Title: Ex-Boyfriend (19/M) punched my sister (18f) and my current boyfriend (24m), myself (22f) and a friend (19m) beat him up pretty badly. Now ex is threatening action.

Question:
Located in Texas.

Ex: Josh
Boyfriend: Chris
Sister: Laine
Friend: Tanner

We were all out at a big ATV ride at a park near our house. Probably 1,000 plus people were there, and our group of friends ended up riding with my ex and his group of friends when we met up on some trails because we have mutual friends. My ex was talking about fighting my boyfriend for a while, but this night he was REALLY drunk and Chris (my current boyfriend) told me he really wanted to avoid getting into a fight with him.

We rode about an hour with no problems, until the entire group (probably 20 bikes, 40ish people) stopped on a trail. Me, Chris and my sister Laine needed to ride to the front gate to pick up a friend coming in to ride so we asked everyone on feet to clear a path for us to get by. Everyone did besides Josh, my ex. He wouldn't let us by and then walked slowly in front of us down the trail. Chris asked him to move several times, at which point Josh turned and came up talking crap.

Chris told josh he didn't want to start anything until Josh was sober, and josh said "How about we started something now" and swung at Chris and missed. Chris hit josh, josh fell and my sister was standing nearby. Josh got up and decked my sister as hard as he could in the mouth. She was knocked unconscious. Chris immediatly started pounding on Josh, someone pulled him off and I ran to my sister. She was on the ground with her eyes rolled back in her head with blood bubbling from her mouth. I paniced. I thought she was dying. I ran over and started stomping Joshs head into the ground, kneed him in the ribs then started hitting him with my fist. He got up and tried to hit me, and Tanner came up and knocked him out again. He got back up, Tanner gave it to him again. He immediatly sprinted off into the woods with some bad injuries.

We finally get my sister to the hospital, she was unconscious on and off for about 30 minutes and suffered a badly busted lip that required stitches and she lost three teeth.'

My sister wants to press charges so that Josh will be forced to pay the medical bills, but josh says he has a lawyer that will stick me, Chris and Tanner with attempted manslaughter if we press charges. The next day, my sister did send messages to Josh saying she was sorry she got to close and it was her fault, and josh replied saying he accidently hit her, and she said that was OK. I'm afraid she messed up doing that....

Just wondering if there is any grounds to what he is saying? I feel bad for what we do but it was a very heated moment. Also, is there any legal way to get JOsh to take responsibility for the medical bills?

Josh has a suspended license currently from a previous DWI and was VERY drunk when the fight happened.

If I left out important details please ask and I will add them here!
Topic:
Other Civil Matters

Answer:
 From your narrative, everyone but your sister committed crimes here.

You are all potentially facing criminal charges, and civil lawsuits for financial damages from anyone who was injured.

You sister could also sue the ex in civil court for her financial damages.

As for the criminal charges all but one of you are potentially facing, this is not a decision made by any of you. These will result if (a) a police report is filed and (b) the prosecutor/DA decides to prosecute. An individual does not get to decide to "press charges" (or actually press charges). Nor do you get to decide what those charges be.

Have any of this been reported to the police?Answer #2: > She was on the ground with her eyes rolled back in her head with blood bubbling from her mouth. I paniced. I thought she was dying. I ran over and started stomping Joshs head into the ground

Not relevant to your question, but I have to ask: Why was it more important to stomp on Josh's head than to try to save your sister's life?


Title: Should I have been notified by the police?

Question:
Hi y'all,

I have a question regarding whether or not the police should have contacted me concerning issues with the caretaker at my ranch property in Colorado.

For some background, the caretaker lives rent free in the apartment above our barn on the property. We cover their utilities, said person does not pay rent, but we have them sign a rent agreement with stipulations on who can stay in the apartment, pets, etc.

A little over a year ago we were informed that someone was living at the apartment with her, something laid out in the agreement that had to be run by us. They did not do this, and we warned her that another violation would lead to her termination.

Fast forward to last week when we receive messages from someone claiming to be "involved" with our caretaker, laying out a laundry list of ways she has been screwing us; as well as hitting us up for money we "owed". We did not respond, but obviously our interest was piqued.

We contacted the local sheriffs office to see if there were any police reports on our property we weren't aware of. Lo and behold, after talking to the police, there are 10 police incidents in the last year or so, including two being investigated by the local DA's office involving our property (she would have been the only person on the property during all of these times.) We are waiting on the full reports to be sent to us to confirm our suspicions.

My question is, as the property owner, should I have been notified by the police about these incidents? The barn is my property and she is a renter, but I was only informed of this after being tipped off and contacting the police myself.

I have no idea on any of this so any input would be great! Thanks!
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 They don't have to notify you.

In the course of my investigations, it is rare for me to contact a property owner *unless* they are a victim of a crime, I need confirmation on information provided by a renter or I suspect them of committing a crime.

Think of it like an apartment complex.  I don't contact the apartment complex owners every time a crime is committed on their property, an arrest is made or an investigation is conducted.


Title: NY state family court

Question:
My ex wife and I have joint custody of my daughter, she is 11 years old. Her mother has physical custody. She met a guy two months ago, went to visit him in Louisiana for two weeks. I missed my schedualed visits bc of this. I have previous missed several visits due to her being mad at me and refusing to let me see my child. She did not tell me she was leaving state and when i found out I filed a petition to violate her for breaking our custody order. I further petitioned the court for full custoday. I have received the court papers back and we have court the 15th of October. I found out through her aunt that she is leaving the state to move with said guy. I txt her and told her I did not agree with it and did not want my child to leave state. I told her we have court and sent her pictures of our court papers. She also has another child with another man. They dont have a custoday agreement but he has a court date scheduled for the 10th of this month. She is leaving the state today. She has no job, lived in 5 places within 2 years. Has had several cps cases against her and they are always unfounded bc NY daughter will not speak up. She had hit my daughter and I made a police report. The cops cant do anything bc of no bruising. My daughter also missed 19 days of school last year. I can prove all of this.

Is what shes doing legal? What if she is never served? Can I tell the courts she is leaving abruptly bc we are trying to take her to court?

Answer:
 It's called "Custody Interference". Nothing you can do about it until Monday. Do you have a lawyer?Answer #2: In NY if there is an existing custody order a parent can’t simply move out of state. That is a violation of the order.

I’ve handled cases with similar fact patterns and basically I had the judge issue an order that the child be immediately returned to NY. Then I had to deal with the other state (CA in that case) to enforce it. It was a real pain but mostly because the guy was hard to find.

Anyway, your attorney needs to speak with the court ASAP and explain the situation.

This kind of thing - if she actually goes through with it - is a likely basis for losing physical custody. That is something else you might want to discuss with your attorney.

*Editing to add: I just realized you already know most of this based on the steps you’ve already taken. So much for lawyers reading things closely.


Title: Has my girlfriend been fired from school for wrongful termination?

Question:
My girlfriend is a teachers assistant for pre k at a catholic school in our community. Yesterday she was fired by the principal over "gross" accusations of another teacher.

On the 21st, another teaching assistant who works with kindergarten found extremely graphic pictures and videos,  roughly 100 all together, over 2 weeks, of the teacher's two children, 5 and 2 naked, in different positions, playing together, painting, sleeping, running around the house, standing still, full frontal nudity, pictures of their bottoms only, etc. In one video the daughter says to stop recording, you know you're not supposed to do that. There was not a photo with their clothes on. My girlfriend, told the teacher and assistant to goto the principal about this. That night, my girlfriend received a text from the principal saying she wants to have a meeting. What happened in that meeting was truly insane. My girlfriend was basically called a pervert, someone who gossips about child porn, someone who invades another teachers privacy, she was basically attacked. My girlfriend brought up many points how it was on school property, how this teacher has a history of doing bad things to children, such as calling them white trash, spics, n*ggers, etc, the principal did not care, and said that they she invaded her privacy, and that this teacher could lose her children over her lies. This is all recorded and on tape. When my girlfriend brought up that she was not the one who found it, nor talked to anyone about it, she said that because the person who found it was from a different culture, that it may not be ok in their culture, but those type of pictures are ok in hers. The principal then gives the teacher the school owned ipad to delete any pictures on their. She never brought in anyone else to ask them what was on it, she herself never looked to see what was on it. She took the teachers word for it. Other things on the recording state my girlfriend was attacked by this teacher and nothing happened, that she doesn't teach, and the principal doesn't do anything.

My question is, where do we go from here? The authorities? Lawyer up?

Answer:
 What state?

> This is all recorded and on tape.

Who recorded it, and was it a secret recording?


Title: My high school used student's instagram photos in the year book without permission. Is this legal? What should I do?

Question:
I'm not sure how to react to this. The yearbooks have already been printed and handed out. The photos were from both private and public accounts. Thoughts on the situation?

edit: this is in California
Topic:
Intellectual Property

Answer:
 I wouldn't raise a financial or legal case over this, but the principle here is quite important and should be addressed. Copyright exists, messing with copyright can have serious consequences, and the students need to be learning this. Putting the year book together is supposed to be educational.

This, for example, is very sketchy:

> The photos were from both private and public accounts.

Whichever faculty/staff member that was supposed to be supervising this dropped the ball pretty badly.

I'd talk to the principal, about the principle. (sorry)


Title: [MN] I took pictures of someone in their home from a public area. Can I legally post these pictures online?

Question:
My neighbors are voyeurs, and have been having sex in front of open windows. Gross. I've asked them to stop, they haven't.

Today I took a picture of them while they were doing it and their faces are visible. They demanded I delete them and told them I'm going to post it online, because I took it legally (there were no curtains, no fence, etc indicating they want privacy. I took it from a public sidewalk.

Is it legal to post it online?

Answer:
 I think you mean exhibitionist. You would be the voyeur in this story :)

What purpose could posting this online possibly serve?  If this is illegal in your state, then report it to the police.Answer #2: > Is it legal to post it online?

Is it sexually explicit?

If so, you will need a model release, a copy of their ID, and a list of any aliases they've ever used. You will also need to affix an address to any web page displaying or distributing the images where the aforementioned records are available to the Attorney General for inspection at all reasonable times.


Title: Crazy neighbors tries to steal land with old quitclaim... and now we can't go on our own land, but they can...

Question:
Hi all, this story is crazy, but is happening to us. We bought land from a guy (Gerry) who inherited it from his father, his brother (Jerry) got half the land and he got half as well. Jerry sold his land to a family, a survey was done and they closed. The land bought by the first family was 80 acres, leaving the other 80 acres to the west. The family learned that the other 80 acres has a spring on it and try to buy from Gerry his half, he refuses as they ask for way less then the land was appraised for. After one years they find a old quitclaim that has a different layout described in it, this layout puts the spring on their land. They talk to Gerry about it and he does not agree. next year we buy the land, not knowing what they were trying to do.

We got a survey done and closed, the survey agreed with the neighbors survey, and all parties involved signed that it was correct.

Two months later we get a call from the realtor that the neighbor was threatening to sue her for selling "Their land". Nothing happens for four months, not one legal filing, and then our survey stakes get pulled up. We documented and replaced the stakes, we were reluctant to call the police but should have...

Now it has been a year, we went on a walk and found the stake replacements all gone, nothing is left, we call the Sharif and he documents the theft, as well as tracks going on to our land. He says he will serve them, this never happens.

One month later, we find that they have taken our no trespassing signs, it is agreed that this should "not be reported" against my advice. How ever a documented all the evidence with pictures. Not going to say who keeps shooting down my advice but they are to cool about this...

The following weeks they threatened to kill me, the Sharif did nothing, put a 16.5 acre "no mans land" on our land and made it so we can not go on it at all. Our own restraining order that we got when our lives were threatened was turned against us.

Today we got in the mail were they have claimed they saw us on the contested land and that we are in contempt of court.

We have been careful not to do that, and the only reason why we are being accused is because we videoed the neighbor on the contested land digging for water.

On top of all this we have been falsely accused of, putting no trespassing signs on their land, cutting a fence, attacking on of their horses, and trespassing on their land...

The land that is contested is not marked out, so it is were ever the neighbor wants it to be. He has even claimed that our house, which is 100 feet away from the contested area is in it.

And to top it all the Sharif has done nothing despite the pilling evidence...

What can one do?

We have review the documents that they claim give them our land, and had a lawyer break out laughing because of how BS they were.

But we are not laughing, my mom is leaving because she feels it is not safe to live here anymore... maybe she has a point.

They only help we are getting is from the title company who insured the title for 99,000 dollars. They are sending a lawyer from out east to help with this.

We live south of Dove Creek Co.

Answer:
 You have a lawyer, talk to your lawyer.

Things could have been handled differently, but it's too late for much of that now. Share what you have with the lawyer being sent to represent you, and let him do his thing.Answer #2: That bit about there being another quitclaim deed that apparently puts the property lines in a different place is interesting.  That's probably why the title company is sending you a lawyer, because if that's true somebody fucked up over there.

With regards to the stakes, call your county and ask about what to do when someone removes those stakes and how to report it.  They should take it from there.

Seriously consider getting several "trail" cameras and setting them up pointed toward the disputed land.  This way you can prove when and where people are going, including yourself. Answer #3: What is your question?


Title: I tracked my ex sister bc of the break up but it was worst than i thought, i also let my feelings slip and made a horrible mistake.

Question:
Backrgound abour me and my ex, he is from florida im from philippines, we talked for a week and got into eachother then we had a fight one time and he threaten to kill himself if i dont give him a chance, now what happen id that in that first intense fight he text me saying he has a gun and swearing that he'll shot him self but end up just accidentally shotting his thighs, the police came he explain he was cleaning the gun and they just confiscate the gun and that happen 2 weeks ago, so in april 3p we had a fight and then he goes saying "this is the last straw, im done" then delete hjs whatsapp blocked my phone number and ignore all my message the whole day, that whole day i was having panic attack and suicidal thought bc im worried if something might happen and for me idc if  he's done all i wanna know of if he is okay.

 Well.. i just finish studying IT and it wasnt hard to trace him here  he didnt told me his job but he send me picture of him with his jobs uniform so i figured the place, and then use his phone number and some google search , image reverse, and use like other website that u have to pay to see the public records, i found his cousins and his sister. Before he send me tons of picture in his phone and i saw some people there and my phone automatically save pic tyat i view in whatsapp so i use those picture if who's who and contact saying like "hey i know thos sound so creappy but im just worried about luis, im his ex/gf and he hasnt contact me yet the lats time we fight he had a guy shot his thighs 'accidentally' so im worried. He is a perfext guy and i hurted him im sorry, if you could help me reach out to him that'll be helpfull".

After they seen the message i sent he called me in whats app mad and said he hate mes and that i ruin his life, i told him that it wasnt my intention and confuse why would they hate him instead of hating me, he got slap by my sister and he said that if i ever contact them again they will disown him i  his family and that he will be out his family will, when he said that he was crying and beging. I was mad but it wasnt an excuse to do what i did but i was so mad i kinda end up blackmailing him, and i told him ill stop but he have to give me money, then his parents got involve and told him that i have to understand that he isnc rich like what he said and that he will be disown so i said okay , deleted everything and block and deleted all the message i sent. Tho before that when his parents wasnt in the picture he was mad at me and asked for my fb password and my IG password so he could be sure that i delete everything.

I know its my fault but if they tried to sue me, what will they sue me for?? There no proof that i was blackmailing them bc i said that in the phone and he deleted all our message, he was scared bc i had nudes and well he also have my nudes but i barely give a fuck if he post it in anymore but he does, tho i already deleted them.

Tldr; i tracked my ex sister to check if he isnt in bad or in okay situation, end up making things worst by contacting his family and now he is being threaten to get disowned and bc of my frustration and immature decision in life i blackmail him but dismiss it after his parents got involve. I deleted all the information i have which is just his phone number and his family fb.
Topic:
Computer and Internet

Answer:
 What did I just read...Answer #2: No contact from now on. None.

Block him, block his sister, block everyone related to him. Delete his phone number.

Edit: What you did is called stalking and blackmail and is illegal in the US, don't do that again.


Title: Unknowingly cashed a fake check

Question: Hi, so y’all don’t have to let me know how dumb this is, because I know, but I let my bud use my bank account to cash a check that I now know was counterfeit. The bank called me and said they need the money back in my account and I no longer have contact with this friend. It was about 750$. What should I do and what could happen to me?

Answer:
 You need to pay that money back to the bank, plain and simple.

You can sue your buddy for the costs.


Title: [California] One of my friends rejected a job offer for a mutual friend a few months ago. Said friend just found out today, is there any legal recourse he can persue?

Question:
One of my friends (let's call him Bobby) graduated college in June of 2016. He thought he had a job lined up through a friend of his family back in his hometown that was exactly what he wanted to do. He went in for an interview, which his family friend made clear was simply to go through the motions.

When he didn't hear back from them, he was devastated and just assumed he fucked up the interview, or something better came along.

A few weeks later, a mutual friend of ours, who was our roommate at the time, admitted that he had seen Bobby's phone ringing, had answered it, and it was the agency Bobby had interviewed at offering him the position. The mutual friend claimed that he was Bobby and that he had found better employment elsewhere and that the interviewer could stuff her finger up her own ass. I didn't tell Bobby as at the time it would only hurt him more.

Well, bobby found out. Apparently last month the same agency posted pretty much the exact same listing online, so he decided to write a sincere, polite email to HR informing them he still was interested in the job, and could demonstrate how the past several months had improved his candidacy. And a few hours later an HR woman called him, pretty much saying, "You have nerve contacting us again after what happoned last time, and from whom he learned of his past exploits. Needless to say he still didn't get the job.

My only question is if Bobby has any legal recourse against the mutual friend?

Answer: There isn't a legal recourse for this issue. But you should go tell the mutual friend "hi" for me and that the world thinks he's a straight up asshole.


Title: UPS won't pay for 3D printer damaged during shipment due to not declaring a value before shipment, even though they admit fault

Question:
My friend posted this on Facebook, so I will let you all read what he wrote (he lives in Florida):

> As you all know from my previous post UPS had dropped my 5,250 dollar 3D printer during shipment. Ups of course denied my claim stating that my box (supplied by Airwolf 3D) was not strong enough to support my packages weight. With this being said I contacted Airwolf asking if they could help me out with documentation proving that their boxes were indeed strong enough to support the weight of my machine. Their response? We have shipped thousands of these printers and have no problem helping you out. I contacted ups and informed them that I wanted the machine picked up for an actual inspection, let me tell you this machine could not have been packed any better than it was. Besides the factory foam we added 6 pieces of ready pack foam to support all corners of the machine so I knew this was packed perfect; Along with adding 123242 fragile stickers on the box. Ups picked up the machine two Friday's ago (even though there computer system says they never did) I then got a phone call around 7pm est time Friday 9th from a woman named Jonyl at Ups Ohio, she asked me where I wanted the "damaged packaged" to be returned to, I then informed her of the situation and how it was there for an inspection to prove my point that UPS damaged my machine. She told me "she would investigate and call back". 9pm that evening jonyl calls me apologetic and states that "sir, this package could not be packed any better, in fact it is one of the best jobs we have seen" she continued by telling me she had filed "paperwork" to have the claim reversed as she told me "I know 100% this happens when being shipped with our company". In fact she told me while inspecting the package an employee came up and told her that "he recognized that package and remembered the box, he had seen that box fall off of a loading dock" the machine "was picked right up (after falling 5-7ft)(weighs 80lbs) and put right on the conveyor belt. She then told me she would do everything in her power to make UPS pay the damages. The only catch would be that ups could not return the printer, but would pay for a replacement. I was told the paperwork would take about 2-3 business days and expect a phone call back. I was beyond happy with UPS at this point, they were taking action to better a negative situation. Well...... Friday the 18th around 7pm jonyl calls me back, a 1 minute and 13 second conversation. I was told that since my company did not put a declared value that it was not UPS's problem, and that I was on my own. She continued to tell me she would ship it home to me and "cover the cost". At this point I was nearly in tears (yes I'm man enough to say that) a loss of this kind is crucial within small business, I swallowed my gut and accepted this as a loss but maybe just maybe Airwolf (printer manufacturer) could help me rebuild the machine. Guess what? I received the machine back today.... With 200% more in damages, I could barely take the machine out of the box, 3 of the four corners were destroyed and the box looked like it had been hit by a truck. Now I am beyond pissed the f*^* off, I need your help. A company of this size should be ashamed of themselves to do this to people and leave them hanging with nothing. This is a 5500 loss and UPS does not give two shits.........
Last, I would like to recognize Airwolf 3D, they have been extremely helpful to me over the last two weeks. The customer service within their company is 5 stars. This machine (The Axiom) is built like a TANK and is an expensive product and well worth the money. So thanks again to BLAKE and Wyatt at airwolf YOU GUYS ROCK! This machine was not just dropped it was demolished over 2 weeks in the hands of UPS.

Does he have any recourse here? If the company which sold him the printer has prior documentation that their product sells for a certain price, isn't UPS obligated to pay for damaged property? Whether it is $10 or $10,000, UPS admitted to having caused the irreparable damaged. What can he do? Thanks, /r/legaladvice!

Answer:
 So really this comes down to "was it insured" and if so "was it insured for the correct amount."

If the answer those are no, then you are hosed in regards to the carrier payingAnswer #2: * You are correct, UPS does not care about him.
* UPS's relationship is with the *shipper.* The *shipper* is the one who paid for the shipping, and the insurance (if the insurance exists).
* UPS contracts are *extremely, mind-numbingly clear* about the fact that packages that do not have insurance *are not insured.*
* Your friend needs to take it up with *the shipper.* They are responsible for 1. How the package was shipped, 2. Who they shipped it with, and 3. What level of insurance was purchased.Answer #3: The printer company (the shipper) is trying to cut down on shipping costs by not insuring the item for its full value (UPS, like other shippers, sells insurance - typically in $100 increments).

Your friend needs to contact the printer company again and ask why they didn't insure the package. Answer #4: Packages are insured for a certain amount. If you're shipping an expensive item, you pay more to cover the insurance.

If you under-declare an item's value, you're not (fully) covered if something goes wrong. You take the risk of losing out to save some money.

Who arranged for shipping and (mis)declared the value of the item? You or the manufacturer?

If it was you, you fucked up and you eat the cost.

If it was the manufacturer, they still owe you a refund or the machine. It was them who failed to insure the machine properly.


Title: I left my bike unchained. Someone has taken it, moved it and has put their own chain on it. Can I legally break their chain to get it back?

Question:
For clarification I live in an apartment block, the bike was left unchained (foolishly I know) in the bike stands in the basement, although I thought there was less chance that someone would steal it because the front wheel was broken.

I came down this morning and couldn't find it, I looked around and found someone had moved it to across the basement to the other bike stands, relatively out of sight from where it was. It was chained up and not only that but they had fixed the front wheel, the bike looked in perfect condition. I'm 100% that it is the same bike, there's no coincidence here.

So far I've contacted my building's security and left a note on the bike telling the thief to call me, although there's nothing stopping the person just ignoring the note and hiding the bike somewhere else. Their chain looks a bit flimsy, do I have any legal right to be able to break their chain and take back my bike? I live in Ireland if that helps for advice with the law.

Answer:
 Step 1: Secure your own lock to the bike so that the stolen property cannot be removed from the site.

Step 2: Call a police officer to investigate. Explain your bike was stolen, you found it, verified that it's yours based on pictures and a serial number, and there's a lock on it.

Step 3: Allow police to file a report, possibly giving you permission to cut lock, depending on what sort of investigating, if any, they choose to do.

Answer #2: No, you can call the police and report what happened and let them handle it. That's who you call when someone steals from you. Answer #3: > I'm 100% that it is the same bike, there's no coincidence here.

Can you match the frame/serial #?Answer #4: So lock up your bike, and figure out how to prove that it's yours. Receipts, Facebook pictures of you on it, whatever.

They'll take their lock off eventually, or complain and out themselves as a thief when you prove it's yours.Answer #5: You don't necessarily know the person who has your bike now is the person who stole it. They could have bought it from somebody thinking they were buying from the owner. So don't go accusing people of crimes you don't have evidence to support.  They are in possession of stolen property but that doesn't prove they stole it.Answer #6: Is it possible that because the front wheel was broken and it was unlocked someone thought it was trash?


Title: Ideas on printing modified money for profit?

Question:
Its easy to find the laws about reproducing paper money. Sizes, disposal of templates, etc. I can't seem to find anything on printing a modified bill for profit - when its on metal or wood.

I sell custom prints online, and I have a series of bills printed on metal or wood substrates - 400% larger than actual size - while replacing the ben franklin with another person.

Is it legal to leave serial numbers, signatures or symbols intact on the bill, when the most blaring visual aspect of it has been replaced? Are there laws regarding the extent of modification required to hold intellectual property rights to it? And if so, do any of them even hold any weight when you're printing on a substrate that doesnt even resemble paper?

Just today, I saw a girl walking around with leggings that had 100$ bills printed all over it. She had an amazing ass, but I doubt she made those herself. Someone is profiting legally. I am contemplating a consultation with the proper legal expert, or treasury department. I just started on this project and will be putting in work this week, it would be awesome if anyone had any insight on this so I didnt walk into the situation completely stumped.

Cheers

Answer:
 Here are the Secret Service guidelines on colored "illustrations" of currency:

http://www.secretservice.gov/money_illustrations.shtml

The relevant section would seem to be that illustrations are allowed if:

>The illustration is of a size less than three-fourths or more than one and one-half, in linear dimension, of each part of the item illustrated

So the cutoff is 150% of the size, and less than that and you could face a counterfeiting prosecution. You said 400%, so you should be okay.

Intellectual property rights don't really come into it - copying money is regulated by counterfeiting laws, but the design of money itself would presumably be in the public domain since it comes from the federal government.


Title: Sued an employer in small claims, won and collected. Now they've sent me a 1099-MISC, is this correct?

Question:
[Texas] They've put what I collected from them in Box 7, Nonemployee compensation. The amount they've filled in includes the court costs I sued for and won.
Is this correct? Is this what is supposed to happen?

EDIT: I should include that I sued for unpaid wages + court fees.

Answer:
 >According to the tax code, the only damages you can enjoy tax-free are those that compensate you for physical injury or physical sickness.

[Source](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/question-won-lawsuit-pay-tax-award-28353.html)

It's considered income.


Title: What recourse do I have against a suspected fraudster/identity thief?

Question:
**I flaired this with "Criminal Law" because I believe this to qualify as criminal, not civil. But if I'm wrong, please let me know so I can change the flair.**

**Backstory**: I'm going to try and keep this short. I'm engaged to a man (we will call him Mike) who in his past was a victim of identity theft in a serious way. In his young adulthood, he was struggling with an illness that rendered him somewhat incapable of supporting himself. An awful man (we will call him Peter) came along and offered to "take him in and take care of him." But what he did was use all of Mike's personal info to create accounts in his name, collect Mike's subsidies and benefits from his disease, and told Mike's friends and family that he was dead. He kept Mike separated from the outside world while he used his identity for financial gain. Mike was able to get away from Peter many years ago, and no charges were pressed at the time; he just moved on with his life and rarely heard from Peter again.

Current day, I am engaged to Mike and love him very much. But recently, his bank account was hacked and drained, and we received notification from an unfamiliar bank that someone had tried to open a checkless debit account in Mike's name. We don't yet have proof, but we strongly suspect it may be Peter again. We know that Peter knows Mike's SSN, and his personally identifiable information, including his DOB, past addresses, and parent's maiden names. This is supported by the fact that Peter also happened to reach out to Mike's brother a few days ago to "say hi."

**Question:** How can we investigate to see if all of this is Peter's doing? And if it is, what recourse do we have against him?
Topic:
Criminal Law

Answer:
 >How can we investigate to see if all of this is Peter's doing?

You can hire a PI which will be very expensive. The smart thing is to contact the police and let them do their job.Answer #2: Immediately freeze his accounts with all three credit bureaus to prevent it from happening again.


Title: Mom (56) has worked for the school system for 20 years. She has cancer and her doctor said to take 6 weeks off of work, but she can't because the school board will withhold part of her paycheck. Is this legal?

Question:
Okay, so let me give you as many details as I can:

My mom has worked as a paraprofessional in southern Georgia for 19-20 years. Last fall, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but has always continued to go to work throughout her chemo/radiation. She only ever takes sick days for surgeries.

Two weeks ago she caught a bad virus that somehow led to a serious abcess on her back. She's been incredibly ill and in pain, so she stayed home from work to recover. She went to the doctor on Monday and he wrote a note saying that she should not return to work for another 4 weeks because it would be dangerous for her health.

The school board now says that she'll exceed her number of allowed sick days and they'll withhold her summer salary if she misses this much work.

Besides the fact that I'm obviously upset because this is disgusting and unfair, are they legally allowed to do this if she has a doctor's notice? Would she have any sort of legal way to fight this?

*ninja edit: missed a word

Answer:
 Entirely legal. A doctors note doesn't obligate them to pay her beyond her accrued sick leave balance. Does she have disability insurance?  This isn't "withholding her pay". That would be if she worked and they didn't pay her.

She should get the below document completed by her doctor and given to her work to make sure her FMLA rights are protected.

http://www.dol.gov/whd/forms/wh-380-e.pdfAnswer #2: You want her to be paid for time she is not working??

If she has used up all her paid leave days, then what else can the school do. They will allow her to take time off and not lose her job, but you can't expect someone to be forced to pay for someone not to work. Typically insurance comes into to play here, or if your mother has an employment contract or the position bargaining agreement that comes into play.

But to be paid for work she won't be able to do, a doctors note does not get her to be paid.

Your mother needs to rest, and when she is able resume work and at that point resume pay. If you think there are any issues review any employment contract your mother may have and speak your mother's insurance providers regarding lost wages.


Title: (Nevada) Mom and Dad are getting a divorce. Mom seems suicidal. Story and questions.

Question:
Here we go

Parents married in NV. Divorce happening in NV. Married for almost 30 years. Dad works, mom stayed home to raise us. Dad makes about 65k a year. They rent, are poor (lost their house about 10 years ago, never really recovered), and have no kids (we're older adults and moved out). The only property is their accumulated shit over 30 years in their rental. Dad bought a new car months before starting the divorce to commute to work. Dad just wants his car because he commutes to his work and his clothes, everything else she can keep.

Mom mistreating Dad last few years, Dad says he has enough and initiates divorce. Mom makes comments about ending it all, another family member calls cops and she is put in mental hospital for a couple days. Dad gets medical bill, because she is on his insurance. Dad is on paycheck to paycheck between all the bills.

Mom constantly harasses him, accuses him of cheating, saying he is ruining the family. Overdraws his bank account. He moved in with me and pays rent, but is late because she overdraws his account. She crashed the other car under strange circumstances (possibly under the influence, unknown because no police report) and Dad has to pay for rental car weekly. Mom wants him to sign over title.

Dad has his own lawyer which he communicates with frequently. So does mom. I remind him to tell his lawyer everything and to ask his lawyer if can cut contact with my mom. I don't think he is being honest with the lawyer because he is embarassed that his soon to be ex-wife is a nutjob and he doesn't want her to be without anything.

Dad is aware she gets half his 401k and pension automatically. Mom thinks she is going to get my dad to pay for her to go back to school, pay for her health insurance, pay 1000's in alimony leaving him without a paycheck to survive on. Mom has her parents to run to in NV. Her parents are old and about to die in the next 5-10 years. She will inherit a house that she can't afford and (I'm assuming) she wants as much alimony as possible so she can live there without working. Mom thinks she is going to get a lot of money including what is required by law, mom's lawyer hasn't said much besides requesting financial information, dad's lawyer wants to go to trial to bring all of this shit up in court. Lawyers can't agree on anything, mom's lawyer isn't responding, dad's lawyer requested to go before a judge in July with the court.

My legal questions:

1.) I know alimony isn't calculated in Nevada, but requires a lot of factors. Based on what is above, how much can my Mom really fuck my Dad over in alimony?

2.) My mom is sending me strange farewell texts. She does this like every other night and appears to be daring me and other family members to call the cops. The problem is that the medical bills will just keep going to my dad, which I think is her intention. She just wants to fuck him over. I don't know what I legally have to do, because I don't know what the fuck she is doing.

3.) Does my mom being suicidal, or trying to appear to be suicidal impact anything in the divorce? I'm not sure if my dad is being truthful when he tells me, he tells his lawyer everything.

4.) Does the constant harassment and overdraft of accounts impact alimony in NV based on the above circumstances?

5.) Can I tell my dad's lawyer things about my mom, so he is properly aware? Only facts and what she tells me in messages. My dad also has everything saved from her.

Answer:
 Your father needs to separate his finances from hers.  He needs his own bank account that is separate from her and he needs to stop putting his money into an account that she has access to (he can give her an "allowance" if he wants to share his money with her).  I don't know about health insurance, but I don't see why he HAS to have health insurance that covers her.

WRT your parents putting you in the middle of their problems and your mother's depression and suicidal threats, I suggest that YOU get some serious support/therapy because that can be MUCH harder to deal with than you think.


Title: [FLORIDA] Business owner trademarks a word belonging to small state in the South Pacific

Question:
(Article)[https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2018/09/fijians-outraged-as-us-businessman-trademarks-bula.html]

A businessman in Florida has trademarked the word "Bula" which means hello by the people of Fiji.

What sort of recourse is available to any Fijian who wishes to dispute this?
Where and how and who should raise the complaint against the use of this trademark?

Answer:
 The word “Hello” in English is also part of many registered trademarks.

There’s nothing you can do.


Title: [Georgia] Tree on property line plus Zip Line

Question:
There is a large oak that predates our neighborhood that straddles the property line between us and our neighbor. Our neighbor has installed a zip line onto the tree without asking.

Beyond the permission issue, do I have any increased liability should some kid get hurt on this zip line since it is attached to a tree that is partially in our yard?

Thanks,

Answer: Does the zip line go from the tree to another anchor point on their property (which would make the entire useable part of the line on *their* lot) - or did they run this zip line right down the property line as well?


Title: [Toronto, Ontario] Ex-landlord wants an extra month's rent since he couldn't rent out our apartment for March 1st. We gave sufficient 60 days written notice. Is he in the right?

Question: My boyfriend and I gave much more than 60 days written notice to move out of our apartment on March 1st. When we found out our landlord who (ever since we moved in) had been giving us a hard time for no reason was moving into the basement, we decided to give our notice, technically breaking our lease one month early. In our lease agreement it stated that if we broke the lease early we would owe half a month's rent but this was never brought up by him. While we lived there, he would email us on the regular wanting to do unwarranted inspections and then lecture us about the apartment, to the point that we couldn't deal with it anymore and we had to move out. On the evening of March 1st we received an email from him saying that since he couldn't rent out our unit for March 1st, we owed him one month's rent for March. Now he's threatening to take us to small claims court. Is he in the right? Does anybody have any advice for us?

Answer: What does your lease also say about his duty to attempt to rent the unit or what damages he's owed if he can't?Answer #2: If the conditions for breaking the lease were already fulfilled, I don't really think the LL can go back and tack on more rent, especially since both parties signed a contract with those specific conditions listed.


Title: [NJ] Did Obama Violate The Vienna Convention?

Question: I was reading online about the 35 Russian Diplomats that where expelled from 2 US political properties, And Wiki Leaks Tweeted about how Obama Might have Violated that Vienna Convention. What Kind of consequences can Obama face for violating an International Law?

Answer: You can expel foreign nationals from your country for nearly any reason. They're here due to relationships, and relationships alone. Nothing he did was wrong, and Wiki Leaks isn't the most reliable source for law breaking, considering, ya know, how they literally break the law every day.


Title: My job has been "overpaying" for ~6 months, now that they realized it they took away half of my last paycheck to cover their loss, now I'm going to miss my rent payment

Question: I work for a local pizza shop in Wisconsin as a manager/driver. My last paycheck was about $400 less than it usually is and was written as a personal check by the owner. When I called him and asked why my check was so small, he said that they had been "overpaying me" when working as a driver (I make $6/hr + tips as a driver) by $1/hr for last six months or so, so they added up how much I was overpaid and subtracted that from my current paycheck. Now I'm going to miss my rent payment for the month which will cost me a $250 late fee. Is there anything I can do about this?

Answer: Did you get pay stubs? In some States like CA this would not be legal but it is in WI.


Title: I co-signed a mortgage for my gf. I own my home outright. If she goes delinquent on her mortgage can the mortgage company come after me and take the house I own?

Answer:
 You mean if both or you go delinquent on your shared mortgage not if she goes delinquent on hers. You are equally responsible for payments.

Can they come after you for money? Yes. Can they take your house? Probably not, but you didn't provide a location. *You* need to be proactive about this and monitor the account to make sure all payments are being made and make them yourself if they aren't, because that's what you agreed to do.


Title: [CA] Can I sue a former coworker for libel?

Question: Private text messages were attached to a company wide email of us arguing.

Answer:
 It's not libel if you actually sent those text messages.Answer #2: Libel is, amongst other requirements, [the publication of a statement of fact that is false](http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/california-defamation-law).

Are these text messages altered in some way to make it appear as if you said something you didn't say?


Title: Suing a Korean gym for damages and negligence after a bad whiplashh injury and TBI ensuing unsupervised sparring as an absolute beginner

Question:
Hello everyone,

I was studying international business for one semester as an exchange student in Chuncheon (near Seoul) and I joined the University's boxing club to try out the sport as an absolute beginner. We trained at this small but well equipped gym near the University (not belonging to the university though and run by two independent trainers)

After about 1 month of training I was asked to do sparring by this very experienced guy (he is Korea's University champion right now) and he basically punched my head off with a hook to the chin for no reason at all during the sparring.

I got a TBI and a very bad whiplash that disrupted my health and made my academic performance plummet for a whole year.

Now, after spending about 1000+ euros in treatments and hundreds of sleepless nights due to the headaches and the sleep disturbances that ensued the injury I will have to go back to that city for working.
I estimate I will need at least another 1000 euros for getting back in shape with physical therapy.

I want to sue the gym for not providing the right kind of surveillance (anyone with less than 6 months of experience shouldn't be allowed to do even light sparring) and I would like to get a refund plus a compensatory sum by the court. I say around 10.000 euros.

How would that work in Korea for a foreigner?

Thanks for the help.
Cheers

Answer: Did you sign a gym membership when you started? it could also have been in the paperwork you signed to go to school there. It probably contained a waiver for this exact situation, the gym didn't force you to spar with someone and I have no doubt they provided protective equipment and safe conditions for you to make grownup choices.


Title: Police officers Picking and choosing

Question: [deleted]

Answer: It's legal unless motivated by a protected characteristic like race or orientation.


Title: This may sound wierd, but....

Question:
I'm wondering about the legality of Faking my funeral. Hosting a fake funeral.

I've thought about it, by no means do i need/want to fake my death, thats not what this is about.

I want to know how many people would really show up, I've been to funerals and wakes where hated people had few guests and many, and vice versa.

If i had thirty to fifty thousand dollars, to pay an attorney to make it look legitimate, by pulling the right strings through the police station, Fire dept, mortuary, news paper outlets, and my work, to make a legitimate case for an unidentifiable corpse, fake corpse/closed casket and no body i.d.-ing required kind of wake/funeral.

(Not all that money wouldgo to the attorney, most would go toward the officials for wasting their time and the funeral home for the service)

While the people who show up are all finally gathered, i will of course have to reveal myself.

I just want to know if a real fair amount of people will care enough to show up or not.

Ultimately it could alter the way i view and live my life.

Is this legal?

Missouri, usa.

Answer:
 Not really legal advice, but if someone did to me what you want to do to your friends and family, I would never speak to them again. It is super fucked up to let everyone think your dead so you can jump out and yell surprise. Answer #2: This is one of the few cases where I can see someone getting sued for intentional infliction of emotional distress.Answer #3: If I pulled such a thing with my friends and family, the real funeral would be about an hour later, because they would murder me.

Find a new plan, Tom Sawyer. Answer #4: INAL but, as far as I'm aware, it is not illegal to fake your own death as long as you are not doing so to commit some type of fraud. Bear in mind, you may still get sued for doing something like this if it causes someone to expend money they wouldn't have as a result of your lies.

Also, if you are reported to someone as deceased and get legally listed as such, it will be a nightmare to get it undone. All your credit and bank accounts will be frozen and many other annoying things.Answer #5: You cannot possibly need this much attention.


Title: Mother's husband is a prick

Question:
Currently I live in one of my and my mother's boss's houses, I believe we both are on the lease and we both are paying for all bills, from electric down to the pet food.

For two years now my mother has been with a man who has made very little effort to no effort in looking for a job let alone pay bills. All he does is nag us for moeny to get marijuana, and otherwise plays on the xbox I bought (but am never allowed to use).

For alittle over a year now he was really shown his abusive colors. Our house is filled with holes in walls and doors where once my mother would be standing near during a fight before Matt (the husband) would strike the area beside her in his anger. My mother and I assume that to be displaced anger.

Not only that, but in his rage he's not shy of destroying/trashing our house while holering that we deserve to live in a dump, since it's what we want. He's vulgar and cruel in other ways mind you-- Nearly on the constant he verbally and mentally abuses my mother, but he leaves the physical abuse to our dogs.

I want him out of the house, I have for over a year now... But now it's much more real after I woke up this morning to him strangling and beating his face's dog because she pooped in the bathroom. I have the incident on voice recording, too.

I told my mother about it and she agrees its the last straw. If he does it again, either she or I (who ever is present) are allowed to call the police.

But I dont understand how -I- can have him removed from the property? She has all the power really, but I'm wondering if theres anything I can do if I'm alone with him? Is this a job for police? Could they just take him? He event has a warrant here in Texas and, I think, one in his home state of Arkansas?

I really just don't know what to do. This isnt my first time calling the cops on him though. Two months ago he and my mother got physical after he charged me to steal my phone and smash it when he realized I was recording him.
Topic:
Douche

Answer: Your mother is an adult and you can't make her care that she's married to a trash animal abuser. You can move out, and that's it. Do you honestly believe her "next time," statements? If it was really the finally straw she'd be calling now. The last straw will always be the next straw. Tend your garden and move out.


Title: Insurance provider changed, invisalign coverage no longer covered

Question:
Looking for advice please

I had Cigna Dental under my employer. They were acquired a month after I started the invisalign treatment.  The dental insurance changed to United Health Care. Woo, 7 more months to go.

Due to the 50% coverage the original insurance covered, it was a good time to get invisalign to fix the crowding in my teeth (the company had not told us they were selling us until it was official).  My dentist processed checkups, the new insurance says the age limit is up to 18, I'm 32.

Is there anything I can do to get coverage for invisalign if it's already in the process and/or anything the employer should have offered to us before switching? I would not have gotten invisalign if I had known I would have to pay almost 2K out of pocket, in addition to the other 2K out of pocket.

TL;DR: Insurance changed a month into invisalign, new insurance does not cover the treatment. Is there anything I can do?

Answer:
 See if your new insurance has continuity/transition of care provisions.

Sometimes dental insurance allows for uncovered treatments already in progress to be covered to some extent.


Title: Landlord had property thrown away after fire

Question:
Two weeks ago my refrigerator started a fire in my home which caused extensive damage to the home rendering it uninhabitable.
I was told i could have all the time needed to remove my possessions. I was continously removing my property from the house.  This week  my landlord sent in a cleaning crew. Everything in the garage, which was not involved in the fire, was tossed into a dumpster and hauled away.  They even dumped all of my plants out of my container garden and thew away the pots.  They also thew away boxes that I had hastily packed in the living room and kitchen.
I am wondering if they broke any laws. I was told the day of by email but I am now living 45 minutes away with my wife's family and couldn't get away.  I responded and told them that I still hadn't finished removing my belongings but was told that I had enough time. I had no renter's insurance so I have no way to replace anything. I was trying to salvage as much as I could but now I've lost everything that was left. I don't know what to do.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 Per the Nebraska Disposition of Personal Property Landlord and Tenant Act (§ 69-2301 - § 69-2314), the landlord has to give you written notice of their intent to sell or dispose of personal property that you left on the premises after vacating following the termination of your lease (which likely would have been the date the property was rendered uninhabitable). They must allow you seven days from the date of the notice to reclaim the property if the notice is delivered by hand, or 14 days if it was mailed, and it must be delivered in person or via postal mail; email doesn't count. The notice must also contain certain specific statements regarding the disposition of your property as per § 69-2304. If you didn't receive such a notice or the landlord disposed of your property before the required timeframe, they would be liable under the Act for the value of your belongings plus your attorney fees and court costs should you have to sue them to collect. Answer #2: \>  I was told i could have all the time needed to remove my possessions.

Do you have this in recorded form, by chance? Text message, email, voicemail, letter? If you do, it's great evidence to use when you sue them under the statue /u/phyneas posted.Answer #3: So just to be clear, your landlord was your brother and the person who ordered the cleaning crew (and notified you) was your mother?

Answer #4: Anecdotal- I had a cleaning company tear out my basement post flood due to a frozen pipe. They bagged all non construction damaged property and separated it from the construction debris until an adjuster could witness it. Their foreman spoke with me about how careful they have to be with personal property.


Title: I was applying for an apartment and one of my roommates learned my SSN by mistake. I do not trust this guy. What should I do about it?

Question:
Title says it all.

I filled an application, and a random dude got a copy of it by mistake. It has my SSN and B/D on it. I do not trust this dude. How can I keep myself safe?

Answer:
 [Credit freeze](http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs). You'll need to call all three bureaus to put one in place. That lasts for 90 days, which will be enough to deter most people. Then set up a Credit Karma account and have it e-mail you if you get any hard inquiries on your credit. But unless he actually tries to commit fraud/identity theft, there's no legal action to take against him.

Did the apartment complex give it to him by accident? How exactly was this information released? When there is a security breach, frequently companies have certain obligations (though this varies by state).Answer #2: Watch your credit report.  That's it.


Title: [USA] If a policeman offers you no identifying information, are you obligated to obey their orders?

Question: If they have no badge number, name tag or even a branch insignia showing their alphabet agency, are you legally obligated to comply with what would be a lawful order from a cop, on the grounds that there's no way of telling the difference between them and a non-LEO wearing a costume?

Answer:
 If they’re a sworn law enforcement officer and a reasonable person would understand that? Yes. Cops are generally under no obligation to tell you who they are, who they work for or what they’re doing. I think there might be a state or two that requires them to answer that question, but that doesn’t change your obligation.

If you honestly can’t tell, ie, unmarked vehicle, no uniform, no badge, the general advice is to just ask, or call 911 to confirm. Most cops will understand and will cooperate here, and many agencies have rules about who can initiate stops and what their obligations are around identifying themselves are.

There is some case law (including one relatively minor case featuring my former agency!) where people who refused to comply when there was an honest mistake of fact by the defendant as to the officers identity were ultimately found not guilty on the 148 charge, but that ended up as a defense at trial.


Title: I'm an amputee, and my landlord has stated that they will not allow me to install grab rails in my shower. [Xpost].

Question:
I originally posted this a bit ago in /r/Christianity, as I initially posted it as a prayer request. I will just copy and paste from there, as it's a lot. If you're not a Christian, please disregard the request for prayer. I'm not just copying and pasting it to try and convert anyone or be inflammatory.

At this point, I still haven't heard from my landlord. I am afraid to contact them, as I'm feeling pretty shut down. I can also take screen caps of the texts and post them, if necessary.

Here's the story:

I'm a left leg amputee. I get around pretty well and don't require much in the way of extra support, accommodations, etc. A lot of people don't actually even know I'm an amputee when they first meet me.

Unfortunately, on March 18 I will be having a micro discectomy on my L5-S1 disc. The original plan was to do a fusion, and that's inevitably going to be in my future, but the surgeon kind of thought at the last minute that trying to buy a bit more time with the discectomy is probably the way to go (he's really awesome, I like him a lot).

So I'm obviously kind of preparing my surroundings for being a bit more immobile than usual, and protecting myself from falling (as I'm already a falling hazard (to be fair, I was kind of clumsy before the amputation).

Last night I texted my landlord to inform them of my upcoming surgery and to address 2 issues. First, we live in Colorado (Canon City, about 45 minutes southwest of Colorado Springs). It's actually pretty sunny and dry here, but we've got an unusual amount of snow this winter.

Surrounding my house is a parking area/driveway that is just dirt and stone (and it's a big lot). There's no pavement. It's also clear that there hasn't been new stone laid down in a long time, as it's basically a dirt lot with patches of stone (of course, none of those patches are in convenient areas anymore). It's all been washed away. With the snow and rain we've had, it's now a mud pit.

That was the first issue I texted my landlord about. My wife's and my cars are both suffering significant interior damage from mud, and it's hard to not constantly track it into the house (and taking my shoes off at the door isn't really that easy, for obvious reasons). We can't even take our trash to the dumpster because the worst area of mud is basically forming a moat around the dumpster.
I've never mentioned it to my landlord until now, and was only prompted to do so because of my upcoming surgery, and being worried about slipping in the mud and causing significant damage after surgery (because I have slipped in it a few times).

The other really important thing I texted her about was installing grab-rails in one of our two bathrooms. The bathroom that I use is off of our master bedroom and has a stand-up shower, which are perfect for me. I probably should have grab rails anyway, but will most definitely need them after surgery.

Next I will post the full transcript of her response to my request. For reference, Chris is who texted me, and Rick is her husband:

*Rick said he is afraid the tile will break. When I had my total knees done we got a shower chair and a hand held shower head. It worked great for me. We don't want u to drill into the shower. As for the mud, Rick said he does not want to put any money into the drive way, with the weather in canon it should all b dried up next week. We try to keep the rent reasonable, u have to agree for the quality, and size of the apartment including the utilities it's a pretty sweet deal, any way we just don't feel like we can put rock on the driveway.*

It may not seem like much to those who don't have to deal with this kind of stuff, but I'm absolutely livid. First, there's a level of audacity in saying "well I had this surgery, so you can just what I did". I actually can't. I can't use a shower chair because there's not enough room in the shower, it hurts my leg to rest on an edge like that, and it requires a lot of abdominal and lumbar area muscular use to balance myself and keep from slipping out of it without my prosthetic on. I wouldn't be able to shower because I would have to be holding on the chair to support myself, so I wouldn't have a free hand to use a shower head.

I'm also upset that she tried to guilt me into thinking that because we get a good deal, that I'm essentially not allowed to ask them to keep up the exterior.

The other really important thing here is that they are legally required to allow me to add grab rails to the shower. The Colorado and Federal FHA both state that "reasonable accommodations", at the expense of the tenant, may be made. Both laws specifically cite grab-rails as "reasonable accommodations", too. In fact, the Colorado FHA actually states that showers must have studs behind the walls capable of supporting a grab-rail should it be installed. Also important to note here is that there is no evidence that the tile is fragile or in a position to break.

What's more, both of the laws seem to state that they are required to do something about the mud situation, at their expense. I know that landlord-tenant laws typically state that the external is the responsibility of the landlord, and the interior, save any major repairs, is the responsibility of the tenet.

Here was my response to her:

*I understand the driveway situation, so do you guys have any suggestions then? We can’t even get the trash to the dumpster because of the amount of mud. This isn’t a question of of rent per quality, or having a good deal, it’s about being able to do basic things without causing destruction to my property, your property, or hurting myself. I’m simply asking for suggestions.
In regards to the handrail, I ask that you please understand my situation. Because of the type of amputation I have, the limited space in the shower, and the type of muscular use necessary to sit in a chair without my prosthetic leg on (especially after a back surgery), I simply cannot use a shower chair. It just isn’t the same thing as a knee replacement, nor is it a preference that I’m choosing. Please, correct me if I’m wrong, but as a disabled person I’m legally allowed to make reasonable modifications, at my expense, in order to provide my safety. I don’t cite that law as a threat, so I plead with you that you don’t see it that way. The Colorado Fair Housing Act, as well as the Federal Fair Housing Act specifically cites adding grab rails into bathrooms as “reasonable modification”. I already had [a friend of mine that I'm 99% sure that they know, too] in mind to do it, as he is proficient in construction and carpentry, and has a high standard of excellence.
I haven't heard back from her. This was sent last night, only about 10 minutes after she sent me her message.*

Finally to the prayer request: I'm absolutely livid. I'm shocked that this is the response. I am not a person who cries "discrimination!" over anything that doesn't go my way. I honestly can cite 4 times in the 12 years that I've been an amputee that are categorical discrimination. I don't play that game. I've also never asked a landlord to add any accommodations to my dwelling (nor have I ever asked an employer).

The times it has happened though, like this one, are angering and heartbreaking. It is a feeling like I can't describe. I know that so many folks (i.e. minorities) go through this every single day that they breathe, so please do not hear me acting like a victim. It's just so jarring when it happens, and it's an emotion that simply isn't produced that much, so I'm not used to dealing with it.

I need your prayers, /r/Christianity , that this is resolved today. My landlords have been nice people. We don't bother them, and they don't bother us (they don't even live in Colorado; their son is the "manager", if you will). It's a great set up. We pay our rent on time every month. In fact, I send them 3 post dated checks at a time, so they always have it right there ready to go on the first of the month. We've never really asked anything of them, either, so it's not like we're constantly hounding them for stuff. We can go months without talking sometimes.

I don't have the luxury of time on my side, either, as I'm only a week and a half away from surgery (in light of this, I feel it important to note that I only found out I was for sure having surgery on Thursday late afternoon, and only scheduled it yesterday morning, so it's not like I waited until the last minute to say something).

If I don't hear from them by Monday, I'm calling the state to file a complaint, and will probably be calling a lawyer. I don't want it to come to that. I don't want this to become a freaking civil liberties case (though it is a civil liberties situation). I didn't want to send my response, because I didn't want them to feel threatened, but it's the only option I had.

They've always been pleasant (Chris has, at least; I've never talked to Rick, and I've never met either of them face-to-face). Chris is also really quick to respond my texts, so her lack of response is worrisome.

Please pray for me, and pray for them and that God would bless them. Please pray that God would move them towards fulfilling their legal obligations as landlords and that this would just be done and a blip on the radar.

I'm so stressed about having back surgery so young (I'll be 30 on Easter day). I have a 1.5 year old son who I can barely pick up, and I most definitely won't be able to pick up for about a month. I'm worried that I'm never going to be right again, and without immense pain. Dealing with this is the last thing me or my wife needs right now.

Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 No legal advice, but tile doesn't have to be old or fragile to crack. I've installed probably 50 grab bars on tile and they do crack occasionally. That being said, that's not a reason to not do it, if you need it you need it. Answer #2: TL; DR please

The comment was mostly for a bot, but really OP, please condense your story to a few sentences, stating what's the situation, what do you want to happen and what you have tried up to now. Everything else is irrelevant from legal point of view. Answer #3: TL;DR- does my landlord have to provide mud-free easy access to the communal trash cans?  and can she keep me from installing a support bar in the shower?

I cant speak to the first question, but your landlord's husband's worries about cracking the tile while installing the support rail shouldn't be a problem if the installation is done properly.  glass/tile bits cut perfect neat little holes in ceramic tiles and if you have a contractor friend to do it they will know that.


Title: Question regarding establishing paternity and if I sign the birth certificate.

Question: In North Carolina, if a man signs a child's birth certificate, then subsequently has a paternity test done within a few weeks, finds out the child isn't his, what would the legal ramifications be there? How difficult is it to remove his name from the birth certificate? Is it a very costly thing that would require hiring an attorney? Could he still be held liable for child support for a kid that isn't his? The mother and father are not married (never have been) or in a relationship. They live separately and have very little contact.

Answer: It would be very difficult and costly. In some states, being on the birth certificate means financially supporting the child until 18, even if he's not the biological father. Paternity test first.


Title: You can be evicted for being a crime victim?

Question:
A recent RadioLab podcast had a woman on it who said she was evicted from her apartment because her son was shot on the apartment grounds.

Is that legal?

(anywhere, really)

Answer: Yes, someplace in the world that would be legal


Title: OH: Putting out apartment building "fire" lead to my apartment being searched.

Question:
Someone's clothes caught fire in my apartment building's dryer, filling the hall with smoke. I grabbed an extinguisher and put it out, in turn saving the laundry room from (further) damage. Firefighters arrived and aired out everyone's apartment, and did so because all the doors were unlocked since everyone evacuated. Firefighters found paraphernalia and marijuana and called the police.

Police came and went straight to my apartment and began searching the apartment (I don't think they opened drawers/cabinets) and seizing. I could see through the windows (we were all outside waiting for the OK to come back in) that the cops were looking at my pill bottles and looked in the common storage room.
The cops then asked my partner and I to follow and chat and took us to the apartment. There were two cops; one searching around while the other talked to us both.

They claimed that if it was a bag of weed or a lone pipe that probably nothing would've happened. However they found/took 4 pipes, some marijuana (approximately 7 grams total distributed between two mason jars and a grinder with multiple bags -- they tried to get us to say we were manufacturing/trafficking, but not the case), an oil vape with oil, my partner's nursing school syringes (we are both health career students), and a stash box (had to have been opened to know it contained misc paraphernalia). Also searched our bookbags but found nothing. The cop that was talking to us asked for our numbers and claimed that he had to talk with his boss and said that he'd call us in a week. We were never given a name/number/anything.

What should we expect/do?

Answer:
 Get an attorney. Did you admit to anything? Did you give permission for the search?

edit: And your career may be over before it's begun.


Title: I recently got into a fight at a soccer game with one of the girls on the other team and I can’t really remember who started hitting who first but then her friend jumped in and helped her so there was two girl on me and the girl I was fighting in the first place is trying to press charges against me

Answer:
 Well who started hitting first is kind of an important fact.

If the police contact you then get a lawyer.


Title: BF's child's mother is issuing bunk rape charges and an injuction for restraining order/custody/rape....

Question:
Let me start by saying thank you, I'm pretty lost and feeling hopeless atm.  Anything could help.

Bf(J) and I met at work in March while he was in the tail end of a break up.  She(E) kicks him out, he lives with me because I live next to work and she refused to give him one of the 2 vehicles HE paid for.  They have a little boy, 2 years old.  I love him to death.  At the beginning things were ok, they talked, split time, etc.....well we're picking the kid up one day and she tells J(my bf) that they're friend, whom she's currently seeing, raped her.  He gets mad, she doesn't do anything about it.  Ends up pregnant.  Stays with the guy.  She's 21, the guy is 37.  Turns out the guy is in more than one way crazy.  Fast forward to October..... we've had the kid for 3 weeks, no word from E.  J gets a job offer out of town.  Finally get ahold of E and she said she's going to come pick him up.  She arrives at our house 3 hours late with a packed car and saying she has nowhere to go and she's in trouble and scared for her wellbeing.  We help her, keep the kid until she's settled at her mom's.  I end up going out of town for my grandfather's bday and get a job offer with J.  Spoke to E, she seems in a good position to be able to care for the kid for a few weeks while we're working.  All of a sudden while we're out of town she goes radio silence.  And then pops back up with accusations of him on adult friend finder, okcupid, etc. She hacked his Gmail. Hacked his fb. Deleted all the messages, including her telling J about being raped, him blackmailing her, threatening the kid, etc. She then deletes all the messages between her and I about all of it.  Blocks us both on fb.  Since then her best friend has reached out to J about the whole situation.  Come to find out E reached out to her and told her that the guy she's with is keeping her against her will, is threatening to hurt her son, won't allow her to talk to anyone, and is making her file false charges against J.

This is all in Florida, btw....

Sorry about formatting, potato user.  :/

Answer:
 If someone is being held against their will, call the police.

If a child is living in unsafe conditions or at risk of imminent harm, call the police and CPS.

If your boyfriend gets sued, get a lawyer.

If your boyfriend wants custody, get a lawyer.

If your boyfriend is contacted by police, don't speak to the police.

If your boyfriend is arrested or charged by police, get a lawyer.

Answer #2: Line breaks. Learn, love, use.

 Fake names instead of letters. That will help a lot. I am calling them John and Edna.


Title: [NY] My school is claiming they mailed documents to my permanent address. My parents never received it. What can I do?

Question: x

Answer:
 >  I asked if there's a way they can send a piece of "test mail" to make sure the address is listed correctly on their end.

They aren't going to do this. Don't waste their time.

> What would happen to mail that was addressed to a nonexistent address?

Likely it would be returned.

> Is there any way I can find out what happened to the mail they claimed to have sent?

It has no tracking so no.

Mail gets lost. You're making a mountain out of a molehill.


Title: [AR] Planning to move out of state 5 years post-divorce.

Question:
My divorce papers say I am the "primary custodial parent" of our one child and that his father is "subject to reasonable supervised visitation as agreed upon by the parties".

I plan to move roughly 500 miles away. There are better schools, more family support, and more extracurricular activities. When I first got divorced I wasn't planning on it but my parents live down there and my mother asked on my behalf. The paralegal we were mostly dealing with literally said "You're the boss, applesauce".

Our present arrangement is that he gets Son on Sundays. He is welcome to get him on Saturdays and have him spend the night but he rarely does so, literally saying that he has a date, or is going to the movies with friends instead. He can't get him any other times because he works second shift. He won't take a day job because he would make less. (-.50 an hour) He pays child support only because it's drafted out of his check (that was quite the battle).

I would be happy to give my ex a couple weeks in the summer but that's pretty much it. He doesn't care about holidays other than Halloween. I've been told I may have to give him a certain amount of notice before we move, but I'm not finding anything specific and my divorce papers are no help. Any thoughts?

Answer: You need to modify your custody agreement.  Offering to give your ex summers is a good compromise.  You would need to wait until your custody agreement is done being modified and agreed on by both sides or your ex can have a court order your kid not to move out of state.


Title: Clicked on a dodgy reddit link, Should I be worried?

Question:
So i was browsing a nsfw sub and someone linked a photo, I clicked on it and then it said the site in which you are trying to access has been flagged for child sexual abuse. I panicked immediately and exited out straight away. Am I in trouble? The sub is of people 18+ and the description on the link was nothing related to children or else I wouldn't have clicked on it. Nothing even hinted towards cp in fact it was meant to be a photo of when she was 40+. Quite anxious.

Location: (Australia)

Answer: You're fine.


Title: A massive revenge porn website with millions of monthly views was just shut down by the Dutch police. Is it even feasible for them to find and arrest everyone that used that site? more details inside post

Question:
This doesn't impact me and is more about logistics than actual law, so I figured it was more appropriate in this sub than r/legaladvice.

So, this website called anon-ib, which was kind of like 4chan but focused on porn was shut down for being a revenge porn hub.  After investigating a woman's accounts that were hacked, they arrested a handful of hackers who had targeted hundreds of women.

According to the police, they had been investigating that for about a year, and it will take them "months" to go through the site and notify the women on it.  Looking at a couple of those website traffic analyzer tools, the site apparently got anywhere from hundreds of thousands to low millions in unique visitors every month.

Based on that information is it even possible for them to catch everyone involved?  Or is it more likely that they'll focus on a subset of the users (maybe the big hackers, site owners, active posters, etc.)

Answer:
 I don't know if Dutch law makes using a site like that, as opposed to sharing content, illegal, but even if it did I doubt they would start going after simple visitors.

It is pretty hard to go after someone solely based on accessing a non secure site. You can see this in many of the MPAA cases that went to trial. It is pretty difficult to prove that a user accessed a site even if you can tie them to an IP. People share residences, people have open wifi networks, hackers may spoof their IP, etc. And those were civil matters where the standard of proof is generally lower. In the US it would be reasonable doubt vs. preponderance of the evidence.

Going after people who run a site like that or upload content is much easier. If you find the same content on their computer or can tie them to the victim that makes arguments about IPs harder to maintain. Likewise more involved users often identify themselves in other ways from using a credit card to revealing personal information.

My guess is that they will go after the operators and try and go after as many uploaders as they can. Mere visitors are probably fine but they might get a letter warning them that they were accessing unlawful content.


Title: Won raffle, prize not given

Question: [deleted]

Answer: What was the prize, and what state are you in?


Title: I need help getting away from the family that raised me

Question: Hi, my name is Gaebrielle and the family that raised me since about 3 years old changed my name to Gillian and the mother I have known hates me because I have a mohawk and dress goth/punk/alternative and she threatens me with the harming of my little sister in the name I have known most of my life. The father I have known most of my life threatens me every time I call someone else my family and he does it under his breath and my whole life he has bribed my real dad and slandered him as well as trying to steal money from him. The brother I have known also gets used by the two of them to hurt me whenever I so much as stay up past a certain time of night even though my current birth certificate says I am 19 years old. I recently found out that I am closer to 22 years old and the birth certificate I was issued at about 3 doesn't even have a signature on the physician signature line, it has no city seal or even a stamp and my baby foot print on it is bigger than the first foot prints I ever made since I was born by my mother who I was recently told died in childbirth because the doctors didn't attend to her bleeding out. My real father has been trying to get me back and my foster family won't allow it and they are endorsers of downers and child hurting. I have tried getting help from the law but nothing has worked so far. I live in southwest Ohio currently and throughout my whole life. I'm trying to save up enough money to get away as soon as I can but I am living in fear and depression and anxiety every day with all of this. If anyone needs proof, I have some proof and my real family has more proof I am sure. I don't know what to do and my little sister was harmed for the sake of our current family we live with. I found out my current mother has an actual blood related daughter she didn't raise and I don't know why but it might have something to do with this. I know my foster dad's reasoning is some vendetta against my real family from pranks back in high school and college and I want to be with my real family as soon as I can be. If anyone can please help, it would be much appreciated and I thank you kindly.

Answer:
 If you’re 19 and your father wants you back, why can’t you just go to him? Is the legal age of majority in Ohio higher than 19?

Abuse of younger siblings should be reported to CPS every time. If they abuse you, call the police.

But mostly just get out.Answer #2: You're an adult so you are free to leave the home at any time. You don't need to stay anywhere, and you don't need to have any communication with anyone you don't want to.


Title: Wanting to adjust support payment based on child's time spent with ex

Question:
I'm the father here. Our divorce was a year ago, and the custody agreement was 50/50. Our daughter was supposed to be with me during the week and with her mom on weekends.
What has taken place over the last year is that our daughter is with me every week and every other weekend. Even the every other weekend visits are shorter than specified. I pick her up on Sundays instead of Mondays after school. My ex doesn't seem to want the responsibility of being a mom. I'm not complaining about the time, I know how lucky I am. But I'm being crushed financially, paying child support to someone while I basically feel like a single parent.
Also, my ex gets social security disability benefits for herself and for the care of our daughter, even though she cares for her only 4 days a month.
What are my options? I'm in Texas

Edit: Thanks to everyone for your advice. I'm thinking it may be best to not rock the boat, suck it up and find a way to get  more income, and be happy my daughter is with me.

Answer:
 Your lawyer files a motion to adjust the custody order to match reality. This may trigger the mother to actually follow the current order as it exists now in order to preserve her payments; and you don't really have a recourse to prevent that. Answer #2: I am not a lawyer, but I have been a father in the Texas court system.

Document, document, document, then document some more. Then get a decent, local, attorney **who is familiar with the county that has jurisdiction of your case**. Discuss with said attorney whether it is worth rocking the boat and how much the process will cost you, and what a realistic outcome of taking this to trial is.

Understand that by filing a motion to modify custody due to a change in circumstances (your ex not exercising most of her visitation for over a year), this will most likely cause a further deterioration of your relationship with your ex.

If you still want to proceed (and by no means am I saying not to proceed or to proceed), then have your attorney file a motion to modify and request a temporary orders hearing. Your ex will be served with the date. Bring your massive stack of documentation to this hearing to show that you are asking for what is already in place. This documentation should have specific dates and times and be as detailed as possible to make your case as strong as possible.

Good luck!

Edit: if the current custody agreement states you have your daughter more than 50% of the time regardless, then you should not be paying child support in Texas, the ex should be paying you. Just an alternative avenue to explore when you meet with your attorney. Correcting this might be easier than modifying visitation schedules.


Title: Just got into an accident; need advice

Question: So I just got into a car accident tonight in Augusta, GA, and my car is totaled. It was the other person's fault, they tried to beat a yellow light and turned in front of me. I'm completely exhausted, so I went straight home to sleep,  an hour later, and I'm already sore. In the morning I'm going to head to the hospital. I can't really afford a lawyer, and I know that any kind of settlement I'm going to get it is going to be split with any lawyer that I could get it. I was wondering if anybody knew what kind of legal advise that I would get from a good lawyer to get my worth out of the settlement, so I can skip paying him a portion of my settlement money.

Answer:
 No one here can be your attorney.

Let your insurance deal with it.

If you are under insured then you will either have to hire an attorney or sue in small claims with whatever limit it has in your state


Title: Is it possible to get into legal trouble for ordering large quantities of food to someone's house without consent?

Question:
This is happening as we speak. To make a long story short, a person in my friend group did something totally unforgivable recently, which drove one my friends to order a heap of pizzas to his house without him knowing. We are online friends who all live in the same country, but the victim in question doesn't live near any of us. I have no part in this, however I'm worried about what might happen to the friend who ordered all the food. He made the mistake of submitting his personal phone number in the online order, but I'm not sure if that could, or will be used to trace him. Hypothetically, if he were to get caught, what kind of fine would he be facing?
Topic:
Consumer Law

Answer:
 Yes, that's illegal just about everywhere.  I mean, unless he also paid for the pizzas, in which case it was very generous of him.

> Hypothetically, if he were to get caught, what kind of fine would he be facing?

Probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5k Martian Pesos, assuming you're on Mars.


Title: Can legal guardians of a minor withhold valuable property of which they have no ownership?

Question:
M17, BC, Canada

I know this is going to come across as some bitchy teen who just wants to say no to his parents, but I'm just curious.

My parents where telling me about how they are thinking of taking away my car. I bought the car with 100% my own money (not allowances or anything like that), paid the taxes on it myself, amd have the car insured under my name. I pay for the insurance and gas myself. Would they have any right to withhold the vehicle from me, or as a matter of interest, sell it?

Also, just for curiosities sake, if someone my age where living alone, could something like that be taken away?

Thanks in advance

Answer: If the car is in your name, they can tell you you aren't allowed to drive it, but they have no legal right to sell it. Answer #2: They can't legally sell your car, but they can legally keep you from driving it. Answer #3: I recommend securing everything related to the car (eg. documentation, keys) so they cant just fake your signature and sell it while you are away.Answer #4: Is your name on the title? If yes, they can't sell it without you signing it over.


Title: I have a whistling roof, landlord says "there ain't no proof"

Question:
Hello, I am privately renting a place in London. I work shifts so my days and nights are all over the place, but a lot of the time I have to sleep during the day. There is a high pitched whistling sound coming from the light fittings in the ceiling, I imagine it's wind, but it keeps me awake.

I've informed my landlord who came around and said he couldn't hear it and said there is no issue. So can I do anything to try and fix it or is there steps I should take? Obviously I don't want to make massive changes to the roof or get the builders in.

I don't have tinnitus or anything like that and my gf can hear it as well so I'm not imagining it. Any ideas or information would be helpful thanks.
Topic:
Landlord Tenant Housing

Answer:
 You have a smart phone no?  Record the sound when you next hear it... better yet, have your gf record it too in case your phone couldn’t pick it up.

This is one of those things where you need wind and perhaps at enough velocity to hear I reckon so...  it would be your LL’s best interest to discover why so as to fix the loose roofing as this may cause a massive leak, leading to rot, etc and becomes a bigger issue.


Title: non-landlocked property

Answer: Me and my wife bought two properties 10 years ago, about 4 years ago due to other legal issues, we sold the commercial property to a neighbor of owns adjoining parcels. This neighbor is now saying that according to the deed, the easement which is our driveway, he wants to tear up our driveway and make the road wider. My question is this, if he owns land which butts up to this parcel does he have a legal right to take our driveway/easement?


Title: Employee stole from my company... can I withhold pay to try to recover?

Question:
Okay so my employee flipped the breaker to my showroom to kill the surveillance cameras but didn't realize that system is on a battery backup. The monitor isn't and on the cameras I see him kill the power, walk over to the security camera monitor, see that it's off then go to my desk and jimmy open a drawer. A few hours prior to this my sales manager had called me and let me know that a customer has dropped off a cash payment of 1000.00 and he had sealed it in an envelope and left it in that drawer which he and I have keys to.
  The employee who stole from me must've overheard him. After my sales manager left he got to work killing the power and breaking into the drawer. He took 500.00 of the 1000.00 and then made a phone call, and I watched him wait for someone else to show up, and he bought drugs on my fucking sales floor with my money.
  Then he showed up for work this morning. I called the police while he was out emptying the trash and when they arrived I confronted him. He admitted to stealing it and begged me not to get him sent to jail. I told him to give me the 500 dollars, and he said he could maybe get me 100 of it. So I let the cops take him, pressed charges, and fired him. His girlfriend came in this afternoon saying he called her and asked her to pick up his paycheck (the fucking balls of this kid... seriously) and I told her if anything I'd mail it, but I wasn't giving it to her.
  My question is may I withhold his pay to recover some of the money he's stolen from me?

I live in New Jersey in case the state laws vary on this

  ANSWERED BY LITMUSTEST1

  Thank you every one for your help.

Answer: Don't do that.  Pay him his money and try to recover it later.  Is $500 really worth getting involved with the DOL?  Stay in contact with the criminal case and make sure his sentence involves a restitution.


Title: [NC] Does this hold up in court, or could a good attorney easily poke holes?

Question:
I'm trying to settle a disagreement.

If you get caught drunk driving, along with the field tests they use breath/blood which are scientific and easily hold up in court. The chemistry will be presented in court, and it's very difficult to argue against.

Now, let's say the person had been smoking pot -- Is it possible for the police to prove IN COURT that the person was high on pot?

The police use a field test for this where they have the subject look at there finger, and then watch their eyes follow it, if they can't cross; the person is stoned.

My argument is, there is NO way this would hold up in court with a good attorney right? There is no scientific evidence, no chemistry. Pot stays in the fat cells for weeks, there is no SCIENTIFIC way to tell whether someone has smoked pot yesterday or last week or last hour.

I imagine a ridiculously good attorney would call into question the officers expertise on being able to determine these tests; how he's not an MD and cannot testify to any sort of eye examination he gave, etc; and a police officer saying 'this guy looks high' will get the case thrown off the docket in a heartbeat.

Can someone with an actual legal background chime in?

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

I'm strictly talking about the ability to prove in court whether someone smoked pot. So for the sake of staying objective lets assume the cop did NOT smell pot, and has no testimony other than the field test.

Answer:
 Blood tests are a thing, dude.

By your logic, no one would ever get convicted. Every lawyer would learn this 'one weird trick prosecutors hate!' and everyone would be off the hook.


Title: Boss wants to not pay us if we forget to clock out.

Question: I work at a small coffee shop in Atlanta GA. There have been some problems with people forgetting to clock in or clock out at the beginning or end of their shift. This is a very fixable problem, as a manager can just go into the system and change it which takes about 20 seconds. However, the owner has had all employees sign a sheet saying that they will only be paid for the time that they are clocked in, and if they forget to clock out at the end of their shifts, they will not be paid AT ALL for the day. This seems extremely unfair to me, especially since fixing hours is so simple with our system. I told my manager that I would not sign, and she told me to take it up with the owner. So my question is, is not paying us for an entire day's work if we forget to clock out even legal? Thanks so much for your help.

Answer:
 First off, what an ass.

Second it is illegal to not get paid for time worked, if they go through with this you need to contact your states labor department ASAP.Answer #2: It is up to the employer to track your hours. People who don't clock out certainly make it more difficult but that is his problem and he still has to pay all employees for the time they worked, even if he doesn't remember when or for how long that was.Answer #3: It's illegal to not pay you for time worked, regardless of why.

He could potentially fine you for failing to clock out, as long as that doesn't impact minimum wage (so they fine can't drop you below minimum wage per hour).Answer #4: No, it's not legal, but he can fire you for failing to follow instructions, specifically "don't forget to clock out" so just clock out, man.Answer #5: Next, OP will update with something like: Boss just notified us time clock no longer working....Answer #6: It's illegal for your boss to do that. File an anonymous complaint with the Department of Labor. You don't want to risk your job by telling the whole world you're the whistle blower. Retaliation is also illegal, but it's difficult to prove, so it's better to simply work from the shadows.