Title: [Arizona] School Lied About Accreditation

Question:
Posting this on behalf of my roommate who is needing some help with this mess. She has been under a lot of stress and I'm trying to find as many solutions to the problem as possible.

She recently started her BSN program at for profit school during the summer time. We both scheduled a visit with this school months prior to this to get information about their program and we were both told that were accredited. They, the nursing advisor, even made a gesture of pointing to their accreditation plaque on the wall. I ended up feeling uneasy about their pitch so I took a different school route. About two weeks ago, it comes to light that nursing program is NOT accredited, that only the school itself was but that the program was not. The advisors and the dean are putting all of the blame back on the students, "You guys should have asked the right questions before enrolling." They keep telling them the accreditation is not necessary to find jobs but only if they decide to go to graduate school. My roommate is already thousands of dollars in debt with the school and is completely lost as to what to do seeing as she was lured in under false information.

The school is a for profit located in Arizona. Does anyone know what my roommate's best legal options would be from this point forward?

Answer:
 They are likely right. They have an (or many) accreditation. Just not the one you thought and you didn't ask. There are many many different accreditations. Unless they said they had one that they didn't, they did nothing wrongAnswer #2: in the future, please refrain from ever enrolling in for-profit educational institutions. although there are some non-profits institutions that can be just as unscrupulous or some for-profits that are reputable, by far many of the for-profits are horrible.

is your friend able to talk to other or prior classmates about the accreditation issue? perhaps if there is prior history of deceptive practice and/or enough people seem wronged, a lawyer might be able to take a case.


Title: Sold my laptop, received a check from a closed account, what can I do? (Wisconsin)

Question:
I sold my laptop to a buyer off craigslist last Thursday 2/2/2017 and was written a check for the laptop (check was written for $740). Before the check was written the buyer wrote out an agreement that he would pay the above amount of $740 to me, that we both signed and I still have it. I then went to deposit the check at my bank and was informed that it could take up to 11 days to deposit. I was not told why, I asked the laptop buyer why this happened and he said it must have been something with my bank. I foolishly believed him and waited until Monday to see if the check cleared yet. I woke up on Monday with a bounced check fee on my account for the total check value of $740. All day Monday I tried to get the buyer to get me the money or give me back my laptop and he came up with excuse after excuse as to why he could not. Then on Monday night I received a phone call from a man who claimed to be from a company that the buyer was working with to pay me. He would give the company some form of collateral and I would then be payed because the buyer had already sold my laptop. Throughout the course of the week I have been in communication with the man from the business but the buyer is giving us both a very hard time. I was told today that a form of collateral will be available on Monday morning. If he does not turn it over I will be going to the authorities, which means I will be calling his probation officer because I found out he is on probation until 2018. Has he actually committed any crimes and what else can I do?
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: Stop dealing with these people and call the police and file a report. Yes, it's a crime.


Title: Is my employer right or are they illegally stealing money?

Question:
This is an overtime qurstion but a bit more in depth than whats on the sidebar.
Location : nj

My primary job is a truck driver.  I am (was???) an hourly based employee for the 6 months Ive been working there. I work 60+  hours per week at this company and have always been paid overtime as it was part of my verbal employee agreement and company policy has presented at company meetings.   Last week I got my pay and it was off.  I worked 68 hours.  After speaking to the person in charge of pay today, who doesnt work Mondays, I was told that certain work pays a flat rate, and hours performed during that time do not count toward overtime.  This resulted in me spending a 14 hour day at work for less than my established hourly pay plus 14 hours of overtime premium gone, about $270 loss in total.  Additionally, the pay is totally up to them and they can't show me any established rates.  Today they sent me to the same place that I went to last week and I had no idea because I thought is was just a discrepancy rather than intentional problem with pay.

 I am not looking to dispute the flat rate because I found out today that others who come to this place have been getting a flat rate for years (different people get different rates though).  I had no idea about the difference in pay before hand and will refuse in the future.

To the question

 I know [flsa 13(b)(1)](https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs19.htm) has an overtime exemption for truck drivers but [n.j.a.c. 12:56-19.2]( http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/wagehour/lawregs/nj_state_wage_and_hour_laws_and_regulations.html#56191) reestablishes those protections for nj.

Would I be going too far to think that because of the purpose of n.j.a.c. 12:56-19.2, which is reestablishing overtime protection for truck drivers in nj, it is also insinuating that overtime must be calculated on all work hours performed including "peice-rate" work performed during the same pay period as hourly work as stipulated by flsa?

 If this is correct the only other argument they could use is that it's commission-based pay which is exempt from both flsa and New Jersey overtime rules.  That is flat-out incorrect because I don't get paid an established percent of total nor am I even privy to what my company charges. This particular run pays for completing the job regardless of time spent.

 I've got a year plus an externship to finish my bachelor's but I was really hoping to stay here for that time.  I'm really just looking for a strong argument to persuade them before I do anything drastic like going to Labor Department because I could realistically have another job before someone answers the line there.  At the end of the day I've got no problem walking away from this job, it was very convenient for school but I'm not working more for less pay.  I actually took a large pay cut to be here because of the convenience for school so I'd like to resolve this amicably if possible.

Thanks.

Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 Not touching the legality question of the situation. But regarding employment:

A verbal only employment agreement without set rates/benefits/etc. is a super bad idea for you and your employer. I'd suggest trying to get that rectified ASAP. Answer #2: I would call an attorney that does wage and hour law in NJ.  It seems like the overtime rate for truck drivers is limited 1.5 times the minimum wage as opposed to 1.5 times your regular hourly wage.  So I don't think there is necessarily a violation of the NJ wage and hour law.  There may be one, however, if the law makes employers pay you at your agreed upon regular wage.

> Every trucking industry employer shall pay to all drivers, helpers, loaders and mechanics for whom the Secretary of Transportation may prescribe maximum hours of work for the safe operation of vehicles pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 31502(b) an overtime rate not less than one and one-half times the minimum wage required pursuant to N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4 and N.J.A.C. 12:56-3.1.>

edit to add specific Trucking provision


Title: I want to get adoption papers to give to my stepmom, but I don't know how to get them

Question:
I am 20 years old, my birth mother passed away from cancer when I was 6 months old, and my father remarried when I was around 4 years old. My step mother wanted to legally adopt me, but my father didn't allow it. How can I go about getting those papers so I can give those to her as a Christmas gift? I believe it is something she would really appreciate.

We also live in Tennessee

Answer: There aren't really "papers"--you can call a lawyer and ask how much it would cost to file an uncontested adult adoption.


Title: Actual Skunk Hell

Question: At this point I'm desperate. A skunk sprayed under our house and it unbearable to even be inside it. I Looked up all of the ways to get rid of the smell but nothing is working. Lots of damaged property. Is there anything I can do legally to get compensation from the rental company? We don't have renters insurance.

Answer:
 > Is there anything I can do legally to get compensation from the rental company?

Nope. Their insurance covers their physical plant (appliances, walls, that sort of thing), not any of your belongings. As in, they're specifically excluded by contract language, to avoid exactly the kind of issue you're describing.

> We don't have renters insurance.

Well, then you're out of luck.

Literally the *only* possible recourse is to try to sue your landlord on the basis of negligence or recklessness for permitting a skunk under your house. If somebody was in your backyard baiting deer and a bear attacked your house, you might have a case of this nature. Or if your landlord constantly fed the skunks. But... that's not a real possibility here.


Title: Could I apply to jobs with fake credentials?

Question: Could I make up experience and degrees to use as research? Of course I wouldn't go to an interview or accept any jobs but just to see what employers are looking for and what might get someone a job.

Answer: This is a stupid idea. If only companies could find a way to make job announcements that say exactly what they are looking for...


Title: Does a child have to go to the visitation parent's house if the visitation parent is not there?

Question:
The visitation parent did not inform the custodial parent or the child that they would not be at their house for this weekend (Saturday to Sunday). The visitation parent insisted the child go to his house. When the child was dropped off, the visitation parent's new spouse was home and took the child in. The child just got back from the visitation parent's house and informed me that he did not even see the visitation parent this weekend.

Is this legal to do? To not inform the custodial parent you will not be at the house and make the child stay the full visitation with his new step mother who the child hasn't seen for more than 20 hours his whole life?

Thank you in advance?

Location: Western Washington State, USA.

EDIT: Thank you all so much for your input, it is greatly appreciated!

Answer:
 >Is this legal to do? To not inform the custodial parent you will not be at the house and make the child stay the full visitation with his new step mother who the child hasn't seen for more than 20 hours his whole life?

There is no law that states a parent can't leave the child in the custody of a step-parent.  Now there could be stipulations in the child custody agreement for things like this but the average child custody agreement usually won't say anything about not leaving a step child in the custody of a step-parent.

Also if you think about this, you wouldn't want there to be a law against this any way. What happens if you meet someone else, get married, and want to leave the kid with that step-parent while you go on a business trip, to visit family, etc?  Do you want your ex on here talking about how evil you are for leaving the kid with the new step-parent and trying to get you in trouble with the law?


Title: [California] just received a speeding ticket.

Question:
So I've just received a speeding ticket.

While I'm not generally a rude person, and I respect the officer, I would very much like to avoid a fine and insurance increase.

And I may point out the officer claimed I was traveling at 95mph while the ticket is for 80mph, and the limit was 70.

I normally drive a large truck while today I was in a light sedan I have no experience with.

Also; occurred near the Arizona border, and the speed limit on the Arizona side is 80~mph. Not that that is relevant.

Answer:
 >the officer claimed I was traveling at 95mph while the ticket is for 80mph, and the limit was 70.

He gave you a break. You should be grateful.

>I was in a light sedan I have no experience with.

Not an excuse. You should still be able to read the spedometer.

>occurred near the Arizona border, and the speed limit on the Arizona side is 80~mph. Not that that is relevant.

Then you still would have been speeding.

What exactly would your defense be?


Title: Someone accidentally died in our home, can they sue?

Question:
Our house's basement has a very narrow staircase that leads down. As the old lady tried to go downstairs in our basement, she accidentally fell down. Our staircase is blocked by two walls and there is also a railing. I was standing behind the old lady's daughter and was unable to help her as she tumbled down. It was a head impact and she died shortly after.
The family is now trying to sue us for negligence and I'm wondering if they have a case to win.

Some more details...
When the family was trying to go in my basement, I had no idea the old lady was going to go downstairs, she sort of pushed us aside to go downstairs and then fell.
The forensic police indicated it was an accident and we were at no fault.

Also we are in Ontario, Canada.
They [the family] have also tried to take pictures of the area where she died and recently has asked their lawyers to come to take pictures. I'm wondering if I should? Or should I not allow them to come in my house.

Help please!

Answer:
 Was the incident reported to your homeowners insurance? Have you been served with a lawsuit?

Do not have any contact with the family or the attorneys. Contact your homeowners insurance. This is what you pay them for. Answer #2: IANAL

Don't let them in. If they're going to sue you, make them do the work, don't hand it to them. They need a subpoena, and/or other legal documents.

I get that you're sorry that someone died. But as soon as they start talking "we're going to sue you," the friendship stops, at least as far as anything regarding the suit is concerned. You don't offer to "help them out" or anything. Sounds cold, but dude, it's your life/home/money.

Also, if they DO sue, make sure you notify your homeowner's insurance (you might want to do that anyway).Answer #3: Just curious, what were they doing at your house?

If you have a home business that might be more concerning to you than just a regular homeownerAnswer #4: "Our house's basement"
"We don't have homeowners insurance"

You have a house with no homeowners insurance? But you run a business from your house and have "business insurance"?  Is the business downstairs? if it is, why didn't you expect her to go down there?  If it isn't, why was she going down there?


Title: Fighting open container ticket I received as a passenger in court

Question:
Hey guys. This happened in Illinois. I was at a party last night and got a ride home when we were pulled over. I was a passenger in the back seat, there was another passenger in the seat in front of me. The cop (who initially pulled his gun because of an airsoft gun in the car) searched the car and found some open beer bottles, and I received an 11-502B Illegal Transportation of Alcohol ticket, along with the other passenger. Curiously the driver did not receive a ticket of any kind. I did not have any knowledge of the open containers and was just trying to get a ride home, something I communicated to the officer. What are my odds trying to fight this in court? Thanks in advance.

tl;dr got aan open container ticket in Illinois as a passenger who didn't have any knowledge of the containers, can I fight this in court?

Answer:
 How many people in the car vs. how many open beer bottles?

Where were the open beer bottles found in the car (in relation to you)?

Were their caps on them or were they OPEN open?

Had you been drinking at all?


Title: [GA] Tree Law - Builder killed trees during construction

Question: [removed]

Answer: Georgia is a Caveat Emptor state.  You bought it that way, it is your problem.


Title: [IL] Quit my job, company didn't have me sign an NDA, what can I legally tell others or do myself?

Question:
Long story short, **no** papers were ever signed which led to my leaving.

I'm not thinking about exposing any files, passwords, or anything malicious but I did have access to data sets, future plans, and processes.

I'm considering doing what they did but on my own terms or finding another job. The only NDAs I've ever signed before explicitly stated not to share client names, software used, or data sets.

Since I never signed anything or made a written/verbal agreement, what's fair game if anything?
Topic:
Contracts

Answer: Putting aside the legal issues for a moment, if it becomes known that you are willing to give out your former employer's confidential information, the only companies that will hire you are shady ones willing to capitalize on that information.  How well do you think such companies treat their employees?


Title: [USA, CA] Is it legal to break someone's car window to save an infant from the heat? If not, what penalties can one face for acting upon it?

Question:
I know this may be a silly question, but we have a law finally being passed to allow breaking a window to save an animal (after calling the police to report it, and only if there is immediate danger.) I checked, but I don't see any laws Protecting infant's rescuers in the same way.

There is no immediate need for this answer nor is there any pending trouble with it on my part, it is simply a curiosity question. Our local police department no longer "offers legal advice" over the phone so without physically going into the station I am seeking the answer here. I apologize if it is not in the right spirits to ask though! 😊

Answer: You better be damn sure.  I know I've seen articles about self professed heroes who broke into a car to discover the AC was running and the dog was fine, or the child was a doll or something along those lines.Answer #2: There's a common-law emergency exception. It doesn't typically need to be encoded into statute. You can break all kinds of laws if it's reasonably necessary to save a human life.


Title: False positive on drug test for thc.... TX THC sub said to post here. So if not the right place I will remove.

Question:
So I had to take a prescreen drug test for my new employer.

As a chronic pain management patient with a rare disease I am monitored and tested monthly and all have never had an issue until this one test.

Long story short my thc test came back positive at a rate of 25 which is under the legal threshold of 50. I take cbd oil as part of my pain management docotor requirements to stay on her program

Well when new employer called me to say I failed and called me a drug addiction I was like wtf I don’t do anything against the law or my pain contract. I went to my doctors office and had her contact the company to verify everything I said.

Well today the employer decided I must be a pit head and receneded a huge opportunity and the hiring manager made a few inappropriate comments.

So I have been trying to figure out why cbd oil that has a third party certification showing zero thc has resulted in me falling g a thc teat. Tried to talk mro and employer and both keep saying (since they found out about my disability) there is no way it is a false positive.

As I stated previously my rare disability forces me to see ten docs a month and all of them drug test me.

None have ever showed a positive but this one company that the employer uses. The company named Escreen and employer Kuerig refuse to provide me the test results and keep trying to explain it as they took the first pass and used a gas o tromaor ( ?) and it showed my level as 25.

I said well my doctors, all ten, say it has to be false positive bc they all use different companies and same two step test and get nothing. My doctors  have sent letters stating the same

So can someone tell me what the hell this employment screening company is trying to say?  I have never used thc and frankly do understand anything about it or testing. EScreens says First pass shows positive so they send it off to some new hotness (their words), mro refuses to review the 30 different type of meds saying false positive is not Possible and mro nor employer will take my docotor statement and test into Consideration.

To make things worse I just randomly got tested at my pain management office the same day as the employer Escreen  test and it shows negative.

Someone explain it to me like i am five. The attorney I called could not figure it out either bc Escreen and Kuerig won’t listen to my medical docs.

Answer:
 > gas o tromaor ( ?)

Gc/ms: Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer

Probably. If they followed their split sample process they should be able to provide proof of the result. I believe drug tests for employment fall under the FCRA - if the results were passed from the lab to a background screener then to the end employer. Is that the case?


Title: My school forced me to open up my private social media

Question:
Sorry for formatting. I’m writing from mobile.

So basically a few days ago I got called into my deans office during school. They told me that I had posted a picture of a swastika online in Discord. I thought for a few minutes and I realized what they were talking about. Someone else in a discord I was in posted a swastika meme. Someone had said something incorrect about the swastika and I got into an argument with them over the origin(irrelevant to the picture itself). I explained this to the dean and she forced me to open up my discord account in the presence of a few other adults at my school. I asked her if I could have my parents or a lawyer present and she said”No, just open it up”. I opened it and I proved to her that I didn’t post the image.

I have 2 questions.

There is a police report out from the resource officer of the school where the kid filed the complaint(said my name, idk why). What should I do to handle this as I didn’t post this and that’s what the complaint was?

Was it legal for my school to force me to open my discord without any evidence that I did anything wrong? What should I do about this?

Happened at highschool in Massachusetts.

Thanks for the help!

Answer:
 If something happens like this, make sure the conversation goes along these lines:

>Dean: Open your discord app

>You: I don't have discord.

If they press the issue, tell them to talk to your parents.

As for legality, they didn't really force you to do anything, they told you to do something and you complied.


Title: Visiting UK from USA, Marijuana User

Question:
Specifically I will be visiting Germany from the USA.  I use marijuana daily because I have a medical condition with my back, and it also helps with my crippling anxiety.  Pain pills do not help with the amount of pain that I have, and I don't take anything else for my anxiety.  I will be visiting Germany for about 2 weeks, and I'd like any legal advice and recommendations.  I'm not sure if the UK will honor a medical prescription from USA, and I'm not sure if there is a medical certificate required.

&#x200B;

Additional info: I can make my own tincture, and I can make my own marijuana-infused snacks.  If it helps, I am a USA Native American registered with a tribe.

&#x200B;

TLDR: What is the legal way to travel to the UK from the USA when I need medical marijuana?

Answer: Germany isn't in the UK


Title: Weird circumstances leading to getting fired.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: They could fire her for being a top performer if they wanted to.


Title: Sexual harassment and leaving a job

Question:
I dont know if this is the correct place to put this but I've been the victim of sexual harassment at my workplace. I just got out of the military and I'm currently working in a home improvement store. I've been touched and have had very explicit things said to me from another coworker.
I'm extremely uncomfortable going to work and dread it every day because I dont want to see the man. I'm also in college and all I can think about is how I have to keep seeing him.

I dont want to continue at this company because I'm uncomfortable and I know if I report him everyone will know I reported him and they'll all treat me differently. I'm also a Male (the other Male is gay and just got divorced from his husband) so I'm afraid nobody will take me seriously.

My question is do I legally need to put in a 2 weeks notice? Can I just quit? I've only been at this job 2 months.

Any advice is helpful. Thank you

Answer:
 You are never required to give notice for quitting unless your contract specifies that. Two weeks' notice is a courtesy. (Personally, I've been let go between one week and five weeks of giving my notice.)

I would suggest reporting this incident to management and corporate even if you find a new job. Even if this person is not fired or reprimanded after this, it will show a pattern if (when) he does it again.

Best of luck.


Title: The business behind our apartment (we live parallel to a busy hwy) just ripped down our fence with zero notice and my dog almost got hit by a car. What can we do?

Question: I am not sure whose fence it is. Needless to say, I let my pup out to pee which is routine and the next thing I know is there’s no fence. By the time I figured it out (there are small bushes that usually hide the fence that was there), he was already headed for the hwy. Traffic stopped, my pup could have gotten hit and I’m sure it could have caused accidents.

Answer:
 If the fence belongs to the business, nothing.

If the fence belongs to the apart..ent and they tore it down or agreed to let the business tear it down, nothing.

If the business tore down a fence not belonging to them without permission of the owner, report it to whoever owns the fence.


Title: I got pulled over for 100 in a 65. I need help

Question:
Massachusetts/State Police
I was doing 100 in a 65. (35 over) And I got pulled over. I was super good with the officer. Put my hazards on, I was already stopped before he even pulled out onto the highway, I shut my engine off, keys on the dashboard, rolled all my windows down, told him I have a knife in my right pocket where my wallet was, waited for his permission to grab the wallet slowly. I know he should've taken my license. He gave me a $350 ticket instead.
I can't pay it, I make $200 (MAXIMUM) a month.
Do I have any chance going to the court and asking for them to take a couple dollars off, give me a few more weeks. Anything?
First pullover, spotless criminal record, got my license in early October. I'm trying to pay for school, and gas. I can barely afford that.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer: All you can do is ask to make payments there may be interest but you were going an dangerous speed over the limit your lucky he didn’t do more. Do not push it. Make payments or pick up more shifts. You will not get out of this


Title: [MI] Could my boyfriend get in trouble?

Question:
In Michigan. Me and my boyfriend have been dating since December 2017. We were dating while he was 17 and I was 15. We both had our birthdays this year already. I turned 16 before him and he turned 18 a few months later. There was no sex until after my birthday while he was only 17.

Could my boyfriend get in trouble with the law if we are having sex while I am a minor?

Answer: Age of consent in MI is 16, so if nothing happened until after your 16th birthday, then, no.


Title: My neighbor just hit my house with a U-Haul and left some damage.

Question:
My neighbor was parking a gigantic U-Haul (a bigger than usual size one) beside our houses, he was trying to move it and he ran into my house and left some damage, when he hit the house my entire house kinda shook. I got his name, number and I took pics of the U-Haul plates. I want to know if I should call the cops and U-Haul to let them know what happened. I have not called the cops because they promised to repair my house tomorrow. Any advice would be helpful. I also want to know if U-Haul has any type of insurance that could help out in the repairs.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 Take Photographs. Lots of them.Answer #2: If your insurance allows it, contact them *now*. Same with the neighbors auto insurance (if they have it), though they'll need to make the claim.

I would not allow the neighbor to repair your house themself (themselves?) unless they are a licensed and insured contractor, assuming your home insurance doesn't require you to go through a contractor of their choice.


Title: Should I sign this NDA for a phone interview?

Question:
I am in process of setting up a phone interview with a large tech industry employer. They require an NDA before scheduling. In our industry this is not common but it’s also not rare. I really have no qualms with signing an NDA—usually.

This one gives me pause though. After the fairly normal NDA text, it also says “[Company] assumes no obligation (whether expressed or implied) for confidential information disclosed by Candidate.”

If I am reading this correctly, they’re saying that I am obligated to hold in confidence any information provided in this interview, but they will assume no obligation for the other way around.

Two questions:

Am I reading this correctly?

Would you advise against signing this?

Answer:
 That's bog standard for most larger tech employers.

They may divulge internal information about how their company works, they make you sign an NDA so that you can't then disclose that information to competitors or the public at large.

They assume no obligation for confidential information disclosed by you, because they fully intend on sharing that information internally as part of the hiring process, and do not want to be held responsible if that information somehow finds its way out.

If you want the job, sign it.


Title: Beat up by a group of men - North Carolina

Question:
My buddy was jumped in a bar and beat up by 3 men, to the point he needed to be hospitalized. One guy came up and put his hand on his girlfriend's neck and asked what he was gonna do about it. Friend asked him to stop. The assailant asked what he was gonna "do physically to stop him." At which point another man came up from behind and punched my friend in the back of the head knocking him to the ground. Another man jumped in and all three punched, kicked and hit him with a chair. Friend went unconscious and they kept hitting him. Cops were called and the three men fled. The cops pulled them over down the street a few blocks away, but let them go, "because they didn't think my friend wanted to press charges." Friend had to get a number of stitches including a wound that the ER doc described as looking like a knife wound, probably from the metal chair. My friend got the names of the three assailants and filled out police reports the next day. The magistrate issued one warrant for the guy who touched his girlfriend. He was charged with assault and battery and released on a $1500 bond. This was last Friday and there are still no warrants out for the other two.

What can be done to get charges pressed against the other two? And shouldn't this be more than just a misdemeanor assault and battery? Could this be considered conspiracy to commit assault? It seemed like they had set the whole thing up before hand, just to beat up my friend? Could it be considered aggravated since they used a metal chair, hit him in the head from behind, and kept beating him after he went unconscious?

Sorry for the long text and thank you for any insight.

Answer: Your friend probably can't do much with regards to criminal charges, but he sure can sue the hell out of them civilly.


Title: Speeding ticket in school zone (Knoxville, TN)

Question:
This morning I drove through the normal school zone to drop my son off. We passed an officer stationed on a side street just before the flashing zone signs. There is about 0.1 mile to the stop light.  We stopped and turned right then on into the school, dropped my son off.

 I then left the school turned onto a series of three roads (this is the only way to get back on the main road), none of which were the first road where the officer was. Then I turned back on to the main road continuing south. While I was stopped at the next light he pulled up behind me. I was brushing my hair. As the light turned green he pulled me over. He said I was going 36 when I passed him (about 10 minutes previously) all the way to the first stop light.

I don't think it was even possible to go more than 30 in the short distance from when we pulled out of my neighborhood to where he was stationed. I wasn't speeding though. Why did he pull me over? Why did he wait so long to pull me over? If I was speeding why didn't he pull me right away? I want to fight this but I don't know if it will be worth it. I can't prove I wasn't going that fast. It just seems very fishy. I wonder if he was irritated I brushed my hair at the stoplight??? Can anyone weigh in on this? Should I go to court or just pay the fine and take the points (anywhere from 4-8). He wrote the ticket for going 31 in 25 school zone. This all happened in less than a mile of roadway.

Edit: thanks for the input everyone. I think it is pretty much as I expected- even if I fight this I won't win. I'd still have to pay court costs either way. The scenario still doesn't make much sense to me. It's hard to describe. I guess I'll just pay the fine, take the points, and put one more mark on my "Knoxville city cops suck" column.

Answer:
 >Why did he pull me over?

Because he saw you going 36 in a 25.

>Why did he wait so long to pull me over?

Probably running your plates, and waiting for a safe place to pull you over.

>If I was speeding why didn't he pull me right away?

See above.  At the end of the day it literally doesn't matter at all.

>I wonder if he was irritated I brushed my hair at the stoplight?

Huhh?

>This all happened in less than a mile of roadway.

If this is true, then it didn't take him 10 minutes to pull you over.  I'll chalk the "10 minutes" up as hyperbole.

He already wrote you up for the lower violation.  You should look up your local laws and see if 6 over carries the same penalty as 11 over.  I'm assuming 11 over is a higher penalty, so if you show up to court they can still amend/re-issue you a ticket for the speed he actually caught you at.

You have to weigh the risk of doing that vs. the points and higher insurance premiums.


Title: [USA][Nevada] Accessed first few pages of odd hentai

Question: So I was looking up some porn and decided to jack it to some hentai. Long story short, I ended up on /r/kawamono , and on year old post of hentai hosted on imgur. The post in question was the Kawacolle 1.5, and the subject of the hentai was, while not explicitly underage, ambiguously defined (At one point there is a typical school girl's swim suit). My question is as follows: Does this qualify as some form of illegal pornography? Hell, am I overreacting about nothing at all?

Answer: That's nice. You looked at some gross cartoons. The police won't be knocking on your door.


Title: [ID] Mom passed away while buying car

Question:
About 2 years ago my mom found a car she decided to start a rent to own on a car (not sure the exact term, but she was paying per month to own the car in the end)

She passed of cancer back in February, so we've been continuing to pay the car off since then.

The financial burden is a bit too much right now and we don't know how to go about this.

Does Idaho have a law that pertains to this situation? Will we have to totally pay off the car if we tell the people we're renting from? (we haven't told them yet) Is there a life insurance clause in the law? (our contract didn't have anything in it for life insurance)

Thank you! :)

Answer:
 Her debts are not your debts unless your name is also on that debt.  If her estate does not have the funds to pay off the car, work with the dealer to return the car.Answer #2: Sorry for your loss.

You should notify the company immediately.  Assuming you are not cosigned in any way to the rental agreement, you will not owe the debt.  Your mother's estate will owe any debt per the terms of her agreement.

Step 1: notify the company

Step 2: get a copy of her agreement with said company

edit: want to add that their are scummy people/companies who will tell you that you are responsible for the debt because all they want to do is get their money.  People don't know how the laws work and assume the debt transfers to the next of kin.  Follow the advice given and you will be alright.


Title: The government is using aircraft to spy on me and I can prove it!

Question:
I was driving down Interstate 70 in Callaway County in Missouri, going 'with the flow of traffic.' My spidey senses go off: traffic is too slow and bunched for the terrain. I kill it down, then a few miles later a cop pulls up next to me, then behind me, and lights me up. I'm thinking 'there's no way I'm getting pulled over at the speed I was going.'

Cop comes up, real nice guy, very professional and friendly, takes my info, comes back, and explains they were using a plane to clock people. Just then, the plane flies by. I get a ticket for 11-15 over [82 mph]. Everyone gets a ticket, no choice. Apparently there are 3 lines spaced 160 feet apart on the highway the plane uses to determine speed.

Now, if this was a land based speed trap on equal ground, I would go to a traffic law center, get the family discount, and get the ticket fixed to Extreme Illegal Parking. However, I think the use of planes to catch people, while legal, is fundamentally unfair. I know, I know, this is an odd way of looking at it, but like mother, like daughter.

I want to fight this. My main theory of defense is to put the officer on the stand, ask him to describe what happened, and point out the only evidence of me going 82 MPH before the court is hearsay (pilot radioed in. Of course, I'm screwed if the pilot shows up or they ask for a continuance after discovery. Other options for discovery are asking for the training records of the pilot for operating whatever system they use, and the calibration of that system. No idea how it actually works, hopefully they don't have cameras.

How do I go about maximizing the chances the government can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt I was speeding?
Do you think a county traffic judge will give me a fair shot if I'm respectful?

Thanks for reading, any advice appreciated, even if it is 'don't be stupid, get it fixed.'

*How do I actually go about this?*
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 Since air pacing requires the testimony of both officers for a valid conviction, adjourning the appearance as many times as possible effectively doubles your chances that one of them may not show up.

Otherwise, bend over, relax and think about baseball.  It will be over pretty quickly.


Title: Got caught having sex in a car

Question: I was having sex with my gf in the parking lot of a secluded mall and we notice a black car behind our car stop and a man seem to fiddle with a laptop of some sort, possible taking down my license plate. It definitely looked like an undercover cop car but no one approached my car for my ID or even telling me to stop. We obviously stopped after we noticed the car and drove away as soon as the car left. What am I looking at guys because help would be very much appreciated.

Answer:
 NAL-Work in LE

If the officer(if it was the police) never approached the vehicle, consider it likely a friendly warning.  If had had wanted to arrest or cite you, he would’ve approached the car to make contact with you.

Other option, it was the police at all and someone saw what you were doing and decided to either scare you or potentially photograph/record you.

Wouldn’t necessarily worry about the police at the moment.  Find somewhere else to do the horizontal mambo, like at a house or hotel.


Title: Can I be prosecuted for swearing at a child? (VA)

Question: A young teen girl dropped something on my sons head. He was crying and there was a lot of blood.  I yelled at her and after she chucked I screamed that she’s a “fucking retard”. It was a public place.  I left about an hour later without further incident, other than taking care of my kid. Is there anything I need to worry about legally?

Answer: Unless you were threatening her or inciting violence the 1st Amendment has you covered.  That said, rethink your language, referring to someone as a "retard" isn't really something that is OK to do.


Title: Interviewer said I was too old

Question:
I am 34 years old and I have been working as a QA engineer for about 6 months doing manual testing. I applied for a new position and was interviewed which went well.

Next thing I know the recruiter texted me and literally  told me I was too old for the position and canceled a skype interview that was scheduled for the next day.

 Is this legal? This happened in California and I have the text messages on my phone.

Now I feel old.

Answer: Unfortunately, age discrimination doesn't kick-in until you're 40.


Title: Can I ask for Chinese New Year Eve off Work? (Canada,ON)

Question:
Location: Ontario (GTA)

I've been working for this company for 7 Months so I'm nervous of giving a bad impression.

But my cousin and aunt are leaving Taiwan for the first time to come celebrate chinese new year with my family. I know employers are supposed to give religious holidays with pay. Does this count? Taiwan new years eve is 27 January.

Does this count as a cultural holiday? Or should I not ask for it off?

(Edit: 27, not 17, opps)

Answer: Why don't you say "hey, my aunt and so and so are visiting from wherever, and they wanted to celebrate Chinese new year which is [X date.] Do you think i can have that night off?"


Title: [CA, USA] Ex-gf falsely accusing me of rape on social media; I can't afford a lawyer to fight it. :-(

Question:
I have an ex-gf falsely accusing me of rape on social media (Facebook, her blog) for the past two years, and I can't afford a lawyer to fight it-- I'm too poor. I know I have to stop this somehow.

Any suggestions?

Answer: You can pay an attorney to send her a cease and desist letter, or you can sue her for defamation (if you have damages that you seek to recover from her).  Other than that, you can ignore her.


Title: $3000 Accused of buying a bike on eBay (Local Pickup) and then cancelling payment after picking up the bike.

Question:
California (Southern)

One afternoon while surfing Craigslist Ads I came across an expensive road bike that looked like it would fit my needs. I contacted the owner and we bartered for a little bit until we came to an agreeable sale price. For some reason he directed the sale towards eBay. I was perfectly fine with that and I too thought that it would as well be beneficial to the both of us. He posted the eBay ad and listed it as a pickup only to avoid shipping cost. I was okay with this but he lived about 45 miles from me so I had to pickup the bike over the weekend.

On that Saturday during the weekend I went to pick up the bike. Before even purchasing the bike I asked for some sort of proof of purchase so that I could sign a bill of sale and get the bike insured under my house insurance. The owner refused several times to give it to me and even said that he had no way of getting any sort of proof of purchase. When I went to get the bike my main goal was to see if everything was in good order. I asked him a lot of questions about it and he seemed fairly knowledgeable. When I took the bike for a test ride around his neighborhood I looked underneath the bottom bracket where the serial number should've been and noticed that the laminated serial number had been scraped off and that there was no sort of identification on the bike. When finishing up the ride I took the bike back and told the owner that due to some circumstances I couldn't take the bike with me. I asked him for a refund and he had agreed on the spot to provide me with that. He was quite angry that he had to go back out and sell the bike but I didn't specifically tell him exactly what the issue was.

The three main issues I had:

1. No proof of purchase. This bike could very well be a stolen bike and if I was ever caught riding it then the police would say that I was in possession of stolen property.

2. Clearly missing serial #: A bike owner just one day doesn't go along and scrape off the serial number on the bottom of his bike. It's almost as important as a VIN #. People actually want to have that so that they can properly identify that the bike they're riding is actually there's. When insuring a bike you have to for sure have the serial number or some type of specific identification number on the bike. Furthermore, how would a bill of sale even be valid if there isn't the serial number clearly listed on the bike?

3. At that specific moment I didn't know what to believe. The owner clearly stated he could not and would not provide me with proof of purchase. Then I find out that there isn't even a serial number on the bike. What am I supposed to do?

The owner attempted to return the money through eBay but it had somehow failed. The following Tuesday since I hadn't heard back from him I asked my bank what I should do. They simply said that they could start a claim and then they could deal with it from there. I did that and after investigating the situation they decided to give me the full credit of the purchase back to my account.

About a week later the owner emails me demanding that I reverse the payment. He stated that I had taken the bike that I had purchased and then started to make threats that he was going to call the police if I didn't. I asked for proof of purchase and said that I would not complete the sale of the bike without proof of purchase and some sort of solution regarding the serial number. After three to four weeks of excuses and ultimatums he finally said that he had proof of purchase in his possession and instructed me to return the money. I said that I would meet up with him to get the bike and sign a bill of sale as long as he sent me some proof of purchase beforehand. After that he said that he wanted to talk but still didn't even provide one shred of evidence that he was the owner.

I sent him one last email saying that I would not be buying his bike and that if he contacted me again I'd contact the authorities and report his harassment. I then told him that even after I had gotten my money back I had seen a new ad on craigslist with his number selling the bike. I provided him with a screenshot clearly showing that he was attempting to sell the bike again. From then on I had never heard back from him.

Just today an Investigator of the owners local Sheriff's office calls me and says that the owner of the bike had filed a police report. He spoke to me with a condescending tone as if I was somehow guilty. He then told me that there was one witness that had seen me take the bike home with me. Where the hell did this witness come from? There was no one even there with us when I was testing out the bike. The witness is probably some neighbor just trying to help this guy out or something. I told the officer why I didn't take the bike and why I asked for my money back. I also explained that I had found the ad on craigslist posted way after I had gotten my money back. The officer asked why the owner would file a police report if he hadn't suffered any losses. I believe that this guy has sold the bike to someone else and is just trying to say that I took it so he can make an extra $3000.00 and make double what he would've.

My question is: What can I do at this point? It's word against word and the officer sounds like he's believing this other guy. I specifically did not sign a bill of sale (which I had readily available) and as well did explain why I couldn't complete the sale. I can't prove wether or not I took the bike and nor can he but my main concern is that the "owners" word is taken over mine.

What proof does the officer even need to somehow progress this situation to a more serious matter?

UPDATE:

My attorney suggested something that I never would've thought of. Basically I instructed my bank to refund the money to the owner of the bike. Now with the evidence of the craigslist ad he posted and the lies that he told he will be responsible to provide me the bike and if not make a huge explanation for what I've given to the police. I am thoroughly convinced that he will fold and return the money when the cop calls him and informs him he will be facing grand theft charges if I don't get the bike (he most likely sold to someone else).

Answer: Are you sure the investigator was with the Sheriff's Office and not a friend of the seller pretending to be one?Answer #2: This entire thing is fraught with bad ideas. Try to find the original craigslist ad or your correspondence concerning the ad. Cop already has enough, but I think they would need to search you to find the stolen goods. As it stands you already contacted your back. What makes you look bad is this reeks of a scam yet you continued on with it, so it makes it seem like you are the scammer.


Title: Work taking out lunch breaks when not working 8 hours.

Question: So I just found out today that my work has been taking out 30 minute lunch breaks out of people's pay checks whether they are working 8 hours or not. I work at a brewery and production has been very slow for the last two months or so. We have two shifts, first which works 630am-3pm then second that works 12pm-830pm. I am on second shift. The guys on second shift usually show up and have about 3-4 hours worth of work, then clean up and go home. So, for the last one or two months, I have been getting off by 6pm, making my shift only 6 hours. So my question is if I am only working the 6 hours but scheduled for 8 and not taking a lunch can they still deduct it? When we are released to go home, it is always approved so it's not like I am just walking out. This is in FL. Thanks for any info.

Answer:
 You should be paid for all hours you actually work.

If you're taking a 30 minute break and they're deducting 30 minutes, that's fine.

If you're not taking a 30 minute break and they're deducting 30 minutes, that's not fine.

This is assuming you're employed in an at-will scenario and are paid by the hour.


Title: Should I report my mother to CPS? [MI]

Question:
Hello.

I am an adult man (38) and I am wondering if I should report my mother (53) to CPS.

I first became concerned roughly a week ago, when my mother confessed to me, my brother, my other sister, several aunts and uncles, and my stepfather that she repeatedly molested me when I was four and five years old while she was under the influence of drugs.

I think that the statute of limitations has expired on that front (although I am not certain) and I am making my peace with that. My wife and I are moving very far away very soon, so I can handle the fact that my mother hurt me like that.

However, my mother lives with my stepsister, who is currently four years old. My mother is now sober, and has been for a year, but I can't help but feel terrified for that little girl. She is one of the sweetest kids I have ever met and I never want her to be hurt like that.

Do I have grounds to call CPS? My mother was never charged/prosecuted for assaulting me, and I don't know if this has grounds for a report, or if I would be wasting someone's time.

Thank you for your time.
Topic:
Juvenile and Youth Law

Answer:
 IANL but my best friend had an experience just like this, except it was her brother who molested her and several other young girls, and her brother now has a young daughter.

She discovered that, in Michigan US, there is NOT a statute of limitations on molestation or rape charges. Or rather, the statute of limitations on them doesn’t start until after a victim has reported the crime. I’m not sure what it is in your area but it’s worth looking into.

She (best friend) called CPS and they discovered physical evidence of abuse in his daughter. My best friend and her sister now have a case open against their brother and my best friend is fighting for custody of her niece, and it’s looking like they will win.

Not exactly the *same* situation but very similar. If there’s no evidence on your younger step sister of abuse, I don’t think much would be done. That being said, it’s better to be safe in cases like this to have them at least look into it. Answer #2: They will always take a report if you feel any concern.


Title: Lotto

Question: My sons dad just won a multi million dollar lottery and is currently paying child support. He recently asked if I could settle for an amount so I could take him off child support but it's no where near the amount he legally would owe over the next 16 years. What are the first steps I should take to have the most positive outcome for my son? We live in Texas.

Answer:
 Petition the court to modify child support. Answer #2: You might be due MORE child support, not less. He sounds like an asshole. I'd take him back to court and ask for an increase.

Why should you settle for less? You don't know what might come up as you are raising your son. What if, god forbid, he needs expensive medical treatment someday or something like that? I'd want moneybag pops to still be writing checks monthly, so that if we need to go back to court someday, I haven't signed away my rights.

There's no reason for you to agree to this and many reasons not to.


Title: (LA) Involuntary 72-hour psychiatric hold

Question:
A close friend of mine was recently involuntarily admitted to an inpatient psychiatric clinic.  I want to know what to expect, her rights, and the rights of her family members.

**Description:**

Two days ago, after a night of not sleeping and several days of "fasting", she left her house naked. She was talking about having had some revelations about the universe and wanted to show love to everybody.  She said she didn't want to wear factory-made, third-world-imported clothes any more, but instead would wear leaves and flowers.  Her neighbors and landlady found her in the yard and brought her inside, local police dept, fire dept, and EMTs arrived on the scene, forced her to put on a robe, and took her to the hospital.  Marijuana was found at her house and confiscated, but so far no charges have been filed.

I went to the hospital immediately after she was taken there to see her and her family, and I was able to spend some time with her.  She was oscillating between excitement over her new ideas on life and intense distress over her current situation.  She has high-functioning Aspergers syndrome (easily overwhelmed by sensory stimuli, difficulty focusing when many distractions are present, difficulty putting [visual] thoughts into words, difficulty interpreting nonverbal/nonliteral communication), anxiety, ADHD, depression.  Occasionally, she would try to express deep, complex, unconventional ideas (eg, people, both rich and poor, are part of a system and the rich believe themselves to be benefiting from the system, but they aren't and a natural progression of this disorder is worsening traffic everywhere") without limited success.  She also doesn't get along very well with her parents, who are elderly (early 70s).

She was interviewed by a social worker and later a psychologist.  She was lucid and able to clearly answer questions asked of her.  She was asked if she had homicidal or suicidal thoughts ("No").  She was asked if she had a "bad trip".  Since her Aspergers diagnosis, she and I have been reading a lot about Aspergers and realizing just how much misinformation and misconception exists even within the professional medical community on the symptoms and treatment of AS.  The psychologist was impatient after answering a question and interpreted her usual deliberate thoughtfulness as confusion symptomatic of delusion and psychosis.  Her family and doctors were talking about her while she was supposed to be answering questions, not realizing how distracting their conversation and the general chaos of the hospital was.  I asked the psychologist if he was familiar with Aspergers syndrome and he claimed that he was.  Knowing her closely, her behavior was more erratic than usual, and she seemed to be more sensitive / influenced by the emotions of others around her, but these things can easily be attributed to her not sleeping the night before and having missed several meals prior.  Other behaviors or ideas expressed, were odd or unconventional, but not irrational.

She was taken to further psychiatric evaluation in the hospital and her family and I waited for hours to be informed of what was to happen to her.  Her family was presented with no options during any of this time, and still has not been consulted with her care.

She was taken to a inpatient psychiatric clinic and we were informed that she would be held for a minimum of 72-hours of evaluation, and since her release would fall on a weekend, she would be held at least until Monday.  After reading about others with Aspergers Syndrome having much success with a gluten-free diet, she has been gluten free for the past few months and I believe her anxiety has improved as a result.  She is very skeptical of traditional Western medicine (treating symptoms without understanding or addressing root causes) and the pharmaceutical industry (profit-motive, adverse side effects).  She is now being held against her will and the will of her family and her release from this for-profit facility is dependent on her consent/non-resistance to the drugs they prescribe, her participation as an introvert Aspie in psych ward group activities (assuredly a step down from Boys and Girls Clubs, or retirement homes), her consumption of the food and drink offered her (Her family is not allowed to provide the fruit and granola that she has been requesting).

She has a young daughter who is in her care half of the time (not at the time of the incident).

She is employed and her employer has only been informed that she is in the hospital and will be out for a few days.

She has been placed on a 72-hour hold once in the past, 9 years ago, when she began having suicidal thoughts while working on a PhD in Physics.

Her communication with us is limited to 5-minutes on the phone during any of three allotted daily times.  Her first visitation with us will be this afternoon.

I use to do consulting work with this particular facility and have serious concerns about their competency.

**Questions:**

* Is this hold legal?
* Under what the circumstances would she be held for longer than 72 hours?
* Is it legal for her to be held until Monday even after 72 hours has elapsed?
* Does she of her family have any right to request an alternative facility or any change in her care?
* What if any evidence of credible threat of harm to herself or others must the institution provide to justify this and any extended holds?
* What rights does she have if she were to lose her job, or if her shared custody of her daughter were to be challenged?
* Any other legal considerations?

Thank you in advance.
I apologize for the novel.

----

**Update:**

For the curious, here are some relevant documents from the LA legislature:

* Order of protective custody (72 hrs): https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=85247
* Emergency certificate: https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=85245
* Judicial commitment (inpatient): https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=85248
* ...hearing:     https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=85249
* ...cont.:    https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=85250
* Old mental health patient rights statute: http://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2011/rs/title28/rs28-171/
* Updated mental health patient rights statute: https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=85105

Answer:
 It sounds as though your friend needs a lawyer to represent her interests.

The hold is probably legal.  A failure to feed and clothe herself suggests she may be a danger to herself.  She can be held for longer if the attending doctor persuades a judge she needs to be held longer to protect her safety or the safety of others.

While she's on an involuntary hold, her family is generally not directing her care.  The state is by way of the attending physician.

Assuming her job qualifies for FMLA, her position should probably be held for her.  Subject, of course, to a number of things that can best be reviewed with her by an attorney.

There are serious child custody implications that can only be fully explored with an attorney.  Her shared custody of her daughter could potentially be changed for the short term based if she is adjudicated to be a threat to herself or others.


Title: SO's truck has loans out, is a pile of junk. Options and advice on what to do?

Question:
*I'm not sure I flaired this properly, but I didn't see a fitting flair to use.*

My girlfriend has a truck that's a piece of junk, and needs advice on how to handle it, the legal paperwork, and the loan office. The situation is complex though, so bear with me.

She has the use of a truck, the title is in her mother's name, is registered in CA, but on the auto insurance (which is my gf's) is located in WA, where we live. Her mother however, is financially incompetent and has several loans out on the truck, totalling more than the value of the vehicle even if it was in good shape. So, on the paperwork side, the only place my gf's name is is on her auto insurance to my knowledge.

The problems are:
* The vehicle needs lots of work. It runs, but stuff is broken, oil is burning, etc.
* Because the truck is registered in CA, the fees are very high, and my GF can't really afford to send her mom $400/yr for the tabs, and have them mailed up.
* Because of the loans, the loan office requires comprehensive insurance coverage, which my GF can barely manage on top of other bills.

So, we're trying to figure out what to do with it when the tabs expire in a few months. She doesn't want to keep the truck, she plans on getting a beater to use in-town while she works on her degree. So far she's had a few ideas, what does r/legaladvice think of them, and are there any traps to watch out for, or better alternatives?

* Drive the truck back to CA, hand it back to her mother, wish her the best, and fly back.
* Declare the truck non-operational, tell the loan agency they can come get it, and move on.
* Suck it up and renew the tabs for another year, probably by taking out a small loan from me.
* This last one isn't an option, but it's been discussed. Transfer the title into my gf's name, pay the cheaper WA fees, and take on the loan debts.
Topic:
Traffic and Parking

Answer:
 > Drive the truck back to CA, hand it back to her mother, wish her the best, and fly back.

This is the answer. She can't deal with the lender, since it's not her truck.


Title: Bought stolen item at police auction (tx)

Question:
I bought a item at a police auction awhile back on impulse, didn't use it and went to go re-sell it on craigslist.

A guy claiming to be the original owner emails me claiming its his. He provided a police report number and a serial that matches the item. He said his house was broken into and the item was stolen from him.

I have a bill of sale and documentation that I bought it at the auction house that sells unclaimed items and property form the local PD's and counties.

I don't know if I own it, he owns, or what to do. I haven't contacted the police or the auction house, in fear of having it taken from me without any refund for the 4 digit price tag I pad for it.

I don't know if in Texas there is a certain time period for unclaimed items by the state or what. If it truely was stolen from him, shouldn't the police department have been able to return it to him if it was his while they had it in their possession?

Answer:
 He had ample time to collect from the police. You'll have to call them to see if they are willing to give you your money back.

Just out of curiosity, was the serial number visible in either the craigslist post or listed on the police dept website? Answer #2: If you bought it from a police auction, it would be because they seized it and are selling it.  Could be restitution, or to satisfy a debt.  Either way, the police would have claimed the property, and sold it to you through a reputable third party seller (the auction).

If this guy is claiming to have had his stuff stolen, he needs to square that away with the police department, not with you.  You don't owe this guy anything.  If he continues to bother you, you can talk to a lawyer.  Answer #3: You should likely contact the auction house and/or police department for advice as to how to proceed.  It seems generally unlikely that the department or auctioneer will take the item and keep your money (and doing so could possibly be actionable subject to the standard issues around suing the government).

It could be that the property went unclaimed for some period of time after which the original owner lost his interest in it.  It could be that a mistake was made that the police and auction house will reasonably work to unwind.  Or, conceivably, this third party could be perpetrating some kind of fraud.

In any case, a resolution without involving the seller to you seems unlikely.


Title: Need advice on changing date of birth.

Question: [Ann Arbor, MI] When my parents came to the U.S, they dealt with a very unprofessional immigration official who gave us all the same birthday (Jan 1st). Literally, everyone in my family! My parents were quite illiterate during the process and their only priority at the time was escaping a war torn & violent country. Once in the U.S, they never bothered to correct birthdates and simply didn't know how. Anyone have any legal advice to go about this?


Title: Can I get fired for this? (Texas,USA)

Question:
I got a job as a nursing assistant four months ago. The interview was great and my boss seemed like a really nice person.
I've been working since then, pulling extra shifts and getting incredibly good feedback from residents. So many I was awarded with employee of the month for my  second month.
About two months ago my work insurance kicked in and I decided to get a yearly checkup, a couple of weeks later and I'm diagnosed with leukemia. I've started chemotherapy and I'll be starting radiation withing the next three months. Needless to say I've been missing work quite a bit and I'm not as energetic as I used to be but I've turned in doctors notes and i still get my job done. I'm slower than I was but I come in half an hour early to get started on my tasks and I work though my thirty minute break.
Two days ago my boss called me into his office and said if I couldn't keep up with my coworkers he would have to let me go.
I'm 19 I don't have any family and i pay my own rent. Can he really just let me go?

Answer: You should read up a bit on the ADA and try to come up with reasonable accomodations with your employer.


Title: Buyers backed out, can we keep their earnest money?

Question:
As the title implies, we accepted an offer on our condo in Washington state. We provided the required HOA documents to the buyers, and they gave notice of termination within their 5 day review period. We could tell by the number of questions filtered to us through our realtor that the buyers were getting cold feet, so this wasn't much of a surprise.

A relative is convinced we can keep the earnest money because they didn't give a specific reason for termination, they just stated that the resale certificate was disapproved.

The contract we signed, as far as I can tell, does not require the buyer to specify a reason for backing out if they do so within this review period (the exact wording is, to summarize, "if buyer, in buyer's sole discretion, [gives notice of disapproval within 5 days], then this agreement [is terminated and the earnest money refunded to buyer]".

Who is right/is this worth pursuing?

Answer: What you have learned is that your relative has poor reading comprehension.


Title: My mother's inheritance was taken and absorbed into a trust she has no control over or access to, what recourse does she have?

Question:
My grandmother passed away 2 years ago, and in her will, she designated a certain amount of money from her personal fortune be distributed to her two children, my mother and uncle, each month, as well as the earnings from a number of rental homes she owned. However, some months after her passing, my mother was informed that the money and properties would be passing into the control of a trust fund managed by her stepfather and his daughter, to be maintained as an "emergency fund" for their family while my mother and her brother, the originally intended recipients, have been granted no access to this trust fund.

I've advised my mother to contact a lawyer, but neither of us even know what sort of law something like this falls under, and if it being an out-of-state situation affects whether we can even seek legal counsel locally (we're in CA and my grandmother passed away in FL.) What should we do?

Answer: She needs an estate attorney.Answer #2: Your mother's stepfather and stepsister are in for a lot of trouble.


Title: (NYC) Renting Illegal Basement Apartment, Landlord found out a complaint was opened and offered reduced rent for prepay of rent.

Question:
Hello,

So I have been renting a basement apartment for over two years in Queens, NYC.  Recently my landlord approached me offering me a reduction in the next two months rent as a wedding gift if I prepaid.  I accepted and paid those months rent, this was around July 9th for the months August and September, following when I had paid July's rent.

Recently I searched my apartment on NYC Department of Buildings and found a complaint was opened a few days prior to him approaching me July 6th that the basement was converted into an illegal apartment.

Is there anything I can do here to get back pay on rent or those months back I prepaid?  Or do I just not pay going forward until I secure a new location?  I also have a security deposit in the sum of one months rent on the apartment.

Many thanks,

Answer:
 The rule is that you cannot collect rent for an illegal unit.  But your issue is that apparently all you have is a complaint that it's illegal, not that there was a formal finding by HPD or DOB.

Either way, it sounds like your days are going to be numbered one way or the other so may as well start looking around for alternate accommodations.


Title: Slightly Sketchy Car Accident Situation (Washington)

Question:
Hi reddit, please tell me to move this post to /r/cars if needed. I feel like this is more legal/financial than specifically auto related.

I was rear ended in a car accident, the driver admitted fault, and obtained the driver's license and insurance information, but the exchange set off some red flags and I'm not sure if I should go along with what the driver is suggesting.

**Relevant Info:** My car is an older hybrid (2001) and was previously rear ended a couple of months ago where the other driver was also at fault, and repaired, but unfortunately the car was totaled and I am driving on a salvaged title.

Here are some points that set off some weird alarm bells:

1. I was driving slowly in heavy traffic, almost at a complete stop when I noticed other driver (I'll just call him OD) following me pretty closely. I watched OD accelerate in my rear-view mirror at way too fast a pace to be safe so I also accelerated a little bit to give him room to stop himself, this all happened very quickly and if I had more time to think about it, I probably would have honked my horn like crazy. He rear ended me into another car in front of me, but that car drove away from the accident and appeared undamaged. I found it odd that he accelerated so much in very obviously heavy traffic. After we exchanged information, he seemed in a rush to part ways.

2. He spoke in an Aussie accent that disappeared after I asked him if he was from Australia. I was extremely panicked and anxious after the accident, so this could have been my own error, but I've never hallucinated an accent before.

3. His name isn't on the insurance policy, there are 2 names (1 male and 1 female) and his explanation was that this was his sister's car and he wanted to handle it out of pocket. I was okay with this, and relieved that an insurance company would not total my car (again). But then...

4. He called a couple hours later and asked me to take the car to his own repair person. That repair person is the male name on the insurance policy (presumably the sister's husband) and doesn't have any auto shop or repair business, he's just a guy who "knows where to take it" to get fixed. I feel very uneasy leaving my car with this unknown person. I let OD know this, and he did not reply to my text.

**TLDR:** My car was rear ended (other person admitted fault) and the other driver wants to pay out-of-pocket but only if I take the car to a repair guy who is also the policy holder on the car and does not have an official repair business or shop. Should I risk my car being totaled by an insurance company, leaving me with not enough to buy a new car, go through the legal system to get him to pay for regular repairs, or is the DIY repair person actually a common way people handle this?

Answer: If you have comprehensive insurance, just go through them. You'll be out your deductible until they get it from him or his insurance company. In the future, call the police to come out and take a report in the event of an accident.


Title: Do morality clauses in divorce decree's hold up in court? (GA)

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 The only way this clause can be enforced is by modifying the custody arrangement. However, as [this attorney writes](https://dadsdivorce.com/articles/morality-clause-prohibiting-cohabitation-and-overnight-guests/), a judge is unlikely to do that unless your ex's conduct is demonstrably detrimental to your children. If he's got a new, strange woman with him every time they are in his custody, that would likely cause a judge concern. A long-term girlfriend, probably not.

You haven't mentioned how your children feel about her, whether she's nice or mean to them, or whether she's a good or bad influence aside from the cohabitation itself. If any of those things were an issue, I think you would have mentioned it. You only mention that your ex moving his long-term gf in doesn't align with your religious beliefs that you are trying to impart to your children, and that you feel slighted. That probably won't be enough of a reason for a judge to reduce his custody.  Custody arrangements are supposed to be about what's in the kids' best interests, not the parents' feelings.

Like it or not, your ex has a right to move on with his life and find love and happiness with someone else. Answer #2: If its in the decree they will enforce it or toss out the decree and draft a new one.Answer #3: You should at least call a local attorney to see if it's worth pursuing.  Morality clauses are difficult to enforce though.  Would you prefer that he has a short term marriage?


Title: Need Legal advice- buying an apartment with my SO

Question: Currently, my SO and I are considering buying an apartment together. We currently live together, and I foresee us being together for the long term, I was wondering what precautions I should take to protect myself in the event that we do break up. If we did split up, is there any way to terminate one of our names from the mortgage, or force one of us to buy the other one out? What is our best course of action in the case of the unexpected here? We are looking to buy in Massachusetts.

Answer: One person buys the property in their name name only, and rents to the other.


Title: Sister terminated. Looking for advice

Question:
Sister was terminated from a retail. They give out store money for every “x” spent. She bought my wife shoes using part of the store money in Delaware. They were too small so my wife returned them where we live in Maryland. She got a gift card of the full amount, not knowing store money was used. My sister told her to just give her the card back and she’ll get a larger size. After she purchased the new shoes with the gift card, Loss Prevention fired her for “stealing” ~$13 worth of store money.
     Of course store perspective, receipts and gift card numbers match up and it looks like my sister drove over an hour to “steal” $13 but the fact is, she didn’t.
    Came here to see if anyone else knows if there is an appeals process at this store or what can be done to reinstate her employment?

Thanks for reading

Answer: There's no process by witch she can force the company to give her job back. Unless she is part of a union, she is employed at will. That means she can be fired for no reason. In this case, the company suspects here of theft, which is a perfectly valid reason to fire her.


Title: I’m a stay at home mom of a 2-month-old and I want a divorce.

Question:
How can I get a divorce from my husband as he is the sole financial provider? I have a teaching certification but am taking a year off because we had planned for me to care for our newborn this school year. Don’t know how I’d look for a job and pay for a nanny. My husband is also in charge of our finances.. He pays the bills, handles our credit cards and rent, etc.

Where do I begin and how likely is it that I get full custody?

Answer: Not to state the complete obvious but you’d need to speak with an attorney. The attorney will be able to provide the best explanation for you specifically.


Title: I paid $750 for essentially nothing

Question:
I was told on my original post to cross-post to this subreddit. I am located in California, and the company is located in MA Here is the link to that post. https://np.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/4zy5q8/i_paid_750_for_essentially_nothing/
If I were to sue the company in a small claims court, would it cost me money? How would I go about doing that?

Answer:
 If you have some documentation of him agreeing to the refund then all of this would go real easy.

Your argument is:

1. He owes me money.

2. He has not paid me money.

3. He has *admitted* that he still owes me this money.

4. Anything else is officially *not my problem*.

In Massachusetts a small claim court filing for damages between $501 and $2000 is a flat fee of $50. You pay at the time of filing, you may not include the filing fee in your damages (in some states you can).

You can find the forms you need to file as well as FAQs and other information [here](http://www.mass.gov/courts/forms/small-claims-forms-gen.html).

Good luck.


Title: Sister stole money from tip jars, money from register, and damaged merchandise from her restaurant/gift shop job. (Meridian, MS)

Question: The employers caught her on camera (its a corporation) and took her to the back rooms and had her talk to loss prevention. They told her to write down everything she had taken and she could pay it back and nothing bad would happen. When you were done her boss called the police and there is a warrant out for her arrest. What can she expect to happen here and whats the best way to go about handling this?

Answer:
 She's going to be arrested. She needs a lawyer. Depending on how much property she damaged and how much she stole she could be looking at some hefty charges. If she hasn't been arrested yet she should talk to a criminal defense lawyer about the best way to proceed.

Answer #2: She will be arrested and charged with theft by unlawful taking (or whatever Mississippi calls it) and she will be arrested on that warrant.

I would recommend someone drive her to the police department and ask to speak to someone about it, they will likely arrest her if the warrant is active but it is still better in the eyes of the prosecutor to turn yourself in than to wait and be arrested. Bring bond money and she may be able to get out pretty fast.

If she is unable to make bond before her arraignment, she can ask the judge to be released to a third party or on her own recognizance. Depending on how much she stole and damaged, she is likely facing a misdemeanor. If this is her first offense of any kind, and if they have some sort of diversion program, she will likely be eligible and I strongly recommend entering that program.

I won't advise anyone to not get an attorney, but if she is facing a misdemeanor and a fine, it's probably a statutory amount and a hired attorney will get her the same deal as a public defender or what she would have been offered anyway, except they'll charge a $500 retainer you'll never get back.


Title: Did something incdredibly stupid in the past and I don't know what to do.

Question:
I posted this thread on /r/advice and I've been told to post it here.

I honestly don't know if this is the appropriate sub to post, but I am freaking out so much and I need an advice.

Some time ago, it must have been at least a year and perhaps even more, I was a stupid kid looking for porn. I got on some site, I believe 4chan in which someone uploaded a bunch of dropbox links to various porn. I downloaded videos and pictures from the links only later realized (I used to download a bunch of porn and I looked at it from time to time) that one link contained pictures of children in their underwear, with another folder in which there were about half a dozen of graphic videos of children. I wanted to report it or something but the link was down, stating that either user has deleted it or that it was taken down for breaking their rules, I can't remember. I didn't think much of it until three months ago when I read an article of someone who got arrested for posting child pornography on Dropbox. I remembered what happened to me and I remembered that I had a dropbox account on my computer at that time. I checked it and there was no sign of pornography (I downloaded it directly, not to dropbox thank God) but I deleted the account anyways. Since then all I think about is whether I'll be arrested or not. I can't eat or do anything productive since I am so scared of the future and that I'll have police knock on my door one day. I am scared about my family, friends, everything. It must have been over a year, but since I live in Europe I think about how it takes more time for police to prosecute someone who downloaded something from US websites and I am paranoid that they are tracking me. And then there's the guilt and the fact that I can't get the images out of my head of poor children from the videos. I considered seeing a therapist but I don't know how to explain it to my family, and I am scared that therapist would report me to the police if I told him what happened. I just feel immense guilt and I can't get over myself. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: I doubt anyone is investigating you. Stop worrying.


Title: [USA] Cell phone company refuses to send final bill so another company can buy out the contract

Question:
I don't know if the state really matters since it's a big corporation, but I live in Arizona.

So my family has used a Company #1 (not sure if I can be specific?) for years. We switched to Company #2 about 9 months ago.

Company #2 offered to buy out our contract with Company #1. In order to do this, they needed an itemized statement from #1. We had 60 days to do this.

However, Company #1 REFUSED to give us this statement. We tried multiple times to get it. My mother (she's the primary person on the account) called customer service so it could be sent to her house. She gave them her new address so she could be absolutely sure it would be sent. When she asked the woman to read it back to her, the woman read back HER OLD ADDRESS. Then claimed there was nothing more she could do to help.

We went to Company #1's store to see why they were doing this because this was just getting ridiculous at this point. They made US call #1, then tried to say we were disrupting customers and had to leave. (there was another family there with the same problem, so I can understand if they wanted us out. They probably didn't want us to effect their sales for the day.)

We tried to contact Company # 2 to see if they would deal with #1, but they basically said it was up to us to deal with them.

I just don't understand what to do at this point. On top of our monthly bill for Company #2, we are now paying a 1k bill out of pocket from Company #1 because they refused to give the statement. Is it legal to go to social media with this? I feel like people should know how they treat loyal customers of over 10+ years. It's appalling.

Answer: Ugh, this reminds me of when I worked customer service for a certain wireless company. Those pay-off-your-contract deals are designed so that Company 2 will never face any risk if something screwy goes down with Company 1--like agent error. IANAL but I think you could probably go to social media without fear of litigation for slander. However, I doubt it will resolve anything. Do you still have the devices from Company 1? The way that companies usually pay for their pay-off-your-contract is by taking the old phones as collateral. Depending on the phone's trade-in value, it might help mitigate the costs.


Title: [CA] My friend wants me (license driver) to drive with her (permit driver) so she can practice. If she gets a ticket do I get in trouble too?

Answer: OP, how old are you?  If you are at least 25 years old, you're fine.  If your friend (the permit driver) gets pulled over, I don't see why you couldn't just feign ignorance.  Your friend will likely take a hit though.


Title: Should my job cover any parking fees associated with doing my job?

Question:
I work at a summer camp in Los Angeles, California that provides transportation to our campers.
As counselors, we're required to either be drivers or bus counselors with each bus having both a driver and at least one counselor. I have my usual route but occasionally cover for other bus counselors when they're sick/absent. I was placed on a new route last night and this morning arrived 20 minutes early to find out that everything was permit parking only and there was no street parking available. I circled for 20 minutes and eventually had to park in a parking garage nearby because there was no place to legally leave my vehicle.
Neither my supervisor nor the person that coordinates transportation warned me that there was no parking in that area and I had to get on the bus as per my job requirements.
My job doesn't want to compensate me for parking, are they in the right here?

Answer:
 California law requires an employer to reimburse an employee for "all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee" in carrying out job duties or employer directives. This can and often does include parking fees. I always had parking reimbursed when I worked in CA.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=2802


Title: Can my girlfriend gift me funds from her home sale if her divorce is not finalized (Oregon)?

Question: My girlfriend filed for divorce in California 3/1/18 and we would like to buy a home in Oregon as soon as possible.  Her divorce is not finalized, but she sold her home with her soon-to-be ex-husband in California and the funds were split evenly into separate bank accounts in February.  Can she gift me those proceeds without him being able to claim any interest in my property? Would those be considered "marital funds"? She will not be on the loan or the title, and if all works out I would add her to title after the divorce is finalized.

Answer:
 This sounds like an amazingly bad idea from the POV of your GF. If she gifts you those funds now,(I assume to buy a house in your name) what guarantee does she have that you won't say "Oh sorry, I've decided we aren't compatible"?

Look get her to post here, then we can tell her screen to screen how stupid this is.


Title: Company is making employees sign a contract saying all previous contracts and promise are now void. MI

Question:
I've recently started working for a cannabis company in Michigan.  They are a new company, and I am employed at their first store. When hired, I was given a contract saying that I would be fulltime, 40 hours with benefits after 90 days. Many people were told that they would become managers and even given specific timelines of when this would happen.

Business is a lot, lot slower than they were expecting and it seems they are now trying to cut hours. I'm afraid that they are also going to take away our promised benefits to help make up for the lack of profit.

The company has told us that we have until the end of the day to sign the new contract. The contract says that all previous contracts and verbal promises are void and do not specify hours,  healthcare, 401(k), etc.

Also included in the contract is a noncompete agreement saying that we will not have any other involvement in the cannabis industry in the ENTIRE state of Michigan and in any other state they open stores for three years.  We also can't be more than a 2% shareholder of any other cannabis company even if the company is in another state.

What are my options here? This feels entirely unfair to ask of us, especially without giving us time to seek legal counsel.

Answer: i wouldn't sign that. what's the noncompete for except to keep you from jumping ship when you are getting 2-3 days a week, you're selling reefer not semiconductors, it's not like there are big trade secrets


Title: Diabetic Alert Dog and Fair Housing Act - Landlady wants to charge us pet deposit [Iowa]

Question:
Hello,

My wife and I recently signed a lease on an apartment to begin on August 1, 2018. She has Type 1 Diabetes and thus a service dog which provides her with diabetic alerts when her blood sugar is spiking in high or low directions. She has had the dog for almost 8 years and he has gone through diabetic alert training, dog training, and is up to date on his vaccinations. Because of his service nature, he is well potty trained. He also gets renewers on his training every few years.

When we disclosed this information to our landlady, she became upset and is now demanding that we sign an amendment to our lease requiring, in her words, “an additional pet deposit which would be assessed for any dog.”

We have the medical papers and proof that he is a true service animal - and we are under the understanding that under the Fair Housing Act and the ADA that he is not considered a pet, but a medical instrument. We are also under the understanding that our landlady is not allowed to charge a pet deposit, as he is not considered a regular pet.

Are we mistaken? We would not like to sign the lease wrongly. Is our landlady breaking the law?

Thank you, in advance.

Answer:
 Maybe. Depends on if your landlady is covered. There are a couple of exceptions to Fair Housing Act...although, even if she isn't I don't think she can charge a pet deposit, I think she can just refuse the dog, I'm not sure on that.

How many units does landlady own?


Title: (Toronto,Canada) Wife was fired without reason, can anything be done?

Question:
Hi everyone. My wife was fired on Tuesday January 3rd after a year and a half with her company. She was told not to come in the next day. When she asked *why* she was being fired, they told her "we don't have to tell you". This will reflect poorly on any other jobs she applies to, and now she has lost a potential reference for a place she dedicated so much time and effort to.

Is there anything we can do to help our situation? They offered her 2 weeks severance pay. If you have any questions that can help you clarify an answer, please let me know and I will answer right away.
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 If she's been there for a year, she's legally entitled to two weeks' notice, or two weeks' pay in lieu of notice, when she's terminated. The two weeks' pay wasn't an offer; they're legally required to pay her.

Her employer's right, though: they _don't_ have to explain the reason for her termination to her. If she has a reason to suspect she was terminated on the basis of her age, gender, sexual identity, or family status, she can talk to the Human Rights Commission, who can compel her employer to explain themselves.

Being fired for no reason is not the end of the world. Her future employers may ask her about it; the answer "I don't know, I walked in one morning and was told my services were no longer required" is both true and complete, as is "I'd prefer not to discuss it." Her career will survive.

Edit: as she was terminated without cause, she's almost certainly eligible for EI while she looks for a new job.


Title: I'm so fucked. I hit a car in my apartment parking lot and cotinued out of there.Who and I'm out on bail. What now?

Question: I don'the wanna go back to jail and lost my bail money. I have money to undent the minor dent put in the other SUV. and even ignite didn't, my insurance does . What do I do?

Answer: Call an attorney, you need one. They'll advise you on how to handle this mess you got into. Leave your insurance info on the car if you're still nearby.


Title: Grandma died, left money to my dad who is dead, so the money goes to me; estranged aunt informed me of the will and is now asking for a death certificate. I don't know that I trust her. What should I do?

Question:
Thanks for clicking, I could use your advice.

Got a call from my estranged aunt. She said that my grandmother had died and left money to my father. They didn't know he had recently died. According to my aunt, my gma's will says that in the case of my dad's death, it trickles down to me.

I have received no documentation of any of this, nor any contact from a lawyer. I have only heard it from my aunt.

She is now asking me to send her an "official original copy" of my father's death certificate.

For various reasons, I've been lead to believe by others I trust that she is untrustworthy. What would be a worst case scenario to providing her an "official original copy"?  Is there some way that doing this might potentially work against my favor? For example, since I haven't seen the will, what if it actually says that if my dad dies, she gets the money? Should I request a copy of the will first? Can I do that?

Thanks for your counsel!

per the bot's request: location is US, state=Or

Answer:
 Location is important

> I have received no documentation of any of this, nor any contact from a lawyer

The executor (sounds like this is your aunt) handles the affairs of the estate, no lawyers necessary. Generally only the actual beneficiaries are owed a copy of the will, and you'd need the death certificate to claim that

> What would be a worst case scenario to providing her an "official original copy"?

Nothing immediately comes to mind. Contingencies in place for your father's death will happen regardless, etc. If she is the executor, she could probably get a copy of the death certificate herself with a little paperwork

> Should I request a copy of the will first? Can I do that?

Sure. As above, she may or may not be obligated to provide it. If the will has already been filed, contact the appropriate probate court for a copyAnswer #2: Ask for the information on the executor and a copy of the will, while you "track down" an official copy of the death certificate.

There's no reason I can think of what she needs an "official copy" of a death certificate to handle something like this. The certified copies are usually needed by banks, creditors, government agencies.  Answer #3: Ask her for a copy of Grandma's will in exchange for a DC.


Title: I got mugged at the bank at daylight and I might have taken the wrong choice on reporting it.

Question:
Yesterday, I went to my friend's place in order to discuss about a job. We both live in Manhattan, NY. By the time I got past a bank I have an account with, this guy gets close to me and starts asking me for a favour if I were to help him out. Now, since my nature is always friendly (not anymore) towards people, I said "sure" and asked him what was it.

It turned weird when this guy asked me to help him cash a check with my money. He at some point turned insistent and got me paralyzed out of fear. I suffer a lot of anxieties and this triggered me to the point of no return. He made me go into the ATM and cash the money with a check I didn't see what had written in it, and got away with the money, leaving in a car across street.

After this, my head started lingering, wondering what to do and in the end, I thought that going to the bank to report the transaction as something I didn't do was the best idea. I filed a fraud report at the bank, while in the process locking my account for suspicious activity and cancelled my debit card.

Waking up the next day I feel I made a mistake and I now think I should have gone to the police and filed a report instead. If the bank cameras caught the fraud, they'll see that:

 1) The guy persuaded me into getting inside the bank with him.
 2) He inserts the check into the ATM and also takes the cash out.

I'm not sure how to follow up with the police with this since I lied to the bank when requesting the fraud claim. I wanted to walk into the police department and ask for legal advice in there, but I don't even know everything works in the police station. I tried making some googling but couldn't find anything that could help me. My anxieties are triggering to the point I'm feeling I will get arrested for something I'm a victim of.

What should I do?

Answer:
>⭕ Call a lawyer

>❌ Call the police

>❌ Call a therapistAnswer #2: To clarify:  did this person threaten you or force you to do this?  If the threat was all in your head, you didn't get mugged, you got scammed.  Hell, there's even a small potential that this isn't even a scam and the check wad real (to be fair, this would be the 1 in a million exception that proves the rule).Answer #3: Are you leaving out a part where the stranger offered you money in exchange for helping him cash the check ?

Because that's the way the scam works.   Everyone has some degree of greed, while people with crippling anxiety are more difficult to pick out on a sidewalk.Answer #4: Just talk to the police and get some help with your anxiety.