Title: Old friend hates me now and stole my 200 dollar speaker and took it to Tallahassee with him (which is 6 hours away from me) Is there anything I could do to get it back?

Question:
So, here's the story.

Me and this guy Wyatt use to be good buds growing up. I always had a thing with this girl Maddie who he ended up liking, but never told me. Well they ended up dating from Junior year to like beginning of freshman year in college. When they were dating Wyatt wouldn't let me hang around Maddie anymore and then he started being a douche to me and completely got rid of me as a friend. So I no longer considered him a friend and when they broke up I was finally able to hangout with my good friend Maddie again! Whoop whoop!

Well me and Maddie started having sex regularly and Wyatt found out and got all pissed and told me what a shitty friend I was.

So a few months goes by and he decides to forget about being mad at me because Maddie told him we stopped fucking. Since he wasn't mad anymore he invited us to this party and I brought one of my really large harbinger speakers with me for the music.

I ended up drinking a good bit and left it there. And wasn't able to get it back for like 2 days because I was really busy with work.

Wyatt found out me and Maddie were still fucking and then decided to take my speaker with him to Tallahassee Florida where he goes to college. And that's a six hour drive for me. I asked him if he could bring it back when he comes back down and he said "fuck you".

Wyatt's dad is a lawyer and I don't think violence is the answer for most things so I'm trying to avoid that path.

What should I do? Should I call his dad and ask him if he could talk his son into bringing my speaker back that he stole? I dont know if that'll work but I don't really know what I can do. I don't think this is a matter to contact the police for is it? Need help! Thanks

Answer:
 When someone steals from you, you can (and should!) report that to the police.

Now, there is a chance that the police here will say that it is a civil matter because you voluntarily left the speaker with the other guy. You could try to press the matter, or not, up to you.

You could also try contacting him or his father about returning the speaker.

You should not, under any circumstances, commit violent acts against him.


Title: [CA] Landlord wants to raise rent despite code violations.

Question:
I live in Los Angeles. My landlord wants to raise our rent despite the fact that there are code violations in our building. A friend told me that if there are code violations in the building then they can't raise the rent. Is that true? If it is true, where would I go to find out what the code violations are? And what could I say to my landlord to make them not raise my rent?

Thank you!

Answer:
 Code violations don't prevent rent increases. In general a violation either means absolutely nothing to the renter *or* it is such a bad violation that the city says the unit is uninhabitable, which means you don't owe rent but can't live there either.

So if these are small\-potatoes issues, they're not going to prevent your rent increase.


Title: Do I sue the company or the driver in small claims court?

Question:
This is in Los Angeles, CA.

I was in an accident in a parking lot. No one was injured so there was no police report. I was driving straight and the other driver backed into me. He was driving a company truck. The other driver changed his story and Liberty Mutual is now saying they are not accepting liability. I don't have full coverage so my insurance isn't helping.

If I get screwed over and they won't accept 100% liability, what are my options? Do I sue the other driver or the company he works for?

Answer: You should probably file suit against both to be safe, but chances are the company will be liable rather than the driver as an individual.


Title: My wife was let go from her job because she’s “from a different country.”

Question:
Recently my wife and I moved to the state of Florida. We got married in June of last year, and spent a year before that getting her a k-1 visa.

After getting married, we waited 6 months for her to get her social security number and work permit. Once she got her work permit in December, we quickly moved down to FL so I could resume university. My wife is a highly qualified worker. BS in Business and 5 years experience in marketing and managing a nonprofit fundraising company across Germany and Austria.

When we first moved to FL, she got the first job that was offered to her. Mainly because I’m cleaning offices at night for minimum wage and attending school full time, and she wanted to start working right away. She got a job at a printing company answering phones and doing graphic design for $14 an hour. It wasn’t the best job she could have gotten, but she just wanted to start working right away so that we could have some income.

My wife is way overqualified for the job. She was the only one with a college degree and managing experience. The owner of the company wanted to pay her $10 an hour or something like that but eventually agreed to 14 due to her experience (my wife had wanted 15 an hour).

Today was her second week of work. Right before lunch, she was called into the owner’s office and told she was being let go. When she asked why, the owner said, “You’ve done a great job, but you’re from a different country and I’m looking for someone older with more life experience.” (She is 26). He then said, “I feel bad because you’re so cute, but I have to let you go. Don’t come back after lunch.”

Now to me that’s super fucked up, and something needs to be done (if something can be). My wife is the hardest worker I have ever met and has worked jobs with higher needed qualifications and more stressful responsibilities. If the owner har said that her work wasn’t up to the company’s standards then I wouldn’t being make such a big deal out of it, but he didn’t do that. What is the best way to go about this? I was thinking about filing a claim with Florida State Department of Labor; calling my mayor; and emailing the governor of FL.

I am NOT doing this to make money. I just want to show my wife that she is a valued worker in the USA, and what her employer did was wrong. This really hurt her, and she has been a wreck all day.

tl;dr—wife’s employer let her go because she “was from another country and not old enough” but felt bad because she “is so cute.” What can I do?

Answer:
 How many people does the company have working for them? Businesses and state and local governments must have at least 15 employees for EEOC involvement in most types of discrimination complaints.

> I was thinking about filing a claim with Florida State Department of Labor

There isn't one. Not that deals with employment discrimination at least. You can talk to an attorney. Before you sue , you must first get a right to sue letter from the EEOC.Answer #2: Country of origin is a protected class in the United States. The "cute" comment is gross, but it's the "from another country" bit that will really get the employment lawyers interested.Answer #3: Sue the pants off of them. The boss will deny what he said, so this will be a he said she said situation. However it is definitely worth talking to an employment attorney ASAPAnswer #4: If she can reach him via email have her email asking exactly why she was let go from the job as she doesn't understand what being from another country has to do with the job.


Title: The business I work for doesn't give breaks, lunches, or restroom breaks.

Question:
I work an 11pm - 7am shift at a 7-11 in Oregon. I work alone on the shift and there is constant traffic coming into the store. I am able to sit down on occasions, but majority of the time, my breaks are interrupted. I can never have a 30 minute lunch, and I can hardly ever make it to the bathroom without having to stop, wash my hands, hold it, and help a customer.

The owner of the store does not allow us to receive tips, so we cannot waive meals/breaks.

Is this legal? And if it isn't, what can I do to ensure that I am getting all of my rights as an employee?

Oregon State Meal and Rest Period Rules: http://www.oregon.gov/boli/ta/pages/t_faq_meal_and_rest_period_rules.aspx

Answer: It does not appear to be legal not to give you a break unless the "undue hardship" exception applies. You can bring this up to your employer and explain that you really need a break to do your best, or file a complaint with the BOLI.


Title: My cat is stuck in an abandoned house

Question: So my cat has been missing since monday and recently we found him after calling his name. He has presumably been without food or water. The house he's in is under construction and the builders gave us the owners number but they aren't answering. What do we do?

Answer:
 Call the police non-emergency line. I know things are different in the UK than the US, but they might be able to help if you can prove the cat is there and it's yours.

Also, try r/legaladviceuk


Title: A friend is claiming to be able to boot people off of their systems

Question:
My friend claims he just learned how to kick anyone off of their phone, xbox, pc, etc... for about 5 minutes and is bragging about it like he's proud. He also claims that it is legal, but i dont see how it could be. State is Pennsylvania.
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 Your friend is an idiot who watched Hackers too many times.

Move on.


Title: [FL, USA] While I was taking a nap, somebody spread a rumor that I died. What can I do?

Question:
I’m 17, a senior in high school, currently on winter break. I woke up from a nap a few hours ago to use the bathroom. My mom started knocking on the door. I washed my hands and walked out and she tells me that she got a call from a number that wasn’t saved in her phone.

It was a friend of mine that I haven’t talked to in a while and she said that people are posting on social media that I passed away and she wanted to know if it was true.

I quickly pick up my phone and check Snapchat and see my friends posting about me, saying things like “Rest In Peace” and “We miss you”. Right away, I posted a video of myself explaining that I’m not dead.

What can I do now? My family has an idea of who it might’ve been, and if it was this person, we definitely want to take legal action. She’s been harassing me since we were freshmen, this includes spreading damages rumors, falsely accusing me of crimes, and sabotaging my friendships/relationships.

How would we be able to find out who started the rumor that I died? And if it was her, how much trouble can she get in?
Topic:
Douche

Answer:
 > What can I do now?

Move on with your life, and get smarter friends.

Complain to your school administration if you think it was another student.Answer #2: If this is part of a pattern of harassment, is there a chance you could make a police report to build up a case for filing a restraining order? It wouldn’t be a punishment for her per se but it could stop this bizarre behaviour. Answer #3: What are your damages?  Doesn't sound like you have any so this isn't a legal matter.  But if another student is harassing you then you should go to an adult you trust at school.Answer #4: The key piece you're missing is that you need damages. No damages, no case. Answer #5: Why did your mom have to ask you if it was true if she was physically standing there talking to you?
Even a phone call would have worked.


Title: Cited with trespassing from crossing railroad tracks in Arizona.

Question: I was cited for trespassing. The incident occurred when I crossed a railroad track. Apparently, it is a class 3 misdemeanor. According to the several attorney's websites, the max penalty is 30 days in prison and $500 in fines. I have an arraignment next month. Should I seek a lawyer?

Answer:
 I would, trespass is a pretty simple charge, but there are some specific defenses that you can raise that might be applicable (lack of notice, lack of intent, etc.) that you would probably have difficulty making on your own. Basically any competent defense lawyer will know the trespassing caselaw inside out, know what situations are typically charged in your jurisdiction and what plea you can expect, so you can decide whether or not to plea.

(My guess is that if this is a first offense, you'll get a chance to have this case basically postponed for 6 months, and if you keep out of trouble for that time, they'll drop it. At least that's how it's done in my jurisdiction, but AZ may be more of a hard-ass on these things).

If you can't afford an attorney, the court will let you know if you qualify for a public defender. A PD will almost definitely be able to handle your case just fine.Answer #2: Do I think you'll get jail/prison time for this? Probably not.

It is still a misdemeanor so it's highly likely you would have to explain the conviction on almost every job and school application until you possibly get it expunged, if that's even an option in Arizona. Don't forget you would have to pay court fees and possibly attorney fees for that expungement.

Could a lawyer possibly get this deferred or get it knocked down to an infraction so you wouldn't have to deal with all that? Maybe.

So what do you think?


Title: My mother was assaulted (repeatedly punched) by a customer while standing in line at Target near DC. The security officer there witnessed the event but instead of helping my mom and apprehending the attacker, helped the attacker get away. My mom now has visible bruises all over her body.

Question:
This happened 2 or 3 days ago.

My mother was standing in line at a Target. This Target is part of a mall where my mother has a store (she's a "tenant" of the mall, I'm not sure what the proper term is but basically she rents space from the mall for a store). To be super honest, this mall is not in a very good location... my mom works hard despite her store being in a crime-filled area. This is in Maryland, within 495 but not quite in DC.

There was a woman in front of her standing in line who said that my mom was standing too close to her and started getting physical with her. My mom was punched several times in the face and body and now has visible bruises on her ribs and chest.

There was a security officer nearby. I'm not sure if he is a cop or a rent-a-cop but it is whoever Target would employ to oversee security. He witnessed the whole event but instead of helping my mom or apprehending the woman so my mom could press charges, he immediately hurried the attacker away.

My mother complained to the Target manager but the guy said that he couldn't help her. I think that's bullshit. My mom was beaten up standing in line in your Target. in front of other customers, in front of other cashiers and employees, in front of the security guard.

This is the mall where my mom WORKS. This is where she goes almost daily for 12 hours a day. This Target is one of the ANCHOR STORES of this mall. The fact that she is attacked at this Target makes coming to work even worse. How can she feel safe in this mall environment when she was attacked in one of their anchor stores and nothing came of it? What a very powerless, hopeless feeling to feel.

She said she called the cops and they took a report and gave her a case number... that's about all they did.

It really seems like she is being quieted by people who don't want to be held liable. I told her to talk to a lawyer about this but I'm not really sure what kind of lawyer to seek or even where to start. Hence the post.

So please help me. This whole situation is really fucked up.

Answer:
 Fair warning, Target has one of the most sophisticated video surveillance systems in the world.

Your mom better be perfect on her story. Answer #2: Why would target be eager to cover up an assault of one customer over another? That's not logical. In that scenario they have no liability criminally or civilly unless they knew the customer was violent and still allowed her in the store. So it would be in their interest to call the police and have the assailant arrested and not cover it up. I think there are some pieces missing from this story.


Title: [CO] Employer Requesting Motor Vehicle Record & Driver's License

Question:
My employer is requesting that in order to lower our company's insurance premiums they need to obtain our Motor Vehicle Records.  They also said we need to provide valid driver's license information.  Apparently there have been too many accidents in company cars the last couple years.

It doesn't sit well with me, but I'm probably overly careful about giving my employer more information that isn't necessary.  I trust my employer for the most part.  I'm worried that by providing this info, they will attempt to come after my insurance or will try to deny any claims against in the event that I get into an accident.

If it matters - I have a totally clean driving record and not a thing to hide.  If I'm being overly cautious and shouldn't worry, let me know.  Thanks ahead of time!!

Answer: Assuming you drive for this company, this is normal and reasonable. If you refuse, they can fire you.


Title: The Start-Up Company I Work for Closed Without a Warning and Owes Us a Month's Wage!!!!!

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice,
     I'm a long time lurker from San Francisco CA that has never had to post something like this but I'll get to the point. Around mid February I quit my job as server to join a start-up company called Catermeals. I was hired as a line cook. I had heard rumors that the company's licence had not been approved but I decided to brush it off as rumors since my old coworkers could be really gossipy. I spoke to Catermeals' executive chef, who I knew because I used to work with him, and he assured me there was nothing to worry about.  I decided to take a risk and took the job since they offered me a pay raise and full benefits. Two other co-workers accepted the offer as well. The first day of work was supposed to be February 15, but that was delayed until February 29, which left us jobless for two weeks we since we had  already quit our jobs to join the new company.
     The service that our company was supposed to provide was delivery of personal gourmet lunches to the employees of whichever business would contract us. All through March our work days consisted of coming up with a set menu that we were going to offer, and cooking some plates to photograph for our website. We were paid for the whole month of March including  the two weeks we didn't work during February. The last payment we received was April 1st. We kept working until the 12th (Tuesday) and the Chef told us that he was going to be out of town and we were to take the rest of the week off, but he promised we were going to be payed for it. Come Friday the 15th and we didn't receive any payment. The Chef told us that he was going to talk to the the owners of the company and that we didn't have to return to work until we all got paid. Two weeks later and we have yet to receive our payment or return to work. The whole time the owners have been telling us that there was a problem with the company that took care of the payroll but that everything was being resolved and we were to be paid asap, and that that Catermeals was going strong and we didn't have to worry about anything. I come to find out today from the sous chef that the company is not moving forward and we are all out of jobs. They still owe us for the work we did during April and have yet to give us any straight forward answer. What are our options to get the money they still owe us? I appreciate any advice and thank you for reading.

Answer: File a wage complaint with the state.


Title: Is a bar liable is they crack my real ID doing a bend test?

Question:
I get really angry when bars bend my ID basically in half and I am certain one day it is going to bend. I always think about asking them not to harshly bend my ID when checking it, but asking probably will lead them to thinking my ID is fake. If they crack my ID I likely won't be able to use it anymore. Is the business or bouncer in any way liable for the "destruction of property" since (1) I cannot use my ID anymore and (2) they are not an agent of the law and have no claim to my ID?
Edit: I am in Indiana.

Answer:
 >I get really angry when bars bend my ID basically in half and I am certain one day it is going to bend.

Did it bend? Did it break? If someday someone does  snap your ID in half because it does - can you ask then for the $5.50 or $10 if you have a DL/CDL? Sure. You can ask them to pay for it. I'd ask to speak to a manager if they snapped my DL/CDL in half.

Edit to add DL/CDL phrasing
Edit #2... verb tense is an issue tonight.


Title: Employer withholding wages without telling me

Question:
I work construction and our crew recently started using tablets. When we were given our tablets, we had to sign a paper stating that we would have to pay $250 for the tablets if they were "destroyed maliciously". A couple weeks ago, my tablet was stolen from my work cart. I wasn't told that I would have to pay for it, I was only told that it would be replaced, and to keep a closer watch on the next one. When I checked my bank account this morning, my check had been deposited minus $250. I checked my stub online, and they deducted $250 from my check, listed as "employee loan". What should I do?

Edit- location is Seattle, WA

Answer:
 The first thing to do is to call your payroll department and ask what happened.  It's entirely possible this is just a mistake, and they'll correct it when you point it out.  Do that first.

If it comes to legal options: what **exactly** did that "paper" you signed say?  What notification were you given for the $250 fee?

Realistically, I'm guessing that contract said something broader than "destroyed maliciously" and the company is probably within the bounds of the contract to make you pay for theft (otherwise it creates a moral hazard where employees can "lose" their own tablets by giving them to their kids or whatever).   But definitley check.


Title: Can I sue a lawyer fro discrimination?

Question: I'm currently in a law sue for another matter and the opposing lawyer is insistently using my dead name (I'm FTM) and using female pronouns. All my documentation has been legally change to my current name and male pronouns. All my legal representation has always informed the opposing lawyer to stop but they refused to. My lawyer is filing a motion to cease and desist. Can I sue this lawyer for civil rights after my current case is over?

Answer: You cannot successfully sue this lawyer for using your former name.


Title: Can a cop search your car for drugs if it smells like too good? He assumed I was covering up another smell.

Question: While driving in an area I've never been to, I accidentally ran a stop sign and a sheriff pulls me over. He smells all the air fresheners and says its smells like I'm trying to cover up something. He asks me to vine out of the cat and asks me, "Do you have marijuana in the car?" and I told him I did after threatening to get K9 units here. He searched and found my stash. Now I have a paraphernalia charge. Was the cop allowed to search my car because it smelled too much like air fresheners? Is there anything I can do?

Answer:
 > Was the cop allowed to search my car because it smelled too much like air fresheners?

We will never know. I say no as an air freshener is too common of thing to allow a cop a valid probable cause to search a car without permisson or warrant. But you admitted to it so, good police work by him.

Understand cops can lie. They can lie about what they have to search, if they will search, if they are calling K9. Generally, they don't actually call K9 and if they do there are limits as to how long they can make you wait.

> Is there anything I can do?

Get an attorney. Stop committing crimes. Stop admitting to them so easily. Answer #2: Please tell me what "vine out the cat means."Answer #3: He could not just search your car because of the air freshener.

But he can use the air freshener as one of a series of factors to establish the probable cause he needs to search.

In this case, though, he did NOT search your car because of the air freshener.  He searched it due to your admission that you possessed marijuana.

And he does not probable cause to call a K9.  He only needs reasonable suspicion.  Which he might have had based on the odor alone.Answer #4: Whether he would have had probable cause to search your car because it smelled like air freshener is questionable, but ultimately irrelevant.

He had probable cause to search your car for marijuana because you told him there was marijuana in it.Answer #5: > He asks me to vine out of the cat

I do not get social media.


Title: Failure to yield to a pedestrian - Seattle

Question:
I got a ticket today in Seattle, WA, ostensibly for "failing to yield to a pedestrian." I was driving on a 2 lane road when a girl began crossing into the street. She never broke stride from the time I saw her on the sidewalk until she actually got into the street. This entire time she was looking the opposite direction as where I was coming from. I responded by hitting my breaks (I slowed down; didn't come to a complete stop) and honking the horn at her.

There was a group of police officers blocking a street right next to me and one of them ended up pulling me over. He told me I had failed to yield, and I responded by saying that I didn't see a crosswalk. He told me that even if there had been one I would've "buzzed right past the pedestrian anyway." He quickly took my license and walked away.

On his returning I asked for more clarification and he told me that any "intersection" is considered a crosswalk, marked or unmarked. That was the end of our dialogue regarding what I had done to receive the ticket.

I feel like I should be able to easily get the ticket thrown out based on the fact that the girl walked out in front of me and the "intersection" is in my opinion not actually an intersection. [This street view is basically what I was looking at.](https://www.google.com/maps/@47.726419,-122.290914,3a,75y,330.85h,78.42t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sS7UZQnWQzebdm9ZXxDpvew!2e0) On the left is where the police roadblock was. Further up the street where the driveway on the right is is where the girl stepped out. She was standing on the far sidewalk of that driveway.

I apologize for the long explanation and any miscommunication there might be because of wording. My questions is should I contest the ticket and how confident should I be that I can get it thrown out? Thanks in advance for any help.

Answer: IANAL but am a licensed driver in Washington State and I remember my driving instructor telling us it was the law that you always yield to pedestrians, no matter the circumstances.


Title: I took photos for a friend who now wants to sell them.

Question:
(I live in Illinois by the way!)

Hello!I took photos for a friend of her dogs, during 13-14 different photo sessions. The first session was for 'exposure' (I know, I know, I was pretty  stupid, that 'for exposure' is an insult to artists. But I had just moved to the area so I was fine with it at that point) the rest were ones that I did of her dogs, didn't ask for anything for them. She came to me and said that she wanted to make a calendar out of the pictures so I said great, awesome!

However, and this is where I'm frustrated. When I brought up that I'd be asking for money to use them for commercial use, she agreed. Said to 'let her know'. I asked her if we could discuss what she thought was fair- she said 'lets wait until the photos are all done then we can see how much time it took'. I agreed, that sounded like a good idea to me!

So, we were almost done- down to the last two photos that needed to be taken, I send her an itemized list of my edits/session fees, gave her a massive discount as she did most of the dog handling while I was taking the pictures, and sent it over!

She got. SO MAD. Said that she felt I 'kicked her in the gut' and was 'taking advantage of her' .

However- the reason I'm posting this here is- she said she spoke with a lawyer . Said that the lawyer told her because I didn't make it clear when the pictures were \*First taken\* WEEKS before we even discussed a calendar option, that what I was doing (Charging for the commercial rights) was illegal. And that "Friend" owns the photos and can do whatever she wants with them.

I explained thats not how copyright works, to which she responded "I'll trust a lawyer." and "You're wrong."

I have screenshots of her saying "I'll pay you" "let me know what you want to charge" and at this point I know im not going to get money, but do I have the right to request any use of the photos not authorized by me to be taken down? I.e: if she decides to go through with the calendar and sells them behind my back?
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer:
 You still own the copyright to any photo you took - - since you weren't "for hire" and paid - - so she didn't tell her "lawyer" all of the facts here.

See if you can get a low cost session with an IP lawyer of your own and call her bluff.Answer #2: I recommend sending her a letter stating she has no authorization to use any of your photos and you'll seek damages if she uses them. Whether intentionally or the result of bad counsel, it makes no difference on your end. If she posts them online, file a DMCA takedown. Good luck.

Edit: Also, doesn't sound like much of a friend. Answer #3: I would put a lot of money on there being no lawyer or this ‘lawyer’ is not a copyright lawyer.

You are correct you own the photographs and she can pound sand.

Also, if you haven’t (and you are in the US) I hope you are registering your work with the Library of Congress!


Title: Has anyone been charged with aggravated burglary? We're you able to get it knocked down from a F1?

Question: Sorry about not giving anymore info this morning. So I'll get to the story. After a long night of drinking ( my brother who used to drink all the time but quit then all of a sudden got drunk one night.) He decided to drive down to his girl friends house, at 3 am. And long story short he got to her house and an ex boyfriend was there.. So my brother, being in the state he was in broken the glass on the front door in and went into her house to confront both of them.. He got into the house and the two of them ( his girl friend and her ex) were in the kitchen. I don't know alot of details but the two men started arguing with eachother and before to long, my brother was hit first by the ex. Then he ( my brother ended up knocking the guy out ) and causing some damage to the ex. Mostly scrapes and cuts. No broken bones. But he did knock the guy out. This is in ohio and he now has a

Answer: No doubt hundreds of thousands of people have been charged with it over the years. And some of them might have stolen from Formula One, yes.


Title: [CA] Found a camera inside my rental home I have been living in for a month.

Question:
Recently moved in to a rental home with my girlfriend and a friend. I am not usually paranoid but lately I have been feeling this weird vibe like someone is watching me. I tried shaking it off but couldn't so decided to go investigating. There are motion detectors around the house (for an alarm system we don't know how to use and were not taught by the property managers) but one looked different. I finally took it down from the corner of the livingroom wall and looked it up.

It is a camera. Not only is it a camera, it is battery powered and it uploads images to the cloud via a cellular connection so it doesn't even need wifi.

What the fuck. My head is spinning. Should I be searching my house for more cameras? This was not disclosed to us and I am really starting to get freaked out. What are my options here? This can't be legal right?

Answer:
 I would call the police. Recently there was an AirBnB that did this that was a huge deal. Although it's not located in the bedroom, I think it's a huge violation of your privacy and could still record intimate situations or nudity you wouldn't want uploaded to the cloud. Not to mention, how are you supposed to be sure this is the only camera?Answer #2: Call the police immediately.  Don't touch anything.Answer #3: so its illegal. call the cops. look up the michael lyons case Answer #4: I think you should search your house for more cameras. If there are any in the bathrooms or bedrooms the police will be more interested in pressing charges. Look for scratches in mirrors, that sort of thing.

I've also heard of police arresting surveillance peeping toms for "stealing electricity" by hooking their camera up to your electricity but I don't know if that would work against a landlord.Answer #5: >It is a camera. Not only is it a camera, it is battery powered and it uploads images to the cloud via a cellular connection so it doesn't even need wifi.

If it's battery powered and you've been living there a month, there's no way it's still charged unless your landlord goes into your house without your knowledge, or it's got an alternate source of power.

There's a chance it's an old camera from a previous tenant (or your landlord) and it's not active.


Title: Suing For Not Upholding Self Ban

Question:
Hello,   Would a case be possible if an online casino allowed someone to play on there site after that person imposed a self ban?  This person used there same name and that was on the old account and credit card to open a new account, using a different email address (part of sign up).  It would seem that if they were doing there part of the ban (which email records show was the case and agreed upon by both parties) that this person would no longer be allowed to play under if the name was the same.  If this seems plausible what other records would they need to prove the case?
Thx

Answer:
 It's extremely common for people to share names. A change in email AND credit card info is naturally going to look like a different person.Answer #2: Different email and credit card are not "slight" changes.

 Multiple people can have the same names so pair that with a different email and credit card, and it could seem like a different person. Answer #3: ...wut?

So, you said "Nope, not gambling anymore", but then went and did it again anyway, and you want to know if you have a legal case against...the casino?

[Go here instead](http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ga/).

**Edit**: *Okay, I get it.  But even if OP now notes they are in PA, we still have no idea where the casino is based, if it is even in the USA, or what exactly the communication was between the casino and OP; so any argument about self exclusion is still pure speculation.  Besides that, OP made a conscious effort to circumvent it. Gamblers Anonymous is still best advice we can give to OP.*Answer #4: According to the NJ self exile program, there’s no penalties to the casinos for if an individual comes back to the casino.

I seriously doubt there is a way to sue the casino for this. If you could, that would open the door for lawsuits.


Title: [CO] I was fired from my previous employer due to my ex sending text messages to the company. I have evidence that my ex deleted certain messages to make me look a lot worse.

Question:
Hi, I have a hearing tomorrow with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment where I am fighting to retain my unemployment benefits. I wrote a subpoena to acquire all the reports the company had generated which led to my termination. The documentation included the text messages between my ex and I. However, once I glanced on it, I noticed that certain text messages had been deleted from the conversation.

Tomorrow, I have to defend myself against these text messages. Can I just disregard the evidence since I can so easily prove that it's false? I'm thinking ahead of if I am questioned, I don't want to incriminate myself to an incomplete picture to the story.

Answer:
 You ask if you can disregard the evidence since you can prove that it is false.
If you disregard it you can't prove it's false.
Were you fired BECAUSE of these messages?


Title: What should I know before discharging a resident from a skilled nursing facility against their will?

Question: [removed]

Answer:
 This is a no ifs, ands, or buts "hire a real attorney" situation. The intersection of duty of care towards the resident in question, duty of care towards the other residents, and duties as an employer is complex, and any advice we give you should be viewed with extreme skepticism.

Your friend is doing the right thing by taking steps to protect his staff and his other patients, but your concerns are well founded.


Title: Unprofessional behavior at my girlfriend's job.

Question: My girlfriend's supervisor is allegedly yelling at my girlfriend everyday for mistakes made by the people she trained.   I Suggested that perhaps she could secretly record the abuse and give it to someone higher up. She feels like walking out everyday.    We are in PA.

Answer: Do you have a question?


Title: Just got Scammed by my "boss"

Question:
Before you flame and call me stupid... I already know I'm stupid.  I beat myself up for it already and it was basically the most expensive lesson I had to learn.

I applied for a job on craigslist a few weeks ago and I got a reply from a guy.  He sounded and acted legitimate.  He actually POSED as Jason Curtis a photographer who travels to many different locations throughout the world.  I would be his at-home secretary and he would pay me $500 a week.  It sounded too good to be true but my dad kept saying it made sense, since it would be cheaper to just pay me $500 a week instead of actually owning an office space in NY.

Basically he asked me to do a few random tasks here and there, then he told me that he was gonna come visit me in NY to sign some papers with me.  Before he was suppose to come a check was sent to my house by one of his clients for $2,900.00.  It was a bankers check and he told me he needed me to deposit it and send him $2,350.00 through moneygram and to keep $500 for my paycheck.  I basically did as he told me to.  A few days passed (fast forward to last night), I'm trying to purchase something and it says my card was denied.  I look at my account and I have a negative balance of $2,700.00.  NEGATIVE.  I start panicking and see that the check was returned because it was altered/fictitious.  I tried to contact my employer but he wouldn't reply to me and I looked up his phone number and there were multiple posts about how that number was trying to scam multiple people using the same scheme he used on me.  But I was the only idiot that fell for it.

I KNOW I'M AN IDIOT!!!  But I was wondering if there was ANYTHING I could do about this.  I filed and IC3 report last night, but I doubt I will hear back from them anytime soon.  If there is ANY way I could lower the amount of money I owe the bank that'd be awesome.  I know I made a mistake of trusting someone so easily and being blinded by greed.  I'm already looking for jobs to help me pay off the debt, but I'm a college student who's already indebt so if there's any way to lighten the load I would really appreciate it.

Please don't comment about how stupid I am... you have no idea how much I've beaten myself up over it in the past 24 hours.

All I have on this guy is his number and the email address + yahoo messenger email he used.

Thanks in advance...

And for those of you reading this.. BEWARNED!  Do not fall into this trap.  It's hell, and you don't have anyone to blame but yourself in the end.

Answer:
 I'm amazed that this scam has been around for so long and people still fall for it. You're probably never going to see that money again.

Be vigilant about the craigslist job offers. Craigslist even has a list of common scams on their site. If the employer tells you to go to a certain website to pull your credit report, or they ask you for money up front, or they speak in broken english, or they are out of the country at the moment but need you (person they don't know) to do them a favor, you stop contact.

You may want to let Jason Curtis's people know that this is going on. I'm sure he'll be getting calls from some people trying to investigate the job offer, and will be thoroughly confused.Answer #2: Open another checking account with ANOTHER BANK RIGHT NOW, because if that account heads into ChexSystems as un paid, you'll never get another bank account until that debt is satisfied. If you truly cannot pay that, at least not right now, OPEN ANOTHER ACCOUNT WITH ANOTHER BANK IMMEDIATELY. Answer #3: You already reported it to IC3. There's probably not much else you can do. Chances are the person who scammed you isn't even in the country, and the person you wired the money to is probably not even them, but rather the victim of another scam or some other unrelated party in a chain of transactional scams. Chalk this up to a life lesson.


Title: is it illegal to lower an employee's pay.

Question: I worked two weeks straight sick. I took this week off to get better because we were only working three days. My boss is mad about me needing time to get  better and one of the biggest pieces of shit I have ever meet. I could see him trying to lowering my pay because like I said above his a piece of shit. Is it legal for someones boss to do this? I worked hard to get to the amount I'm paid and don't want him lowering my pay. Plus he rarely pays us on time. If he does what should I do?

Answer: If you don't have an employment contract, then the only level of pay you're guaranteed is minimum wage.  If he's paying you minimum wage, you have no recourse for higher pay.


Title: Gym won't allow me to cancel membership, can't come up with signed contract. Has continued to charge me 2 years after I moved away.

Question:
Hello r/legaladvice, I have been having a very stressful issue come up with a local gym and it has continued to haunt me over the past few years. I am located in South Carolina, USA.

I signed up for a local gym membership back in December of 2015 and signed a 2 year contract. I originally planned on living in that city for a while, but then I was accepted into a school about 200 miles away. I have not attented the gym since January 2016 and have been charged the $30 fee every month.

I called the gym and they said they can't cancel the membership because they have a separate company handle the contracts.

So I called the company, Peak Payment Solutions and they gave me a big runaround saying they can't cancel over the phone/need a bunch of paperwork sent in proving that I moved over 100 miles away and all that. So I said screw it i'll just pay until the 24 months is over and then I'll not have to worry about it.

WELL, After looking on my account, the contract says that my membership will auto-renew endlessly. And there is NO signature by me on this contract. I emailed and tried to call them again to cancel and and was told I would recieve a reply within 5 days of submitting my "ticket". So its been over a week and still nothing. I have tried to log into my account and my password will no longer work (same one I used last week). There is an option to send and auto-link to change password and when I click the link in my email it just sends me back to the login screen. It seems that as soon as I demanded to see a signed contract, and that my membership be cancelled, they have blocked my access to my online account.

I have not been emailed or called back and I cannot justify a $30 monthly payment for the rest of my life and I don't want to skip paying it and it get sent to collections.

Please reddit, how can I cancel this membership? I have seen online other people being scammed by this gym and given the runaround by Peak Payment Solutions and I have not actually seen a "solutions" anywhere. Help is much appreciated, thanks!
Topic:
Contracts

Answer:
 Tell your bank not to allow charges from them anymore. This won't stop them from reporting on your credit or suing you. If the debt appears on your credit report, dispute it. If they sue you, obviously respond. I would find the address of the gym and the separate company and send them a letter via certified mail that details what you've stated here and your desire to cancel the contract. I'd also send those documents the other company asked for. Answer #2: Not a lawyer.

I would contact whatever method they are using to bill you (your credit card issuer / bank) and tell them to block that merchant. If they can't do that, close that account and open a new one. Make sure you tell them that you are closing the account for that reason, sometimes banks will be "nice" and try to "allow" recurring transactions to "transfer" to the new account for a term.

I would also recommend disputing the transactions as well. If there is no signature on the contract, any of its terms do not apply to you, so even if it says "no refunds", no signature, no deal.

—Was this "signed" via a click-through agreement? Because if so then that's as good as signing it (usually).

I am skeptical that the contract contains wording for "renewing" but also somehow contains wording that makes "renewing" redundant as it's effectively a contract for life.

If credit card processing is involved, there should be a merchant phone number you can get by calling your bank (as an alternate route to contacting the gym / payment processor).


Title: (TN)Husband got fired from his job after his supervisor and trainer was fired and filed a lawsuit.

Question: [deleted]

Answer: One is not denied unemployment "for no reason". What was the reason you were given? You can appeal this decision and should do so.Answer #2: Appeal the unemployment decision.


Title: Child’s safety vs confidentiality agreement, help!

Question:
I signed a non disclosure agreement at work (not sure if it’s the same as a confidentiality agreement, boss uses both terms) for a flooring company

I was told by my boss she would take legal action against me if I reported a coworker to CPS for bragging about physically hitting her kids in the face when they act out.

Does the child’s safety legally trump the agreement is signed or will she be able to sue me for reporting? I live in Colorado

Answer:
 Reports can be made confidentially.

Also, your boss cannot take "legal" action against you for making a good faith report regarding a crime to the appropriate agency.

In fact, in some cases said boss doing anything at all retaliatory would be a crime in and of itself.

HOWEVER, from a practical perspective they can most probably fire you over it if they want to pay out the unemployment claim.


Title: Is it possible to legally prevent someone from interrupting a suicide attempt?

Question: Obviously the best way to avoid severe brain damage is to not attempt at all, but if you do attempt, is there a legal action you can take to prevent anyone other than an actual medical worker from interrupting your attempt? Any sources I can use to find the answer?

Answer:
 I don’t think anyone here is going to give you advice on how to kill yourself.

If you’re thinking seriously about suicide, you should call 1-800-273-8255 first.


Title: Electricity went out in my apartment bedroom. Landlord claiming it isn't a major issue so he isn't liable. What constitutes a "major" issue?

Question:
So this all started a few months ago. The power would go out in our bedroom for a few days and then come back again. At first, I thought it had something to do with a storm. But because it kept going out and coming back every few days, I realized it had to be more than that. We have power in the rest of the apartment. The only room we don't have power is in our bedroom.

This problem has been going on for almost two months!

We told our landlord about this problem and he basically said "he only covers major repairs" and that since the only room that doesn't have power is in our bedroom, that it is a minor issue (not a major one) and that we should have to pay for an electrician.

Here's what I said to him...

I looked up the law in Washington and it says that the responsibility for providing working electricity falls on the landlord.

I understand that you don't think not having electricity in the bedroom is a major issue. Unfortunately, the Washington State Bar Association Disagrees with you. According to the Washington State Bar Association:
"The landlord must maintain the premises in compliance with specific
building codes and local ordinances; common areas must be kept
clean and safe; facilities and appliances must be in reasonably good
working order. Damage caused by weather, acts of God (such as
earthquakes and accidents), or damage caused by unknown third
parties are generally the responsibility of the landlord.
A tenant has certain responsibilities to keep the unit clean and
safe, and may not deliberately or negligently destroy, damage, or
remove any part of the premises and must notify the landlord (in
writing) when major repairs are needed.
Once notified of a defective condition and unless circumstances
are beyond the landlord’s control, the landlord has a certain amount
of time to make repairs:
• 24 hours to provide hot or cold water, heat, or electricity"
Source:http://www.wsba.org/~/media/Files/News_Events/Publications/Consumer%20Info%20Pamphlets/Landlord%20Tenant%200211.ashx

Several apartment complexes I called in Bellevue disagree with you as well;they all told me the same thing: if a bedroom in a unit is lacking electricity, it is considered a major issue and it is the landlord's responsibility to fix the problem.

But if you need more reason to understand what major is, here's specifically why it's a major issue to not have electricity in my bedroom.
1. We need light in our bedroom to function.
2. We can't charge our phones in our bedroom.
3. We can't have an alarm in our bedroom, causing my wife to be late for work.
4. We need electricity to use the heater in our bedroom because it's getting cold.

---------------------------------------------------------

Am I wrong here? Are landlords not required to fix electricity in a bedroom? If I'm not wrong, what should I do? Is small claims court a good option at this point?

Thanks for reading about my problem. I hope someone out there can help.

Answer:
 Yeah he needs to fix it. You are right.

Talk to a tenant attorney. They will give you a free consulation and if they feel your case is strong they will take your case on contingency.


Title: (USA/OR)Apartment Rental Discrimination

Question:
My boyfriend and I are moving from NYC to Eugene, OR. He doesn't have a job lined up in Oregon yet. I have a job that pays 3x the minimum required income for an apartment we found online. We put in applications online and the property management company responded saying that we each had to meet the minimum salary requirement for half the rent. I spoke with the company by phone and was told that either he had to have a cosigner or we had to be married.

Is this discrimination based on marital status?
In what way does this policy benefit the management company?

Edit: grammar

Answer:
 >Is this discrimination based on marital status?

Nope.

> In what way does this policy could benefit the management company?

By making sure that if you two break up, either one of you can independently afford the rent.


Title: Subpoena delivered to my address, but wrong last name.

Question:
In the mail today, I received a subpoena addressed to someone with my same first name and first letter of my last name. The address is identical to mine. The county is about an hour from where I live, and I have never lived in that county.

I don’t want to open it, as it is not addressed to me. Should I call the phone number on the back? Open it and see what they want (maybe the last name is just wrong...)? Return the letter to sender?
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 You can always write on the envelope that no such person lives at this address; and return to sender.Answer #2: OK, for starters:  Is the name similar to yours?   Are you expecting that you might be subpoenaed?  No offense, but if you're trying to figure out a way to not respond to a subpoena that you know was intended for you, that can end badly

If it really is a different name, then you shouldn't open it.   I would call the number if there is one, or mark it "Not at this address" and put it back in mailbox unless it says "do not forward" on the face.


Title: Stupid question about a stupid encounter with a customer. TN, USA

Question:
The other day at work a woman and her husband came in to my store, I greeted them, they ignored me. I never interacted with her at all beyond that. Later she called the store and told me that she found me off putting as a person because I didn‘t greet her at the door. I tried to tell her that I did, and she cut me off with, “No! I’m an attorney \(unintelligible\)... You have a bad attitude and need to work on that. Understand?” I was like, ok and ended the call.

I have no idea why she needed to tell me that she’s an attorney, I personally don’t need one at the moment. But if I found out who her boss is and informed them that shes throwing it at retail workers in an apparantly threatening \(or confusing?\) manner, would that be wise?

PS: my manager heard me greet her. It’s very likely she didn’t hear me, as they were just walking in, but...really.

tl;dr: being an attorney doesn’t mean you can hear well, please leave the poor retail worker alone or you will become that week’s butt of the joke.

Answer: Is there a legal question? Seeking retribution against a customer is most likely cause to get your fired.Answer #2: Wise? No, that would be the opposite. Right now you have the moral high ground and can laugh at her. If you do that you just look petty. This is more of just a case of laugh about it with others on the notalwaysright web site.


Title: Legal consequences?

Question:
Recently I was in violation on 36cfr 4.30(a) which is having a bicycle on national park land. I was issued a ticket and the officer told me he was taking my bike and that once the ticket was paid I could return (3 hour drive) and pick up my bike. I would not agree to this and asked if he could provide the explanation of legal authority to confiscate my property as pertaining to my violation. He could not provide this and finally settled on “give me your front wheel then so I know you can’t ride it”.  Can anyone speak to the authority or legality of confiscation by this officer? I’m under the impression that the max penalty for criminal violation of 36cfr section 4 is jail, fine, or both. Nowhere can I find acquisition of personal property without owners consent.

Thanks-

Answer: Wouldn’t taking the wheel be the same argument as taking the whole bike?  What have him the right? I would call the parks head ranger authority and see if that’s common practice. The fine is your punishment for the infraction. It’s not his job to take objects as collateral until a ticket is paid. Also did you get a receipt stating he has possession the tire?


Title: Girlfriend keeping everything I own

Question:
I am in Kansas. I have been living with a female for about 25 years. Two years ago we separated for a year, then got back together for about a year. She owns the house we was living in, but I paid all of the bills because she does not work and has no income. We had an argument two weeks ago and she told me to get out, and i left. The following day I returned and was told that I was not welcomed there any longer. I left again with no argument. Last weekend I went to get my clothes and belongings and the locks had been changed. She was home but would not let me in and said that I have nothing there. The police were called and they told me to leave and if I go back I will be arrested for trespassing.

She has told people that she has given my clothes to Goodwill and is selling my belongings. Everything I own is there, I only have the clothes that I have on. My tools for work are there, all of my legal paperwork, my medication, everything is there.

We have never been married, the sheriff told me I couldn't take anything and I should file for divorce. I told him we was never married, we only played house. We played doctor too, but that doesn't make me a gynecologist. If I need to file for a divorce to get my things, shouldn't I have just as much right to be in that house as she does? Is there anything i can do to get my belongings before she sells it all?

Answer:
 I think your best choice is to sue her for the theft  of the items, Not sure though. I assume this is in the states. What I am sure about is that you need to hire a lawyer.Answer #2: With the long stay and you paying bills,  this could be seen as you having gained tenant status, which means you need to report her for illegal eviction and theft of your property. IanalAnswer #3: Not licensed in Kansas. However, sounds to me like you might have an action for 1) wrongful eviction; and 2) conversion of your personal property. I'd recommend speaking to a lawyer who specializes in landlord tenant law. And do it soon. Ask the attorney about an injunction or TRO to stop her from selling your stuff.

That being said - you need to have realistic expectations. If she has sold some of your stuff, you need proof of value. Receipts are best. Also, if she has no income, it may be difficult to collect. If you end up winning in court, make sure to speak with your attorney about filling a judgment lien against her house.Answer #4: https://www.ksbar.org/page/marriage_divorce

Sounds like Kansas is a common law state, so you may be eligible for divorce.  Going to need a lawyer.Answer #5: You could have legally married status if your state has a common law marriage. Regardless go get a lawyer. Start making a list of your personal and work items. Clothes, photos, tools, firearms, ect. With a detailed list you’ll stand a better chance of getting your stuff back and quickly.


Title: Parents house is part of a covenant?

Question:
So, first forgive me Im on mobile. My parents have been living at their new home for about 5 years now in Minnesota. A few days ago, my parents told me that one of their neighbors i will call "C" knocked on their door and said their house is part of a covenant. (I'll be honest vampires first popped in my head.) Now, some more info. They both share a neighbor I'll call "D" for different. They live in a great neighborhood, but Ds lawn is covered with a fish house, trampoline, pool and other crap. So, when C came over he told my parents they cannot build a fence, have a trailer in their yard and so on. Well, my parents have a trailer and built a fence in the corner of their yard with a garden. My mother at the time said, their agent never said anything about this, it was never mentioned in their mortgage document or even at the tax office. He claimed the agent wouldn't have known about this. My parents don't pay any HOA  fees or anything. We think it is because C haa to look at D's backyard everyday and is worried about his property value. When my mom said that they wont be removing the trailer or take the fence down. He claimed they won't need too. My question is, is this a legal thing? Do my parents really need to honor this? More or less,  what the hell is a "covenant?"

TLDR; parents moved into their house 5 years ago, some guy said they belong to a covenant and can't do certain things to their own home and don't even live in a HOA community.

Answer:
 > He claimed the agent wouldn't have known about this.

Horseshit. If you're part of a restrictive covenant it's on the deed. This would have shown up at purchase on a title search and been seen ON THE FUCKING DEED at closing.

C can jump on a pineapple and spin.

If your parents want to do a paranoia check they can pull the deed from their county/recorder/whatevs and look for themselves.


Title: [MI] Free heating in apartment, is landlord required to turn on?

Question:
I’m currently living in an apartment in Michigan and it’s starting to get pretty chilly overnight.

My apartment offers free heating but I’ve noticed over the last week or so it wasn’t working and came to find out they haven’t turned the boiler/furnace on yet.

Are the required to turn it on or are they allowed turn it on whenever they feel like it?

Any insights are much appreciated.

Thanks so much,
A cold Redditer
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 It seems like there is no state-wide law on the minimum temperature required for the apartment to fulfill the warranty of habitability in Michigan.  There are city level laws though.  Ann Arbour, for example states that your apartment must be heated to a minimum of 68° even when the temperature outside is as low as 10° below.

PDF Warning:  http://www.danshouses.com/Dans_Houses_Tenants_Duties.pdfAnswer #2: Most complexes will turn on the boiler once it has been X days below a certain temperature.Answer #3: Not legal advice: get a space heater. They're $15 at Home Depot and you can adjust the heat.

I've lived in apartments with "free" heating, and landlords can be pretty stingy with it. Space heaters saved me.Answer #4: The apartments I'm familiar with with free heating are all older buildings that turn the heat on and off on specific dates (say, it gets turned on on 1 November and gets turned off on 31 April).  The rest of the time, we'd just bundle up - or open the windows if it was too hot.


Title: I lost my state ID card, is it illegal to not have one?

Question:
As the title says, my purse was stolen and my ID card is now gone. It might take some time for me to go get a new one. Hypothetically, if a cop wishes to see my ID and I am unable to provide one, will I get arrested or fined? My state is New Jersey.
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer: No. It is not generally illegal to not have an ID. If this ID is also your driver's license, then you may get a ticket for being unable to provide it while driving but you are not required to prove your identity upon demand.


Title: roommate moving in/out on a whim, has a convicted felon over

Question:
ive been living with an alcoholic for over a year. we were friends before and i was not aware of his alcohol abuse before living together. IE him and his best friend drinking a 1.75 of svedka each weekend night. before we signed our second year lease i made it clear that they at least need to drink somewhere else a couple nights a week because i did not sign up to have a third roommate on the weekends while trying to be understanding that he pays rent and should be allowed to have guests.

two months after we signed the lease, he started dating a convicted felon and decided to move in with him while still paying his half of the rent here until i found another roommate. he gave me a weeks notice before he left. we live in an expensive apartment building and me being scared of being stuck with another addict its taking me a long time to find another roommate. after 3 months he got fed up with paying and had his boyfriend leave me threatening emails saying if i dont "get my ass in gear, a whole world of hurt is going to fall in my lap" two weeks after that he told me he was moving back in with a 1 day notice.

i tried putting a lock on my bedroom door but he called the landlord for the one problem that would require them to be in my room (something about piping for the plumbing) where they told me i am not allowed to have a lock on my door for safety concerns.

i do not feel safe around him, especially now that i cant have a lock. his boyfriend stole my ipod the last time he was over and im afraid they will steal or break things in my room. what are my legal rights? can i have the felon removed from the apartment? or can he only be removed if he physically assaults me?

i live in minnesota and the felon is less than a year of prison for drug charges.

UPDATE:
i spoke with the landlord without having to go into too much detail and she agreed to let me keep the lock. i had to sign a waiver saying if they needed to get in in an emergency that they could force the door open and i pay for damages. plus them having a spare key. both terms absolutely fair. what i learned: always stay on good terms with your landlord, they will be more willing to work with you

Answer:
 > what are my legal rights? can i have the felon removed from the apartment?

You can't remove another tenant's guest just because they're a felon. If you are threatened, call the police.


Title: What can I (legally) do to get charges pressed against my rapist? (Louisiana)

Question:
Was (date) raped 6 weeks ago. I went immediately to the ER and got a SANE exam. They found 4 tears on my cervix (no instrument was used- it was that bad), 1 on the outside, a torn uvula, tears down my throat, and bruising down my throat. I did scream very loudly, said no repeatedly, begged him to stop, shoved him away, and even physically got away a few times. He just kept coming back.

Working against me: I was there willingly (though he talked about cutting up his neighbors and putting them in the fireplace, and us having kids- we'd just met- and a ton of other very disturbing things, so I didn't feel safe leaving after I tried to and he got upset.) I acted like I was into it at first (I wanted to get it over with- he wasn't violent until I was already undressed.) I left (snuck out when he fell asleep) after I assured him I'd be back... he must not have realized what he'd done (too drunk?) and begged me to stay and said he loved me, was obsessed with me.

The police have already messed up a controlled call opportunity. I'd tried to bait him into speaking on the phone (to record his admittance that at least something happened) and he'd been tipped off by their ill-times multiple attempts to reach him. He's currently dodging them. They're not trying very hard to go after him, either. Special victims detective didn't even understand that trying to contact the assailant was the last step of the process in order to protect the victim.

Is there a smart way I can bait him into admitting something without putting myself in legal trouble? People have advised that this district prosecutes sex crimes almost never, so I may not have much to lose.

What I know: he was probably abused as a child, has ADHD, possibly Borderline Personality Disorder, narcissistic, and very defensive. He texted me for a week after it happened, and then apparently blocked my number out of anger from the lack of response. Got arrested 2 years ago on DUI, and exes all say he's an alcoholic.

Tl;dr: violent date rapist is not being pursued by police. Anything I can do?

Answer:
 Call any local organizations you can find that deal with sexual assault or domestic violence or anything related and see if they have any suggestions. Someone that works for an org that deals with stuff like this all the time may know how to get the ball rolling.

You can also bring a civil suit, but that's far from easy or cheap. Still something you might consider ifthe police refuse to act and you want this predator to face some consequences. Might be worth at least setting up an initial consult with an attorney to see what your options are.

I'm so sorry this happened to you and that the police aren't taking an action. That's a tough situation to be in and I hope you figure something out.


Title: Part time employee question

Question: My friend's son works at Walmart in Colorado. He is considered by Walmart as a party time employee. This Christmas week they want him to work full-time. Is this legal? Does this now make him full-time? I have not heard of this before and was unable to provide advice. Thank you for your replies.

Answer:
 Full-time and part-time has no legal distinction apart from contexts like ACA.  As long as your son is paid for time worked, then it's legal.

I'm assuming he's over 18.  There may be nuances for kids.


Title: Help with appeal: Fed Court (NV) says cops can detain me for reading book on public land a mile from a military post and walking distance from home (seriously).

Question:
thx for all the feedback.  the nearly unanimous conclusion is that i would lose an appeal.  the nearly unanimous conclusion on this page is that this was a valid Terry stop, but I haven't seen an rational discussion of the Terry quotes that I posted here.

after you read the original post below, you can look at one of the opposing views that seems to summarize the prevailing opinion here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/31k3bt/help_with_appeal_fed_court_nv_says_cops_can/cq36y8k

My response to the above (which will be downvoted to oblivion): https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/31k3bt/help_with_appeal_fed_court_nv_says_cops_can/cq37e0b

There was one other good criticism but I can not find it.  The person actually constructed a good argument, but possibly deleted it.  I commented that it was the best post so far (but it still didn't attempt to argue that the stated claim was reasonable).

    == original post

I filed a civil rights case pro se in Nevada (9th circuit) and the judge awarded the defense summary judgement based on a shocking set of speculations that were not in any filings and with disregard for facts and legal arguments that I made.  I have 3 weeks to file an appeal, and have little info or financial resources.

I could use tips on an appeal and any resources that might help.

Page 4 of the order explains the judges claim that the cop had "reasonable suspicion" and thereby the Fourth Amendment does not apply.  Note that this happened in a tiny district that is surrounded by hundreds of square miles of mostly empty desert and sparse vegetation.  It is undisputed that there were no people, property or structures in the area... I think that means that it was nearly impossible to commit a crime, but the judge indicated that this is "suspicious" (despite the fact that I live there).

The main argument from page 4 of the order (the judge's decision) that justifies "reasonable suspicion" and thereby overrides the Fourth Amendment:

1) The "oddness" of the situation (reading a book in rural Nevada--the judge did not specify what was odd, but reading is the only odd thing).

2) There was an "infiltration" of a gate that was 1.6 miles away at some
unspecified time in the past (there were no details of this event presented in
the filings).  I lived 1.9 miles from that gate. From other sources, I know that there was one "event" about 10 years ago.

3) While I was walking on a little-used road, I had moved from the edge of the road (one foot on the white line) about 8
feet away, and the judge invented the theory that this could have been
perceived as an attempt to evade the deputy.  Nobody had made this claim until
the judge invented it, and I moved off the road when the car was nearly 200
yards away... meaning that I remained walking 8 feet from the road while the
deputy's car creeped at about 10-15 miles per hour for the last 100 yards.  The undisputed pleadings indicate that I moved off the road to avoid a moving vehicle.

4) The judge invented the theory that being 1.6 miles from a military site is
dangerous because he speculated (having never met
me) that I could have run that far in not much time.  He did not say what
I could have done after running to the gate, so it is vacuous speculation.

5) I was "wearing camoflage" (an army jacket and regular pants).  The judge speculated that that the deputy might have speculated that I might have been attempting to conceal myself (yes, two degrees of speculation without anything in the pleadings mentioning this).  There was nothing in any court filing that suggested that I was attempting to conceal myself--I was reading a book while walking along the edge of a little-used road.  Anyone who has been to rural Nevada knows that army surplus clothing is common.  In my reply to the motion for summary judgment, I stated that the deputy must have seen me from the main highway and then drove the 200 yards up the side road to detain me.  That statement was not challenged.

That's it! I was reading a book on public land within walking distance of my home, and that is "suspicious behavior" that allows cops to detain me.

    =======
people keep saying that this was a valid Terry stop, but not according to what the court said in the Terry case.  from Terry:

``in justifying the particular intrusion the police officer must be able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion'' (Terry v. Ohio, at 21)

Peace officers can not detain people ``based on nothing more substantial than inarticulate hunches.'' (Terry at 22). The only way to demonstrate that the officer meets the Terry stop requirement is to be able to point to "facts" and from those draw "rational inferences from those facts." The "rational inference" can not be demonstrated when nobody in the record makes a statement about which crime was suspected.

Here is a section from my  reply to the motion for summary
judgement in which I quote the U.S. Supreme Court:

    Without a warrant, the police may generally not stop and detain
    an individual for investigation absent a reasonable belief that
    criminal or otherwise dangerous activity is afoot. United
    States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417--418 (1981).
    The ``reasonable'' part of the belief must be objective:
    officers ``must have a particularized and objective basis for
    suspecting the particular person stopped of criminal activity.''
    United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417-418 (1981).

The judge ignored any connection between objective evidence and the conclusion.  He speculated that I might have run 1.6 miles to the gate, but never said what he suspected that I might do once I arrived at the gate.  I was reading a book on factor analysis (statistics... I currently teach statistics at a university).

The interpretation of Terry on this page leaves people with no objective basis to determine when they will be harassed and when they will not be harassed--so that seems unreasonable.  In a related (not identical) case of arbitrary detainment:  "The appellate court determined that the statute was unconstitutional in that it violates the Fourth Amendment's proscription against unreasonable searches and seizures, it contains a vague enforcement standard that is susceptible to arbitrary enforcement, and it fails to give fair and adequate notice of the type of conduct prohibited." Kolender v. Lawson 461 U.S. 352 (1983), 461.

Answer: Jesus get a life. Volunteer or something. Make cookies for orphans. Right now you are just wasting your time and lots of other people's time and money on a unwinable case.


Title: [MD] Can I perform my own wedding ceremony?

Question: My fiancée and I want to do a "Quaker style" wedding where we lead our own wedding ceremony, however the state of Maryland requires an officiant. I'm an ordained minister through the AMM (sounds super fancy, but it takes five seconds). Reading through the Maryland laws, there's nothing in there that states that the officiant must not be one of the individuals being married, but I also don't want to run into any legal trouble down the road by being both the officiant and one of the two people getting married in a state that doesn't have a clause for Quaker style weddings.

Answer:
 Rather than worrying about it, go to the courthouse and have your legal marriage there, and celebrate your marriage as you see fit afterwards (or before). This happens _all the time_, for a variety of reasons, and it's not a big deal.Answer #2: MD Quaker here, a Quaker wedding is performed under the care of the meeting you belong to, with the certificate signed by the clerk of the meeting, even if there is no officiant per se.

If you just go to the courthouse for the legal part you can have whatever style wedding you want to. You still have to file your marriage certificate at the courthouse anyway.


Title: Reported for asking for a classmates phone when I stepped out of the classroom during an exam.

Question:
I'm freaking the fuck out. Just for some background info. Ik I made a stupid mistake. I am completely at fault, I just don't want this to ruin my academic future. I'm currently enrolled at a University in Canada and am taking a few summer courses. During a midterm of one of my courses, I stepped out of the class during the test and wanted to double check an answer, so I asked one of my classmates ,who had already finished the exam, to look up something on his phone. Turns out he emailed our academic dishonesty dept on campus and they are launching an investigation against me because of this. I am shit scared that i might have to fail this class, because my GPA already sucks. And even worse, this being on my record. Ik I probably won't get expelled because its my first offence, I just wanted to ask you guys what I could do to minimize the damage I could potentially receive.
P.S:All they have a link from his phone about what i looked up. I don't belive they have a time stamp or anything.
Topic:
Canada

Answer:
 So you cheated and got caught.

What does your syllabus say for academic dishonesty?Answer #2: This isn't a legal question.

You were academically dishonest and they can punish you for that.

And they have more than the the link- they have your classmate's testimony, and the time can be easily ascertained.


Title: Girlfriend's car was hit by driver going too fast. His insurance refuses to pay. Help, please. (TX)

Question:
*********************************************************************************
UPDATE: Thanks for all the responses everyone! We ended up calling her insurance about what the next steps were. They later told us that her policy even though its limited liability will cover the repairs for now. They will go after the other guy's insurance and him if necessary. She just has to pay her deductible ($500 which hopefully she'll get back once everything is sorted out) which is much better than the total cost which the body shop said was between $2000-5000. After looking up his insurance, it turns out they are notorious for not paying when at fault. Hopefully things will work out. Thanks, again!

*********************************************************************************

This accident occurred at my girlfriend’s apartment complex where the other guy also lives. She was leaving to go to school and was pulling up to a turn. Before she reached the turn, the other guy who was speeding, turns in too fast and too close ends up in her part of the lane. The parking lot is full and either one knew the other was coming. She manages to brake (she was only going 10mph) and the other guy manages to swerve out from a full head on collision. The guy however still hits my girlfriend’s bumper on the left side. Her headlight is gone, part of the bumper is off, the foam inside is gone, and a piece of the chassis is in the wheel well preventing the tire from moving without digging into it. The other guy’s car is scratched from his bumper to the back of his driver’s door. At the time there were apartment workers who saw the accident and were used as witnesses to state that the other driver was at fault for driving too fast. The police weren’t called because the City of Austin doesn’t dispatch officers for minor accidents (minor being no medical assistance needed). Both drivers took  pictures of the accident and each other’s information. The pictures show that my girlfriend’s car is approaching the turn and the other guy’s car is further down in the middle of the lane.

My girlfriend contacted the other guy’s insurance and after a week they finally stated that they would not pay. They stated after reviewing both driver’s stories, they concluded that they didn’t have to pay. They did not call the witnesses either. Some of the reasoning might have been lost in my angry girlfriend’s retelling to me but basically they won’t pay. Both driver’s have liability coverage so her insurance won’t fix her car either. What should she do? We were told if anything to sue the other driver in the Small Claims Court but are their other options? Thanks in advance for the help.

Answer:
 What is her insurance company doing? I got rear ended recently and the other guy's insurance decided I was 50% at fault (???) and my insurance company is going to arbitration with them. Meanwhile, I paid my deductible and my insurance paid to get my car fixed, then they are going to go after the other insurance company through arbitration. I would suggest she calls her insurance and ask them what they will do to help her get her car fixed and paid for. Is Texas one of those no-fault states?Answer #2: OP, this question is much better suited to r/insurance.

I've been browsing this sub for years and the advice offered here wit regards to auto insurance and accidents is usually underwhelming, sue in small claims, "call your insurance company, this is what you pay them for", or just wrong. Don't get me wrong, this is one of my top 3 favorite subs on Reddit, but for this particular issue, there's better options sometimes.

Having worked in that industry, I imagine you're looking for more detailed info, and while the advice is generally correct here from the point of view of a lawyer (or more likely armchair lawyer), you'd probably be better served posting in r/insurance.

Just a thought.


Title: [Orange County, California] ELI5: If a US citizen can lawfully refuse to talk to the police during a traffic stop, even if he is suspected DUI, then why does the citizen have to stop for the police officer at all?

Question:
In other words, could you theoretically "plead the fifth" to such a degree that you could lawfully refuse to accept a police officer's command for you to stop because you could potentially be submitting to a self-incriminating interrogation?
Topic:
Searches and Seizures

Answer:
 The right not to speak does not mean you have the right to disobey lawful commands even if the result would tend to incriminate you. Answer #2: Driving a car and having a license to do so is not a right granted by the constitution.

When you drive a car, you submit yourself to certain things, one of those being that a police officer can stop you if they suspect you have violated the laws of the state.Answer #3: No. You don't have to talk but you have to obey. Failure to obey gets you shot.


Title: Is my company discriminating against me based on my family status? Ohio

Question:
[removed]
Topic:
Employment Law

Answer:
 It isn't discrimination because you are rightfully paying more to insure an additional person than someone who doesn't need to I sure a spouse.

We call that "Paying your fair share".Answer #2: No this not discrimination. You are paying more for more people.

However, in other cases family units can be a sort of protected class. Answer #3: "Family status" isn't a protected class so there's no discrimination.  Plus that's how insurance works.  The employer subsidizes the employee cost but less of the spouse cost.


Title: (AL) Ex wife has custody of our 3 kids. My daughter has to share a room with her and her husband. Do I have any legal recourse here?

Question:
My daughter is 4 years old, will be 5 next May. My ex wife and her husband live in a small mobile home, my sons have their own rooms but my daughter sleeps in the master bedroom with my ex wife and her husband. I don't have any reason to believe that anything inappropriate is going on but my daughter has some behavioral problems that I believe are associated with her not having her own space.

It's hard to put into words here what I mean about her behavior.  I tried to type it out but I realized it probably sounded like typical 4 year old behavior and I really think it's more than that. She can be very aggressive and obnoxious when she is not at the center of attention. She is rarely able to entertain herself or play alone.

When they are all at my house I can't spend any time with the boys or even do anything around the house without her getting upset that she's having to share my time with anything. My ex says she acts the same way towards her at her house so it's not a case where she just misses daddy.

At my house she has her own room and she loves it but she doesn't spend a whole lot of time in there because again, she has to be in the middle of literally everything else. I tried to play a card game with one of my sons last night and she wound up getting upset because she couldn't participate. This was after 2 days of me barely being able to speak to my boys because of her need for attention.

I've spoken to my ex about it several times and she doesn't seem to think there's a problem here. She always says she has "plans" to buy a bigger house but we've been split up for 3 years and nothing has changed yet. My daughter is getting old enough that something needs to be done. We "technically" have joint custody so we're supposed to have equal say in their raising but it was also written in the custody agreement that if we disagree my ex gets final say, effectively making this a sole custody situation.

I've pushed for split residency in the past but at the time I was living too far away for that to be viable. I have since moved closer and my street is even on a bus route for their school. I don't know what to do here.

Answer:
 Yeah, it sounds like a pretty typical 4-year old. Especially if the two brothers are close, and she's the "baby" of the family.

Did you talk to your divorce attorneys?  They would be the one most likely to be able to tell you what your odds are of changing the custody situation.


Title: [NY] My roommate is limiting my access to utilities. She says my contract didn't specify I get access to them 24/7. She is doing this because she wants me to pay her more money. Can she do this? Is

Question:
Honestly, I'm so mad right now.  This whole situation is so ridiculous.  We're both adults, and yet I'm dealing with someone who is behaving in such a petty and immature way.  (Sorry, this is a bit of a rant.)

My sublease agreement states that my rent is inclusive of all utilities.  I made sure to clarify, in writing, that this included Internet.  The evening before I moved in, my roommate advised me of the "extra costs" I needed to pay for these.  I clearly stated that this was not what I had agreed to.  She insisted that I at least be open to discussions going forward about this.

Since this was done on the day I was moving in, I had little choice but to try to be accommodating.  I made no promises, stated that this was not something I could reasonably foresee doing do based on my budget, but said she was welcome to speak to me about it on a month-to-month basis.  This has not happened.

My roommate has repeatedly informed me that I owe her extra for utilities.  I gave her an additional $50 during the first month.  Subsequently, I advised her that I would be unable to pay her beyond what I was contractually obligated to.  This has caused the situation to escalate.

In short, my roommate has admitted, in writing, that she will be limiting my Internet access until I agree to pay her more money for utilities, as the bills are too high.  She stated my contract didn't state that I should have utilities 24/7. To me, this is an intentional misreading, but please do clarify if I'm wrong.

The apartment has become a difficult place for me to be, because interactions with my roommate have just created an unpleasant and hostile environment.  (She, however, calls it a "mature" attempt at fixing things through "conflict resolution".) .

So my questions are:

1. Is she entitled to do this?  She signed a copy of the sublease and was aware of what it entailed.  Nevertheless, she insists that the 'implied' nature of sharing an apartment means I should be contributing more than what was stated.  Had I known this, I would have never signed the sublease agreement.
2. Is she violating our contract by doing this?
3. Based on her behaviour, am I in a position where I can terminate my sublease agreement early?  It continues until July 31.

I don't know what to do.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer:
 If she signed a lease saying Internet was included in the rent, then she is breaching the contract if she intentionally disabled your Internet access. She can’t charge more for something to which she already agreed to. When the contract ends she can require you to pay for utilities if you want to keep renting from her. Answer #2: Tell her she’s breaching the terms of your lease and that it would be grounds for termination, and make clear that (1) you will take her to small claims court for your deposit back, and (2) you will be informing building management of the situation in the event she didn’t get approval to sublet. If she ends up ever moving out, her landlord may not give her a good referral if she’s known to improperly sublet and/or strong arm her subleasees.

New York is also a one party consent state, so you could record the conversation as proof of her breach.
Answer #3: Is she your landlord?


Title: Do I have any legal options for termination

Question:
I was recently terminated from a previous job here in Seattle,WA due to a mistake that was caused under my name. However, this was mostly due to horrible management (didn't even get training) and hidden "rules". I worked 3, 13-hour shifts with a mandatory of 1 hour of lunch, Or so I thought. They hardly let me or my team eat due to work pressure and I could not leave the job to get lunch. If I did leave they expected me back asap (I couldn't eat in peace). I worked my ass off all day and wasn't given a "time" to eat. This was my whole team, not just me. We would all eat so fast mostly between cars making a meal last several hours to finish. they would expect us to rush cars so there was never any time. The lunch hours were taken from our checks as well. It got to a point where my body and cognitive functions would slow down massively due to hunger or eating very late, there was a day where my nose started bleeding even if that never happens out of nowhere. This caused me to make a mistake and was terminated instantly. I also feel like my paychecks weren't accurate due to being paid very little and some days were left blank. I was also promised my last paycheck on the 29th of December, which was never posted on my bank. I would like to know if I have any legal options. I don't really have much funds at the moment to get a lawyer so im wondering if I'm screwed on my last check or not. Thanks

Edit: I would also like to state that I did work for only 2.5 months (which I don't know if it will cause big effect due to 3-month periods). I also want to report them to OSHA for sake of my ex-coworkers health but don't know if I should wait for a lawyer first?

Answer:
 You have no legal remedy for being terminated unless you had an employment contract that was violated or you were fired for belonging to a protected class - neither seems to apply to your case.

If you were not paid for all the time worked, file a claim at

http://www.lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/ComplainDiscrim/WRComplaint/default.asp

You can find the workplace safety reporting there too, if you decide to take that route.


Title: [OH] Are there any rules or regulations for graphic, morbid pro-life displays on college campuses?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > they use large graphic images of bloody abortions for shock value

Protip: most of them are probably miscarriages or stillbirths. This is a common trick.


Title: [CANADA] Guy on campus records video of random people, and posts them on his YouTube channel. He acts as a "Surveillance Camera" and won't stop recording. What to do?

Question: [deleted]

Answer:
 > We were planning to beat the everliving sh*t out of him but that would be assault.

Rule #1 about engaging in a criminal conspiracy to commit felony assault: Don't talk about engaging in a criminal conspiracy to commit felony assault.Answer #2: Those videos are over a year old, and he hasn't posted anything to youtube in 7 months, are you just using that as an example and not saying those are his videos?Answer #3: IANAL.

This is the criminal harassment statute (s. 264 (1) of the *Criminal Code*):

>264. (1) No person shall, without lawful authority and knowing that another person is harassed or recklessly as to whether the other person is harassed, engage in conduct referred to in subsection (2) that causes that other person reasonably, in all the circumstances, to fear for their safety or the safety of anyone known to them.

Prohibited conduct
(2) The conduct mentioned in subsection (1) consists of

    (a) repeatedly following from place to place the other person or anyone known to them;
    (b) repeatedly communicating with, either directly or indirectly, the other person or anyone known to them;
    (c) besetting or watching the dwelling-house, or place where the other person, or anyone known to them,   resides, works, carries on business or happens to be; or
    (d) engaging in threatening conduct directed at the other person or any member of their family.

That's it. Simply video recording people in public is not harassment, it's not "borderline harassment", it's nowhere near harassment. Harassment requires that the 'harassed person' to "reasonably... fear for their safety or the safety of anyone known to them". Simply video recording someone in public would not place a reasonable person in fear for their safety.


Title: Does a Judge need to recuse if a family member is the accuser?

Question: A friend's kid got arrested, for some dubious charges. The person making the accusation is the Judge's mother. It's a small town in PA. Does the Judge have to recuse himself?

Answer: Uh they should. Answer #2: I can't see me weighing the credibility of my mother as something that would be robust against appeal.


Title: Found Out on FindMassMoney a Great Uncle/Aunt Seem to have Died in 2009 with unclaimed assets - Can I Try to Claim Them?

Question: I'm located in Massachusetts, the relatives in question also lived and died here.  In a nut shell:  I was checking out findmassmoney.com to see if I was owed anything and I saw a ton of entries for my late great uncle (he died in 1992) and late Great Aunt (she died in 2009).  It seems to be the remnants of AT&T stock owned prior to the anti-trust breakup in 1982 so presumably this is stocks in all the companies it turned into and also unclaimed dividends dating all the way back to the 1980s or before.  My parents are both deceased and my brother, my step mother and myself were equal beneficiaries of my father's estate when he died in 2014 (I would be claiming this stock on behalf of all 3 of us).  They did have children who I do not know (I last saw one of them in the late 90s) although from what I know about them they are the kind of people who would absolutely fail to claim money owed to them.   My question is this:  Knowing I am not the next of kin but that I am a relative could I file a claim on this stock and the unpaid dividends?  Would their children then have to contest it or would it be summarily dismissed?  I have no way of contacting their children (who themselves would be elderly at this point) and it seems wasteful to let the money rot away in the state coffers.   Should I consult an attorney and see what my options are or would I just one throwing money away as their children are the only ones who can claim this money (even if I strongly suspect they never would/will do so)?

Answer: First of all, it doesn’t cost money to claim the money.  Second you don’t have any claim to it unless your father was a beneficiary of the will.  The money belongs to their beneficiaries.


Title: I was pulled over and got a warning. Will my parents find out?

Question: I’m not very familiar with this subreddit but this question probably gets asked a lot so sorry :( I’m 16 and turning 17 in two months. I was driving without my license with my little sister and turned off my lights as to not aggravate the driver in front of me. I forgot to turn them on as the area is brightly lit and less then 1 minute later blue lights are flashing! I pulled over and the cop asked my name and age and he gave me a warning with a paper with my info on it. He was very nice about it all and I showed him the registration and insurance for the car even though I didn’t have my license. I’m also driving my dad’s girlfriends car, so will my parents find out about this? Will this be on the car’s record or mine? Thank you in advance!

Answer:
 You turned off your lights so as not to aggravate the driver in front of you? I’m guessing that what you meant by that is that you were parked, and then forgot to turn them on again.

If it really was a warning, and doesn’t require you to go to the station to show your license, then I don’t think anyone will find out.


Title: Rome, Italy. Traffic offense

Question:
Basically I went to rome at the start of the year and rented a scooter. Turns out i was at one point 'Circulating in residential area in lane reserved for other vehicles'.
Now, its only 88 euros, but being a student and independent, this is nearly all of my savings so I'm really not keen on paying if i don't have to-even if it means i cant return to Italy.
So naturally i would like to lodge an appeal based on the grounds that my name is misspelt (it actually is misspelt by a letter). is this a likely succesful appeal or not? if not and my appeal is rejected the fine is doubled.
Any advice/ past experieces would be super helpful!
Thanks!

Answer: Generally, clerical errors do not invalidate a ticket.