Title: Towing company is charging “after hours” fee for towing my vehicle during normal hours of operation.

Question:
Hey guys. I guess I will start by saying that the parking lot for my apartment complex forbids anyone from backing into a parking spot. I’m not exactly sure why, but last night coming home from work, I forgot about that rule and backed into a space. This morning, my vehicle was gone.

When I called them to ask how much it was going to be to get the vehicle back, the price listed was $296. The reason it is so high is because there is an “after hours” fee. Thing is, it seems to be this company’s usual hours of operation. I’ve seen them regularly go through the parking lot at off hours of the night looking for vehicles that don’t have the appropriate sticker in the window that is provided to tenants.

I can pay the $296 if I need to, but is there any way to dispute this seemingly bullshit “after hours” fee and bring the price down a bit? I do recognize it was my fault for backing into a space, but the “after hours” fee feels pretty sketchy.

Answer:
 You can try to negotiate with them. But, if they are like many/most tow companies, they will resist any efforts to reduce what they feel they are owed.

Or, you can pay them now and sue them in small claims court if you feel their fees were inappropriately/illegally applied.

Or, you can try to go after your apartment complex for the unfair tow.

Realistically, you fucked up (which you admitted to). Just pay it. You'll save yourself much grief. It seems the tow company towed it per their contract and your lease. I suspect "after hours" is after normal business hours (9a-5p), despite when you usually see their trucks.


Title: Friend was stopped by campus police in parking lot of dorm, they searched car and possessions without asking. Can they do this? (Kansas)

Question:
My two friends, let's call them Joe and Caleb, were sitting in Caleb's car in the parking lot of our dorm. The car was running and Caleb was about to smoke a swisher. A campus police car was driving past, stopped, and the officer came up to the drive's side window. He knocked on it, and said, "I smell Marijuana." (Now keep in mind that this particular officer has been trying to bust Caleb for a while because he doesn't like him.) My two friends both argued that it was impossible since they were not smoking and they didn't have any marijuana out, which was true. They hadn't smoked any weed, nor did they have any out. Although they did have marijuana, it was in an airtight jar in my friends bag, so they smell couldn't have emanated out from the jar, out of the car, and into the parking lot. The cop claimed that he was allergic and he could tell there was marijuana nearby since his eyes were watering from the "scent". The cop called backup and ordered my two friends to put their hands on the dashboard while he waited for his partner. When the partner arrived they removed both of them from the vehicle and searched it. They went through Joe's wallet that was in the car and found a fake ID, and they found marijuana in Caleb's bag. Caleb was arrested and taken to jail, and Joe was cited for the fake ID. Did they search the car lawfully?

EDIT: I'd also like to add that they ended up charging Caleb with distribution and took all the money in his wallet as "evidence".

Answer: Most pot heads don't realize just how pungent marijuana is. The odor clings to clothing and upholstery hours after smoking. The officer could have easily smelled if they smoked in the car any time in the past few days.


Title: Selling a vehicle in North Carolina. Received a $50 deposit, but buyer wants me to make repairs first.

Question:
> Met with buyer to negotiate
> Buyer agrees on asking price and gives me $50 deposit
> As I try to leave, the car has issues starting
> Now buyer won't buy the car unless I get it fixed

I'm not obligated to fix the issue, I think. I don't know if I'm allowed to keep the $50 deposit though. Nothing on the paper that we signed regarding the deposit said anything about it being refundable or not. So here are some questions...

*How many days are they allowed to put a hold on the car?*

*If they decide to not buy it, am I allowed to keep the deposit?*

I know some of you are thinking "Just give them back the money and move on with your life". I can understand that, but when the buyer test-drove the car, he grinded the gears and burned my clutch. Hence, I wouldn't feel bad for pocketing the $50.

Answer: Not worth the trouble. Give the $50 back and go elsewhere.


Title: Job lost because they dated a suspected drug dealer

Question:
EDIT: USA, NY

I have a very close friend in the most gut wrenching situations.

They lost their jobs, and have 180 days to submit "proof of disability" or something to that effect, but the suspect's attorney says they won't get that until the suspect has served time. (a few months)

Background:
They dated someone and had 0 familiarity with their history, a history that either didn't exist or was behind them. (related to drugs / drug money.)

From my understanding someone pointing the finger at the suspect, and said there was a large sum of money involved. My friend worked at a federal bank and her accounts were investigated to see if she was embezzling money for the guy she dated.

She's worked the job for over a decade and was a top performer. She had no involvement and this missing money the government is looking for will 100% not be found through her.

I don't understand how this is right. How they can just take someones career away because they dated the wrong person. When the investigation clears the only thing that changes is she's out of a job despite her innocence. Not to mention the financial struggles she's currently experiencing. Mind you all of this alleged illegal activity is prior to them dating.

Can anything be done to protect her job, speed up the process, prove her innocence? Get updates on the investigation? =/

Answer: You don't post where you're located.  In general, though, in the USA, a person can be fired for any non-discriminatory reason.  "Dating a felon" is not a legally protected class.


Title: [AL] Lawyer said he can't represent me anymore due to a failure in communication. Bills me thousands for a job not completed.

Answer:
 If this was a joke it's pretty damn clever.

But since I don't think it is, surprisingly enough we'd probably need a bit more info to tell you anything.


Title: Got my first speeding ticket

Question:
Location: New York State

So I was coming from college going home on the same road I go on and saw a state trooper's Taurus sitting. I was going downhill so I was already slowing down and slowed down even more so I felt like I adverted that crisis. Guess not, because another State Trooper's Charger flashed his lights. He pulled me over and did the usual routine. He said I did 50 in a 35 which I thought was preposterous since I was already slowing down and slowed down even more just to be on the safe side. I guess he kinda left out some things I said in my statement which made me look like I was admitting to the crime. Really not sure what to do, I'm a college kid making minimum wage and on my dad's insurance.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 >He said I did 50 in a 35 which I thought was preposterous since I was already slowing down and slowed down even more just to be on the safe side

He probably clocked you before you even noticed he was there, cops are very good at knowing where to sit to get a good reading before you have a chance to slow down

>I guess he kinda left out some things I said in my statement which made me look like I was admitting to the crime.

 ~~That's not really relevant here, he got you speeding, you are guilty~~

EDIT: Ignore that piece, the rest stays

>Really not sure what to do, I'm a college kid making minimum wage and on my dad's insurance.

Show up to court, be polite, hope for the best.


Title: MoviePass has been restoring people's accounts - what would be the suggestion to those affected?

Question:
MoviePass has started sending emails to customers that have cancelled their service, saying they are going to re-enable their account, and charge them $7.95. There is an opt out link, that expires on the 4th of October. For those that miss this email, and don't hit the "opt out" link, they will be recharge on the 5th. \[Here's a news article on the matter\]([https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/28/17916256/moviepass-forcing-former-users-opt-out-new-plan-monthly-charge](https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/28/17916256/moviepass-forcing-former-users-opt-out-new-plan-monthly-charge))

&#x200B;

Presumably this is pretty illegal? Is MoviePass just trying to commit suicide or do they think they are able to get away with this?

&#x200B;

What would you suggest anyone affected by the charge does?

Answer:
 >	What would you suggest anyone affected by the charge does?

Speak to an attorney who does class action lawsuits, I suspect this will be a race to the courthouse to get the first class action filed.Answer #2: This happened to me. I cancelled my account in June and was shocked when I looked in my Spam folder that they were telling me my account was going to be re-activated. I flipped my shit and sent their support staff emails about it, at which point they just tried to sell me on a new plan.

This isn't legal advice, but I did call my bank to put a stop to any future payments by MoviePass in case they pulled more shenanigans that I missed. The woman I talked to said that if more people called reporting the issue, MoviePass would get added to an internal fraudulent vendor list that they could use to flag charges. I don't know enough about banking to know how that works, but that seems worthwhile.


Title: Using Different Name for Job Applications

Question:
I'm an international student currently studying in the US. I feel that I've been victimized in terms of job applications because I have a foreign name.

I've sent numerous applications for part-time jobs, yet I very rarely get called up for interviews. Even when I do get an interview, I don't get the job. I have an excellent resume and I speak fluent English, so I don't know what's the problem.
This mainly happens for off-campus jobs. I don't have a problem with on-campus jobs because there is an active policy of non-discrimination when hiring.

So what should I do? Is it okay for me to use a name that's different from my SSN card and drivers license? Or if I abbreviate my real name and add my more American sounding nickname?

I would appreciate the advice. Also, I linked an article that discusses how individuals with foreign-sounding names get discriminated by potential employers.

edit: I'm in Virginia.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ruchikatulshyan/2014/06/13/have-a-foreign-sounding-name-change-it-to-get-a-job/

Answer:
 > Is it okay for me to use a name that's different from my SSN card and drivers license?

In general, it is fine for you to go by a nickname, providing you aren't doing it to defraud someone.  You must use your real name in situations where you're required to legally identify yourself.  Any time you sign something, or fill out official applications, or anything like that, you need to use your real name.

Practically speaking, this won't get you far in most companies, as you'd be required to fill out an application pretty early in the process.


Title: I was accused of stealing drugs from a friend's house (Oregon)

Question:
The other day my co-worker and I were out doing some work when we were near his house.  He suggested we go to his house and get some turkey sandwiches.  We did and he opened a closet that had a huge chocolate bunny in it.  I thought "eh, whatever" and ate my sammich while I asked for a tour of the house.  We walked around, finished our food, and left.  Once we got back to his van, I realized I forgot my cell phone so we went back in.  He checked the bathroom and I checked the kitchen.  It wasn't in the one spot in the kitchen so I got bored and just opened cabinets to see if he had any other giant bunnies (and just being nosy/snoopy.)  I had just opened a cabinet when he came out of the bathroom and asked me to shut the door.  I didn't really think anything of it but we still hadn't found my phone.  I asked my co-worker to call it and sure enough, it was in my back pocket.  We left and went back to work.

That night he called me and asked me if I took two pill bottles from the cabinet.  I didn't even notice there were pill bottles in there because as soon as he came out of the bathroom I started paying attention to him instead.  Long story short, the only way for his wife to get her prescription back was to file a police report.  He and his wife told the police everything and said that they didn't want to press charges on me.  The police showed up at my work and asked a bunch of questions.

They asked me if I had previously been on the medication that was taken (I had) and why I'm not still on it (switched insurance and the price went up.)  That sounds like motive and I realize that now.

They also told me if I returned the pills to my friend, that I would be forgiven.  The only problem is that I never took the damn pills to begin with.

The officer told me he could arrest me on the spot because it was a "crime of opportunity" and a few months ago I had a mix-up with my own anxiety medication that led me to being brought to the hospital.

Is this a scare tactic?  I told him I had nothing to admit to and he was going to go back to the precinct and work on the paperwork.  I also want my friend's wife to be able to get her anxiety medicine back.  I don't know what to do.

Answer: That was dumb. Why did you talk to the police without an attorney present? You incriminated yourself. They had opportunity and means and you handed them motive. You should not talk to anybody about this, and if you are arrested refuse to answer any questions and request an attorney.


Title: Under what conditions is signing someone else's name a crime?

Question:
Scenarios from mild to serious I'm thinking about are:
1) I give my credit card to my friend and she signs my name on the purchase slip
2) I have a checking account in my name, but let my wife sign my name on a check
3) Someone without my permission signs my name on a check

What I'm wondering is: Is "forgery" a crime against the state? I don't know if that's the right way to phrase that, but I'm thinking, for instance, murder doesn't require someone to press charges, while I'm wondering if forgery does. If the person who's name is signed is cool with it, is it still a crime?

Answer: 1) when it’s done with intent to defraud, and 2) when done so under oath that you are the person whose name you are signing.


Title: My friend the pervert

Question:
So if any of you recall, there was an incident with my friend a few months ago(see here: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/5x7epo/is_this_illegal/)

Anyway I was at the park with him and he thought it would be hilarious to approach the five year olds playing on the swing set and say,

"Come in my bathroom, you'll see if I'm gay." Naturally they didn't really understand and kept playing on the swing set. My friend is always doing shit like this but I want to know what would happen if he got caught.

We are both in High School in California. Thoughts?

Answer:
 How old's your friend?

Acting out in inappropriately sexual ways is, to a certain degree, a normal developmental stage - but this is well beyond normal and into deeply concerning. He's propositioning children (and telling you it's a "joke"), he's fellating cucumbers in class… it's very likely he's either been sexually abused himself, or is severely psychologically disturbed.

If he keeps propositioning kids, he may well be arrested. There's a range of offences he could be charged with, many of which would see him on the sex offender's registry and in jail for a while if he's charged as an adult. If you want to help him, help him get a counsellor, or call your local branch of the Department of Children and Family Services and report that you're concerned he may be being abused.

Next time he does something this catastrophically stupid in public, cut him the hell off. "Friend, I know you want that to be a joke, but it's completely inappropriate. I'll see you in class tomorrow." Then talk to the kid's parents about what's going on, and leave.Answer #2: NAL - - You need new friends.


Title: [IN] roommate sealing my belongings.

Question:
I'm moving out, and she has a new roommate ready to replace me. I've loaned her numerous items during our time together, and items that I purchased, but allowed her to use have disappeared out of our common living space. She recently put a lock on her door. I just have a little flip switch on my door, and I have proof that she's gone in my room.

I found a means of getting into her room after giving her a list of my missing items, and she said she hadn't seen any of them. I found all of it in her room spread about, and I have pictures of them. Am I allowed to take back whats mine?

Answer: Yes.Answer #2: Yes, just go get them. I'm sure the police would love to hear her story when she calls and tells them you took items back she stole from you.Answer #3: Take back what's yours, move out SAP. Hold on to those pics, if she tries to start something.


Title: staying at a place without signing any contract, am I still obligated to pay rent? (Oregon)

Question:
A friend of mine had leased this apartment out and her roommate moved out and she needed a replacement roomie. She asked me and I said sure. I didn't have to sign any lease agreement, I would just take her word for it and give her the amount of money that she asked for. I stayed there for a few months. So it made sense that I should have paid rent.

I was just wondering if because I hadn't legally signed any contract/lease could I be taken to court if I hadn't paid the rent?

Answer:
 Yes. And had you not paid rent, she could have initiated an eviction process to have you removed as well.Answer #2: > I was just wondering if because I hadn't legally signed any contract/lease could I be taken to court if I hadn't paid the rent?

Likely, yes.  Oral contracts are as valid, in most cases, as written contracts.

In addition, there are specific laws dealing with tenants that don't have a lease.  Those tenants are commonly referred to as "month to month" tenants.  These rules are for both the landlord and the tenant, and lay out the responsibilities of each.


Title: White males a protected class?

Question:
Location: Colorado

GM of my company just blatantly exclaimed in front of me (white, male) to another coworker that "white males are NOT a protected class."

I don't get offended by much, but to have this happen in the workplace, in front of me with her smug tone, as if I'm supposed to just shrug and continue about my day, really pissed me off.

Was this just rude, or is this actually some kind of beach of law? Given the statement itself is both blatant racism and sexism, I can't imagine how this is OK to claim as being acceptable in the workplace. Whether or not this is legal, I'm not sure.

It was in reference to a white male that they'd previously fired and who is now suing.

Answer:
 It's legally incorrect--everybody is in at least two protected classes, and the white male in question would be protected against discrimination for race and for gender.

However, as a one-off statement it's not likely to be considered either discriminatory or a hostile workplace.


Title: [NY] Distric Attorny's son assualted me and now Police is just ignoring me. They aren't taking any action. Please help.

Question: District attorny's son is my neighbour. DA lives in same city but not in that house. We had arguments with his son over his garbage disposal. He got angry and slaped me on my face and spit on my face. I informed cops but they are ignoring me. What can I do?

Answer:
 The district attorney has *absolute* discretion on what cases to issue and what cases to refuse to prosecute.

The DA can legally look at a case and say, "I am not going to prosecute this case because the suspect is my son."  There is no appeal to this.

You can apply for a restraining order against the other party, and you can sue the other party if you have damages.  But you cannot force the police to take a report, and you cannot force the prosecutor to issue charges.


Title: Questions revolving the legality in removal of persons in restaurants and bars

Question: Howdy people, I am in need of some advice on a pretty specific circumstance, including restraining orders, bad ethics from owners etc. So ill start off the story by saying my friend goes to a specific bar/restaurant semi frequently, as it is one of her favorite places to be. However, her ex boyfriend does as well who she has a restraining order on (Stalking, mental abuse, threats etc) and it is well observed he was doing this on purpose to anger her. But even though through all the shit she has gone through she doesn't want to go there to make him leave even though it is her favorite place to be where all her friends are. This problem persisted until the most recent court date where this was brought up, and the judge ruled that her ex couldn't enter "any place he knows plaintiff to be or may reasonably expect her to be, such as *insert bar name here* on a Sunday afternoon." Everything seemed okay, problem resolved until just today where the owner BANNED her from the residence, just because he was friends with her ex. What is the legality of this? To me it seems without a doubt morally wrong, but also i feel that not everything adds up/is allowed. Thanks all for the help. (Location is New Hampshire).

Answer: Perfectly legal. She has no right to be there Answer #2: Yes, the owner can ban her from the bar. She has no legally protected right to be there.


Title: Got banned from part if my school

Question: Can a school ban you from entering into a certain area of your school that everyone else is allowed to go to

Answer:
 With reason, absolutely.

Without reason, very likely.

Schools have a wide latitude to discipline and set rules as they see fit.  Unless it infringes on your ability to access your education or creates a medical issue, they can administer their buildings as they think is best.  Answer #2: Probably.


Title: I took a friend on my motorcycle and gave him specific instructions. He ignored those instructions and fell off the bike. Am I liable for his injuries? [TX]

Question:
Hello! Like the title says, I was taking a friend for a ride. Before we started, I told him what to do on turns and what parts of me are okay to hold on to and which are not. I specifically told him not to lean on the turns because he weighs twice as much as me, and I didn't want to lose control. He agreed, and then on a sharp turn, leaned anyway. The bike fell and he broke his wrist. He now wants me to pay for his hospital bills. Am I liable?

The motorcycle meets all of my state's legal requirements for passengers. I had my friend wear a motorcycle jacket and helmet, if that makes any difference.

Answer:
 You may potentially be liable, yes.  We can't guess from your recitation whether you are.

Your best bet is to report this to your insurance company and to let them handle.Answer #2: This is why you have insurance. Let them handle it. Answer #3: Let your insurance handle it. Since he willingly got on the bike, they may well throw him a contributory negligence exclusion and tell him to pound sand.


Title: [23 M] Can I do marketing for both a brewery and hospitality group?

Question: Recently, I received two offers for some marketing work. One is a brewery in New Jersey, and the other is for a Hospitality Group in NY. There's a law that indicates it's illegal to work across the 3 tiers of alcohol distribution. In this case, I'd be working for a producer (brewery), and technically for a retailer (hospitality group). However, the internship isn't with any one specific restaurant or bar, but rather in the art department of this hospitality group. By that logic, is it still a conflict of interest? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Answer:
 >  There's a law that indicates it's illegal to work across the 3 tiers of alcohol distribution.

What? How would microbreweries be allowed to exist if that is the case? They do production, marketing, and retailing, all at the same time.


Title: My brother's car was impounded for driving while intoxicated. How can my family get it back?

Question:
So last week my brother was pulled over and failed a breathalyzer test. He went to jail over night and the next morning the judge charged him with a misdemeanor, suspended his licence for 30 days and impounded his car.  He's never done anything like this before he's an extremely good guy with a clean record. Now from lawyer fees to impound fees my family is going to be hit with a huge amount of debt and we are being told that the impound is going to sell our car and we can't get it back, which will lead to us having to pay for a car we don't have.  My family knows nothing about any of this because this is the first offense any of us ever had to deal with. We have no idea if there is a way for us to keep our car and get it back as soon as possible to save on the impound fees, or any idea how to fight this in some way. The car is under my moms name too and we want to see if she can take the car back under her name and no longer my brothers. I don't understand how they can take our car and never give it back?!  I may sound clueless but we really need help. Can someone please explain any of this to me?

Btw, in no way do i think my brother is innocent here, he's a fool for even getting in his car while drinking.

EDIT:  I live in New York

Answer:
 > The car is under my moms name too

Then she should go and get it out of impound ASAP.Answer #2: > We have no idea if there is a way for us to keep our car and get it back as soon as possible to save on the impound fees, or any idea how to fight this in some way.

You can't "fight" the fact that it was impounded.  He was DUI, the impound is clean.

Call the impound lot and ask how to get it out.  There will likely be fees.  You have to pay the fees, else they'll keep the car and sell it for the fees.


Title: Can grief and intoxication be used in defence of criminal damage?

Question: Today has been a terrible day. Todays all my family was attending my grandads funeral. The actual funeral was fine . However the wake was terrible. The son of my grandads partner while living said to my aunities husband that theres no black on the union jack so he doesnt belong there. This starts a whole spiral of arguments as there is already dislike towards my grandads partner as she used to beat him. With everyone being intoxicated arguments spew and at this point all the children return home including myself(17 M). This happend at 7.10. After that my mother and sisters stay at the wake and continue to drink until they are completely fucked. The were no longer capable of rational thought. At around 11.45 my mother returns home in a taxi. She is is peices and keeps crying. Around 12.15 she leaves the house and one of the neighbours( polish) is blasting music and my auntie went round to ask them to turn it down politely. Apparently this didnt work and they were rude. At this point my mother loses it amd starts screaming at them and banging on their door calling them rude, disrespectful and other words i couldnt make out. Eventuallu thid escalates into my mother smashing the neighbours window. Im terrified thats this is going to ruin our lives. After this happens my step dad says to me hes leaving and hes had enough and that my mother is going to lose her job ( assitant carer for the elderly). With my step dad gone and my mother losing her job i dont know how were are going to cope. My mother has no qualifications to speak of and she dropped out of school. My other immediate family are the same. Im the only child who hasn't beem expelled is planning on going university. I seriously dont know what im going to do.

Answer: You don't give your location. Your spelling suggests that you may not be American but I will be responding as if you are. Voluntary intoxication is not a defense. And it doesn't matter that your neighbor is Polish.


Title: I began working on a website after talking to SO and friends of how cool it would be. SO believes I stole the idea and wants in charge and money.

Question:
I'm within Arkansas Law. I'm just a person who saw a need that needed to be filled. I've been making sketches and plans, speaking with other friends who were on board with me doing this. My SO talked about it after our first conversation, as if this idea was original, I didn't speak up then. At that point I had already showed him mock ups of my database. While working on it, I clued him in on my progress. Suddenly, I "stole" his idea and he doesn't like my method of approach as it's allowing others in to help he doesn't know. He thought his website is going to make him tons of money, and he expects me to work for him and build it. It's really caused a rift between us and I rather give up and let him figure it out on his own with none of my resources but he wants to make business agreements and legal documents. We don't know shit about how any of this works and he's speaking from watching Silicon Valley. It's not going away so I'm asking for practical legal advice on what is nessicary for both if us.
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer: There's no copyright on ideas, you can feel free to continue work on what you're doing and maintain copyright on all sketches and actual work that you've performed. The SO has no right to the product you've created.


Title: I think my neighbor is sleeping with his 16-year-old stepdaughter.

Question:
I know this is a HUGE allegation but I’m more sure than not that my 41-year-old neighbor is having an affair with his wife’s 16-year-old daughter.

I’ve lived next door to this man for a few years now. Within the past year or so he got married. Recently, her oldest daughter got kicked out of her father’s house and moved in as well. I know all of this because he’s a very outgoing guy and whenever I see him outside he catches me up (up to a point, obviously).

Here’s where the title comes in. For the past few weeks, I’ve been hearing what can only be described as sex noises coming from his house. The houses on our street are close to a century old so everything can be heard. I would’ve shrugged it off and thought he was getting it on with his wife, but the kicker is: it’s always during the day when his wife is at work. He works from home. I went outside during one of the escapades and lo and behold, his wife’s car wasn’t there.

Unfortunately, this is far from it. I went outside at night to put something in my dumpster and I saw something through the blinded window that horrified me. He was sitting in his chair desk and his stepdaughter was in his lap wearing the tiniest shorts I’ve ever seen. Even though there were blinds, they were slightly open and I had no doubts that it was his stepdaughter from her build and hair texture. They seemed to just be talking but there was no way it was innocent, especially based on what she had on.

I’m stuck on what to do. It’s true that I don’t have total proof but I think I’ve seen/heard enough. Where do I even start? Should I tell his wife before taking any other action? Should I talk to him? I’m sure that won’t go anywhere. Please help.

Answer:
 >I went outside at night to put something in my dumpster and I saw something through the blinded window that horrified me.

Kind of reminds me of the people that go to the emergency room to remove stuff from their colon... because the happened to fall on that 16" cucumber.

OP, stop "investigating" your neighbor, since you are likely exposing yourself to criminal liability.

If you feel crimes are being commited, file a police report and let the professionals investigate.Answer #2: You can make a police report or talk to your local child services department.

Porn noises and clothing choices aren't anything like conclusive evidence from a criminal justice perspective, but CPS can investigate further if there's anything to this.


Title: Could I get a peace order/no contact order against my neighbors?

Question:
My neighbors are garbage humans. Since we moved in a year ago it has been nothing but constant verbal harassment and calls to the police.

The two incidents that make me want the no contact order is when they knowingly lied to the police when they called them.

The first happened six months ago when we adopted our dog, we (my boyfriend, our child and I) were in our backyard playing with our new member of the family when out of no where the police come around the back with gun drawn saying the were answering the call of a durranged dog attacking a child. We explained that we were playing and that there was nothing going on. Durring this time my neighbors came out screaming that "a dog like that should be killed" and that "he was a danger". He was a 25lb puppy at the time and was/still is no danger to anyone. The police talked to them but nothing came of it.

The second insident was about two weeks ago. It was a nice night so we decided to have a small fire burn in our little covered fit pit thing. We had already checked every local rule to see if it was ok to have and we were in the clear as long as it was out by midnight. It's about 8pm when we heard the sound of ambulances (which isn't weird we live pretty close to a hospital, then firetrucks and then police cars. Our neighbors had called the police (yes the police) and told them our house was on fire with us inside. Like the first time we explained to the police what happened and they talked to our neighbors but nothing happened.

They are an older couple, late 70s and we have been told that it's not the first time they have done this. The police won't do anything about these false reports and I want to know if we can do anything to stop the harassment.

Answer:
 You can call the police non emergency line and make a report to create documentation within the police department. Make sure to write down the name of the officer and the case number, and every time they do something, call and have them update the report.

In order to get protection from a peace order in Maryland, you should already have a police report on file, so reporting this is your first step.

From here on out, document every future occurrence with pictures, and write down potential eyewitnesses as well. You may also want to consider getting security cameras, just in case. I doubt they’d try anything given their age, but having a camera is always a great idea, and you wont regret the investment if you have to use it. Answer #2: Is it possible the old couple are senile or otherwise not cognizant? Maybe give Adult Protective services a call if there's a possibility that this is not malicious, but simply hallucinatory. Answer #3: I'd get video cameras. Can't hurt.


Title: My sister got a divorce and her ex’s new wife is psychotic. What should she do?

Question:
My sister was married to her ex husband for 10+ years and has a  a child with him. They got a divorce after he was caught cheating with multiple women, having sex with prostitutes, etc. He recently got married to this girl who is psychotic. My sister has to see her ex and his new wife (let’s call her Sarah) every week when she sends her son with them.

Her son goes to see them on weekends. Sarah messaged my sister saying she’s disgusting and harassed her for no reason. My sister didn’t respond to it. Yesterday when my sister met up with her ex and Sarah, her son was crying because he didn’t want to go see them. He hates Sarah.

When my sister went to their car and opened the door to talk to them about her son, Sarah slammed the door on my sisters arm. What should my sister do? What can she do legally? She wants to move but I know the process will take awhile and her ex will fight.

Answer:
 > Sarah slammed the door on my sisters arm. What should my sister do? What can she do legally

this would typically be considered assualt, and i'd normally say call the police, except for one important thing:

>When my sister went to her ex’s car and opened the door to talk to them about her son

REALLY bad idea on her part.  If i were "sarah's" defense atty, I'd assert that opening the door to the car would be seen as aggressive behavior by a reasonable person, and "sarah" at that point had reason to be in fear, and slamming the door was self defense.

(edit: if all she did was open the door, her arm would not have been inside the car, allowing sarah to slam door on arm.)

The fact you call her psychotic with no evidence of any diagnosis of a psychotic disorder whatsoever (do you even get what psychotic means? hint: it's not a synonym for crazy!!!) leads me to belive this likely goes both ways.

my non legal advice is "chill out"Answer #2: Ask your sister why she 1 opened the car door 2 had her arm inside the car. Sounds like you’re not getting the full story, and maybe her ex has a type. And that type is unstable women. Answer #3: ED nurse here. People suffering from acute psychosis are unable to function as people, generally they can't even hold a conversation. She's not psychotic, she's just a dick. Answer #4: She might have a case for assault. As for moving she would need full custody if she wants to take her son. She could talk to a lawyer but that will be difficult to arrange.


Title: Bought car on Craigslist... lasted an 1 hour.

Question:
So Saturday afternoon I bought a car on Craigslist from a private party in Anaheim and I test drove the vehicle and all seemed to be well once I drove it around.

So I purchase the vehicle and not even an hour later and ten miles driving the car oil light comes on followed by the check engine light and the engine starts knocking and the car stalls.

I happen to break down in front of a mechanic shop and he listens to the engine once I’m able start it up again and he tells me the engine is NO GOOD.

The ad described the car as being in Excellent Condition, No issues, etc etc.

So now I have a 06 Hyundai Sonata I paid $3200 for with a blown engine in less than an hour of purchase leaving me stranded in the side of the freeway.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do from here? I’m at a loss LITERALLY.

Answer:
 Generally private vehicle sales are considered as-is. Unless you can prove the seller knowingly withheld information it's a tough hill to climb to get your money back.

California doesn't have a cooling off period for private sales.

Next time do your due diligence and have the vehicle throughly inspected bye a mechanic before the purchase.

You may ask the seller for a refund but they are under no obligation to oblige.


Title: Can my boss seriously fire me for this?

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Absolutely.


Title: Just Overheard a Sheriff's Deputy Openly Admit To Making Up Ordinance Violations

Question:
This just happened outside my office. A deputy came in to apologize to our zoning enforcer that he was going to have someone come in and double check on an ordinance violation he (the deputy) had issued. He said that "this usually works" but this time the person was upset and going in to the township hall to inquire about it further.

I am beyond pissed off that this deputy came in and not only did this, but admitted to doing it in the past successfully.

Where do I go? The Sheriff Department is most likely not going to care. Given the current climate, is making up ordinances even on the scale of needing to be reported?

This is in Michigan, in a northern county.

EDIT: Specifically the made up ordinance was for a lady feeding feral cats in her backyard. There is no ordinance against this. Should she be doing it? No. Should a deputy make up an ordinance to get her to stop? Hell fucking no.

Answer:
 You can voice your concerns to your county commissioner.

[Here is an example](https://www.waynecounty.com/elected/commission/home.aspx) of how to find your county commissioner.


Title: Subpoena to testify against a neighbor

Question:
First, thank you for providing this means to ask legal advice. I read the rules and understand it is no substitute for local legal advice.

We live in Snohomish County, WA and witnessed a person leaving our neighborhood obviously under the influence and called the cops. He didn't make it far, hit a car at under 10mph and the cops showed up immediately. We were asked to give a written statement.

A few months later we received a subpoena to testify and discovered the kid is a neighbor of ours. We do not want to complicate things by testifying. They have continued the case 3 times now, and every time we are adamant about not wanting to be involved when we call but the prosecutor has yet to talk to us. When we call it is her secretary I believe who says she will relay the message.

The question is probably obvious, how do we avoid testifying while remaining good honest people in the eyes of the court?

Answer:
 A subpoena is not a request, it is a demand. You really don't have an option if the person who issued the subpoena does not remove it. Answer #2: You don't.

You are, of course, free to ask the prosecutor not to call you as a witness. It's possible they'll honor that request, but they don't have to. It's also possible (maybe even likely) that this whole mess ends in a plea bargain of some sort. In that case, you'll never testify. You have no way of influencing that, though.

If you're subpoenaed to testify, you have to go testify. It isn't optional.Answer #3: If you receive a subpoena to attend and testify, then you have to go to court and answer the questions under oath honestly.  You can try to call the party who is trying to obtain your testimony and try to convince them that you will not have anything useful to say in court, but perhaps all they want you to do is come to court and authenticate the written statements that you made.  Which you will have to do.


Title: Is it Legal for the owner of the Mother of a litter of rabbits to deny me, the owner of the father of a litter of rabbits, the ability to adopt one of the kits from the litter? Asking for a friend

Question: Quick question— There is currently a litter of baby rabbits, four in the litter, that are 2 weeks old. My male rabbit, who is approximately three years old, fathered a litter of bunnies with my friend’s female rabbit (not sure of her age, she’s a rescue). This is the second time that these two rabbits have mated. The first litter, both I and my friend decided to adopt out one of the rabbits (first litter had 5; she kept two, I kept one, and one of the rabbits was unfortunately a runt and passed away). The fact that our rabbits mated was an accident, as was the second time. Just this Monday, another unfortunate passing occurred when my rabbit, Anaise, (from the first litter) passed away due to a seizure. We are not quite sure of the cause, given that seizures among rabbits are common and the shock that follows can be fatal. However, we believe one of the possible causes could have potentially been the plant that she nibbled on in my room (Monstera Deliciosa). However, the last time that I know she nibbled at the plant was a week before her passing, so this is not exactly probable. Given this recent tragedy, I wanted to adopt one of the rabbits from the second litter so that my male rabbit (who has since been neutered) can have a playmate, given that rabbits are rather social animals. However, due to the passing of Anaise, the owner of the mother is refusing to allow me to adopt another rabbit. She, too, owns the same plant that we suspect could have potentially led to the death of Anaise, and I have taken measures since her passing to remove all plants that could potentially cause harm from the areas in which the rabbits run around (they’re indoors rabbits). Given that I own the father of the litter, would I have some sort of legal right to adopt a bunny from the litter regardless of what the owner of the mother says? I understand her concerns, but I’ve done everything in my power to prevent this sort of incident from happening again, am well read on bunny care and maintenance, and am fully ready to continue on with the responsibility of caring for more bunnies. To clarify, I only wish to adopt one more bunny from the litter; if she wanted to keep the remaining three or adopt them out to other forever homes, I would be 100% okay with that.

Answer: No, you have no "adoption rights" to her litter of rabbits unless you had a contract stating such.


Title: [San Diego] Can I be fired for talking to coworkers about organizing a union?

Question: I work in a hospital in California. There's only about 20 workers with my job title. However, my specific job title has not had a wage adjustment in 11 years, where as every other job title has had 1, or even 2 wage adjustments. Can I organize a mini union with others of my job title. Will I be fired for talking to my coworkers about it?

Answer:
 Can you be legally fired specifically for talking about organizing a union? No. There are legal protections for such thing.

Can your anti-union employer (many of them) catch wind of you organizing a union, and fire you for an other valid reason they can find? Absolutely.


Title: [WA] Wholesaler bait and switch

Question:
The wholesaler I use lists products and stock on their website. Thursday I saw an item that a client needed at an incredible low price and that there was 2 in stock. I placed the order for both of them via their website. Friday I get an email that the items are sold out and they have cancelled my order. I called up the rep and he told me that they have to approve web orders but phone orders get priority. He told me that someone else called in an order before my order was processed. He went on to explain that they will have more of the item in about a week and have doubled the price. He pointed out the following disclaimer.

 >Pricing is based on NET 30 or Wire Transfer terms.  Contact your sales representative for pricing when using other payment methods.  Freight is not included.  Pricing and availability are subject to change.  No returns for New/EOL product and refurbished product.  DOA and defective units are to be returned to the manufacturer for repair or replacement.  We work very hard to ensure the most accurate item descriptions, however please check the manufacturers web pages for complete product details.

Can they really change pricing and availability after an order is placed? Is that not legally a bait and switch?

Answer: It sounds as if you order was cancelled and you'll have to do a new order at the new price.  Doesn't sound like the changing of price after placing an order.


Title: Situation has changed - Wife's old boss showed up and stated fraud was committed 1.5 years ago. Court case Monday

Question:
Situation changed:

TL;DR Spouse (direct employee) being sued by old boss/company owner stating she fraudulently colluded with an external company to persuade the business owner to enter a contract. Court papers served 7 days prior (dropped on steps) OR (signed) 4 days prior to hearing.

Earlier post
11/26
My spouse old boss/company owner (1.5 years ago) just showed up at the doorstep unannounced, I have never met him and we never contacted him after she left the job. He stated, "Court paper work will be served and you've  been avoiding this." Honestly no clue, we moved from prior residence after our son was born as the lease was up.

Literally the guy rang our doorbell, I answered as the wife and son were napping, no paperwork, no discussion just said those words and left in his car.

11/29
Manila folder dropped on the doorstep, included copies of small claims paperwork. No one knocked or rang. Reviewed paperwork.

12/1
1. (9:30 AM) Fedex Overnight serves paperwork
2. (4:30 PM) Lawyer representing plaintiff e-mailed copy to my wife
3. (7:45 PM) Old boss / company owner shows up again a guy in track jacket serves paperwork (again) while old boss/ owner is filming, stating "You were just served, see you in court Monday."

Hearing on paperwork scheduled for 12/5

Currently we have 4 copies of the small claims suit...

No wrong doing on wife's part:

- All communication and contracts were approved by the owner
- All work performed was approved by the owner
- 3 companies were interviews by spouse and owner for Statement of Work
- company hired was found via google search in proximity
- All payments were signed by company owner
- Spouse left on good terms, hired and trained the replacement

Owner was out on med leave during a portion of the 'period of performance' and had my spouse give him daily updates. Owner also had cameras installed around the office, he monitored progress &amp;amp; employees remotely

Going to court with all documentation to prove the above.

Any other suggestions to help disprove his claims?

About me:
I'm a 31 year old professional, this was out of the blue borderline creepy. Never been involved in a legal proceeding.

California , USA

Follow-Up: Will provide details when we receive judgement.

Answer:
 Seems like you have a solid story and the boss is an idiot who can't properly serve a lawsuit. Small claims judge will hear your stories and rule. Just tell the judge what you pointed out, bring any evidence possible.

Worst case if you don't like the verdict you can appeal the case to regular court and hire an attorney.Answer #2: You don't need a lawyer on this one, just go to court and have the wife tell the facts.  The owner will have a real uphill battle proving collusion and fraud where none exists.  The most important thing is to be as calm and collected as possible in front of the judge.  It sounds like the owner is having buyers remorse for the work and just wants to blame someone else to save face with their spouse or business partner, etc.  Unless your wife had steered them into a bogus contract with a family member she should be fine.  If you lose just keep appealing the verdict.Answer #3: Not advice, a question (not directed at OP)

is there minimum time before the hearing a person needs to be served? with only 4 days, 2 in the weekend can OP show up and request the court to be rescheduled so he has more time to prepare his case?Answer #4: Going against what some are saying, absolutely consult with an attorney.

Remember however that your wife is ultimately on her own here, when it comes to court. She cannot be represented by an attorney in your state, nor can you speak for her. She's going to have to take everyone's advice and make her best case herself in front of the judge.

Good luck!


Title: Is it illegal for someone to forcibly get impregnated ( forcing someone to cum inside).

Question: Long story short got held in at the moment of ejaculation want to make sure if the girl is pregnant I have some sort of defense. Refuses to take plan b.

Answer:
 Defense to what? Paying child support? Not a chance in hell. Your choice not to wrap it bro. But even if you wrapped it, and it broke, and literally the hand of God reached down from heaven and would not let you pull out, you're still responsible.  It's responsible and irresponsible at the same time!Answer #2: You don’t.

If she’s pregnant you owe child support.

Period.


Title: Do you need special permission as an police officer for a cavity search?

Question: I doubt they can just do it to whoever they want if they seem suspicious.

Answer:
 In my department, officers may never perform a cavity search at all.

Ever.

If we want to do a strip search, we need the permission of a supervisor.

If we want to do a cavity search, then we need a supervisor's permission **and** a medical professional has to do it.


Title: Arrested at a festival.

Question:
I went with my boyfriend to a music festival. We were already having some issues with his possessiveness. The morning after the first day I told him I needed space and instead he decided to be all up in my face. He got aggressive and took my car for a couple hours. He moved campsites after that. The rest of the festival he harassed me a couple of times and followed me around. He made a couple other campers uncomfortable as well. The last day we had to call security. Security called the cops. I just moved to Colorado, and it has has some strict domestic violence laws. I automatically get a restraining order from him. The State presses charges, not me.

So far he is being charged with:

-Possession of illegal substance X3

-Intent to distribute

-Harassment

-Domestic Violence

-Another charge for taking my car.

He is currently in jail, the bail is 50,000 which his family cannot afford.

My question is what is the probable outcome of this situation, with and without a lawyer. How much time in prison could he get? Is there any fine we could pay? How much could it be? Will the protection order last after the sentence or?

Thank you for all your help. It has been really hard to go through this.

Answer:
 >Is there any fine we could pay?

Sorry, but you're asking how to help your abusive BF? Because you really don't need this person in your life. And if you think you do - please - therapy.

He might be a wonderful person when he's not drinking/on drugs/pissed off because of life. But most people don't ever have to deal with this. And neither should you.Answer #2:
/u/expatinpa said what we're all thinking.

He got aggressive.
He took your car.
He harassed you.
You called an authoritative force on him.
These are things you told us.

He likely got physical with you given the domestic abuse charge.
He's your boyfriend and you likely knew he had 3 different types of illegal drugs in quantities beyond personal use.

The best way you can help him avoid any more trouble with the police would be to quit telling them all the illegal things he's doing and maybe disassociate with each other.

Not that I'm pointing blame, but not only do his actions sound questionable, but going with your boyfriend to what would appear to be a multi day event,  seperating from him against his wishes during said event, then calling security and confirming everything he did with the police (which would have been required for them to be able to charge him with taking your car or domestic violence)...this all sounds toxic and you should distance yourself from these types of relationships at all cost.

Best of luck.


Title: Smoking neighbor in non-smoking community, landlord doesn't take action. What do we do?

Question:
I live in a non-smoking complex. Neighbor still smokes and his smoke comes in to our unit through the vents. Reported to landlord several times, but they take insufficient action in our opinion. All they did is send out a general email to everyone reminding us of the smoking policy. They recommended calling the security. Every time we do, they walk around the building and then leave without further actions. Since the smoking is happening inside they "don't see anything".
They say if we don't know which neighbor it's coming from, they can't do anything. We don't know for sure but have strong suspicion. The neighbor in question denies smoking to the landlord, but we have seen him smoke (outside the complex) many times.  Not sure they even believe there is smoke in our apartment. I always happens outside business hours so we can't ask them to come in and smell for themselves. How do we get prove?

We live in California if that is important.

What are our options?

Thanks!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 All you can do is keep calling.  Make a record of each time. Are there others who also smell the smoke and complain?  Getting support from other tenants would be very helpful.  Finally, your only absolute legal resolution to this is to break your lease if the landlord doesn't do anything about it, and that's potentially an expensive and risky proposition.

Stick to the facts rather than assumptions about who is smoking, and tread carefully lest your campaign backfires against you.
Answer #2: I’m going through the exact same thing here in California. The management takes my complaints but makes it seem like I’m being bothersome. I finally called the local Housing Authority office and they told me to send a certified letter to the manager and cc the Housing Authority and to cc the management office if there is a separate one. The Housing Authority will schedule a meeting with you and the manager. I have my letters ready to send out tomorrow.


Title: Battered single mother whose asked three separate police departments for help an no one will help me get a heroin dealer away from my kid an I an out of our home.

Question:
My name is Tamara..not tamera. I have a seven year old little girl almost 8 this January. I've lost all my family members to death in one manner or another. When I found out I was pregnant I had little to no options to keep her. At that time I was just cleaning myself up from a oil stint of heroin use an started dating my dealer who had me stripping for money for our heroin. I quit everything the day I found out I was pregnant. He did not an was a raging alcoholic. He would hit me. Verbally abuse me. Mentally abuse me an emotionally abuse me. Not having known anything other then that coming from a home growing up that was a normal event..driving my mom to the hospital an having to protect my brother an sister from that abuse an then pick my mom up off the floor..now its been seven years almost eight. Hes hit me while holding my child. He's made it so I have no friends to turn to. None of the police stations around here will help even tho they just arrested him. He claims he's working with them to bust other dealers but yet he's taking my car which is registered to me without a license an driving to Waterbury from bethel picking up heroin an selling it here. I've told the landlord an hes willing to work with me to keep a roof over my kids head but I'm at a lost of what to do an where to turn cause no one seems to want to help. In scared for both my kid an I..hes a sociopath whose narcissistic an every way you can think of abusive. He has everyone fooled an makes everyone believe I am crazy..I called my car in stolen today. Filed a police report to a rude cop who said this is all my fault an if he comes back its my problem cause I made my bed. Now I'm not that savvy with the law but isn't that grounds to get him an that department in some kinda trouble. He didn't even give me a card name or copy of my report. I need advice on what to do..like I said I have no where else to go an need him to just leave me alone. He has no rights to my daughter. Thank you . didn't mean to make this into an essay an there's things I've even left out. Please any kinda words of advice would be so helpful.thank you for your time
T.M.R

Answer: You need to remove your personally identifying information. This is for your safety.


Title: How likely am I to be drug tested at my final compliance hearing?

Question: I've been on probation for 6 months, in September I paid the remainder of my dues and was not required to show up in October or November, am I likely to be drug tested at my final compliance hearing tomorrow?

Answer: live like you will be


Title: Calling 911 from a bank to report a "robbery" when there is no robbery

Question:
So, basically I work in a bank and today we had a guy flip his shit because he had a court ordered garnishment on his accounts with us and we could not give him the money back. In the course of the manager trying to calm him down, he called 911 to report a "robbery" because he felt we had stolen his money. Meanwhile, one of the other tellers quietly called our security company to tell them there was no robbery at our location and have them reach out to law enforcement to say the same thing. Nothing came of it, but if his ill-advised decision to call 911 and say, "Hi, I'm at such-and-such bank and I'd like to report a robbery," had ended in a huge SWAT standoff, could he have been criminally charged? What would the charge be? We are located in Oregon.

Also related, one of the things he was especially upset about was that one of his accounts was a savings account he'd set up for a minor. The only way to do this at our bank is to set up the account in the adult's name and set the minor as a beneficiary; since he was the official account holder, the money was taken from this account as part of the garnishment as well. He was very upset that we would "steal from a kid." Is there any way he could prove that the money deposited into that account does not belong to him and pursue getting it back through the courts? This has been escalated beyond my pay grade so I won't be advising the customer on what to do, I'm just curious. I assume it would be difficult to document something like allowance money paid to a 10-year-old and deposited into the bank, as it's not like his parents are issuing pay stubs or W2s.

Answer:
 He could face criminal charges for [filing a false police report](https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/162.375), regardless of whether the police took the report seriously or not.

Unless the account is a gift or trust account, the money he put in the joint account _is_ his, and will be subject to garnishment. The fact that he intended to give it to a minor doesn't mean he had effectively done so by putting it in a joint account like that.


Title: Missed my outgoing flight, airline cancelled my return flight without saying anything

Question:
I had a flight with Flair Air on Tuesday, which I missed because I got there about ~15 minutes after check-in had closed, so I booked another flight for the same day with a different airline. Today was supposed to be my return flight with Flair Air, but when I went to check-in they told me that my flight had been cancelled because I missed my original flight. The thing is, they hadn’t notified me in any way that this was going to happen and the airline’s excuse was that “most airlines do this” so I should’ve known. After this, they didn’t rebook me on a different flight or anything. Also, their Terms and Conditions (page 22) do say that subsequent flights will be cancelled if a passenger doesn’t board on the previous one, but I had to dig pretty deep to find this information and there was no mention of it anywhere else.

Any help regarding this will be truly appreciated. Thank you!

Answer:
 This is common practice across the airline industry - missing a leg of a trip cancels subsequent legs. It's what stops you from finding a X ➡ Y ➡ Z flight cheaper than a Y ➡ Z flight and taking that instead.

Since it's in their terms and conditions, you don't really have a leg to stand on.Answer #2: This is an extremely common practice in the airline industry and almost certainly in the fine print you would have had access to when buying your ticket. Rather than rebooking a ticket like you did, you should have worked with the airline then.

This is not a legal issue, but if you ask nicely, *maybe* a higher-up can reinstate the ticket. They don't have to though.


Title: I got a dui from ambien, went to court within hours and don’t remember any of it, and signed a deal.

Question:
I was prescribed ambien I was working at a factory and sleep was very scarce. But anyways there were a few signs that this medication wasn’t for me (I was sleep walking, and one time I woke up with Zaxbys food which is like 30 minutes away) so naturally I make an appointment with my doctor and instead of coming in he just tells me to break the pill in half, which I started doing.

One day I wake up in a jail cell with a pink slip saying that I had a agreed to 90 days in jail and house arrest (which I still don’t know how long I’m on it for) talk about a nightmare because my girlfriend was already getting my bond.

A few details: I was booked in the jail at 11:45pm, I must have gotten my bond somewhere around that time and I went to court at 8:30 that morning signed a horrific deal and woke up at 11am realizing what had happened. Someone I went to court with (we were in the same jail dorm for a while) made fun of how I was so out of it. And that the public defender knew I wasn’t in the right state of mind.

How do I go about getting my sentence reduced at least the house arrest I’m starting college in August. What should I tell/ask the judge, I mean that should be illegal right I had no idea what I did/signed for until hours later.

Answer:
 > I mean that should be illegal right I had no idea what I did/signed for until hours later.

If you want to get a lawyer to argue that you weren't in the right state of mind, it's possible you'll win. However that just means you'll either go to trial or sign a new deal, and there is no reason to believe they'll offer you something better. You're failing to mention a ton of information in your post, including the circumstances of your arrest, and if you have previous duis.Answer #2: Location matters. 90 days in jail for a first time offender seems weird. There is something missing from this story. Your best bet is to consult with an attorney.


Title: Who shows up when you need an attorney?!

Question: Seriously, if you don’t have an attorney on file but you’re considered a suspect or something (and they take you in for questioning), who arrives to your defense when you state you want an attorney? Is there a yellow pages or something for Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas, Florida, or North Carolina? I get worried about it sometimes.

Answer:
 When the police are questioning you, and you ask for an attorney, they have one of two choices:

1.) Obtain you an attorney.

or

2.) Stop asking you questions.

They go with #2 in far more than 99% of all cases.

So they stop asking you questions, you get booked (or released) and can contact an attorney later as you choose.


Title: Is it illegal to put a mortgage in your name and have your parent's make the payment on it?

Question:
This is something a friend of a friend is considering doing, and I'm scared they're about to break the law doing it.
Topic:
Real Estate law

Answer:
 As long as nobody lied on the application about jobs or income or debts, it’s not illegal.  The person on the mortgage is responsible for paying the debt, and if that means they get money from mom and dad to do it, the bank doesn’t care.

Now, if they lied about income, or if they know that without the parents help they would not be able to afford the payments, that could be at the very least extremely damaging to their credit in the future when the parents no longer can or will pay, but could also be considered fraud, which is pretty illegal.


Title: Should prenups be required?

Question:
It seems like it would solve a lot of problems if a generic legally-enforceable prenup form was created and it was required to get a marriage license.

Thoughts?

Answer: A “generic prenup” already exists, it’s the default statutory rules in any given jurisdiction


Title: I've made a mistake.

Question:
I asked my friend to call his friend to tell him to add me on steam, but he decides to take that a step further, and tell his friend that im going to DDos him if i dont add him on steam, what do i do? Im in texas, and they are both in torronto canada. Sorry if im breaking any rules but im just scared right now.
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer: Stop worrying and don't talk to your dumb "friends" anymore.


Title: Can a company dock your pay because the power at their building (which they own) goes out, so you can’t work?

Question:
It was the last hour of the day on Friday and the power went out, and we could leave at 4:30 instead of 5:00. But if we did, we’d lose that 30 minutes of pay. Is that legal? Since you can’t do your job because they aren’t supplying us the proper workplace? It’s a typical office job FYI.

Thanks!
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer: They don’t have to pay you for the 30 minutes you did not work, unless you were on salary.


Title: Want to break lease and move out, but lease agreement says if they don't find a replacement tenant I have to pay the entire remainder of the lease.

Question: Need to move for work, and I'm already paying out the ass for this place. However, in the lease it states that I have to basically buy time I'm not using and pay the lump sum of the entire remainder of the lease. As contracts go, since I signed the damn thing I know it's legal.But want to know if there may be a way around this. I'm paying $900 a damn month and would have to multiply that by 6  to get out of this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: That is perfectly legal, and totally reasonable. It's not your LL's fault you have to move and he shouldn't be penalized for it. It sounds like your lease states that if you break it, he/she required to mitigate your losses by trying to get it rented as soon as possible. But, you are responsible (up to the limits of your lease term) to cover the rent until he/she does.


Title: How do I take PG&E to small claims for the Camp Fire(Paradise, CA)?

Question:
Long story short, I lived in Paradise, CA and while the fire didn't burn down my home it burned down everything in sight around it. I slept in my car for 2 months straight and lost 30 lbs.  The mobile home was a rental, and I am fairly poor. So being evicted and sleeping in my car for that long really did a number on me. I've since managed to become somewhat stable and I no longer live in my old home. I haven't even returned to it since the fire originally broke out because the water became toxic and I could no longer afford to live there anymore.

I applied for **FEMA** but was rejected (I have the rejection letter too)  because I don't qualify if the home is still standing. I have since received zero assistance from the government on the matter. About 5 homes in my family burned down. It was the most tragic incident to ever strike us and I don't think we will ever recover. Every single one of us is now struggling to get by, there isn't a single exception, and many of us had our workplace burned down too.

So I have decided to take **PG&E** to small claims and was wondering what the proper procedure would be to do it. I have absolutely zero legal knowledge on this matter. But would appreciate any and all advice. I have some questions as well in additions to any advice you can provide for me.

1. What amount should be requested if I do take **PG&E** to small claims?
2. Do I have to file the small claims in the same county? (many of my family members no longer reside in Butte, so this applies to them if they wish to pursue a small claims as well).
3. Is it possible to take **PG&E** to small claims over this matter.

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Answer: That's not realistic. There are several class action lawsuits currently active, you should reach out to the firms representing victims and see if you qualify to be added to a suit. If you're suing for fire damage, the total would be well over the small claims limit anyway. Considering your house did not burn, it's unclear which if any suits youd qualify to join or how much compensation you'd be entitled to.


Title: I was falsely accused of shoplifting. What do I do? [x-post from /legal]

Question:
This might be a little long, but please bear with me; I want to be as transparent as possible.

I was at Macy’s the other night shopping for dresses and was stopped by Loss Prevention. The detective grabbed my bag from me and started searching it. I had four dresses in my bag that I previously purchased from Macy’s, which all still had tags on them (I never remove any tags until I wear it), so of course she accused me of stealing those dresses. When I told her I had those on my persons when entering the store, she said she saw me walking into the fitting room with a number of dresses and walk out of the fitting room with less than that number of dresses. I cannot be the only person who does not keep everything she tries on. I told her I put the items I didn’t want on the return rack, but she dismissed it and demanded I follow her. I had no idea where she was taking me, but she had my bag and was walking away with it. I wasn’t about to start an altercation with her and I wanted to be as cooperative as possible. And to be honest, I had/have no idea what authority she had because I thought she might have been with the police. She put me in their detention cell, searched my bag, took my information, etc. and told me the police would be on their way. She presented paper work for me to sign, which basically said I stole ~$380 in merchandise and agreed to pay Macy’s $500 right away. I politely declined to sign any papers or give them any money. I was then arrested and taken to the local precinct where I was finger printed and given a court date.

I had a lot of time to think while in the detention cell and I think this is what makes the situation look bad.

* I’ve had a Macy’s card for several years, but when I bought those dresses I paid with cash because 1) I left my Macy’s card in my wallet and the store said they wouldn’t hold the dresses for me and 2) I had the cash so I didn’t use my credit card.
* Macy’s does this weird thing where they put these little stickers over the barcode when you purchase something (to track the purchase I assume). I bought the dresses on Black Friday weekend and the sales associate asked me if I planned on returning them. I told her probably not and I don't believe she put the sticker on there, which I didn’t think about until now.
* I didn’t have the receipt for the dresses on me AND (this is the kicker) now I can’t find it. For the life of me, I have no idea where I put it.

Basically, I have zero proof that the dresses are mine. Which also leads me to wonder, what sort of “proof” do they have? She says she watched me leave the fitting room with fewer items. Cameras aren’t allowed in fitting rooms, so assuming I were to steal something while in there, wouldn’t they have had to watch me while I was changing in the fitting room itself? If that’s not illegal, it’s just plain creepy even if she’s a woman. Also, don’t all items have an alarm tag? Wouldn’t my dresses still have them on if I had stolen them? And if I had somehow found a way to remove the tags without them exploding, shouldn’t they be in the fitting room?

Additional questions/thoughts.

* Did LP have the right to grab my bag from me and search it? She announced who she was as she did it, but I was in such shock I didn’t really protest.

* Since I have to go to court now, what can I do to prepare? I was not made aware of what my rights were or what LP’s authority was and I’m not sure they’re obligated to tell me.
* A few cops said I would likely just get a slap on the wrist if I plead guilty and some community service. I am aware that I can request to have my record sealed, but I won’t take this as guaranteed.
* I don’t have any prior history and on paper I look like a good girl. I went to a great school, have had a stable office job since graduating and volunteer regularly. Part of me wonders if they accused me because I’m a minority (Asian), look young (I carry a backpack), have a large back tattoo that was visible, and a nose ring. I was browsing in the more expensive dress section. Did I look like I could afford the stuff there? In their minds, probably not. Can I actually afford the stuff there? Easily.

I don’t want this to escalate because I can’t afford a lawyer, and I don’t have hard evidence that I am not guilty. LP also doesn’t have hard evidence that I AM guilty, although I’m nervous I could have displayed “suspicious” behavior on their cameras (what that is, I wouldn’t know). It’s basically my word against theirs, and I admit my story could look better. I’m assuming I won’t be able to talk to the DA until the day I go into court, so how do I know he/she will even believe me? I have a feeling they might just tell me to plead guilty because it’s easier/cheaper to pay the $500 fine.

**TLDR;** I sincerely ask you to please read this whole thing through. Although this might seem like a petty situation to some of you, I am terrified of what may happen and I don’t know what to do. I understand Reddit cannot replace actual legal advice and that I will still need to speak with a lawyer. Thank you.

**Edit** This is not x-posted to /legal. Apparently new accounts are not trustworthy.

Answer:
 Hang on.  Your story is that you purchased dresses at a store two weeks ago.  You then took them home, didn't wear them, didn't remove the tags, and then brought them **back** to the store, in your bag, with no intention of returning them?

You also paid cash for them, don't have a receipt, and the sales associate forgot to mark them as 'sold' when you left?

This story sounds **very** fishy.  Unless you can come up with some sort of documentation that you actually purchased them, you're going to have trouble overcoming the evidence at hand.  The chain of events necessary for this to happen is suspect.

If you plan to fight, you should seek legal representation.  If you can afford to shop the expensive part of Macy's, you should be able to afford an attorney.  Answer #2: Hire an attorney and hope Macy's has security tapes of you purchasing the dresses on Black Friday. I'm sure you know what register you purchased them at and about what time of day you were there. If they still have the footage (some stores delete footage after a short period of time) your attorney can help get them and it should show you purchasing the dresses you are accused of stealing.

Of course, if they have footage of you bringing those dresses into the dressing rooms before they appeared in your bag, and if you took the dresses, they probably do have that footage, you're probably screwed.


Title: Possible Divorce due to Adultery

Question:
Hi everyone. I’ve seen this sub before and today a rather large incident occurred that needs some assistance.
What happened:
My parents have been married for 27 years now. As of today, a woman contacted us with evidence that my father has been cheating for at least a year with her mother.
The mistress in the situation is also married and claims she was not in the wrong as her husband is dying from cancer, therefore not good enough for her.
My father has denied this despite the obvious proof and switched to harassing my mother and siblings.
The mistress has spent hours harassing my mother in both phone calls and texts. At one point she threatened to assault my eight-months pregnant sister.

Thanks to to this, my mother is considering a divorce. However, she hasn’t worked in a decade now due to taking over the home finances and housework and is scared how she can survive post separation.

She thinks the best option is to wait and force my father’s hand to start the divorce.

What I would like to know is the best way to proceed with the possibility of a divorce occurring. Along with that, I’d like to know if it’s smart to keep records of the harassing texts messages, call records, and the initial unveiling of the adultery.
If there is any way to know if my mother can be safe during this procedure I would be thankful, as my father has abused her in the past and all of her children are worried for her safety at the moment.
If this is against the rules, I do apologize but I’m so frazzled and scared of her safety from this ordeal that I may have missed something looking over the rules.

Answer:
 Most divorce is no-fault.

Help your mother find a lawyer.  She may be entitled to have your father pay all or part of attorney fees.

Once your mother has a lawyer, get out of this.  You shouldn't be in the middle of it.  This is really not your place.  Give your mother emotional support, but that's all.


Title: Show cause for spoliaton of evidence

Question:
I am sued in Florida in a defamation lawsuit for some comments over the internet. The case has been going on for quire sometime. Finally, I received show cause order from the courtfor erasing information from computer that was asked for forensic exam by the plaintiff (court did not ask me to stop erase).  Plaintiff did not have any evidence to prove that any of those messages are from my home or computer or office: no relation with me at all.  The messages  all came from public places. Plaintiff has only some questionable circumstantial evidence, for example, all those messages came when I have no work hours .  I knew spoilation of evidence is serious.

However,  I read that under Florida law, spoliation is established when the party seeking sanctions proves that:
(1) the evidence existed at one time,

(2) the alleged spoliator had a duty to preserve the evidence, and

(3) the evidence was crucial to the movant’s prima facie case or defense.

(i). Are these three conditions  valid?

(ii). What is my status if I rely on the first and third conditions, which the plaintiff cannot fulfill forever?

(iii). can explain my entire situation during the show cause order hearing to convince the judge that the plaintiff is simply harassing me?

(iv).  What is my best bet to do now?

(v). My attorney is sick and not responding and she already submitted motion to separate from me but is not approved by the court yet. If  my attorney does not response, I want to submit my written response directly to judge and copy to the other party.  On the envelope, do I need to mention the judge name or simply the court address would be fine?

(vi). I have house (for the last ten years, in which we live) and a small rental property both are jointly on my name and my wife’s name. I have a couple of thousand dollars in my wife’s bank account: I recently transferred that money to my wife’s account. If I file for bankruptcy, do I lose my house? My property?  The money in my wife’s account?

Answer:
 You really need to get a civil litigation attorney.  And you can't transfer money to avoid judgment.Answer #2: You're entering a world of pain here.  Just from your post it's very easy to ascertain numerous reasons why your attorney is withdrawing from the case.

You need to:

1. Find a new attorney.

2. Do exactly what that attorney says.

3. Stop destroying evidence.

4. Stop attempting to hide assets.

5. Stop talking shit about people on the internet.

Usually posters here present themselves in the best light.  From your post, you have literally not done a single thing that would help yourself out.  You've only been digging your grave and tying your noose.

You really need a new attorney, and do exactly as they say.  Stop trying to "help" yourself out.


Title: [OH] Recently applied for a job, is this pay legal?

Question:
So I recently applied for a job and had a quick interview today. Everything sounded all right until he mentioned payroll. I would be getting paid almost $2 less than minimum wage. He then explained his employees are classified as 'volunteers' and that he is basically paying us the amount we'd get after taxes. He explained it's easier to record our pay as an expense because we may be going back and forth between the store I applied to and his other store or we may be helping out at shows he does. He said there was the option to be on the payroll but my hours would be cut because it'd be more expensive for him. He mentioned a 1099 but I wasn't entirely sure what that meant.
Is this legal or should I look elsewhere? I'm sorry if there's not enough information here, I don't remember completely what he said but if you want to ask questions I can do my best to explain more.

Topic:
Tax Law

Answer: It's a scam. Don't do it. Report him. Answer #2: A 1099 is considered an independent contractor and as such, they can negotiate as much or little as they please.  But it's not likely that this position falls into that category.  The category of 1099 is very often misused.  [Review these questions from the IRS](http://galachoruses.org/sites/default/files/IRS-20-questions-W2-vs-1099.pdf)


Title: [TN, USA - NSW, AU] At 21 I moved continents to be with my girlfriend of three years. After three months her g-pa passed away and she cheated on me. Now I'm out $15,000 and am moving back to the USA

Question: [deleted]

Answer: Love hurts dude.


Title: Artist here, Someone just started using the business name I've had for three years. Help.

Question:
Hey there, starving artist here.
Over the past three years I have painstakingly put my heart and soul into creating a brand name for selling my art and products.
Within the past year I've received a decent amount of business and have grown substantially.
Today however, I did a simple search for my business name and discovered that three weeks ago someone else opened an online store using the same title, selling somewhat similar items.
I've put my whole life into this, and have been for some time now.
I'm really concerned about this alternate online seller.
Please help, I would like to contact her to tell her that I have already been using the name but I don't know how to make her change the name.
thank you

Location: Washington State

Answer:
 If you haven't trademarked your name, that's the first thing you do: trademark the name of your company. Do not contact the other business until you've completed this step, otherwise you might find yourself in a bigger mess.Answer #2: It sounds like you developed common law trademark rights to your business name.  The Lanham Act (trademark law) gives you the ability to enforce those rights against the alleged infringer in Federal Court.  However, if you did not register your business name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, you are limited in the type of statutory damages you can enjoy.  For example you won't be able to collect attorney fees spent to enforce your trademark rights.  In addition, you will have to prove in court that you own a valid trademark, as defined by the Lanham Act.

I would find a trademark attorney to help you assert your rights.  If you can't afford one, you can send your own demand letter asserting common law rights, but they can choose to ignore you.

Feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions.


Title: [IL] Local bus company posting personal information of "customers who have given [bus company] payments that were not honored."

Question:
They're posting the personal information of those people who seemed to have issued a chargeback.

The bus company posts the name of the person, address, email, and in some cases, cell phone numbers for parents. Are companies allowed to do this?

Answer: yes, they are, which is why your school's subbreddit has posted giant warnings to not use that bus company. the owner pulls shady shit like that all the time.Answer #2: Yes. None of that information is considered private information. SSN or credit card info? Then there would be a cause of action. Probably the best bet here is to not try to screw over the bus company.


Title: [TX] Was caught stealing years ago, but my case was dropped. Will I have to report this to law school admissions?

Question:
I am currently 22, but when I was 19, I decided to swipe an item at a sports store and was caught. I was escorted to the back room by the store's LP where he took my information and contacted the police. After a pretty lengthy conversation, (police took a long time), he admitted he wished he had waited to contact the police as he would have just let me go. He told me he would leave a good report with the police and would not show up to court in hopes it could be dismissed. Although he told me this, I have not seen the document and am not sure if it's true. I was not arrested, and after talking to the police, I was able to leave with a citation. The item was $60, and the charge was a misdemeanor.

I hired a lawyer, went to court, and my case was dismissed. I've read conflicting accounts about whether or not I would need to disclose this in my application, or if it would happen when taking the bar.

Because I was not arrested nor convicted, I believe this will not reflect on my criminal record, and therefore I would not have one at all. I normally err on the side of caution, so I will be visiting the courthouse to check and see if I have a criminal record. If I don't find anything, should I still disclose this in case it surfaces later on?

Answer: If you went to court you got a summons. The summons, for purposes of law school and the bar should be considered an arrest. It is always better for law school and the bar to reveal and explain. For things like this it is the failure to reveal that causes trouble later on. Something  like this shouldn’t keep you out of law school or from becoming a lawyer, as long as you don’t have additional and more serious problems.


Title: Visiting bitch and dead dog.

Question:
In Ca.  This happened to my friend “Fran” and looking for advice.

Fran has two small dogs.

Fran’s next door neighbor “Nate” has a male German Shepard.

Apparently Nate is hosting an additional dog, a guest female German Shepherd that Nate now says isn’t his dog, the story is that she is there to breed with his male.  I have no idea if that’s true or not re who’s dog she is or why she is there.  Maybe it is true, maybe it isn’t.

It’s after dark.  Fran lets her two dogs out in Fran’s own fenced back yard to go potty, that’s about the only time her dogs  go out.   There is some barking.

Fran hears a ruckus and goes to bring her dogs in. A German Shepard is in Fran’s back yard and it appears to be the female.

Fran calls her dogs in but only one returns. Fran then sees the bitch attack her other dog and it was absolutely horrific.  Fran gets her dog and takes him to the vet where he has to be put down.

What recourse does Fran have? She is so upset and angry.  She’s still in shock.  She’s mad at irresponsible backyard breeding, shes just mad and sad and she’s just a complete mess right now.

Fran and her dog were minding their own business in their own property.  The aggression from the next door neighbor’s dog is highly aggressive. Idk if these Shepards are trained fight dogs or what.

My friend is so distraught.  What will happen to the attacking dog? What about the owner? What recourse does Fran have?

Answer:
 Call animal control. Animal control will file a report and take action, such as finding the nieghbor for allowing a dog to run at large or taking the dog out of the nieghbors custody if it has a history of agression.

Ask the nieghbors to cover the vet bill and the value of the dog if it was a pure breed of some type. If they refuse to do so sue for those costs in small claims.


Title: the ontario government has removed my biological parents from my birth certificate which voids my uk citizenship?

Question:
Ontario, Canada

Story: my biological father was from scotland, which means i can claim uk citizenship, while my mum was pregnant my father passed away, when i was four my mum remarried and i was adopted by my stepdad, at 7 my mum passed away, when i turned 18 i went to change my last name back to my biological father than adoptive, i had to send in my birth certificate, after the name change went through i requested to have my birth certificate back to which i was told i can’t have it released until my adoptive father signs a form saying that he is my father and they change my parents on my birth certificate from my biological decreased to my now adoptive, the only issue is my original birth certificate is the only document i have that states i am my fathers daughter and without i cant prove to the uk government that i am eligible for uk citizenship.

Questions: can the ontario government first change your parents, second withhold my birth certificate?
Who do i speak to, tobhave this resolves it’s been a year of calling service canada, ontario and my MPP.

Answer: The Ontario government didn't change who your father was. Your mother and step father did when they decided that your stepfather should adopt you. That's what adoption does. This adoption severed the parental link between you and your biological father and replaced it with one between you and your step-father.


Title: MD neighbor situation (update 2)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 >I did end up writing a letter to our neighbor's firm.

Now why in the world would you do that?  If you have a problem with someone, then why would you write a letter to that person's employer?  The only reason I can think of is that you were motivated by the desire to get that person in trouble with their employer.

If you have a problem with someone who is an attorney, then why would you write a letter to that person's law firm?  If you have an ongoing case with someone, then you might have cause to send a letter to the person's attorney (which might be someone in particular at that person's employer who is a law firm), but that letter should only be about court filings etcetera.

You F'd up here.  I am going to guess that your letter was in fact defamatory and that you just can't see it.  You are probably going to want to run your whole sordid situation by an attorney who is representing your interests (personally I wouldn't trust an attorney who is basically representing your insurance company to have your personal interests as the priority).


Title: (CT) pay me more, i have ten kids!!!

Question: Can you legally pay someone more or less based on the number of kids they have? For example, could you hire two people for comparable work and pay one more because they have kids? Or, to bring all employees up to a living wage, give a larger raise to those who have more kids (proportionally)?

Answer: Sure.  Parenthood/no kids isn't a protected class.  You could be fired for having too many kids or not enough in just about every state.


Title: I have an abusive husband and need to get out. I need to know if my idea is legal...

Question: I posted earlier in r/relationship_advice and have a question based off of some of the advice I was given there. Basically, I am a SAHM with a 1yo and an 8yo. I have no local family, no job, and no money. My husband is abusive - mentally, physically, and emotionally. I need to leave this situation, but I'm scared about the legal battles I will face - primarily due to my husband's financial resources and his proven-to-be-good attorney (my husband was previously married and used this lawyer during those divorce proceedings). I have family out of state (I'm in PA, they're in NJ)... Because there is no current custody agreement, am I able to just take off with my children? I'm scared of what might happen if he finds out if leaving or finds out where I've gone. Not so much scared that he will hurt me, more scared that he will take my children away from me somehow. Would it be considered kidnapping if I take off with our kids and not tell him (or anyone outside of my family, for that matter) where I'm going? I don't see many options that won't take time that I'm honestly not sure I have to prepare for...

Answer:
 Contact a counselor and or the local Dv center. Get the location for the local batters women's shelter. Note - this is DIFFERENT than a homeless shelter . the first time I tried to leave some judgey cop dropped me and my 2yo at the homeless shelter. We were home within a day BC that place is just a jail and mental hospital with no guards and no doctors. Plus, its public knowledge.

The second time, I had been seeing a counselor who got me info on the battered women's shelter. I also spent 3 months secretly documenting the abuse, and letting my counselor document it as well.  For some reason I felt like I couldn't leave when he was in a nice phase, so I waited for the next explosion. I just gathered up the kids, walked out, drove to the gas station, called the battered women's shelter and told them I was coming - and that if I didn't I had a drunk man waiting to beat me when I got home. Headed over to the shelter, and It was an absolute dream compared to what i left, and an undisclosed location. By that time I had a newborn as well, and I was able to stay there with both small children for over a month, no fears or cares, and get access to legal aid as needed.

Remember, walking out the door is the hardest thing to imagine, but actually the easiest thing to do. Its just a series of steps out the door that you take every day, only this time you don't turn around and walk back inside.