Month: January 2014

What to Do When You Are Charged With a Crime

Committing a crime can have major consequences. So can being the victim of a crime. If you need to know about crime in a particular area, criminal data is available to the public. This includes things like a criminal finder map to help you see where crimes were committed and what crimes are common in different areas. You can use maps and a criminal site to see public records. Often these records can be difficult to access or understand, so many groups are devoted to making them more accessible to the public.

Criminal law current events can have a major influence on how a city or town functions, so it is important that the public and government officials have access to this information. Some armed robbery law can change over time and the consequences can be dire in situations where that law is unknown. So whether you are a professional involved in criminal law or a person concerned about crime in your area, it is important to know that these resources exist and can be accessed by anyone.

Criminal law is distinctive for the uniquely serious potential consequences or sanctions involved with failure to abide by the rules of law. Under criminal law, individuals may be incarcerated in prisons or jails in a variety of conditions, depending on the jurisdiction. Notably, only a criminal law defense attorney stands between a person’s conviction or acquittal, and on that note, good criminal lawyers are indispensable.

How to be a criminal defense lawyer

Interestingly, less than 10 percent of criminals commit about two-thirds of all crime. Importantly, people cannot be found guilty without undoubtable proof of guilt. With that said, criminal defense attorneys’ duties include arguing the guilt of their clients. “Actus reus” is Latin for “guilty act” and is the physical element of committing a crime. Without proof of guilt, a person on trial is granted the benefit of the doubt, and must thus be presumed innocent.

Property is often covered under criminal law as well. Amazingly, someone can be charged with trespassing simply for walking onto the property of someone without implicit permission to do so. There are a litany of crimes people can be charged with in the United States, and a criminal lawyer should be the first person people call when they are charged with a crime.

Criminal law firms provide an invaluable service to the public in America. The United States is the only jurisdiction in the world in which someone is unequivocally presumed innocent until proven guilty. If you are ever arrested and charged with a crime, a criminal law defense attorney should be the first thing you ask for. Even if you cannot afford an attorney, the United States Government is required by law to provide one for you. Ultimately, without a lawyer, beating a charge is nigh impossible. Great references here.

Four Funny Workers Comp Stories From 2013

Workers compensation attorneys

Every year, Americans from all across the country file for workers compensation benefits after they suffer an injury or illness while on the job. While some just need time to recuperate after a minor injury, like a sprained ankle, forced them to get off their feet, others might need expenses covered because they had surgery for a condition that developed over time. While most cases that workers compensation attorneys will see are pretty bland and standard, but some are quite bizarre. Every year, LexisNexis highlights some of the best, and last year did not disappoint.

Truck vs. Baling Machine

When a worker in Montana struggled to dislodge a piece of metal from a Baling machine, he tied one end of a chain to the item and the other to the back of a pickup truck. After accelerating, the chain ran out of slack and the truck was pulled off of the ground, causing his head to snap, giving him whiplash. Unfortunately for him, he was not able to prove the injury and its cause, and therefore ineligible for compensation.

Pizza Burns

Sometimes, little office pranks are good for a hearty laugh and a little morale boost during tedious and monotonous work days. However, when a California pizza cook decided to put the tray that servers use to deliver pizza in the oven, it got so hot that the server severely burned his hand. Luckily, the pizza shop didn’t have to pay anything beyond workers comp, even when the employee tried to sue.

Horseplay Karma

Horsing around at work is something a lot of employees do, even though their managers might not like it. In Ohio, a woman who was known for doing “the windmill” (the exact move is a bit unclear) was able to get compensation after falling and breaking her wrist. Getting hurt at work, even if you are messing around, can result in compensation. But her lawsuit was denied when she tried to get more.

Drunken Dropper

An Oregon man tried to get compensation for his injuries after he fell off of a ledge while intoxicated. He said that the cause of his fall might have been intoxication — he had a BAC of .25 — but the concrete he landed on caused the injuries. Despite his best efforts, he was turned down and never received any money.

There are lots more funny stories, and some of them are far more tragic, having to do with workers compensation laws. Unfortunately, workplace injuries are common and, at times, unavoidable. If you get hurt and there is any uncertainty about whether or not you are eligible for compensation, hiring a skilled and experienced lawyer could be the smartest first step.

Looking to Get Into Legal Research? Here are a Few Facts You Need to Know

Legal statute

If you have ever been part of a court case, then you have probably had to have had to have legislative history research done about your case. One of the big elements involved in pretty much every court case is legislative intent and statuatory history research to prove that the case about to be argued even has the standing to be heard in the courtroom. Whether you are think about pursuing a career in California legislative history research or you are part of a court case are are trying to learn as much as you can about the process, here are a few important facts that you need to know.

Legal English is the style of language used by legal professionals and lawyers during their course of work. Because so many laws have been around for a significant amount of time, they often need to be interpreted. Using the very specific wording used in legal English makes this interpretation a little bit less open to critique. This kind of wording makes loopholes less prevalent, and it attempts to make the legal process move a little bit smoother. There is significant debate as to whether this actually is the case.

The average length of a civil trial in the United States is 3.7 days. The main reason for this is the huge amount of arguing and tradition that needs to be upheld on the side of both the plaintiff and the defendant. In spite of what might seem like a long time to be in court arguing, this is made possible due to the fact that the vast majority of cases never make it to a courtroom to be argued at all. They are settled out of court.

An estimated 20 percent of all civil lawsuits in the United States are automobile accident related. Like most cases, the vast majority of these are also settled outside of the courtroom. According to a recent study conducted by Statistic Brain, an estimated 10% of all civil lawsuits in the United States are medical malpractice lawsuits.

An estimated 46% of all jury trials in the United States are won by the plaintiff.