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ChubbyEmoBabe
Sep 6, 2003

-=|NMN|=-

Masey posted:

So I found out today that my brother was let go, after recently accepting a promotion at his company.

They told him they are letting him go because on his background check they found a DUI from 12 years ago.

Is this legal at all? I thought they couldn't even disclose why you didn't get a job.

The state is North Carolina if it makes a difference.

IANAL, nor do I know the specific laws to NC but undisclosed criminal history is a deal breaker across the board for the most part.

"I thought they couldn't even disclose why you didn't get a job."

I would think disclosing why you didn't get a job is pretty much SOP, it would be kind of cruddy if you were never told why you were being fired/not hired.

E: Also, that story sounds very odd.

ChubbyEmoBabe fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Sep 13, 2011

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Masey
Aug 22, 2006
Pancakes.

ChubbyEmoBabe posted:

IANAL, nor do I know the specific laws to NC but undisclosed criminal history is a deal breaker across the board for the most part.

"I thought they couldn't even disclose why you didn't get a job."

I would think disclosing why you didn't get a job is pretty much SOP, it would be kind of cruddy if you were never told why you were being fired/not hired.

E: Also, that story sounds very odd.

Well the company had hired him 4 years ago, it was a promotion inside the same company. Figure he either told them then, or, they would have found it then too?

It's bizarre, I'm not sure.

ChubbyEmoBabe
Sep 6, 2003

-=|NMN|=-

Masey posted:

Well the company had hired him 4 years ago, it was a promotion inside the same company. Figure he either told them then, or, they would have found it then too?

It's bizarre, I'm not sure.

4 years ago they may have been using a different background check company or not at all, I can bet the question of criminal history was. The electronic methods that are comprehensive, cheap and quick are relatively new and companies can be slow to adopt them. It's obvious he didn't tell them, usually if you are honest about those kinds of things from the get go it's not an issue (unless it is very recent and/or for a job that requires insured driving etc).

I only say the story sounds odd because that's usually something that can be worked around for a good employee.

Masey
Aug 22, 2006
Pancakes.

ChubbyEmoBabe posted:

4 years ago they may have been using a different background check company or not at all, I can bet the question of criminal history was. The electronic methods that are comprehensive, cheap and quick are relatively new and companies can be slow to adopt them. It's obvious he didn't tell them, usually if you are honest about those kinds of things from the get go it's not an issue (unless it is very recent and/or for a job that requires insured driving etc).

I only say the story sounds odd because that's usually something that can be worked around for a good employee.

Yeah I guess I'll just have to talk to him more about it later, I just found out through my parents and it just seemed weird that if he was getting promoted, he got let go?

ganglysumbia
Jan 29, 2005

joat mon posted:

What is the truck's GVWR? (or, what is the 4th character in the VIN?)


It is my employers vehicle, so I do not have access to it at the moment. However, looking at similar models online I believe it is a CLASS 3 (GVW 10001 - 14000. On the ticket itself it says "BYPASS SCALES OVER 10,000 LBS".

Konstantin
Jun 20, 2005
And the Lord said, "Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.

ganglysumbia posted:

Traffic Tickets.

In the state of Michigan it is apparently a misdemeanor to bypass a weighing station. The penalty is 2 points on my insurance, up to 90 days in jail and no more than a $500 fine, if I plead guilty. I am seeking any advice on whether to plead guilty or not.

My defense.

I have a chauffeurs license, and nowhere in the testing for it does it indicate I have to stop at weigh stations. The vehicle I was driving was a 2000 Ford Box Truck, which is not a common sight at weigh stations. The officer who issued the ticket indicated he does not know why the Michigan legislature decided to make this offense a misdemeanor. Also, I was not made to go through the scales nor was the vehicle inspected.

The law says you have to stop at weigh stations with that vehicle, and ignorance isn't a defense. I'd suggest getting a traffic lawyer, but he will probably tell you to plead guilty. I'm surprised whoever rented you the truck didn't tell you this, I know U-Haul and the like has it all over their paperwork that "YOU HAVE TO STOP AT ALL WEIGH STATIONS."

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

Konstantin posted:

The law says you have to stop at weigh stations with that vehicle, and ignorance isn't a defense. I'd suggest getting a traffic lawyer, but he will probably tell you to plead guilty. I'm surprised whoever rented you the truck didn't tell you this, I know U-Haul and the like has it all over their paperwork that "YOU HAVE TO STOP AT ALL WEIGH STATIONS."
This can be punished by jail. He need an attorney.
Ignorance is not a defense, but it can be drat good mitigation and an attorney knows how to play that to get the best deal.
You don't want to be on probation for some stupid ticket.
I've said it once and I'll say it again:
If it can be punished with jail you need a criminal attorney.

ganglysumbia
Jan 29, 2005

nm posted:

This can be punished by jail. He need an attorney.
Ignorance is not a defense, but it can be drat good mitigation and an attorney knows how to play that to get the best deal.
You don't want to be on probation for some stupid ticket.
I've said it once and I'll say it again:
If it can be punished with jail you need a criminal attorney.

I think I will plead not guilty. Having called a few local lawyers they seem to advise that route. However, I am a poor young working college student. I would prefer not to have to use a lawyer, as the cheapest one was $450. Would a court appointed one be just as well?

ChubbyEmoBabe
Sep 6, 2003

-=|NMN|=-

ganglysumbia posted:

I think I will plead not guilty. Having called a few local lawyers they seem to advise that route. However, I am a poor young working college student. I would prefer not to have to use a lawyer, as the cheapest one was $450. Would a court appointed one be just as well?

No. Listen to nm. For example; look at the guy above who was up for promotion and ended up fired for a decades old misdemeanor charge. 450$ is a week and a half pay at minimum wage. It's an investment, one that may pay 100X.

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

ganglysumbia posted:

I think I will plead not guilty. Having called a few local lawyers they seem to advise that route. However, I am a poor young working college student. I would prefer not to have to use a lawyer, as the cheapest one was $450. Would a court appointed one be just as well?
A public defender would be fine if you qualify for one and will be a heck of lot better than a $450 lawyer.
If you go to court and you don't qualify say that you wish for time to hire an attorney. They are constitutionally required to let you put your case over to hire counsel.

BigHead
Jul 25, 2003
Huh?


Nap Ghost

ganglysumbia posted:

I think I will plead not guilty. Having called a few local lawyers they seem to advise that route. However, I am a poor young working college student. I would prefer not to have to use a lawyer, as the cheapest one was $450. Would a court appointed one be just as well?

Court appointed lawyers are fine. It is a really bad stereotype that they suck. Unless you are in the south in which case they do suck. Anyway get a court appointed lawyer if you qualify.

Also, I'm a DA and I hate dealing with people who represent themselves, plead not guilty, and just let their case languish. If you go the self representation route, take an active role in your case. Call the DA to negotiate, request the discovery, etc.

BigHead fucked around with this message at 07:14 on Sep 14, 2011

ganglysumbia
Jan 29, 2005
The request for discovery, would there be any backlash for me going about this in such simple case? And in regards to calling the DA, how does one go about this? I do not know what grounds I have to negotiate on.

Reformed Pessimist
Apr 18, 2007
Okay I have a different situation than my flea one. This one involves my brother, his fiance, her ex-husband and her kids. This is in New York, Chemung County, the City of Elmira.

My brother's fiance has an ex husband who is the father of her children. He's a crazy drug addict, but for some reason he has unsupervised visitation with the children for three hours every Sunday. He's basically a transient who drifts from friend's house to friend's house, has no job and no permanent address. Getting him to supply the address of where he is currently staying is usually difficult if not impossible.

Recently, he just up and left Elmira and is now living in Rochester with a dude he claims is his boyfriend. So he's apparently suddenly gay or bi which is his business and I know it's entirely possible but I don't trust this guy to tell the truth about anything.

The problem is this. When the family court in Elmira ruled on custody and visitation my brother's fiance was informed that if she wanted to leave Chemung County she would need to petition the courts and ask for permission to do so. I guess this is pretty typical in cases where one party has custody of the children so they can't screw the other party out of their visitation.

So, upon learning that her ex left Chemung county without informing anyone, my brother's fiance went to the court and informed them of this. She was told that this didn't change anything with the custody or visitation agreement and that her ex was not bound legally to inform anyone that he was moving. Also, they claimed that it was most likely legally her responsibility to ensure that the ex could see the kids during his visitation period.

Here's my questions. Legally speaking should they be responsible for getting the kids to Rochester every Sunday to visit their father? Or is it his responsibility to get his rear end back to Elmira to see them? He's basically telling them that they need to drive three hours every Sunday so he can see his kids. I think that's bullshit and an unfair financial and time burden on them.

Is there anyway for them to revisit this custody and visitation ruling? This guy is a real fucker. He shouldn't be around kids at all let alone unsupervised.

The grounds I think they have to remove his visitation is that he is unemployed, he has no permanent address, he's been in and out of drug rehab, he's been in a mental institution at least once for trying to kill himself, he has a record for assault and theft. We believe but cannot prove that he burglarized their old apartment and stole most of my brother's personal items but left his ex's untouched. The cops investigated him but did not charge him.

He has made death threats against my brother, myself, his ex wife and the kids on several occasions and even showed up at their apartment at 3 in the morning one time and tried to kick the door in. The police were called but again refused to charge him and just told him he had to leave the property. There was a protection order issued against him after that but family court rescinded it during the initial custody hearing. I'm not sure what the judge's reasoning for that was.

Overall we just want this guy out of their life. My brother's fiance regrets ever marrying the guy and having children with him. He was abusive and unstable the entire time they were together and that's why she left him. The kids are better off with my brother as their father and he's planning to adopt them once he marries their mother. Whatever advice you can give to help us remove this man legally from their lives is appreciated.

They are going to consult a lawyer on these points soon. However, they haven't been able to afford one up until recently. All of the initial custody and visitation hearing were handled by legal aid. Unfortunately the legal aid representative couldn't give a poo poo about any of it and spent most of the custody hearing out in the hallway talking on his loving phone. I just wanted to get a sense of what they might be able to do here or what options they might have to get his visitation privileges revoked.

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

We've got people!


Reformed Pessimist posted:

Okay I have a different situation than my flea one. This one involves my brother, his fiance, her ex-husband and her kids. This is in New York, Chemung County, the City of Elmira.

My brother's fiance has an ex husband who is the father of her children. He's a crazy drug addict, but for some reason he has unsupervised visitation with the children for three hours every Sunday. He's basically a transient who drifts from friend's house to friend's house, has no job and no permanent address. Getting him to supply the address of where he is currently staying is usually difficult if not impossible.

Recently, he just up and left Elmira and is now living in Rochester with a dude he claims is his boyfriend. So he's apparently suddenly gay or bi which is his business and I know it's entirely possible but I don't trust this guy to tell the truth about anything.

The problem is this. When the family court in Elmira ruled on custody and visitation my brother's fiance was informed that if she wanted to leave Chemung County she would need to petition the courts and ask for permission to do so. I guess this is pretty typical in cases where one party has custody of the children so they can't screw the other party out of their visitation.

So, upon learning that her ex left Chemung county without informing anyone, my brother's fiance went to the court and informed them of this. She was told that this didn't change anything with the custody or visitation agreement and that her ex was not bound legally to inform anyone that he was moving. Also, they claimed that it was most likely legally her responsibility to ensure that the ex could see the kids during his visitation period.

Here's my questions. Legally speaking should they be responsible for getting the kids to Rochester every Sunday to visit their father? Or is it his responsibility to get his rear end back to Elmira to see them? He's basically telling them that they need to drive three hours every Sunday so he can see his kids. I think that's bullshit and an unfair financial and time burden on them.

Is there anyway for them to revisit this custody and visitation ruling? This guy is a real fucker. He shouldn't be around kids at all let alone unsupervised.

The grounds I think they have to remove his visitation is that he is unemployed, he has no permanent address, he's been in and out of drug rehab, he's been in a mental institution at least once for trying to kill himself, he has a record for assault and theft. We believe but cannot prove that he burglarized their old apartment and stole most of my brother's personal items but left his ex's untouched. The cops investigated him but did not charge him.

He has made death threats against my brother, myself, his ex wife and the kids on several occasions and even showed up at their apartment at 3 in the morning one time and tried to kick the door in. The police were called but again refused to charge him and just told him he had to leave the property. There was a protection order issued against him after that but family court rescinded it during the initial custody hearing. I'm not sure what the judge's reasoning for that was.

Overall we just want this guy out of their life. My brother's fiance regrets ever marrying the guy and having children with him. He was abusive and unstable the entire time they were together and that's why she left him. The kids are better off with my brother as their father and he's planning to adopt them once he marries their mother. Whatever advice you can give to help us remove this man legally from their lives is appreciated.

They are going to consult a lawyer on these points soon. However, they haven't been able to afford one up until recently. All of the initial custody and visitation hearing were handled by legal aid. Unfortunately the legal aid representative couldn't give a poo poo about any of it and spent most of the custody hearing out in the hallway talking on his loving phone. I just wanted to get a sense of what they might be able to do here or what options they might have to get his visitation privileges revoked.

Family law is one of the most complicated, emotional, and high stakes areas. You should absolutely hire a lawyer if you can afford one. Hiring a lawyer is an investment in the rest of your life, and for something like this, scraping together the money on the front end will be worth it in the long run. There have been several excellent posts recently about how to find a good lawyer, I'd recommend reviewing them.

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

ganglysumbia posted:

The request for discovery, would there be any backlash for me going about this in such simple case? And in regards to calling the DA, how does one go about this? I do not know what grounds I have to negotiate on.
No, but get a lawyer. Just do it. Get a lawyer. This will almost certainly be the the most serious legal thing that will happen in your life -- it is worth having representation.
You want to not have to check that "have you been convicted of a crime" box. A misdemeanor is a crime, this is not some pissant traffic ticket.
Go to court, get a public defender.
If you can't get a public defender, ask to put your case over to hire an attorney. They have to let you do this because of that whole 6th amendment thing.
Then get an attorney.

Having an attorney is so important that the founders put it in the bill of rights. Exercise it.
DO NOT GO PRO-PER. You cannot win.

This isn't about winning your case. You probably can't win. It is about having a lawyer to assist in minimizing the consequences of an unknowing violation though a variety of legal means that you can't be expected to understand or follow through with. poo poo some of this is that we attorneys (particularly public defenders like myself, know everyone in the court. We know how to get the DA to agree to something good. We know how to get that particular judge to lean on the DA. We know how to get the court staff, sometimes even the cop to tell the da that this is stupid).
This, honestly, is the type of case where a public defender would be best as it is all about the deal and we're really good at that. We have no fear of taking your stupid loser of a case to jury trial just to mess with the DA and make him have to spend Saturday prepping your case instead of spending time with his kids. (Yes, Bighead and prussian, yes, this confirms your suspicions. You also know it works and will always work on stupid poo poo like this.) This will cause even the hardest DA to give something in a stupid case like this. If it is a pro-per trial he'll spend an hour on friday prepping then tell everyone he's got a pro-per trial. Then all of us (DAs and PDs) will come to court to watch the crazy pro-per fall flat on his rear end (yes, really).

If you don't get a criminal attorney, public defender or private, you are just being dumb and will earn whatever happens.
Again, get a lawyer.

nm fucked around with this message at 19:26 on Sep 14, 2011

Soylent Pudding
Jun 22, 2007

We've got people!


nm posted:

Again, get a lawyer.

This. I know it seems minor, but the system is getting ready to ream you a new one. Your goal right now is to minimize the consequences to the rest of your life. Whatever you invest in a lawyer now will be worth it over the rest of your career/life. I'm in my third year of law school, taken courses such as trial practice, and I still wouldn't want to represent myself. Get a lawyer.

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

Soylent Pudding posted:

This. I know it seems minor, but the system is getting ready to ream you a new one. Your goal right now is to minimize the consequences to the rest of your life. Whatever you invest in a lawyer now will be worth it over the rest of your career/life. I'm in my third year of law school, taken courses such as trial practice, and I still wouldn't want to represent myself. Get a lawyer.

I am a criminal defense attorney who actually graduated law school and passed the California bar, and I'm not dumb enough to represent myself in anything more than a speeding ticket.
A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.

Feces Starship
Nov 11, 2008

in the great green room
goodnight moon
Please, please listen to nm

JohnnyHildo
Jul 23, 2002

Masey posted:

So I found out today that my brother was let go, after recently accepting a promotion at his company.

They told him they are letting him go because on his background check they found a DUI from 12 years ago.

Is this legal at all? I thought they couldn't even disclose why you didn't get a job.

The state is North Carolina if it makes a difference.

Is the reason your brother was fired a DUI he had 12 years ago, or was it because he didn't disclose the conviction and the application or company policy requires it?

BigHead
Jul 25, 2003
Huh?


Nap Ghost

ganglysumbia posted:

The request for discovery, would there be any backlash for me going about this in such simple case? And in regards to calling the DA, how does one go about this? I do not know what grounds I have to negotiate on.

Get a lawyer.

In my office, you can just show up and ask for copies of the paper disco, or call before a court date and ask that the secretaries put an extra copy in the file. You need order cds. But get a lawyer.

SwashedBuckles
Aug 10, 2007

Have at you!
I am not sure if this is the right thread to ask, but my question seems to fit in best here.

I was recently appointed to a jury in a criminal case of "Larceny from a person" in Massachusetts (a verdict has already been rendered). The Asst DA was trying the case, and there were only two witnesses called: the person who had allegedly been robbed and the police officer who arrested the defendant. There was no physical evidence of a theft presented (i.e. no money was recovered from the defendant when he was arrested). The only evidence was the witnesses' testimony, which contradicted what he said in the police report. In order to find the defendant guilty, we had to believe "beyond a reasonable doubt" that there was 1) money taken from the victim with the intent to keep it from him indefinitely and 2) that the defendant was the one to take the money. It seems that the entire case revolved around the testimony of the victim.

My questions are:

1) How were the police able to arrest the defendant if there was no proof of a crime other than what the victim said?

2) Why did the case make it to trial if there was such a lack of evidence?

3) Why would the Asst DA not have reviewed what the victim's testimony would be if the case revolved around their testimony being the only evidence of a crime?

4) How often would the lawyers in the thread say something like this occurs?

I admit that my understanding of the law (with the exception of this particular crime, which was explained in detail by the judge) comes from a brief review back in H.S. and a bunch of TV shows, so I may be off base with some of the assumptions in the questions above.

Crell
Nov 4, 2008

Hot Leggy Blonde, you
got it goin' on.
I got a BAC over 80 charge in Ontario a month ago and last week the Crown withdrew my charges. I have a few questions that some helpful goons might be able to answer for me.

Do I still need to go to the court date?

I'm supposed to go to Vegas in October, will this affect traveling there?

I got a 90 day administrative suspension along with this charge, will I be able to get it cut short because the crown withdrew the charge? I've read that the only way to dispute this is through the Licensing Appeal Tribunal by proving it wasn't actually me driving so I think I'm boned with this part.

Citizen Erased
Mar 20, 2004

Wash Me Away
I'm currently developing and iPhone game with some friends. The writer on the game has quite a lot of dialogue with direct references to brand names and other commercial entities (TV shows, websites like Facebook). I've got a feeling that as our game will be a commercial product, we can't mention those things. Is this true?

I'm in the UK if that makes a difference (given that the game will be published on the app store globally I'm not sure if this makes much difference).

Shaocaholica
Oct 29, 2002

Fig. 5E
So I heard this through a friend and may not be 100% accurate but apparently in California, you can be held liable for a subcontractor not paying their employees fair wages?

Ok, example. I pay a company(some dude) to throw a party. They provide music, food, entertainment, etc. They quote me $5000 and I pay it with apropos contracts and what not. The party happens. However, the company(dude) doesn't compensate its employees fairly and skips town. The employees not being able to find the dude, sue me for the wages they are owed.

Can anyone confirm or deny if this is legal in CA?

On a more general level, how far you can roll poo poo uphill? Like if company A hires company B hires company C etc etc. With respect to labor and possibly other things, can you roll poo poo all the way up to A if the middle parties go bankrupt or defunct?

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

SwashedBuckles posted:

1) How were the police able to arrest the defendant if there was no proof of a crime other than what the victim said?
This is like 80% of crimes with victims.
Even though eyewitness ID is loving useless.

Buckhead
Aug 12, 2005

___ days until the 2010 trade deadline :(
.

Buckhead fucked around with this message at 19:40 on Dec 13, 2013

Choadmaster
Oct 7, 2004

I don't care how snug they fit, you're nuts!
^^ IANAL, but if your friend was hosting a party that was open to the public (ie. any Granny McGee could wander on in) it probably counts as a public area. If the police were wandering through the property, it was presumably an open-to-the-public party (note: if you're at a party like that, the cops can - and in college towns, WILL - wander right on in just like any other person can).


Now, on to my minor, low-priority legal issue. There's a bank near a cafe I frequent, and it has a gigantic parking lot that has a small rear entrance/exit that is permanently chained off, and has been for decades to the best of my knowledge - there might as well be a wall there.

Inside the lot, this entrance is used as an additional parking spot by bank customers. On the street side, the curb in front of this entrance is used as additional street parking by everyone all the time, because it is clear to everyone the entrance is unusable for its ostensible purpose.

Nobody ever gets tickets there, even though parking enforcement comes by every 75 minutes. I've used it for years myself, and have also seen other people parked there all the time (it's a busy street, parking-wise). I've personally witnessed parking enforcement drive down the street, chalking the tires of every car (to enforce the 75 min limit) and treat that spot no different than any other.

You can see where this is going... I got a loving parking ticket. I can only assume it's some newbie parking enforcement officer who doesn't know what's up. Is there any likelihood I can successfully contest this ticket, given the long-standing precedent established by the officers themselves that this is an acceptable place to park? (The ticket even says the driveway is closed off.) I plan to hang out at the cafe for a couple hours and get some video of parking enforcement ignoring cars parked there (people are still doing it without getting tickets), and I'm also going to try to get a signed note from the bank manager stating they don't use that entrance ever. I suspect this is going to be wildly unsuccessful, but I want to try anyway. Any tips?

Loopyface
Mar 22, 2003

Choadmaster posted:

Nobody ever gets tickets there...parked there all the time...

I got a loving parking ticket...long-standing precedent...

Is it illegal to park there? If so, no amount of video "proving" other parking enforcement officers ignore it is going to help.

Choadmaster
Oct 7, 2004

I don't care how snug they fit, you're nuts!

Loopyface posted:

Is it illegal to park there? If so, no amount of video "proving" other parking enforcement officers ignore it is going to help.

Probably, but I really don't know. It's illegal to park in front of a driveway, but at what point is it no longer a driveway? Is a chain with a lock enough? A chain with no lock (welded to the posts)? A wall? A moat and antitank turrets?

It's worth noting the city just dismissed tens of thousands of dollars in parking tickets because they realized they were being a bunch of dicks, regardless of the technical legitimacy of the tickets (they used to give parking enforcement holidays off, but decided they'd work this Labor Day and caught hundreds of people unaware). Of course, there were a lot of people to make a stink about that one.

kedo
Nov 27, 2007

I have a parking ticket question too!

So I got one in DC the other day b/c my Virginia safety inspection sticker had expired – a understandable, but lame reason to get a $50 ticket. However, the officer who write the ticket made a mistake – they wrote down my tag year as 2011 when it's really 2013. I'm guessing that they just wrote down the same year as the safety inspection sticker by mistake.

Is this grounds enough for dismissal? I can deny the ticket online without having to go into court, so it's not like I have to spend a lot of time disputing the thing... so it may actually be worth the ten minutes it'd take me to do so.

Washington DC is the location.

entris
Oct 22, 2008

by Y Kant Ozma Post

kedo posted:

I have a parking ticket question too!

So I got one in DC the other day b/c my Virginia safety inspection sticker had expired – a understandable, but lame reason to get a $50 ticket. However, the officer who write the ticket made a mistake – they wrote down my tag year as 2011 when it's really 2013. I'm guessing that they just wrote down the same year as the safety inspection sticker by mistake.

Is this grounds enough for dismissal? I can deny the ticket online without having to go into court, so it's not like I have to spend a lot of time disputing the thing... so it may actually be worth the ten minutes it'd take me to do so.

Washington DC is the location.

In DC, sometimes if you contest a ticket, even without a valid reason, they will dismiss it rather than deal with you. It's worth a shot, since there is an error on the ticket.

WhiskeyJuvenile
Feb 15, 2002

by Nyc_Tattoo
Can DC even enforce a Virginia inspection sticker issue (assuming this is the safety inspection yellow sticker on the windshield)?

kedo
Nov 27, 2007

Baruch Obamawitz posted:

Can DC even enforce a Virginia inspection sticker issue (assuming this is the safety inspection yellow sticker on the windshield)?

Yeah that's the sticker – and I have no idea and have always wondered. If I remember correctly DC / VA and MD have certain deals they make with each other from a law enforcement perspective since they have a lot of overlap... but I've always kinda wondered about that myself. They ticketed one of my coworkers a few months ago for not having their VA emissions sticker up to date and he just paid it.

Guess I'll try disputing it! Can't hurt I suppose.

kedo fucked around with this message at 16:59 on Sep 16, 2011

Avian Pneumonia
May 24, 2006

ASK ME ABOUT MY OPINIONS ON CANCEL CULTURE
Next week I'll be taking my former landlord to small claims court in Kings County (Brooklyn) NY and I'd like to get input on a few things. Can I lay out the basics of my case and ask questions here or would that be violating rule #2 in the OP?

Also this (for any NYC legal goons):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti7cfnaRTdQ

Queen Elizatits
May 3, 2005

Haven't you heard?
MARATHONS ARE HARD
Well for what it's worth I took my landlord to small claims and wrote up my entire case in here. I won too thanks in a big part to all the helpful advice I received in here.

Lord Lilf
Aug 12, 2007

by exmarx
Last July my grandmother passed away leaving no will or power of attorney behind, only the wish that I get her 2003 Chevy Malibu. I had sold my 98' Ford Escort to help pay for the costs of funeral arrangements so my only means of transportation was the Malibu.

My grandmother had payed the car off earlier in 2011 but never received the title. When I called I had found that they had mailed it to the wrong address. The lady I spoke to said I would just need to fax in a copy of the death certificate and they would send it out to me. I fax the death certificate and two weeks pass without a word as to what is going on. I call only to have the same lady tell me that they cannot send it out because her supervisor said they are not allowed to speak to me about the account.

I speak to a friend who tells me that the title would have to go the next of kin according to Pennsylvania law. I speak to my aunt whom the title would go to. She calls them only to have them tell her that she would have to have an attorney send in a letter stating the the title would go to her. I speak to a friend of a friend about this who is an attorney who is no longer practicing and he tells me it's not so simple. He says we need to have an estate opened up for her in order to get the title.

Neither me nor my aunt have money. I'm a college student and she has to depend on food stamps to get by. We've both tried avenue we could think of to get help and we're at a loss as we just want to get the title to a car that's been paid off for almost a year; a car that doesn't rightfully belong to the company holding it.

What can we do in these circumstances?

entris
Oct 22, 2008

by Y Kant Ozma Post

Lord Lilf posted:

Last July my grandmother passed away leaving no will or power of attorney behind, only the wish that I get her 2003 Chevy Malibu. I had sold my 98' Ford Escort to help pay for the costs of funeral arrangements so my only means of transportation was the Malibu.

My grandmother had payed the car off earlier in 2011 but never received the title. When I called I had found that they had mailed it to the wrong address. The lady I spoke to said I would just need to fax in a copy of the death certificate and they would send it out to me. I fax the death certificate and two weeks pass without a word as to what is going on. I call only to have the same lady tell me that they cannot send it out because her supervisor said they are not allowed to speak to me about the account.

I speak to a friend who tells me that the title would have to go the next of kin according to Pennsylvania law. I speak to my aunt whom the title would go to. She calls them only to have them tell her that she would have to have an attorney send in a letter stating the the title would go to her. I speak to a friend of a friend about this who is an attorney who is no longer practicing and he tells me it's not so simple. He says we need to have an estate opened up for her in order to get the title.

Neither me nor my aunt have money. I'm a college student and she has to depend on food stamps to get by. We've both tried avenue we could think of to get help and we're at a loss as we just want to get the title to a car that's been paid off for almost a year; a car that doesn't rightfully belong to the company holding it.

What can we do in these circumstances?

DMV people are so annoying about this sort of thing. i'll dig around a little.

Edit: go here: http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/mv_forms/mv-39.pdf

Go down to the page with the heading "no will- no surviving spouse and no minor heirs". Follow the steps on that page, and you should be good to go. No estate needs to be opened. This will only work if all of your grandmother's heirs agree that you should get the car.

entris fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Sep 16, 2011

Lord Lilf
Aug 12, 2007

by exmarx

entris posted:

DMV people are so annoying about this sort of thing. i'll dig around a little. In my state there are several ways to handle this. How many of your grandmother's children are alive? How many of her grandchildren? What other assets did she have at death - bank accounts, house, etc - and what's the approx. total worth? Did she owe any money at her death? (credit card debt, etc.)


How much did you spend on the funeral arrangements?

Six of my grandmother's children are alive. Both of her parents are dead and she has no living spouse either. The car was literally her only asset other than a '42 inch lcd tv I bought her for her birthday that had been stolen after her death. I had a shared bank account with my grandmother that she had opened up for me when I was nine years old. She didn't own a house, the only other debt she had was credit card debt that she was working towards paying off until she had passed away. The car it's self is worth between 6-7 grand. I paid $800 towards funeral costs and there is another $1017 still owed that other members of the family said they will take up. That's the gist of it.

Lord Lilf
Aug 12, 2007

by exmarx

entris posted:



Edit: go here: http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/mv_forms/mv-39.pdf

Go down to the page with the heading "no will- no surviving spouse and no minor heirs". Follow the steps on that page, and you should be good to go. No estate needs to be opened. This will only work if all of your grandmother's heirs agree that you should get the car.

This would imply that I have the title to the vehicle, which I don't. The company whom my grandmother had the lien with is holding the title and refuses to send to my aunt who the title would rightfully go to, unless there is something I'm misinterpreting here. Just to clarify, the car is paid off.

Edit: I forgot to mention that when the car was paid off they mailed the title to the wrong address and it was sent back to them (they are called Credit Acceptance). My grandmother never queried as to why she never received the title to the vehicle.

Lord Lilf fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Sep 16, 2011

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entris
Oct 22, 2008

by Y Kant Ozma Post
Ooooh ok, I see. I thought it was Pennsylvania's DMV that was giving you trouble. Since it is a private company, you will probably have to open an estate, get yourself appointed as the administrator, and then submit that paperwork. Private companies are really really difficult to work with , when it comes to the accounts of dead people. They almost always want you to open an estate and be the appointed executor or administrator, because they don't want to get sued by other family members later on.

You should call your county's local court and ask for the probate clerk. Talk to the clerk, explain that you want to open a small intestate estate, and ask for an explanation of how to do that. It's even better if you go in person. Oftentimes, probate clerks are very helpful. You can also ask if they have a procedure for waiving the filing fees since you are a poor student - they might do it, but probably not.

I don't know if Pennsylvania has a streamlined probate process or not. You should go talk to the clerk. you can probably get this done without an attorney.

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