Title: Landlord is trying to re-invoice me a higher price than what was originally invoiced on move-out.

Question:
I'm going to try and keep this simple: I lived at an apartment complex in Austin, TX managed by Broadstone for a year. I wrote down issues with the apartment on moving in and turned it in on time, paid all my rent in full, gave proper move-out notice, cleaned the apartment on moving out, and never had any issues or complaints from neighbors or the staff. All in all, I was a good tenant.

A few weeks after move out, I get an invoice for some minor damages to baseboards caused by my dogs that totaled $150, quoted to the property manager by the maintenance staff. I called and asked for a printout of the line items for the damages for my records because it did seem a bit high considering the damage was small, and I wanted to do my due diligence. Today I get an email response that has an invoice for those repairs from an outside company for $232.50. The manager tells me that the original quote was incorrect and that they did, in fact, end up going with an outside vendor. Is this legal? Aren't there limitations on things of this nature? Otherwise what's to stop them from continuing to invoice me as they see fit? Shouldn't they have to honor the original invoice?

Additionally, they're wanting to charge me $190 for water they didn't invoice me for over the first three months, as well as $20 for replacing some worn drip pans on the oven.

All told they want around $450 for repairs and cleaning.

I'm definitely feeling like I'm getting gouged here. Any advice/help would be appreciated! Thanks!

---

**Edit:** To clarify, the property calls it a move-out statement. What I asked for was a breakdown of one of the line items. The prop-manager sent me a picture of an invoice from an outside vendor and said that she would send a new move-out statement with the adjusted, higher price.

Answer: They're generally required to give you an *estimate* of the damages within a certain time frame. If the actual cost changes from the estimated cost, it's not illegal. If you used the water that you knew was your responsibility to pay, it's reasonable they would expect you to pay them for it (even if it's after the fact).


Title: Neighborhood suddenly very unsafe, want to break the lease with as little trouble as possible.

Question:
For context, my wife and I have been renting this house since last september, we love our landlord, he's a genuinely wonderful man that does all of the yardwork and always helps out when needed, so we don't want to screw him over on anything. However, recently the neighborhood went straight down the drain, there's been two drive by shootings in as many months on our street, gunfire has practically become background noise, along with the sirens that accompany it. My wife and I also found out that some dickhead nearby has been breeding/possibly fighting pit bulls, and there have been a number of break ins and assaulst recently as well. I'm rambling. I literally just got off the phone with the cops because I just witnessed that second drive by.

Anyway, how do I get the fuck out of here ASAP? Is it better to just tough it out until September, or should I negotiate something with my landlord? Do I even have to, given the circumstances?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and thanks in advance for any advice you may have.

EDIT; forgot location. We're in Hephzibah, Georgia

Answer: Your landlord is not responsible for the safety of the neighborhood and this is not sufficient grounds to break your lease without penalty. You can ask though, or offer to pay him.Answer #2: Read your lease, depending upon the laws of your state, you may be on the hook for as little as 1.5 times the amount of rent after you give 30 days notice, or you may have to pay out the remainder of the lease. It all depends upon what your lease states, but in almost all cases, you are obligated to at least give 30 days notice.


Title: [Chicago, Illinois] Facing a lawsuit for hitting another driver as an uninsured motorist. I have little money and no assets. What should I expect?

Question:
I was recently in an accident in which I discovered I had no insurance (miscommunication in family).

The other driver has been very difficult, and for a while was trying to get money out of me to just "end this". I told him my attorney would write up some documents that mean he agrees to pursue no further action against me if I gave him 500-700 in lost wages (he is an uber driver).

After I offered this he stopped responding. He is claiming lower back pain (he didn't indicate this to the police and claimed it 2 days later) and lost wages.

I work at a church and make very little and have no assets to speak of except maybe my xbox. I am just wondering what I should expect and what steps I should begin taking to protect myself in whatever small way I can. Thanks.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 >He is claiming lower back pain (he didn't indicate this to the police and claimed it 2 days later)

For the record, this is somewhat normal. Back/neck pain sometimes doesn't manifest for some time.


Title: Received racist hate message from old bosses and corporate says there’s nothing to do about it. Could I take legal action?

Question:
I recently got a hateful message from my ex-bosses’ Instagram page that can prove I was fired based on my race.

For some background, I got fired back in June without any real justification by people that already treated me poorly and watched me way more compared to other employees. I took it to corporate because I thought it wasn’t right and have proof of them violating health code and statements from fellow employees saying that they’ve seen first hand this different treatment. They said they couldn’t do anything because here in Texas, employers can fire as they please essentially. After that I dropped it.

However, about a week ago I received a very personal and hateful message from my old bosses. I sent it in to corporate and the message showed that apparently my race played into how I was treated. My bosses have a track record of lying to save them self, even cutting off the hot water in the restaurant to save themselves money for over a year but when the city came by to inspect it said it was a recent outage. With all this information, including the screenshot of the message, corporate said there’s nothing they can do since they denied sending it.

Answer:
 > They said they couldn’t do anything because here in Texas, employers can fire as they please essentially

They are correct generally speaking. However, firing over race is an exception. You can file a charge with the EEOC (just google that phrase and their website will describe the process.)


Title: [California] Is it legal to have a sheathed Karambit fixed blade knife in a backpack?

Question: If somebody transported such knife in a backpack in an area that is not a weapons free zone in the state of California?

Answer: It is illegal to carry a “dirk or dagger” concealed on your person. (Cal. Penal Code 12020.) The California Supreme Court has adopted a definition of “dirk or dagger” which includes all fixed-blade knives.


Title: criminal defense lawyer advice please! regarding first time offender facing felony charges due to package theft

Question:
hi! thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and for any comments that you may post!

i am seeking advice mid-way through the court process of a case. i do have an attorney, who my dad selected through a recommendation by his divorce lawyer. all along i have had some doubts/been worried that he’s not the best attorney we could get. first of all, i am prone to believe that my dads divorce lawyers aren’t that good because, without going into too much depth, it seems like the outcomes of his divorce proceedings were not in his favor and much more advantageous to my mother (who seems to have had a very good lawyer). also, we didn’t interview multiple lawyers before choosing this one. according to my dad, he is the “best” and furthermore has a lot of “connections” that may be able to pull some strings, but i’m just not sure if he’s the best of the best. i couldn’t find any online reviews of him, and their website doesn’t have a section detailing track record with previous case outcomes like some attorneys websites do. he is recognized as a “super lawyer” since 2005 (which seems prestigious? but i’m not really sure) and his practice areas are identified as: Criminal Defense (70%), Criminal Defense: White Collar (20%), General Litigation (10%), which is good because it seems like this is his main area. as our case as progressed i haven’t been super pleased by his level of attention/investment, but i’m not sure if he’s underperforming or if it’s just the norm (i come from a background working for a luxury company where we paid extremely close attention to our clients, were almost always proactive in reaching out etc., kept in constant contact, and otherwise pampered them/went the extra mile as much as we could, so i’m used to a high standard/a lot of involvement). the main things that have upset me are that he was very late to one of the pre-trial hearings (due to being in court for another case apparently), he’s supposed to get a letter from my psychiatrist which he hasn’t been very diligent on reaching out to her and hasn’t successfully gotten it yet (although now it seems like that’s not crucially important to our case, at least not at this point in the process), and mentioned several times that he wanted to meet in person prior to the next court date but then it never happened (i guess he expected us to reach out to set it up?). also his retainer was $5000, and after the last hearing he requested another payment though i’m not sure for how much. if that can speak to how good he is at all (may not matter at all or may be very different in different areas)

anyways, where we stand now is that after arraignment and then a few pre-trial hearings, apparently he has successfully gotten me through the first round of acceptance into a year-long diversion program for which i would give a guilty plea which would be held in abeyance until diversion was successfully completed and then i would be eligible to have my record expunged.

this seems like a pretty good outcome in comparison to possible punishments like jail time or a felony conviction that would follow me at least 7 years, if not permanently (which is especially scary considering i’ve lived a pretty sheltered life and didn’t realize how serious my crime was when i committed it), however there are a few reasons i am apprehensive. first, the whole confession/guilty plea thing makes me uncomfortable. we originally went in with a not guilty plea, and even though they have a strong case i think that’s still the course i would be planning to take due to mitigating factors. it makes me especially uncomfortable because it means if i in any way fail the diversion program i will be tried with a guilty plea automatically. this isn’t a concern to me because i intend on misbehaving or breaking any more laws (at least not consciously- i guess it’s a worry i may accidentally do something that gets me in trouble), but mostly because i’m afraid despite my best efforts something unfair/out of my control will cause me to be in violation. the main reason for this is because of a negative, scary experience i had already. since arraignment, i have been on court-supervised release which has involved urinalysis drug testing. i was extremely shocked when i went in for i believe my second meeting with the probation officer, and found myself being HANDCUFFED by multiple police officers while being told that i had failed my drug test due to the presence of fentanyl! i was FLABBERGASTED to say the least because i am not a drug user and had no reason to believe my drug test would be an issue, especially for something like fentanyl. i was so confused because i am 100% certain i didn’t do heroin, not only in the testable period but in my entire life (i’ve never even been in the same room/building as someone doing heroin and have only ever even met one person who had, although he stopped 5 years ago) so i have no idea how i could have tested this way. i think it HAD to have been a false positive, unless the one in a billion chance that i was unknowingly drugged like with roofies (even less likely because i don’t really go out to clubs or public places like that, nor do i have any gaps in consciousness that cannot be explained or i don’t remember) or my urine sample was switched with someone else’s (which i also hope is highly unlikely, because i feel like if under risk of persecution there would be no way to prove that this happened). i am on more than 8 different prescription drugs, which could have influenced a false positive (which at the time i was told by my probation officer, who had a list of my prescriptions, was impossible, but later discovered through personal research online that some of my prescriptions, as well as medication i’ve taken over the counter, do have a correlation with false positive results, although most sources didn’t specifically study fentanyl but heroin or just suggested the impact on false positives in general). ultimately i didn’t have to go to jail because the follow up test they ran on the spot came back negative, but i was still treated like i was guilty (in other words, disrespectfully and meanly) by several police officers and was not only handcuffed but shackled to the floor for about 2 hours while the results were processing. needless to say, this is a traumatizing and scary experience, especially for someone who is certain they are innocent, and even more so given the sheltered, upper class background i come from and world i live in. this has led me to be terrified of this happening again, especially since it would probably have even worse consequences if it did, and skeptical of the security, fairness, and legitimacy of the whole criminal justice and legal system. i guess that i’m just afraid that if this happened and i was innocent, something else will probably happen that causes me to fail the diversion program even if i don’t do anything wrong.

so, my main question for you is, is acceptance into a diversion program the best outcome probably the best outcome i could hope for in my case, or would it be worth finding another lawyer because there’s enough of a chance they’d be able to garner a more favorable outcome, like getting me off completely as innocent?

to help you respond here is more information on my case:

i lived in an apartment building and i got my hands on a set of keys that opened the room where they store residents packages and i stole other residents packages. it turns out i was caught on security camera and i think 3 different apartment employees identified me in the footage. i guess the police were also somehow able to intercept a different package that i had mailed back to the company for a refund with stolen merchandise. not sure if they have any additional proof too, but obviously it’s a strong case. i’m not sure exactly how much i stole, but i know that they can at least prove it is above the felony amount of $1000. my criminal record is clean besides an incident about 4-6 years ago when i was caught stealing a chapstick worth about $1.50, for which i went through a diversion program at the misdemeanor level. the main mitigating factor is that i’m extremely mentally ill, with diagnoses of depression, anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, ADHD, and a history of eating disorders and have been under somewhat intensive care (not as intense as inpatient or outpatient programs but more frequent than most patients) of a psychiatrist and therapist for the last 6 years.

what do you think? is the diversion program the best i can hope for (if so, any tips to avoid issues besides just following the law? ways to avoid false positives or anything else like that that may come up?) or should i get another lawyer?

Answer: I’m not reading all that. It’s filled with a bunch of irrelevant details. Who cares if you were “flabbergasted”? It’s not relevant.  You need to give us the TL; DR version.


Title: I'm a small business owner, and I just learned today that my local government is paying for my competitions electricity bill. Do I have any legitimate recourse for this?

Question:
Hello legaladvice! This might not be the right place to post this, so my apologies if it isn't. My partner and I are new in this town and opened a small diner/cafe. We have recently had a competitor set up shop down the road from us. Some of our regulars know city council members here, and they have informed us that our competition has friends on the city council, and that they have voted to pay the electricity bill for her.

This doesn't seem right to me and I was wondering if there was any action I could take if it is in fact wrong.

We are in Houston County MN if that helps.

Thanks!

Answer:
 This sounds like nothing more than rumors to me.

City council meeting minutes should  be public record, before making any accusations you need to find out if this is true or not by going through the meeting minutes.Answer #2: Get the minutes from all the city council meetings.   Search through them for key words like "electric bill" or stuff like that.   Or, maybe they are just recorded and you can watch or listen to them.

Attend a few city council meetings.   But honestly, unless the city council had a really good reason to pay someone else's bills, the city's residents typically don't like that.

That said, it could be done under some Small Business Grant or initiatives to bring small businesses back into town.

So try to find out if its true, get the meeting minutes, and see if you can also be considered - if its is infact reality.  Answer #3: I want to start by saying, be careful upsetting the small town buddy buddy system, they will run you out and make it impossible to do business, if you aren't careful.

Then I'd say follow the other advice you've gotten and start attending council meetings.  Maybe you are missing out on grants and other benefits, and maybe it's "your fault" not to pursue those things.  Not trying to place blame but that might be the case, less so that anything shady is going on.  I missed out on a lot of scholarships I didn't apply for type of thing.

Start by making friends not enemies.


Title: Bf and I seperated, we have a kid. Idk where to start to actually make a physical seperation, legally without myself losing any rights to my child.

Question: My bf and I have a 4year old child together,  we also live together, and we decided to separate because we are not good for eachother. Every single weekend, he just thinks about spending time with his friends, rarely ever as a family, hes always very rude to me, constantly making me feel worse about myself. Even on my birthday "celebration" it was all about what he wanted to do that day, only what he wanted to eat. All this even after he promised me this year my birthday would be about what I wanted. Anyway, he went to his friends this last weekend when there needs to be laundry done, now we do not have a washer and dryer in our home, nor are there any community ones for our apartments, I do not drive, and am not supposed to lift more than 20lbs, doctors orders for the rest of my life, so I cant just grab all of our laundry and carry it to the bus (with my child because only he, my now ex, gets actual time to himself or alone) to take it to the laundromat. So therefore he takes it all in the car because its easier for him and quicker all around. Hes been saying he would do the laundry for 2 weeks minimum, and our child, at this point, was wearing the last pair of clean pants that even fit (everytime I spend my own money even on clothes for the child he has a problem with it because he is extremely cheap and refuses to believe I may find a bargin, or hates the fact that I dont care for the price so long as my kid is clothed) and he gets mad at me for being upset that he left myself and his child at home so he could go hang out with his friends at thier bachellor pad instead of doing things he not only promised but has a responsibility to. He bad mouths me and calls me names and if I even just once stand up for myself he swears im just being a witch with a capital B and that im the one who is out of line. I moved to Washington state with this guy because he swore his family would be able to do things like babysit, only once has anyome in his family ever babysat, and it was for 2 hours then they texted us to come home. I moved away from all my family and friends because he promised me it would be better for our son. So I litterally have no one here for me, and no where to go. I cant just leave, as I REFUSE to leave my child. Im afraid if I go to the store he will lock me out and call the cops on me, because even though we have lived here for 4 years, I am still not on the lease, our kid is though,and our manager seems to have no issue with it and knows that I live here, I receive my mail here. Im afraid to go to work for that he may do that. What my main reason for posting here is to ask if anyone knows how I should go about actually leaving and gaining distance between him and I, as I only work part-time, I definately dont make enough money to afford my own place, let alone a 2 bed so that my son can have his own room, apparently its a law here that the child must have thier own room. As is, he alone can barely afford our 2 bed 1 bath apartment which is the cheapest in probably the surrounding 50+ miles. I have no idea what the first step is, besides attempting to save up money, but I doubt he will even let me do that as he always makes the decisions on what my money is or isnt for, and if I tell him he cant do that now that we are seperate, he either will kick me out, or charge me rent,which will be my entire check if not 80% of it I'm sure, threatening to kick me out if I dont pay. I base all this off past arguments/breakups that we were able to talk through and get past. But theres no getting past this, as I have no desire to be with him anylonger. I just want away from him, and to keep my son. Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Answer:
 Do you have family that would take you in?

From what I understand, legally there is nothing stopping you from taking your child and going home to your parents. After that you might need a lawyer if he actually tries for custody, which sounds like he doesn’t care that much?

Taking the kid and going to another state is not illegal by itself, unless there’s a custody order already in place.

Also /r/relationships maybe, but you really need to cut the post up into paragraphs, it’s hard to read.

I am not a lawyer.


Title: Following up from my last post: Police won't do anything about someone terrorizing my family.

Question:
So my SIL is being threatened by some random girl. It started when she went out with a friend (male) and this girl approached her and physically attacked her, going absolutely insane. My SIL walked away from the situation, leaving the male friend, as she didn't want a part of whatever was going on. My SIL filed a police report but this girl wasn't arrested.

This girl has made 4 fake accounts contacting my SIL. She has threatened to kill my other SIL's babies, and that she will force them to eat the babies. She has said she will beat the shit out of my SIL and then kill her when she finds her again, and that she will kill the rest of the family. She knows the names of the rest of the family and has been non-stop harassing the family. They've filed multiple police reports but the police haven't done a thing.

None of them feel safe. When my SIL has left the house, this girl has then messaged my SIL saying where she's been, so she's obviously following her, but my SIL has stayed in  very public places so this girl can't do anything. This girl is still threatening my other SIL's babies though (they all live together). She is very obviously mentally disturbed, not just some troll.

Anyone have any suggestions? Who can they contact about this if the local PD aren't doing anything?

Answer:
 File for a Restraining order.

Also what is the police saying?  I assume they are filing police reports over these threats.  Are police refusing to take reports?  Or just saying "thank you" and filing them without action?  Or what?


Title: Need help with mother-in-law possible seeking to take daughter from my ex-wife.

Question:
My ex-wife (let's call her Donna) and I underwent an amicable divorce, and have since kept in close contact, to the benefit of my daughter. However, my ex-wife's mother (let's call her Cassandra) has been behaving very strangely lately, trying to get alone time with my daughter (let's call her Lea), trying to secure more and more time with her, away from Donna.

Donna came to me, informing me of this shift in their behavior, and we both agree that more likely than now, they are trying to take Lea. Cassandra recently texted me last night asking to talk to me and my current wife about "Donna's mental health and Lea's well-being." Donna is, frankly, a good mother, and while she suffers from Depression, has managed to keep it, for the most part, under control. Her finances aren't in the best shape, (Cassandra is solidly upper-class) but she has been taking good care of Lea, putting her needs first.

We are mostly certain that tonight they are going to attempt to go behind Donna's back to get me to consent to them taking custody of Lea. I plan on recording the call (states involved are MN and IN, in no particular order) and if my understanding of Wire Tapping laws are correct, than I can record the conversation without informing them or giving them consent, since I will be party to the conversation.

We just want to know what kind of legal loopholes Cassandra might try to use, or pitfalls to watch out for in the conversation. Donna and I have 50/50 legal custody, and she has 90% physical custody. I have been paying regular child support via direct deposit and we are transitioning to PayPal with my new position.

Finally, there is a solid chance that Cassandra has been receiving information about Donna's psychiatrist visits from her psychiatrist, and may have even accessed Donna's medical files (Cassandra is a doctor).

Thank you, sorry if that was convoluted.

Answer:
 Try posting this to /r/justnomil

They have a ton of experience about stuff like this, including which states have "grandparent's rights", which would make Cassandra's case more viable


Title: Job interview cold feet comes with a bill

Question:
Hi all; burner here.

I’m in a decently lucrative field, and a couple of weeks ago I’m contacted by a paid recruiter on behalf of a small company.  They’re recruiting for a new position where I’d work remote, but reporting to a person and company thousands of miles away.  It’s intriguing, so I have a preliminary conversation.  Almost too good to be true.

A week ago, the paid recruiter contacts me and says I need to go out to see the hiring manager, so we can see if this is the right fit.  I must go on Tuesday or Wednesday next week.  Although I liked the manager on our convo, I’m hesitant but I do agree.  A ticket is booked on Southwest through the company’s travel agent and I’m set to go: it’s a decently expensive ticket because the manager insisted that I return back that night, which was both odd and stressful.

After a weekend of deliberation, I got the sense this really wasn’t a good situation.  This remote scenario wasn’t going to be good for anyone.  So this morning - the day before the scheduled trip and interview - I contacted the recruiter and relayed my decision to withdraw.  He asked me to reconsider, but I stated going would be a bad faith move knowing I was not going to consider the position anymore.  He hung up in a flurry.

Several hours later, the recruiter contacted me again, chastising me for unprofessional behavior.  He also stated that due to the ticket, the cost ($700+) was now forfeited and I was personally responsible for the cost, and that I need to make arrangements to compensate.  It does look like this class of ticket only allows a use of credit to the original ticketed passenger - not the company.

Do I have any legal rights to fight?  I never signed a contract or even received a job description in writing, and I certainly don’t want the airline credit.

Answer:
 They bought the ticket.  How could you even conceivably be held responsible for it?  Even if you'd gone, either party could have decided not to proceed.  Cost of doing business.

Edit:  give => gone.  As in, gone on the trip.


Title: Age limit for kids meals?

Question:
I'm an adult female that likes to eat smaller portions. Frequently restaurants will not allow me to order off the kids menu because you have to be "X age or younger" to order that.
Is this legal? Can they deny serving me a specific meal due to my age?

Answer:
 I mean, they can refuse service to you for any reason. You're on private property, it is their choice how they want to run their business, and are not required by some magical law to serve you smaller/inexpensive portions simply because you requested it.

What they are doing is 100% legal.


Title: Is asking to be murdered illegal

Question: Say the "victim" wanted to die but didn't want to do it themselves, giving written consent to the murder, is it illegal and/or what laws are you breaking based in the US. If it's not illegal are there restrictions? And are there country's where it is allowed?

Answer: You can’t give consent to being murdered, as consenting to murder is proof you aren’t in the state of mind to consent.


Title: Someone is using my 9 y/o daughters SSN. What can I do?

Question: I have been notified twice about my daughters SSN being used. The first time was back in 2018 when I had applied for assistance and they showed that my daughter had wages from 2017. When I spoke with them at the office they gave me the name it was under ,which was a fake name I assume, and the company was a staff agency place headquartered out of New Jersey. I’m in the Midwest and in my state the closest chain of that staffing place was about 2-3 hours away. I called the staffing place and they didn’t give me any information about who used it but let me know they will erase the wages and make a note of someone using that SSN. I did make a police report as well. The staffing place mailed me some papers, I made the police report but haven’t heard anything since. I did go to the Social security office and they provided me a website which I did try and go on but it wouldn’t allow me to go any further because of my daughters birthday. I let it go but I just received notification through mail again someone is using my daughters SSN. I thought employers were suppose to actually check the SSN and wouldn’t it show up as a child’s SSN? I have a suspicion that it might be this landlord that had a place for rent and I applied for but I’m not entirely sure. Any guidance would greatly be appreciated, thanks.

Answer: Run your daughters credit report to see if there’s anything fishy, i.e. opened credit cards etc. And then freeze her credit.


Title: Neighbor's Son Lives In A Van In-Front of My Property

Question:
As the title indicates, I have a neighbor who has 5 sons and 2 daughters total in their household(believed maybe 1 moved out) & are now in there early to mid 20's. So I understand there may be no more room in the household. As I am not the parent & respect his son(who has served in the Army & gone to HS with), he & his 1 of his brothers has set up fort in front of my house and live in their van.

They live about 5 houses down, and across of my property is a planter area/side-garden adjacent from the house. I say hello at times to acknowledge him, and had told me he has been living in the van & shares his financial rut with me which I understand. Everytime I say hello and acknowledge the brother I get no response back and avoidance even tho he is right informer of my property. Ok cool whatever, don't really know his story but would be nice if he had manners.

Anyways, I deal with this for about 5-7 months now, all to be bothered by constant slamming of a fucking van door at 2-4-5am in the morning and him yelling at his dog.

This starts to irritate me.

Then as it gets better, I catch his brother in daytime, pulling a bong out of the dead planter, smoking weed, and puts it back and leaves it there! & I live not too far from an elementary school.

Now, weed doesn't get me mad, but when your in front of my house hiding a bong in a planter living in a van, I like to say wtf are you doing man!?!?

BUT.. I have never called cops or any such thing.
But this constant van door shutting at night, him yelling at his dog, and then smoking weed in front, what can I do to end this in a postive way? If I call the cops, aren't they just going to say they live at that residence? & where they are parked, it is legally public property right?

Reddit, help me on this one because as much as I care for others, this shit has got to end & has been a burden plus and eye-sore where I live sheesh.

Answer:
 >  where they are parked, it is legally public property right?

Yes, which is why you need to call the police.

In most areas, living in your car on public streets is against the law.  But the police(or whoever else the city designates) are the only ones who can enforce it.  You cannot.

Your options are to speak to them and try to resolve the situation, or call the police.Answer #2: If you really want Matt Foley here to move, the cops are the best way to go here.  If you're planning on staying passive aggressive about it, then don't talk to the guy beforehand.  And when you call the cops, just say it's in your neighborhood and provide the street and license number of the van, but don't describe it as "right across the street from my house".


Title: Accused of Stealing $3k at work - help!!

Question:
My situation goes as follows - quoted from my e-mail to a lawyer.
I work at a privately owned cell phone retailer located in Virginia. Today, I was falsely accused by my employer of stealing $3000 from his office, which I obviously did not do. I worked for my employer since January of 2013, and because he was often late on my paychecks, I gave him my two-weeks notice on May 13th. Today, I got a phone call from him saying that $3000 is missing from his office and because I was the only one working yesterday (Sunday May 19th), I am the only one capable of stealing the money.

I've been working alone on Sundays for quite some time now. We have cctv's in our store but not in the office, and that is where my employer says the money was. He saw me go in and out of the office from the cctv and that is his basis for his accusation. He said that if I didn't bring back the $3000 by the end of the day today he would call the police on me. Of course I told him go ahead and call because I'm not guilty, and told him that I will not let this go.

Any advice on what I can do would be very much appreciated. I'm so angry and mad that he would do this to me after I worked with him for almost a year and a half. I know that he is having financial troubles because business is really slow and that is why I would get my paychecks late.

Answer:
 Unless and until he goes to the police to file a report there is really nothing you can do. If he does file a report and you are arrested and/or investigated, get a lawyer.Answer #2: [You need to watch this video...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc)

It's a video from a law professor, AND his guest a police detective on why not only you shouldn't talk to the police, but why it really can't help you.

Anything the police say in court about your testimony in the investigation that can be used against you is admissible. ANYTHING the police would testify about what you said that would help your case would be not be admissable as it is hearsay. And you don't know if what you're saying will help or hurt you.

If you get a phonecall / visit from the Police, your only comment to them is you can't talk to them, want your lawyer present. He's accusing you over stealing well over the threshold to make this a felony.

Write everything down that you remember about that day... this is for your lawyer, not to be shared with anyone else.


Title: (FL) My car's automatic breaking engaged when there was nothing in front of me, causing an accident.

Question: I was going through an intersection. There was no vehicle in front of me or as far as I could see down the road ahead of me. The light was green. The automatic breaking system on my car engaged while I was in the middle of the intersection. I was hit by a car that was turning and then rear ended by a car behind me. I was found to be 100 per cent at fault for the accident by the police and the other 2 driver's both have the same insurance company who also says I am at fault. All 3 cars have to be written off. Is there anything I can do about this? It wasn't my fault. I did not touch my brakes. My foot was on the gas pedal when it happened and the turning driver's dash camera shows that there was nothing in front of me or in the intersection ahead of me.

Answer:
 Your auto insurer should be able to read the car's black box, which will include a bunch of data about the crash from the car's perspective, including whether or not the brakes were applied by you or by the car.  This should prove fascinating for the future lawsuit.

Contact your insurer.Answer #2: I'm not a lawyer or car expert, but if I were you, I'd talk to a lawyer asap, as in tomorrow morning.  Your car's computer might very well have recorded the event in some way, so there might be evidence that the system engaged.  Answer #3: How old is the car? Mileage? Is it still in warranty? Have you contacted the manufacturer?

I'm baffled that you were responsible for the vehicle rear ending you. That doesn't happen that often.


Title: (California) I was detained and did not have my miranda rights read to me by the officer. How can I prove that my rights were not read to me as I was being arrested? Is it my word against the officer's?

Answer: Police aren't required to read you your Miranda Rights unless you're being questioned.


Title: TX-New OT law-Told I was made Hourly, haven't clocked in once

Question:
I was sat down early November and told I wouldn't be making the cut for the OT law that was going to pass Dec. 1st, and that I would be clocking in with a time card and paid accurately for any overtime I work. I place orders with manufacturers to bring in items to my retail stores and basically provide a point of contact between the company I work for and the manufacturers they buy from. I work more than 40 hours every week, so I was looking forward to the OT law, but so far I've seen nothing but the usual salaried pay check, no time cards, and no new information being provided whatsoever.
My main question is, are they breaking the law by not paying me hourly when I'm classified as such? Are there exceptions because the Law is being held up? I'm frustrated as all hell with these people and I can't get specific-to-my-situation answers anywhere. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Answer: That was shot down a few weeks ago by a judge in Texas. You're probably still salary.


Title: My ex keeps showing up at our house unannoucned

Question: My ex and I share custody of two boys.  She keeps showing at my home unannounced with the kids during her possession time and having them enter my home when I'm away. Upon entering it is either to pick up something or look for something without giving me any notice or any information. Most recently, I was not home and my girlfriend was home, naked after showering and my 9 year old son comes walking right thru the door stating "mom said I need to get my basketball." How do I prevent this from happening in the future and what legal actions can be taken to assist in the matter.  I live in Texas

Answer: Talk to you ex, but as a little advice tread carefully. You don't want your boys thinking they're not welcome in your home.


Title: Non-car owner here. With pollution and global warming being such a serious threat, can't I just go ahead and sue everyone for their car usage?

Question:
I am in... Georgia.
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer: If you owned the planet Earth and had a lease agreement with every human living on it, and that lease clearly stated car use was not allowed, you would be able to sue the people who use cars. Answer #2: What about all the air pollution from your bong?Answer #3: No, you cannot.


Title: I work at a DV shelter in deplorable conditions and mice in the food, will there be legal repercussions if I expose pictures

Question: I work at a DV/SA emergency shelter in Missouri run under the national coalition for domestic violence victims. I have worked here for two years and have watched the shelter fall apart in the past year. The ceiling is falling from water damage, the electricity is shotty, the floor boards are rotting, there is black mold in the bathroom. Our most recent issue is a mouse infestation. It has gotten so bad there is poop and mice everywhere. We keep all our food in the basement and the mice have gotten into most everything. They are everywhere on the main floor and just the other day one crawled up an advocate leg while at the desk. The directors ‘fix it’ was to lay poison traps which just resulted in them dying everywhere in the house and horrible death smell everywhere. No staff will pick up the dead rodents as it’s disgusting and we are fed up with the conditions we work in here. Our director and board won’t do anything about the issue. My question is will there be legal repercussions if I anonymously send the pictures of the dead mice/mice in food to the local news station or make a ghost account on Twitter with pictures of the infestation? I made sure not to have any clients, staff or identifying information of the shelter location of any sorts.

Answer: Don't do anything public.  Report it to the health department and code enforcement.


Title: [USA-AK] Need guardian for my son if I die - where do I start?

Question:
I'm in Alaska, USA.

My wife and I have been appointed legal guardians & conservators for our 18-year-old mentally retarded son. We did not consult a lawyer during the guardianship process, and it went fine.

We would like to make sure he is properly cared for if/when we die. But we are unsure where to begin, how to get reliable info, etc. Thoughts?

Answer:
 The document you need is a Special Needs Trust. It should be prepared in conjunction with Wills for both you and your wife. You will want an estate planning attorney to prepare the documents, as they need to be done carefully to preserve assets for your son especially in the event he is or will be receiving SSDI or state assistance.

The most difficult decision for you is determining who will take care of your son if you cannot. Most often that is a family member--a sibling, aunt or uncle, or grandparent, but a trusted friend may also be a good choice. If none of these are options for you, a professional guardian may also be appointed.


Title: I got a parking ticket but they have the wrong license plate number: swapped a 0 with an O. Can I avoid paying it?

Question: Long story short: I logged into the online pay system, and when I searched by plate number, it didn't show up. Odd? I switched my 0 for an O, a common reading mistake, and I found the ticket. But its not technically my car. Can I avoid paying this ticket? I think literally all the info they have on me is my plate number, which is wrong, and my make/model. So if they try to look up my registration by the plate number they won't find it!

Answer:
 As a matter of law, this does nothing to help you. It perhaps creates sone question as to whether they may successfully find you.

I’d bet the price of a parking ticket they will find you anyway here. And certainly wouldn’t risk not paying for this chance.Answer #2: Not likely. Most DMVs treat an o the same as a 0 for processing purposes - they won't issue both "HELLo" and "HELL0", since they're the same in the system. So, they will probably find it.

You can wait and see if the ticket shows up on some online database. Usually you can search by plate number in them.

Or you can just pay the ticket. Since you don't seem to be arguing the merits of it that would be the wise (and morally right) thing to do.


Title: Is it legal for me to record my window to catch someone continuously knocking on it?

Question:
I am in an apartment and I have a large window overlooking the apartment parking lot downstairs. Today there has been someone coming by and knocking on the window continuously while I'm not looking.

I set up my phone from the windowsill to record and caught them in the act. It was a tweenage girl that was rapping on my window and running away.

I'm not particularly bothered by that, but I wanted to know who and possibly why.

I put a sign up that said, "Smile for the camera!" in an attempt to deter her from doing it more. Her mother saw as they were walking by and was pretty upset. She knocked on my door and fumed about how I invaded her privacy and she'd call the cops. I told her I had video evidence of what her daughter was doing and that she should tell her to stop and the mom walked off.
Her daughter came back ten minutes later. I have curtains that I can see out of but nobody can see in. She was looking around to make sure nobody was looking and then approached my window to knock again. Just as she was about to I threw my door open and stared at her. She ran away and hasn't come back :D

Was it illegal for me to record her daughter knocking on my window like that?

Answer:
 It's not only legal for you to record, it's legal for you to share the video with the police if it happens again.

I do like the sign, and think you should keep it up.Answer #2: i assume you're recording out of your window.  it's legal to record people and places that are in plain view, even children without their permission.  they have no expectation of privacy in public.  Answer #3: What has fucking happened to parenting? My mom would never have considered bothering you about the sign. And if she knew I had been knocking on your window repeatedly that would have resulted in a discussion with me about why I shouldn't be doing that and an apology to you for my behavior.Answer #4: Is the girl developmentally delayed? Rapping on your window for no good reason is such an odd behavior. Just curious, really.Answer #5: I have to imagine your 'stare' being just like this.

http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/SLJ.gif

I imagine your problem is solved, hah.Answer #6: > She knocked on my door and fumed about how I invaded her privacy and she'd call the cops.

Tell her to call them.  There is literally nothing wrong with pointing a camera out your window and recording what it sees.


Title: My college sold/gave my contact information to telemarketers.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Pretty sure the leak probably came from Simplehost, not your college.

Edit: [Yep](http://www.simplehost.com/tos.html):
> *How We Use Information*
>>simplehost, Inc. may use personally identifiable information collected through our website to contact Users regarding products and services offered by simplehost, Inc. and its trusted affiliates and otherwise to enhance Users' experience with simplehost, Inc. and such affiliates. simplehost, Inc. may also use information collected through our website for research regarding the effectiveness of the website and the marketing, advertising and sales efforts of simplehost, Inc..

 You agreed to this by purchasing their product.


Title: Need help! Got court date in two weeks for huge traffic ticket. No idea how to proceed. (California)

Question:
It's a long story, so I'll do my best to keep it short. I have a court date to settle my parking ticket situation ($1,006 owed) in two weeks.

So first some background, I'm an international student who has been living in Los Angeles, California for only a few years, I got my car in 2013 and had no problems with it until 2015.

I paid for my title renewal at the DMV in early 2015 (January), about a week later they send me a letter saying that I needed first to get the smog check done, which I did right away. So I send them all my paperwork back, insurance, smog check, everything, and I receive nothing back, at this point my tags were already expired.

Fast forward a few weeks, I'm still waiting, so I give them a call. They say for international students the processing might be longer, and all my paperwork was fine so I just had to wait.

Fast forward a few more months (June 2015) a cop pulls me over and gives me a ticket for not having updated tags. He makes me sign it and he says: "You need to get this taken care of soon" I asked, "why do I need to sign?" he replies: "To acknowledge that you are aware of this problem"... Also, the ticket didn't list any amount to pay, and I've never been pulled over before so I assumed it was just a warning.

Literally the next day in the morning I drive up to the DMV, and the woman just hands me the tags. They could have told me over the phone to just come pick them up months ago, but no, they said I should just wait because for internationals "takes longer".

At this point I had moved from my old place into a new one (moving was June 1st, my ticket was June 26th) and I updated my address with the DMV the day I got my new tags so June 27th. So, I go on with my life as usual, and somewhere in August my ex-roommate sends me a picture via Facebook saying "Hey you got this in the mail" the picture was an envelope that said, "OFFICIAL NOTICE: Los Angeles Superior Court" at the time I rarely checked Facebook, so I didn't see the message until probably early October.

So I go and pick up the envelope, open it, inside there's a letter with a huge fine ($1,006) saying that I failed to show up in court, and failed to pay, and that I had a hold in the DMV for my Driver's License. For about two weeks I had absolutely no idea what this was about, I don't remember having any troubles with the DMV at all, I kept thinking maybe it was some sort of scam or whatever. So I kept thinking and thinking, and I thought, maybe it has something to do with the ticket I got in June?

I called, emailed, checked their websites, all I got was answering machines with no option to talk to a human and non-relevant information. I leave the country for the holidays, and come back mid-January 2016. I started researching and I finally found a phone I could call and talk to a human. So they explain me everything, I explained as well. I scheduled a date with court to go defend myself because this is a huge snowball effect kind of situation that wouldn't have happened if DMV had given me my tags on time. Also, how come they emailed the notice to my old address? Also, I didn't get phone calls, e-mails, nothing. Zero type of warning whatsoever, except that one saying I owed over a thousand dollars.

I have zero criminal record, and the couple parking tickets I've had in the past I payed right away, never gotten a DUI, I could say I have a near perfect driving record. So now I'm gonna go to court in two weeks approximately, I have no idea how does it work other than what I see on TV, never been to one before, no clue how to proceed.

Most international students in America are very financially limited, and I'm not the exception, so the only way I could pay the ticket would be to live on the streets for a month or so. At the moment is not an option to pay it, I can barely afford to pay food and gas for the car. I'm already gathering all the evidence I can find, but other than that, I am in desperate need of legal advice. Do you guys have recommendations, advice? It's greatly appreciated thanks.

TL;DR: Got courtdate in two weeks to settle traffic ticket, no idea what to do, feel very anxious, never been before.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 On your original ticket you should have had a court date written on it.  Why didn't you show up?  Also it's your responsibility to update your address and forward your mail properly.

What will happen at court is really up to the judge. The judge can impose the whole fine or reduce it substantially since you now have registration.

As for needing to sign it, that signature is a promise you will appear in court. If you didn't sign it he would have arrested you and booked you into jail since you refused to promise that you would appear.


Title: SC- warrant harassment new owners

Question:
A friend of mine recently bought a new home.
Within a few weeks an officer showed up to her home with an arrest warrant for a woman named Ashley that used to live there. My friend is Named Ashley But is not The bad Ashley which the warrant is for.  The last names are different. She bought the property  from Bad  Ashley.    She was able to explain this to the officer but he did threaten to arrest her at one point.

Fast forward 2 weeks and 20 police officers suddenly descended upon her home. They claim to be looking for bad Ashley  , good Ashley once again does whatever she can to prove she is not the bad Ashley. They had a copy of the mug shot which shows that bad Ashley and good Ashley are not the same person. They say that Good Ashley could have just gotten married and changed her last name.  They say they have a search warrant and they need to search the property. They refuses to provide Good Ashley With the warrant because they said it was for bad Ashley. The police searched the property and left.

TLDR- Good Ashley Brought home from Bad Ashley. bad Ashley now has warrant and police are harassing Good Ashley.

What can Good Ashley do to keep this from happening again? Should she contact the courts?  The police department? What paperwork does she need to gather to prove who she is not?
South Carolina Berkeley County is the Location.

It's a stressful situation, she lives in the county and is fearful of her dogs being shot or a family member being hurt in a no knock raid.

Obviously a lawyer is a great option, but if I can help her save money I would like to do that.

Answer:
 > They refuses to provide Good Ashley With the warrant because they said it was for bad Ashley. The police searched the property and left.

That sounds like total horseshit.

A lawyer is far and away the best option in this case. One might say the only good option. Answer #2: Tell Good Ashley to go to this meeting and make a complaint: http://berkeleycountysc.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=3368Answer #3: I don't know if it's the same where you live, but my mom's neighbor had police pay a visit looking for her son. He doesn't live there and hadn't been there in a long time. She asked the officer to please stop coming to her house looking for him. He wrote down her information. My mom was outside, too, and police were always over looking for my brother (alleged domestic violence situations), and my mom asked the officer to take her info to so they can stop coming to her house looking for my brother. The officer took her name, address and my brother's name, and my mom had no more trouble with the police coming to her home looking for him.

Call the police department to see how you can get this rectified. Go higher up if you have to.


Title: [Tenant US-CA] Landlord ended up not renting out apartment we signed contract for, took our money, and now won't return money back ($4,200)! Help!

Question:
My first post ever, and I need your help: Legal folks of Reddit

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About a year ago, my boyfriend and I were looking for a new apartment in Emeryville, CA. Found a posting online, contacted landlord, and boyfriend and I went to view the apartment. The landlord was living in the apartment and said she's downsizing, and wanted to rent out the apartment. Everything seemed perfectly fine during each interaction, so we went ahead and signed the contract and wired the security deposit and first month's rent, which was $4,200. Less than 2 weeks before the move-in date, she texts that she can no longer rent out the apartment. This was stressful enough as we had to scramble to find a new place, but the worst part is that after asking for the money back, she ended up saying that she didn't have the money.

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What. the. heck!

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Basically, she scammed us and used our money, and now cannot pay back. We went to small claims court with every piece of evidence, and of course, we won. However, it's been nearly a year since going to court and she hasn't paid back (except for \~$10).... Hiring a lawyer is way more expensive, and honestly, we just want our money back and never have to deal with this terrible lady anymore. Landlord says she's trying to get a job (previously doing part-time or contract work with SAP but no longer there) and keeps using that excuse to not pay us back. I think the next step is doing a writ of execution, which we tried turning in but failed since we didn't fill it correctly (researched online but nothing really helpful and we don't have any legal friends). Boyfriend and I are young-working professionals and are at loss what we can do now... slightly frustrating to cluelessly go through the system without any help or directions on what steps to take and how to take them.

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Will I get in trouble/is it illegal if I:

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\*Text her continuously for the money?

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\*Knock on her door every week for the money?

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\*Print out pictures/flyers of her with her info and the situation and put it on her door/lobby/mailbox/building complex? (Is this public defamation? Will I get in trouble?) (Can't I embarrass this terrible person and essentially let her know I'll stop only when the money is paid in full?)

\[I'm not trying to be a bad person, but this is ridiculous!\]

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Any suggestions? Help is very much appreciated :(

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TLDR; Landlord backed out of renting her apartment despite having signed the contract, taking our $4,200, and won't pay back our rightful money.. Went through court and won, but still can't get her to pay us back.

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Answer:
 None of your suggested remedies seem likely to lead to getting paid, and perhaps come with some risk of problems for you.

You should instead look into options for executing your judgment against her. For example, if you wired her money you should have information as to where she banks for serving a levy. Answer #2: Have her served and ask the judge for a debtors exam. She will have to share all her assets. If she refuses she will go to jail. Answer #3: You can haul her back to court and let the judge ask her why she hasn't paid her judgment. He can force her to provide banking information for garnishment. Good luck. Answer #4: [Here is a good link that explains how you can collect from her. ](http://www.courts.ca.gov/1179.htm)

It sounds like you’re entitled to interest at this point, plus the costs of trying to collect from her. [This other link](http://www.courts.ca.gov/11418.htm) is from the POV of the person with the judgement against them, in case you find that helpful. Good luck OP, she sounds like a piece of work.


Title: Manager dictating what reasons you can and can't call out of work for

Question:
My manager (not store owner) got a call from a coworker that she won't be in.
Manager found out through conversation that it's mostly because they are hung over.

Now my manager is throwing them under the bus and dictating the rest of the workers what excuses can and can't be used when calling out.

Is it acceptable or legal to make restrictions on what reasons people have for calling out?

Answer: Yes, so long as they aren't discriminatory against the usual issues.  If your boss believes you're not really sick, they can deny your sick time request.  There are potential consequences if they're *wrong* about it, which is why it's not a great idea. But if they're right and you're calling out hungover, there's not much you can do.


Title: Bought a car and had it all of a week before it needed repair for something i asked about before purchase

Question: Before I bought my used car from the dealership (a big dealership not just a local rundown dude) I noticed a slight ticking noise. I mentioned it and they said it would be looked at in the full inspection before sale. Then I heard nothing further about it at time of purchase. So I assumed it was either nothing or taken care of (I'm not car savvy in the slightest). After a few days I noticed it was still there and slightly louder. So I brought it back. They sent me to another dealership to have a diagnostic run on the engine (they paid for it) and then was told that there was a crack in the engine and it would have to be rebuilt/replaced. I brought it to the dealership of purchase and was told it would be taken care of for free of course and they gave me a loaner until it was done. That happened all within a week of purchase. And now I've had their loaner for over a week. It's caused a lot of stress and frustration. I'm just wondering if there is anything I can do for this unneeded stress and frustration? My mental health isn't great without this added stress and it definitely has made it worse. I don't know if knowing state would be of any use but I live in Maine. I would really appreciate any insight. Thank you!

Answer: If they are fixing your car for free and giving you a loaner vehicle you have no damages and nothing to sue for.


Title: Girlfriend Issues Erroneous Red Light Camera Violation

Question:
My girlfriend was issued a red light camera violation in the state of Florida while we were in Louisiana. She picked me up from MSY and I drove her car the entirety of our time in Louisiana, minus when she picked me up and after she dropped me off.

This violation was issued by ViolationInfo.com, which is extremely sketchy to say the least (but let's not get into the details of that). The car at the red light camera is NOT her car - the rear end does not even come close to matching the rear end of her car. If a manual review was conducted of these violations it would be exceptionally obvious that the car in question is NOT her car. The image of the license plate is blurry and some 5's could be a 6 and vice versa. The image quality leaves SUBSTANTIAL room for doubt.

ViolationInfo.com gives you the option to submit an affidavit of non-responsibility. But this requires you to name the responsible party. "That was not my car and your system is a moneymaking scam" is, quite unsurprisingly, not an option. The only option to contest the validity of the violation is to request a hearing. I feel that having to appear at a hearing for a violation that was erroneously issued and is subject to no oversight is absolutely ludicrous. Actually it's total fucking bullshit.

I e-mailed the ViolationInfo.com saying as much. I suspect that it will go nowhere. Why would it? They want to extort as much money as possible from as many people as possible.

Tomorrow I plan on calling the county Clerk of Courts in the county the violation was issued and asking how to proceed. This is a total waste of time on everyone's part, minus the company trying to extort money. Any advice on how to proceed? Will I end up filing a lawsuit in small claims court so ViolationInfo.com can pay for my trip to Florida and lost wages?

Answer: They have a dispute function on their website.  Did you try that, and if so what was the result?


Title: [FL] I'm a 16 year old seeking adoption from my sister, but without my fathers consent.

Question:
My dad has full custody over me and is my legal guardian. But over the years he's become the biggest inconsiderate douchebag. I'm 16 living with him currently. Every since I could remember he's always made my life hell. My mother left him simply because he's a inconsiderate piece of shit and only cares for himself. My sister hates him too. Me being 16 and being trapped with a man that only seeks to put me down in life and make my life hell isn't what I'm willing to put up with any longer. If my sister and I were to confront him about this and request his approval, he would flip shit and most likely beat the life out of me. Is there any legal way My sister can adopt me, BUT without my fathers consent?.. Perhaps maybe if I were to open a case and bring it to a judge and have a jury decide what's best?..

Thanks /r/LegalAdvice!..

Answer:
 You sure look old for your age OP

http://www.reddit.com/tb/2cekum


Title: My professor is getting sued for the dumbest reasons. As students wanting to help should/could we do something or wait to see what happens?

Question:
My professor told us a guy is suing him because he didn't pass the class and is blaming him for it, and is now facing almost getting fired. Him being one of the better teachers i've ever had i want to help, but i don't know what to do since this is a legal problem and we're still not of legal-age. We are in Mexico city.

TL;DR Teacher is getting sued and we want to help in some way

Topic:
Non-US

Answer:
 The phrase you're looking for here is "not my circus, not my monkeys."

Even if you were an adult, you're not party to the suit and cannot intervene. The most you can realistically do is maybe donate to help him pay for his lawyer, but frankly, you should not put your money on the line like that. You won't see any return on it and you have no moral or legal responsibility to put your resources up over someone else's lawsuit.Answer #2: If you wrote him a card of some sort, with signatures of other students who support him, that might be nice. If you're concerned about him being fired, write a petition, get signatures, give it to the dean [I assume this is college by the 'professor' bit].
Just make sure he's being sued for what he says he is. It wouldnt surprise me if you all learn he's being sued for something way more serious.Answer #3: Don't get involved, let your school and department handle it because this isn't a first time for a school to have this happen but you are also a good person to be empathetic to his situation.


Title: (New York state) Ex husband is threatening to take me to court because I've "robbed him of quality time" with our children.

Question:
Posting on behalf of a friend.
New York State.
Basically my ex husband and I have been divorced for 2 years and seperated for 3 1/2 years.  We have 3 children ages 6-8 years old. We have a visiation agreement that's nothing special and a small list of "shall do" type things when he has them.

   He texted me last night after dropping the kids off from picking them up after school to spend some time with them. In his text he said that I have "robbed him" of quality time with the kids because my boyfriend and I took them to see a movie (animated film Home) and he wanted to take them to see it and couldn't because we did. A few months ago when that movie and others were announced with release dates he had told the kinds to tell me that he was taking them to see a bunch of kid movies (basically all of them that were out at the time and coming out over the next few months) and I was not to take them to see any of them because he wanted to take them. Well the kids came home very upset and said that their dad was furious and said he hates me and my boyfriend and he will be "having a talk" with my boyfriend about taking them to the movies. Also in his text he said he would take me to court for robbing him of quality time with HIS kids.

Kinda a ramble but any advice or ideas would be appriciated. Thanks.

Answer:
 If he did go to court I highly doubt anything would come of this. His reasoning for going to court is that you've taken the kids to see a movie that he had wanted to take them to. I don't find anything illegal in any of that. It's always best to have a lawyer and be ready for something like this though. Answer #2: >In his text he said that I have "robbed him" of quality time with the kids because my boyfriend and I took them to see a movie (animated film Home)

If he tries to take you to court over this, the only thing he'll likely be successful with is looking like an ass.
The court is not interested in seeing you two in court every few months about the newest film releases.


Title: Is it illegal discrimination if you discriminate against an employee who you thought was a member of a protected class but they were not?

Question:
I was watching Seinfeld and Elaine is dating a guy who she thinks is black, but he looks white.  Turns out he was not black and he thought Elaine was mexican.  I then saw a thread (which I did not read) where a boss thought OP was pregnant but she was not apparently.

Is it legal?

Answer: Each ethicnicy is as much of a protected class as the next... Unless I'm misunderstanding this.


Title: Pot cookies distributed at my office's bakeoff, who is liable if I ate several of them?

Question: This takes place in Texas.  My office had a fun little bakeoff but somebody decided to bring dozens of heavily dosed pot cookies to the mix, and at least 8 people tried them. I had two and a half. A few hours later I started to feel very tired, uneasy, unable to focus, then I heard that other folks were being sent home. Some people had panic attacks and others could barely handle it.  When it was realized that pot cookies were distributed, Chef Dumbass was arrested and several people were sent home in Ubers. I remained at work and finished out my day but I began wondering who would be held liable if I decided to sue somebody for what just happened? The company I work for is a large global corporation and I believe the new hire may be a contractor.

Answer: If you have any medical bills not covered by insurance or any other expenses, you can likely take Chef Dumbass to small claims if he won't pay them voluntarily, or add them to restitution when he's inevitably convicted of distributing controlled substances or poisoning.


Title: Landlord using my power and charging me. [Georgia, USA]

Question:
Hi, I've had an issue over the past several months. I am a tenant at an apartment complex, and my landlord has been using my power since late December. A new landlord took over in December and decided to make outdoor repairs and additions. From December until February, the workers hired have been plugging in their power tools into the outlet outside my door, which is billed as my electricity. I am gone all day so there was nothing I could physically do to change it (unplug it), and I don't have a breaker box to turn it off. I had massive overages for those months that I had to pay for, despite never having an overage before.

I've complained, but when I brought this up to the property manager, her response was "You're paying for the electricity, but we own the property so we're allowed to do this." This is in the state of Georgia.

Is what she saying true? I wasn't asked permission or even informed that they were doing this. Would this constitute Theft of Services? Lastly, as a tenant, do I have any authority to protect my apartment from them doing this (ie, could this become a police issue if they continue to do this without my authorization? Is this trespassing, going onto my porch and using my power?)
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 How much extra is this costing you?

What do you mean by "overages"?

Do you have electric heat?  If so is there any way to prove the issue for Dec-Feb isn't because it's winter?Answer #2: here's an idea:
find out which company did those repairs and additions. get a statement from them that they were in fact there during these times and using the outlet outside of your door. find something in writing that specifies that you're the one paying for usage of said outlet. keep copies of all electricity bills, including before and after the incident and take the whole thing to small claims court. but before you do any of that, talk to a lawyer and ask him/her if this would actually work, because IANAL and i could be wrong about this.

never follow legal advice on the internet without checking with a real lawyer first


Title: HOA is attempting to tow my vehicle

Question:
So I am renting in El Paso county, Colorado and the HOA is claiming my third vehicle is abandoned and inoperable and that I have 72 hours to respond before it is towed.  I moved the vehicle but the note was left on Friday at the end of the day and my HOA is away for the weekend. I plan to call first thing in the morning to solve this but I was hoping there was a legal stance I could take against the HOA and/ or the towing company. The towing company is known for its shady business and my HOA has tried towing my wife's car and my pristine 350Z claiming neither were registered in the community. Every time I have called the HOA they state they are a HOME owners association; and are very rude. Any advice would be so appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Edit: there seems to be a lot of questions about limitations on the number of vehicles. There is no "limit" only the number of hours a vehicle can be parked in the extra parking "72 hours"

Edit: I do not have a garage. Biggest mistake of my life.

Edit: the HOA is fully aware I own three vehicles.

Most important edit: the HOA will not share their rules with me, work with me, or allow me to protect my property in anyway. Each time I try talking with them they say they are a home OWNERS association and seeing how I am not the home OWNER they don't have to talk to me. I explained that if they are going to attack my personal property and my family I should have every right to defend myself.

Answer: If they're refusing to talk to you because you don't own the home then you need to get your landlord involved, ASAP.


Title: Ex’s parents say I have to let them adopt our daughter [ Massachusetts]

Question:
I am 20 and I have a two year old daughter with my ex, 19. My ex’s parents sort of took over after our baby after she was born. My ex was in school and I had just graduated so it made sense. I still saw her all the time and paid support.

Once when my ex and daughter were at my house, she threatened to kill us with a knife. I held her down and wrestled the knife away, but didn’t call the cops. The next day I was charged with assault because her mom called the cops who documented the bruises.

Now, my ex’s parents are saying I have to let them adopt my daughter legally. I don’t think that’s true. I’m not sure though. They won’t let me see her. I even have a video of me being on my knees in front of her mom begging to see my girl.

I don’t think I have done anything that is so terrible I can’t see my baby.

So, can they take her from me like they say they can? Do I just need to let her go? Or can I fight?

Answer: Not a lawyer but just want to mention if they start telling you this, that, and the other thing, that you do not take legal advice from the other side. They are out for their best interests, not yoursAnswer #2: No, you don't have to let them adopt her. Do they have legal custody of her through a court?


Title: Made a Big Mistake, Indiana

Question:
Ok, so prepare for the most embarassing story of my life and the dumbest mistake I have made. Met a girl on pof, start chatting, she's open to a pretty casual relationship, cool. Start exchanging some photos, she mentions she's actually 17. Now, because I'm stupid, I don't stop immediately, but exchange a couple more photos. Realize what I've done, stop, delete photos, and cut off contact. Her dad contacts me the next day, says he doesn't want to file charges but might, after talking says he won't file charges. I agree to pay for the cost of the phone on the agreement that it will be destroyed(I have that in writing). So, basically, I got scammed, but there is still likely evidence of me sending and receiving sexually explicit photos with an underage girl. I'm actually seeing a therapist Monday to discuss why this happened, as it's so out of character. As far as I can tell, the age of consent in Indiana is 16, and people can possess sexually explicit photos down to 16 years old. Can someone help me understand how illegal this was?

Edit: Welp, here's where you all wanted me to go (https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4xxhdg/my_friend_was_chatting_with_a_girl_online_and/). Either way, the number of people immediately telling me it's a scam and to cut off contact is heartening, it makes me feel like I won't get arrested when I go to work. I still mentally feel as though I committed a serious crime, and I will be seeing a therapist to deal with that and some other things. Thank you all

Answer:
 Every time an OP doesn't read the sidebar, another awful event is turned into a sappy garbage feature film for no good reason.

I'm blaming you for Patriots Day.

Answer #2: Scam scam scam scam. Read the sidebar. Just stop everything, all communication, don't ever speak to this "man" again. If you are contacted by the actual police retain a criminal defense attorney. You're also wrong, any photos under 18 are child pornography.


Title: [MA] New to renting, how much may a landlord enter my apartment?

Question:
I'm new to renting and I started my lease on September 1st, for 12 months. After the first couple of weeks I started to find it odd that my landlord, a property management group would, need to do an "Insurance Inspection" every week. And that continued all the way through today. I was allows out when they came for the "inspection" and they always call the night before so it never bothered me much.

Then today they came again and I was home and instead of an inspection, it was a showing. That's fine the lease lets them enter to show the property. I did find it strange though that they lied about there reason for entering and presumably have been. I also think its weird they are showing the apartment when I still have 10 months left on my lease and have been since my lease started. I don't know though, I'm new to renting it could be normal for that.

My question is were is the line for reasonable entry, is coming in every week for a showing unreasonable, in the eyes of the law? I don't really like the idea of my apartment being shown to strangers every week, but if that's just part of renting I'll get over it. I guess is it also a problem to enter the apartment for a reason other then the one stated?

Answer: What? No.  So much no.  IANAL but I work in Real Estate, specifically property management.  I do not know MA's laws, but it looks like it's similar to California with tenant rights.  What does your lease say about showing the apartment for renting it out?  Check out some basic rights here: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/overview-landlord-tenant-laws-massachusetts.html  I would check your local city/county to see if they have a housing branch that you could talk to someone there about the breach of quiet enjoyment.


Title: Compulsory tanning deduction

Question:
A young lady I know works in a tanning salon. Today she was informed that not only was the perk of free tanning for employees being discontinued, but every employee would have $30/mo deducted from their pay for tanning.

This seems like it might be illegal.

Update: as of this morning (1/9) the owner has "come to their senses" and the deduction is not compulsory. It now comes as a discounted membership with a contract (and an opportunity to opt out).

Answer: What if they don't want to tan? Do they still have to pay? It's probably illegal to take it from everybody no matter what. It's probably legal to say that if the employees want to tan, they will have to agree to the payroll deduction.


Title: I wrote a stupid letter to a newspaper 15 years ago when I was a minor. Does the right to be forgotten apply somehow in this?

Question:
15 years ago, (when I was 14 years old) I sent a letter to a newspaper speaking against the new laws about racial quota in universities here in Brazil. It was in a special weekly page where teenagers could voice their opinion and this subject was a major talk here. Back then, this newspaper didn't have an online version but they put their old catalogue online in later years.

Since then, my opinion was quoted in a article about black women and that got some traction online. The problem is that I don't have the same opinion anymore, it has become something quite dumb to say and when someone googles my name, it pops up that single stupid paragraph that I wrote in 2003 because I was a nerdy kid who wanted attention.

I tried to remove it from google with the tools that they have where you can ask for them to remove it but they denied.

Is there something I can do about it? Thanks in advance

Answer: People here are unfamiliar with the laws of Brazil, you will need to hire or consult an attorney in Brazil to get the correct answer. I am only aware of "The right to be forgotten" in Europe.


Title: [NY] Sister misusing car that's in my name. How liable am I?

Question:
In the Summer of 2015, I signed my name for a car loan for my then girlfriend of 5 years. I had good credit but didn't have much income at the time, so her mom's boyfriend co\-signed. The amount signed for was about $8,000 on a 60 month term for a used 2008 Pontiac G6. About a month later, my girlfriend and I had a huge argument which led to her ending the relationship. Needless to say I was affected emotionally but kept a level head and took the car back even though my ex promised to keep making payments. When all of this was happening, my sister was actually in the market for a new car so she offered to take over the payments \(she was denied a loan in her own name so we kept in mine\). Things were good for a while. My sister was making payments on time and really enjoying the car. Fast forward to today, and things have taken a turn.

Last year, my sister went through a divorce and moved in with one of her friends. She was pretty shook from the separation and eventually went into a semi\-depressed state. She quit her job and stopped making payments on the car which forced me to take over payments to protect my credit. I continued to pay for the car holding out hope that she would bounce back and start making payments again. I live far away from her so it's hard to communicate and put pressure on her to do the right thing and do what she can financially. About 3 months ago, my sister started dating someone new and moved into my mom's apartment with her boyfriend. Currently, my sister and her boyfriend are living fairly expense free since my mom isn't charging them for rent or utilities, and they both have part time jobs \(I'm not sure how many hours they work or what their income is like\). My sister has not started paying the loan again despite her having a new job and only a cellphone bill to worry about. The monthly payments are inexpensive at $175 a month. I spoke to my mom recently about the situation and she revealed a couple things about my sister, which has prompted me to write this post.

My sister got into an accident with the car a couple years ago with another vehicle. The other driver was at fault so my sister received a check for the damages to the car from their insurance company. My sister did not use the money to fix the car \(the damage was mostly cosmetic with a big dent in the driver\-side door\) but instead pocketed the cash. I'm guessing the car is no longer worth the amount that is left on the loan since it hasn't been fixed to this day. In addition to this, my sister got a speeding ticket at the beginning of this year that she could not afford to pay so she ended up having her license suspended. She also no longer has insurance coverage for the car and has not turned in the plates to the DMV. According to my mom, the car isn't being used and just sits in the parking lot of the apartment complex, and my sister's boyfriend drives them both to work and wherever else they go with his car.

So here is the overall question I have. How liable am I for this car and how it's being used/not being used? I know I am liable for the loan since it's in my name, but if my sister or her boyfriend decide to drive it somewhere and get into an accident that injures another person, can I be held accountable? If my sister gets her self in order, gets her license back and insures the car again, am I good from a legal standpoint? Should I try to sell it to get it out of my name? Can I sell it to her for cheap and sign the title over and just keep responsibility of the loan to cut my losses?

I really want the best for my sister, and I would feel bad about taking the car away, but I know I have to protect myself. I am currently in a serious relationship with someone and would like to add the car that I drive \(not my sister's car\) to my girlfriend's insurance policy to receive a discounted rate. Would my girlfriend then become liable for any damages from this situation? There is also the fact that my ex girlfriend had her mom's boyfriend co\-sign the loan. Am I legally obligated to reach out to him about this whole thing? If it's necessary, I can call him and try to come up with a plan or ask him to help sell the car.

I really don't know what to do, and I appreciate any help/advice that is offered.

TLDR: Bought a car for my girlfriend who broke up with me 1 month later. Sister took the car and took over payments with the loan still in my name. My sister has a suspended license and no insurance coverage so the car just sits illegally in the parking lot of an apartment complex. How liable am I for the actions of my sister and the current and future use of the car?

Answer: You could absolutely be held liable if it's your car. The loan doesn't have anything to do with that. If your name is on the title you could be sued.


Title: How to stop receiving jury duty summons while living in another country?

Question:
Someone on Facebook posted this in an expat group. They keep receiving jury duty summons to their address back in the states while they are living in Germany.

Is there any proper way to alert the government to the fact that you are not residing in the states and will not be able to do jury duty short of responding to every single letter saying the same thing.

I am from Illinois if it matters. I don't know what state this other person is from.

Thanks!

Answer: Jurors are usually drawn by either voter registration or license address. So, if they want to vote or have a license in the US they will still receive the summons. Answer #2: When I was living abroad I was able to reply to the jury summons with a letter saying I was no longer a resident along with a copy of my Spanish ID card.  That got me out of that jury duty and I did not recieve any others.  That was for Michigan.


Title: (NC) Former employer told my new clients I signed a two year non-compete document, when I never did. Her previous clients ended their relationship with her, reached out to me, and asked me to manage their marketing. Now she’s lying to them saying I signed a n-c. She has a history of forging docs.

Question:
I used to work for an ad agency in North Carolina. Things didn’t work out — I ended up being terminated (with unemployment) over an argument we had. Termination date was Jan 13, 2020. I never signed a non-compete document upon being hired or terminated. Ever.

Over the last 5 months, I started my own marketing agency. I got 3 clients. One of my new clients told my old clients (from previous agency) how well I was doing. Fast forward to a few weeks ago.

Former clients reached out to me, asking if I was accepting any new clients. I said yes, I was. They told me they were ending things with my previous employer because they were unhappy with their work, then asked me to take them on, so I did. We signed contracts and we’re good to go.

During the marketing switch, they had to reach out to my former employer to hand over the access to their websites and hosting (I’m a digital ad agency). Former employer ignored us for weeks, refusing to forfeit the information.

I found out this morning that she had a phone call with my client and said I signed a two year non-compete agreement, which is why she refused to transfer the websites. This never happened. In fact, when I used to work there, I warned her that she left herself open by not providing contracts or making anyone sign documents. She told me she didn’t like all the fine print and chose to go without. The only thing I ever signed from her was a letter of acceptance, my tax doc, and then the letter of termination. Never once signed a non-compete and there were no clauses in the documents I did sign.

My former employer has a past of photoshopping invoices and forging documents. I am very worried that she is going to create a fake document and forge my signature. She has copies of what my signature looks like, so it wouldn’t be too hard for her to print it out and trace it onto a doc.

Please help. I texted her this morning telling her that she blatantly lied and that I never signed anything. Now she wants to call me later. I don’t want to talk to her. Can someone please give me some advice? Does she have a leg to stand on?

Should I lawyer up now? TIA for any advice!!

Answer:
 If your business and reputation are important to you I would protect them at all costs. Consult an Attorney.Answer #2: In my opinion, you want your former employer to be scared of being sued for tortious interference and having to pay your lost profits if she fraudulently interferes with your acquisition of clients.

The best way to put that fear in her, I think, is to hire a lawyer to write a scary letter.


Title: [North Carolina] Fiancé's ex-girlfriend is having him served for custody and CS, wants to leave country with their child. We can't afford a lawyer and we're panicking.

Question:
Apologies in advance, this is long.

The Ex-girlfriend of my Fiancé has just called him to tell him she's having him served for custody and child support. We cannot afford a lawyer, and NC does not provide legal aid for civil matters, so he will probably have to represent himself in court.

His Ex left him about 4 years ago (their daughter was 4 when she left, she is now 8), there was never any domestic violence or abuse, she simply fell out of love with him. It happens. However, there are some concerning details to the story.

When she left, she moved herself and their daughter 6 hours away from him and has been extremely sneaky and manipulative in her endeavors to cut him off from their daughter (herein known as DD). He and DD are very close and it breaks his heart constantly. Despite not being with this woman for 4 years, she is still really talented at manipulating him and guilting him about rarely seeing his daughter, despite her constantly making it difficult or impossible to do so.

They have no written custody arrangement. She has DD full-time except for *maybe* 4, 1 week-long, periods throughout the year when DD comes to visit him, and he is occasionally "allowed" to go to DD's school events. Fiancé has to make his way to them and back every time, which is 24+ hours of driving in total. She or her parents have never once driven DD to him, or even met somewhere in the middle, and won't even consider that as an option. There's no specific reason why they won't, they just don't want to do it and he gets admonished by Ex and her mother for arguing so he no longer bothers.

He has paid every cent his ex has requested him to pay to support his child (which I believe would be above and beyond the legal amount required by the state), and there seems to be some evidence to suggest she has not used his payments in the legal manner; She has been seeing a man overseas (long distance) for about a year, and has flown there twice to see him, despite not being employed in that time. She also does not pay rent, as she and DD live with her parents. It seems that perhaps she has been using child support to pay for her trips.

Ex GF wants to move to her boyfriend's country and take DD with her, and has requested a sole custody arrangement, which fiancé has denied. Ex does not seem to (want to) understand that DD has ties to this country, not just family, and this would be cutting her off from everyone and everything she knows.

On top of this, DD has a few emotional issues which seem to have stemmed from her mother. The most concerning being: She is afraid of showers and cries when she is told to have one, terrified of making mistakes to the point that she cries if she drops something or gets something incorrect, and is 8 but cannot read.

Fiancé is... broken.

He is convinced that his chances of even getting joint custody are little to none because she has a lawyer and he cannot afford one, as well as the general rule of thumb being that men have a lower likelihood of successful custody disputes going in their favor.

He expects that she will take DD to Europe and he will be fully estranged from her. Watching my fiancé go through this makes me furious, especially because we are entirely unable to get a professional to fight Ex's madness. We have one child and another on the way, and we live on his income. Money isn't just tight; it's basically non-existent.

I called the court that the case was filed in, they advised me there would be mediation orientation and then a mediation session. If mediation does not sort anything out, the case will go to court.

If he does end up having to go to court, he will have to represent himself. What should we prepare to be best armed in that case? I realize that supporting affidavits are necessary, but is there anything else which would help, especially if it gets ugly?

Should we have his parents file for grandparents rights as soon as possible, or wait until after mediation/ court?

Thank you!

Tl;dr: my fiancé is being taken to court for sole custody of his daughter, his ex is an awful person and wants to move their daughter out of the country, we cannot afford a lawyer and legal-aid will not assist. What can we do?

Answer: This is a situation where you cannot afford *not* to have a lawyer. Take a third job. Get a loan. Beg your parents. Whatever it takes, I guarantee, it will be cheaper in the long run. Answer #2: The child can't go overseas without a passport.  A U.S. passport won't  be issued without the consent of both parents, the surviving parent and a death certificate, or a court order.  He should reach out to Legal Aid of North Carolina and ask for help, they can probably locate a pro bono attorney to help him.  He should also look at the State department website for the number to call to prevent issuance of a passport for a child if he is worried about the ex trying to pull a fast one.


Title: [OR] I have no kids or spouse, but just bought a house. Is it worth making a will for my brother’s kids?

Question:
My brother has 3 kids currently, maybe more later. I don’t plan on having kids and marriage is not a priority for me at this time, but the door isn’t bolted shut either. Through sheer luck, I was able to buy a house last fall and I’ve been wondering what happens to it in the event of my untimely death. There is no mortgage on it, I paid it in full when I bought it.

So, because there isn’t any debt on the house,  I’ve been thinking of a will, which people prepare when they have kids and assets like a house and other large sums of value (sentimental included) locked into things. But seeing as I don’t have anyone but myself here, I’m not sure if a will stating that the house/whatever goes to my brother’s kids however it goes is important to have, or if it’s jumping the gun, or just overall a bad idea. No one in my life seems to have any clue so, I thought I’d ask here and go from there.

Answer:
 Some people will to a university or charity.Answer #2: Having a will in place would most likely guarantee your property will go to your brother.Answer #3: Without a will, the estate gets split up in probate court according to Oregon's intestate laws.  The probate court then decides on the distribution of your assets.

Best to have a will.  May want to leave your assets to a trust for the benefit of your brother's kids.


Title: Am I forced to give 15 days notice?

Question:
This is my first time posting here so if I break any rules feel free to let me know. Edit: This is Texas

I am posting for a friend because she is pretty lost and could use some advice. She recently started a new job in a bad part of town, and it is not working out. The owner does not allow days off, guilt trips when employees try to call in, and frequently asks that her employees come to her HOUSE and clean when the store isn't busy. Long story short, my friend wants to quit.

The problem is, she has never really had a job before this one, and was very confused over the whole hiring process, and on her first day signed a contract that she thought was normal. The contract stated that if an employee quits they MUST give at least 15 day notice, and the last paycheck may be witheld. She also was told that her job duties would completly change from what she applied for, after she had already signed the contract. She isn't too sure on the exact wording of it, as the owner will not give her an extra copy to look over.

So the question is, how can she quit with the minimum amount of legal and financial fallout? Is the contract enforcable? Is it even legal to withhold a paycheck?

Answer:
 > Is it even legal to withhold a paycheck?

It's illegal to withhold, as in, not pay it. It's legal (in general) to withhold it to take account of amounts that the employee may owe the employer.

In order to quit, she should had in her notice, which means that her employment will end after 15 days. Then she can start at another job. If she can look/get another job without missing work, she can do that in the interim.


Title: US-AR I let my friend borrow a $10 bill which was counterfeit and now he's being charged with something and wants me to write a letter saying I gave it to him.

Question:
He tried to spend the bill, the business called the cops, he got cuffed and stuffed in the back of a police car for an hour, and now he has to go to court.

How serious is this? (He's already a felon.) If I write a letter saying I gave it to him, are the authorities going to come after me? I've already told him to contact the public defender's office. If they don't have the bill, can he get the case dismissed?

Edit: In case it wasn't clear, neither of us knew the bill was counterfeit. We're idiots, not criminals. Well, we aren't counterfeiters.

Answer:
 Don't write anything to anyone before contacting a lawyer.

Did you know the bill was counterfeit? Did your friend know the bill was counterfeit? To be guilty of passing counterfeit money you have to know it’s counterfeit, and [intend to defraud](http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentid=7511) somebody with it.Answer #2: stop talking and get a defense attorney.Answer #3: I am not a lawyer.  How can you be certain that it was actually the exact same bill you lent him that was the one that was counterfeit?