Hi so I have been practicing for about three years and I REALLY want to get better at litigating. I think I can best explain myself through the following story:

Opposing counsel filed a motion to dismiss our claims and the partner told me to draft a response and let me know I would be arguing at the hearing.

My response completely DESTROYED that motion. I knew the law better than anyone in the courtroom on the day of the hearing and I was thoroughly prepared.

But then I started talking.

And then I started blabbering. And then I became aware that I was blabbering which made it worse. And then I started thinking about what my feet must look like under the table and it just completely snowballed out of control from there.

It was awful. I was so self conscious and I found the experience to be excruciating.

Looking back— I should have kept my argument shorter and sweeter but I don’t think that would have stopped me from completely panicking. I have represented clients in JP court but nothing really major since then.

So my questions are — how do I get over these nerves? What can I do to stop being so nervous? Is there a book I can read to help me become a better litigator? Should I go karaoke? Join an improv class? Fake argue out loud at home before a hearing? Please help.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

I recently got rear ended in an accident and ended up going with an injury lawyer strictly for the injury not property. They were a bit pushy to work with me which is understandable for a big firm (M and Y personal injury lawyers). Other than some slight whiplash I really wasn’t super injured. They set up physical therapy which I’ve gone too 5 times so far, and they’re doing adjustments on my back and neck which feel much better than before the accident actually.

They called me saying the at fault parties insurance has offered a settlement of ~ $5500. I estimated my takeaway to be slightly under $3,000 after the lawyers cut and medical expenses. I still do not know the exact medical bill because the lawyers and the treatment facility cannot disclose that to me. They were very adamant advising me to reject this offer and keep going to treatment. They said they will be able to get a much higher payout. Obviously they will make more money but I’m worried I may not since they will recommend me to get an MRI and the medical bills will keep piling up. I told them my concerns with rejecting the offer and they assured me I would receive higher compensation if I chose to reject.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

What’s the word for it? I’ve opened the door of cooperation to the police, now I want to hire a lawyer to make sure I properly close it. What’s the proper term for a “people’s lawyer” I should be asking for?

I know this is most likely an oversimplification, or doesn't happen in reality, but let's assume a robbery has been committed by two criminals. Both criminals are arrested and interrogated, and they're told that leniency may be provided if they give up damning information on their accomplice. What happens if BOTH criminals give up damning information on eachother?

What method can I use to bypass going to court for a PFA? I spoke to a lawyer about it and how she could ask him to sign a PFA and bypass going to court but I can’t afford her services. I’m having to go through free legal aid and they have no idea what I’m talking about.

I’m thinking if I can research and find out what it’s called maybe they can better assist me. I’d really like to not have to go to court over this if I can just get him to sign a sheet of paper.

Not including traffic or divorce court

If I have a judgement and call the creditor and agree to a payment plan and they say they are going to send a letter of this agreement to the courts, will the judgement be dismissed or do I still have to go to court and have a judgement?

First big loss. Terrible feeling. Client gave me nothing to work with and the Judge was not pleased but I thought I could've pulled it out.

NY, USA.

I have my own outlook.com email. I sent an email to a person.

The other party saying that they never received the email.

For legal reasons (trial in Civil court) I want Microsoft certify that the email was sent at x date/time to x email ID.

How can I ask Microsoft do this and get my sent email metadata or something similar?

I'm watching suits and i know it's probably not a representation of how law works.

My question is in the show a named partner has to call a vote to fire another unnamed partner. Like they can't just fire them? Is it not their company? How's this named vs unnamed partner dynamic work?

I have 3 misdemeanors in Minnesota. Two have a discharge date that is over 17 years old. One has a discharge date that is 14.5 years old. When I look up my criminal record on Minnesota's government "Minnesota Public Criminal History" website, the only conviction that shows up is the one with the discharge date that is 14.5 years old. The older two misdemeanors are not listed at all. At the top of the Criminal History page, it states, "Convictions with a discharge date within the last 15 years are reported below. Convictions older than 15 years are not public records."

My questions are: Are criminal convictions that are no longer public records the same thing as criminal convictions that are expunged? If it's NOT the same thing, can you please explain to me what the difference is?
... Is it correct to say that in Minnesota, criminal convictions with a discharge date of more than 15 years ago are expunged (since they are apparently sealed from the public)?

Also, if my criminal convictions (all misdemeanors) that were discharged over 15 years ago are no longer public record, does that mean that I no longer have to mention them on job applications?

Hello lawyers of Mississippi. I am but a humble and poor peasant of a first time homeowner seeking legal advice to see what my legal options are ahead of time before I have to resort to actual legal action in the real world. I apologize for the long post, bad formatting, and tons of questions. Also thank you in advance for any words of advice.

TLDR:

• Live-in tenant situation in Mississippi
• Tenant is creating a hostile living environment
• I am looking at my legal options to save the sanity of my mother and mine and also to not scare off other potential tenants

For context, this post is for a four bed room house in Mississippi. I am the property owner and live in the master bedroom while my mother lives in one room and I am renting out the other two bedrooms.

Tenant 1 was polite and cordial before signing a one year lease but has since turned hostile towards my mother and I for no reason (we are a little over 1 month into the lease as of post). The only reason I could think of is that she has a lack of sleep and pent up anger as she works a flex night shift and my mother is retired and goes into the kitchen to make coffee in the morning and talks on the phone. My mother has asked tenant 1 multiple times if this was okay and was given the okay. However, tenant 1 came out of her room at 11:30 AM on a Saturday scolding me for using my own kitchen to make lunch while I was talking to my mother saying that she needs her sleep because she is a single mother working night shift. I can empathize with the hardship of being a single parent and working the nightshift but I do not feel she has any right to ban other people from using the public space at 11:30 AM on a Saturday. I would understand if the house was loud at 7 am or something but this is the same person that also uses the laundry machine and kitchen at 4 am despite knowing I work morning shift.

She refuses to talk to me and flat out ignores me in person despite me being cordial with her from the start. She does not want me knocking on her door at night, stating that she wants her quiet time and privacy, while also doesn't want me to knock during the day as she wants her sleep. I understand and respect that and resorted to texting as the only form of communication regarding house and tenant related issues.

I texted her earlier today (while she was awake watching TV) as a courtesy reminder (told her about it a week ago) that I will have workers coming in the morning to work on the house and asked if she needed help to move her stuff out of the garage so my upcoming tenant 2 (Lease not signed yet but will soon) can park inside. This was met with rather cold text responses of "leave me alone I do not feel like talking. You cannot force me to talk to you so just leave me alone". Again, this response was to my courtesy reminder and offering to help her move her stuff that was told me was to be donated to Goodwill 6 weeks ago.

I have talked to my mother to stay out of the public living areas as much as possible and I have also just stayed in my room after being irrationally scolded for using the kitchen at 11:30 AM on a Saturday. I now only text late in the evening so it doesn't disturb her at work or her sleep. I gave her a bed and furniture despite my post stating the room will be unfurnished. I offer her food and bought new furniture so she could have more space to put her belongings in the public living areas. I have tried all I can to be as cordial and accommodating as possible but she is just making everyone uncomfortable in the household.

Now for why I made this post. Tenant 1 is openly hostile, leaves laundry unattended overnight so no one else can use the laundry, leaves food in the fridge/ kitchen long enough for the food to start molding, scolds people for using the public living spaces at, what I deem, reasonable hours and thus, creating a hostile and uncomfortable living environment.

I am seeking advice to see if I can legally evict her with a 30 day notice. I can show the lease, minus any identifying information, if that is needed for accurate advice.

• Tenant 1 and I have signed a 1 year lease. I was reading the lease to see if I had any legal ramifications and found this clause:
  • ^(The residence shall be used for residential purpose only and shall be occupied only by the persons named in the Lessee’s application to lease. The presence of an individual residing on the premises who is not a signatory on the rental agreement will be sufficient grounds for termination of this agreement. Lessee shall not use the residence or permit it to be used for any disorderly or unlawful purpose or in any manner so as to interfere with other residences quiet enjoyment of their residence. Lessee shall notify Lessor of any extended absence from the premises in excess of 7 days.)
    • The lease only has tenant 1's name on it but she has split custody with a 13 year old daughter that lives here every other week. I have acknowledged through text that I know she has a daughter though I do not believe I said anywhere that the daughter would be allowed to stay here. Let's just assume I gave her permission to let her daughter stay here through text but NOT on the lease.
• Could I maybe try to evict her based on breach of homeowner's quiet enjoyment as she scolds people for using the public living area at 11:30 AM and clearly does not like us using the kitchen at 7 PM either?
  • If not based on breach of homeowner's quiet enjoyment, what if tenant 2 files a complaint to me regarding their quiet enjoyment being destroyed by tenant 1? Could I evict tenant 1 based on tenant 2 and my own quiet enjoyment being breached?
• This clause is also in the lease agreement:
  • ^(Lessor reserves the right at any time to prescribe such additional rules and make such changes to the rules and regulations set forth and referred to above, as Lessor shall, in its judgment determine to be necessary for the safety, care, and cleanliness of the premises, for the preservation of good order or for the comfort or benefit of Lessee generally.)
    • Could I add rules about public spaces being open during hours of 10 AM to 9 PM or something? I feel these are reasonable hours. This would allow both morning and night shift people to get plenty of sleep.

Cross posted as I am desperately looking for advice.

Again, thank you in advance for your time and help.

In January of 2019 I was arrested in Scottsdale Arizona with heroin in a few needles,already mixed in with water and ready to go. I didn’t have heroin on me other than that. I was at a bad spot in life and hadn’t tried to get clean. The police let me go after I gave them a few of my dealers numbers and addresses and I went home. No charges filed. Fast forward 6 months and I moved to Texas to get clean and start over. Covid happened and in July of 2020 I got a summons to Arizona saying I had been charged with possession of narcotics. I don’t even know how they got my address. I’ve tried writing letters and injunctions(I think that’s the word) to try and explain the situation, but all they would do is postpone and give me an extra month. I have been clean for the last 5 years. I actually go to the doctor once a month and have to take a drug test, so it’s even documented. I have never failed. I’ve tried to talk to lawyers in Texas but they all say I have to get in touch with someone in Arizona. It’s an endless game of tag trying to accomplish anything. There’s now a warrant out for my arrest in Arizona. I don’t know if it affects me in Texas, but I’m even scared to update my license as I heard they do warrant checks and police pick you up if you get pinged at the dmv. I live in constant fear of being taken away from my life because of this charge. I’ve had the same great job the past 5 years, I’ve had a child and started a family. I need to figure out how to fix it. I also heard that for drug charges they have to keep the evidence to test and prove it was in fact drugs, and because mine was in a watered down form in a needle I feel like 6 years later it may have dried up and unusable. I really need help to either get this quashed or to maybe get probation in Texas where my life is. I can’t leave work for long and if I go to Arizona and self surrender I don’t think I’d have enough time to get back and continue my life.

Apologize for the title don’t really know what to put it is. So as of 2 days ago I have purchased a new car, yesterday was driving home when some ice and snow on the ground spun me out and ran into a guardrail. It is currently middle of winter, I didn’t realize the vehicle I purchased has performance summer tires on, and the dealership did not inform me about this. I’m under the impression it’s my job as the buyer to know everything about the vehicle before purchase but a couple of people I’ve reached out to have said the dealership could be held responsible for this. I do have full coverage of the vehicle, just tryna get a little more insight on this type of situation.

Hi layers of Reddit ,

I am the general manager of a "public" clubhouse; golf course; restaurant/bar; bed and breakfast; that is strata owned. I have a few "hypothetical" questions for you..

Say:....

If an employee was over served alcohol at a staff party and crashed a car they were driving how much fault would the employer be in?

What if post accident, they initially denied being drunk to employers and hospital and essentially had their car "disappear" and fly under the cops radar?

What if the incident was made to disappear without a police report because they didn't have a valid driver license and the vehicle was insured (basic bare minimum insurance) in their spouses name?

What can I expect with their claims of taking my business to court?

I look forward to hearing your insights and any upvotes!

Good tidings to you all.

There's a Utah code that says HOAs must not enforce rules arbitrarily. I got a fine for installing a white picket fence, and the CCRs say all fencing must be white vinyl.

There are hundreds of uncorrected CCR violations in the development, like cars parked on lawns, people storing junk on their porches, and many fences that are shades of beige, not white.

I spoke with a board member who had some obvious violations on his home (satellite dish in the front, dead lawn spots) and he said that the HOA only enforces the CCRs when someone makes a formal complaint.

If I were to take them to court in a selective enforcement lawsuit, what would some potential resolutions look like, given that CCRs can only be modified by homeowner vote? Can the judge overrule the CCRs to allow my fence because of their arbitrary enforcement?

Just did some job training stuff that included this. It specifies 'olfactory' personal information as covered, among other things.
What in the what does that mean?

Hoping someone may have some input.

Suing a bar owner and his bar and grill for a car accident the owner caused while on suspicion of DWI, 3 felony counts as of now too. However he is expected to plea not guilty or win in trial as police didn’t get sobriety test nor draw blood. And on top of that he’s got one of the best DWI attorneys in the Midwest.

Literally an hour before the accident the bar owner was forced to remove his close friend who was intoxicated for starting an altercation. Afterwards the bar owner offered multiple free shots to the patrons bothered by his friend while he enjoyed a few as well. Once the patrons left, they were in the parking lot for 20 minutes and the bar owner pulled up and offered to take everyone out to a gentlemen’s club and offered to pay for everything to make up for what happened earlier in the evening (altercation his friend started).

Would that be enough to place the bar owner in his scope of employment to essentially lock in the bars insurance coverage?

Asking because our state has a tort fund and wondering if it just makes sense to go for the tort fund while there’s $ inside of it. The insurance company has yet to provide an answer on coverage although a letter by demand to mediate was sent last week on another plaintiffs attorney.

TIA!

Are laws prohibiting you from taking a picture inside a ballot box (so-called “ballot selfie” laws) a content-based restriction where strict scrutiny applies, or a content-neutral time/place/manner restriction where intermediate scrutiny applies?

I read the opinion in Rideout v. Gardner and the First Circuit avoided answering the question because they ruled the law wouldn’t even pass intermediate scrutiny.

Also not sure how Reed. v Town of Gilbert Arizona would apply.

As you could probably guess I’m asking about this in regards to the Luigi Mangione case. The deeper I dive into everything that went on with him, it seems like he did have a pretty drastic shift in his personality in the last six months or so. He became completely isolated from friends and family. Even the pictures you see of him from several years ago compared to what he looked like on the day that he was arrested is a stark difference. And frankly, the whole thing is just so freaking bizarre to me. He had so much going for him, he’s so well educated. Granted any so-called “radicalization“ is never an easy thing to understand, but it just seems like more than that when we’re talking about a guy who was, by all accounts, genuinely pretty well his entire life and then he what? Read Ted K and decided to go off the deep end and shoot someone? I’m not buying it.

I’ve seen a lot of people speculating that it could be due to an onset of schizophrenia or some form of psychosis. I’m an RN and while my specialty isn’t psych, I have worked with psych patients in the past during my ER experience and have actually worked with people who are in their mid to late 20s and are actively going through that initial onset of schizophrenia for the first time in their life and there are some tricky things to consider when trying to navigate working with people going through psychosis. They don’t realize they’re in psychosis, and psychosis doesn’t always negate their ability to think coherent thoughts and plan things, it’s just what they do think and plan aren’t really consistently based in reality.

I imagine that would be a particularly difficult thing to try to prove in a court case, though, because when you see somebody who has seemingly planned an assassination for probably months, manage to successfully go through with it and then go on the run, it’s hard to prove they didn’t know what they were doing. Or that even if they knew, they weren’t really in their right mind.

I’m just curious if anybody has experience dealing with a situation like this where somebody could plead or be found not guilty by reason of insanity and what that process typically looks like? And when it comes to a verdict, do they have to plead insanity in order to be able to be found not guilty by insanity or guilty but insane or could a jury decide that on their own?

Also obviously they’ll get mental health specialists on board, I assume a psychiatrist to try to diagnose. But when it comes to actually arguing a case, do you always need an actual diagnosis that a person has some sort of mental illness or can you just try to paint a picture and bring some experts to the stand to testify? Any input is welcome, I’m consumed by this case lately. I just ask that anyone choosing to respond be sensitive to the situation as a whole, no matter whose “side” you’re on because I think we’re dealing with something deeper mental health wise than what people are willingly admitting right now.

I may be going into foreclosure and would like to find a lawyer in the Madison, WI area. Also need to know when the expect to be paid.

For some context into my question, I'm going to discuss the cases of Roger Stafford and Rodney Alcala.

Roger Stafford was condemned and executed by the state of Oklahoma in 1995 for shooting dead 9 people in a month long killing and robbery spree carried out in the 1970s. Three of the victims were a couple in their thirties and their preteen son that Stafford shot dead while stealing their truck. The other six victims were a group of teenage employees and their middle aged managers Stafford shot and killed during a diner hold up. He was further implicated in at least 25 more murders across other American states and possibly even the United Kingdom by his ex-wife that assisted him and other jailhouse informants. One of Stafford's additionally attributed victims was a 20 year old man killed in a McDonalds robbery in Alabama, but Alabaman authorities didn't press charges against him citing his preexisting death sentences in Oklahoma.

Rodney Alcala, who grained national infamy for winning a Dating Game episode, received a number of death sentences in California for raping and strangling at least 5 grown women and young girls in several trials throughout the 1970s to 1990s. In the early 2000s, he was linked to two more murders of women by DNA testing in New York. After being extradited to New York for trial, Alcala received two additional 25 years to life sentence. The state of Wyoming also pressed charges against him in 2016 for the 1977 rape and strangulation murder of a 28 year old woman, but he avoided trial due to health issues.

With similar cases of mass murderer/serial killers carrying out murders across multiple states, what factors into a jurisdiction's decisions on pursing charges against an offender already convicted elsewhere? For example, why in some situations, like with the state of New York and Alcala, do jurisdictions grab the scissors, while others, like the state of Alabama and Stafford, wash their hands of the offender?

50 CFR 20.21(j)(1) prohibits hunting migratory game birds "while possessing loose shot for muzzle loading or shotshells containing other than the following approved shot types.". They list various alloys.

A common topic for BSing around the camp fire is carrying slugs for bear defense (in bear prone areas). This would appear to preclude both lead slug possession unless slug-loaded shotshells are not included in the definition of shotshells, and (unfortunately), monolithic slugs made from an approved material unless slugs are included in the definition for "shot types".

Is there any case law or other clarification that removes the ambiguity from carrying slugs while water fowling?

Hello there. I am a male (41) who was called a pedophile by my girlfriends ex male (42) in front of daughter and grandmother. I was helping my girlfriend and grandmother clear a fence line of a pasture on her mothers land. We noticed a black truck driving up and down the road and my girlfriend told me to stay back that she thought this was her ex husband. Of course it was.

He confronted my girlfriend and her mother about me being there. Her mother told him that he has no right to be there and that he needs to leave. He started poking her in the chest and then in front of his daughter he was calling them ass holes and where is that fucker we are going to settle this. He then yelled that I am a pedophile in front of everyone. The sheriff's department was called out to the house and he bolted before they got there. The sheriff came and advised my girlfriend to get an order of protection and for me to get a restraining order against him. He even admitted to calling me a pedophile in front of people and told them to just wait there will be lawsuits. Well it has been 8 months and nothing has come up and I have been waiting for these suits.

A little context to this story, I was an elementary special education teacher in the town that we live. This individual is also a basketball coach and we used to work together as coaches. After this incident I refused to go to my house and stayed at another teachers house for about a week. When talking to this other individual he said to talk to our principal.

I went into our principals office right away the next morning. The only thing the principal asked me was I ok to be there. The principal has never talked to me about that incident still to this day. The school has a bullying policy for both teachers and students, along with the chain of command. My question is why was there not more done to secure my protection at school from this individual. End of rant about the school, that can be another day.

I have had no contact with him since, but I did leave my job in that community because of a number of reasons, but he was one of them. He and I were employees together at the school through coaching. I know it has been 8 months, but since this has happened I have had multiply break downs mentally and I am now seeing a psychologist to help me deal with these issues. As a teacher the worst thing that you can be called is a pedophile (as a male in an Elementary School) and for it to spread around town. I have had issues going out in public and continue to this day have issues going into town.

My question is what can I do about this issue?

Hi Everyone,

I am attending law school next year and have an open mind to the type of practice I want to do. I'm interested in criminal defense or family law/ divorce. Do you have any advice or practical advice on how to enter these fields, make a name for yourself, and make good money? I know this is vague but any recommendations are welcome!

Last night while browsing a porn site I saw what I believe to be a post containing CSAM.

I closed the site immediately and called the NCMEC, but I'm not sure what happens now.

Am I going to be the target of investigation as a reporter?

Got married to a US citizen through Utah online marriage. Got the annulment in the UK, as I am a British citizen, due to impotence.

Will this annulment be recognised in Utah / USA? How can I make sure that it is recognised and registered?

I want to ensure that it does not come up as married in my records, as I am not anymore. Is there any way to check this?

Putting aside the feds, patriot act, terrorism, etc. focusing on basic search warrants: can a judge issue a warrant outside of their explicit jurisdiction? I'm sure it's a fairly complex answer with exceptions, just kind of curious.

For example, could a judge in a rural Georgia county issue a search warrant for a property in Atlanta (Fulton County)? Could they issue a search warrant for property in another state like NY?

For an offense like animal nuisance or misdemeanor harassment, how long would you think it would take a judge to make a ruling after taking it under advisement post trial to review security camera footage?

A week, two weeks, a month, months+?

It’s not my case, just curious what you all think is a reasonable amount of time.