Title: Why can't we ban Nazism in America?

Question:
I understand the implications for freedom of speech and precedent of making an ideology illegal; more or less where does it stop?

Well, why couldn't we just stop with Nazis?

Not white supremacists, racists, confederates, or people affiliated with the alt-right- just Nazis. Self avowed Nazis.

The main problem I can foresee is wrongful conviction of being a Nazi - proverbial character assassination that could be used against political adversaries, opponents or anyone really.

In that case you can just write the law to ban self avowed Nazis. People with tattoos of swastikas, people that do the Nazi salute in public, trolls posting literal Nazi-used propaganda glorifying Hitler, and literal groups of organized Neo-Nazis.

Their ideology is based on the eradication of a large subset of people they deem undesirable. Their ideology is explicitly based on hate, eventual ethnic cleansing, and setting up an ethno-nationalist government in America.

I don't understand how after the end of WWII Nazism wasn't explicitly banned by the members of the newly formed United Nations. It could even start from the top down, [there's an annual resolution to ban pro-Nazi speech and organisations, and to implement other restrictions on their speech and assembly every year in the UN proposed by Russia](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-16/us-nazi-ban-fail/9157214). The US always votes no.

I don't see a good argument to allow these people the right to organize and spread their ideology.

Answer:
 >I don't see a good argument to allow these people the right to organize and spread their ideology.

Because you have to draw a line somewhere. As long as they aren't actively hurting someone, we need to *let* them have their views. By not heavily regulating speech, we allow *everyone* to be able to voice their opinion. If we started doing that, where would it end? It would inevitably lead to censoring stuff that shouldn't be censored. Answer #2: I love how your solution for Naziism is to make laws controlling tattoos, public gestures, and publishing or speaking opinions. It does remind me of a particular ideology...

I'm curious what you would propose for an enforcement mechanism. Jailtime? How much? Or maybe exile to a concentrated location?Answer #3: I'm not sure what your question is. We can't ban Nazis in America because of the First Amendment and legal protections for speech, belief, and assembly. Whether or not there would be policy benefits or logistical difficulties is kind of beside the point: Nazism is banned in other countries, and you can look at those examples.

Note, however, that the United Nations cannot override the Constitution of the United States: even if the resolution were adopted, it wouldn't affect U.S. law.


Title: (OR) Is it considered CP if the images are drawings of fictional characters who look like adults but are underage in canon?

Question:
The characters in question are 16 and 17 in the book, and there are a lot of explicit illustrations of them on a website. They are physically mature in the drawings if that makes any difference. Their ages are stated the book they came from but not anywhere on the porn site.

Is this considered CP?

Answer: Stop looking at cartoon kiddy porn. No amount of mental gymnastics will change the fact it’s still implied they are underage, anime or not.


Title: Was it legal for my doctor to say I am not recommended to have extra time?

Question:
[removed]
Topic:
Removed

Answer:
 >Isn't he just imposing his own opinion?

Yes, that's what a doctor does. They give their professional opinion on a situation.

>Under US law or any first world country law, would this be legal?

Under US law, yes.


Title: [NY] Lawyer never did work promised last year, I paid in bitcoin and am asking for a refund

Question:
1. I paid a lawyer to do work they never completed. We agreed that payment would be through a popular bitcoin site.
1. I sent 2 bitcoin at the time worth $1000
1. tl;dr Lawyer never did the work after multiple follow-ups.
1. I asked for a refund this year.
1. They said they forgot about me and will issue a refund of $1000.
3. The 2 bitcoin is now worth $5000.

Should I just accept the refund, or am I owed the original 2 bitcoin?

*Obligatory changing details and using throwaway*

\* Edit, I appreciate everyone's comments. Sounds like I should accept the $ and get over the fact the lawyer sucks and bitcoin went up.

Topic:
Business Law

Answer:
 Think of it this way - - If bitcoin tanked (like flooz 16 years ago) then you would want the value y'all agreed on at the time of payment.

Take the $1k refund :)Answer #2: It depends. Was your contract with him for $1000USD or 2 Bitcoins?Answer #3: You paid $1000 so you are owed $1000 and they offered $1000. So you take it.

The current value of the currency doesn't change what you are owed. USD for example changes in value over time with inflation and currency differences, but the that doesn't mean refunds or debts change, they are all based on the original amount.Answer #4: >Obligatory changing details and using throwaway

For my own entertainment purposes, I'm going to read "lawyer" as "assassin", "2 bitcoin" as "10 bitcoin" and "$1000" as "$5000"

In any case, you have to go by the cash value at the time of the transaction.

I can't take my receipt to walmart and ask for inflation adjusted dollars for my unused motor oil.

If you are suing for damages due to opportunity costs, that's one thing, but if you just want a refund then it's dollars to dollars, not securities to securities.Answer #5: You are owed $1000


Title: A coworker was talking about how their boyfriend was in possession of Meth and they encourage the illegal Narcotic. Is there any way to report that?

Question:
So I work in a grocery store and there is this co-worker whom I personally hate. Long story short, we used to be friends, we had an argument, and she dented my car.

Fast forward like....half a year later and we just don't talk to each other while in the same work space. Which is totally fine by me, I stay working in the Deli and they walk around cleaning stuff up as a Courtesy Clerk.

One day I was sitting in our break room and my friend (whom I've known since high-school and have a good relationship with) walks in and we have a chat.

Here is the cast.

Me as Me

Friend as Bro

And hated Co-worker as CP (Crazy Person)

&#x200B;

So Bro sits down and we start to have a talk. Bro works alongside CP and he cannot stand her. She is a person that talks way too much and is the type of person that adds unwanted detail or very explicit detail for her answers.

An example is when one of my deli coworkers was creeped out when CP all of a sudden started talking about her period and went into explicit detail about it. That is the type of talker CP is, TMI all the time, and talks way too much.

So back to Me and Bro in the break room. He started complaining about CP and told me that she said something that he is pretty sure is illegal in some way. She was training a new employee on how to refill containers with a cleaning chemical when she went on one of her numerous tmi rants. Bro overheard the conversation between CP and the new employee and CP all of a sudden started to talk about how her boyfriend is super addicted to meth and that she needs to think up of a way to get more.

&#x200B;

The new employee started to get weirded out from CP but couldn't say anything because (from what I was told) she was just too scared to say anything and she was like 16 and was really shy to tattle on anybody. (Again, from what I was told).

I don't like meth, and I see it as an extreme drug. I know it is legal when it is Prescribed, but I know that CP is not a legal or law abiding citizen coming from my own history with CP.

I had thought about reported her to my managers or law officials, but I do not have any solid evidence or proof. Is there any way I can report this knowing that I can win this accusation?

Answer:
 You can report it to whomever you want -- your employer, the police, anyone.

> knowing that I can win this accusation?

What do you mean by "win this accusation?"  An accusation is an accusation, there is no winning or losing.


Title: I need help...

Question: I am married, i married young. Ever sence we got married Our Relationship went Sour. But now nothing is the same. now Im going to give a disclarer. This is my side of the story. I do get angry too but I would never hUrt him. Here we go. I feel so alone. I didn't think That when I got married that I would feel so alone. I will say that I do suffer from Anixity and depression. when I talk to him about feeling alone he gets upset. He Will also notice that somthing is wrong. We would keep asking and asking and Will not leave me alone un till I tell him What is wrong. When I get home he is on his computer playing games. Sometimes he will take his headset off to ask me now work was . I am so tired When I get home from work. I cook him dinner then serve itto him while he is still on his Computer he is laughing and havinga good time talking with his freinds. I love his stupid smile and laugh. I try to tell him Somthing, sometimes I try to join the conversation then He turns to me and says"what" like hismood compleatly changed when he Starts talking to me. He dosent Smile or laugh withme any More. when I Tell him whats wrong he gets mad. insted of IM Sorry. He always Sais that"Im sorry you feel that waY. " If I ask him for anything. l ove, atti on. Favor or chore he always fights me about it. He gets angry. he always likes to turn it arround to where he is the victom. When We were low on money he made me Sell my phone my computer My Ps4. When we need money i was the one that had to tak out 3 credit cards and max them out. Not him. Im in debt and slowly trying to clime myself out. When We fight he always takes it too far. He tells me how My freinds are a Joke. He tells me that IM. a retered Bitch and that no one would ever Want to be with my Phyco ass. one time he got in my face and I Pushed him. I have a habbit of pushing him out of my face. But I won't do that again ever! Last time I pushed him out of my face he blocked my hand .him doing so Caused my hand to Slam in the C orner of the wall. my finger turned black and blue. I wanted to hide from hem. But he Pressured me to let him see it. He even knocked down the door. I said that i thought it was broken. He took one look as said "pft its fine, idk what ur goin on about" when i thretin to leave him. He said he is going to fight me and take away every thing i own and love. When i thretn to call the cops he stated that they will take my ass to jail for pushing him. That he didnt do anything wrong. That i was the one to lay a hand on him. Now im too scared to leave. We share a car and i love him. I dont want to screw him over. I dont want to leave. But i feel so alone. Im scared to leave. Im scared to tell him how i feel. He dosent try for me. And when i nreing it up he gets mad. He got so mad then i said that i think he is abusing me. That the reason he snaps at me or get mad is beacuse he jad a bad day at work or he is tired. He even states that its beacuse i get mad at him. I react to him snaping at me. Im tarafide to leave. I love him so much. We share an Appt. No kids. I am also stuck in this contract. What do i do?I want to say but i feel so alone.

Answer:
 I don't think you have a legal question. Unless you're asking how to divorce your husband or how to break your lease. If you are asking those questions, we need your location. If not, try r/relationship_advice.

>What do i do?I want to say but i feel so alone.

 Something between marriage counseling and divorce. Probably the latter.


Title: got in trouble for bs in euless,tx

Question: i was at school this morning and my friend went of campus and smoked i went with him i didn't partake in it and later my friend faints and was taking to the hospital i was later dragged out of class the gave me a sobirty test a barely failed because i took my pain med perscirbed to me but the school want to give me 60 days for having nothing on me and being on meds that where mine and the cop the cop only did a barely a test

Answer: Is one of the side effects of this prescribed medication an inability to use punctuation or capitalization?


Title: (California) I have Doctors orders to not drive but DMV has not suspended yet, is it legal for me to drive?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > I am aware of the moral implications of the question

I... am not fully convinced of this.Answer #2: You shouldn't drive if you have been told by a doctor it's not safe, period. Besides the risk to your own life, if you kill somebody that will be on your conscious forever. Also you open yourself up to huge civil liability because your medical records could be obtained through discovery.

> but I am a recent arrival in a rural area

Doesn't sound like you should be living in a rural area then, at least until you get these seizures under control.Answer #3: If you have a seizure, crash and kill someone, not only will you face civil issues, but your reckless endangerment/criminal negligence (driving when you certainly know you shouldn't for the medical reasons) will also likely land you in jail.


Title: Orlando: Closed on a house 1 month ago. Bank reduced my loan amount by $10k on the day of closing because I was given $10k by the county only to help with closing costs. Do I have recourse?

Question:
Hey legal advice. First time trying this. I purchased a house 1 month ago. My county has a down payment assistance program that will give you money for closing costs if you meet a certain set of requirements. This money is specifically to be used for closing costs/down payment only.

The closing had been pushed back several times (at the bank's fault) and the sellers were going to walk away at midnight if the closing didn't happen. On the day of closing, the bank reduced my loan amount by $10,000 saying that I got $10,000 form the county to supplement it. This was NOT the case as I had budgeted the original loan amount in addition to the county's money. Because of that, I was $10k short at closing and had to borrow money from family. 3 days prior, the good faith estimate showed the correct amount. The bank said I could refuse to close but I'd lose the house (and the deposit).

Do I have any recourse? Telling my story to a few realtors they seem to think I have a cause for a complaint?

Edit: changed claim to complaint. Also just a small note, this is my first home and I purchased it by myself with no one else on the mortgage.

Answer:
 Unfortunately, IMHO, many entities use the nature of the closing process to screw people by hiding, misleading or bait-and-switching at the last minute, knowing you don't have much choice.

(EDIT:  PLEASE don't take this as an indictment of the whole industry- most of the people I have dealt with have been amazing.  But I'm amazed that there are scumbags operating with impunity when so much money is on the line)\

(I have purchased and re-fi'd my home several times over the past 15 years, and I am in utter amazement that so many of the closings happen at the final hour.  I really do think that is orchestrated by the middle men who don't want to see people make more work for them or back out and try to change things).

I have seen realtors and brokers not come forward with information about the closing costs, the loan products and other fees until it's too late to change without risking a loss of deposits and other fees- if not the house itself.

I am sure that most of the time this is just the way it happens, and that everyone is on the up-and-up.  The solution to this is not to sign and then to go find a more reputable bank/broker to work with.

But man, there are a lot of shady people in this business, all the way down the line.Answer #2: Was primary lender aware of the county assistance program before the closing? Take a look at your lenders approval letter and see if there is language to the effect of: "no subordinate financing allowed".


Title: Roommate signed for an industrial printer two years ago, and the company hasn't requested that she send it back. Can we sell it?

Question:
The full story: My roommate and I have been living together for about three years now. Two years ago, we moved into an unfurnished apartment in California. She moved in before I did and began purchasing furniture. According to her, she ordered a dresser online, so when that company delivered a large package, she signed for it. She opened the package, but it wasn't a dresser, it was a large industrial printer. She completely unboxed the printer. She e-mailed the company about the mishap, and they eventually sent the dresser. According to her, they never followed up with her about what to do with the printer.

Now, two years later, we still have this giant fucking printer and all of its parts in various storage locations throughout our apartment. But we're both about to move out of the state. What can we do with the printer?

Is it legal to sell this printer considering they didn't follow up with her about what to do with it? The company hasn't requested that she return it and it's now two years after the fact.

Answer:
 You should contact the company and ask them, since you have their printer. They may have simply forgotten about it--which is not the same as abandoning it, as that requires intent. Offer to ship it back to them at their expense; easy come, easy go.

As a strict legal question, the company could sue for the return of its property for three years, per California Code of Civil Procedure [section 338(c)](http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=ccp&group=00001-01000&file=335-349.4), after which it has no legally enforceable claim.


Title: I just realized I am a victim of a "Slamming" scam.

Question:
I accidentally gave away information to who I thought was a ComEd person who arrived at my door (in Illinois). Turns out it actually is a company that performs "Slamming" who used this information/signature(?) to sign me up for a shitty service. Now I'm with the wrong company and have a $50 termination fee to handle, which reviews of the company say they will try to dodge it if able. I'm very nervous about this and want to know my best solutions out. I don't care as much about the money as having things settled and back with original provider.

Important notes:

1. I don't have my billing information for the last couple months. I threw it out because I thought it was useless. :( :( :(
2. It is under my dad's name, so any signatures/actions I dealt should not have happened in the first place.
3. My landlord filed a police report because another Slammer was on his grounds.

Very, very nervous right now, EXTREME thanks for any help about this.

Answer: Call the slamming company and tell it that you want the problem fixed and that, under FCC rules, you don't have to pay for the first 30 days of its service. Call your authorized company to inform it of the slam, and that you want to be switched back with the same calling plan you had before the slam. Also, tell your authorized local telephone company that you want all charges for switching companies removed from your bill


Title: My neighbors 16 year old daughter is dating a 24 year old man

Question:
So... Im in phoenix Arizona and this kid is dating a 24 year old. What are some steps thst I can take to get this guy arrested? I don't have evidence and I can't prove anything. However this guy does have a track record umong the teen circles. Apparently he gave a 15 year old girl LSD and fucked her.

Honestly I am looking to get him off the streets and in jail.

Answer:
 It's not illegal for them to date.

It is illegal for them to engage in sexual activity, as Arizona's age of consent is 18.


Title: Ex Gf said she filed a restraining order against me. What is in store for me?

Question:
Me and my ex gf had broken up in October of 2017. Together for 2 years. We have been hanging out steadily and basically been in relationship without the title for the last 6 months. We had a big argument 2 weeks ago and she blocked my number and told me to leave her alone. I called her from a private number quite a bit and sent her numerous emails trying to get her to talk to me. I brought flowers to her apt. and left them on her doorstep and she wouldn't answer. I left a letter in her mailbox.

I know that I should have just let it go but, i was in a very emotional state and truly loved this girl and was upset that she was just cutting me out of her life in the blink of an eye. She notified my she was filing a restraining order against me on Thursday. I have not been served papers yet and I am scared of whats going to happen. I feel horrible for bothering her so much over the last 2 weeks. I've since stopped, obviously. I never threatened her or anything like that. It was all really just me trying to get her to talk to me. I feel stupid and scared about what is going to happen.

Answer:
 She told you to leave her alone, and you didn't. From now on, no contact at all.Answer #2: Well don't be scared or anything. There is no legal suit involved and she might just be saying that out of spite. Leave her alone and don't say anything else to her. Even if she decided to forgive you and want to talk.

STAY AWAY FROM HER. I'm not treating you like a creep at all she could just get you in a lot of trouble that way out of spite. If you are served papers it is just going to make sure that you stay away from her. If you don't that is where you get in trouble.

Point: If she files it just leave her alone no matter what.


Title: Can an apartment complex (Alabama) require it's residents to purchase surety bonds in lieu of traditional security deposits?

Question:
I saw this question before for another state, but there was no answer, as the person was moving out.

I have yet to move into this apartment/sign the lease. I will be staying there for several months, and they want me to purchase a bond for ~$100 instead of paying the $500 security deposit. It looks like at the end they will charge the bond company who will, in turn, charge me for any damages. The $100 will not go to any damages, just to the bond company.

Can they force me to pay this bond? Is there any reason I can't/shouldn't just be allowed to put down a security deposit?

Thanks!

Answer: While I cannot verify that Alabama is one of them, there are a number of states which allow properties to require a surety bond in lieu of a traditional security deposit. If Alabama's laws allow it, the property can absolutely require to purchase the bond instead of posting a security deposit.


Title: Negligence in NJ school district?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > if a kid [...] is bleeding, it’s her problem to give the child medical attention [...] they won’t give her a medical kit with gloves and such

> for 3 weeks. There were 2 inches of human waste filling the [cafetorium]

> There are constant gun imcidents[sic] in the school. She’s almost been shot twice by stray bullets.

> Anyone got any advice?

Honestly? I recommend moving at least 100 miles away and finding a new job. In that order.

If the authorities permit students to wade through 2 inches of human waste and permit school staff to be regularly shot at, then there is little chance that they will care about minor legal niceties like OSHA requirements.

To be honest, I think you must have exaggerated the situation somewhat -- but if I take you at your word, I can only presume that law and order has completely broken down where you are.


Title: I believe my online friend is being abused by her parents, I don't know how to help her.

Question:
I'm in Virginia, she's in Florida. All of the information I'll post here is based on the little details I know from what she's told me. I don't know where exactly she's located in the state or anything.

She lives with her father and step-mother, I don't know where her bilogical mother is, though she's tried to run off with her before. Her father is often yelling to her and her brother, swearing, threatening to beat the shit out of them, etc. I often hear this in voice chats we do, and on one occasion, her father told her brother that he has no sense of respect and he won't get a job anywhere, and if he does, he'll be fired on the spot.

Whenever she's sick or has headaches, she can't take medication. Her parents don't own any medicines to begin with since they don't believe in it or something. She's forced to 'deal with it' until the pain goes away.

They look at her phone, dictating who she can talk to and who she can't. She's previously told someone about suicidal thoughts, and her father told her to slit her wrists, and offered her a pocket knife to do so. Her brother told people about how he was physically kicked out of his house, people came over, dad denied everything. Her step-mom is the same, more or less, often siding with her father. Her biological mother lives five states away, and she tried going away with her, only to have a bag of shoes thrown at her face.

I don't know what I can do to help her. I'd prefer to not have to call someone due to phone anxiety and severe social anxiety in general, but I don't know if there are any chat resources out there for this kind of thing.

How do I go about reporting this? She's told me that she's scared of reporting it herself, since she's scared her father will find out and retaliate, or that nothing will change as a result.

Answer: Has this person asked for any money?


Title: I want to release some clothing online with the Rick and Morty Copypasta on them. Is that illegal? [ON, Canada]

Question: I doubt that profiting off of a copypasta is illegal per se, but I'm not so sure about using one based around a TV show.

Answer:
 >I doubt that profiting off of a copypasta is illegal per se,

It's illegal to profit off OR DISTRIBUTE FOR FREE the copyrighted work of another person without permission or a license.

Since you didn't write the copypasta, there's a chance the original author of the text could come foreward and claim copyright. You would be liable for damages, which would either be their "lost sales" or sales you made, and if they registered it with the copyright office, you would be liable for statutory damages which can be 15k to 100k or something like that.

If you write your own, then you're allowed to sell it as long as it's not violating the show's copyright or trademark

>but I'm not so sure about using one based around a TV show.

Without reading the text I can't say for sure, some I've read seem to be simply commentary about the show or mentioning the show, which isn't going to be copyrighted as fair use DOES allow you to mention a copyrighted thing while discussing or parodying it. However there's also a chance that buy using the name of the show the owners could claim you're infringing on a trademark by selling "rick and morty merchandise".

If you do want to go through with this you might want to consult with an IP rights lawyer.


Title: [CA] Name on marriage certificate is not my legal name

Question:
Hello!  I realize that this may be a dumb question, so please forgive me. I live, applied for my marriage license, and got married in California. Hubby and I got married in 2016. I am a woman (I know it’s not legally relevant but I just want to provide context).

When I applied for my marriage certificate, it was recommended that I use the name that I plan on taking after getting married as people often use marriage certificates as proof for name change. At the time, I thought I was going to take my husband’s last name so I entered my maiden name part of my middle name: First | Middle Maiden | Last.  We got the certificate, got married, sent it off.

After many boring conversations that you don’t want to hear about, husband and I decided that I shouldn’t change my name legally. Socially, I go by his last name but I’ve begun to make a reputation for myself in my field under my maiden name so I’m sticking with it. Also, changing your name is a huge pain in the ass.

The problem is that our marriage license does not show my correct name. I would like to know whether this creates any legal problems for me and my husband. We’re still legally married even though I didn’t change my name, right? I don’t care about changing the name on the certificate. I just want to make sure that this won’t create problems.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer:
 Call the clerk's office that issued the marriage license.  Or if you can, go there in person.  They have probably seen it all and will have advice and pointers.  If not, they should know who to direct you to for clarity.

Start with the office that issued the certificate and is responsible for administering state law surrounding such certificates.


Title: Need help with my brother who wants to murder me

Question:
I live with my disabled mother and psycho brother. It's my mom's house. I have on video my brother verbally assaulting me saying "I am going to kill you in your sleep and hide your body. You had better watch your back." I cannot evict him since it is my mother's house. She is too afraid to evict him. I don't know what I can do to get him to move out and leave me alone.

I did not physically hurt my brother. He does nothing to clean up around the house so I yelled at him to clean up after himself. Then he verbally assaulted me.

Please help. Thank you.

Answer: What did the police say when you went to them about this?


Title: [Massachusetts]Trespassing/breaking and entering

Question: Its first offense and i'm a juvenile. Would i be best off just pleading guilty?

Answer:
 You'd be best off talking to your attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you. Answer #2: No.

Find an attorney. If you can't get one before your first court appearance, plead not guilty.

The reason to plead not guilty is it's easy to change a not guilty plea to guilty later, but harder to go the other direction.

I'm not a lawyer but this is standard stuff.


Title: My employer said that I will owe the company 4 months of contractual pay if I leave halfway through the year.

Question:
I work for a large supermarket company in the UK. I will be leaving my branch in September when I go to University, either leaving the company completely, or getting a transfer to another branch if there are any jobs available (my preferred option.) I'm entitled to 11 hours of holiday this fiscal year (from the end of January 2015 to the end of January 2016), and booked them all to cover my exam month in May. I mentioned in passing that I was planning to leave or transfer in September, and my manager told me that if I left, I would owe the company four months of pay, September to January, as I had used all my holiday (4 months of pay is approx £880). This doesn't sound right to me - surely I would only have to pay back the 11 hours? If anyone has any insight I would be grateful. Thanks.
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 You would owe them four months' entitlement to *holiday pay*, not four months' salary. In other words, if you took 11/3 hours of holiday you weren't entitled to (because you won't be earning them in one-third of the year), you would have to repay them (or realistically they'd just take it out of your last paycheck) 3.67 hours' pay.

The manager just may be a poor communicator. If he/she is insisting you'd owe them four months' pay (ha!) then email the payroll department at your company head office and ask for a clarification.

There is absolutely no way what they're saying is right.


Title: [US] Friend dealing with a stalker, wants to sue.

Question: Guy's (let's call him Joey) a friend of mine, doesn't use reddit, but he's considering taking his stalker (let's call him Mark) to court after a year of harassment. The tipping point was Joey found out Mark stole a few dick pics off his phone after a group night out and posted them on his friend group's Discord. Before that was months of harassment, unwanted come ons, and just general weird behavior. They hung out because of mutual friends, they became acquaintances and Mark bought Joey a Christmas present before most of the stalking, so he has the address, which is freaking my friend out. Buddy lives in Couer d'Alene, Idaho if that matters. Can he sue over this and what can be done if anything?

Answer: He can, and should, file a police report.


Title: I was sexually assaulted while working and I now find myself being anxious while working. (California)

Question:
Hi! So, to start, I work at an adult store. I am the janitor there and I mainly clean the video arcade that we have.

* the video arcade is in a dark room connected to our main room sales floor. The arcade has 15 semi private booths that are used to watch adult films. The customers that come in can range from someone that doesn't have the luxury of privacy at home, to someone to deliberately shows up in hopes of finding someone for a quickie. We have regulars, and I know how they are in terms of how they respect our store and what we provide. We also have customers that are on the hunt for something more, and to achieve that, they must peek inside occupied booths and see if they get a signal from anyone else to "go". If that makes sense..

Anyways, my job is to clean up the booths. Hence my name. So, one day, I was cleaning the outside of the booths in the narrow hallway. People pass by all the time, they whisper "excuse me" or just do that weird grunt that people do when they try to talk, but are really unprepared to talk. I get what they mean and I scoot closer to the wall I'm cleaning to let them by.

This time was a bit different..

   I notice two people trying to pass at the same time, and suddenly I feel a firm grip under my butt, with the middle finger and index finger on my perineum. I feel that hand grab a hand full of that area and slide his way up and over my shirt, along the lower part of my back.

I froze. I stopped moving. I stopped breathing, and i didn't know what to do. I was still only about three or 4 months into the job, and I didn't know that I could write a report, and even better, I could have kicked the guy out! I didn't turn around to get a good look at him, but almost two months later, a guy walks into the store to purchase a ticket to the arcade and my heart sinks. I just KNOW it was him. Same build, same hair, same shirt even..

I see him from time to time. But now, when I'm back cleaning, I always look over my shoulder. I make sure to check my surroundings before cleaning somewhere. I make sure I am safe.

I didn't document it. All I did was tell my manager. I didn't do anything about it. I just let it happen.

I know it's my fault for not doing anything.. I really should have. My question now is:

**does workers comp cover sexual assault? Especially when there is basically zero evidence to prove this**

 I don't know if I need to see a therapist or something.. I just feel like I can't leave this job because I need the money, and I'm a felon so it's extremely hard to find a job..

Answer: Go see a therapist. Ask your manager if they can ban him from the property. file a police report.


Title: [AZ]My boss divulged personal information to co-workers during a meeting while I was on FMLA.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Sure, it sounds like he shared the private information you shared with him. He's not required under any statute or law to keep that information private. It's a dick move on his part, but not illegal in anyway.


Title: Can a gifted sailboat be returned?

Question:
Hello everyone, I originally posted this in r/sailing but they suggested that I might get some better answers here.

&#x200B;

I have owned a 1973 C&C 25 for a number of years in NY state. My wife and I moved and I have been trying to offload the boat. I found a guy online who was interested, he came to see the boat multiple times ultimately wasted a bunch of my time but decided he wanted the boat. Since there is no market for used, non-racing, old sailboats in fair condition, I gave him the boat free of charge. Yesterday I signed over my transferable registration and we both signed a Statement of Transaction., shook hands and walked away, in my mind, the deal complete.

I was happy for the boat to no longer be my responsibility. He just called 24 hours later to say he wants to back out of the deal. To me, the deal is done, the boat is his. I can't seem to find any info online. Do any of you have any familiarity with this type of situation? I know there are "buyers remorse" laws but am not seeing anything related to a situation like this with a donated boat, no money exchanged and a signed over registration. I would love to be able to tell him "sorry not my problem, it's your boat".

Any help is much appreciated.

Answer:
 In general, used vessel sales work just like used auto sales;  as-is, where-is, and concluded when money changes hands and the ink on the sales document dries.

While "valuable consideration" is an element of most contracts, vehicles and vessels of very low value are given away all the time and lack of consideration is not a way for a buyer to invalidate the sale.

There's an explicit section of the DTF-802 Statement of Transaction form for family and non-family gifts of vehicles or vessels.   If you've got the buyer's signature on that form, I'd say the deal is concluded.

The big practical question is "where is the boat" ?


Title: [OK, USA] What is my legal responsibility if my COMPANY CAR brakes fail? Have already informed my manager though text that brakes are severely worn.

Question:
Do I need to refuse to drive the vehicle and risk getting fired to avoid some horrible negligence case against me if the brakes do fail?

I understand the ethical implications of such, however I am curious about legal implications.

Answer:
 In general your employer is responsible for damages you cause while driving the company vehicles for work purposes, but one of the ways that you can add yourself as a defendant is by driving with a serious safety defect that you know about.

In my opinion, driving a vehicle whose brakes you know to be insufficient is gross negligence.    There's no way to argue that you don't know that the results of not being able to brake effectively can be serious property damage, injury, or death.

If you get an equipment violation citation, it's all on you as the driver.


Title: Lost part of my thumb, employer doesn't seem to care. What should I do?

Question:
It's a long story, and I'm typing minus my right thumb, so bear with me here. I am working at a restaurant in Little Rock, AR. The franchisee is ridiculous about money. She pushes us to increase sales, yet is unwilling to spend money on necessary food products such as bacon, meats, cheeses, and sauces. We are a sandwich shop...so those are the basic components of everything we serve!! She also has us running a skeleton crew and sometimes there is only one person in the store at a time. That was all fine and dandy until every good person I had on staff left. We were all sick and tired of telling customers daily that we were out of things. Customers would become irate and couldn't understand that it wasn't our fault. And honestly, the customer shouldn't have to worry about things like that. After much pleading and getting no where I left the company. I have recently come back because the franchisee was begging for me to and I was in a position where I couldn't turn down a job with my ideal schedule. So I'm back. Nothing has changed for the better. The crew sucks and doesn't care about the store, the customers, or raising sales. They don't follow recipes or procedures, they don't clean....they basically sit around and watch tv all day. I have tried to teach them out of their ways to no avail.

Then Tuesday I sliced my thumb on the meat slicer. This slicer is in serious disrepair and has been since I first joined the team in 2014. There is no knob to adjust the speed and the knob to adjust it from manual to automatic is missing as well. We use a nasty rusty pair of locking pliers to do that. They also do not provide a cut glove. We have repeatedly requested a replacement, but the owner only cares about money. I am not the first person to injure myself on this thing.

I left to go to the E.R. even though they were asking me to stay. When I got to the hospital my G.M. asked for a photo of my injury. I thought it was a little rude, but I sent her a photo of my thumb wrapped in bloodied gauze. Then she had the nerve to ask if I was coming back to work. I did end up returning to fill out an incident form. I had to wait for an hour because she wasn't even there yet. Also, they hadn't even cleaned the slicer since I had left. My thumbchunk was sitting on the slicer. It had been a few hours. That's disgusting.

So I feel like I need to contact the health department. Beyond that, I have tried to talk to the franchisee about worker's comp. After I contacted her about it twice she finally emailed me a form to fill out. The form is meant to be filled out by the EMPLOYER, but I filled it out to the best of my ability. I emailed it to her and had to go back and forth over the course of 24 hours. She claimed each time that the attachment was blank. I checked it on my phone, laptop, and desktop. Each time I opened it I saw my information. Finally I just typed all the questions and answers out in the actual email. She never replied or confirmed her receipt of the email, so I called her. She said she just forwarded everything I typed out to her insurance agent. She didn't even bother to fill out the form herself. When I called the corporate office, they said there was nothing they could do about it. Everything is between me and the franchisee.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 TL/DR: I cut my thumb at work.  What are my rights?

Answer: Workers comp.  If your employer won't file the claim, call AR workers comp, 501-682-3930, 800-622-4472.  Your employer is not the corporation, which just licenses its trademark to the franchisee.  They are not liable.


Title: [Alberta, Canada] "Acting" HR woman has open dialogue about me with CEO. Is this ok?

Question:
I recently had 2 weeks of doctor ordered stress leave. When I came back to the office I had a meeting with our HR woman (She is not certified HR, only acting as one since ours died and our company doesn't feel it's necessary to replace her) who told me that she has been having an open dialogue about my issues with our CEO.

I also found out that she let one of my co-workers proofread an email written to my boss and the CEO about some of my issues.

I am very upset, work is my stress trigger. I am trying to get out but I work in Oil & Gas and our industry is completely shutting down. I have sent out resumes and have gotten nothing.

This has been the icing on the cake. What are my options?

(I apologize if I have left out any needed details, I'm pretty emotional at the moment).

Answer: Your HR woman can inform her superiors and others. Your communications between her and you are not privileged. She works for the company, not you. What she is doing is literally her job.


Title: 35+ MPH Over The Limit - What do I do?

Question:
EDIT EDIT EDIT: Didn't add this in the title, but I'm from Illinois.

Hi guys.

First time poster here and not doing so well. Pretty worried that this is going to be on my record, so I'll explain in full what went down and hopefully someone can advise.

I was in my Dad's car and a good song came on (I wish I was joking), and I let the car rip. I was clocked at 93MPH in a 55MPH zone (different county different limits - usually it's 65MPH where I live). The officer said it's a Class A Misdemeanor which nearly caused me to break down because I've never done anything this bad. He said since I'm a nice kid (18 year old), and since I pulled over promptly, that I will not be arrested and that I can have my license back. I asked him some questions on the severity and he said I will need to show up to court (fine with) and the max fine imposed would be $1500.

The money isn't an issue for me, it's trying to keep a clean record. I had a speeding ticket prior which I just got erased last week (was my first one and I was exactly 15MPH over). And then was in a rear-end collision because someone decided to brake check me (not making excuses because it wasn't my fault entirely in my opinion,) and I hit them. I was told by my court house that I can do an in-person driving school (8-hours) in length to have it erased from my record, but yet to have the paperwork in hand to do so.

Basically, the officer in this most recent ticket said that if I'm nice, the judge will probably fine me $400-500 and then if I really show that I messed up and am just an adolescent who made a who mistake (pretty much just say that I'm a piece of shit human being and realize someone could've been killed), that I might be offered driving school for a 3rd time. The only hope I have is the previous two tickets were in my county (Illinois), whereas this 93MPH ticket was in a different county. The officer made it seem like since it was a different county there is a shot. All I'd like in the end is to have a clean record.

The officer made it seem like I just show up, and tell the judge why I fucked up, pay what I need to pay and then I can leave. My parents think that I need to go get a lawyer, and drop insane amounts of cash for something I don't think is needed.

Can anyone assist me?

Much love,

Speeddemon938
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 The accident is TOTALLY, ABSOLUTELY,  UNDENIABLY, POSITIVELY your fault, regardless of your opinion. I'm not going to advise you to get a lawyer like everyone else. Since you had decent consequences already on previous poor decisions and yet you didn't learn from them, but instead made excuses, such as "brake checking", and a stupid song  (really??? really??? music made you do 93mph??? )  I'm going to tell you that the best thing to do is stop driving until you can get some maturity under your belt and get respect for the safety of others who are unfortunate enough to share the road with you before you kill people. This isn't about you. There are lives at stake when you're on the roadAnswer #2: get a lawyer, and for christ's sake, learn how to drive. you will be lucky if your license isn't suspended at this point.Answer #3: >And then was in a rear-end collision because someone decided to brake check me (not making excuses because it wasn't my fault entirely in my opinion,) and I hit them.

It's **completely** your fault.

As for the charges at hand, you need an attorney. However, there is still a high probability this will still remain on your record.

As someone else mentioned, you should take a break from driving until you can't take on the responsibility.


Title: Wife left me after heated argument. She took my daughter with her. It's been 4 days and no call from her and no idea where she has gone. Should I go to cops ?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Go to your family court and file a motion for emergency custody. Answer #2: IANAL Time to seek a divorce lawyer, while you are still married both have full custody.  That being said you can go to the police for a missing persons, however they will likely tell you to go away.  If she hit you report that too


Title: Should my father sue malpractice?

Question: My dad had a surgery done for two hernias about a month ago and has been will be out of work for close to 2.5 months. He went today for a followup and the doctor found out that he missed one of the hernias completely and will have to give him another surgery causing him to be out of work again for ~2 months. My dad feels like this isn't malpractice but I am not so sure. Should he sue for malpractice? We live in Georgia

Answer: Malpractice relates to a standard of care, a mistake being made does not automatically mean malpractice.  You'd need to sit down with an attorney who does medical malpractice, lay it all out on the table and then determine if the treatment fell below the standard of care or not.  If the attorney thinks you have a strong argument that the standard of care was not met, then you could sue.


Title: Employer asking for me to sign a non-compete after 4 years.

Question:
I work for a software start up company, that evolved from a former company by the former owner. So I have been working for this company for 4 years. We have had a number of investments and are working on larger investors who are looking to invest millions.

I believe I signed a non-compete when I was first employed but I can't find it. It seems that the company is trying to get all their employee HR information in control so nothing backfires for them. So that being said what is the best way to handle this?

My first approach was to ignore the email request. As I rather not sign it. I don't like the idea of a non-compete blocking my job mobility and how it could potentially be used. I also understand that I am giving up some rights and conveniences by signing a non-compete form. I am due for raises but would like to wait for new investments to complete before arguing my case for a raise. I believe this could be leverage for me to make some demands?

**Edit:** I should note that I am a highly valuable employee. I am responsible for designing and engineering 1/3rd of the code base for our products. I have the largest seniority and experience of all employees. I also have a fairly close relationship with the CEO since we have worked together since we was a 3 person company to 40+ now. I should have mentioned this maybe? I didn't want to be seem like I felt I was important and bragging.

**Edit:** WV, USA

Answer: You're certainly justified in asking for a raise to give up your rights and conveniences before signing the non-compete. They can also fire you if you refuse to sign it.


Title: Rental property company claiming $1500 damage due to smoking in house...

Question: After we moved out of our house, non smoking agreement signed in lease, the rental property is claiming they have to repaint walls and shampoo carpets because we smoked cigarettes in the house.  We don't smoke cigarettes, weed or anything. It's a completely false claim. They already tried to charge us for other fixes that we documented in our move in checklist and with emails. We got that money back but they are standing firm on the smoking charge. They never did a walk thru with us upon move out even though we requested it. They have no documentation of a move out checklist claiming there was smell of smoke either. New tenants moved in and claimed a smoke smell. What can we do to fight this $1500 BS claim?

Answer: They have to prove you smoked in a court if they want to sue you. If they're keeping your deposit, you sue them in small claims court. Telling the court you didn't smoke and you want your deposit back.


Title: Is it illegal for a restaurant to make a server pay for a bill if the customer walked out?

Question:
A restaurant I work for in Michigan has posted a new "policy" that they want us all to sign. It basically states that if we don't hold a customer's ID or credit card, if said customer walks out, then we have to pay their bill.
I'm pretty sure a restaurant cannot force their wait staff to cover walk outs when they opt into the tip credit. We make server minimum wage, not regular minimum wage, so from my knowledge they cannot take our tips correct?
Extra detail: This is an extremely busy restaurant that turns into essentially a bar after 9pm. Tonight it was packed and despite our best efforts, we had a few walk outs. We literally cannot babysit every table, nor has the restaurant given us a good/reliable way for us to hold cards without risking losing them.
I took a picture of the paper. I'm not sure how to post it.

Answer:
 I don’t know about the legality but I’d try my hardest to find another gig, jump ship immediately and leave the owner short handed for the holidays. And encourage your other co-workers to do the same. Cite this policy when quitting.  Legal or not, this is BS and could end up in staff getting into physical altercations with customers trying to dine and dash. Answer #2: No, this is not legal. The FLSA makes this illegal for any employee for whom the employer claims an FLSA 3(m) tip credit.

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm
Answer #3: Regarding the holding of cards, according to PCI DSS rules, the merchant (you/restaurant) is never supposed to have access to or be in possession of a customer's credit or debit card. If PCI were to catch wind of this your employer could be fined millions of dollars.

Source: I work IT in the payment card industry.Answer #4: I would check with the Michigan Wage and Hour division, but that sounds like it might be illegal even if you sign.Answer #5: Not legal but practical advice. Most POS will allow you to open a tab by swiping the card.  Check with management to get this feature started if you don’t have it.  If you swipe a card and rerun it you will never have a walk out.


Title: Neighbor doesn't know who attacked him,I was implicated,he has cops in the family,very suspicious.

Question:
I came home,after a date to find the neighbors partying,I stopped by to visit,and found everybody very intoxicated. After the party died (not very long after,and I did not drink) I heard the neighbor call to me,I walked into his driveway,and we had an argument.He threw a punch,I threw a couple,he fell,I left. From what I understand he doesn't recall the altercation,and just woke up in the middle of the night with a black eye. He claims he was assaulted in his sleep.

I have very good reason to believe that this guy was asking everybody to say i broke in and hit him. Detectives questioned almost everybody on the street. Nobody remembered anything,and didn't see anything on account of closing up shop for the night.

I have not been questioned,I know they are trying to build a case against me. I have reason to believe the detective wants to talk to me last,this sounds like they are building a case,to me.

 Friend Z was a suspect also,he talked to detectives,in his home for quite a while,I have reason to believe he told them I admitted to the fight. I also have reason to believe they asked him to pick me out of a picture lineup. I'm very suspicious about the picture lineup,as I understood things,this was to identify a suspect,as a witness to a crime,but this person saw nothing.

I feel like I may be getting railroaded without really knowing it. I can just feel in my gut,that things are not on he up and up.
If this person did tell detectives I told him about our fight,is this enough to arrest me? Detain me? Also,what charges might I be facing ?

There is a bit more to this story,but I don't think it's anything vital. If it helps I am a Pennsylvania resident.

***UPDATE: Detectives stopped by my house,and woke me up. He asked if I knew the reason they were there. I told him to tell me. He told me it was about "the assault on the boy across the street",and asked if I wanted to come down to their office and talk with them.

I told them no,and if I'm going to speak with them I would like an attorney present,he gave me a card, fed me some lies,and told me to give them a call when I want to talk,then said they will go get a warrant.

 Does this mean they do not have a bough evidence for a warrant? I'm assuming if they did they would have showed up with one.

Is asking me to come with them considered detention ? Is being detained a non-voluntary thing ?

Answer:
 Don't talk to the police and hire an attorney if you are charged with anything.Answer #2: Do you and your neighbor have a history?

It seems really weird that he doesn't remember who hit him (you) and so he picked someone out at random (also you).

What are the odds of *both* of those people being you?Answer #3: Where are you getting all your "reasons to believe"?  You have like 15 of them in there despite the fact that you haven't talked to the cops yet.


Title: My abusive mother has my cat. How do I get it back?

Question:
I am almost 30, and my cat was given to me as a gift on my 16th birthday. I have severely limited contact with my mother for the last 10 years, but every once in a while she would try to get me to visit and would use my cat as a lure. I declined nearly every time because even though I love my cat, the stress of being in my mother's proximity kept me away. I also could not afford to take care of my cat so I had no choice to leave my cat in her care.

Our relationship has finally deteriorated. I told her that  while she is out of the country next month, I wanted to pick up my cat. I offered to be escorted by a person of her choosing while on her property. She refused, and became hostile.

I left her house at 19 because she began to be physically abusive towards me again. She has a documented history of physical and emotional abuse towards me. She has no documented history of violence towards animals, however she has in the past done petty actions against me to get revenge. I'm worried she may hurt my cat to get back at me for telling her I no longer want any relationship with her, even though she has previously shown no inclination to do so.

Some of my books and other small bits of property are in the house, but I don't care about them. I just want my cat.

Further complicating matters is the fact that I live in Boston, and she lives in Philadelphia. Am I SOL? I just want my cat...
Topic:
Small Claims Procedure

Answer:
 If the cat has been living with her for 10+ years I don't see you having any claim to it. Answer #2: Some jurisdictions may allow "Replevin" of an animal to have it returned to you.  But, usually, you would need to sue for the value of a 14 year old cat.

With a 14 year old cat that has been in her care for 11 years, I am afraid that you have little practical recourse to get the cat back.


Title: NYC - If all three roommates are on current lease, can the other two renew lease without me?

Question:
The three of us signed a lease together last June. There's no primary leaseholder, and each of us is covered by our own guarantor. We found each other through Craigslist, and the other two have become close friends, whereas I do my own things (but things are still perfectly cordial and fine). I overheard that they want to replace me with one of their friends, but I love my room and the apartment and want to renew. Is it possible for them to somehow renew the lease without me? Honestly, I wouldn't put it past them to go about some shady methods... and they are super passive aggressive people.

I think it'll still be a few months before we get the renewal information from the leasing office, but I'm nervous that the roommates are already conspiring against me. Is this something I need to worry about? Is it even possible for them to sign the renewal without my knowledge? Thanks!

Answer:
 > Is it possible for them to somehow renew the lease without me?

Yes, it is.  None of you has rights to the place after the lease is up.  Your landlord can sign a new lease with just you, or just them, or anyone else they want.


Title: [South Carolina]My new husband [26M] posted as me [24F] on dirtyr4r and now I constantly get random phone calls off guys asking for sex. Husband claims it was a joke. Now we're not getting on. Only married for 6months.

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 OP- You should be able to delete the postings/remove the account if you want to. You might cross post this to /r/relationship_advice to get some more thoughts too.

When you say your husband impersonated you, are you saying he gave out your name to people, that he posted pictures of you, or what? The specifics are key to the legality of what he did.


Title: [IL] Applied and got accepted to a university to take classes and asked admissions officer to defer my enrollment. Still ended up receiving bills going into collections and University will not do anything.

Question:
Hello all! So I applied for a University last fall to take classes and got accepted. I got a financial aid award letter and registered for classes. Over time I began to realize that even after financial aid my financial situation was not stable enough for me to work part time and also take classes so before classes started I filed for deferment in hopes to take classes next semester when my situation was better.

I also never accepted my financial aid award I declined it. A few days later the admissions officer emails me stating that I was a day late in submitting my deferral and would have to completely resign my acceptance and reapply next semester all over again. Sad but I understood it was in the fine print and a deadline is a deadline so I stated in the email I wished to withdraw and will reapply next semester.

Verbatim I asked the admissions officer and have the correspondences still saved "is there any forms I need to fill out or is the fact that I'm telling you I wish to withdraw enough so the school knows I will not be attending?" The admissions officer replied "Yes you are all set and can reapply next semester."

It seemed to me that was that and I had nothing more needed to be done. Next semester rolls around and my situation didn't get much better so I decided I would not go back at all and would look into other cheaper options. I ended up getting several emails saying my bill for the university was due. I contacted the university and the billing department stated I was registered and never withdrawn. I stated I wished to speak to the admissions officer but they denied my request and said that admissions would say the same thing. They ended up giving me the number to the collections agency who of course cannot help me.

So in all honesty is this my fault? I asked the officer SPECIFICALLY if there were any forms I needed to fill out and he said I was all set. I feel stupid because looking back it seems fishy and I feel if I filled out a deferral form \(which I found on my own\) there might be a withdrawal form as well. As I said I have all the correspondences and absolutely cannot pay this bill. What should I do?

Answer:
 This isn't really a legal advice question but belongs on /r/personalfinance which has a lot of information about debt collection.  However, because this situation is dear to my heart, some info for you:

Firstly, good for you for keeping a paper trail.  Back it up so you have it available.

Secondly, you need to discontinue any verbal correspondence with the school.  They're not going to help you -- this has already made it to a debt collector who owns the debt now.

When/if the debt collector contacts you, you will want to send them a proof of debt validation letter.  Google it for examples, but basically, you're telling them that you want to see the irrefutable proof that you owe the money.

When this happened to my wife, it got taken out of collections and kicked back to the school who hasn't come with their hand out yet, knock on wood.

Good luck!


Title: (Washington State) got into a car accident, not my car. Not insured and I didn't have a license.

Question:
Hi there.
I'm a 26 year old female who just started driving. (Don't judge.) I got into an accident this past Monday, and I don't have my license or permit, Even though I've passed the test. I was just driving my mom's car and found out that she didn't insure the car, and I'm kinda stuck on what I should do next. I don't have insurance at the moment, and I'm not sure what to do. No one was seriously injured, but the cars are damaged for sure. I was found at fault because I had a stop sign, but I didn't see her barrelling down the street. She hit me on the passenger side. This is in Seattle, and I usually don't drive there, but the day off the accident, I was trying to pick up extra shifts for work. I realize what I did was incredibly stupid but honestly, we're moving soon, and this unexpected accident coupled with the other financial strain is starting to get to me.

The person who got hit, is insured, and their claims representative is trying to get proof of insurance, which I don't have. Is it possible to ask for a payment plan of some sort, or how receptive will they be? Also I haven't gone to court yet, it's only been a few days. Should I fight it to get the fine reduced a little?

Answer:
 Driving without insurance is a criminal offense in WA (a misdemeanor). That is also true for driving without a valid drivers license. You need to hire an attorney to help you minimize the consequences you are facing.. assuming your court date is for these offenses.

You will also have to deal with paying for the damage to the other driver's car. But that is a minor issue compared to the (potential) criminal offenses.


Title: My Step Grandmother has decided that no one gets anything from my Grandfathers will.

Question:
Hey, everyone. It’s my first time posting here so please let me know if I should do anything differently if I ever find myself posting here again.

The person who should really be writing this is my mom, but she’s not very tech savvy so here I am.

My grandfather has 3 children with his ex wife, my actual grandmother. My mom, my aunt, and my uncle who passed away in March of 2018. Before my uncle’s passing, he and his wife were in the process of getting a divorce. I promise all of this information is relevant.

My grandfather ended up re marrying, to the wife he left a widow when he passed away in early October of 2018. We had since been waiting to hear anything about the will.

Today, I received a call from my mother explaining to me my uncles wife has called my step grandmother  demanding to see the will because she wants a cut for her and her two kids. We are unsure if the kids even belong to my uncle. After my step grandmother decided that NO ONE gets anything that was left from my grandfather.

I have a few questions.
1. When my grandfather initially passed away in October of last year, was there anything my mom should have done as far as the will?
2. We are in Florida and My step Grandmother is in South Carolina. Are we able to request a copy of the will?
3. Is she able to just make the decision that no one gets anything that was left to them like that? If so, is there specific wording that would say that she’s able to make those calls on the will?
4. Would it be worth my family getting a lawyer?

I really appreciate any insight on this matter. Please let me know if there’s any other information that may be helpful.

Answer: get a lawyer in SC and demand a copy of the will. if there are assets and liabilities she must probate the will.


Title: Randomest question ever

Question:
What is the legal justification for denying jurors their second amendment rights?

Jurors have no choice for whether or not they serve jury duty and they are forced to surrender their weapons while serving jury duty. There are lots of practical reasons why you wouldn't want armed people inside of a court house, but that isn't my question. There must be some kind of legal precedence for such matters. Is there?

Answer:
 > What is the legal justification for denying jurors their second amendment rights?

Your second amendment rights don't give you the authority to carry anytime, anywhere.  Any property owner can ban you from carrying a firearm on his property.

Specifically, most legislatures have banned the carrying of weapons in courthouses by law.


Title: Do courts actually favor women in custody proceedings or is that a myth?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: It's a myth. Most, if not all, courts default to 50/50 custody.  But in order to get sole custody you need to prove the other parent is unfit.


Title: How did you deal with losing your first trial?

Answer: If you haven't noticed, lawyers drink a lot. Answer #2: I never lose, but alcohol.


Title: My father wants me to lie on a notary paper stating that i don't live with him.

Question:
I dont have the best relationship with my father. He isnt a very nice person so i keep my distance from him. I however came to live with him a few years back due to financial hardships i was having with my husband when our daughter was little. It was supposed to be a temporary thing which ended up being a couple of years. We stayed because my father said he needed the help too with rent and groceries etc and it just was mutually beneficial, we managed to save money by being in his place, he also loves my daughter, though due to his age and health isnt capable of watching her (im a stay at home mom because of this or else id have him be with her and id work). Now he never tells me about his finances. He, from the get go, always told me the amount he'd like my husband to give him for helping with the rent. The superintendent knows i live there and doesn't seem to care or give us any grief over it as well as the landlord. All good right?

&#x200B;

Well today this man just turned my whole life upside down and surprised me with a piece of paper and he goes "here sign this". The paper was written as if it was written by me stating that i DONT live with him in the rental and instead live in another address. And the address was my moms. I asked him why he needed this paper and he tells me that they are going to increase his rent and that he can not afford to pay what theyre going to be asking for. He wants me to sign that paper stating me, my daughter and my husband live at my moms so they can stabilize his rent. I told him i wasn't going to sign that and he goes "well then we are going to have to find another place to live because i can't afford to pay another $300 a month for this place!" I called my mom to find out more and apparently he has been lying to these people for the past year while trying to stabilize his rent by saying he lives alone and i just drop by occasionally to look after him...So now they want a notarized note of "me" agreeing to this. My daughter goes to a school around the block...my mother lives in another town! They might pull my daughter out of this district if i lie and say we dont really live here. My husband could loose his job! And he works for the city if it comes out that he is lying about his residence. Heck, considering thats a felony i could end up in court if they find out i signed that form and lied about it. I court get jail time am i right? And it could happen so easily because all theyd have to do to prove whether im lying or not is to ask the superintendent if i live here. And he'll say yes because HELLO! our beds, my kids toys, pictures of us everywhere CLEARLY we live here!!  I don't plan on signing that letter and don't know where to go from here. I'm just upset that he's been using my name for over a year telling government workers i do not reside here. Any legal insight as to whether i can get in legal trouble anyway even if i don't sign that paper would be greatly appreciated...

Answer: Filing false affidavits, or false oaths is illegal pretty much everywhere.


Title: FL - My dog was attacked and killed, neighbor arrested for trying to save my dog

Question:
Hello- On 11/30 my husband was walking our dogs on leash. A dog came out of his yard and attacked and killed 14 year old Lab Zach. The PCSO was called and came out. During the attack a neighbor came out to help. He struck the dog attacking our dog with a stick until it let go. The owners of the dog did nothing but scream profanities at all of us. The dog's owners then pressed charges against the neighbor. He was arrested and held in jail until he bonded out yesterday. He did NOTHING but help try to stop the attack. No deputy has taken a statement from my husband or me about this. We have called the PCSO and have not gotten any call back. This poor man was trying to help. He was arrested. Also animal control said they were investigating the dog attack. We made statements and had them notarized. The dog is still there. It could, at any time, attack another dog, or even a child.
So I have 2 questions- what can I do to help my neighbor, and what is my recourse against the owner of the dog?
 TIA for any advice.

EDIT- I just received info (from someone who knows the dog's owner) that the owner of the dog who attacked mine told the deputy that the man who hit the dog with a stick also hit a resident of the home. This is a lie as I was there the entire time and that did not happen.

Edit #2: I just heard from a neighbor that animal control is removing the dog right now. (I'm at work ). Also thanks to all of your advice I have contacted the DA and the Sheriff to provide a statement on my neighbor's behalf. As for litigation against the dog's owner, I have contacted a local attorney who can advise me. I really appreciate all of you taking the time to reply to my post. Thanks so much!

Answer:
 You can contact your neighbor and offer to testify on his behalf.  The sheriff's office doesn't have to take your statement or your opinion on the charging.  The neighbor can call you as a witness at his trial, if he chooses to go that route.

As a note, the fact that your dog wasn't attacked doesn't automatically excuse your neighbor's behavior.  For him to be arrested for this, it's very likely that he went above and beyond the threshold for reasonable defense of another.  Answer #2: Something here smells fishy. Is this a small town? Does the cop know/is friends/is related to the dog owner?

That they didn't take your statement when it's your dog that was killed strikes most reasonable people as awfully suspicious.Answer #3: >We made statements and had them notarized.

You will have to testify in court for your statements to mean anything.  Help your neighbor get a decent lawyer and fight the charges.Answer #4: Is this Polk County Sheriff or Pasco County sheriff? Answer #5: Arrested for self defense against an attacking dog?  WHAT?
What police force arrested someone for self defense against a crazy dog??


Title: Potentially Getting Fired from Job in Massachusetts

Question: Hello, I am a Substance Use Counselor at [name withheld] and I gave my personal contact information to a client, which was against company protocol. I exchanged text messages with her, and she sent me a handful of risque pictures of herself, one of which was topless. We also met up outside of the program a handful of times, which again is a violation of company protocol. Yesterday, the client was brought into the boss's office, and the boss asked her questions about the situation. The boss then pressured the client into handing over her phone, which she did after some initial resistance. The boss read her text messages that I had exchanged with her for several weeks, and also viewed all of the client's images. My question here is, were the client's civil rights violated at this point, since she was essentially coerced/pressured into handing over her personal information? Does the evidence still stand if it was taken from someone's phone who did not consent, or was coerced into consenting? So this is the information that is being used to terminate my position. What do I do if they go through with firing me? Can this be legally be held against me? Is this something that I should consider fighting, or should I lick my wounds and exit stage while I can?

Answer: You admittedly violated policy (and very stupidly, I might add). No civil rights were violated here. Time to find a new job.


Title: Friend is an immigrant and needs to show evidence of shared expenses to get an apartment. Good idea to co-apply or nah?

Question:
Throwaway account for obvious reasons, but the state is MA. Here's the story:

I have a friend whose main profession is prostitution. She is trying to renew her lease for her apartment and needs to demonstrate that she can afford it.

The other part of the story is that she's an immigrant. She's been in the US for some time and her lawyer is recommending that she get a job that will demonstrate that she pays taxes and is a value-adding member of society who doesn't do anything illegal. She has worked in a hair salon in the past and plans to do so again, so this part is such a big deal, it seems.

The part where I come in, is that she's asked me to be a co-applicant for her apartment application (to prove that she can afford it). I don't have a problem with this in theory, as there is really no way to prove that I *don't* help pay her utilities or whatever from time to time, but I don't want to get in trouble for lying or having my credit info attached to someone with a record. Apparently I have to provide a recent pay stub or proof of income, but frankly, I'm uncomfortable with that. My friend has assured me that once her apartment lease is approved that she'll take me off of the form. It sounds fishy, but she's assured me that my name will only be on the application, not the actual lease.

So, lawyers of Reddit, what should I do? This is a bit confusing, so any advice at all would be helpful.

Answer:
 If you co-sign for her you will be on the hook for unpaid rent, damages, etc. as long as she lives there. She can't just take you "off the form" as she is claiming.

Run away. Fast.


Title: Alcohol Poisoning

Question:
This is in Oregon.

My friend is 15 so a minor and has alcohol poisoning and has been throwing up every 10-20 minutes consistently. If she goes to the hospital will she have immunity or will she be charged with like a MIP or something that’ll ruin her record.

Answer:
 It'll really ruin her record if she dies.

Call 911.Answer #2: No he will not.

Tell him to go to the ER.


Title: [MO] How long you someone live in a home they don't own but nobody is making a claim to?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: As long as the mortgage and taxes are being paid and no one is stopping him, indefinitely. Eventually he could claim it through adverse possession. If your mom wants to claim the property she should go talk to a lawyer sooner rather than later. If you're not sure who should inherit, and there was no will, then the intestate rules for your state apply.


Title: [PA] Sister In Law sues me because she wants our house

Question:
I recently bought a house with my BF after five years of saving. Phone call with Sister in Law goes like “Nephew wants to play with your Bearded Dragon, where are you, tell me where you live. Tell me where you live now” and then she called me a “F***ing B****” and I hung up. My sister in law wants it as compensation because I didn’t tell her where I lived. That’s the LSS of this whole ordeal.

This morning I got a pretty official looking document that said that she was suing me and my BF. She states that she wants the house in compensation for “Rude Remarks on the phone”, I made none, “Not informing me of the moving” How does that need court orders? Those were the ones that really stuck out among the Fifteen shitty claims. In all it’s totally BS but I don’t know what to do, contact a lawyer on Tuesday just in case it goes to trial or represent myself because it is really patchy and makes no sense. Can I counter sue, should I counter sue. Small Claims Court usually takes a few weeks in our town so I need to act fast. Anyways please help, I can try to get a picture of the document but I am not sure if it will work. Please help
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 Small claims court will not cover a house.

I mean assuming you live somewhere that houses are valued over $10,000.

If it’s small claims and you were actually served a summons then you need to go.  You can talk to a lawyer first for sure.

Is there a court date on the summons?Answer #2: I echo the same question : is there a court date? I find it hard to believe it would be a real document with that kind of language (demands). Rest assured going by what you described, if it was real, a judge would more than likely throw that out fairly quick.

You could get a lawyer, but if it’s small claims you won’t be entitled to one, and the same applies..the judge would dismiss more than likely. It doesn’t pass the straight face test


Title: Can I be arrested and charged for hitting a man?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 You *should* be arrested for multiple felonies. You hit him, which is assault, then brandished a firearm. He pulled his fearing for his own life.

His response was very reasonable.Answer #2: Be aware that if you had shot him at the moment he was trying to pull you out of the car, you *might not* have been able to claim self defense.  Not because that situation wouldn't have been scary, but because you instigated the fight by throwing the first punch.  It's not cut-and-dried.

Gender plays no legal role in who-can-hit-who.  You assaulted the landlord.  This is unfortunate because he had probably illegally evicted you.  A phonecall to the police should have had you back inside the house, and the landlord given a warning that he has to give you lawful notice and then sue to evict you.  IDK texas law, but in CA this kind of illegal eviction would have kept you there for at least a couple of months and possibly put some money in your pocket from a lawsuit.

The thing is, ***if any of you had a lick of sense among you*** you'd have called the police before getting all shooty.  If the landlord didn't call the police then, there's a chance he's too dumb to call them now.

Don't discuss this with anyone.  If you get charged with any crimes or sued, then talk to a lawyer.  DO NOT talk to the police -- not even "hello".  Don't talk to anyone other than a lawyer.  Not even Chuck Norris.Answer #3: > I don't think I was much of a threat to him.

A gun is pretty threatening even if you are on the short side.Answer #4: You pulled out your shotgun?!?! Hitting him is the least of you worries. I'd start calling lawyers right now.


Title: Girlfriend Killed by drunk driver. Legal Questions.

Question:
My girlfriend of 6.5 years along with 2 of her coworkers and the driver of another car were killed last November by a drunk driver. The drunk driver was being pursued by the police and turned around to drive into oncoming traffic on the highway on a foggy night.

My girlfriend was a passenger. We had just purchased a home together. I was the beneficiary on her life insurance (which i have received.) She was also on my auto insurance. I am curious if there is any sort of claim that can be made on my auto insurance.

Apparently my girlfriend's family lawyer may have submitted something, as I received a letter from my insurance 6 or 8 weeks after the accident saying my claim was denied (though i never made a claim.)

My question is, should I pursue anything with my insurance company? Do I have any case? We weren't married, but she was on the policy and we did own a home together. I haven't felt like dealing with any of this shit and am just now getting around to thinking about possibly trying to see if I am being treated unfairly by my insurance. (Progressive.)

I live in Wisconsin if that makes any difference.

Thank you for any and all advice.

(I should add that the drunk driver beyond being a huge piece of shit in general, and having 2 prior DUIs, also has no real assets that I know of, and I believe it has been established he had no insurance. I nor my girlfriend's family have plans of even dealing with legal action against him in terms of collecting "damages"... yes... he survived.)

Answer:
 Jeez. I know this isn't the sub for this but very sorry man. Hope you're hitting up the proper outlets to vent/griefAnswer #2: If you weren't married, you don't have any ability to take action with her auto insurance.  There's no beneficiary on auto insurance like there is with life insurance, it just pays out to the insured person.  If there were a claim to be made, the manager of her estate/next of kin would be the only one able  to deal with that on her behalf.  Which is probably why the family lawyer tried to submit whatever it was he did.  Answer #3: What kind of a claim are you looking for?

Was it her vehicle that was destroyed? If so, you want a claim in to get it repaired/replaced.

You can perhaps file a wrongful death suit, but from your description he doesn't have any money to provide even if you sue. In such a case you'd likely end up out your lawyers fees if anything.

If you can track down where he got drunk they may be liable for overserving him the alcohol and can be made to lose their liquor license if negligence is proven.

He'll be dealt with in criminal court. You can set it up so that if/when he's eligible for parole you can speak at the event and urge them not to release him.

I'm sorry you're going through this.Answer #4: So sorry to hear about your girlfriend.  I work in Madison and am familiar with the accident.  Such a horrible tragedy.Answer #5: Great example of why police shouldn't engage in high speed chases in some instances. Very sorry for your loss. Answer #6: I'm sorry for your loss


Title: [NY] Can my employer write me up for not working overtime?

Question:
My employer has been asking (more so telling) us to work 50 hour weeks. This is not technically mandatory since our vacation and holiday pay is only for 8 hour days. However, he changed our schedule in the computer so it shows we have to work ten hour days. If we work less (say nine hours one day) they claim they will write you up. Now people have left before their ten hours some days and they haven't actually written anyone up, you just get bitched at.  Once you've been written up, you automatically lose the opportunity for a raise for a whole year and you are not allowed to apply for other positions working the company for a year as well.

Does the schedule change in the computer mean anything since it's hot mandatory overtime? A-shift hours are 7-330, but our schedules have been changed to 6-430.

Answer:
 Yes. You can also be fired for it. Answer #2: As long as they're paying you properly for the overtime there aren't any issues requiring mandatory overtime.

>This is not technically mandatory since our vacation and holiday pay is only for 8 hour days.

I'm really not sure what you mean for this, but if your employer says you have to work overtime, that's mandatory. They also have to pay you properly for your overtime.

Just because you work a 10 hour day, doesn't mean your PTO is a 10 hour day. You don't get overtime PTO (or at least I've never heard of it).


Title: I found a website with cartoon images of toddler porn? How to report it?

Question: Hi i looked up hentai in google images and there were suggestion in a picture that i clicked, and noticed that those images had the same website names. So I went to it and there were many Gifs and images of toddler sex called toddler con and lolis, they also had images of those young furry s getting penetrated, and a graphic image of a furry mother cut open and the fetus furry penetrated by a penis. They also had other categories. How to report that website at google knowing that they will actually take it down permanently.

Answer:
 In the USA, none of that's illegal.

You can report it to the hosting provider, and they may choose to take it down for a policy violation.Answer #2:  The First Amendment protects artistic expression even if most people find it creepy and gross. There are no actual children involved so it is not child pornography. It's completely legal.Answer #3: That's not illegal if that's your legal question.


Title: Gas Preset Fuel Amount to X.02 then paying cash

Question:
Is there any law stopping me from every time I get gas setting the pump to max say, 20 dollars 2 cents then paying cash every time so I can save two cents every time I fill up?

Ontario Canada

Answer: Not illegal but you may find yourself banned from the station.


Title: [CA] Roommate threatening to sue over $3

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Regardless of how you feel about her, why don't you just pay the $3 to get her out of your life for goodAnswer #2: There are no attorneys in small claims court in California, so there would not be any absurd costs like an attorney to pay for. However, you could be ordered to pay her filing fees, process serving fees, etc.


Title: (UK) I was tricked into transferring money on a dating site

Question:
As my account name suggests, I did a stupid thing. I use a dating site that is well known for matching financially well off older men with attractive young girls. I am, however, only moderately well off- I've done okay for myself but I am by no means a rich man!!

I was messaging with a young woman who lives about 200 miles away from me. I naively thought it was going well and she seemed genuine, so I suggested that she come down and visit me for the weekend. She asked for £500 in exchange for her time and travel, and said that she didn't have enough money for the train ticket (she is a student). She asked if I would mind transferring the money beforehand so she could  purchase her ticket. I obliged as I thought she would keep her end of the bargain, and didn't want to upset her by not giving the money in advance as I really wanted to meet her.  She never showed at the train station.

Do I have any legal footing at all? I realise she never signed a contract or anything, but I basically got scammed, right? I know her full name because of the bank transfer, and I think it is really her because I looked her up on facebook and the photos are the same. What should I do?

Answer: There was never a woman, someone stole her identity. The money is a scammers pocket in Eastern Europe or Africa. You are never getting it back.


Title: My landlord tried to have me illegally evicted from my apartment for complaining about faulty windows. Can I sue?

Question:
My landlord was awarded a default judgment for $2,000 unpaid rent in September.  I owed the money in question.  This judgment awarded the landlord the right of possession, in addition to the money damages at the root the claim.  After the court date, I entered into a payment arrangement to bring my account current over the course of four consecutive pay days.  Landlord agreed to let me stay in the apartment while paying down the balance.  Once the last installment was accepted and my balance reached $0, a new tenancy-at-will was created.

All of this was by agreement and by design.  I have email exchanges that confirm the terms of the agreement, and a ledger balance from the property management office showing that I fulfilled my end of the bargain on October 25.  Massachusetts law is fairly explicit that the judgment for possession was null and void once the new tenancy was established.

Fast forward to late November, when one of the windows in my unit swiveled off its tracks during a windstorm and blew open, knocking my flat panel onto the floor.  I have been complaining about identical issues with three of six windows in my unit (basically they do not close and seal properly) since I moved into this apartment in February 2013.  When I got home that night and saw what had happened to my television set, I sent another email asking for the landlord to repair the problem.

Unknown to me, the next day, the landlord went to court and requested an order of execution against the September judgment for possession.  This entire matter had been settled for over one month by that point.  I was in the apartment under an entirely new tenancy.  Technically, the landlord was supposed to report the judgment satisfied to the court, thereby closing the matter.  Instead, when I complained about the faulty windows in writing, the landlord's office agent went to court and swore out papers stating that I had not paid the judgment amount and requested a writ of execution which, when presented to the constable, would leave me 48 hours away from being evicted.  Then they sat on this writ of execution for two months, all the while doing nothing about the defective windows in my unit, despite further complaints by me in writing and over the phone.  (I won't go into the outrageous costs required to heat this apartment, given that half of its windows have a quarter inch gap when fully closed.)

Finally, at the end of December, I told the office that I was withholding rent until the problem was addressed.  Four days after that, when I made good on the promise and withheld January rent, the landlord presented the writ of execution to the constable, and the constable served me with 48 hour notice of eviction.

This was all dismissed when I went to court and requested an emergency restraining order. So I am still in the unit.  The windows still have not been fixed... although the landlord did finally send someone by to look at the issue on the very day that I got the court order quashing their writ of execution (they are waiting on parts before they can fix the issue).  But more importantly, I am still furious.

My question is: Isn't it illegal to present an invalid order of execution to a constable and attempt to use that to have me removed from my apartment in response to a legitimate habitability issue?

I had to take a full day off from work to deal with the problem, leaving me out of pocket for a full day's PTO (or one day's lost salary).  Should I take my landlord to court?  Can any lawyers tell me what theories I might be able to recover under?  Retaliation?  Quiet Enjoyment?  Consumer Protection?  Self-Help Eviction?

Answer: Withholding rent was a big mistake. Never breech a contract.


Title: Landlord suing for roughly $4000 for bleaching basement floor and window cleaning. Minnesota

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 $4000?  Where did he get that amount from?

Was the floor carpet, linoleum, wood, concrete?


Title: New construction Nail in driveway

Question:
I recently bought a new construction home  which did not have driveway installed due to cold winter when the home was completed. 2 days ago I my tire went flat due to a nail on the tire for which I had to replace 4 tires costing me ~1K. In the last couple of weeks I have found and removed 5+ nails from the driveway.
I am wondering if I should be able to get some refund from the builder due to their gross negligence? If so, whats the best way of getting around it?

Update: My car is less than 3 yrs old with less than 30k miles. Tires were in top condition with regular wear. I had 7 thread on the front and 5 on the back. Nail was on the shoulder of tire, which was deemed unrepairable by tire stores as well as auto parts stores I went to check with.

Answer: Haha, newly built homes always come with loose nails strewn about. It isn't gross negligence.


Title: Husband says he has legal right to come home

Question: 2 months ago my husband found out he has 3 felony and 4 misdemeanor charges for theft which he is already on probation for.  He checked himself into rehab because he thought that would help his case because he had been smoking crack and stealing.  Anyway, he gets kicked out of the program, won't give me a straight answer as to why.  I tell him i don't feel its safe for me and my daughters for him to come home and hes trying to bully me into taking him back and that legally i can't keep him out of his home.  What are my options?

Answer:
 > 2 months ago my husband found out he has 3 felony and 4 misdemeanor charges for theft which he is already on probation for.

I'm not sure what exactly you mean by this, has he *violated* his probation by accumulating these other charges? If so, can't you just call the police or his probation officer, and get him thrown back in jail?

Or are these charges what he is on probation for?Answer #2: If he's still on probation, call his PO and find out if being kicked out of rehab is a probation violation, and IF you have good reason to believe he is still smoking crack, tell the PO that too.

 He pisses dirty, he goes back to jail/prison.

He DOES have a legal right to come back to his home, but he doesn't have a legal right to break probation and if you feel that your children are not safe with him in the house, having him on the streets is clearly not in their or society's best interest.


Title: Are you required to stop your car at a crosswalk while in a school zone?

Question:
Location is Texas

This happened this morning around 7:20 AM. I was driving to work and had just entered a school zone. The school zone started at 7:15 because the school starts at 7:50.

So I'm driving through coming up on a crosswalk. I was already going the school zone speed limit (20 mph) and slowed down a bit more to thoroughly check for kids crossing, but there were none, so I kept driving.

Then I see a cross guard with a stop sign in his hand wave it at me, like pointing out that I am supposed to stop. (There is no stop sign, just a crosswalk for pedestrians.) I stop after driving through the crosswalk and roll down my window to ask if I'm required to stop because I was a bit confused.

He tells me that I am required to stop at a crosswalk in a school zone no matter what, even if there is no stop sign.

He then proceeds to tell me that he will call the cops to give me a citation for "failing to stop" which will be "about $200" or I can pay $40 cash or credit to him so he doesn't have to call the cops.

I told him that I would not be paying him anything and to have a nice day, and he took out a notebook and wrote my license plate down.

1. Am I in any legal trouble for not stopping?

2. Can I contact anyone about the "bribery" that he offered?

Answer:
 Wow. That’s a straight up scam that he’s running. Report him to your local school board, or just call the police. Because that’s not how it works.Answer #2: It might be worth a call to your municipality as there *might* be a local bylaw but generally speaking, you do not have to come to a complete stop at a crosswalk that is unmarked (assuming there is no one there and it's safe to proceed, yadda yadda yadda).

And if I were you, I would be heading straight into the office of the school to inform them (very very loudly) about the attempted bribery as that's not going to fly at all.Answer #3: Can you be 100 percent sure this guy actually IS the crossing guard? A con artist dressing up in a uniform and hanging around in public sounds pretty over the top, but then, so does his shakedown racket.Answer #4: Yeah this is def a scam.Answer #5: Why is everyone misspelling “extortion” as “scam”?Answer #6: Nope, this is not a thing in Texas. Multiple crosswalks near our local elementary school and only one has stop signs. Call your non-emergency pd line when you get a chance if you see this this guy again.

But make sure to call while you're stopped if you're in a school zone, cuz you know. No cell phones in a school zone.


Title: Payed in “digital currency” and taxed in US currency.

Question:
Company in California, US. Employer pays bonuses in digital currency that can only be spent on an online market place with everything marked up heavily. But taxed as a bonus: each digital currency unit is to have the equivalent of 20 to 30 cents.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: Yes, giving bonus pay in company scrip is legal, but I disagree with the other advice here. The company is misreporting your income. If they report giving you "$10k" of points in bonuses, but the fair market value of these points is only $2500 they should only be reporting $2500 to the IRS, and you should only be withheld/taxed on $2500.Answer #2: Cool story, got a question?