employer won't promote me because I am leaving for training in the middle of the summer.

Question:
I recently enlisted in the military and leave for training on July 25th. I have been working at the same company for the last two years and was hoping for a promotion soon which would also come with a pay raise. I was told that I did not get the promotion because I am not going to be there for the entire summer due to military service. I have been reading and am pretty sure this violates USERRA which protects service members against discrimination. I don't know what to do. What are my options?
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: You are in no way guaranteed a promotion. They can promote or demote whoever they please. Unless you have a contract, you are pretty much out of luck. Promoting someone is usually costly to the employer as they would have to spend time and resources to promote someone  without any viable ROI.


Title: If an individual lives in VA and they take a trip to DC to consume marijuana, if after they get tested and pop for THC, can they still get in legal trouble because THC is technically in their system even though they consumed it legally in a place it is legal?

Question:
Also any links where this answer can be found from a reputable source is welcomed. ALSO also, not being lazy, I am currently looking for that answer online, just thought I'd ask in case someone can answer before I find the answer online.
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer: If you have to take a drug test due to probation, location of ingestion of the drug isn't going to matter.


Title: [Illinois] Husband and Mayor trying to do a deal to demolish local center for domestic violence victims without due process, can this be done or not?

Question:
I'm 46, and my husband's 48, a businessman who owns several ventures, including an auto sales dealership.

Last week he told me how he and the Mayor of our small town are looking to demolish a local women's center for domestic violence victims in order to build a new auto sales dealership claiming "Our town needs a new Chevy-Kia-GMC-Buick-Honda dealer, and I can easily fund that. We just need to demolish the domestic violence center first and the Mayor will help me do just that, without need for a public consultation?"

I'm a Canadian living in the US, with two kids who are dual citizens through my husband, and I'm not familiar with American law in this area, but doesn't this require a public consultation first?

I have emails but can't post them here for confidentiality reasons.

Is the mayor breaking local, or statewide laws doing this, and is this political corruption?
Not sure if this is the right subreddit but I'll ask anyway.

Also will this be bad PR for my husband and the mayor?

EDIT 1: My husband and mayor want to force the owner of the building to move in order to build the auto sales dealership; the mayor's been discussing this with my husband for 18 months,.

Answer: If the owner of the building the women's center wants to sell it to your husband/his company, then there's nothing illegal happening. There's not enough information on the mayor's involvement to know if anything illegal is happening. This could make your husband/the mayor look bad.


Title: [CT] Do I need a prenup?

Question:
I'm planning on getting married next year. I'm 32 and have significant assets (mid-6 figures). My fiancee is 29 and has assets in the mid-5 figures. My salary is several times higher than hers. Neither of us want kids and we plan on retiring at the same time.

Is there a point to getting a prenup? As I understand, if we were to get divorced, our assets going into the marriage wouldn't be divided. I'd be ok with evenly dividing what we acquire during our marriage. I wouldn't want to pay alimony, but as I understand you can't prohibit that in a prenup anyway.

I know it's impossible to answer without knowing all the details of my situation, but it'd be helpful if I could hear some of the things I should consider, i.e. where a prenup could still be helpful.

Answer: [Here's Nolo's page](http://www.divorcenet.com/states/connecticut/ctfaq08) on Connecticut's equitable property rules.  The fact that you brought 91% of the assets into the marriage is one factor, but not the only factor, that a judge would consider, if it came to a judge's decision.  A prenup would avoid this, if this is something you're concerned about.


Title: Received a 45k hospital bill. Please help!

Question: I had an emergency surgery done back in October to have my gallbladder removed. I have insurance through my husband's work (paid 100% by his employer as part as his agreement for employment) or so I thought. We received notification in November, that our insurance was canceled due to nonpayment and that it was backlogged from July so any type of medical procedures, doctor visits, etc. were not being covered from July - November. Rather than pay the back payment of premiums owed, the owner has decided to pay whatever employee medical bills that come in. I just received a bill this past week for my surgery and it is over $45,000. Obviously, I cannot afford to pay this bill, nor do I feel that we should be responsible for this as we received no notification of our insurance lapsing. The company my husband works is struggling financially to the point that employee paychecks are bouncing among other things. I would love some advice on what I should do.

Answer:
 You are responsible to the hospital for the bill. So if it isn't paid they'll be coming after you.

If the company let your insurance lapse, can't make payroll and can't cover a $45k bill you are going to have a rough time getting money out of them. I'd get s lawyer on your side to increase your priority in the impending bankruptcy.Answer #2: You'll need an attorney.  There's too much going on to take this all on your own.  You may have a claim here, but you do need a full-time attorney to work on these issues.  No one here at this subreddit can truly help you.Answer #3: If the company is not willing to help, contact the hospital and explain the situation. Most hospitals are willing to reduce the fees and set up payment schedules with you.

Does this asap, do not let this ruin your credit.


Title: [MI] Neighbor using leaf blower in the street in front of my house, made a mess, hit my vehicle.

Question: Edit2: Apparently everyone thinks it's OK for this guy to come onto my property with his leafblower and my car is going to get scratched anyway through normal wear and tear, so I shouldn't care what he does to it, and I'm an asshole for even worrying about it. Thanks for the great advice.

Answer: Him blowing leaves around isn't going to scratch your car. If it did, you have no way of proving it. Mind your own business. You seem like the sort of person who would be part of a power tripping homeowners association. Answer #2: How are you going to prove it was him that caused the damage?


Title: [CT] Registered Sex Offenders living too close to a school bus stop for elementary kids. Anything I can do?

Question:
Thank you for reading and for any help you can offer.

I recently did a sex offender search in my neighborhood since my toddler and I are out and about often. I found that there are 8 registered offenders living within a .5 mile radius of my home.  What’s worse is 3 of them live near a school bus stop.

One, convicted of possessing child pornography (80 pics & 300 videos) lives directly across the street from said bus stop. The other 2 have convictions for Sex Assault 1 and indecent exposure. They live 1-2 houses away.

I’ve contacted the department of emergency services who maintains the registry. The man I spoke to stated there are no state laws regulating where they can live.

I know by law I can’t do anything that could be considered harassment

However, Would it be illegal of me if I contacted the school board and/or bus company to make them aware of the situation? Just tell them there is an offender with crimes against children living across the street from the bus stop.

Thank you again for any help you can provide.

Answer:
 Do you know the terms of their release? How far they have to stay away?

Generally 500 feet, on occasion 1000 feet.

A sex offender has to have approval to live in a house or location from their case manager. Meaning all this was taken into account when they got out of jail. If their listed on the register, the state clearly knows they live there.

In fhe eyes of the state and federal government, they have completed their debt to society for their crimes and are only on an supervised probationary status. The government cant just say “sorrry, you committed a crime you already paid for. But we decided you need to do more”

They are still American Citizensa, and have the same right to life as you or I.

No matter how disgusting their actions have been


Title: My [32F] girlfriend is not earning what she claimed she was on our apartment application. We now live together. Please advise.

Question:
Any insight and advice is appreciated.

My girlfriend and I moved in together. I'm 31, she's 32.  It was a decision we made after our first year of dating. The apartment she really wanted was in a great area, and I was honestly all for it, albeit the expense. I have a great job that I love and I work between 50-60+ hours a week. She recently decided to go back to school, and works multiple jobs to make ends meet. Despite this, this particular apartment was on the more pricey side of our area, and I was wary because if put in a situation where I would have to pay for it solo during a rough month, we would just be scraping. We had a long talk about finances, and when we applied for the apartment, I saw what she was bringing in. Between the two of us, it seemed that we could afford the place and be quite comfortable living day to day. No problem.

It’s been five months since we’ve lived there, and she has been unable to help with expenses. Her hours at work got cut, and she is seemingly not making anything near what I originally anticipated. It’s a hard line for me because I want her focus to be on her studies and her degree completion, but I never expected that she would be unable to help with our monthly expenses. She makes enough to take care of her car payment, but rent, phones, electric, and often groceries fall to me. I am drowning. I have destroyed my credit and bank accounts trying to accommodate this, and I’m nearing by breaking point.

The most logical thing to do would be to cut our biggest expense, and unfortunately, that is a hard line because we currently live in ours. What kind of lingo should I look for in our lease? What is the best way to discuss my options with our landlord? Is there any way out? Where can I go from here? Does anyone have any experience in this?

I love her. I want her to focus on school, and I know with work she is doing the best she can. I don’t blame her at all, and I understand that life happens. This situation has put quite a strain on our relationship. . I’m depressed and often sad because I feel like I am going through this struggle alone, without my partner. I am also now in a position where I no longer feel that financially I am in a place where I can have a future with her. With anyone. It breaks my heart because I thought at this point we would be building toward a future together. We feel so far away from that now and that truly hurts. Once we are able to move, either by early or contracted termination of our lease, I am now in a position where I need to move back in with my parents’ for the next foreseeable eight-twelve months to repair the damage this has done to my credit and finances. I feel a lot of shame about this as well. I am a grown-ass woman and I should have my shit together by now.

Can anyone offer any advice/insight?

Answer:
 If your girlfriend lied on her rental application then your landlord could choose to evict you.  The fact that you can't afford rent is rarely a good reason to break a lease.  I'd suggest talking to your landlord and negotiate a way to break your lease.

Also, /r/relationships.  Your girlfriend has problems with money.  This isn't a problem of not earning enough, it's a problem of not living within your means.Answer #2: This is not a lease problem. It’s a girlfriend problem. She lied about her income and then threw the expenses on you when she couldn’t come through. She  is 30+ years old for goodness sake. She needs to pay her own expenses. At a minimum she should be able to pay more than just her car payment. People MUCH younger than her do it all the time while going to school. She should be able to work part time and cover at least her car, cell phone, insurance and some shared bills. Don’t try to get out of your lease just because she’s not being an adult. That is irresponsible. My advice would be to talk to your girlfriend about her finances instead of breaking your lease


Title: Is there any reason why the crime of lying to police in an investigation shouldn’t be treated the same as perjury? I mean, your words could be used as evidence in court, right?

Answer:
 The reason is that you’re not under oath.

While the statement could be used as evidence, the fact that you were not under oath when you made the statement would also (or at least *should* also) be considered as part of the evidence.

Lying to the police in an investigation is still usually a crime, it’s just a different crime than lying under oath.


Title: (TX) my apartment manager neglected to update me, missing parking signs

Question:
Hello,

To begin, somebody egged my truck a few weeks ago and my windshield cracked & the paint was chipped as well. They also smeared the eggs all over my windshield with the windshield wipers. By the time I went back to my car, it had set in & I could see there was a lot of damage. I’m a college student, so lots of damage means lots of $$ that I can not afford. The truck is undrivable, because for the life of me, I can not remove these eggs.

Thankfully, this happened right in front of the only camera in the parking garage, so I filed a police report & hoped there was footage. I reached out to my apartment complex via email & forwarded the police case # as well.

Over a two week span, I reached out to the apartment complex a few times via email & phone call, as well as asking when I’d stop in to pick up a package. Everybody kept telling me they had no updates, only the manager handles that kind of stuff. After they informed me of this, I only used the manager’s email to communicate with him about any updates. After 2 weeks of not hearing anything back, I call the office and ask that I speak with the manager. After a 10 minute hold, he’s put on, just to tell me that he looked at the camera 2 weeks and it “decided to stop working that day”. I asked him why he withheld this information for 2 weeks, which he gave a halfhearted apology. I told him I’d need to update the police with this information as I have a case now, and that I couldn’t afford to pay the damages. He laughed & told me “we have signs plastered everywhere saying we aren’t liable for any damages”. I thanked him & ended the phone call realizing I wasn’t going to get any respect or a decent apology.

When I looked, NO signs are posted ANYWHERE in the garage saying such. Nothing in my lease either. When I called back to inquire, no response. No response to an email as well. This has been the most inconvenient thing, not having a car. I’ve had to share my boyfriend’s, who’s in law school currently, so we have direct opposite scheduling. The truck has been sitting in the garage for this time. Sometimes I go back & try a new trick to get the eggs off, and not all of it will. My work has been affected, arriving to school on time, I’ve had to take several Uber’s during this time as well.

My question is if they are liable for damages because no signs are posted anywhere. I plan to call corporate to file a complaint today, but what should my next move be?

Answer:
 > My question is if they are liable for damages

They aren't.  The person who damaged your car is.


Title: Applied for a State ID card as a Canadian, now Selective Service thinks I am American

Question:
Location: Canada, 18-25 years old

A few years ago my parents purchased a property in the United States.  After going out a few nights and finding that some places do not accept out of US ID, I thought it would be cool to ask for one.  I had thought that a friend had applied and received one with no problems but he actually had not.

I applied at the DMV using my canadian passport as identification and the US address.  I read and reread the form to make sure I had not done something wrong, and the person who filed the application knew I was Canadian.  They gave me the temporary ID and I left.

About a month later, selective service sent a letter requiring me to submit my information to Selective Service.  After contacting them and explaining the situation, they requested some of my info to ensure that I am a Canadian citizen.  I sent it.

The next letter indicated that they can't stop it anyway, as once I'm in the system I can't get out.  While it definitely seemed important, I definitely did not want to complete their process.  I haven't had any correspondence since, at least as far as I know.

I am worried that this will create problems for me in the future, such as being flagged for something or other on US flights or if I choose to pursue employment in the US.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Answer: When you applied for ID at the DMV, did you make a representation that you were a resident of the state from which you were seeking ID? You almost certainly did. The selective service act requires alien residents to register, not just US citizens. Answer #2: It's totally fine to register. They thought I was a dude, so I had to register for Selective Service too. When I registered I put that I was a lady. They don't care. They don't care that you're a Canadian. Nothing will happen. As u/travio says, it matters for some paperwork issues, that's all.


Title: [Indiana] Man from other state will not leave my girlfriend alone and is making very VERY personal songs about killing her and raping her.

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 She needs to call the police.Answer #2: Document everything with the police. There may be a crime that he can be prosecuted on, but even if not, there would at least be a paper trail in case of future problems.Answer #3: >I didnt blur out his name since it is an alt account under a different name. I do not know his real name, I just know his first name.

You should blur it out anyway.  It may not be HIS real name.  But, it could be another person's name he wishes to be implicated.  We do not need to know that information.  Save it for the police.


Title: [Indiana] School wide drug search of personal property with no consent

Question:
So not too long ago a local highschool had a drug search. I was not present but this is the story told by multiple sources and Im looking for information on how to advise students and parents. I am not a lawyer, just a friend to many people that people look to for advice.

The day before the search happened a student was reported to have had marijuana at school. The student wasn't caught and only stories from students could be gathered. The school decides to have a large search the very next day. Everyone goes on lockdown so no one is allowed to leave the class. There was a drug dog used to sniff lockers and surrounding areas. Nothing was found from this.  The principal then tells all the students to take their bags and place them in the hallway and return to the classroom. That's all the principal said. At this point no one knows a search is occurring unless they happened to peak out the window and saw the dog and cop. No announcent of a search is given. Every bag placed in the hallway was searched, every locker opened, and everything within the lockers were opened and searched. No one was present for the searches except the principal, vice principal, and police.

No illegal substances were found within the school but one car was found to have illegal substances. Some were punished for having Tylenol or something like that in their bags by the school but nothing criminal.

So the question is, was this search legal? If it wasn't legal what can be done about it?
Topic:
Drug Possession

Answer: Everything here was legal.