Title: Local magistrate court made clerical error costing me hundreds and I have no idea how to hold them responsible

Question:
I have been dealing with this for months.  Please help if applicable.

I was arrested for a minor marijuana offense in October just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.   I called a life long friend at 6am to bail me out and he obliged.  Months later I completed my pre trial diversion and the judge ordered for my bail to be refunded.  Unfortunately even though my friend has lived in Georgia his whole life and has never been affiliated with an out of state address, the magistrate court mailed his refunded check to Illinois.  There was also an Illinois phone number linked to him.  Both the jail and bond company have said that they did not supply the magistrate court with an address and my friend has said that he was never asked for an address at any point of this process.

Eventually the check was returned in the mail to the magistrate court.  The clerk gave me a change of address form for my friend to mail in which he did with his correct address, but unfortunately they decided not to accept it after they received.

Here is the real problem:  The court is telling me that my friend has to come in person to change his address which is simply a non option.  They are only open Monday-Friday 9-5, which are the exact hours that my friend works 2 hours away from the courthouse.  After my friend already answered my call at 6am to bail me out I simply cannot ask him to take a vacation day to deal with this problem that the courthouse created.  If this turns out to be the only option then I will be the one to pay my friend back, which I cannot afford.

Is there anyway to hold this court accountable for their mistake rather than having to deal with this unnecessary “change of address” dilemma?  I have been to this courthouse weekly for months.  Please help, thank you.

Answer: If your friend hired a bail bondsman, then why would the court send him a check?


Title: [GA] 18yo misdemeanor marijuana charge. What next?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Lawyer. Lawyer asap, or your financial aid is *gone*.

Oh, and don't smoke at the middle school. That's just dumb. Answer #2: You need to hire an attorney **ASAP**. It's a school decision, not a legal issue if they still let you attend but a conviction may disqualify you from federal aid.


Title: Is it legal for an sat school to confiscate my phone?

Question:
My phone was ringing in class and my instructor took it away and refused to return it until September. Do I have legal rights to retrieve my phone since it's my property?

(BC, Canada)

Update: I spoke to the principal about the situation and he decided to return my phone.
Topic:
Canada

Answer:
 Have your parents go pick it up.Answer #2: Ask your parents to call the school and pick up the phone. They should be able to make the argument it's their property, assuming you're under 18.

Don't take your phone into the classroom in the future. Lock it up securely or keep it turned to silent in your bag. Answer #3: What a sat school?

If you're an adult, the answer is noAnswer #4: If they're refusing to return the phone to your parents, I'm pretty sure that's theft.Answer #5: They do need to release your phone to your parents, unless your parents signed a contract with them saying they could hold it until September/any specific time. It might simply take a strongly-worded letter that says "release the phone to the parents or we will use the remedies available to us".


Title: Getting Screwed in San Diego. Need legal advice for nightmare landlord 😖

Question:
Need LEGAL advice!

Situation: moved into our duplex apartment in May where there are a total of 4 units. Duplex is owned by a family who goes through a management company (they do not want to be contacted and it is within our contract that we will not contact them). This management company is run by 1-2 people but the main person's name is XXX. We have an SO many issues with him it is unbelievable... just to name a few: 1. Said he had conflicting schedules and never gave us a walk through so we had to drive to his office where he had left our keys with a random lady in the building. After moving in we found out that he had said the same exact things to our neighbors who moved in the month before. 2. Since he didn't show us the place when we moved in, our water happened to be off and so he had to send someone here to turn it back on...this was during the weekend and he does not respond to emails/calls/etc over the weekend so luckily we still had our old place for another week so we could shower there. 3. Our ceiling fan in our bedroom is so loud and wobbles while on in which he responded to us in email saying that he if it was installed correctly we would be charged for someone looking at it. If someone came and it happened to be installed incorrectly then he would pay for it. Note: we have no AC so we need our ceiling fan to work..still not fixed. 4. We signed our lease saying that when we move we will be charged $200 for the yard and home to be sprayed for flea...so we asked to see the receipt saying that it had been done prior to us moving in...we have asked at least 5-10 times in email and he has NEVER responded. 5. When we moved in there had been a month of walk throughs and the place was NEVER cleaned prior to us moving in.

Anyways..this is the newest issue.

When we went to the showing of the place, the lady who used to work for XXX stated that we did not pay water or that we only payed every 3 months (we can't remember). That doesn't matter because we signed out lease stating "Tenants will pay all utilities except____" So we understand that we are legally required to pay water BUT we moved in in May and our neighbors had been there for a month and never been charged..Then we asked the other two neighbors... neighbor A has been here for 7 years and NEVER been charged for water. Neighbor B has been here for 4 years and NEVER been charged for water. Last month we see on our online portal that we are being charged for water all the way back to May. This was sent out on Friday the 2nd saying it was due in 3 days on Labor day. It is not a statement from the city just one from the management company. We all share a water meter, so it says online it is split by how many tenants are in each place. Then there is the community yard, which has sprinklers running every night that does not have its own meter. We simply asked XXX Xto meet with us to discuss why we are now being charged and how the split the community yard water. He has yet to answer our question but says that we can take our time to make the payment and that it was a GLITCH on their side that we have not been billed. So we asked how neighbor A and B haven't been billed in 4-7 years in which he explains that he cannot talk about other tenants information and that we can take our time to pay the bill. Note tenant A and B HAVE NOW BEEN BILLED! He back billed them for water to LAST SEPTEMBER!! What?!

My questions:
I know WE are legally obligated to pay for water, but how is this not implied legally that we don't pay water if we haven't been billed in months and others haven't been billed in 4-7 years. XXX says we cannot see the bill from the city because it includes the owners information.

Why can't he white out the information and show us?
Is this legal?

We have also called him 50 plus times and never spoken to him on the phone he never answers and never calls us back.

We ALL really feel like we are being scammed. My husband and I googled the crap out of the duplex and found the owners information. I am willing to call them but don't want to get ourselves in trouble for signing and saying we wouldn't be in contact with them even though we were never given their information.

Today we received a $150 late fee for not paying the water bill, which XXX stated 2-3 times in email that we could take our time paying for since there was a glitch.

How is there a glitch for 4-7 years and obviously they were paying the water before or the city would have shut it off.

UGHHHHH!!!!

We Love our apartment, yard, neighbors, area etc. is it worth arguing with this prick for him to be pissed and screw us over when we move or raise our rent that we have to move? We are/were planning on staying here for a few years so we don't want to piss this guy off anymore than we already have.

Thank you!

Answer: Did the management or landlord disclose that the water bill will be split between tenants at your lease signing or before? Is it mentioned in your lease?


Title: I am living under the radar because the last guy I dated was a violent, psycho rapist who is still trying to find me.

Question:
Throwaway OBVIOUSLY.

Some quick facts:

* This was 2016
* I did not file a police report because I feared retaliation.
* I dated this guy for 2 weeks and then he forcefully sodomized me, wouldn't let me leave his house, and consolidated all cash and phones to his possession.
* Told me he was going to buy a shotgun with my next paycheck, already had guns in the house.
* I told my boss at work what was going on and they helped distract him while I went home and got all my stuff and left the state.
* He stalked me through my very limited friends on social media, made multiple accounts to try to gain access to me.
* Within the last year he showed up unannounced to a place I was working and my employer hid me in a back room. I was pregnant at the time, not his child (I'm unofficially married now).
* A month later he got booked in another state for violating a restraining order and I don't know if there was violence involved but I have since learned he has done this to a GRIP of women.
* Last month he contacted my brother, again, trying to get information on me and where I am. I think he knows I have a child.
* I am too scared to do anything that would put my info on public record and it is stunting my financial life. Afraid to marry legally because I don't know if he can find records.

What the crap do I do? I can't move across country yet and I want protection, but he has no qualms violating restraining orders and hurting women. His bail was just a couple grand for this last time and that's just enough to piss him off and make him want revenge. He's no stranger to prison apparently.

I might delete this post in the next day just because I am seriously worried about this person finding and hurting me.

Answer: As a woman experienced with some of these matters... get yourself a firearm for protection.  Don't know what state but if you need a concealed carry, get it.  If you have Constitutional Carry, use it. In any case, have it at home.  He has no qualms violating a piece of paper and you, and only you, have an obligation to protect yourself, not the police, who only come after a crime is committed.


Title: Accused in road rage incident personally came to my house to serve court papers (Canada)

Question:
A few months ago, i was in a road rage incident, where someone poorly executed a turn and ended up with our front bumpers facing each other in the intersection, he told me to move, i couldn't safely, he ended up pushing the front end of my car with his, damaging my bumper slightly, i drove off, reported it as a hit and run as i didn't want to stay around to get his information.........
A month goes by before i hear much about it, then i get a call from insurance company saying he denies being in an accident and has no damage on his vehicle, but i had his paint chips on mine.......
After another statement to the insurance company, another month or so goes by, and today, i get a letter saying the insurance company deemed us both 50% responsible, which i was going to appeal. Anyways, he shows up at my house and tries to serve me "court of queens bench papers" and says i've been served, i tell him I'm not going to accept them and say he needs to leave. he tries grabbing the door to open it and i pulled it shut.

My question is how did he get my address? and what could he be suing me for if he claims nothing happened?

Answer:
 >Anyways, he shows up at my house and tries to serve me "court of queens bench papers" and says i've been served, i tell him I'm not going to accept them and say he needs to leave. he tries grabbing the door to open it and i pulled it shut.

Okay this is just dumb. 1. You were properly served despite you acting like an idiot. 2. It doesn't matter if you accept, otherwise who the fuck would? 3. You better smarten up and get those papers because your window for a defence just started to close.

>My question is how did he get my address?

Any one of a million ways. It's not hard to find people.

> and what could he be suing me for if he claims nothing happened?

Try reading the papers and do it quickly. You have 30 days to respond.


Title: [New Jersey] Involuntary commitment laws regarding physical health problems secondary to mental illness

Question:
Upfront, I want to thank anyone who responds, it means a lot.

Today I was informed by my 'treatment team' (one which cares for my mental healthcare) that there is a possibility they could make a case of self-neglect and involuntarily commit me for treatment. The issue is not purely psychiatric. The issue is based on my physical health, the psychiatric component is secondary.

I have a history and actively self-harm, *without suicidal intent*. This has recently caused a visit to the ER due to dizziness/lightheadedness/etc. I was diagnosed with moderately-severe anemia. For those that may be versed in the medical field, my hemoglobin was 8.9, it should be up between 12 and 15. I was discharged and told that I was very close to the 'line' where blood transfusions are given. My results, a week later, have come back to show my hemoglobin has dropped further to 8.2. That was today and what spurred the conversation.

While I understand that my mental illness and behaviors are problematic, I'm fully aware of the consequences and understand the medical problems that come with severe anemia. Yet, despite expressing this, I was still told that 'there comes a point when we *have* to do something'. That was followed up with the vague threat-like statement of involuntary commitment.

My question is, even though I'm causing self-inflicted damage that is causing potentially serious medical complications, I am still aware and able to understand what I'm doing. I'm still in control of my actions, I'm making a grounded choice in a sound mind (not suicidal, homicidal, or psychotic). I don't see how there could possibly be a case made of self-neglect, but the threat of being locked up against my will is terrifying.

I would appreciate any insight into if my 'team' could actually make this case of self-neglect (given my blood levels drop too low). I want to be prepared for anything that gets thrown at me, and what, if any, tactics may be used to prove that I 'require' involuntary commitment (and how to identify/avoid them).

Side note: It's extremely complicated psychologically so it's difficult to 'just stop' the self-harm. It's a maladaptive coping mechanism that I'm working on changing.
Topic:
Healthcare Law including HIPAA

Answer:
 >I'm making a grounded choice in a sound mind

>I have a history and actively self-harm

These two things are not compatible. In the eyes of your treatment team you are not mentally stable, and your mental illness is manifesting itself through self-harm. There aren't really any special "tactics" they would need to use to provide evidence that you require professional help: your self-harm gives them all the evidence they need.

Please note that I am not intricately familiar with commitment proceedings in NJ, but I would imagine (and hope) that some who is self-harming would be able to be given the help they need.


Title: Technology

Question: So because I am a little asshole I tend to have this small sense of entitlement. Are there any laws to prevent a teacher from taking a phone or laptop from you without consent? Other than not using it are their clauses recognized by law enforcement allowing me to keep possession of my devices? I did not sign a technology form that they made everyone else sign. In what way do they have the right to confiscate my belongings? Do not know if this helps but I am from Wisconsin, primarily the Milwaukee Area.

Answer: Teachers can discipline you. There's no law that gives you unfettered access to your phone in school. They don't even have to give it back to you in a quick manner. Don't be act entitled or act like an asshole and keep your phone.


Title: Should i spend my college money on a paid attorney or a public defender might be enough?

Question:
Background:
-18 y/o
-No past criminal record
-Happened in Louisiana

Some background of the incident:

I was caught in my dorm room with a herb vape and around 3.5 grams of ABV (vaped bud) and a joint. Other items seized were a scale, grinder, rolling papers etc.. My RA opened the door of my room while i was playing video games and about 6-8 officer entered the room, two of them belonging to the drug division and had a dog. I was arrested and charged with possession of MJ, paraphernalia, and possession in school grounds. was bailed the day after and currently waiting for the court date which is on January.

The day I was released I immediately went to my university's conduct office to sort out which penalties i would face with them.. I have to do community service, a drug class, and be randomly drug tested each semester. I dont have any complaint for this, i was actually at least expecting being kicked out of the residence halls so in that aspect my university career has not been damaged.

Now i dont know in what will happen in the court date and with those 3 charges. Will a paid attorney be worth expending my current savings for future college tuition (around $5k)? I currently receive federal and state financial aid which i believe would be lost if these charges persist.

Please advice on what would be the best course of action in this situation.

If im missing anything here that would help with better advice please ask
Thanks!

Answer: This is not something to mess around with. If you can afford to pay an attorney, you'll be required to do so. These charges may put into jeopardy your financial aid, in addition to future job prospects if you're convicted of any of the charges. You should find a lawyer with experience to help.


Title: Landlord is charging $3000 for damages and withholding my $2200 security deposit

Question:
So my landlord is withholding my $2200 security deposit for supposed damages. However there are no damages in my house and they claim they are keeping it for normal wear and tear and other things such as painting and cleaning. I have written a very detailed letter objecting to their claims and requesting they provide picture evidence of all damages. I gave them 15 days to respond and they still have not. After a phone call they said they have no obligation to answer until they have made their own decision.

I think they want us to settle and just allow them to keep our deposit but it’s a lot of money and I don’t want to do that, especially when they can provide no proof of damages.

If it helps this is in Florida and we are college students. I think they are just trying to take advantage of us. Is it worth it to pursue them in court?

Answer:
 > they claim they are keeping it for normal wear and tear and other things such as painting and cleaning

Hahaha holy shit, was this in writing? You have a slam dunk case if so. If not, slightly less slam dunk.


Title: [South Carolina] First time with legal trouble, happens to be with weed

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > I know I drive fine when high because i've driven people who are sober and they didn't notice a difference.

Uhhhh.. that's not how it works. Many people drive fine when drunk too, until they don't.


Title: Do lawyer refunds expire? [Texas]

Question:
I hired a divorce lawyer in 2012 with a initial payment of $1500.  After a while I tried to contact him to see if there was anything he needed and how we were progressing.  He never seemed to be in, and when I called I was always told I could leave a message for him, but even doing so I never got a call back.

At the beginning of 2014 I sent a registered letter to him requesting a refund, and finally he got back to me.  He stated the refund would only be about half as much because of the work he did.  That's fine, I want him to be paid for what he's done.  I'm still having trouble contacting him.  In hindsight I probably should have recorded times called and office visits.

Do I need to be worried that he's "running out the clock" on the refund?

Thanks /r/legaladvice.

Answer: Contact your local bar association, they should have a process to deal with this.


Title: Can I report a bar for negligence?

Question:
Was at a local bar last night-in the US-and there was a woman who was bleeding a lot-she had 2 deep cuts from a beer glass on her leg and needed stitches.

She was bleeding there for over an hour and did not want to go to the hospital-as she seemed to be on a lot of drugs.

The bartender did not even seem to notice nor care and I thought of writing a letter to the owner.

Today I wonder if I should report the bar-that has to be a violation of some kind-blood everywhere and someone needing medical attention but not getting it.

Answer: It is likely a health department violation and nothing more. The bar has no legal duty to ensure proper medical attention to its patrons other than to prevent over-serving. It may not even be a health department violation, honestly. Answer #2: If she refused medical attention the bartender can’t force her to go


Title: [OH] Landlord advertised free parking and told us there was free parking, but is making us pay anyways

Question:
Hey guys, so me and my 5 roommates signed a lease back in November for our apartment for this upcoming school year that starts in a week. We chose this apartment because the leasing company advertised on their [website](http://www.hometeamproperties.net/amenities/) that they have no permit costs for their properties which was a huge selling point because we all wanted to be able to bring our cars, and off-street parking is very limited near campus. Before signing the lease we even double checked and they assured us there would be free parking. And no where in our lease does it mention we would need to pay extra for parking (although it doesn't say parking will be free either).

Fast forward to this past week when I received an email that told us we could now purchase parking passes for 300$ each. I asked them about what they had communicated to us earlier, that parking would be free, and they simply responded that they regret the miscommunication. Their justification for the discrepancy on their website was that the free off-street parking only applies for when there is parking available in front or surrounding the property (which is the case for our apartment building), not parking lots (it is a 19 spot parking lot, which is one spot for each resident plus a utility spot). After pressing them for more information through email about this issue, they resorted to threatening to tow me if I tried to park there.

So, for my five roommates and myself to bring our cars will cost us collectively 1,800$. Has anyone ever been in a situation similar to this, or have an idea if I could pursue a legal course of action? Any information or advice would really help us out.

Edit: and here is a scan of the parking section of our lease http://imgur.com/Cag1KTF

Answer:
 I'm afraid I don't see a discrepancy on the website. It says off street parking available, not guaranteed. No permit cost refers to off street parking.

If they want money for a guaranteed parking spot in the lot, I don't see any misrepresentation here. The lease states parking is not part of the lease and the ad is for street parking.


Title: I was assaulted last night and I don't think the police are going to do anything about it MN

Question:
I live in a small town, approx 3000 population, so it's generally pretty safe. Most people around here are "Minnesota nice".

Last night I went to a bar that's within walking distance from my house. I went to the bar at about 10:00, I had invited a couple friends, but they declined. No one else I knew was at the bar, so it ended up being lame. I decided to just call it a night at 11:30 and walk back home.

During my walk back home, some young guys came running up to me. They looked to be about 16-20 years old, I'm not sure, but they were on the young end. It was dark and I didn't get a good look at them. I did see that one of them was black, or half black. My town is like 99% white, so he kind of stuck out to me.

Anyway, these guys beat me up. For no reason, I don't even know them. They didn't steal my wallet or anything, but they gave me a beating. It happened so fast and I was outnumbered, I don't even know if they all jumped in on me, or if it was just the black kid. I just remember getting hit, I grabbed the kid in the hoodie, then I got hit some more. Next thing I knew, I was laying on the ground and they were gone. It's hard to explain, I wasn't so drunk to not remember, but I can't remember exactly what happened. I think I got knocked out, or at least dazed from getting hit in the head. I got up and looked around, they were gone, but then a cop car pulled up.

The police officer asked me if I was alright. He never got out of the car or anything. I explained to him that I was walking home from the bar and some teenagers jumped me. I told him that one of them was black and I don't know where the went. The police officer said that he had an idea who it might be, and he left. I finished walking home.

When I got home I looked in the mirror and saw the extent of the damage. I was bleeding from 9 different spots on my face and head. My eye is swollen almost shut. My arms are all scraped up. My nose and mouth were bleeding. I have a huge swollen egg on my forehead.

My wife called the police again, because they just left me like that. I was clearly suffering from multiple head injuries and they just left me to walk the rest of the way home by myself. So the police came to my house, it was the same officer and another officer with him. This time they  took a picture of my face. I told them if they catch the kids, I want to press charges. The officer butted back that when he talked to me outside I said that I was alright and wasn't pressing charges. I told him that I changed my mind after seeing my face and that this is NOT OK. But the police don't seem to be taking it seriously. My wife and I both got the same vibe, like we were wasting their time by calling them back. They weren't even going to make a police report until we called them back.

I know at this point, they'll probably never catch the kids. But I'm thinking that the police totally mishandled the whole situation. How in the hell did that officer see me covered in blood with head injuries and think it was OK to let me walk home? I could have a concussion. I didn't seek medical care, but would that be advisable to make my case better if they do happen to make an arrest?  Can I sue the city/police for leaving me to walk home after clearly seeing that I was injured?

TLDR, I got randomly beat up. The police haven't done anything.

Answer: It is your right to refuse medical care.  The police have zero obligation to help you when you say you’re fine and don’t want help.


Title: Wanting to take my kids back to our home country, we now live in NZ. Worried my in laws will stop me.

Question:
Before we moved I was pretty confident if I needed to leave again I would be able to just jump back on a plane home, since my kids were born in Australia. I’ve booked tickets but have told everyone it’s just a holiday, including my husband at this point.

I will tell him before then but his parents are extremely manipulative and I’m terrified they will find a way to convince him to keep us here and trap us. He won’t be able to not tell them and they have had more control over him since we moved here than I thought possible. I love him and don’t want to leave him but since we moved here things have gone very badly. I’m now concerned about him - he’s not himself and has been behaving erratically. He has used physical force on a few occasions and I have no one here to support me, I’m isolated and surrounded by his family. I know I need to get away and my family will help and support us but I’m worried my husbands family will be able to prevent us leaving. Where do I stand legally?

Answer:
 IANAL, but a family friend went through a very similar situation
If you are an Australian citizen and the kids are too (both born in Aus and by Aus parent) then you will get social services support when you move back.
My friend had an NZ born but Aussie citizen partner and he was required to pay child support via both governments and was in trouble by both tax departments when he stuffed that up.
Find a local support service in NZ and I think you'll find it's a common situation they deal with.Answer #2: IANAL. Don't say anything before you go if you have concerns about your safety or his parents' actions. Go through all of the legal channels when you get to Australia and keep yourself safe.


Title: Why would a contract set Texas as the Jurisdiction and Venue?

Question:
I run an Amazon seller account and signed up for a service to get paid earlier. I definitely slacked off on due diligence when I signed it because I needed the money fairly urgently, but now that I am taking a closer look at the "Guarantee Agreement" I signed and I see some red flags.

The first is that the Jurisdiction and and Venue are set as Texas, which is strange to me, because the company is based in NY as am I. Is this something to be worried about or is it something that is pretty run of the mill?

I know no one can say anything for certain without reading the agreement, I more just want to know, if it I should have it reviewed by a lawyer. Thanks for any advice anyone has.

Answer: Texas is known for being a plaintiff and business friendly state.


Title: In the Gawker case, why is Hogan able to seize the personal assets of the founders? Shouldn't he only be able to go after the company itself?

Question:
I thought that the owners of companies were immune from judgement - if I own stock in Disney and Disney loses the lawsuit, no one comes asking me for money.

Sorry if I'm missing something super obvious!

Answer: I figured he wouldn't be able to, but shell companies, piercing the veil, idiots who run million dollar sole proprietorships, mingling funds, etc all are ways of getting through.


Title: is this abuse from CPS? (California)

Question:
I am honestly not sure what to do, so I want to share this story in the hopes someone can provide me with a suggestion. I was suggested to sign up and post this by an existing redditor. I’ll start with the basics. I live in California in San Bernardino county.

My brother and my sister in law recently separated. Their daughter has had to deal with her mother constantly harassing her father and the fact that her mother is a drug addict.
Her mother has placed her in a great deal of physical risk, starting with leaving her unattended in a neighborhood with drug users and sellers who come into and out of the home. At one point, because she did not pay a drug seller, they shot up my niece’s room. This action had my niece finally taken from her mother and placed in her father’s care.

Shortly after, my brother, who is disabled, had a car accident because of a lack of medication for his diabetes and without investigation, CPS took my niece from him as well under the suspicion that he was also abusing drugs. Ordered to take drug tests, he did and passed. CPS then placed my niece with a foster family while ordering my sister-in-law to have no contact with my niece. My sister-in-law proceeded to ignore this order, contacting my niece daily until it was discovered at which point all parental rights were removed from her. At this point, my sister-in-law went to move states and proceeded to call CPS daily to press allegations against my brother. Because of these allegations, my brother has had to drug test about four times a week as well as additional parenting classes as he has attempted to gain custody and despite passing each of these tests and doing everything that CPS has requested, he is not allowed to see my niece without supervision.

Later this same year, CPS did finally release my niece to the custody of her sisters with a standing no contact order for her mother and the understanding that this is part of the process of releasing her into her father’s custody. My other nieces, the ones who now have custody of her, have begun to get involved in drugs and drinking, and despite CPS knowing this, they have done nothing about it other than continue to investigate my brother over and over again, and yet they find nothing. The end goal was to have her back with her father before christmas, though the other day, my niece was driven out to colorado to visit her mother unsupervised with the okay of CPS. It was at this point that her mother tested dirty, yet again, the no contact order is STILL in effect, yet nothing has come of this.

After my brother contact CPS about this, they said that they were extending his probationary period to get his daughter by six months and were considering removing HIS parental rights and releasing my niece to her mother. After my brother issued a formal complaint about this, as he has done everything CPS has requested without fail, passed every test, attended every class and proved again and again that he has every intention of caring for his daughter, CPS came to visit my house.

We were threatened by a CPS agent, as my niece who lives here also has a mother who is a drug addict (who does not live in this house and has no contact because CPS gave her daughter to my mother, who is in a position to properly care for her). We were told that if my brother doesn’t withdraw his allegations against CPS that they would conveniently misfile some of the paperwork regarding my niece’s paperwork (the one who lives here) and have the allegations against her mother suddenly show that they were happening with my mother and they would take my niece and if they had her, we wouldn’t get her back.

This should be illegal if it is not already, but I don’t know what to do at this point. If we file a complaint and they follow through on their threat, the niece who lives with us, who has already had enough tragedy in her life because of her mother’s actions will be taken from the family who loves and cares for her all so that CPS can maintain some strange status quo on an unrelated case with my brother. All of this is so wrong and I’m not sure where to go, who to talk to or what to do.

Given statements my sister-in-law has made, it is possible that she had paid off CPS in some way to do this, though this is just here say at this point.

TLDR:
 CPS is abusing their position to keep a parent who wants their child from having them while working to give that child to a parent who has a no contact order on her case and is a drug abuser. In addition CPS is threatening people outside of this case with purposeful misconduct. What can I do about this without putting the niece that lives here at risk as well?

Answer:
 >We were told that if my brother doesn’t withdraw his allegations against CPS that they would conveniently misfile some of the paperwork regarding my niece’s paperwork (the one who lives here) and have the allegations against her mother suddenly show that they were happening with my mother and they would take my niece and if they had her, we wouldn’t get her back.

Do you have evidence for this?


Title: [CA, USA] Neighbors are smoking in smoke free area, it's blowing into my apartment...

Question:
Hello LegalAdvice!

I have some neighbors below me that are smoking and it's invading my living space (I live in an area with NO AC and everyone keeps their windows open).  I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

I recently moved into a new apartment.  Please note I have lived in this apartment complex already, but had to move into a new apartment after some family matters were taking me out of state for a while and it wasn't worth keeping the other apartment in the meantime.  So 1.5-2months ago I moved into my new apartment in a different building.  Prior to this situation, I have never filed any complaint with the onsite office for the community.

Please also note that this community I live in is considered a "smoke free" community, and if you do smoke there are designated areas away from the buildings so as not to bother neighbors with your smoke.  This means no smoking around the property or in the apartments.

Shortly after I moved in, I noticed a strong cigarette smell in the evenings.  At first, I thought it was someone outside walking around.  As I walked around, I had trouble locating the smell.  (Note again, I had assumed it was someone walking around - I hadn't guessed it would be someone smoking IN their apartment).

Finally, after it had happened a couple more times, I realized the smoke was only right outside my stairwell and coming up to my balcony from below.  And from that I realized it was my downstairs neighbors smoking below me with their windows open/blinds closed.

I emailed the property managers office located on site.  I explained to them that I was having cigarette smoke come into my apartment (so much so that it was like they were standing in my living room!).  This smell had come at hours in the evening anywhere from 8pm to 2am (sometimes waking me up from sleep making me feel like I couldn't breathe).

One of the apartment people did a walk around, and when I talked to her a few days later in person (as the smoke smell had continued) she said "yes I definitely smelled it even though I couldn't see it".  They send a warning letter to the neighbors and gave them a phone call saying that there was no smoking the apartment.  The neighbors denied that they were smoking.

The smell goes away for a while.  But as time goes on, it comes back on and off in no particular order except it's happening after 10pm (when no on call people are present to catch the neighbors in the act).  Obviously the letter/call did nothing.  I had been sending emails to the office routinely documenting when the smoke smell was happening.

So finally, sick of it I send them an "official" complaint saying I can't continue to live in an apartment if it smells like smoke.  I don't want my furniture/items to smell like it, and it makes me feel ill.  Finally the office calls me and state that they needed to substantiate my claims by catching them the act.  They even ask me at some point if I could try to take a picture!  I explained that though the windows are open, the blinds are closed and I would feel uncomfortable photographing someone inside of their home... I work in a field where I could lose a license if I did something illegal.

Then they said if they catch them in the act, they have their own proof from the staff (seeing it in person/smelling it).  Then, it would take one more complaint from any neighbor for more serious actions (eviction) to be taken.  I'm like okay, I understand that they have to work within certain perimeters.

The smell continues though, consistently after hours when there's no one on call, which I tell them.

The office then asked me to give them more time.  So I did.  This past Friday, it finally happens.  The smell comes around 8pm.  The person on call comes, and at first he smells just incense.  (The neighbors had used incense on and off I think to try and mask the smell).  I was out on my balcony when he came so I asked him to walk up the stairs.  He does and he says, "Okay, I do smell it now".  He then goes downstairs, knocks on the neighbors door and says "This is smoke-free living, I need you to smoke in the designated areas."  They denied they were smoking again.  He responded, "I could smell the smoke as soon as you opened your door."  I couldn't hear the rest of the convo, but I had figured yay... they have their first hand proof.

Then last night I smell the smoke once more.  I send them the email saying "Hey, I just wanted to let you guys know this smell is back.  I didn't smell it for a couple days after the after hours person had done the check."  I'm feeling relieved at this point, hoping that the neighbors downstairs will either get the picture or the office people will do something more than just send a letter/give a phone call.

Today I receive a reply email stating:

> Good afternoon, smokeismakingmesick,
>
> We have reached out to the resident below you about the smoking concern.  The leasing team has done two different visits, and we have not seen nor smelled any smoking evidence.
>
> We will have our CSR pay close attention to that unit along with the surrounding units and buildings."

I'm at a loss.  I replied to this email today stating what I had heard in terms of the conversation from the on call person on Friday night.  I basically asked, "what type of proof in person do you need to substantiate that it's happening?"  It's like the whole conversation between the on call person and the downstairs neighbor didn't happen.

I've reviewed my lease and the smoking addendum that all people have to sign to rent from this place.  Basically it states that the company will do their best to enforce the no smoking policy, but really at the end of the day if they can't verify anything then it's not their problem.  It does state that tenants can file legal complaint against other tenants.

My question for anyone is, would it be worth getting a consultation with a lawyer?  Would having them write a letter to my tenants be helpful?  I'm not sure what the reasonable options are.  If they do not stop, I will have to move and that is an expensive process that if I can, I would like to avoid.  And other than the issue of smoking, I really like the community a lot.

I apologize for the long post.

**TLDR: My neighbors downstairs are smoking (we live in a smoke free community/apartments) and it's filling up my own apartment with smoke.  The management office has been limited in their help.  Not sure what my next steps are.**

Answer: Now's the time to speak with an attorney. Sounds to me like your landlord is acting in [bad faith](http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=21) by claiming that their agents never smelled the cigarette smoke; they simply don't want to enforce parts of the contract that you all agreed to. Your lease may be breached.


Title: Restaurant owners withholding credit card tips from employees

Question:
I just started working at a pizza place and the pay structure feels shady, at best.

Every employee has a starting pretax wage of $8/hr plus tip. There are no specified job titles and every employee does everything from dish to cook, working the register to running food. All tips are pooled, with cash in one pool and credit card tips in another. At the end of every shift, the cash tips are evenly distributed to each employee that worked said shift (usually $10-30 split between 3-4 people).

When I asked my employer when/how credit card tips are divided and paid to staff, he said that half of my hourly wage comes from credit card tips and the other from the payroll account. So, $4/hr wage plus $4/hr credit card tips (from my understanding)

I do not know what happens to any leftover credit card tips, just that it doesn't go to the employees.

Is this common? Is my employer exploiting some tipped-employee loophole, since I am still making over minimum wage at the end of the day? Am I actually making $4/hr+tip, and if so, should I be receiving my "full share" from the credit card tip pool?

If a customer wants to leave me a generous tip on a credit card transaction, am I out of order to tell them I won't be receiving it?

Answer:
 In just about every state I'm aware of, management is not allowed to withhold tips, so your location is important.  Some states allow tip credits, where a part of your wage is counted as tips and only paid from the employer if you'd fall below that amount.

You should file a wage complaint with your state's department of labor if you suspect your management is running afoul of your state's tip credits, or if they're keeping more than they should.


Title: Criminal Trespassing Misdemeanor for Train Hopping

Question:
Hey, I got thrown in jail for a night for getting caught on a train in Washington. My court date's coming up in a week, my public defense attorney said that I should defer, which would take away the charge after a year if I didn't get caught doing anything else illegal.
Is there anything I should know about this? Any advice or help anyone can give me? I would rather not have a misdemeanor on my record. Thanks.

Answer: Listen to your attorney. Next time the bull comes, run faster.


Title: [PA] Can you get around having the alcohol interlock installed for a drug related DWI?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Sorry, are you concerned you're going to be driving drunk or something...? You already have shown that you can't learn your lesson so it's reasonable for them to assume you'll be on substance(s) while driving.


Title: [NJ] I called the police on my domestic partner and I have a TRO against her now after a nasty dispute we had. I wish to drop charges and remove the TRO, what is the process?

Question:
(burner account for obvious reasons)

There is too much to type as far as the background of the story goes but the TLDR is we have both been having a very stressful year due to health issues, job related(financial) issues and we have both been drinking way more than usual. This led to a shit-storm of epic proportions. I was so angry that I left the house and called the police out of anger. I was still angry when they told me to come to the station (walking distance.)

They asked me if I wanted a TRO without explaining what the details were (seems like they just like to get the bad guy) and honestly I should have said no. I would have just been happy she slept, or maybe I should have, slept somewhere else for the night.

Now I realize we both have a court date, I am not sure if she is charged with something?   This is the first time we have ever had such a major blowout in the 8 years we have been together.  If I thought this was something that would continue or even repeat, I would just move on with my life.

Thank you in advance for your advice. I have made my decision, so please don't give me relationship advice, there are other subeddits for that.

Answer:
 The TRO will lapse on its own.  It would take longer to try and remove it.  Charges are not up to you, they are up to the prosecutor. Prosecutors often charge DV suspects even if the victims wants nothing done. You can try to talk to the prosecutor and maybe an agreement can be reached.

This next part is very important. You **do not** have the power to ignore the TRO.  If you invite your partner to come back home while it is active she can be arrested again even if you want her there.  My county *mandates* that I make all DVRO violation arrests regardless of circumstance


Title: Does a Schengen ban apply to the United kingdom?

Question: I got a ban in Norway and I won't be able to enter the Schengen zone for 5 years. Does anyone know if this ban applies to the UK? Or to other countries like Croatia?

Answer: The United Kingdom is not part of the Schengen Zone. But the fact that you have been excluded could be a reason for any other country to exclude you as well.


Title: Hypothetical: Did I commit fraud if I received a loan based on collateral that I said I owned but did not, even if I paid off the loan on schedule and on time?

Question:
From "Law & Order"... a character received a $1B loan secured partially on his ownership of of several hundred million dollars worth of rare coins. It turns out, he and his conspirator never actually owned the coins and basically did a shell game when asked to actually show the coins to the bankers. Despite never having seen the coins, the bank distributed the loan, and the loan was being paid off on time, and on schedule.

1. If the loan was being paid back on time and on schedule, could he be prosecuted for fraud, despite honoring the payback schedule of the loan?

2. If the loan was ***fully*** paid back before it was learned that the collateral did not exist, could he be prosecuted for fraud after-the-fact?

Answer:
 Yes, because the criteria for the fraud has nothing to do with the repayment of the loan.

A false representation was made for financial gain- that's fraud.

Prosecution can commence up to the statute of limitations.


Title: I may have raped my ex-girlfriend, where do I stand?

Question:
To start off, I'm 16. My ex is 17, 16 at the time this happened, and I live in Virginia, USA. I suppose my problem was that I didn't know how to take no for an answer. My hand would travel down her pants while we were making out, and she would say no. I'd stop for a few minutes, but I always found my way back down there. There was never any actual penetration or anything, just touching.

She confronted me about this a yesterday over text, claiming I had raped her, and I'm kind of lost as to what I should do right now. I don't know how much legal trouble I'd be in if she ever reported me, and the prospect of legal charges is freaking me out a lot, and I feel like a complete asshole. Please help me out with this, I'm at a loss.

Answer:
 From what you described, it's pretty clear that you definitely did sexually assault her. You probably should feel like a complete asshole because that's precisely what you were to her. There's nothing you can do to un-rape (de-rape?) her and there's nothing you can do to prevent her from reporting you. Your best play is to simply following angelamm10's solid advice.

Also, delete this post and get rid of the account. Rule Number Two is "Do not admit to doing illegal things." This is only after Rule Number One which is "Do not do illegal things."


Title: [Portland, Oregon] Roommate refuses to move out even after agreeing to do so.

Question:
So a bit of a backstory.. My roommate and I advertised for a 3rd roommate for a 3 bedroom apartment we have. We interviewed this one guy and he seemed ok. Said he was clean and cleaned up after himself. Was a gamer and seemed a good fit. So we bought him in and got him on the lease.

After he moved in, we found out that he's a slob. His room is very messy, he doesn't clean up after himself (for example, spills of pancake syrup on the floor), leaves rotting food around and we found out that he is HIV positive and bringing people over to stay the night to have sex. I know that you can take precautions about it, but neither of us are comfortable with random dudes who are homeless just appearing in the apartment and the messes he leaves in the common areas (his room, while it's probably attracting bugs with the rotting food, is his business and if he wants to live in filth, that's his call).

We talked with him about a month and a half ago and we said it isn't working out and he agreed (he felt like he was the scapegoat when he was caught is a few of his lies) that he would move out. This was the middle of September and we told him we would give him until the end of October (45 days roughly). He agreed it was fair and things continued.

About a week into October, he came to both of us and said he is having a hard time finding a place to live and he doesn't feel it's right to become homeless just because of a personality dispute. While I didn't want to (as his public messes in the common areas were getting worse), we agreed to allowing for him to move out to the couch (since we have found an old friend of both of ours that we know we will get along with to take the bedroom) and to monitor the amount of apartment searching he does (he tends to sleep from 5am - 5pm) for an additional month if he can't find anything.

So here it is.. Coming up on the end of the month and our friend is sleeping on the couch waiting until he can move into the room at the end of the month. The guy moving out said (and I quote)..

"I'm not signing the agreement, I'm not leaving util I find a place and I'm not moving out of the room."

So.. What recourse do I have? I really don't want to be an ass and drive him out (though I will if I have to). If it comes to it though, what can I legally do to get him out?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer: If he's on your lease you are out of luck forcing him out, unless he does something to get evicted by your landlord such as commit a crime. For what it's worth I also would not agree to become homeless if my roommates had no leverage to force me to do so.


Title: Sent here from r/RBI. My aunt (with whom I haven't spoken in >2 years) recently requested my criminal record.

Question:
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 Criminal records are public data.  You mean she contacted you directly and said "hey, I feel the need to see your criminal record, can you send it to me"?Answer #2: Do you have a legal question?

**Edit:**  OP initially had no text to their post.


Title: I deposited a bad check from a car dealer, and the bank charged me $8. Should I ask for that $8 when requesting a new check from them?

Question:
I traded in my truck for a cheaper car, and the dealer gave me a check for the price difference. When I deposited the check, my bank told me it’s a bad check and charged me $8 service fee.

I’m going back to the dealer tomorrow for a new check, should they add that $8 to the new check?

Thanks guys!

Answer: I would think that's absolutely a fair thing to ask for.


Title: (CT) FBI contacted me saying they have a warrant to image my computer's hard drives because of a suspected bot net.

Question:
Two FBI agents showed up at my house when I wasn't there but left a business card in the mailbox.  They also called and left me a voicemail asking me to call back.  I called back and the agent said they have a warrant to either take or image my computer's hard drives because I have a bot net running and they're collecting evidence against this bot net and that there are several people in my state also infected.  So I will have two FBI agents showing up at my house tomorrow with local police (just to verify they're real FBI and real warrant).  The agent said if he can scan my computer (he said he'll look in the memory and registry keys) at my house, he can make an image of my primary hard drive there instead of having to physically take my computer.  He said he's not interested in any other files or anything.  The warrant doesn't state any purpose but just that they can take or image my computer.

That said, how can I actually know that's the true intended purpose of what they're doing?  How should I protect myself?  I'm not comfortable with the FBI having a full copy of my whole computer.

**EDIT**: So here's what ended up happening. I talked to my lawyer friend and due to a couple factors (which will be obvious), I decided to chance it and comply.  I also backed up my important data just in case my stuff was taken and I never saw it again.  The agents called me in the morning to confirm the time they'd arrive and then they showed up at that time.  They showed me the warrant which was valid.  It was worded such that malicious botnet signals/messages (?) were detected coming from my IP address on a specific date a few months ago and gave them permission to search my residence (also listed a dozen other addresses on the warrant) and seize any computers, computer parts, or anything that could help gain access to those computers (including passwords..). I let them in and brought them to my computer which I had set up on the kitchen counter.  I had to turn it on and put the password in (balked at that at first but was reminded that that was part of the warrant).  One of the guys then ran some utility (standard Microsoft diagnostic) off a USB drive he brought and looked through running processes.  Then uploaded some suspicious file to a database to check it.  Took about a half hour and I'm not sure he found much honestly.  He really was looking for presence of any malware/botnet and not snooping through my stuff though.  He then shut the computer off and said he wanted to copy my main boot drive (a small SSD) which obviously isn't ideal but at least they didn't bother with the several TB of other drives I have.  The  imaging took about an hour and we sat around chatting while we waited.  Maybe it was a mistake but I let my guard down a bit.  They were two nice guys and shared some of their FBI stories and asked some regular small talk stuff about me.  We talked about how there is very little trust in the FBI these days and how they have an incredibly hard time convincing people that one, they're real agents, and two, that they're telling the truth.  I mentioned that I was definitely skeptical of their botnet story because they have no obligation to tell the truth if they thought it was necessary to lie to obtain some evidence/information.  But what they replied was convincing to me in my case.  They said something along the lines of "if we though you were a criminal, we have a warrant, we would've showed up in the early morning unannounced with our whole FBI crew and local police and search your entire house whether you were there or not.  You're a victim in this case, so it's better for us to work with you instead.". So that's that.  They have a suspect (non-US) and this was just evidence for their case against him.  They said most likely I'll never hear from them again but if they find something concrete on my drive they'll let me know.  Either way, I'm formatting my shit.

TL;DR - I'm 99% sure I'm ok, 1% sure I just got socially engineered into complying..

As an aside, it's probably so easy to make people to comply to things simply by presenting it as a choice.  "I'm gonna run some standard Microsoft diagnostic.  I can just run them from this flash drive or can get them from the Microsoft site which I can show you." How many people end up choosing the hassle of option B? I'd wager not many.

Answer:
 You might want to make an image or backup of your computer(s) before they show up. If they do decide to seize the system(s) you will not be getting back any of your data in a timely manner.

Also, to reiterate, you should contact a lawyer ASAP.


Title: Mother emailing organizations under my name

Question:
I am an 18 year old from Melbourne, Australia.
I have recently told my mother that I will be moving out of home. She is unhappy and, as a result is e-mailing places under my name telling them that I am quitting. This includes Scholarship providers, community programs and my job. I don't have access to any of these accounts anymore, as she has changed the password and security settings on the account. Is there anything I can do?
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 You're more likely to find someone familiar with your upside down legal system over at /r/auslegal

In general it's possible/likely this falls under some sort of identity theft law and the police should be involved.  I would also be calling each and every one of those places that you are aware of (and any others that are possibilities) and informing them that someone has stolen your identity and is impersonating you, and that they should only communicate with you through X new channel.

Furthermore, depending on who the email is through it might be possible to still recover it through some sort of customer service.  I'm guessing you have some sort of photo ID that would trump anything she has.


Title: Bought used car from dealer, <150 miles bad wheel bearing

Question:
Hi guys, I am looking for advice because I am extremely ignorant abought both cars and legal advice.

So a week ago, I bought a 2009 Honda Accord from a reputable dealer. It only had 72000 miles and during the test drive it seemed to drive fine (from my vehicule-challeneged perspective). They were very pushy to get me to buy the car immediately. I ended up doing so, financing the car and putting a lot of money down. It has been a week since, and I started hearing a squeal from the back. This squeal may or may not have been present during the test drive. Again, the car is 6 yrs older than my trade in and I figured that's simply what the accord sounds like. Well I became very nervous that the sound could be very serious so I had my mechanic look at it and he confirmed that there is a bad wheel bearing despite putting less than 150 miles on it. I took it back to the dealer and scheduled to bring it back in tomorrow morning for them to look at.  Anyway, I already know a new wheel bearing is An expensive fix and I'm short on cash after the down payment. I did not purchase a warranty but I received a 30 day/or 1000 mile warranty from the dealer which covers 50% of parts and labor.  I also didn't perform a prepurchase inspection because they did not want the car off the lot for too long. Now my question is, will I be on the hook to pay for this fix despite only driving so little after purchase? I am hoping for some goodwill from the dealer but I highly doubt that will be the case. I am just looking for all of your advice. Sorry for my ignorance!

Update to include location; PA, USA

Answer: Yes you are on the hook.  Whether the warranty helps will depend on the terms, but you bought a 8 year old car and it's problems are now your problems.


Title: [MI] Ex-husband's bench warrant and parenting time.

Question:
I believe that my ex-husband did not show up for a show cause hearing about unpaid child support. (He owes about $1200 and the only payment he's made in the last six months was $125 in early January; He's supposed to pay $280 a month).

When I checked on the MiCase website, it says a bench warrant was put out for his arrest yesterday. There was a show cause hearing scheduled for Tuesday, but since I'm not obligated to show up, and I attended the last hearing in February (where they gave him more time to find a job and he *has* found a job since then), I did not attend his hearing, but I'm assuming he didn't show up.

We generally get along ok, and coparent well. I have not mentioned the fact that he owes so much support (other than graciously accepting his thanks for showing up at the last hearing), figuring the FOC will handle it, and it's not worth the stress.

What I want to know is if I can be in any legal trouble for continuing with our parenting plan as is (he has our daughter every other weekend, and after school twice a week as his schedule and his wife's work schedule allows), since I know if he has contact with a LEO, he'll be arrested?
I'm worried about him being pulled over and arrested while my daughter is in the car with him.

He is currently living with his parents about 20 miles from me, and his mailing address is with a friend in another suburb. I do not think the court is aware of where he is living, so if he doesn't take care of this, I'm concerned the bench warrant will be active for a while.

I really am not interested in him going to jail, though I would appreciate it if he would start paying support (and pay off the arrearage) now that he is working. Should I contact the court myself or leave it alone and let him deal with his legal problems that he created for himself?

Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 Generally speaking, child support and visitation are two totally seperate issues; being behind on child support does not allow the primary custodian to deny visitation.

In your case, I can totally understand your concern. I wouldn't want my children to watch their father being arrested either. I think you can definitely let him know about the warrant and strongly advise himself to take care of it before his visitation, but I wouldn't deny the visitation because of it. On the unlikely chance that he is arrested with the child, the police will just contact you to pick them up; you're not "liable" for anything.


Title: [NJ] Brother has just been arrested for assaulting a police officer while on probation.

Question:
My brother is 21, and was arrested and charged with marijuana possession about 6 months ago. He was sentenced to probation for a year and paid several fines. Last night he called me from the county jail to explain that he had been arrested again. He and his friends were smoking in a local park, and he decided it was a good idea to run when he saw the cops coming. I'm not sure how they ended up charging him with assault he was pretty upset and vague last night. I think it had something to do with when he ran from them one of the officers ended up scratching himself on the pavement. They released him on $1000 bail. I want to do whatever I can to help, and obviously the first step is getting a lawyer. I am pretty unfamiliar with the legal system myself so I was wondering if anyone has any tips or predictions about this situation. I am fully aware that he was not being smart at all, and I was initially very angry, but he has a lot of problems and what's done is done.
TL;DR Brother arrested for violating probation (marijuana charge) by assaulting a police officer and marijuana possession.

Answer:
 <---------------Texas Probation employee for 22 years

I can say it is a virtual certainty that they will file a motion to revoke his probation. Even if the the assault is dropped, when a probationer is arrested for the same charge he is already on probation for, judges usually take that personally. He needs a lawyer ASAP.


Title: Landlord withheld my entire security deposit due to an "odor" and stains found under the carpet.

Question:
Long story short: I have two dogs and yes they may have had an accident or two but it was immediately cleaned up. I'm located in Florida. I have pre-trial court tomorrow morning and believe i have all my ducks in a row but don't want to hit any surprises. This is my first lawsuit I've ever filed.

EDIT: I have plenty of documents and evidence to prove I am in the right I just don't feel like typing it all up here at once.

Edit #2: I won.

Answer: You're probably going to have a bad time at court. Your dogs almost certainly caused it and you'll not be getting the deposit back, and per your lease you'll probably have to pay landlord's court fees.


Title: Can someone please explain to me how this company can sell copies of Walt Disney's original patent for Mickey Mouse without the permission of The Walt Disney Company when they own the rights to license the character? I see this brand stuff all the time on Etsy, but this is a real website.

Question:
Thanks.

http://www.patentsasart.com/Walt_Disney_Mickey_Mouse_Patent_Artwork_Gift_p/D2802S.htm?gclid=Cj0KEQiA-4i0BRCaudDcrrnDi6kBEiQAZSh5fwFwQotY4kKyrHM8Ndr1Ur4Hxo-wmGVXM-bIxqV0ajsaAgbR8P8HAQ

Answer:
 The patent itself is public record, there is no legal protection as far as I'm aware.  There are companies that will sell you public records you could get for free that seem to operator within the laws of the land, I don't see how this is really any different.Answer #2: ...

I have a follow-up question.

Why the hell did Disney try to *patent* Mickey Mouse?


Title: [MI] Friend's Husband Sexually Abusing Step-Daughter. How long is he going away for?

Question:
A friend recently discovered incriminating texts between her daughter and her husband (Step-father of the child).  After questioning the child and husband, it was revealed he had been grooming and having sexual relations with the child from the ages of 8 to 10 (Including intercourse). He admitted this to the mother, as well as his pastor. After the child revealed the relationship she was immediately taken to the hospital for an exam (trauma, STI/STD, pregnancy, ect).

Today he was arrested and charged with 3 crimes, one of which was something-penetration.

How long is this guy about to go away to prison for? I would normally assume the answer is "Forever" but I am unsure.

Is it possible he will get acquitted in trial? I imagine a 10 year old is easy to discredit with intense questioning, and he already recanted his confession to the mother.

He was just arrested, but there are fears about what he might do since really at this point he has nothing left to lose. Will the judge take this into account when setting bail?

Answer:
 > Is it possible he will get acquitted in trial? I imagine a 10 year old is easy to discredit with intense questioning, and he already recanted his confession to the mother.

Yes, anything is possible at trial.  You don't have enough facts for anyone to give you an informed opinion.  Recantations don't carry a lot of weight with juries. All they do is prove you're a liar: Either you were lying then or you're lying now.  Also, you don't even know what the charges are, making it even more difficult to opine on sentencing.Answer #2: >Is it possible he will get acquitted in trial?

Yes. No verdict is ever guaranteed.

Nobody can predict what his sentence will be. The best you can do is hope for a life sentence, but you should realize that any sentence is a possibility.

If your friend hasn't done this already, she may be able to ask the prosecutor or victim advocate about making some type of impact statement at his sentencing, if he is convicted.


Title: [North Carolina] My tenants are making trying to sell my house a nightmare, is there anything I can do?

Question:
My tenants aren't "bad tenants" in the way that they don't pay rent on time or anything like that. They're bad tenants in the way that no matter what we do for them, they're constantly unhappy with the relationship regardless of us maintaining a quality rental. It all started with the hurricane last year. The house was significantly damaged, but an insurance adjuster stated that it wasn't damaged in such a way that it would make the house legally uninhabitable. Regardless, we reduced a portion of the rent for two months while the house was being fixed because we strive to be good landlords. They signed this addendum to the lease and yet continued to complain about the timeframe on fixing the house. Problem is, contractors were already overworked because there was significant damage to many houses over the region during that storm. We had the work performed in the shortest time frame that was allowed, and yet they asked for continued and more substantial reductions in rent.

We decided after the hurricane that because we didn't live in or need the house anymore, we wanted to sell. Their lease ends July 31st and we told them in April that we wouldn't be renewing their lease and of our intent to sell.

We've had 8 showings so far, and at each one the realtor reported that the tenants were rude to both her and prospective buyers. We've tried to get them to leave during showings via incentives, like paying for dinner and a movie or other activities, but they refuse to budge.

Our lease has an agreement that they will leave the house for showings if they are provided with 72 hours notice beforehand, but this doesn't actually help because we're aware that we can't actually *force* them to leave the house.

We'll be okay financially regardless, but we were hoping that the house would at least be under contract by the time their lease ends, because we'll have significant financial strain if we have to continue to pay mortgage in addition to rent in the current property we live in now. Is there anything that can be done?
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 I think the easiest answer is that you should try to accompany the buyers' agent on any visit to hopefully keep them in line OR simply wait until they leave to schedule any more showings.

You could remind them of the fact that if they attempt to sabotage the potential sale, you are well within your rights to sue for the damages. Specifically, 'tortuous interference' is the key phrase you'd want to research and/or mention.Answer #2: May ask your agent to keep her eyes open and try to catch sight of a candle in the house, BBQ on the deck, vape pen, cigarettes in a tray, evidence of another tenant, etc.  Tenants are almost always in breach of something in the lease, and if it's severe, can get you leverage to use if the carrot part of the carrot/stick equation isn't ending up in your favor.


Title: Pussy Licking Trouble - IL

Question:
So back in 2010 I went to visit my former best friend who was a cam girl. She was hanging out on cam one morning while I was at her house and the guys heard me talking from the background and wanted to see me. Well this is where things got weird. Soon after that they wanted to see us do some girl on girl action. I joked that if they got to 20000 tokens I would eat her out. (This is $1000) I never thought it would happen. It did. Long story short I ate her out on live cam, she paid me $500 and never thought anything about it.

Well fast forward to now: We have not been friends for a good couple of years. A mutual friend of ours (Well, she is not friends with him anymore either) messaged me and told me she is selling the video. What? How can you sell the video if it was a live stream? Sure enough, on her website she is selling it. She even advertises it on her Twitter feed. I have no idea how long this has been going on.

So my question is ... Is she allowed to sell something that was only to be seen once? What are my options at this point? Even if I can't get her to take it down am I entitled to the money she's making off it?

Answer:
 And the award for "Classiest Title of the Year" goes to....

To answer your question:

Welcome to the Internet, where nothing ever goes away.

You can sue her in court for a share of the profits or to have it taken down if you want to.  But that could be a long and expensive battle.Answer #2: "Best of /r/legaladvice" based on the title alone.Answer #3: >Is she allowed to sell something that was only to be seen once?

Absolutely, unequivocally not. Now, all you have to do is pull out your copy of the executed contract that states your payment of $500 was strictly for a show that was to only be "seen" once and how this was to be handled and follow the details of said contract with regard to handling of disputes and you're golden.Answer #4: Well... this is a refreshing new type of story.  What a nice break from divorce, tenant/renter, pot, and traffic violations.

You can do one of two things... You require her to share the profits with you.  There's precedent since she paid you $500 already.

You can ask her to take it down. She's got a financial stake in keeping it up, so she probably won't want to.

And if she doesn't want to do either of those, you will have to sue.   This will end up being expensive and since s she will probably fight it.  It will also make it public knowledge and you run the risk of others finding out you did it.


Title: My coworker's Dad woke up her Mom and demanded sex from her. When she refused, he threatened her with divorce, kick her out of the house, and to take my coworker's young sister away from her Mom. What can they do?

Question:
The father is emotionally abusive. From what Sarah (what we'll call my coworker. She's 25) has told me, he's tried to force himself on her mother in the middle of the night while she was sleeping next to her youngest (13). So this isn't the first time. The father gets very angry and has yelling fits. He has cheated multiple times. The father accused the mother last night of cheating after he tried to force himself on her and she refused. "How much do I have to pay you?" He said. He threatened to kick her out of the house and take the youngest away. The mother works 3 jobs and has the house in her name. She is one paying for the house, but the father signs the checks himself so it appears that he is making the payments. This is in Oklahoma.

Another thing is that in the past when my coworker mad her dad angry, he would take her cats away and dump them somewhere never to be found... I don't know what the legality of this is, but it's so fucked up. She has two cats now and she is afraid for their safety.

I'm sure I'm leaving out some details, so please ask all the questions you have.

I'm really just worried for her and her family. I told her that she should ask her older brother to come stay with them for a little while for safety reasons. I'm just not sure what they can do.

Thank you all

Answer:
 The father isn't just emotionally abusive, he's flirting with becoming a rapist. If a man's wife says "no," it means "no," just as much as when any other sexual partner refuses consent.

Sarah's mother needs to talk to a divorce attorney. Whether or not she currently plans to get divorced, it's probably time for her to start evaluating her options. She may also want to speak to the staff at a domestic abuse shelter for options for protecting herself: the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is often when the victim is planning on leaving. Desperate abusers who realize their victims are getting away do sometimes do desperately stupid things.

If he does abandon the cats, she should speak to animal control and file a police report for animal cruelty. If he kicks her out, she may want to call the cops before she re-enters - it's her home, but if he's violent, a police presence may be useful. Beyond that… she needs out, I suspect.


Title: I just got robbed at gunpoint in Virginia.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > Is there any way I could get in trouble for ANYTHING that happened?

Yes, of course. You lied to the police and they may very well found out.


Title: Illegal Firing?

Question: The company my wife works for called in a worker today who was "randomly" chosen for a drug test (turns out, the owner just assumed he was on drugs).  His drug test came back clean; however, they lied to him and told him he had failed the drug test and fired him for it. My wife doesn't like this and is planning on telling him, but does this guy have any legal ground to stand on if he contacts a lawyer. This is in Texas by the way.

Answer: Is your wife trying to get fired too?Answer #2: And how do you know they lied about it? Texas is an at will state, you can be fired at any time for any reason that doesn't relate to illegal discrimination.


Title: I have just been told that I have to take down my security camera by my landlord. Do I have any protections here?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Nope, you don't have to remove them unless it's stated in your lease that you cannot have them. There is no expectation of privacy in a common area. If you are evicted, take them to court.


Title: Low range DUI and travelling advice (NY)

Question: Looking for some advice for my partner. She was pulled over and blew over legal limit in NY (first time offender). She doesn't live in America but is an American citizen. The court date is set after her international flight back home. She has been assigned a PD, would it be ok to travel home and let the PD get a plea? or would that cause more trouble in the future. If she doesn't show up to court, what would be the outcome? Would it be a misdemeanor or would it be a criminal offence?

Answer: If she has a PD, she needs to listen to them. Much better to have an opinion from a related atty than an Internet forum.


Title: Teacher forced me to admit something I didn’t do with the threat of calling the police

Question:
Is that illegal? ( I live in Ireland)
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer: Don't admit false statements it will get you in a worse situation. Just let her call the cops then tell them the truth..Answer #2: How did they force you?


Title: Can someone be charged in the US for intentionally killing a flamingo in the DR

Question: Not sure if this question fits the sub, but I know two kids who throw rocks at a flamingo at their hotel in the D.R. They never got in trouble for it (this was a couple months ago), but there is photo evidence. Just curious if anything can be done about it, given that the kids are scum

Answer: Legally Charged? No, not by US Courts. Best bet would be to talk to the kid's parents, or if part of a school trip, you might be able to contact the school and complain, but that's about it


Title: [NY] Can a landlord make a tenant liable for any damages a service dog does?

Question:
Preface: I am aware that you cannot discriminate against service animals, and that there is no restrictions to service animal breeds. I am aware of documentation requests for service animals.

Applicant of a 2 family unit that the landlord does not live in has a pit bull service animal, and has submitted a doctors note stating that she needs said service animal. The housing unit is across the street from the park where children actively play. Erring on the side of caution, what preventative measures should the landlord do before signing a lease to remove any liability should the dog cause an incident to the tenant above or a citizen?

Answer:
 Owners are liable for the damage their emotional support and service animals cause.  They are not given special rights if their animal causes damage.

In fact, federal law carves out an exception where you can deny these ESA/SAs if it would cause an undue burden to the landlord.


Title: Trying to get custody of my son in North Carolina from military ex

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >Should I retain a lawyer and file for divorce/custody now

Yes. But I don't think your plan of school years/summers is a realistic expectation. A 50/50 split is common, but it's a usually weekly rotation, and you're technically the one who moved out of state (from NC to Georgia) so that might be a factor. It's going to be complicated. Talk it over with a lawyer.


Title: My car was slightly damaged yesterday. After I have it looked at, is there any reason I shouldn't offer to let the person pay out of pocket before making an insurance claim?

Question:
Yesterday someone scraped the side of my car when they were pulling into a parking space. Fortunately I was in the car when it happened and the other driver was an old man who was very forthcoming and apologetic and made no trouble about providing his insurance information for me.

I'm taking it to the dealership today to have it looked at. As far as I could tell there wasn't a dent and I don't think it's going to be anything serious, just might need to be buffed out or possibly the panel has to be repainted.

Being that the guy was friendly and didn't make a big fuss and is like 90 years old, I don't particularly want to make a claim with the insurance company if I don't have to (he happens to be insured by the same company I am), so I thought before I did that I might tell him what the repair is going to cost and see if he wants to cover it out of pocket instead.

Do I open myself up to any kind of liability if I do this? I want to work with him as much as I can, but I also feel like this would be borderline extortion or something and I want to make sure I'm not doing anything illegal in any way.

Answer: There is 0 issue with trying to handle it out of pocket if there truly is no damage internally to the car. If it had been a light impact though, you risk taking the cash and finding out 6mo later that the frame was bent, yet you already settled.


Title: Verbal assault and what can be done about it...

Question: We are in Texas and we had a situation where a male was up in the face of a female, hollering profanities at her in front of many children, getting close enough that he may have bumped her chest with his, while she was doing her best to remove herself from the situation. One of her relatives, another male, went and put the male who was up in her face, in a choke hold and backed him out of the situation then let him go. Was this justified? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Answer:
 "Verbal assault" does not mean "assaulting someone with powerful sound-waves generated by their vocal cords." It (generally) means threatening to do immediate physical harm to someone.

So you're asking the same thing as "If a guy pointed his loud boombox at another person, could a third party physically attack the guy?" And the answer to that question, as yours, is "no; doing so would be assault." Answer #2: >getting close enough that he may have bumped her chest with his, while she was doing her best to remove herself from the situation.

Battery may have occurred if he touched her.


Title: Got a lawyer so I could sue a doctor for medical malpractice. Lawyer filed the lawsuit against the wrong person and by the time it got cleared up the statute of limitations was up. Can I still sue the correct person?

Question:
*Note: I'm not asking IF I have a case of medical malpractice. I’ve already spoken to lawyers about that. My question is about the statute of limitations and whether or not I can file a lawsuit.*

I was the victim of what I believe to be medical malpractice. I had free consultations with three different medical malpractice lawyers and they all said I had a case. I chose the one whom I believed was the best and he took my case on contingency. That turned out to be a mistake because when he filed the paperwork, instead of suing the male doctor who made a mistake during the surgery I had here in California, he sued a female Canadian college student who is not a doctor and has never been outside of her home province. They had the same first name and a similar last name but beyond that I have no idea how my lawyer could have messed it  up so badly. The student had to take a loan to pay a lawyer to get it cleared up and by the time that this happened the statute of limitations for me to file a lawsuit against the correct person, the doctor who performed surgery on me, had passed. My question is: Even though the statute of limitations has passed, am I still able to file a lawsuit against the correct person now? My lawyer was the one who screwed up and he told me once the wrong lawsuit was cleared up I could file one against the correct person. But now that the statute had passed he says the lawsuit against the correct person can’t be filed.  It wasn’t my fault that he messed this up. Is there a way I can appeal the statute because my lawyer screwed up? If not can I go after my lawyer for screwing me out of the chance to sue? I would appreciate any information that anyone has.

Answer: If this is true, speak to another lawyer about filing a legal malpractice lawsuit


Title: [NYC] A friend's lease is up June 31st, but it moving out now and told me I could stay in his apartment until I found a new one. Am I technically a squatter?

Question:
Hi all,

My girlfriend and I lived together and recently broke up. I am looking for a new apartment, but in the meanwhile a friend of a friend said I could stay at his apartment. He and his roommate moved out yesterday, but still left some stuff there that they will be picking up throughout the month as their lease isn't up until June 31st. They aren't allowed to sublease, but they have already paid for the month. I'm just going to stay there since its close to my work and I'm still looking to find a new apartment.

Is there anything illegal about this? Does it count as a sublease? Am I at risk of being considered a squatter, since he is essentially already moved out? I don't want any legal trouble - I just need somewhere to stay for a couple weeks because staying with my ex would be unhealthy.

Thanks!

Answer: There is no June 31.


Title: Please help

Question: So I'm 17 I got in legal trouble when I was 14 with my step dad   he was abusive and one day I decided to hit him back and he decided to press charges for assault and theft claiming he was hitting me for stealing his phone. I was 14 at the time so I couldn't take myself to court so I missed my date jump forward a month my mom and step dad lose custody of me and my dad gets me completely forget about the whole thing I guess my mind covered it jump to a week ago and it just jumps to me as I'm finishing my paperwork to go to meps so I call and I have a court date Tuesday in Colorado (where it happened) for failure to appear plus the two previously mentioned charges.  Does anyone know what I should expect. I'm thinking jail and to just forget about a carreer in the military

Answer:
 Hey, do you have an attorney? Because you need one. If you can't afford one, the court will appoint one for you.

Do everything they say.


Title: ABC Stores Detaining People? [SC]

Question:
Hey all,

I'm located in South Carolina. My friend, aged 22 and with a notorious baby face, recently went into an ABC store. The guy behind the counter apparently decided his ID was fake, but instead of denying the purchase my friend says that the clerk walked out from behind the counter, locked the doors into the store, then told my friend that he was calling the cops.

Obviously the cops came after a few minutes and all was cleared up (though my friend was still annoyed at the clerk and ended up leaving without buying anything).

But my friend and I are in disagreement here - he thinks that it was legal for the ABC clerk to lock the doors and detain him until the cops arrived, while I am of the opinion that a store employee can't detain someone because he thinks their ID is fake - the most he can do is take the ID (in which case obviously the cops would be called anyway - it's the legality of locking the doors that is in question here).

So who's in the right here? If it is legal for ABC stores, is it any different for non-government entities? What about non-liquor stores (ie if someone's suspected of stealing something)?

Thanks for helping settle this!

Edit - unsure what the correct flair is, since it's alcohol related but seems like that's probably not the best option
Topic:
Alcohol Related Other than DUI

Answer:
 You are absolutely in the right here.  While retailers have limited authority to detain suspected shoplifters pursuant to the shopkeeper's privilege, that doesn't extend to other alleged crimes.

The retailer here most likely committed the crime of [kidnapping](http://law.justia.com/codes/south-carolina/2012/title-16/chapter-3/section-16-3-910) (unlawful confining of another without legal authority) and the civil tort of false imprisonment.

The customer would be well within his or her rights to file a police report and sue the store for damages.Answer #2: There may be fire code violations as well due to locked exit doors.Answer #3: Citizens arrest in South Carolina require it to be for a felony or a larceny, so it certainly sounds like the shop keeper was in the wrong here. Answer #4: One thing the replies haven't addressed is that I believe ABC stores in OP's state are government run, and the employees might be government employees. I don't know if that would make a difference.


Title: Someone charged my card for an entire tab that someone else who was sitting with us ordered. Can I do anything? (VA, USA)

Question:
Hey all, my buddy was having a date and she invited another couple and I came by as well. The person in question kept buying rounds of drinks and we all told him to stop. I had purchased some drinks for mike his date and I and it was a bit pricy ($50) but it was all I was willing to pay. Well a bit later, we turn around and he and his girlfriend are gone and the waiter comes back and says that they charged it all on my card (debit) and I was livid. I told them what happened and they said they would try to take care of it but that the guy was no longer there. Is there anything I can do about this?

Thank you

Answer: If the restaurant is refusing the refund, contact your bank or card issuer. You never authorized that charge.


Title: [Oh/Ky] Leaving the state with child, without custody agreement?

Question:
This is a little more complicated of a situation and I'm not sure if I need to talk to a lawyer or not, since I highly doubt I could afford one in the first place. My daughter is 3 and was born in Ohio. I left her father and brought her to Kentucky when she was about 7 months old because he was borderline abusive and had a lot of depression related issues. I've been living in Kentucky ever since. We never got a custody agreement or anything but he sees her on some weekends (when he feels like it). She has autism and has an IEP for school, which I've worked out everything for on my own. Her dad is basically not involved in her personal life aside from paying for my car payment (which is in his name, he doesn't want to pay child support so he's choosing to just pay for that directly instead).

My current boyfriend is getting into the army. My question is, are there any laws or anything saying I can't legally actually take her with me if I decide to marry my boyfriend and go to wherever he ends up being stationed? I highly doubt her dad will make an effort to get the court involved anyway, but if he does I want to be ready for whatever might happen.

I really appreciate any advice or info anyone has that I could find about this but I have no idea where to even start looking! Thank you!

Answer: Because there is no custody arrangement you can take her wherever.


Title: [IN] Help me keep my dog and my best friend

Question:
Ok this story is a little messy but I'll do the best I can to stay on topic. My ex-girlfriend and I took in a German Shepard (October 2014) from a acquaintance she knew from a few years back. The original owner was unable to care for him and didn't have the living arrangements needed for a GSD. At that time he was going to the police academy and needed to rehome Moose (our dog) until he finished school. He agreed to pay for food ect during his stay, this was suppose to be 1-2 months max.

My ex and I split up around Jan. 2015 and I notified the original owner stating I would still be caring for him etc. and that he was welcome to stay and was part of our family here. The original owner contacted me on Feb 20th 2015 asking if he would have Moose for the weekend to visit. I agreed, during the exchange is was agreed upon that if he wasn't done with the academy by Spring Moose would be ours.

I have heard nothing from the original owner until last night (Dec. 1 2015) stating he wants his dog back. Now I have invested over $2,000 dollars into Moose with vet bills, training, food, etc. with the original owner having no contact for over 8 months. Moose has been with us over 1 year and I really do not want to give him up.

Does the original owner have any way to get him back? What can I do to make sure he stays with us?

I need your guy's help! Thank you

Answer:
 Legally speaking, dogs are property.

The original owner can sue you to get the dog back.  You can both go to court and present your cases.  I don't think anyone here has any specific knowledge of how the judge will see the specific facts of this case.Answer #2: > Does the original owner have any way to get him back?

Possibly yes. Do you have the agreement about it become yours in writing? Were they done with academy by Spring? Technically, they could have met that provision and just failed to come get their dog.

> What can I do to make sure he stays with us?

To make sure? You would need to reach an agreement with them for transfer of dog, likely by buying it from them. Your best option now is to gather all evidence of the transfer and communication and every expense you incurred watching. If sued **respond to the suit** (or become a bestofLA and not for a good reason) and counter for your expenses. A judge may agree that ownership transferred. A judge may agree that they get dog but owe you expenses.

Did you get the dog microchiped? If so go do it now if you can.


Title: Can I legally yell "fire" in a crowded theater? [Ohio]

Question: So I know that since [Brandenburg v. Ohio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_v._Ohio) the litmus test for is speech is protected in the US is the "imminent lawless action" test. So does that mean that it's legal to yell "fire" in a crowded theater? Obviously, it would be if yelling fire was part of a play, and I suspect that it would also be okay if from context it was clear that there wasn't actually a fire. However, if I were to yell it without seeing a fire is that also protected speech? Any obviously a lawyer would probably advise me to not yell fire in a crowded theater (or anything if they were also attending the same show), but is it legally allowed?

Answer:
 >and I suspect that it would also be okay if from context it was clear that there wasn't actually a fire.

You've got things backwards. Obviously it's OK to scream "fire" if there actually actually is a fire. Answer #2: Are we doing your homework for you?


Title: [MA] Town came up with a new policy where 2 members of the same family cant be employed at the same time by the town.

Question:
So I used to work in the kitchen at a senior center with my father but left after 2 years to seek a new job. The store ended up shutting down so here I am back in the job search. Convenient for me or so I thought, my old job has become open again in the kitchen. I went to apply and was informed of a new policy that only one person per family will be employed by the town. Is that legal? I left my 2 weeks, was a pro for 2 years prior, and qualify for the job. There are no other applicants but it doesnt matter do to the new town policy (created by a man on the hot seat no less).

It doesnt seem right. I can find another job but Id love to be back in the kitchen with my father. Any advice on how I could proceed? And pointers for the letter Im going to write? If youve read this far I thank you.

Answer:
 Sometimes you can get an exception to a policy.  The purpose of the policy is to prevent nepotism, or accusations of nepotism, on the part of the big shots in town.  It doesn't sound like wanting to work in a senior center kitchen with your father is going to violate the purpose of the policy.

I would find out where this policy is - is it a policy of the senior center or is it something like a town ordinance? - and find out who passed that policy and is in charge of it, and then appeal to that person, in person if possible rather than in a letter, explaining the situation and humbly requesting an exception, emphasizing how your situation doesn't violate what you believe to be the purpose of the policy.
Answer #2: >Is that legal?

Unless there's some local ordinance that I won't take the time to look up, yes it is.


Title: Co-worker told my boss I am pregnant to see if he wanted to lower my raise

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Being a shitty person is not illegal. Luckily now you and your boss know your co-worker is a shitty person. Co-worker had no duty to keep your disability secret, you divulged it of your own free will, and your supervisor wisely, and in accordance with the law, allowed it to play no part in decisions concerning your employment.