Title: Man sues "Psychic" and "Life Coach" for $25000. (Not the lead in for a joke)

Question:
I'm currently ill and on heavy doses of opiods and steroids, so this may not be as funny to everyone else (or very legible), but I'm shaking my head after reading and decided to share here. There is not much fun to be had at the expense of the victims of con artists, but this one is just too much for me. I've also decided to cut and paste the article for those who cannot read it, since I've never been able to figure out the geo-blocking, since I've often been blocked from news sources in my own state in the US.

From [The BBC:](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58810977?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_custom3=%40BBCWorld&at_custom4=EB098056-2639-11EC-A2E3-B9A84744363C&at_campaign=64&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_custom2=twitter&at_medium=custom7)

>**A California man is suing a psychic who he says falsely claimed she could remove a curse put on his marriage by a witch hired by his ex-girlfriend.**
>
>Mauro Restrepo said Sophia Adams promised she could save his marriage if he paid $5,100 (£3,742) to exorcise the spell, according to a fraud suit filed with the Torrance Superior Court.
>
>Ms Adams allegedly told Mr Restrepo he and his family would be "unhappy and in danger" if the curse was not lifted.
>
>He is now seeking $25,000 in damages.
>
>Included among several other allegations made by Mr Restrepo are charges of negligence, civil conspiracy and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
>
>Mr Restrepo said that he contacted Ms Adams after searching for psychics on Google.
>
>Ms Adams' website bills her as a "psychic love specialist" and "Ph.D Life Coach," which the suit claims "made plaintiff more confident that he was speaking with a professional that could help him".
>
>During the session, Ms Adams read his tarot cards and told him he had "mala suerte", or "bad luck", placed on him "by a witch hired by his ex-girlfriend" and unless the curse was removed it would ruin Mr Restrepo, his children and his marriage, the court papers say.
>
>Despite making an initial deposit of $1,000, Mr Restrepo says that Ms Adams' "did not in any way help" his marriage and he had been suffering from sleepless nights, anxiety and anguish.
>
>The lawsuit also names as defendants Ms Adams' husband, daughter and landlords.

Now, I do understand that the demand of $25,000 is for jurisdiction purposes and he likely does not expect to receive that amount, but really have difficulty empathizing with someone who would pay a psychic to find and lift a curse instead of paying a marriage counselor, and I say that as someone who was told by the religious counselor/claimed therapist at a time when I was the victim of domestic abuse, that I was partly at fault for not letting my husband lead. (Since then, I've learned he wasn't in any way licensed except through the church and feel no guilt for leaving that relationship.)

I also do not have any empathy for the con artist in this (or any) case.

Answer: The psychic should’ve seen this coming


Title: (New Mexico) Former alcoholic trying to contact my adult daughter when there was a restraining order from when she was a child

Question: As the title says. I used to be an alcoholic and after an incident at a wedding (I passed out and shit on the brides dress before the wedding) my family disowned me and my wife filed for divorce. She got a restraining order against me for her and my daughter who was one at the time. My daughter is 18 and I sent her a letter but didn't hear back. I approached her very non threateningly in a public place and she started screaming and yelling for someone to call 911. The police have to told me I have to stay away from her but the restraining order is no longer valid, I checked with a lawyer. I know I can't approach my ex or the rest of my family but my daughter is 18 and I want her to know I am clean now. How can the police do this if the order is not valid anymore?

Answer: You are making a teenage girl scream hysterically in public.  She obviously wants nothing to do with you.  The police have every business telling you to leave her alone.  If you persist you could be charged with harassment, disorderly conduct or worse, like stalking.Answer #2: Just because you got your life back in order, doesn't mean your daughter has to be a part of it.  Her actions make it clear that she wants you to stay away from her.Answer #3: Are you the same guy who opened fire on a police dog?


Title: Can family of my estranged wife legally withhold Info on her death so I can't sell property?

Question: Florida. I believe my estranged wife passed away last year but unable to confirm. Social Security will not confirm, no obituary, family member refuses info, nothing found in Internet search and I do not know the last city she lived in to request a death certificate. We are still legally married, separated for 12 years and own property together.  I am 87 yrs old and I would like to sell the property and move to assisted living.  Can her family legally withhold information on death from me.  What should I do next?

Answer:
 Request a death certificate from a state vital records office. You might need to do some detective work. Try a background check website, they might run info through the Death Master File.Answer #2: Probate records in my state are public and can be searched, and from a quick Google search it looks like the same is true for Florida. That could help you narrow down her last city for the death cert and find the executor to her estate. Otherwise, if you have the money, a private investigator might be able to track down the details of her passing.

You should find a Wills/Probate/Succession lawyer, because depending on FL law and how you co-owned the property it might not be wholly yours. In a lot of circumstances it automatically passes to the spouse, but not always. Further to that, if she had no Will and you were still married, or if she hadn't updated her Will since your separation, you may be entitled to part of her estate. [The Florida Bar has a referral service you can use](https://www.floridabar.org/lawyerreferral).

While you're speaking with that lawyer you should also ask them to update your own Will and Power of Attorney. Both are important for looking after yourself once you move into assisted living. It might also be worth your while asking about residential tenancies law, because you may be able to rent the property to pay for the assisted living facility while sorting out the situation with your estranged wife.

This all assumes that your wife has actually passed. If she hasn't this could either get very easy or very hard for you. If hard, you'll really want that lawyer on your side. Good luck getting it all sorted out.


Title: Child custody court

Question:
My boyfriend was served papers for court on monday. The childrens(ages 7, 9, 12)  mother is fliling for sole custody and primary placement.  This is in Wisconsin.

The oldest has accused him of smoking excessive amounts of marijuana in the home around the children, and while driving with children in the vehicle. He is concerned of the effects on his younger siblings. States he cries and screams knowing his dad will be doing this around them everytime they go to his dads.

What are the chances of him losing his children in this case? He has court this coming monday. Im terrified for him.

Answer: Has he actually been smoking a ton of weed around the kids and driving high with them as passengers?  If so, he's not a fit parent.  I can't tell you the chances, but I can tell you that no child should have to worry about their father driving them around while stoned.Answer #2: Impossible to say for sure, but certainly engaging in the type of behavior you described would be a major red flag and could result in a requirement for any visitation to be supervised depending on how the court thinks he will or will not take appropriate action to ensure the safety of the kids.  This is get an attorney right now land.Answer #3: I would say that the chance is very high. Especially with the son's statement


Title: Advice needed: mentally ill brother was terminated while in the hospital

Question:
I have come here for advice because after searching Google I have come to the realization that I have no idea what is important.

My brother had a bit of a breakdown last week that has left him in a mental health facility out of touch with reality. I don't know if the diagnosis really matters but there has been one and now he is on heavy meds.

All of his work reviews were great and I am under the impression that he did not have an episode at work. We were immediately in touch with his manager to let him know his location. Six days after the issue, the human resources manager finally got in touch with father and then called my brother while he was in the hospital to terminate him. He had been responding to treatment and had become closer to himself and now he has begun to spiral into a deeper depression as he has been fired from a job because he decided to get the help he needed.

While I am offended and hurt at their callousness, I realize that being mean isn't illegal. However I have been told that the company's action's may have violated the ADA and the FMLA. Is is worth pursuing legal action?

Does anyone have experience they can share? I'm lost and distraught.

Answer: Terminated his employment.  Ok good. I thought you meant the hospital terminated his LIFE.


Title: Please help me...

Question:
Hello. I live in Ohio. I was in a domestic violence relationship for five years, married for almost 3. I left in an escape plan 12 days ago & have tried to go no contact since. I was a stay at home mother, 2 children, one being biologically his.

I’ve tried to contact legal aid & I needed $1.99 to pay for services & I don’t even have that at the moment. However he did assist me in trying to connect me to a lawyer but when I said I do not have income at the moment, he in return hung up on me before I could even say another word.

My husband has been mentally & physically abusive to me. In the past he’s punched me, shoved me, choked me, spit in my face, has smacked my head off a wall, drug me off a toilet, refrained me from leaving, threatened me, ect.

I have no idea what to do, or who to help me. I’m trying to keep my children safe. They are 6 and 3. When the lawyer hung up on me, I feel hopeless. I don’t know where to go from here & everyone else wants 10,000 in legal fees, or whatever & I just don’t have it. I did recently get a job and just finished my training yesterday & I start on Monday.

Can someone please help me? I don’t care to peruse legal charges against him, I just want a divorce & custody which I feel would be the fastest way to go about doing this. He has a job, & could easily retain a lawyer.

Thank you.
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 You are legally entitled to half of the assets that you and your husband own together.

You can use those assets to pay for a lawyer, and if you're being denied access to them, then a judge can order him to pay for your lawyer.

I assure you that you're not remotely the first person in this situation- start calling divorce lawyers in your area and explaining the situation.  Someone, especially the larger firms, should be able to help you.


Title: Web designer holding domain to ransom. Need advice.

Question:
So heres the situation as I understand it.

My sister has a website for her business- she bought the domain and got it hosted and put a basic landing page on temporarily.
She then asked a friend of a friend (first mistake, I know) to design the site for her. He asked her for control of the domain and she gave it to him.

5 months later and he has finally responded to her messages and she is not happy with the design. She has asked for control of the domain and said she will pay his costs, but not the £200 for a poor, late, design. Now he is refusing to relinquish control until he is paid the full amount.

There was no contract signed and all contact/ agreements were made through facebook messenger and via email.

Edit: forgot to say, Im in the UK.
My question is- is there a way to regain control of her domain without any legal action?
Thanks.

Answer: Man... $300 for a website?  This should have been a huge red flag.  A legitimate web developer would charge *at least* ten times that.


Title: Neighbor filming us

Question:
My husband and I live in Orlando, Florida in a neighborhood with an HOA (not sure if that’s relevant). Our next door neighbor clearly dislikes my husband for reasons unknown to us. She will just start criticizing him for no reason, attempting to argue with him and get a rise out of him. Keep in mind, they’ve never actually exchanged names or been introduced. She just harasses him. He spends a lot of time outside in the yard: planting, weeding, watering, etc.  Sometimes when he is outside, the neighbor will “follow” him around: if he is in the backyard, she will go outside into her backyard. If he moves to our front yard, she will go into her front yard. While weird, that’s not the issue. Sometimes she will start filming him on her phone- she is in her yard, he is in our yard. Unsure if she has audio turned on or not. Is this legal?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: Well, not actually legal advice, but the best approach with people who want to get a "rise" out of you is ignoring.  Have him wear earphones and play music when he's working in the yard, so he can't hear anything she says.   She should get bored quickly if she can't get on his radar.


Title: [CA] Girlfriend and I had consensual sex, but she threatened to cry rape when I tried to break up with her

Question:
Title says it all. I'm literally freaking the fuck out I don't know what to do.

I do not know of any 'evidence' she might have besides maybe disposed condoms

Answer: Don't talk to her anymore, either orally or in writing, don't talk to anyone about this, and if the police contact you, decline to speak to them and contact a lawyer.


Title: If my bank accidentally gives me money, can i spend it?

Question: I was supposed to have $280 in my empty account today. I had roughly $480, with no explanation. Can I spend the money?

Answer: Of course not. If you woke up and were supposed to have $280 in your account and had $0 would you think the bank would need to repay you?


Title: (U.S. - Georgia) Ticket for parking in a handicapped space. Any advice?

Question:
A few nights ago, me and some friends went to a restaurant for late dinner, about 9pm. It gets busy on weekends, so the bank next door closes at 6 or 7pm and ends up being the overflow lot. We finish dinner around 10. I'm parked next door to the restaurant, my buddy is parked at the bank, so we get in my car and I carry him up to his. All the regular parking spaces are full so I parked in the HC space since its next to his car. Me and him and another friend are standing around talking as the overflow lot starts emptying out. Then a cop shows up and writes me a ticket.

Any advice?

Answer:
 You don't have a defense unless somebody in your party was handicapped or you were picking somebody up who was handicapped. It's a crappy thing to do and you deserve the fine.Answer #2: >Any advice?

Stop parking illegally.

Pay the ticket, plead for (and likely not get) leniency, hire an attorney. Those are the optionsAnswer #3: > Any advice?

Pay the ticket and don't park in handicap spots—even for a minute—even if you never leave the car unattended—even if it's still running—even if you're in the driver's seat with your seatbelt on.


Title: Conflict turns into a fight. Can one party call the police if they're attacked first and do not retaliate?

Question:
Los Angeles, CA. If a simple conflict between two guys in a public place goes from screaming at each other into a fight, can there be some legal ramifications?

I was recently in that type of situation where some stranger was looking for trouble. I'm new to the US laws, so I just left it as is and walked away after I got tired of arguing with him. Normally, I'm all for a good brawl, especially when I'm not the asshole in the situation, and was burning to punch the guy's lights out; however, in the back of my mind I was thinking that if I was the first to attack, then I can get arrested. Is that true? What can be done about a stranger punching you in the mouth for whatever reason?
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer:
 >I was thinking that if I was the first to attack, then I can get arrested. Is that true?

That's exactly what would happen.

>What can be done about a stranger punching you in the mouth for whatever reason?

Generally, you can use reasonable and proportional force to stop the use of force against them until you can get away.  Then, call the police.


Title: [US] Man on subway refuses ticket citing constitution. Legal?

Question:
A man riding the subway claims to have purchased a ticket but refuses to show it to inspectors.  When threatened with police action he cites right to refuse illegal search and seizure, while continuing to claim he has a valid ticket in his back pocket.

Youtube link to the [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGxSzn5DKK4)

Was he actually in the right?  Does he have a case?

Answer:
 No.

Two things:

1.) There is almost certainly a law which requires the man to show his ticket upon request while on the subway.

2.) The burden of proof necessary to make an arrest is "probable cause." If you are on the subway, and do not produce a valid ticket (even if you have one) then the officers still have probable cause to believe you are riding without a ticket.  So you can be arrested, and you can show your ticket in court in your own defense if you choose to do so.

However, once you are arrested, you are subject to search incident to arrest. If the officers don't find a ticket, that will get noted in the report. Answer #2: Depends, is there gold fringe on the subway train?


Title: Sex offender removed from registry by state in error

Question: I was assaulted by a family member when I was 15. The incident occurred in Georgia in '99. The district attorney at the time was involved, I was pulled out of school by CPS.. it was the whole ordeal. We ended up not going to trial and he took a plea agreement. According to the county court docket the charges are felony: non-capital; indictment; single defendent. 3cts child molestation, and enticing a child for indecent purposes,. I recently pulled the docket up out of curiosity and noticed a more recent state warrant line from '16. I contacted the county for details as was told a warrant was closed out- possibly clerical record keeping and it was closed as a charge was upgraded and no longer valid. They told me the defendent received 40 years probation, but could not answer why he does not pull up on an offenders registry. The current sheriff for the county looked in to it and said Georgia shows he should be registered, but he moved to TN after he was sentenced in '00. They stated he was removed off of probation after 7 years in 2007, but could not explain why TN would not have him on the registry. I don't believe he qualified for first offender due to sexual assault of a minor. Tennessee said their records reflected he should no longer be on and he was removed in 2010. I'm not 100% on this because I'm piecing stuff together on the internet. With it being a sex offense of a minor he would have been required to register for 25 years based off Adam Walsh Child Protection act as a tier II offender (with inticement & multiple child molestation charges)? Am I incorrect or was he removed in error? Would there be a case against the state for negligence and how do they rectify the 6-7 years he's been unregistered if this is in error?

Answer:
 >Would there be a case against the state for negligence and how do they rectify the 6-7 years he's been unregistered if this is in error?

You cannot sue the state. States have sovereign immunity. You, nor any body else, have real damages anyway. Even though you were the one assaulted, this is between him and the state. You have no legal meaning to the situation.


Title: My dad got into an accident with a car under my name. Looked up insurance info to find out there was a lapse in coverage to what I believe is the insurance company's fault.

Question:
I have two vehicles that are registered under my name that my father drives the second vehicle. Back in May I setup a new insurance policy for myself and my father on the two vehicles and in the conversation with the insurance provider I asked for there to be a monthly autopayment. He said everything was all good. I spoke with an automated system to make confirmations, etc.

Today my father got into an accident that was his fault and needed insurance info. I went to provide it to him from my app when it said there was something wrong with my account.

I called immediately and came to find out that there was a lapse in payment and the notifications were going into my junk mail. No phone calls, no nothing. As a result, there was a lapse in coverage since 10 days ago even though they have my credit card on file.

I raised a stink that I had setup autopayments with the original agent and they should have notified me beyond just an email. They said that there was nothing they could do about it and whether I wanted to restart the policy, but it would cover from the time I called. I immediately did, but that still doesnt help the situation. The funny thing is, I used the very credit card they had on file. I didnt provide any new information.

I'm wondering what recourse I have in this situation. I'm 99% sure I said over the phone with the agent that I wanted autopayment and I do believe those conversations are recorded. Is this something I can ask for? Should I get an attorney involved? What kind of attorney do I get for this type of situation?

Despite my father being the one in the accident, since the car is in my name, I believe I get held accountable. What recourse do I have in this situation? I'm just starting to save money for a house and I'm very worried that I'm going to be paying out my nose over this.

Answer:
 Yeah this is really, really bad.

If you setup email as your primary or preferred method of contact, then this is all your own fault. Even still, if your contract allows notification by email, then this is your fault.

Why did they say there was a lapse in payment?

You and your father will be fully liable for whatever damages you caused. Your father may be issued a ticket for driving without insurance.


Title: [Minnesota] Is this proper notice? Can my landlord do this?

Question:
My fiancé and I are trying to close on a house. Right now it's in the appraisal stage and if everything is good we close May 16th, so it's pretty much ours, but something could go wrong where it doesn't appraise.

Yesterday we found out via our lease that we need to give two calendar months notice, which would mean May 1st at the latest. So we contacted our landlord via email last night to explain the situation. Stating we were only inquiring about the proper way and when the last moment we could give notice would be, hoping we hear back from the appraisal by the end of the month. He tells us that it needs to be given between the 1st and 5th of the month, and so my fiancé writes back in that email, "Awesome. Then I'll let you know May 1st if we're going to be moving July 1st. That works for our planning."

He responds back, "I'm sorry. I have a waitlist and your unit has already been rented." We respond back with, "Okay... But I wasn't giving any official notice..." And the landlord stops all communication.

So now my fiancé and I are kinda worried. On one hand we're sure the house will appraise, but we now feel like the landlord nullified our rental agreement of when our 1 year lease ends we can switch to monthly rental agreements, and has essentially kicked us out. We're not sure how he could have already rented the home out when we had the correspondence at 10pm at night and his responses were very frequent at the beginning. Is this legal? By inquiring did we give "proper notice"? Is there any thing that can be done so that we have a home in 2 months if the house were trying to buy doesn't appraise if we know before May 1st? Were trying to move 2 hours away so we really don't want to sign another 1 year lease...

Thank you for your time.

Answer: The LL is not required to extend your lease to a month to month. He is required to give proper written notice to end tenancy per your lease and the legal requirements in your state.


Title: I have consistently worked over-time. I am not exempt. I have never seen a dime of overt-time pay

Question:
Hello,
 I have worked as much as 50-62 per week and not seen a dime of over time pay. I make 11 dollars an hour, I live in the state of GA, I am not management, and my boss just confirmed that I should be making over-time.
Additionally, my checks are consistently short. I thought this was due to taxes as I receive direct deposit and never get a pay stub, but now I am convinced that I am being shorted my actual pay.
I work for a domestic violence shelter, and this shelter pretends to offer a case worker, a child case worker and program, parenting classes, and group counseling, but this facility hasn't offered any of this in the eight months since I have been here, yet they continue to collect donations and grants for them....!
I told all of this to the shelter manager who confirmed to me that she has had long held beliefs that something is amiss with the finances. She is the only person here that I have spoken too and currently I am keeping my cards close to my chest.

It is obvious that the money is not being used on employee salaries, nor on client services. What is my next step? Is there a next step? What are the consequences for withholding 5 months worth of over-time pay.

Edit:

My employee handbook states that I am required to notify my employer if I am scheduled to do over-time. However, the law makes no statement that I can see about that.

Answer: File an unpaid wages claim with [ U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division](https://www.dol.gov/whd/howtofilecomplaint.htm).


Title: Can I report an underage waiter and have him fired?

Question: [removed]

Answer: You should just move on with your life.


Title: [EU] *MARRIED* Is there any law or human right that will help me get my wife permission to stay with me in my country?

Question:
I am a Swedish citizen, born, raised, never left, etc. I met a Serbian girl and we fell in love and decided to spend our lives together.
Now comes the funny part where if my wife applies for Residental visa, she cannot enter Sweden during that time (Swedens queues right now are 8-21 months), and if she applies for a D-visa (Tourist) She cannot apply for the residental one, we plan on living together in Sweden and would like to do so as soon as possible.

SO! Any advice? Tips/Tricks? Laws that say married couples have the right to be together?

Answer:
 First of all, congratuatlions on getting married.

Secondly: I don't know if we have any people from Sweden here but I will try my best to answer your questions.

In your title you ask about human rights, the answer is no there is no human right that allows you to get quicker through the system than anybody else. You probably know as well as me why it currently is taking such a long time (refugee crisis in Europe).

Since I don't know Swedish I'm not able to take a short look at the immigration laws of your country. But my advice would be to consult with an immigration lawyer in Sweden. These lawyer know exactly which paperwork to file and when to file it.


Title: [WV] Unique abandoned property question

Question:
I am the program assistant for a department at a university in West Virginia. We allow our students to check out lockers for the academic year, free of charge. The lockers are supposed to be off by May, but many were still on.

I started this position back in July, and apparently the previous assistant never bothered to check the lockers and many students had lockers much longer than they were supposed to.

I wanted students to follow the procedures laid out in our handbook, and made it clear through several emails that locks needed to be off by the 17th of this month or they would be sibject to removal. We removed the locks and all property Friday and it is now in my office.

Some of these lockers had not been cleaned out in as long as 5 years and many of these students were no longer at the unversity. Some were. We are contacting those whose property we have, which include school books and instruments up to the cost of over $3,000.

My question is, how long until we can consider this property abandoned? Many of the books that were left are still used in classes, and I would love to create a mini library for students who can't afford these books, and these instruments could be great assets to the students as well. We just experienced a budget cut of $42k and this would help offset the cost of a few of our issues.

Thanks!

Answer:
 Your university will have a lawyer on staff. Talk to him about the problem.Answer #2: >I am the program assistant

Pass the problem on up the chain and ask your boss and get whatever is decided in writing.


Title: Motorcycle was towed. Towing company says the VIN doesn’t match with title.

Question:
Hey all, so on Friday my motorcycle was towed after dying on me the day before. After making a few calls and finding out where it was being held at I go up there today to pick it up. On the phone they said bring an ID and title or proof of insurance. Ok no problem I said. I go to pick it up today and said that the VIN doesn’t match up on the insurance. How can that be? They told me to bring the title because maybe the insurance was wrong. I bring the title (which matches the insurance) and said since the VIN doesn’t match with what’s on the bike that I won’t be able to pick it up.
Now I asked if I can see the bike and double check the VIN to make sure they weren’t reading something wrong but said I wasn’t able to look at it. After going to check it herself she said they didn’t match up but didn’t give any proof. They only advice she could give me was to wait until Monday and talk to the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration or contact legal advice to do an affidavit but I would need the correct VIN (which they won’t give me). Do I have any options? I don’t want to wait until Monday to figure this because they charge penalties every day it’s there and even sell it at auction after 30 days.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 Does the bike have a salvage title?  Are the engine and the frame from different bikes?  Was the bike ever transferred without a transfer of title resulting in a retitling?

Any of these could possibly result in having multiple VINs on the bike.

I had a bike with three different VINs on it.  The only correct one of the three was in the government mandated location but if you find a VIN where you expect it why would you check anywhere else?


Title: Serious] Sister kicked out of apartment by roommate in Alabama. She was primary leaseholder, and her roommate refuses to pay rent. What can she do to get out of the lease without having to pay?

Question:
A little backstory: Sister and Roommate in relationship(not married or domestic partners)

Roommate moved from another state and convinced sister to move into apartment and become primary leaseholder.

Said roommate breaks up with sister 1 week later and refuses to move out. Instead moves in a "new" girlfriend and refuses to pay rent.

Sister moves out because of this, but explaining the situation to the landlord yields no positive results. IE: Trying to force eviction on my sister's rental credit or forcing a lease to be broken voluntarily.

Any feedback would be very much appreciated.

Answer:
 So not kicked out then, but voluntarily left.  She signed onto the lease, so is completely responsible for it.  Only way to go get out of this is to meet with the landlord and get everyone to agree to change the terms of the lease and substitute in a tenant.  Landlord is probably not going to be thrilled about this.Answer #2: > ...become primary leaseholder.

What name(s) are on the lease? Sister, roommate, or both?Answer #3: Wait I'm just going to ask a clarifying question: what do you mean it's not recognized in the state because of same sex? Are they married? Because if so, that's legal in the US as of a few years ago. Are they not married? Then they're cohabitating partners and I DON'T THINK straight or gay couples have any rights over the other in this situation.Answer #4: Well, yeah, if people could unilaterally remove themselves from contracts without consequence, what would a contract be worth?

What your sister can do is pay 100% of the rent, then sue the ex-partner afterwards for the sum of rent paid.


Title: My work is in trouble for employing me without me having a work permit but I'm an American born citizen

Question:
I apologize in advance if this is confusing and makes no sense. I don't even know how to begin dealing with this.

My work has informed me (after me working there for 5 years) that they are being investigated for employing an illegal immigrant (me) without a work permit. They know I was born here and am on my side in trying to figure it out but so far we have nothing.

I was born in America in New York City. I have never been outside of New York state before. All 8 of my great-grandparents immigrated here from England and since then all of my family has been born here in America, mostly in New York like me. I have no living relatives anywhere besides America and no idea why the government thinks I am an illegal immigrant.

The police are also investigating me for using a dead person's SSN number that they think I stole. I checked and the number is mine and the right one and the right one is on my work paperwork, my bank account and my tax filings. My credit and bank accounts are good, there is nothing strange and no signs of identity theft or warrants out for my arrest. Immigration Services visited my apartment but I wouldn't talk to them without a lawyer (same with the police) and they left and told me not to go far because they aren't done investigating. Even though I haven't done anything wrong I'm still scared.

I'm 27 and was born here and have lived her my entire life. They were real and not people impersonating because I called 911 both times and they confirmed that the people at my door were who they said and not imposters. I don't know why they think otherwise. I don't know what to do or if I should get a lawyer in case I get arrested? Could they even deport me or do they have to prove I'm legal. My brother is getting married next weekend and I'm supposed to be a bridesmaid but I'm afraid I'll be arrested and in jail before then. I don't know, should I get a lawyer or wait for them to do something? Apologies if the answers are obvious, I'm not a lawyer and I've never been in legal trouble for anything before.

Answer: In addition to all of the other advice posted here, you might want to try contacting the Social Security Administration and find out if you've been reported dead. Mistakes like this happen often enough that it's fairly regularly covered here. All it takes is one person punching in a number wrong, and just like that, you're dead and obviously an illegal who has stolen someone's identity.Answer #2: This sounds like the sort of situation where your congressperson's office might be able to help.  They're good at cutting through bureaucracy.Answer #3: Sounds like you might be the victim of identity theft. Likely, one or more undocumented immigrants is/was using your ssn. Do a credit check, and consider freezing your credit temporarily.


Title: An elderly friend has been sending me money, now I'm being investigated for "financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult."

Question:
After my father died last year I got a phone call from Stan, one of his oldest friends and we started communicating regularly by phone.  Almost immediately he started offering me money:  to help pay for the urn and to pay for flowers at the funeral.  I gratefully accepted as I am working only part-time at a job with no benefits, and have been unable to find a fulltime job in many years.  He then surprised me by sending me a cell phone and adding me to his plan, saying that my job hunt would go better if I had a phone and that it didn't cost much to add me.

I enjoyed our conversations so we talked regularly and Stan began to say that he felt like he has "another daughter."  Almost every time we talked he asked me if I needed money, and was sending me about $200/month.  When my cat got a rash he begged me to take her to the vet, and I finally did when he offered to send the money to cover the bill.  I was very sick this winter and out of work entirely for six weeks; he sent me $1000.

Several times I've told him that I don't want him to send money if it's going to put him in a bind and he's always reassured me that he wouldn't do it if it would hurt either him or his kids (who are in their 60s).  He also has said, several times, that helping someone else gives him a reason for living since his wife died.

Stan lives alone with his dog in his own home and isn't handicapped in any way.  He is bright, personable and completely independent (from what I can gather, never having met him in person). He is however 86 years old.

Today I received a notice from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services saying that I was identified as an alleged perpetrator of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, and to call them to discuss it.

I read up on this a little and found that if they determine that exploitation has taken place, my name will go in a file and I will be barred from working with children or seniors for the rest of my life.  I currently work with children and it seems shocking and absurd to me that because this man sent me money, I could lose my job.

I suspect the agency was called by his daughter.  Stan said something months ago about his daughter being concerned then never mentioned it again.

My instinct is to call Stan and tell him I've received this letter.  I expect he will be outraged and try to put a stop to it, but I'm not sure he'll be able to.  The website for this agency stresses that elders often don't realize they are being exploited, so it's up to others to protect them.

It's also remotely possible that someone has talked to him and convinced him that he IS being exploited.  I called him last night just to chat and he seemed somewhat distant and eager to get off the phone.  He said he was tired.

Can anyone shed light on this situation?  I live in Virginia. Thank you.

Edit:  I looked this up on the WA website and it does not sound like Stan is a "vulnerable adult."  He is not disabled, he is fully independent.

It also says that financial exploitation is something illegal, such as forging checks.  How can it be illegal to accept gifts?  I'm surprised that some people think this *is* exploitation.

Edit2:  Back in the 1960s  I used to donate to a charity called the Save the Children Fund.  I received a photo of the child I was supposedly helping and was told how my money was used to better her life.  So I don't find it all strange that a well off person would want to help out a needy stranger, as I did it myself.  Many people donate to charities to help people they have never, and will never meet.

Edit3:  I have learned that lawyers that handle this charge about $350/hr, which I cannot pay.  The elder law atty I spoke with in WA says I should just call social services and tell them what I told her.  Legal Aid Society will not help me.  I'm on my own.

Edit4:  The elder law atty I spoke with WA seems to think I'm in no real trouble.  As she put it "elderly people are allowed to give gifts if they want to, just like you and me."  However I'm hiring her for a 30 min consult to discuss strategy for the call with APS.  If in those 30 min she indicates anything other than her initial impression that I don't have much to worry about, I'll hire her to be on the phone with me during the call with APS.

Most of the comments here were hostile, judgemental and quick to make utterly unfounded negative assumptions about me. There seemed to a desire to punish me by making my situation sound more dire than it is and imply that I'm stupid to not see myself for the greedy gold-digger I am.

There were just a few helpful commenters such as /u/superwombat and u/kiserai, to them I am grateful.  The rest of you, who assumed I am a young, scheming gold-digger in real danger of criminal charges, should find a new sub to post in where your venom isn't directed at people in trouble.

Posting this here for anyone who might find this and need similar help.  It's the process that APS uses.  There are several chances to appeal adverse findings before anything is final, and it appears to only affect those working in Washington state.  http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/aps-investigations-and-findings?ref=2wZjr

Answer:
 It sounds as though you're a young woman who has received several thousand dollars in benefits from an elderly man unrelated to you.  Your story makes some sense to me, but surely you can see how the situation raises concern.

>My instinct is to call Stan and tell him I've received this letter.

That instinct is not a good one, and really could look bad for you.  Resist that urge.

>and to call them to discuss it.

People say this here a lot, and I know when they say it they're basically suggesting you pay $1,000 that it sounds like you don't have, but I don't think I'd have a conversation with them without an attorney.  There are pretty serious implications here.  You need someone looking out for you in the process.
Answer #2: You are being investigated by DSHS for potentially taking advantage of a vulnerable adult.

This is no joke. DSHS is investigating you, and they could refer charges to VA to charge you with any number of theft-type charges.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Stop talking to Stan, do not call back anyone who calls you from a WA area code, and lawyer up.

>  I expect he will be outraged and try to put a stop to it, but I'm not sure he'll be able to.

I can absolutely confirm that Stan cannot say or do anything to stop a DSHS investigation. This is beyond his control, and at this point, all you can do is lawyer up and shut up.Answer #3: You need a lawyer. On the surface, it definitely does sound like you were taking advantage of him and WA doesn't mess around with this stuff.


Title: (WI) Another Religious Accommodation Question

Question:
Saw a post a from a few minutes ago, didn't want to hijack that thread, but here in Wisconsin we have a company that employed quite a few Somali refugees, and they have walked out of their job because the company will not allow them to pray the five times a day that the muslim faith requires.  That being said, the company did set up a separate prayer room, for that use and that use only, and allows them to utilize it during the scheduled breaks.  This came up on a radio talk show yesterday, and I was amazed with how many people were in support of the Somalis.  So legal people here, is this a reasonable / unreasonable accomodation?  Linking an article, and to expand on it, the employees are not asking for a quick moment of reflection, they are asking for five times a day to be able to go to the washroom, wash their feet, and conduct their prayer rituals.  As well, this is a sun-based things, beginning at sunup and sundown, and as such the times for the prayer throughout the day change constantly, there is no set time for every day.  Thanks much!

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wisconsin-muslim-idUSKCN0UX2RX

Answer:
 >  So legal people here, is this a reasonable / unreasonable accomodation?

It's probably unreasonable.  For one thing, asking for 5 additional breaks per day is a lot.  If these guys could bang it out in 5 minutes, that would be one thing, but it's typically a 10-15 minute process.  Longer if they're particularly orthodox in their beliefs.  That's over an hour of work lost every day.  Maybe 2.

For another, they're in a manufacturing setting.  Having almost anyone leave the line for more than a moment or two can cause a factory shutdown.  Or pose major safety hazards.  So they'd need to shut the whole factory down 5 times per day, or alternatively drastically overstaff so that there's an additional person available to work for the people who need to pray.  Generally shutting down the business, or requiring a 2nd person to work to accommodate you is going to be held unreasonable.


Title: Hypothetical: Lunatics and Customs Paperwork

Question:
This was based on a post in r/news.

People laugh about the seemingly silly questions on customs and immigration paperwork. You'll see questions like, "were you involved in the Nazi regime in the 1940s", "have you been involved in a genocide", or "are you planning to commit a terrorist attack in the US?" The general consensus seems to be that while they won't actually ever catch anyone with this form, they can throw extra charges at someone after the fact if they are caught doing something. It's probably a pretty rare occurrence that anyone actually checks "yes" to any of these things.

I wonder how things would go if you admit to planning a terrorist attack, but upon grilling, it's clear that you're just plain nuts.

I'm an American citizen. I don't have citizenship anywhere else, so if I'm coming through customs returning from a trip abroad, they have to let me in. They can lock me in jail, but they cannot just deport me somewhere.

Let's say on that form I mark that "yes," I am planning on committing some terrorist attack, genocide, etc. I imagine this would get me flagged for a nice long interview.

They take me aside to some interview room and grill me about why I marked yes. They figure I'm joking, but upon talking with me, they find I'm completely serious. I'm honestly planning on detonating a weapon of mass destruction!

I tell them I plan to build a 10,000 megaton thermonuclear bomb in my garage with nothing more than the parts from a toaster oven, a microwave, and a 1993 Geo Metro. I then plan on taking my home made nuke to Washington DC and detonating it. When asked why, I tell them about the conspiracy between the mole men and the lizard people secretly controlling the government. I say this without a hint of irony or humor; I honestly believe it.

What happens then? Yes, I'm "planning" to commit a grievous act of terrorism, but I'm clearly nuts and totally incapable of actually pulling it off. I have neither the resources, technical expertise, or a other necessities to make this a credible threat. Still, I directly confessed to plotting to kill millions of American citizens. What happens next?

Oh, location. If that's important. Let's say the US, and hmm, for fun we'll set this at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, TX.

Answer:
 >Still, I directly confessed to plotting to kill millions of American citizens. What happens next?

You would likely be involuntarily committed.


Title: Autistic bother was bullied by teacher. What can be done?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: The parents can complain to the school board


Title: [UT] My father in law recently passed, now his retirement is refusing to pay out to his widow. Can we do anything?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 So you are here to ask /r/legaladvice to find a way to get the retirement system to bend the rules just for your relative?

As much as you would like to help her, according to your own post, she is only entitled to the 12.5% payment - sorry.

If your father in law passed with 25 years and one day on the job, would you feel any sympathy for the retirement system trying to argue that they really should just pay the 12.5% because he just met the deadline by one day?


Title: I was hit by a car while riding my motorcycle and suffered a broken bone. Other party has admitted fault and their insurance has accepted 100% liability. What would be considered an inappropriate payout from the insurance? Should I get a lawyer?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 I always cringe when people simply want to sue for "pain and suffering". Take a stronger stance. Have you been out of work because of the accident? You could also ask for lost wages.Answer #2: Many have mentioned it here (and I am not a lawyer), but I'd try to keep track of each of the following:

1.  Property: the cost of replacement of your motorcycle (plus taxes and fees that would be associated with registering a new motorcycle), the cost of your helmet (you can't re-wear your helmet after an accident), any other protective gear that you need to replace as a result of them being compromised in the accident.

2.  Medical: doctor's bills, mileage to and from the doctor's offices for your appointments, medication, etc.

3.  Lifestyle: Days of missed work, the rental costs of whatever you are using to drive around to all these appointments/taxi fare, any costs you incurred that you would not have incurred if you had been working and not been in an accident.

If you try to think through things logically and completely by dividing them into categories, you'll get a sense of your actual damages.  I'd argue that getting that part right is equally as important as any compensation for pain and suffering.

If you have full coverage, I'd check with your own insurance and see what they will give you as a settlement and compare it to what the other insurance company is offering.


Title: Supervisor used my childhood sexual abuse to put me on informal suspension after a disagreement.

Question:
I had informally shared with my supervisor that I was sexually abused as a child. Later that year my supervisor and I had a disagreement. That same day he approached me and said that he felt our disagreement was rooted in the fact that I never received therapuetic treatment for my sexual abuse. He then took away my job responsibilities for over a month until I sought treatment. Afterwards, he's used my treatment everytime a disagreement arises to say I'm too emotionally immature and disregard my perspective.

Is that just shitty or is it illegal?

I'm in the USA.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 I think you need to speak to an employment attorney. There are a number of ideas I could think of for what might be actionable. If you have a premeditating relationship with an attorney I would ask them to recommend an employment attorney. If you do not you can ask for a referral from your state Bar Organization.

Employment law is often very complicated, particularly if medical issues are in question. I think this is beyond this board’s competence. An initial consultation should be free or relatively inexpensive.


Title: Laxative prank for food thief

Question:
So a guy in my dorm has been stealing my food lately. (the dorm is shared amount 6 people, each person has their own food cabinet, it has a lock on it but people usually leave it unlocked.) If I were to put a dosage of laxative, with the recommended dosage, in my peanut butter, and he consumes it. Would that put me into any legality nuisances?

**More scenarios for discussion, would any of these be free of legal issues?**

**Scenario A:** I plan to put the peanut butter in my own cabinet, with a note "do not eat mt food" on it, with a picture of both the note, the peanut butter, the time and date, and my cabinet in the shot as evidence

**Scenario B:** I plan to put the peanut butter in my own cabinet, with a note "laxative, do not eat" on it, with a picture of both the note, the peanut butter, the time and date, and my cabinet in the shot as evidence

**Scenario C:** I plan to put the peanut butter in the shared area, with the note "Please do not eat, with laxative for constipation". Same thing with a picture as evidence

**Scenario D:** I reflected and decided it was childish to use hate to fight hate, so I put the laxative infused peanut butter away. With evidence as chat with friends in screenshots. But the thief takes it and eat it,

Answer:
 Don't put laxatives in your food for the purpose of booby trapping it.  You have the foresight of both the theft and the bodily damage you could be causing, making this premeditated.

It is likely illegal in your state (which you didn't provide, mind you), and you'd be due any medical bills caused by your prank, and subject to academic punishment depending on how far it escalates.

Why don't you just lock your food cabinet?Answer #2: How about be an adult and A) confront the person/talk with the RA and/or B) lock your cabinet.


Title: Coworker is consistently driving without a license, with drugs in the car, and has multiple DUI’s. What action can I take?

Question:
UPDATE 01/02/2020 : I have spoken with a state officer about the issue, and he has advised me to immediately call (he gave me a direct line #)in the next time I suspect he is driving at all. Given his track record, they’re taking it pretty seriously as I just found out- apparently he’s on parole. Thank you all for your help, now the correct authorities can take care of it and no one should get hurt.

Preface- I work in a very small business only subcontracting 3 people, and we are all 10-99.
My coworker currently has no license due to previous DUI’s, and spent a considerable amount of time in the feds. Recently he has started driving his girlfriend’s car to work, but we’ve also caught him drinking on the job.
MULTIPLE times, has he talked about having his infant in the car while going to pickup drugs, and carries them work with him. As far as I know it’s is only marijuana, but in very large amounts.

We’re all tired of his bullshit, but neither of us have the power to fire him. We’re legitimately scared he’s going to hurt someone, god forbid while he has any of his small children in the car.

The kids have other MUCH MORE STABLE people to take care of them, so if I do call in somewhere and he gets arrested, I know they have a safe place to go other than Foster care.
Is there ANYTHING we can do? An anonymous tip next time he drives in?  I’m not looking to start any personal cases with him or our shop, but I cannot sleep at night knowing I haven’t done anything about this. He’s hurt people before, and if it happened again I wouldn’t forgive myself.

ADDITION TO CLARIFY: I am not expecting for any law enforcement to come pick him up, but I am also worried about any form of retaliation to me or my shop so would like to keep my name out of a report. We are in Maryland.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 You can report him to the police, or to CPS.

Your bosses can terminate his contract, if they want to.


Title: [CAN, ON] Exposing someone and their details?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Congratulations. You have committed extortion and/or blackmail. Answer #2: Congratulations on your burgeoning career as an extortionist.Answer #3: What you're doing might actually be a more serious crime than what she did. You should probably not do that.


Title: Charged with grand larceny first offense/arrest

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer: Worry less about the fees and more about the lifelong felony conviction.


Title: Sears hometown is refusing to honor their price protection policy, will not even explain why it won't be honored.

Question:
Location: California USA

I recently bought a stove and dishwasher from my local sears hometown store. We had some damage on the stove when it was delivered so I went into the store to see about getting a refund/exchange. The sole employee was on the phone when I got there so I wandered around the store a bit. I noticed that our dishwasher was now priced $70 cheaper than we had paid just 12 days earlier. So after discussing the stove situation I mentioned the 14 day price protection policy listed on the sears hometown website. I was told by the employee that only applies to sears corporate stores not to the hometown stores. So I left. At home I reread the policy and it clearly states sears hometown stores. The sears corporate policy is even better than the hometown stores at 30 days. So I printed out the policy and went back to the store and asked him to explain why it doesn't apply. He told me again it only applies to corporate stores because hometown stores change their prices too often. I held out the piece of paper and said sears hometown stores are specifically listed right here and please explain why this does not apply. He said he was told from above not to do any price protection refunds. I asked to speak to the manager and he said he is the manager and his district manager is the person above him who only comes in for a few hours a month. I asked for their contact info, he refused and said he will speak to them about it and get back to me. I do not expect to hear anything back and am quite furious. I called their 1800 number to talk to customer service. The customer service was terrible and told me online purchases are not covered by price protection. I stated 1 that it cleary says they are in the policy, and 2 this was not an online purchase. Eventually the customer service rep said they would call the store and put me on hold. When they came back they said that the manager said they would not offer price protection and they could not explain why, they said it does appear I should be covered and that the managers actions are a "poor way to run a business". Dumbfounded I asked what they could do to help me and they said nothing. Personally I view this as illegal to state policies for your customers and then refuse to honor them with no explanation of why they won't honor the policy. If anyone has advice on what to do next i'd appreciate it.

http://www.searshometownstores.com/hts-price-match-guarantee

>Buy with confidence from Sears Hometown, Hardware and Home Appliance Showroom stores. If an item you have purchased from Sears Hometown, Hardware and Home Appliance Showroom stores goes on sale for a lower price within 14 days of your purchase, Sears Hometown, Hardware and Home Appliance Showroom stores will refund the difference. All Price Match rules and exclusions apply including no Price Protection adjustments between Thanksgiving Day and the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.

>To claim a Price Protection Policy adjustment, go to your original Sears store where the purchase was made with your receipt.

>If your purchase was made on Sears.com, please fill out a Price Protection form. You will be given a refund for the difference of the original selling price and the current advertised /reduced price. Apparel clearance merchandise and conditional Online Only Special Offers do not qualify for Price Protection Policy adjustments.\

**UPDATE EDIT:**

When we were in the store last night the manager would not provide us with any info on the district manager. He told us he'd call the district manager first thing this morning. We saw his other employee write a note that said "have lennie call XXX" well we still hadn't heard anything so my girlfriend did some googling and found lennies last name and phone number. I just called him and told him the situation. He said that is their policy and the manager is giving me incorrect info. Said he would call him immediately and inform him we are entitled to a price difference refund. About to go down to the store with a big smile on my face.

Answer: Sears as a company is a garbage truck on fire.  They're closing stores left and right.  With the lack of service you're getting from this store, don't be surprised if they close up shop soon also.Answer #2: You could sue them in small claims.  I would on principle.  But for $70 it's not really financially worth it.


Title: Was fired via email, don't know if there's anything I could do

Question:
Hartford county MD

At end of shift Friday I received two write-ups for an error I had made the day prior. I was visibly upset (crying) when given these papers by my supervisor.

I have bipolar disorder and PTSD, and had been going to therapy and on meds. I'd been keeping a journal of times of depression, triggers, and just musings on my thoughts and emotions in general,  which I kept in my office in one of my desk drawers.

After I left work Friday, I had been at home for approximately an hour when a police officer came to my door to do a wellness check, I was told he'd first spoken to my dad (actually my upstairs landlord), then told me that someone  had found troubling writings at work and contacted the police.

Someone went through my desk, found this partial journal entry and proceeded to disseminate the information throughout the company. When I learned, Saturday, from a coworker, what had happened I immediately went to my office to take it home. It wasn't there.

I figured rifling through desks must be okay so I retrieved my journal entry from my supervisors desk. Now I have an email terminating my employment and a text from my supervisor saying he wished I hadn't come into the building to get my property and that I need help. He's right,too. I need help finding a new job.

Answer:
 You can find a new job and seek help for your mental issues. Answer #2: Did you have a question in that?Answer #3: What's your question?

You should file for unemployment and appeal if denied.  You also shouldn't rifle through other people's desks, especially your boss's.


Title: Can someone still have a "normal" career with two misdemeanors?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 1. Hire a criminal defense attorney.
2. No more drugs, dummy.
3. Therapy, therapy, therapy.

Yes, it's possible for you to have a decent career after this. Nobody is ever going to care much about a misdemeanor weed charge. The battery is more of an issue.


Title: I feel like i might have been discriminated against for housing. I dont know and would love advice.

Question:
-First, let me say this. I'm not trying to rock the boat with what are sociopolitical issues in my/this country. I did the best I could to state facts and would like to keep it focused on that. Secondly, I'm not trying to pull the 'oh woe is me', I'm LGBT, I'm a veteran card. I just feel like I was given a run around for something i shouldn't have. Thirdly and finally, I'm living in my car right now. They acted, on a preliminary look with everything they asked for, that I would be approved. It's almost the beginning of the semester and this was one of the cheapest places that would work for me and I don't know what to do next.-

Back story, I had my social security card and birth certificate stolen earlier this year. I realized this when trying to apply for an apartment earlier this month. I looked up my credit report to see if there were any issues caused by this, print off my report to show the leasing manager, and finally lock my credit in case someone attempted to illegally run my credit, since I hadn't monitored it in several months.

I filled out my application correctly, printed off my bank statement to show proof of income, because I get paid direct deposit from online media production I didn't have a physical check stub, and gave them part of my report on Friday, with the statement I would give them the rest of my report if so desired. I told the leasing manager that I had locked my report due to potential identity theft and to call me if she needed any more information. After 3 business days with no phone call, I go into the office to inquire the status of my application.

Meanwhile, I am still living in my car, which I informed the leasing manager of, and as a disabled vet with back issues, it has not been good for my health. When I talked to the leasing manager on the following Tuesday, she informed me that there was an issue trying to run my credit, in that it was locked. (Duh) I informed her, again, that I was dealing with identity theft and was the reason why I gave her a printed copy of my report. I informed her that I would unlock it, then and there, so she could run it again. I heard a verbal confirmation that she would try to run it again. But Thursday I received an email saying I was declined a lease based on insufficient income.

I showed the leasing manager my bank statement for the previous month, proving my income, which she accepted as the more than 3 times rent minimum, when I first showed up to apply.

I went in again earlier today, 5 business days, one calendar week, after I first applied and had a recorded conversation regarding why I was denied. I also left with my lease application and all documents related to this. When looking at the report that was on my file, it was dated August 3rd. The Saturday immediately after I had dropped off my application, after I explicitly told her my credit was locked, and before I went in on my own initiative to inquire why I hadn't heard back. Also to inform her to run it again since it was proving an issue for them after I became aware of the issue, which they had not verbally or written to me to make me aware.

I might be in the wrong, but this feels like I'm being discriminated against because either I don't exactly look like a typical guy, which I believe would be a gender issue, or that my income, with guaranteed disability pay from the VA, didn't meet some unwritten criteria for legitimate income.

 Any advice would be greatly appreciated, bc I don't know if I should take this to court or not. I'm dealing with identity theft, debt to the VA for education benefits, and credit card debt out my wazoo. So it's not like I can afford to be frivolous with this. I just wanted this apartment bc it fit everything I was looking for but I feel cheated now. On top of that, they increased the rent rate on my file by a hundred dollars from what they originally told me.

And I can't exactly turn to family. Since I know there will be those that ask.

Edit: Thank you to everyone that replied! I was a little....over reactive to their response. Seeing how it would be more trouble than it's worth to prove discrimination on a protected issue, I'm not going to worry about it. I'm going to apply to the next place I'm sure I can get into and just use this as a lesson learned. Thanks again!

Answer:
 You’re waving a lot of red flags for a landlord. Homeless, credit issues, and constantly showing up/recording at their office. I get that your situation is complicated, but you’re going to have a very hard time proving that they denied you for an illegal reason.

Reach out to local veterans and LGBT groups, they’ll likely have housing resources they can help you.Answer #2: You'd need hard proof that you were refused for being a vet or LGBT. What you "feel" doesn't matter, legally speaking.Answer #3: From this tale, it looks like the combination of no pay stubs and weird credit (you don't mention how good your credit is) is the reason you were denied.    Thus far, it doesn't sound like you have any evidence that your gender, sexuality, millitary status, or anything other than "finances" was in any way involved in their decision.


Title: [CA] Is it illegal to toss plastic bottles filled with pee in the trash?

Question:
I tried googling this and all I came up with is some OSHA rulings and  "Trucker Bombs".

According to the sanitation department:

"The BLACK bin is for non-recyclable trash headed for the landfill. Items for the black bin include: papers or boxes with grease or food residue; treated wood and wood products; cloth/fabric; animal waste in tightly tied watertight bags; disposable diapers.  Hazardous waste such as automotive products; electronic products; flammable material; house, pool, and garden products; medical products; paint and workshop products; and pesticides should be taken to a S.A.F.E. Center for proper disposal."

So as long as there is no blood in it and I'm not diseased, is it alright?

Answer: Why not pour them out instead of subject a cleaner to them, Steve?


Title: Question about the 5th

Answer:
 > can I invoke my 5th amendment right as a witness?

Yes.  However, if offered immunity then you can be compelled to testify.

These are great questions for your attorney.


Title: My landlords are vacationing in my apartment and I had to rent a second apartment to avoid losing my job. Do I have a way out of the lease?

Question:
The language in my lease says, "should landlord and tenant find it agreeable, landlord will occupy unit for a few weeks in the summer, pro-rating the rent for the time tenant is not in the unit".

My job is seasonal, and I was hoping my landlord would want the apartment during the off season, so there would be no overlap. Unfortunately there was about a two week overlap between when they wanted to use the apartment, and when my job starts.

I had to find a place to live, because I would be fired if I didn't show up for work. I found an apartment, but they insisted on a season-long lease, so now I'm renting two apartments until October 1.

Do I have grounds to be let out of the lease, considering this situation is HARDLY "agreeable" for me?

Answer:
 You should have told the landlord in writing that “you didn’t find it agreeable” and just stayed in the apartment. That language reads like permissive, if you agree, not mandatory, whether you agree or not. Answer #2: If there was only a two-week overlap why would you sign another lease?  Just live out of an Extended Stay for that time, or just tell the landlord "no".Answer #3: “Should landlord and tenant find it agreeable”, makes me think this clause is optional. Although refusing may mean the landlord wouldn’t renew the lease.

Say no. Negotiate out of the lease if the landlord is being unreasonable about it. Answer #4: I am not a lawyer.

Just to make sure I have the facts right: you have agreed to let the landlord stay there for two weeks and you have signed another lease.

If so, you kind of screwed yourself over and will have to pay whatever penalties that are stated in the lease to break.

For future reference, what you should have sent, in writing, that you do not agree with the landlord spending two weeks in the apartment.Answer #5: This is not grounds to terminate your lease.

Your lease has certain terms, and the clause you cited is an example of how/why your lease may be modified if certain circumstances are met. The status quo is that your LL will not occupy the until for a few weeks.


Title: Post Office constantly withholding mail

Question:
This isn't a big problem, but I wanted to get everyone's advice before it actually becomes one.

Today is the fourth time my mail-lady has withheld my mail, all for different reasons.  Most of her complaints have been that the mailbox lid is too hard to open (the hinges needed to be lubed) or the box is wobbly.  Today she said she wouldn't deliver my mail because there were wasps.  There was one wasp and I couldn't find the nest at all.  It wasn't on the box, on any of the vehicles, or even on my house.  She walked all the way to my door to tell me that but refused to hand me my mail.  Sorry for the tangent.

Anyway, she's rather rude and constantly finds reasons to not give me my mail.  Is there something I can do?  Has she crossed the line yet or has she been within the realm of law with what she's done so far?

This is in the U.S. by the way.  I want to call the postmaster to get this resolved, but I'd like to get your advice first so I can be well informed before calling.

Thanks in advance for the help everyone.

Answer: Pretty much you have the solution already, call your local post master and complain. POLITELY tell them that you believe your postal worker is being unreasonable.


Title: [NY] Got arrested for drug possession of marijuana less than 2 oz 3-4 years ago. Went to court and signed something that I vaguely remember had one year time-period. I have a background check coming up for a job. Am I fucked?

Question: I don't remember what I signed exactly but it was something about having a one-year period and after that one year something would happen. Will this show up on a background check? I was 18.

Answer:
 If you can't remember what you sign, how are we supposed to know?

Go to your local police station and request a criminal record check.


Title: Father recently passed and now his landlord is harassing us.

Question:
My father died in his apartment last week. Now on top of all the emotional distress his landlord has been calling us non stop. First he asked us to remove the furniture which we did, the apartment is completely empty and now he claims we need to clean the actual apartment.  The bathroom hadn't been cleaned for a while so there is some grime and there is the spot in the bedroom where he died but other then that i feel like the rest of any damage is normal wear and tear.

We haven't yet opened up the probate process as I am waiting on the death certificates  but I am worried that this guy may decide to gut renovate the apartment and try to have the estate pay for all of it.

Legally, are we responsible for any type of clean up in this situation?  Taking place in New Jersey if that helps.

Answer:
 >he claims we need to clean the actual apartment

Not exactly. You don't *need* to do anything. The consequence is that if your father had a deposit, the landlord may keep that deposit if the apartment isn't properly vacated and cleaned.

It's plausible that he could go after your father's estate for additional costs, but that seems very unlikely.


Title: [MN] Landlord making me get rid of pet because my spouse has an emotional support animal

Question:
My husband and I own a home in a trailer park, but we rent the land that the home is on. The park has rule of one pet per home. Not long after moving in, I bought a dog. This dog has been registered with the park as our pet.

My husband has struggled with depression and anxiety, and recently was diagnosed with autism. He qualifies for an emotional support animal, and he decided to get a cat because he's always been more of a cat person and our dog is too hyper to be soothing for him personally.

The other day we got a notice from the park that they noticed we have a cat, and that we have 14 days to comply with their rules and get rid of him. My husband let them know that the cat is his emotional support animal, so they responded by saying we have to get rid of our dog in that case, since we can only have one pet.

Is this something that they are able to do? Can they count my spouse's support animal as a pet in this situation? I also have multiple mental health issues of my own, including horrible anxiety attacks - which my dog is the number one resource I have for coping with those. I wrote my doctor to see the possibility of me also getting an emotional support animal, but she's out for the weekend so I just wanted to look into some back up plans just in case. Any advice would be appreciated, as the anxiety this is causing me is insane.

Answer: Did you tell them you were getting a cat and bring them the ESA doctor's note beforehand, or did you just move the cat in and wait for them to notice?


Title: Complicated Family Court Case

Question:
I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet, which will be hard.  If you need more details to help answer the questions feel free to ask and I will respond as soon as I can.

In 2012 I lived in Arizona and was married. My daughter was born July 2012. My husband at the time cheated on me during my pregnancy and the relationship became toxic. I filed for divorce in December of 2012 and the next day while I was at work and he was home with our daughter he attempted to kill himself. Found him when I came home. Anyway....I was granted emergency sole custody and him supervised visitation. Throughout the first half of 2013 he threatened my life, threatened to kidnap her and did not help financially (there was no child support agreement in place). In July of 2013 I went back to court to fight for permission to leave the state so that I could be with my family in North Carolina. I had no one in AZ. I could not afford a lawyer so I think that I got the shit end of the stick but the results were.....I was given permission to leave but in turn his child support was waived. Because he would have to travel to see her and also pay for a supervisor his child support was waived. The court also ordered that I was to buy him plane tickets 2 times per year. Skype 2 times per week and emails once per week are also ordered. This was all granted in Sept 2013 and we moved Jan 2014.

Fast forward to now....I can barely afford to eat let alone buy plane tickets. I make about 30k per year. I rent, pay child care etc all alone. He has asked for tickets once but when reminded of all he has to pay he quickly dropped it.
Do I have any chance at getting the courts to order child support?
He refuses to give me an address so I cannot even begin the process... Don't know what to do here either.
Also him paying support would bring me above the income level for medicaid so maybe it is not a good idea at all?

Answer:
 You need to file for a modification of child support. An attorney would be your best bet, but I realize that it's out of the reach for many people. Many states offer low cost, or often free, legal clinics for advice and representation. The majority of all family law matters are handled pro se (meaning a party without an attorney), so the courts have set up services to help people like yourself.

google for local court services offices, legal aid clinics, volunteer lawyer associations and the like.

Good luck.


Title: Can my wife divorce me (in Ohio) for the sole reason that she claims that "things aren't working"?

Question:
We've had a rough marriage (of 10 months) - I was in jail for a while, we argue constantly, she's betrayed my trust financially - but now she wants to divorce me because "things aren't working". Never mind that what set it off was that I got upset over something she did to me, and now she's blaming me for getting upset with her!

Is this possible in Ohio? How easy is it for her to dump me and kick me out of the house for this reason alone? Honestly I'm pretty sure I have the right to divorce her (and then some) over the financial stuff, but I do want to stay with her and I don't know if I'll be able to change her mind again - yes, this has come up before, and I have been able to change her mind in the past, but who knows if this trivial incident is the last straw? She seems pretty adamant about it!
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 You can't make someone stay married to you. She can get a divorce one way or another. Answer #2: As others have noted, she can divorce you. Kicking you out of the house is another matter. Do you co-own or is your name on the lease? I don't know Ohio law but assuming you've been out of jail long enough to establish tenancy, you have equal right to your living space even if not on the lease.

Not legal advice -- If you've had several discussions about divorce just in the first 10 months of your marriage what makes you think you're not just kicking the divorce can up the street? But, if she does change her mind, remember this: "happy wife, happy life." Learn it. Live it. Love it.Answer #3: The usual legal term for "things aren't working" is "irreconcilable differences." It's a pretty common basis for a divorce.

She wants out. What do you think you'd gain by forcing her to stay if she doesn't want to be there? It's certainly not going to change her mind.


Title: Bills OT Seantrel Henderson was just suspended by the NFL for using medical marijuana to treat crohn's disease. (new york)

Question:
Can an employer prohibit his use of a legal (in the state of new york) medicine? Would he have a case to sue for loss of wages?

For reference here is an article about it
http://deadspin.com/nfl-suspends-bills-seantrel-henderson-who-has-used-wee-1789479827

Also the league's head office is in New York as well as the buffalo bills.

Answer:
 The company which makes MiracleGrow and Turfbuilder prohibit any use of another legal substance: tobacco. During their normal drug test they also test for nicotine. If you test positive, you're fired; despite tobacco being 100% legal.

As a private organization,  the NFL can set the rules on who is a part of their club, limited only by law and the agreements they sign with their players.


Title: If you have any knowledge or experience in drug related conduct violations in the United States University/College system, please drop by and see if you have any input on the situation. It would be greatly appreciated.

Question: I will keep this brief. I got accepted into college with scholarships and aid covering the full 50k annual bill. The university gave me their top scholarship and I had received the top scholarship my high school offered as well. At the end of my first semester, I ended up getting thrown under the bus and had a dorm search that resulted in the recovery of an extensive amount of cannabis use/distribution items. There was an "investigation" carried out by campus security where a few statements were gathered pertaining to distribution of some edibles, some flower, some projected sales numbers on edibles, and supposed making of edibles on campus. Items recovered by campus security were some dab equipment, paraphernalia, scale, edibles, oz of cannabis, two small bags of cannabis, dab containers, 2 inch baggies (I bought them in bulk and used them for roaches; suspicious item to get found with). I was allowed to finish the semester for my credits. After a judicial review by 6 faculty members/assistant dean of University Grad school, I was dismissed from the University. I was a medical marijuana patient in the state, so I was not legally pursued. My record is clean. My hope is to resume a Pre-Pharmacy program at another college/university, however I have concerns. Distribution of cannabis in my world has been entirely discontinued for the sake of avoiding unneeded trouble in my life further down the road at this point.  The dismissal will show up as a "withdrawn" on my transcript, from what I have been told. If I apply to another Pre-Pharmacy program, and, for the sake of asking, any college in general, which colleges are going to inquire into the nature of the withdrawal status on the transcript? Most applications ask the question of whether or not a conduct violation has ever been committed at another University...Is this a question that can be "ducked", so to say? Or should I fess up and hope the college wants to look past it to obtain a decent student? What should I expect to encounter when attempting to apply to other Universities now? And to conclude this inquiry: should I have any hope to be allowed to enter a Pharmacy graduate program later down the road? The last thing I want to do in the world is acquire academic debt to only be barred entry to Pharmacy school later down the road. I would figure something else out.

Answer:
 Not a lawyer, but what is this "thrown under the bus" language? It sure sounds like you had a very real distribution business going. Unless you were some sort of innocent in this, which you never claimed, you laid down in front of the bus, and are lucky if you don't have criminal charges to face.

Start taking responsibility for your actions and  making better decisions.


Title: Not going out to my mothers despite court order.

Question:
Hi,

I’m 16 and my brother is 14, 6 years ago my mother who was already divorced to my father had moved out  of state. I currently stay with my dad to attend school same with my brother. Court order says My brother and I have to be at my moms 2 weeks into my summer break and be back at my dads 2 weeks before school starts. I have be doing this with my brother for about 6 years and I am sick of it. My father knows I hate going out there but can do anything about it. I have tried working out a compromise with my mother but that doesn’t lead to anything. I want to let her know that I don’t want to go out this summer. What would happen to my dad and his custody if I decided not to follow court order and not go?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer: Your father is required to deliver you. He can likely be held in contempt of court if he doesn’t. The best course of action is for your father’s lawyer to request a modification of the custody agreement which takes into account the preferences of the children, since you’re both old enough now to express a preference to the judge.Answer #2: This only has the potential of hurting your dad if you persist in this course of conduct.  Ultimately, if you push it you will still have to go and your dad will be found in contempt if he does not make you go.


Title: [TN] is it legal for an employer to require employees to perform certain tasks upon arriving to work but BEFORE they clock in?

Question:
When hourly employees arrive at our place of work, they are required to park almost 1/4 mile away from the time clock and walk to a a security station to pick up a keycard that allows them access to different parts of the property. They must do this before every shift, as the keycard is required to get around the property where they perform their duties. They then have to walk the almost 1/4 mile to where they punch in. They also have to turn the keycards back in at the end of the day & most do it after they punch out, since the security station is right next to the parking lot.

Is it legal to require people to perform duties before they are on the clock? Should they not be allowed to punch in before being made to go pick up their keycard?

Answer: What you're describing is almost certainly legal.  You're not doing any work that benefits the employer, it just takes a long time to gain access to the building.  There's no legal requirement that you have a short commute, or easy access to your office or workplace.  If they were asking you to sweep the floor on your way in, *that* would be illegal.  But if they're not having you do any work at all, and it's just a poorly designed security system, there's nothing to be done.


Title: Does recent cosmetic surgery count as a "pre-existing condition" when getting travel insurance?

Question:
I am in Georgia. I have a friend(also in GA) who got butt implants about 2 months ago. She's leaving on a month-long backpacking trip through southeast asia in a week.

Her recovery took a little longer than normal(Dr had to add a few stitches 1-2 weeks after the surgery) but she's been planning this trip for 6 months and really doesn't want to cancel it. She told me she's fine now.

I want to make sure her travel insurance covers any complication with her butt implants(for example if she ends up taking a really bumpy bus ride for a really long time, maybe there would be a problem....?), however most travel insurance does not cover preexisting conditions, where preexisting conditions are defined as:

> an illness, disease, or other condition
during the ninety (90) day period immediately prior to the Effective Date
for which You, a Traveling Companion, a Family Member booked to travel
with You: 1) exhibited symptoms that would have caused one to seek
care or treatment; or 2) received or received a recommendation for a test,
examination, or medical treatment; or 3) took or received a prescription for
drugs or medicine.
Item (3) of this definition does not apply to a condition that is treated
or controlled solely through the taking of prescription drugs or medicine
and remains treated or controlled without any adjustment or change in
the required prescription throughout the ninety (90) day period before the
Effective Date.

So my question is, would her implants meet the definition of a preexisting condition?

My guess, as someone who is not a lawyer is that as long as her doctor says she is healed well enough to travel, then it shouldn't count as a preexisting condition.

Answer:
 This isn't legal advice:

Your friend needs to cancel this trip. Thailand or Laos is not the place to deal with a ruptured implant. This is literally the height of stupidity. Answer #2: Almost certainly a recent surgery and any related condition or complication would meet the definition of a pre-existing condition. The travel insurance probably also specifically does not cover cosmetic implants but you will have to read the rest of the policy text.


Title: I have evidence of someone confessing to soliciting child pornography, how can I get this person arrested without getting involved

Question:
So this story goes back a few weeks to when I was talking with a friend who was distraught about there 12 year old sister being in a long distance relationship with a 19 year old. My friend then forced there sister to cut ties with this person. My friends younger sister then began to act strange and erratic and we thought she may have been exposed to something she shouldn't have at that age. I decided to investigate and changed my Snapchat name and bitmoji to that of a female and then added the 19 year old claiming to be a friend of my friends sister. He then sent a response similar to "okay I'll only talk to you if you send nudes" and openly admitted to receiving nudes from my friends sister. I replied with only mutual responses as he demanded for me to send images of myself. I stated I was 14 and nervous but he continued to harass me. I recorded everything on a separate phone and was wondering if this would be enough to get the police involved. I want nothing more but to have this sick fuck arrested for traumatizing a child. Also for context I am a 16 year old from New Zealand and the 19 year old is also from New Zealand. I'm not sure if this is the right sub to ask for advice but anything would be appreciated
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer: You've already gotten involved to the point of communicating with this person directly. You are involved. Call the police already. Answer #2: Yeah this is enough to go to the police with.  Also...you're sixteen.  You're a kid yourself, please, please don't try running To Catch a Predator-type stings, you were still a teen being solicited by an adult (that believed you younger).  That's still an interaction that's bad for you.  You need adults to handle this for you.  Googling New Zealand Police for contact sites may be a start for you, as is literally walking into the station.Answer #3: You can give an anonymous tip to whatever New Zealand law enforcement handle cybercrimes. Without getting involved they may not be very helpful.


Title: Can I legally throw away political signs in my yard [Indiana]

Question:
So basically I've been getting a boat load of political signs in my yard. I have no idea who is putting them down but every day I take them down, and by night fall there are 3 or 4 more down and when I wake up there are 5 or 6 more.

So basically people are putting them in my yard, and this isn't the grass area between the sidewalk and road which I dunno if that is considered public or not, but this is in my actual yard.

I'm tempted to set up cameras to see who is doing it, but for the time being I have a stack of about 40 signs for various political offices in my garage and I was wondering if I can throw them out or if I have to find who they belong to and have them come get them.

Answer:
 If they left them in your actual yard and not in the parkway that is owned by the city you are probably within your rights to toss them.  Check your County Clerk’s website for political sign regulations.  Answer #2: Call the police as people are littering on your property. After they tell you to go away, throw them out. Answer #3: I’m not a lawyer but I’ve worked on multiple campaigns.

There are 3 reasons yard signs end up in your yard: 1) You requested it  2) somebody else did but there was a mistake & it ended up at your place 3) you live in a place with a great visibility and those campaign workers are assholes

I suspect it’s 3.

Yard signs are pretty expensive for campaigns, and technically they’re considered campaign’s property.

But if you’ll just throw them away - nothing’s going to happen.
Also, you can go an extra step and call up those campaigns and request that they don’t put their yards signs, you can even threaten with complaining to proper authorities, such as FEC

Edit: word


Title: Two dealerships are blaming each other for ruining my car and neither refuses to pay. (Louisiana)

Question:
I bought a 2013 Kia Optima from a local big dealership. I've owned it for 3 months. Sunday the car stopped responding without any forewarning (no lights or sensors came up). We bring it to Kia because it still has factory warranty.

Here is what Kia dealership is saying.

* The car has no oil, which caused the engine to lock up and is now ruined

* They will not fix it because whoever did the last oil change forgot to put oil in it.

* They do not care that sensors did not show up, it was the other dealership's (the one who we bought it from) fault.

* Because the oil change happened at a different dealership it will void the warranty

The dealership I bought it from says

* They put oil in it when they sold it.

* Even if there was no oil, the electrical sensor should have picked it up and said "no oil/low pressure.

* Because it is electrical issue then Kia should deal with it under the warranty

They refuse to talk to each other because they believe each other is corrupt and both are saying the other should fix it.

I bought it with cash from my dad's life insurence. I have no money left and only 19, please help. I don't know what to do.

Answer:
 You keep posting this here, but I don't see in your history any posts to any car-related subs.  That might be a good place to cross-post to get more understanding of what could cause this.

I'm a bit of a car guy, but not an expert by any means.  I think the legal advice you've gotten is solid, so I don't have anything to add there.  But it's possible that there is a alternate-theory of where the oil went.  Maybe the oil pressure sensor was bad and oil was leaking from it the whole time?  I recently replaced my oil pressure switch because it was leaking, so that's a thing that could happen, I guess.  Maybe it was burning off like someone else suggested.

I'd stick to the car facts, and write up a post in a car-mechanic sub and give them all the symptoms and what you're being told to determine if there could be some other factors to this.  Just my $0.02.


Title: Nails on a political sign

Question: So am I legally allowed to put nails on the end of my political sign in Pennsylvania? I had a car come and purposely run over my sign today (my yard is a ways from the road so I highly doubt it was accidental. And seeing that I’ve only had it up a day and live in a small community I’m willing to bet I’ll have a challenge keeping it upright for the next 6 months.

Answer: You could definitely be found criminally or civilly liable for damage or injury that comes as a result of you booby trapping objects, even if they are on your property.


Title: [IL] Parent refusing to verify already submitted FAFSA information and blackmailing me - any hope?

Answer:
 Sorry, but I don't know if you have any legal leverage to get them to fill out these forms.

It is possible for some people to get financial aid as an independent, but that is difficult and very fact-specific. [Here is one success story](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/2rs0tp/i_am_a_22_year_old_that_was_able_to_file_for/). I also suspect that doesn't help you after the fact, since it is about the application process and not about verification.

You might find some useful advice at /r/financialaid/, this is probably a frequently asked question.Answer #2: Not a legal answer but a real-world answer.

Talk to a therapist.  Figure out how you can manage your parent's illnesses and delusions.  Involuntary commitment is hard if they are not a danger, but most people with such conditions can be managed through careful interaction.Answer #3: If you can't get the parent to submit the forms you need know that you can still get limited unsubsidized Stafford loans at least.  There's a fairly new regulation that allows schools to award these loans if the parent refuses to sign the FAFSA.

If you can get a social worker, priest or other "official' to send a letter to the school describing your parental situation, you could possibly be made an independent for aid purposes.  You might also see if the aid office will call your parent to explain the verification themselves - it could do one of two things - convince them to change your status to independent, or convince your parent to send in the verification paperwork.Answer #4: One more thing - never tell anyone that you signed the FAFSA for her.  That alone could get your aid cancelled.


Title: Can superior court use transcripts from traffic court evidence against me in DUI case?

Question: So last November I was arrested and charged with DUI for sleeping in my car while it was running. I pulled over to where I thought it was an ok place to park but was awoken by State police. In my state of Rhode Island, the court has to prove operation and the only evidence the court has is a correctional officer who claims to have seen me driving while he was doing his rounds near a state prison. My lawyers argument though was that this C.O. did not mention he saw me driving in his police statement. I was found guilty in district court even though there was lack of evidence so i decided to appeal and have a jury trial in superior court. I was also given a "parking on public access road" ticket. Well I found it extremely ironic that they were trying to give me a ticket for being parked but also give me a DUI. I went to traffic court to try and fight the parking ticket and explained I wasn't feeling well and pulled over but that did me no good. Now I just got a call from my lawyer saying they are trying to use the transcript from traffic court as evidence and it could hurt our case. She explained to me that she's trying to get the evidence thrown out because I wasn't represented by a lawyer and the officer knew there was an on going case. I had no idea by trying to fight a parking ticket that my testimony could be used against me. Any thoughts/advice?

Answer:
 Wait.

You want to know if your sworn testimony before one court can be used in another court?

Seriously?

Of course it can.

Also, I don't see the irony. You broke two laws, you were cited for two violations. Insult to injury, maybe, but not ironic.