Title: [NYC] Found out my wife is cheating on me, what do I do?

Question:
About two weeks ago, I found some texts on my wife's iPad with a guy from work. After some digging I got her to break and tell me she has been cheating with this guy since May. So we are going to get a divorce.

I don't know where to start? We own a home together and have a one-year-old.

We have a joint bank account. Most of the bills are auto-taken out of my check and her check is the one we use for cash and other things. I can't pay all the bills by myself.
I told her that I want to sell the house and split whatever we make on the house and pay down debt and get new places with it.
She has changed her mind twice in the last two days. Between, she is willing to do my plan of selling the house and then to that she isn't going to sell and she has nowhere else to go and she wants to stay there.

What should I do? Do I have any way of getting her to sign, so we can sell this house and move on with our lives?

The cell phones, car insurance, power, water, gas... is all in my name, what can I do about this?

I can't just leave the house. I can't afford the house all by myself.

Right now we are both staying here but this isn't going to last. I bought a lock for my bedroom door but it is a real toxic place right now.

Thank you all in advance for your help.

Answer:
 You need to speak to a divorce lawyer as soon as possible, and a family crisis counselor would be a good start as well despite any reservations you may have.  the more real world guidance you have over something like this the better.  Answer #2: Family law attorney, yesterday. Beyond simply divorce, you want the absolute best custody situation possible, and you're the dad here with a very young kid.

IANAL, but I believe you're looking to file a partition lawsuit (?) to force divison of the property, which generally results in a court-ordered sale. I'm very fuzzy on these details so do not put much stock into this.

Record exact values of your joint accounts, consider withdrawing your half to another personal account


Title: Need help locating my father's stolen car from YEARS ago!

Question:
Hello all, first time poster here.

My father owned a 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme that was stolen from him on 8/22/1992 from right in front of our house. I am located in New York City, Queens area. I am honestly not sure where I should start....i ran a few VIN reports hoping to find something...didnt really find anything on it. If I go to the local precinct, will they help me, or laugh it off? what are my options here? Thank you!

Answer: The car is gone. Move on. The police will not spend the time looking for it.


Title: (Orlando, FL) Can I sue the apartment complex?

Question:
My girlfriend was raped in her gated apartment complex by her ex boyfriend. The thing is that the gates are open literally all the time so anyone can come and go as they please. Before the instance, I told my girlfriend to talk to her HOA about keeping the gate closed so people like him couldn't get inside. They didn't do anything.

So what can I do from a legal standpoint? I'm already going to demand an early termination of the lease but I want them to pay for not being proactive about the safety of their residents.

Answer:
 > So what can I do from a legal standpoint?

You can encourage her to report the crime and cooperate with the police and prosecutor.

There is no case here against her apartment complex.


Title: My insurance will not cover my sons $22,000 hospital bill (Colorado)

Question: Hey all. My son was born this January and unfortunately had to stay in the NICU for a couple weeks. He's fine now, no problems at all. He's perfectly healthy. But we were stuck with a 22,000 dollar bill because of it. We tried adding him to our insurance. (My wife and I) within the first month of him being born because those we the conditions of my wifes employer to get coverage for our son. We did it online by sending an email like we were supposed to. They ignored the email and never responded. We then sent another email a couple months later and they finally responded saying they were denying coverage because we didn't apply within the one month period we were supposed to. Now the bill has been sent to collections and I honestly don't know where to go from here. Ive called my wife's employer and they are not doing anything about it and are basically ignoring me. Ive called the insurance company and they won't do anything either because my sons not on our plan. I'm at a dead end here and I really have no idea what to do next. What are my opinions here, if I have any at all?

Answer: File a complaint with the Colorado Insurance Commissioner - https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dora/node/102256Answer #2: Do you have any proof of the first email?Answer #3: If you end up not having any luck with insurance, I would contact the hospital and ask for the bill to be written down as if you had insurance. They may be willing to cut you a break on the sticker price. The insurance company most definitely would not be paying the full $22,000.


Title: (Washington- Minnesota) Help me resolve my vacation from hell.

Question:
Hello Reddit first time poster. So my GF and I have been planning a road trip to Seattle for months. we go to Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, the whole nine yards. on the night before we leave for home we get the amazing idea to take some edibles (I'm 20 shes 22, so she bought it and brought it back to the hotel) so I've never tried pot before (i figured our state would legalize it soon but i got antsy) and i decide to take 3 and a half. (which according to everyone who was in the county jail with me was way too much) and i freak the fuck out, i run outside naked, and am screaming at my girlfriend to wake me up. (i guess i thought i was dying and the only way to stop was for her to wake me up) eventually the cops come and they cuff me, and I come to in a padded cell. (scary as fuck because i thought i was dying and i believed wholeheartedly that i was in hell.) a day goes by and I ask what I'm charged with. (i thought i would get a minor in possession and get sent home with a fine but NOPE) a domestic violence in the 4th degree. I've never hit a woman in my life i wouldn't even dream about it. so 2 days since i was locked up go by and i go to my arrangement hearing . my GF gets up and pleads with the judge to NOT put a no-contact order on me. judge doesn't care and decides he wants to throw the book at me. my wonderful mom shows up and bails me out and we get the hell out of dodge. so my trial is in 2ish weeks how can i fight this and what can i do, please need help!!!

TL:DR: i take some edibles and wake up in jail with a domestic violence 4th degree in an unfamiliar state with a GF (alleged victim) stating that it was a big misunderstanding and to let me go, and a judge who wants to jail me for a year HELP !!!!!!

Answer:
 You're in the big leagues now - you need a criminal defence attorney who is admitted in Washington, not free advice from the internet. Contact the Washington Bar and ask for a referral. Do not speak to the police, your girlfriend, your family, reddit, or anyone other than your attorney about the events in question until your lawyer okays it.

If you can't afford an attorney, then you can appear for your arraignment, plead "not guilty," and request a public defender. If you have already been arraigned, you may be able to get a public defender anyways - contact the Washington Public Defender's Office and ask. However, if you can afford interstate road trips, you may have too many assets to qualify.

If your bail conditions included not leaving the state, you need to go back to Washington before they notice you're gone. Fleeing on bail will more or less guarantee you face additional charges, and that you will be denied bail in the future.Answer #2: Get a lawyer. Your gf doesn’t get to decide your fate, the law does. Doesn’t matter that you didn’t mean to hit her or whatnot but you did. Answer #3: Wow, dude. You need a Washington Criminal defense attorney pronto.Answer #4: Uh, not sure what you think we can do for you here. You need a criminal defense lawyer.


Title: I think I just got a text from a sex trafficker

Question:
I’ll keep this short and simple, last night at 1:20 am I got a text from an unknown number. I showed it to a few of my friends and one of them told me it was a link for sex trafficking. It would track my location and stuff. Don’t worry I’m not a complete moron, and I haven’t clicked the link. I don’t know what to do, do I just ignore it? Do I report it to the police? My school’s office?
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 > I showed it to a few of my friends and one of them told me it was a link for sex trafficking. It would track my location and stuff.

It's not.  That's fearmongering.  Sex traffickers aren't using weird apps to track and kidnap people.  It may be malicious, but it isn't sex traffickersAnswer #2: This seems unlikely without context regarding what it was and how your friend so readily recognized it as a ‘sex trafficking site’. More likely in my opinion it would be a phishing site of some variety than sex trafficking with an unknown number sending you a link.


Title: Baby born early. Employer denying request to start leave immediately. (California)

Question:
My son was due January 30th.  I submitted a request in mid-December to begin my new child bonding leave under FMLA and CFRA to begin on Jamuary 26th.  My son was born Sunday January 19th.  I called the on-duty leave that day at 10am and informed her that the I would be unable to be starting my leave immediately.  They got someone to cover my shift that night and told me I would need to come in first thing Monday and fill out a new request. Which I did.

 I got a call from my department supervisor today who told me that she was unable to cover my shifts and that I would need to work through the end of the week.  In addition, they did not cover my shift last night and are considering it a no-call/no-show.

FMLA requires 30 days notice when the need is for seeable and if not for seeable to inform the employer as soon as possible.  HR is claiming that the advanced notice is required for bonding and the ASAP only applies to illness/injury of a family member.

Are they allowed to do this?
I can't risk losing my job while I sue them so I need to work these shifts if they tell me too.  Do I forfeit my right to file a complaint if I do work these shifts?

Answer:
 I'm the father, so recovery doesn't apply.  After far too long on hold I spoke to someone in the strait fair employment yada yada and they agreed that as long as I kept them updated as possible, my employer has no right to deny the leave.  But that it could take a day or to for an enforcement officer to get in touch.

Called HR back and told them I would work the shifts if nothing is resolved before then, but explained where I was at with the government.  She said they could call her or the corporate office.  That's when I realized that I should call corporate in case she was misinterpreting/misrepresenting company policy.

Sure enough, corporate HR agreed. Called my HR rep to confirm that everything was as I described and instructed her to approve the leave and remove yesterday's unexcused absence from my record.


Question:
## Extended Stay Hotel Guest/Harassed by New Management and Staff

(TLDR: 2+ year continuous guest in extended stay type hotel/ in town for medical traetment for ill elderly parent/ Never issues with previous management/Being harassed by New management and new staff/ Seeking advice, gearing up to sue)

📷

Hello. This is my first post to r/legaladvice, so bear with me!

My issue is taking place at an extended stay type hotel in the metro-Atlanta area of Georgia.

I am an adult 'child' (female) staying here for over 2 years now with my elderly parent. We are here from another state so that I can get her to the specialists based in this city, for treatment.

We are quiet, private, and very clean. Never had any complaints lodged against us (that I've been notified about), and aside from the rare 'noise complaint' I've had to call in at 3 - 5 AM...we hardly complain either.

The management that was running this place prior to my issue was consistently professional and pleasant. We have not requested or received any 'special treatment' from the previous management, only courtesy's such as adjusting the doors to adjoining rooms due to the violent slam they'd make all day as other guests or staff went about their day. And that only came AFTER management asked me if there was anything I'd noticed that could use some attention from staff.

Because we've been here longer than 3 months(?)/6 months(6), we're in a 'grandfathered' rate of pay. About $15 lower than the lowest daily rate. No state or city tax. No daily fee. We don't use the hotel's linens, as we have our own, and we keep our unit so clean, we don't require housekeeping. Management had been in our unit and confirmed this, so the weekly housekeeping fee has also been removed from my charges. Management's doing...not per my request. Even with these earned concessions, I'm still paying a pretty penny.

With the former management, the property was immaculate. The hallways smelled deodorized. The AC was on, building-wide. The parking lot was free of litter. No trespassing or loitering was allowed. Any onsite repairs needed that I might have noticed in my daily comings and goings were rectified by the next day. Staff was adamant about not allowing a seedy element onto the premises, and foolishness was tended to with a quickness.

Enter 'NM' or New Management. This person started working here a couple of weeks ago and is the polar opposite of the former manager, who is gone due to receiving a well-deserved promotion.

The property is becoming run-down. The halls reek of weed smoke. The turnover rate for new staff is averaging 2.5 weeks. The parking lot has trash littered about most of the day, and the trash bin is overrun for several days a week. Two of the key-card entry/exit doors are broken. So the building is NOT secure. There are meth addicts, mid-tweak, roaming the parking lot well into the night. Obvious prostitution. And if you want to loudly beat your wife, with no threat of staff interfering, book a room here.

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

**MY STORY**

\*The first time I went down to pay my weekly rent, and NM was there to receive it, NM coldly eyeballed me and proceeded to sternly tell me that there will be 'no preferential treatment whatsoever', as they 'don't care WHAT 'former management said!'

\*NM then went on to say that she'd 'read our file' and that we were to 'knock off all of these meritless calls to the on-call staff about noise! My guests are JUST AS IMPORTANT AS YOU! They can have parties (the printed rules given out at check-in specifically say 'no parties'), they can work out, they can play loud music! I'll NOT HAVE my staff or my other guests tiptoeing around YOU!'

\*Included in NM's rant were insults to my family and I about 'how long' we'd been 'staying there'! Calling it 'strange' that we'd been at the hotel so long. Called us 'obsessed' for staying in 'the Same Room so long'. (what?) Said we 'come and go at all hours of the night' (I'm an adult and some of the work I do has 3rd shift hours, not that its anyone's business), as NM had been 'watching us on the security cameras'.

\*NM was also very upset about the rate we pay, and the fact that housekeeping doesn't come to our room. I tried to explain that we'd not requested it, but former management saw there wasn't a need, and that I'd been instructed to just let management know if anything in my unit needed attention. I'd even told former management to feel free to stop by anytime, day or night to check on our cleanliness and compliance, if need be. Nothing to hide here.....

NM was shrill, unprofessional, and belligerent. The rant kept coming back to how 'private' we are. As if that's a bad thing.

I said very little got my receipt and left.

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

**THE MAINTENANCE GUY**

Shortly after NM started at the hotel, a new maintenance guy (MG) was hired. He is sketchy/creepy, with clear anger issues, and I give him a wide berth.

\*One day recently, I'd gone grocery shopping and used the hotel cart to bring up our bags. Once unloaded, I walked the hotel cart back down the hall, so it wouldn't block anyone's path, and placed it in front of the elevator doors, for staff to retrieve it.

A few minutes later, I could hear MG near the cart. As I am in the end unit. He went into a screaming, profanity-laden tirade, screaming 'put the Fking cart back downstairs!'. He then rammed the cart 5 times, with his full might, into the wall of my unit, got on the elevator, and took it downstairs. This repeated 3 more times over the next couple of weeks, with him screaming and cursing, ramming the cart into my unit's wall. But those subsequent times, it was not even my family that had used the cart. He'd just assumed it was.

\*He has also taken to talking loudly (to no-one) right outside my unit door, about 'overly sensitive bitches who can't even take a little noise. God-forbid anyone makes NOISE in a hotel!'. There are comments of 'get an effing JOB! Stop sleeping all day!', and 'this isn't a hospital!'

This lets me know that my family has been discussed. The only person who I told my parent was ill was NM.

\*When in my unit, during the day, with no TV on, one can hear the hallway activities very clearly. Overall, its fairly quiet, uneventful.

I'm mentioning this to reference how MG will mop this entire 32-room hallway, and all you can hear is the 'swish' of the mop. He even whistles sometimes. Perfectly normal stuff. However, when he gets to my door, there is a violent 'BANG' from his mop handle. No other door is EVER hit.

Every day during MG's shift, when he passes my unit to get into his supply closet, he rams his cart(s) into the wall of my unit, coming and going. From 6AM till 11PM.

When I leave out to run an errand, MG follows me. Watches as I pull off. No matter what the time of day...and my schedule is different everyday....he appears outside as I'm either going to or pulling up in my car. Watching.

He is trying to intimidate me, or 'create an incident'....I'm not sure if its because NM is upset we've been here this long and pay a lower rate, or what.

I am tired of the menacing and harassment, and just shy of calling the police, I spoke to the manager on duty this week about MG's behavior. They appeared to be shocked. I was polite while spelling out his behavior. I asked that NM call me to discuss this latest incident with him now standing right outside my door, berating me and my family from the hallway.

It has now been a few days and NM has not called me. However, today MG slipped a letter under my door stating my rates were being raised. The letter was not in an envelope, but had been stapled, and contained private information. It had been opened already. Not really sure why a maintenance man and not Front Desk staff or management would be assigned to leave such a letter, but this fits right in with the treatment I've experienced.

I do not know him. I do not know any of them, as they are all new hires. So I couldn't possibly have offended anyone. I am doing my best to stay afloat while paying out of pocket for my parent to get medical care here. Going elsewhere would create an even greater financial burden that I couldn't carry.

I've found the corporation that owns the 'brand' that this hotel carries. Not sure if I should speak with an attorney first, or 'report' this to 'corporate......However this location is privately owned. Once NM started working here, she switched all the business cards to new ones where it shows her PERSONAL email address. The previous ones had an official email address, which were all automatically copied to corporate. This one is not.

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

**ADVICE WANTED**

I welcome any advice in terms of what kind of attorney I should seek out, or what should be specifically listed in a lawsuit....I fear that is what this will ultimately come to.

I'm assuming there is a housing association that oversees hospitality style businesses in Georgia, but I'm not finding that online. If there are any 'tenant laws' that I can apply to my case, please do share.

Thank you to anyone that cared enough to read.

\#BulliedInAtlanta

Answer:
 You should move.

You are a weekly tenant. If you do not like new management, you should leave. Unless you have a contract at the cheaper rate, new management can change you to market rent at any time.


Title: Sexual Exploitation of a Minor Pending for 2 years 20M AZ

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 No, the fact that you and the girl are dating now does not excuse your prior criminal conduct/sexual exploitation/possession of child pornography.

They have up to the statute of limitations to charge you.  I don't know what the AZ statute of limitations is, but the Federal statute of limitations for possession of CP is 5 years from the date of occurrence.


Title: Should I help the sales associate lady at a Ford dealership from losing her job?

Question:
**Update: I don't work for Ford. I am self employed through a different company and that company sends me to test apps on various vehicles.Mostly it's just app testing, but rarely it's on actual vehicles. So I don't work for Ford nor the dealership. Sorry for not making that clear earlier.**

I am a freelance engineer and as a freelancer I get work here and there sporadically. Recently I got a project to test an app at a Ford dealership inside their bluetooth system and this lady at the dealership has been helping me out by lending me the keys for an hour once or twice a month.  Everytime she does it, I usually get her a small gift card for helping me out. My only other option is to rent a vehicle which is costly.

Anyway, she left work early today and I had to stay a bit early because of some issues I was having with one of the apps. So as I was about to leave, one of the employees whom I have never met comes up and tells me that the owner doesn't allow anyone in the vehicle unless they are purchasing it and pretty much kicked me out.As I was leaving, I asked him if the sales associate is going to get in trouble and he said she is because there is a "chain of command".

I feel like like it was my fault because I had to stay a little longer today rather than the usual 30-45 minutes I usually spend inside the vehicle which is why I think they got suspicious.

I am worried if she will get fired tomorrow and what my responsibilities are in this situation. As of now, they don't know anything about me except that I am an engineer. The sales lady is a young woman and was just helping me out out of the goodness of her heart. I know she is on facebook . Should I contact her and give her heads up about what might happen when she walks in to work tomorrow so that she can be better prepared? She doesn't know that I stayed longer or that I was kicked out because of the owner. I really don't want her to lose her job. Is there any risk with revealing my identity through facebook or something so I can help her out and give her some advice ?

This happened in New York

Answer:
 I don't understand, if you're there on official Ford business, why would either of you get in trouble? Can you clarify??Answer #2: Probably, you should let her know. I would.

As far as legal issue, ... it's her responsibility, but it seems if you were authorized to work on a project for the dealership, you and she, and the dealer ownership should not have any issue.


Title: Can a private business fire you for not wanting to do job-related work on your off time without paying you?

Question: I work for a private dog training business. The owner wants me to either pay for my own education on the related work or find free ways to further educate myself. The education can include reading books, watching videos, listening to seminars, etc. The owner doesn’t want me doing this while on the job and expects me to do this during my free time without pay. When I expressed I didn’t want to do this without getting paid, the owner said they would have no choice but to let me go because they don’t want an employee with limited knowledge. It it legal to be let go for refusing to continue my education on my own dime while also not getting paid? Are there any labor laws being broken here?

Answer: If your employer wants you to go to a specific class, you need to be paid for the time. However, if your employer merely tells you that you don't have the education necessary for the job, they don't have to pay you for furthering your education.  And they can fire you if you for failing to get the education they suggest.


Title: Violent alcoholic ex hospitalized me 17 mos ago, no valid court order, he's posting pictures of the gun he just purchased and of him drinking again

Question:
X-post on a suggestion from /r/relationships -- admittedly I've never read this sub, really sorry if this is the wrong place/format!

Had a temporary restraining order after ex ruined my face and hospitalized me, but failed to convert that to a full restraining order -- he got off on an outrageous story -- his dad's a big shot lawyer, judge is a good ol boy, the judge accepted the ex's story that he was "trying to punch the wall in frustration and [I] just happened to get in the way of [his] fist."

Yes, it was that horrifyingly bad.

If this dude had either the gun or the alcohol/drugs, I'd maybe still feel safe walking around, but there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that if we happen to cross paths, and he's drunk, and he has a gun on him, my life is absolutely in danger. He's been aggressive in public when we accidentally run into each other, and that's sober and unarmed.

I cut contact ages ago. We knew a lot of the same people and I hear from everyone that he's still angry about "that dumb bitch who tried to embarrass [him] in court." One of my friends monitors his facebook/twitter for this exact kind of situation. The ex and I haven't have any direct contact the last few months but it's confirmed this man's still superfuckingangry at me.

And now he's fallen off the wagon and he is armed.

tl;dr: My violent ex started drinking/drugging again and bought a gun. Protective order failed after he smashed my face. He's still furious over me taking him to court but no direct contact in a few months and no recent threats. Do I just have to wait for something [else] bad to happen? Does failing to get that protective order earlier limit my chances of getting legal protection going forward?

Edit: This is in Savannah, GA.
Topic:
Douche

Answer:
 Damn, I hate it when I confuse the wall for my girlfriend's face.

This is a shitty situation, OP. Your ex isn't otherwise prohibited from owning a firearm, I'm guessing, so he isn't doing anything illegal. Was he put on probation/parole or anything? Depending on the terms he could be violating it.

This is sounding like one of those shitty situations where things haven't gotten quite bad enough for the legal system to be able to do anything. If your ex hasn't threatened you or done anything to put in fear, there really isn't anything to arrest him for. Being an angry, drunk asshole isn't a crime. Unfortunately.

Your best bet at this point would be to contact a Victim Advocate at your local courthouse, or perhaps a DV shelter. They'll have experience in these matters, and there may be options that we're not aware of. If they can't help they may be able to refer you to someone who can.

Good luck!


Title: Legal question about police detainment?

Question:
My Preface: I do not usually talk to police and when I do I am very respectful, and never had an issue. I am not a person that tries to piss cops off or provoke them. My question is purely out of curiosity and for future reference in case I am in a situation I am uncomfortable with.

My question: I know people commonly recommend to ask "Am I free to go, or am I being detained" and continue with "If they say you are free to go, walk away. If you are detained, remain silent" and I' am sure this is excellent advise in theory, but most of the time I see this happen (in videos at least) the cop simply refuses to answer, or just keeps asking the same question over and over ([example](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qo7oTAPBKY)). So, what is the law in regards to this? Is the cop legally required to tell you if you are detained? Is (s)he required to tell you why? Can you assume you are detained (or free to go) if (s)he refuses to answer?  What are your options if you are in this situation?

As for location: I am located in Georgia, USA if that matters, but the video I posted was in Idaho, USA. Any information you can provide on this situation is very appreciated!

**Tl;dr:** What can you do if a cop refuses to tell you if you are free to go?

Answer:
 >What can you do if a cop refuses to tell you if you are free to go?

No, that means he is ignoring your question.  If you stand up and he tells you to sit down or you start to walk away and he tells you to stop then you are detained.  Essentially police are under no legal obligation to confirm one way or another if you are detained but you aren't resisting unless you disobey an order.


Title: [FL] Previous Employer Being Sued For Workplace Accident I was involved in, how likely am I to be sued as well?

Question:
Hello,

I'll keep this as brief and nondescript as possible. I previously held a position that required me to transport clients on golf carts around a property. An accident occurred where the cart impacted a fence and went over a small drop, injuring a client. I was driving at the time and am being called into a deposition to describe the events from my point of view. The legal council hired by my former employer states that based on my testimony I may be brought into the lawsuit as well. Since I am directly responsible for the events that occurred (due to an accident, my foot slipping and hitting the wrong pedal and me panicking). I have no money, and cannot afford any kind of judgements or payouts from a lawsuit and I'm frankly terrified. How likely is it that I will personally be sued (am not named in the current lawsuit), and if so do I have any kind of insurance protection?

Thank you.
Topic:
Personal Injury

Answer:
 Not likely, for two reasons.

First, an employee is generally not individually liable for actions conducted in the course of their employment within the scope of their responsibilities.  Unless your misconduct was intentional or a direct violation of company policies, the employer is legally culpable for its employee's torts.  If this was truly an accident (simple negligence) as you describe, then there should be no individual liability under normal legal principles.

Second, its normally not economical for a plaintiff to pursue an individual employee if a case can be made against the employer.  The employer is typically going to have business insurance, and its easier to collect from them than pursuing your assets.

(Note: If you are named in the suit or receive a legal demand, retain a lawyer immediately.  Your employer *may* have a duty to pay for your defense and/or indemnify you from any monetary harm.)


Title: After-work drinks turned into debate about my salary, which is somehow public info. [AUS] x-post from AskHR

Question:
Shot this through to AskHR but heard nothing back. There's a potential legal component I'd like advice on.

Myself and two other managers (call them A and B) were having drinks after work.
We're the three managers of different departments of a creative agency, and whilst A and B came on as managers in the past year, I've been with the company 2 years prior to them and have moved up into a managerial role as more staff came on.

During drinks, the conversation moved to the business and how we can improve things whilst our boss is out of town. Somehow, the discussion turned to A discussing her salary and how she should be earning more. At a point A started to bring up that she knew my salary, and that she should be earning as much as me. B also knew my salary. This was more of a conversation between A and B as I didn't have much to say, but as the conversation progressed A explicitly stated that she should earn more as "I do more work than Shoe18."
I felt this was an unprofessional dig at me, so I abruptly said I was going. A has apologised via TXT, but I haven't responded.

I'm concerned that A and B both know my salary without my consent, that my boss just left my salary information lying around and that they used it as a debating tool. As we're a small company we don't have an HR department, so over the weekend I need to figure out what to say to A, B, and whether I should notify my boss beforehand or just talk directly to A and B before starting fires.

I'm also unsure of the legality of this situation. Aside from a breach of trust and privacy I'm unsure what else I should be concerned of.

Any advise would be much appreciated. Cheers!

EDIT:

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I met with A and B and was able to have a good discussion with them regarding this situation and had a much clearer head, due to this post's feedback. Legally, there's nothing really at fault, as most of you suggested. This was an HR issue though, as in Australia this sort of information is covered by the privacy act, similar to other personal information such as relationships and contact information. The fact this information on everyone in a fast growing company isn't contained very well is something we'll be able to keep track of in the future, thanks to this playing out well.

Answer:
 I won't speak to specifics since Aus law is totally different from the US NLRA, but speaking in generalities - what you're talking about is a classic example of informational asymmetry; which *always* benefits the employer, and in the US at least helps to drive the pay gap for women and minorities. For more than a hundred years, employers have ingrained a taboo so strong that we would rather talk to our coworkers about where our fingers like to go during sexual intercourse than to talk about finances. This isn't natural, and disrupts the smooth functioning of the marketplace. The *only* reason the company doesn't want you talking about each other's salaries is because it drives down the cost of labor.

Instead of being insulted or thinking your coworkers are doing something shady; you should talk about it openly and mentor them in how to request their own raises. Of course, they shouldn't just argue that "Shoe18 makes this much, I want it too!" They should couch it in terms of the value they bring the company.  Answer #2: There isn't enough information in your post. It would be appropriate in many managerial positions for people to be aware of budgets for different departments or segments and possibly the breakdown into classes of salaries.

This feels like more of an interpersonal issue. Perhaps as the more senior person, your approach could be to provide guidance about how to be professional when socializing with coworkers.


Title: Some one has been complaining to the town about how we use our property. Do I have the right to find out who it is?

Question: I live in Connecticut, my wife and I purchased an antique home that we operate as a bed and breakfast. We also host other events, small get togethers weddings stuff like this. It is included in our statement of use on file with the town that we can do this. Someone has been calling the town and inquiring about what we are doing and if it is allowed based on the zoning. From the outside no one would suspect a thing. We have had maybe 4 small gatherings (20 people) in the last three months. But we are charging people for them.  This is where the town has an issue accusing us of operating a restaurant. I have a suspicion as to who is making these complaints but I would like to find out so I can have a civil conversation with them. Can I go to the town and ask them to tell me who is making these complaints?

Answer:
 > Someone has been calling the town and inquiring about what we are doing and if it is allowed based on the zoning.

That's not making a complaint.

What would you do with this information anyway? If you are't in violation you aren't in violation.Answer #2: FYI - local officials (e.g. the Health Department) can/will make your life a living hell if they think you're illegally operating a restauraunt. I'd stop worrying about who is rightfully reporting you, and start to make sure you're on the right side of the law before you get into a world of hurt.

If local officials want to shut you down, they'll have no problem finding a reason. Answer #3: It's probably someone nearby or in a competitive market. Your either disturbing their peace or their profits with your illegal business. I'm not sure how long you have owned this property but 6 months ago you said:
< I throw parties this size and much larger on a regular basis typically just me and my wife. Here are some suggestions that we done in the past

In response to someone asking about having BBQ for more than 50 people.

So if you have an unlicensed business feeding more than 50 people you've got bigger issues. If you are routinely throwing private parties (not getting paid) for more than 50 people then you're probably being reported by a close neighbor for the disturbance.Answer #4: This will sound rude. I'm a Libertarian but if you're not zoned for these uses, and you were my neighbor, I would try to shut you down hard for running a business in a residential area.

That said, you need a development/zoning lawyer.Answer #5: You can certainly ask who it is but they are under no obligation to provide that information.


Title: Establishing "Extreme Hardship" on I-601 Wavier

Question:
This takes place in America:

I (American) have agreed to help my cousin (American) and her husband (Jamaican) as they file an I-601 Waiver. They have to write statements establishing the presence of "Extreme Hardship" in my cousin's life if her husband were to be deported.

I guess before I can even fathom going over the grammar or content of what they are writing, I need to know what "format" or "structure" is most appropriate to use? Any help?

Answer: Don't do this. There's a possibility that this could be considered the unauthorized practice of law,  which is illegal. Beyond that, immigration law is very complex. A better use of your time would be helping them find an experienced immigration attorney.


Title: Ex spouse filing bankruptcy, claims they will take house awarded to me in divorce

Question: my ex REFUSES to transfer her interest in the home to me, although ordered to and asked multiple times, UNLESS I agree to relinquish her responsibility to a car she had repossessed and was order to hold me harmless and indemnify me from. She is filing bankruptcy and states they will force the sale of the home I've been paying of for 5 years alone and is current to satisfy her debt. We have about 60k equity in the home and she is not due anything from a sale-in fact the decree states that she has no interest, right, claim to the home or property and must execute a quick claim deed. If this is a real possibility, what is my first step outside of obtaining a lawyer to protect my home from her bankruptcy? Is the divorce decree enough to claim to the trustee or is there more that needs to be done. I am in Illinois.

Answer:
 You will have a claim against her bankruptcy estate by virtue of the decree. She literally owes you the house. A lawyer is a very good step; your lawyer will help you navigate notifying the trustee of your claim and ensuring that you are properly compensated.

You'll also likely want to pursue contempt proceedings, as this is a blatant effort to avoid a court order.


Title: FL FMLA return to work issue

Question:
Florida - Hello everyone. I have a question about returning to work after taking FMLA to have a child. I am a state government employee who had a child, utilized FMLA (all paperwork was approved by HR) and was able to return to work with the same position title and salary that I had before taking my maternity leave.
I want to note that I was the first pregnant employee in my office in well over a decade. The previous pregnant employee ended up leaving the office after she had her baby. My question relates to job duties.

Reading over the FMLA paperwork I was given, it says I will be reinstated with similar job duties. But what if I have been given absolutely zero job duties since returning? It has now been two months that I have been back to work. I have reached out to my supervisor before I returned to work to get back in the work loop, but my supervisor never replied back to my emails. Since returning to work, I’ve reached out multiple times about work to do, or if there are any projects for me. I finally got a response in which my supervisor said they had nothing for me to work on. My supervisor had reached out to their supervisor for any work ideas and said the higher ups didn’t have any work either. I was encouraged to ‘find something to keep yourself busy’. It was implied by the supervisor that I needed to stop contacting them about the lack of work or it would cause ‘issues’ for me.

I feel like I’m going slowly insane from the lack of anything to do. At first I was confused as to the lack of work. Then I got angry I was being ignored and had thoughts of ‘I’m not going anywhere. I worked hard to get to this position and I won’t be forced out’. But now I’m feeling broken and ready to admit they won. I am working with my department’s employee assistance program to address my increasing depression about my work situation. (Pity party whine - I don’t know how I went from an employee who received high performance rankings, special pay increases and productivity awards to this unmarked grave of nothing.)

So I guess I’m looking for confirmation that what they are doing, while incredibly shitty, is legal. Thanks for any input.

Answer:
 They have to offer you your job or similar. You have it. Start asking others what they need help with. Make yourself useful to others. But this isn't illegal at this point

Edit: If it continues you might have a discrimination case. Give in another month or two and contact EEOC or Legalaid and see what they thinkAnswer #2: It is legal for them to pay you to do nothing.


Title: Our new dog (from a local shelter) is sick 6 days after adoption. The vet said the shelter should have seen the symptoms. We have a contract. What does the jargon mean?

Question:
We adopted Roscoe, our new puppy, from a local public animal shelter 6 days ago. He was surrendered to the shelter on 11/14, weighing 82 pounds, and was examined, vaccinated, and put up for adoption.

The kennel tech on the day we adopted him said he had "slightly soft stool" earlier that morning.

Fast forward 6 days, and we cannot get control over his chronic watery diarrhoea  (sorry for the visual), and he has a sinus infection.

We knew something was up, but figured maybe stress was causing his issues, and so, waited through the weekend before our initial visit with a veterinarian of our choosing.

Today, we found out that since Roscoe was weighed on 11/14, he has lost 20 pounds. We knew he was skinny when we adopted him, but all of the paperwork stated he was "0lbs" so we had little to go on. Without knowing his backstory, we assumed he was a stray, or a surrender who was underweight to begin with.

We, however, feel like that kind of sudden weight loss, paired with chronic diarrhoea would have been something the shelter should have taken note of, and addressed. It was absolutely alarming that this dog has lost 1/4 of his total body weight in 3 weeks.

Now, we have an 11 month old dog, whom we have owned for 6 days, completely lethargic, with a fever and a sinus infecyion, and an unknown gi problem. CBC blood tests, and fecal float tests both tested negative, and the vet has recommended more blood tests to check his pancreatic values, and b12 and folate levels. She believes his sudden weight loss could be contributed to an inability to absorb the nutrients in his food, or, unfortunately, it could mean Roscoe needs a biopsy to determine the cause if the blood tests are within normal range. She informed us that a dramatic 20 pound weight loss in an 80 pound dog over a 3 week period would indicate a serious problem, and that in her opinion the shelter should have known something wasnt right.

We feel shafted. We didnt know this dogs background, or his condition when he was surrendered. If we had, we would have questioned his condition last Tuesday when we adopted him. We knew then that we would be taking him to a vet of our choosing to follow up, but had no idea that he was so sick. He has tanked in just a few days, despite our feeding him well, and adding rice, boiled chicken, hardboiled eggs, and pumpkin to his diet in an attempt to relieve his watery stools. Plus, he presented with a runny nose, and a sneeze, and now has a fever and rhinitis.

Heres my question:

The codes and laws in Delaware are unclear as to the veterinary care the shelter is required to provide. We will be calling them first thing tomorrow morning, as they were closed today.  Do we have any protection? Does this clause in the agreement mean we cannot ask for financial compensation for the medical costs?

We want very much to keep Roscoe, because sending him back to that shelter is not an option after the treatment he received, (or lack thereof). We understand that medical costs for dogs can vary, and change throughout their lives, but we feel we were lead into an adootion of an animal who is chronically unwell, and now have to pay for the shelters lack of care.

We understood that adopting a shelter dog would have its challenges, but Roscoe is 11 months old, and we were told multiple times that he was in good health. If it was a cold, it wouldnt be such a concern, but if Roscoe has a chronic life-long illness, or if he needs a biopsy, or has cancer, what does that mean for us? We have spent over 1000 dollars in veterinary bills today, and are waiting for test results, but in the meantime, we have a completely listless, lethargic dog with diarrhoea and serious weight loss.

Bottom line: This is not what we signed up for, and is not the result of our bad ownership. We want to what is in the best interest of the animal, because, yanno, its the responsible thing to do, but we were not expecting a $1000+ bill for the new dog we just paid $200 for, and were told is healthy and high energy. Are we screwed and left with the bills here? Does anyone know anything about shelter laws in delaware? I know dogs are considered personal property. Does that mean we are stuck caring for what may become a sick puppy, and footing the bill? We thought we were doing the right thing by adopting, but so far, all it has done is brought heartache, and bitterness.

If, (god forbid) Roscoe ends up diagnosed with a crazy illness which requires special care, or leads to euthanasia, what are our rights? Do we have the ability to pursue these guys legally?

The contract we signed states:

" The undersigned hereby fully and forever releases and discharges (the shelter) from any and all causes of action, claims and demands for, upon, or by reason of any personal injuries and losses of damage to property which may hereafter be sustained as a consequence of, arising out of, or incurred in connection with ownership of the animal described above.

 It is further agreed that the undersigned hereby agrees to hold harmless and to indemnify (the shelter) from any and all expenses arising out of, or incurred in connection with any claim which may Hereafter be presented by anyone for loss and damage to property or personal injury as a result of the ownership of the animal described above"

Answer:
 You made a bunch of assumptions about a shelter dog that no one knew much about. You're pretty much on your own unless you want to give up the dog again, and depending on the cost to fix the problem the shelter will likely just put him down.

Animal shelters don't tend to be rolling in piles of money.


Title: Just caught my wife of 11months cheating on me

Question:
So to start things off, I live in California.

My wife and I have been married for 11 months.  We have one child together (1yr old).

I have had a career for over 10 years, with benefits, retirement, etc.  I make very decent money for only having a HS diploma (not trying to sound arrogant, just trying to set the tone).

I bought a house before we got married, and my wife is not on the title.

The night I caught her cheating, I grabbed some clothes, my computer and left.

I contemplated trying to make this work out for my child's sake, but after taking a week to think about the pros/cons, I have decided against it and trying to figure out how to handle all this.

She has no job/income, no college degree, a car she is leasing that has my name on the loan, and no where to live if she isn't living in the house I bought.

I have been very civil with her, and haven't confronted/yelled/wanted to hurt her back, which was extremely hard to do.

The only two things I want out of this are: 1) my child on my (3) days off, and 2) my house (I don't care about all the property inside the house which I bought, I just want the house)

Since we got together about 2 years ago, she has never worked and I have given her everything she wanted financially.

I was going to seek legal counsel to get this ball rolling, but was hoping that I could do it on my own to save a little cash.

I told her today that I was filing for the divorce, and told her my intentions on having our child on my days off from work, and the house.

She did not like that.  It became real to her, that I was going to leave her and not try to work this out.  She became emotional and said that she was getting a lawyer, that she wasnt leaving the house because she is on the title (which she isnt), and that she wont let me see my child alone because she said "you wont give him back and use your authority of working out here to your advantage."

I understand the law, and understand I can't kick her out of the house, and can't force her to let me have my kid unless there's a child custody order in place.

I plan to get a lawyer to draft the divorce/child custody paperwork, and am planning on submitting it myself to save some money.

I thought I had a bunch of questions to ask the mass, but maybe Im just lonely and wanted to vent.

If she is not on the title of the house and has never paid for anything in regards to it, and I purchased it before we were married, will I have to sell the house and split the profits?

Should I just have a lawyer represent me to the end? or is the paperwork side of it enough?

I am assuming I will only have to pay approximately 5-6 months alimony, does this sound right?

Answer:
 Consult with an attorney ASAP.

A good one.

You cannot afford NOT to hire an attorney.

Answer #2: You need a lawyer, cause she's going to ride that alimony train. She doesn't work, you support her, she doesn't own a home, perfect candidate to have you support her until she finds another husband.

I'm not sure if California uses the standard rule on marital property, but if you made that out as your marital home she may have a claim to it even though you purchased it prior to the marriage. That's how it works where I am at least.

This is why pre-nups are necessary.


Title: Sent to ER by cops, had forms put in front of me to sign while visibly intoxicated [Rosemont/Chicago IL]

Question:
A few days ago I was exceptionally drunk while at an event and made suicidal statements in the presence of police officers. My recollection of the events was a little bit fuzzy but what I do remember is that while I objected to going to the ER, I eventually agreed to go when I realized I would probably be forced to go anyway. At no point was I physically restrained, and once I got on the ambulance I cooperated fully.

Once at the ER, a doctor and a nurse were going through the usual procedure of checking vitals, and this third person who did not identify her role came to me with a bunch of forms to sign. I suspect that this woman works for the hospital's finance department--there have been a few news articles about people like this and their somewhat shady practices with respect to emergency patients.

My blood was drawn at least an hour or two *after* I signed those documents and the test results show I had 83 mg/dL of alcohol in my blood (which is over 0.08 BAC I believe).

The after-visit summary they gave me did not mention anything psychiatric or mental health related at all and only mentions "acute alcohol intoxication".

Now, before you all pounce on me--I have health insurance, can probably afford the ER bill, and fully intend on paying it. My reason for posting is that I am concerned with the fact that they presented someone with documents to sign who was clearly not in any condition to sign documents.

Is this something I should report to someone? Did they violate any laws by doing this? If I theoretically wanted to fight them in court (which I don't), would they fact that I signed documents really mean anything?

Given that the medical record mentions only alcohol intoxication and not acute risk of suicide or anything like that, wouldn't it be found contradictory that I was too drunk to be let out of the ER and yet not too drunk to sign legally binding documents?

Answer:
 It doesn't matter if you signed the documents or not, you still have to pay for medical care which you clearly needed. If you had refused to sign the documents they would have treated you anyway and you would have to pay the bill anyway. (whatever wasn't covered by insurance).

I suggest you get help for your drinking problem.Answer #2: Consider yourself lucky that you weren't involuntary committed.  They easily could have and you would be looking at a much bigger bill.


Title: I need Advice On My Gun Case

Question: I t

Answer:
 Why would "your girl" be in trouble? You're the one that took the gun (likely without permission), you're the one that tried to conceal it, you're the one that pulled over, you're the one that was in possession, and you're the one who was carrying a firearm in PA without a license.

You need to speak with an attorney, and ask if "your girl" (ffs man, she isn't property) is going to catch any blowback on the offchance she gave you permission to have her weapon.


Title: Supervisor thinks I am using marijuana in the work place. Can I get fired?

Question:
I usually smoke pot before coming to my job. One time, one of my supervisors apparently saw me smoking before coming in for work. The manager called me asked me if I smoked before, if I were currently under the influence, and etc. I answered no to all of them, and she simply said "Okay" and I went on with work.

The next time was a closer call. After I smoked, my supervisor wanted to check my pocket which did have weed in it. I refused to let him search me. They asked me what I was doing behind the bushes to which I responded "I was having a smoke". They asked me what I was smoking? And I said cigarettes. They asked me am I sure? And I said yeah. Again they let me go work, but called me back half way through my shift. They said they weren't sure if I was being honest with them and told me to clock out. They weren't angry or anything and they said I could come back to work my next shift. They also stated that most supervisors noticed an improvement in work. Clearly don't have evidence on me, and I am not worried about the supervisors. I don't want to get reported to my manager again and get fired. Could they legally take action against me or fire me over someone's "suspicion"?

Answer: Yes.


Title: Can my parents find me? (Vermont)

Question: Digressing on my question here, I'm 20 and in college. I have one year left, then am planning on moving far away, but still in the states. My parents are very controlling and I don't want anything to do with them. I want to start somewhat of a new life for myself and do not want their influence. If I were to purchase my own car with my own money and head out, is there any way they would be able to find me? Could they file a missing person report or would there be any way for them to find my address online? What do my privacy rights entail as they pertain to my parents?

Answer:
 You are an adult. By and large, as long as you have your documents, you never have to deal with them again. Answer #2: Anyone can be found. Answer #3: OP's real name? Waldo.

They can find you. They can report you missing. You can ignore them and never speak to them again.


Title: Forced to essentially cancel an event by the city

Question:
The city in particular I'm talking about it is Pittsburgh. Over the course of the summer, I had come up with this idea to create this music festival more so for college aged students on a soccer field.

I applied for the permit was granted permission for the event sometime in say May with an intended crowd of about 125-150. Average soccer field can hold up to about 2000 people keep in mind. Anywho so from that point on I went about booking local student djs and was able to even get one slightly bigger name dj to agree for a slight booking fee.

**Side note, when referring to music festival. I wasn't intending for a full out large blown EDC, Mad Decent Block Party, Lollapalooza like event. It was essentially going to be a enclosed field with fencing,we'd have speakers and simple lights set up.

The event did grow in popularity on Facebook with about 700 people saying they were going,but only 60 tickets sold before the week of. Most people could agree that everyone who says they're going on facebook are not actually going to the event. So a week before the event the facebook posting concerned the city, so they asked what if 1/3 of those people came. It was a valid concern,so I thought it would be as simple as increasing security.

**Timeline week of the Event

Monday
The city imposed that we change the venue from a secluded soccer field where music volume wouldn't be an issue to a more open space where children and everyday people pass-by. I was a little upset about that,but for the sake of the event I decided we'll deal with it.

Tuesday
They then said we'll allow a maximum of 300 attendees to come,but you'll have to get 3 cops. So I was unaware that you had to pay for 3 cops prior to the event. So i had to scramble money up with my investor

Wednesday
I look over the contract for acquiring police and realized even if I paid for the police which would have been about $1100, we weren't guaranteed the police for the event.

Thursday
I call the special events committee to get more information and essentially they explain to me that the police use a bid system similar to a sign up sheet. So a police office logins and sees the different events for a weekend and agrees to sign up for it. Obviously if there was a choice between a 5k race and a music festival, most cops would choose the 5k -words from the chief.

I then spoke to the events coordinator of the city who told me that we couldn't hold the event if all 3 cops didn't sign up,even if we hired our own private security.

This put me in a sticky situation since I could technically invest $1100 after being told we were required cops, but not be guaranteed cops meaning the event would have to be cancelled. Friday comes 4PM and I call in to check if any cops have bid on the event and to no surprise none did. So we cancelled the event.

I'm overall upset with the way the city dealt with the event within the last week,  I think essentially my company was led to ultimately fail and they continued to throw roadblocks hoping they would deter the event. One of the higher ups of the police staff said that it was a fairly busy weekend with 5ks and other events, but I feel if an organization knows they are low on man power they could have easily just said hey I don't think there's a good chance we'll be able to provide the amount of police needed.

I talked to a attorney for free legal consultation, he essentially told me that since the city issues permits its different than a contract between a venue and a business. As a result of essentially having to cancel the event, the sunken cost totaled $4k and after parties/sponsorship were cancelled. Is there anyway to recoup anything from the city through any sort of complaint?

Answer:
 I'm not trying to be a dick, but it doesn't sound so much like the city throwing roadblocks at you.  It seems like you weren't prepared/didn't have the knowledge of all of this stuff ahead of time.  And it's not the city's job to educate you on it.  Answer #2: When was this event?

Your attorney is likely correct here. For the record, as someone who has organized dozens of public events requiring permits in Pittsburgh, all of this is how it always works.


Title: [TX] A crazy old man ran me off the road, destroying my car, and then assaulted me. Help?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 Let your insurance know exactly what happened, give them a copy of the filed police report, and let them handle the damage to your car.  Then once that has been taken care of, you can sue him for anything that you had to pay out of pocket (like your receipts for your insurance deductible, or for a rental needed while your car is being repaired, or for out of pocket costs to see a doctor, etcetera).  You are not going to be awarded any money for your "emotional distress".Answer #2: > want to know if I should hire a lawyer to sue for damages to my car and emotional distress. Is small claims court best?

No, you don't get damages for emotional distress for something like this.  You could possibly sue him for the assault. Did you go to the hospital?

Your first order of business should be contacting your insurance, really.


Title: Can ex-husband withhold alimony/child support to pay bills?

Question:
Hello.  I live in New Mexico.  My divorce was recently finalized.  As part of the divorce decree, I got the car.  However I am supposed to refinance the car to remove my ex's name from it.  That can't happen until our house is sold since my debt to income ratio is too high.

My ex-husband said that he is going to withhold the car payment from my alimony/child support payments to pay for the car.  There is nothing stating he can do that in the divorce decree.  Is that something he can legally do?  If not, what can I do about it?
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 What you can do is take him back to court to force him to pay you.  But I don't know if you would win.

If I was him, thats what i would do.  Take me back to court and I would explain to the judge why I was doing it.  "I can't afford to have my credit destroyed right now your honor, and she has not met her end of the bargain"


Title: [FL] High school newspaper satires being censored by school administration

Question:
I am the editor of my high school newspaper's opinion section, and my school administration has been refusing to allow the paper to publish my satires.

My first satire was poking fun at both major political candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, by saying that they were going to propose a dual-presidency to further their legislative efforts. It was very clear that it was a satire (it was marked satire in the title), and I attacked both political parties, keeping a politically neutral stance. The school administration said that because I referenced Trump's immigration policies, they were afraid that I would upset the Mexican-American population within the school, and decided to pull the story.

The satire I wrote after that one was talking about how my school has no need for calendars anymore as a result of the over-commercialization of many products today (e.g. it must be fall because all of the girls have their pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks). I humorously mocked both guys and girls at my school, and the administration decided to pull it because they felt stereotyped too many different groups of people.

I am aware of the [Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazelwood_School_District_v._Kuhlmeier) court decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled that articles in the school newspaper could be censored due to reasons "reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns."

I could maybe see why my first article was censored, but I definitely don't see why my second article was censored. I don't know what the best course of action would be, as the school administration has refused to budge on their position. The court decision seemed very vague, and the decisions after that have varied, therefore I wasn't sure if there was any legal backing to my claim.
Topic:
School Related Issues

Answer:
 >  I definitely don't see why my second article was censored.

I do.  You were mocking other students.  That's a "legitimate pedagogical concern".  They don't have to tolerate students being mocked or insulted, even "humorously".Answer #2: School districts have a very wide latitude to censor school newspapers, even satire is no protection.  You could try to find a lawyer who will advocate/sue on your behalf (or perhaps the ALCU), but negotiation with the administration is your best bet to get something published.


Title: Came to work for unexpected surprise to make a deliver(not part of my job), ended up never making it back to work, and having car towed in the freeway (CA)

Question: Used personal car for work related business( which I normally don’t). Normally we already have a truck but it was not functioning properly the morning of. Was asked to make the delivery, clutch gave out on my car(manual transmission) and I ended being stuck in the free way Charged about 215 to get it towed. Should I keep quiet about this? I feel my boss should pay for it since it happened on company’s watch and frankly on their negligence to have a fully automated vehicle perform Their deliveries. They were gonna pay for gas but now I feel like theres a bigger issue and given that I was handed the short end of the stick (not to mention happened during work hours) I feel that I should be fully reimbursed for the towing and other misc fees.

Answer:
 >their negligence to have a fully automated vehicle perform Their deliveries.

...Your clutch was going to give out regardless... .


Title: Absolutely heartbroken, can my dad fuck over my mom like this? (IL)

Question:
[deleted]
Topic:
Custody Divorce and Family

Answer:
 How long was he ordered to pay alimony for in the divorce?

Ten years is quite a long time. I'd be surprised if he was obligated to pay her $35k/yr for life.


Title: Entitled sibling keeps cats at parents' home against their wishes

Question:
Hey all. I need some reddit legal advice as I'm not sure if there any legalities on it.

We live in the US and my 22 yo sister moved to live back with her parents. Long story short, a year ago she took in two cats off the street from someone who wanted to give them away. My sibling calls my parents about keeping these cats and bringing them home. They clearly tell her that they don't want her to bring these cats home.

She defies them and brings them home anyway. She clearly hasn't been taking care of these animals and they have scratched up my parents' furniture and cause a lot of allergies. She also doesn't pay rent and my parents provide the expense in their care.

They have been exploring ways to put the cats up for adoption and it would seem like a no brainer that my parents have every legal right to not have the cats at home. Can we put the cats up for adoption without my sibling's knowledge? My mother mentioned something about a receipt that lists my sister as the cats' owner or something to that effect. She has a history of being rebellious and doesn't listen to reason and, frankly, we're tired of her bullshit and how she gets her way on everything. We need clarification on this matter.

Thanks for your time and help.

Answer:
 >Can we put the cats up for adoption without my sibling's knowledge?

No.

Your parents can evict your sister.  That makes her and her property leave.


Title: 4 yr old daughter hurt at restaurant resort on vacation

Question:
My family was sitting by a fire pit last night and our drinks were close to the flames. When my daughter drank out of her water glass the glass cracked and broke in her mouth. It caused a crazy amount of bleeding and was quite the scene. The manager and security were called quickly and assisted.

I think the glass was overheated and that’s what caused it to shatter.

They asked if we needed an ambulance but we declined because we were able to get the bleeding under control and calm our daughter. We filed a report and took some pics of my daughter but they took the glass before we could take a pic and tossed it in the trash.

My daughter woke up with a cut in her mouth and swollen lip. Our major concern was that she swallowed glass. She started complain about stomach pain so we decided to take her to the ER after calling our nurse line. This caused us to miss our flight and incur $1000 change fee. The ER did xrays and didn’t see any big pieces of glass but told us to take her to primary if she is still having pain.

Our resort is comping us the extra nights in hotel and said they would reimburse us the cost of the changes for our flight and our rental car.

My daughter has been traumatized and is now afraid of drinking out of glass. So my question is, should we ask for more compensation or just accept the reimbursement for the plane tickets and rental car? Should we make them pay for all expenses for the additional days of trip? Any advice and next steps would be appreciated.

Answer: I think you should take what they offered and run, considering the fact that this is almost certainly your fault, not the resort's.


Title: Why does the average American think a person is automatically guilty before evidence is presented, and before a court trial?

Question:
I've noticed that in the U.S. when a person gets in trouble with the law, the average American automatically places the blame on the suspect before evidence is presented, and before there's a court trial.

Here's a classic example. Look at what happened with the whole Ferguson shooting incident. Millions of Americans around the nation sided against the cop BEFORE evidence and a court trial was presented. The Supreme Court reviewed the case, and said there was not enough evidence to put the cop on trial.

Another example, Michael Jackson was charged with pedophile crimes, and people thought he did it BEFORE any evidence was presented. When he was found not guilty twice based on the kids lying, people STILL think he did it. I have done research on MJ, and have came to the conclusion he had a psychological traumatic issue, and was not lusting after children.

I did some experiments such as using Yahoo Answers and posting made up stories. I would say about 99% of the time I posted a story, no matter how innocent I made myself look, the audience always acted as if I was the one at fault. People here on Reddit do this same exact thing.

I think what is going on in this country is that people play a default position when they hear a person getting in trouble on the sole bases that they're being accused of a crime. I find this to be highly ignorant, and I'm glad I'm not an American that's playing this sheeple game. Any lawyer in their right mind would not think a person is guilty on the sole basis of an arrest taking place.

People need to educate themselves on how the legal system works, how police work, how lawyers work, and how the system works. Pointing fingers at individuals based on testimony is ridiculous, and this makes me shake my head, especially when an entire fucking nation just recently did this.

Answer:
 >a court trial was presented. The Supreme Court reviewed the case, and said there was not enough evidence to put the cop on trial.

Wrong and wrong.Answer #2: Because the average American is an idiot.

Edit: and the average American can't comprehend exposing themselves to kids in a locker room. Answer #3: >Supreme Court

Grand jury.

>Pointing fingers at individuals based on testimony is ridiculous,

I assume you mean accusations. Testimony - witnesses making statements under oath - is often compelling evidence. Some people are (properly) convicted based on witness testimony alone.

To answer that question: easy, because they usually are guilty. The overwhelming majority of people who are formally charged with an offence plead guilty. Most of the rest are convicted at trial.

Now, please don't misunderstand. I worship at the altar of the common law. I treasure beyond riches the adversarial criminal justice system, the jury trial, the presumption of innocence, the right to counsel and the right to silence. I myself try to remain appropriately skeptical (key word "appropriately") of criminal accusations.

But the fact is that most of 'em *are* guilty. Most of the time that reaction is correct. It is a rational and understandable, although at times unfortunate and mistaken, response. Answer #4: The lengths you go to to justify your criminally deviant sexual behavior to yourself are pretty astounding.Answer #5: >The Supreme Court reviewed the case

Bahahahha


Title: [Canada] Called out shoplifter on Facebook. Can she sue for defamation?

Question:
So, I work at a large retail chain in my city (in British Columbia), and I was on our City's Buy&Sell Facebook page. I saw several really sketchy listings for unused, unopened speakers and headphones, as well as some other stuff. I checked the profile, and it is a person who has been banned from our store for shoplifting, but she repeatedly comes in and tries to steal.

 Some of the stuff is giving off very blatant red flags for stolen goods (Unopened, but selling very cheap; opened, with no included cables; needs to sell quickly), so I messaged the admin for the page, and put up a post warning everybody. Others in the group also agreed, based on their own experiences with her.

Within an hour of me posting the warning, I received a few very long-winded messages from her, insulting me and threatening to call her lawyer and sue my ass for defamation of character. I am confident that it's bullshit, and she won't do that, but just in case she does, is there any chance of me actually being in trouble here? I don't have any physical, concrete evidence that these items were stolen, and I don't know if she's ever actually been arrested, just caught and banned, but almost any of my coworkers and my managers can back up my story, as well as the other people in the Facebook group.

I guess I'm just asking if there's any chance I could get screwed by this, even though I seriously doubt she's crazy enough to follow through with her threats?

Thanks in advance, any advice is well appreciated.

Answer: As a practical suggestion, stop keyboard warring on behalf of your employers. They're the ones who are going to drop you like a bad habit at the slightest whiff of liability.


Title: MD Landlord trying to Increase Rent but wont talk about it

Question:
My wife and I began renting in MD January 2016 due to a job change that required relocation. The lease was signed for $950 a month to include utilities. It was originally a 6 month lease, but using the Basic Rental Agreement or Residential Lease form it stipulated, "thereafter it shall become a month-to-month tenancy".
Now, my landlord is emailing me saying they want me to pay $1000 a month starting in January. I have tried over phonr and email to have an open dialogue as to why the increase when I haven't broken my previous lease and have kept to all the provisions in the lease agreement.
Sure, it isn't a big jump in rent, and it's something I can manage, but I just want to have all of mine  bases covered to rebuttal this if needed.

tldr; landlord out of the blue wants to increase rent by $50 and won't say why, even though there is a set price on our current rent agreement.

Answer:
 Maryland doesn't require that your landlord explain this increase to you. As you're presently month-to-month, and as you have more than 30 days' notice, the landlord's obligations are met.

It would be nice if they were willing to discuss this, but they don't have to answer questions on this.


Title: Lady barely bumped into my car, and apologetically wanted to exchange all info. It all felt a little sketchy.

Question:
First time posting, never had a reason to (fortunately) until tonight. I'm in Florida:

Earlier tonight I was in a drive-through when a lady pulling up behind me in an SUV bumped into the rear of my little two-door car. It felt pretty hard, but I got out and we looked at the damage and... miraculously there was none at all, on either car. It was late-ish at night and there were no other cars or people behind the restaurant to have seen or to be around in general. She seemed super apologetic and sincere nonetheless and wanted to exchange information just in case something popped up (or popped off my car...), to which I agreed. She had already pulled out her license, registration, and insurance card, so I followed suit and grabbed all three of mine and we snapped pictures on our phones of each others' info. We exchanged phone numbers too.

Anyways, that's all that happened, and it took maybe 10 minutes max. My question: Is it likely she was simply being sincere and apologetic? Or is there some known scam that follows a similar pattern of events? After talking about it with my wife (who was in the passenger seat this whole time) she agreed that it could appear a little suspicious. The other driver was very willing to fork over all her insurance info when, frankly, I was prepared and content to leave *without* exchanging any info, and had even implied it during the initial conversation (after inspecting my rear bumper). The other driver insisted however, so we traded.

Trying not to be paranoid or irrational. It was just my first time in any sort of encounter in which I needed to exchange insurance info, so I'm just cautious on how things were handled. I would love to hear some third party thoughts on what happened, and any recommendations on things to watch out for or what to do better next time. (If the answer is literally just "You did everything as you should, quit yur fussin'", then sweet, I'd love to hear it.)

So, thanks in advance!
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: I always insist also because it's much more of a headache later if the person tries to say you left the scene


Title: [Colorado] Legal question about divorce. Need help.

Question:
Long time lurker but I really need a legal question answered.

Long story short I got married in Canada (wife lives in Colorado) and I eventually moved there and got my green card. 2 years later she decides she wants a divorce, tells me this over a text and I didn’t and still don’t  fully understand why. We decided if I left and went back to Canada she would reconsider her decision over the holidays. It was pretty clear she didn’t ever want to try to reconcile our marriage and just wanted me gone.

Two months later of being here in Canada without much contact I got the dissolution of marriage papers emailed today by a lawyer.

The question I have is this even legal? I may have to stay here for over a year and I’m afraid I’d lose my green card because I want to eventually come back to the US and start a new life with a fresh start.

Answer: Is it legal for her to send you dissolution papers?  Yes.  In fact, if she stayed married to you just to help with immigration, that can be considered fraud.


Title: Firestone made my car worse

Question:
[CA] Long story short:

Bought car used. Drove car 2000 miles. No issues.

Take car to Firestone and bought lifetime alignment and balancing.

Wheel pulls to the left. Car pulls to the left. Clanking sound heard from front end while stopping or accelerating, has progressively gotten worse.

I just had the service done and immediately after it pulls to the left.

I'm concerned they have caused more damage that will require a lot more money that I don't have.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: And when you took the car back to speak to the shop manager to politely explain your concerns, what was the response?


Title: NY salaried (exempt) employee -- do I have to make up hours?

Question:
I recently landed a new job in New York.  It's a salaried (exempt) position.  A few weeks ago my manager mentioned to us that it would be okay if we had to leave early for any reason be it an emergency, jury duty, doctors appointment, etc.  The catch is, however, that we would have to make up time in order to work the "40 hours per week" (which is actually 42.5 hours since they seem to include a 30 minute lunch in our schedule).

So one day I got a letter in the mail saying I needed to attend jury duty and I told my manager about the issue.  He told me that if I had to leave early for jury duty I would have to make up the hours some time during the week.  I felt that was a load of crud since as a salaried employee I get paid regardless of the hours I work.  Begrudgingly I did as he asked and wound up coming in early the next day to make up the time (about 2 hours early).  Needless to say I was upset that he asked me to make up the time.

I don't want to make a bad first impression on my future boss, but I kind of feel like I'm being taken advantage of.  So my question is does my manager have the legal right to require me to make up time not worked during the regular work hours as a salaried employee?  Also a follow up would be related to my situation: is he allowed to do so if I have to attend jury duty?

I appreciate any advice I can get.  Thanks!

Answer:
 No they do not. You cannot be forced to work. However what you are really asking is whether you can be legally disciplines or fired for refusing to make up the time, and the answer to that question is yes.

If you think a salaried job always means 40 hours a week and never anything over then you are in for a surprise. If you want to be successful there will be times when you have to put in extra effort.


Title: Can I adopt as an emancipated minor?

Question:
  Hi! I am looking to become emancipated and if I was wondering if I was to be emancipated if it would be legal for me to adopt. I understand that I may be given less consideration since I would still be under 18, however, is it even legal? I have researched this question and I have not found any answers. I am not looking to be adopted, I am looking to adopt, just to be clear.

  TL;DR    Is it legal for me adopt a child if I am an emancipated minor?
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 No court on the planet would allow it. Answer #2: Depending on where you are there may or may not explicitly be a law against this, but it is absolutely not going to happen.

Adoption agencies assess the suitability of prospective parents for adoption. They are mostly looking for a stable home environment, which cannot be provided by a minor, even a wealthy minor.Answer #3: Do you have 10-20k to spend on an adoption?


Title: Had a stroke and hospital ignored it. I'm not happy.

Question:
Country: USA, State: Colorado

I had a stroke while I was at work. I had a mild headache for several hours and then right at the end of the night I had extreme severe dizziness and fell to the ground. A coworker called an ambulance for me and I was brought to an emergency room(ER#1). ER#1 put me into a bed and did not bother at all to scan my head or do anything to try and diagnose a stroke/aneurysm/whatever. I know this hospital and have been a patient before and they are scummy and do not like me. I won't go into detail about that.

ER#1 tried to force me out of the hospital as quickly as possible. They came into the room about 4 hours into my stay and tried to get me out of bed and out the door. I told them I could not get up. I still had severe headache + dizziness + nausea and I was vomiting while trying to stand up. All they gave me while I was there was some dizzyness medicine and anti nausea medicine. The medicines had little effect. I eventually could leave after stabilizing a bit and they gave me a sheet of paper claiming I had labyrnthitis. Spelling might be wrong but I'm sure you can figure it out. I trusted them and went home.

Four days passed and I was still feeling very ill with all the same symptoms, though much less severe, so I went to another hospital(ER#2). ER#2 checked me in and the first thing they did was scanned my head. They found the stroke right away and I was transferred to an ICU for further stabilization and monitoring.

Do I have a case against ER#1? They obviously did not cause the stroke but this doctor is dangerous if she is not going to bother looking into these very serious illness'. I feel like I may be recovering better than I currently am if I hadn't been sitting around for hours in ER#1 on the day of the stroke without treatment. What if I had another stroke during those 4 days when I was at home? I also suffered greatly when they tried to force me out of the bed and out the door. Their only goal was to rush me out the door with no treatment and they accomplished it. I'll be out of work for about a month and my finances are gone because of this. I haven't tried to contact an attorney too much yet but I've been thinking about it. Just curious what reddit might have to say about this. Thanks for reading.

Answer:
 You can only sue if you were actually harmed by what ER #1 did or did not do.  It doesn't matter than you hypothetically might have been harmed, you  have to show actual harm.  Has any doctor told you you suffered actual harm?

You can make a complaint to your state's medical board about the care you received.Answer #2: > I know this hospital and have been a patient before and they are scummy and do not like me. I won't go into detail about that.

Uh, what? I very much doubt this is true. Their medical ethics trump personal hatred any day of the week. Excuse the harshness, but are you a frequent flier in this hospital?Answer #3: How old are you? If you're in your 60's then it might be unreasonable for an ER to disregard the possibility that you had had a stroke, if you're in your 20's perhaps not. It's all about reasonable expectations.

Edit: and yes, your previous history with this particular hospital, and your medical history overall is really relevant when it comes to treatment.


Title: College health program is dismissing me over a policy that does not exist.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > Should I get a lawyer and just flat out sue the school?

For what?  You violated the clearly laid out procedures.  Why do you think they didn't apply to you?Answer #2: > a policy that does not exist

It does exist. But if you want to get technical, they can't list EVERY forbidden way to log in and clock in. So they just give you the ONE way to do it. That's their policy.


Title: My landlord is a Judge and tomorrow is 30 days without getting my security deposit back.

Question:
My landlord is the Judge in the county where I was renting. As of tomorrow it will be 30 days without receiving my security deposit back. I've made countless email's and calls to him over the past week (I have all the proof) without him ever getting back to me.

Renting from him has been a nightmare since day one, but I won't get into that unless the details are needed.

I left the apartment in much better condition than I received it and I have all the photographic evidence.

I live in NJ and what I would like to know is if I should bring him to small claims court to try and get my security deposit back. Would this be wise given his position? I feel like it would be like running into a burning house or would I actually have a shot at getting my deposit back from this snake?

Answer:
 If you do file, then obviously he can't hear his own case. And should you ever be in front of said judge, it may end up forcing recusal again.

Since you are in NJ, there may be non-court remedies, depending on your locality. Look for a local tenant's rights group, they may be able to help you.Answer #2: If you need to go to court ask for change of venue due to conflict of interest.


Title: Phone contract in a foreign language

Question:
I'm in the army and posted in Germany. I signed up to a phone company for a 24month contract but before I left the store I asked if there was an issue could I cancel early and the lady in the shop said yes but only in the first 3 months.

After 1 month I called up to complain that my Internet signal in my room is to bad to use and wanted to cancel, to which the lady said I was not allowed to. She claimed that I misheard her and that maybe there was a mistranslation from her German to English. I'm 100% positive of what she said. The contract, in German which I can't read, doesn't say anything about the 3 month grace period (according to my German friends and the phone companies customer service)

I'm fighting the contract with customer service but my question is whether I can be bound to a contract that I can't actually read? I wasn't given or offered an English copy. Obviously German law applies.

Answer:
 Yes, you're entirely liable for the contract.

You're in Germany and the contract was in German. If you couldn't read it, you shouldn't have signed it.

It's not their job to ensure you understand their contract, but rather yours to ensure you comprehend what you sign up to.


Title: Ex formed a LLC to hide income and not pay child support. What can be done?

Question: I'm in Seattle , WA. My ex continues to file bogus motions in family court in an attempt to run me financially dry. Although I always win these motions, I still have to pay my lawyer to defend me. Now he has some judgements against him to pay me legal fees, which he hasn't done. We're filing an order of contempt, but who knows if that will actually get any money out of him. In the meantime, he has quit his job so child support cannot be garnished from his wages. He states he is self employed in his own LLC. I think this is his way of evading child support and hiding income. Someone mentioned I need to take ownership/a lien on his LLC. I have no idea what that means. Help?

Answer:
 You need to consult your lawyer.

Income can be imputed to him, and the court can consider the LLC's status.  The court will see right through such an obvious attempt to avoid support.


Title: Why is licking bottles of hand sanitizer at a store a "terrorist threat" but making non-essential employees go to work without protection is not?

Question: It seems to me that the latter, say, Hobby Lobby, is far more likely to result in infections and death than the former.

Answer:
 Terrorism is prosecuted (federally) under  **18 USC Ch. 113B: TERRORISM.**

In this case, this would be "domestic terrorism" under section 5

^((5) the term "domestic terrorism" means activities that—)

^((A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;)

^((B) appear to be intended—)

^((i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;)

^((ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or)

^((iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and)

^((C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States; and)

&#x200B;

Going to work (or forcing someone to work) is not in violation of the criminals laws of the US, and is not intended to accomplish any of the items under section B.

&#x200B;

Section  2332a. Use of weapons of mass destruction determines that biological agents count as terrorism.


Title: My wife was arrested due to a clerical error. I was told I couldn't sue anyone by the court clerk.

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 She was arrested because she decided not to pay a ticket. Not because of a mistake in her address. Answer #2: >My wife was arrested due to a clerical error.

and

>my wife got arrested for not paying a speeding ticket.

I don't understand.  Was your wife arrested because she was stopped by the police for some reason while driving and the police who stopped her discovered that she had an unpaid ticket and a warrant out for her arrest, or was she arrested because of a clerical error related to an incorrect address?

It sounds to me like she was arrested because she had an unpaid ticket and a warrant for her arrest - and later it was determined that her file listed her address incorrectly.Answer #3: > we forgot this one

Correct.

> we get nothing in the mail reminding us.

Not their responsibility.

>  my wife got arrested for not paying a speeding ticket.

Ding Ding Ding


Title: Need Custody Advice and Opinions

Question:
Hey Reddit, throwaway for obvious reasons.

So this woman and I have a son together, been dating for a few years (not married) and she crossed the line today.  Our son is almost eight months old now.  I caught her with illicit drugs, admitted to doing them yesterday, and yet she still breastfed him!  Every day she says she wishes he was never born, that we should have never had him, etc.  I have many, many text messages to prove this.  I want full custody.  I love my son more than anything and honestly I don't think I could take anything less.  If it weren't granted to me, I'd try to make things work with her because it's more important to me to be totally in his life than my happiness in this relationship.  I spoke with a Family Law attorney and I'm setting up an appointment for next week.  I own the house, and I'm keeping him here with me until a court order says otherwise, since there is no custody order in place.  I'm mostly just asking for opinions, and if there is anything else I should try to do beforehand?  Thank you very much.

tl;dr  sons mother is an awful person and I want her out of mine and his life.

edit: Location is CA, sorry LocationBot

Answer: If she breastfed him after using drugs take him to the ER and tell them. They'll test him and give him any treatment he needs.


Title: The government deported a witness who can prove my son's innocence in their case against him.

Question: I don't understand how this can be allowed to happen. My son was arrested because the government said his marriage was a sham and it was fraud. It wasn't and he really and truly loved his wife. He had no idea she was a con artist who had tried to get citizenship by a fake marriage before. He didn't even know she was using a fake name. She did have some money that she inherited from back in the country she came from. The government says she was going to pay my son with it and they took it as proceeds from crime. He didn't care about any money. They deported her and have arrested him even though she was the con artist. She could prove his innocence if she was subpoenaed to testify at his trial. It has to be illegal that the government did this. My son just finished medical school and has his whole future ahead of him.

Answer:
 Firstly, no one can answer your question, since without a location one of a thousand different law books could apply here.

Secondly, one crime doesn't necessarily take precedence over another except in extreme cases. She doesn't get a "free pass" on her crime because her companion is being charged with another crime. Imagine if a bank robber were provided legal immunity on the grounds the getaway driver hasn't been caught yet.Answer #2: >My son was arrested because the government said his marriage was a sham and it was fraud. It wasn't and he really and truly loved his wife. He had no idea she was a con artist who had tried to get citizenship by a fake marriage before.

This means the marriage *was* a sham and a fraud. But your son just didn't realize it.

I guess this isn't legal advice, but do you really WANT your case to rely on a con artist's testimony? They could say literally anything (and probably would not be believed in any case).