|
This probably won't help the civil case but get in contact with the victim's advocate at the the criminal court ASAP. They can help him keep up with whats happening in the criminal case and give him an opportunity to vigorously object to any programs the defendant may otherwise be eligible for. I know nothing about Texas criminal law but in other states people can take advantage of things called pre-trial rehabilitation programs or other similarly named programs which involve a period of probation which can end in a dismissal of charges. If he doesn't show up to object to such a program it would make it more likely that it would be granted. The easiest way to contact them would probably be to call the clerks office in the courthouse and ask to be transferred, also get the docket number from the clerks to better identify the case.
|
#
?
Oct 25, 2012 23:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 11:59 |
|
|
Emo Rodeo posted:This probably won't help the civil case but get in contact with the victim's advocate at the the criminal court ASAP. They can help him keep up with whats happening in the criminal case and give him an opportunity to vigorously object to any programs the defendant may otherwise be eligible for. Yep, he's already keeping up with it. Sent off an email to the assistant DA today about why they keep getting continuances. It's the fourth one so far. I'll tell him to keep an eye/ear out for any sort of rehab.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 00:29
|
|
|
2DEG posted:Yep, he's already keeping up with it. Sent off an email to the assistant DA today about why they keep getting continuances. It's the fourth one so far. I'll tell him to keep an eye/ear out for any sort of rehab. That's good but it could still be a good idea to check into whether there is a victim's advocate. The DA will take into account what he emails but they have a ton of cases and other responsibilities whereas this is the advocate's sole responsibility. Anyways, keeping after the DA is a good idea, but the more the better.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 00:35
|
|
|
2DEG posted:Yep, he's already keeping up with it. Sent off an email to the assistant DA today about why they keep getting continuances. It's the fourth one so far. I'll tell him to keep an eye/ear out for any sort of rehab. 4 continuance for a injury DUI is nothing shocking. nm fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Oct 26, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 04:10
|
|
|
My neighbors small dog got into our fenced back yard. I have 3 larger dogs. I don't know if they were fence fighting, but the end result is a dead small dog. Their dog broke a part of the wood fence upward (pushed out towards our side), enough for it to get in my yard to meet its demise. The neighbor was frantically pounding on the door as the dog confrontation was happening. The dog still appeared to be alive when they were broken up, the neighbors rushed it to the vet. After the dog died they came to my door demanding that we covered the bill, real nasty like. They even had it cremated so there is a luxury attached to the bill. They said they would take us to court if we didn't pay. Our answer was a no. I don't see my issue going past small claims, or even to it. The bill is $350. My dogs have a prior from a few years back with the animal control. I assume they are going to visit us tomorrow considering how things went today. The prior was that they got out and were barking at somebody. They've never bitten another person. They are renters, I am a homeowner. We live in California. Stupid poo poo like this keeps me up at night. Do they have a leg to stand on? I think the worst part of all of this is that I'm going to have lovely acting neighbors for the rest of their stay. Aeka 2.0 fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Oct 26, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 04:35
|
|
Have you seen my apex seals? I seem to have lost them.
|
Aeka 2.0 posted:My neighbors small dog got into our fenced back yard. I have 3 larger dogs. I don't know if they were fence fighting, but the end result is a dead small dog. Their dog broke a part of the wood fence upward (pushed out towards our side), enough for it to get in my yard to meet its demise.... Tell them you'll pay for their dead dog to be melted down for scrap if they pay for the repair of the fence that it busted up beforehand. These sound like the sorts of folks that would be indignant about this request even without little Poochums gettin' tore up. I'm sorry I can not in good faith offer you any law advice, but if they try to drag you small claim over this I think this (stated more properly) should be your attempt at a settlement. I've never really dealt with animal control, are they reasonable dudes and dudetteseses? If so, and they agree that another animal intruding on your fenced in, loved and cared for dogs isn't a clear sign that you're an unfit pet owner, then you should try to get them to write something on paper. Signed, dated, and along with some pictures of the fence breach and you can't really lose.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 04:59
|
|
|
I took pictures of the breach for records and repaired the fence shortly after. I have spare boards because as a responsible homeowner I keep up with fence repairs when I see a troublesome fence board. They have never touched the fence aside from maybe throwing a brick or board near a dug area. They still had a second dog in their yard when I was doing the repairs, you would think they would take it in, I took mine in.
Aeka 2.0 fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Oct 26, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 05:05
|
|
|
Aeka 2.0 posted:My neighbors small dog got into our fenced back yard. I have 3 larger dogs. I don't know if they were fence fighting, but the end result is a dead small dog. Legal answer: You owe them jack poo poo. You win a theoretical lawsuit. If your dogs escape your fence, for example, they get whatever comes to them including being shot by a crazy person or getting eaten by an illegal pet bear. It's a pretty black and white issue: Legally they have zero claim. (I'm not in Texas. It's possible there are some crazy rancher-type laws involving animals and fencing in Texas that change this around, but I'm too lazy to check) Practical answer: How angry of a neighbor can you tolerate and how much are the total bills? Even though you owe them zero and did nothing wrong, it might be worth $350 to avoid some crazy feud where things mysteriously happen to your car. You want to be delicate about it. This depends on a lot of factors, including your financial situation and their level of insanity. woozle wuzzle fucked around with this message at 05:14 on Oct 26, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 05:10
|
|
|
woozle wuzzle posted:
I think a small part of the reason is that they aren't doing well financially. How much of that is misdirected anger I don't know. I'm going to guess very high right now. If they came calm and cool and asked for help, keyword "help." I would have no problem helping out a neighbor in need. However they were shoving the bill in my wife's face and demanding compensation. The shitter is that it wasn't their dog, it was their daughter's. She lives on her own and came to us first. She was more reasonable, but her parents' emotions were at a higher level, it wasn't cool. I don't see how paying their bill will lessen the tension (The mother always seemed frantic and emotional) and it might show admission of fault. It defenatley is something to think about. I don't want to have to have crappy looks at each other every time I take out the garbage. Aeka 2.0 fucked around with this message at 05:39 on Oct 26, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 05:29
|
|
|
nm posted:4 continuance for a injury DUI is nothing shocking. Why is that, just wondering.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 15:48
|
|
|
Xenoborg posted:Why is that, just wondering. I set a trial date the other day for August 2013. When you're setting down dates a year in advance, who cares about adjourning for a week or two here or there
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 16:45
|
|
|
Also, lawyers give out continuances for almost any reason. And they should. When each attorney has a dozen different cases on their plate, and need to be able to give each the attention they deserve (which means spending a substantial amount of time prior to any hearing/trial/event preparing), then you have to reschedule since you'll doubtless have conflicts. And attorneys grant requests for continuances almost all the time, since they know the shoe will be on the other foot next time.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 17:02
|
|
|
Regarding the dog issue, what if the neighbors try to argue that the fence was improperly maintained, wood was rotted, whatever, and thus the fence owner contributed to the death of the dog? Just curious, that might not matter at all.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 17:26
|
|
|
areyoucontagious posted:Regarding the dog issue, what if the neighbors try to argue that the fence was improperly maintained, wood was rotted, whatever, and thus the fence owner contributed to the death of the dog? Just curious, that might not matter at all. The fence is a 50/50 ownership. I'm the only one actually maintaining it. It doesn't matter. My wife called a lawyer that specializes in this stuff. They can kick rocks. What he did suggest was to offer help to keep things "neighborly" since we have to live next door to each other.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 17:50
|
|
|
Can a brotha get an amen?
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 18:08
|
|
|
areyoucontagious posted:Regarding the dog issue, what if the neighbors try to argue that the fence was improperly maintained, wood was rotted, whatever, and thus the fence owner contributed to the death of the dog? Just curious, that might not matter at all. Not legal advice, not your lawyer. I don't see a claim for negligence succeeding. Neighbor would have to prove that you owed him a duty to build, maintain, and payfor a fence to keep his dog out of your yard. However, CA does have certain laws regarding fences. Generally, the purpose of a fence is to keep things from getting out (think livestock) not to prevent outside things from getting in. If there are facts that there was a joint effort by both of you to pay for and maintain the fence, there may be an issue if that fence was not properly maintained. That would be fact specific, and I won't go speculating as to all the variables that may influence that issue absent further information from you.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 18:23
|
|
|
woozle wuzzle posted:Can a brotha get an amen? Yes, thanks. Just got a call from the wife. Animal control stopped by. They had the impression that our dogs got into their yard and said that our dogs knocked down or broke the fence. My wife had to correct her that their dog got into our yard. I don't know if something got lost in translation to the animal control, but it quickly went from our fault to theirs. They are going to talk to the neighbor again, but animal control is on our side at this point.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 19:06
|
|
|
xxEightxx posted:Not legal advice, not your lawyer. Not my dog, not my fence. Just curious. Glad animal control is on your side, Aeka!
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 19:23
|
|
|
areyoucontagious posted:Not my dog, not my fence. Just curious. Glad animal control is on your side, Aeka! Good thing yes. They originally wanted to take the dogs in for evaluation. Once my wife told them their dog came to our yard their tone changed quick.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 19:25
|
|
|
My friends lawyer spent logged in over $7000 preparing for a trial (interviewing witnesses, writing trial brief etc) and on the week before trial when they were supposed to set the date, the prosecutor offers 25 hours of community service to have the case dismissed. My friend has two choices, take the 25 hours and do community service, or pay another $3000 towards his lawyer for the trial. To me, this doesn't really sound fair? Or is this just how the justice system works?
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 22:58
|
|
|
Busy Bee posted:To me, this doesn't really sound fair? Or is this just how the justice system works?
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 23:02
|
|
|
In law school they always told us, 90-95% of cases settle before a jury verdict. Often times each side really doesn't know how strong there case is until they start discovery and doing trial prep. Maybe the DA saw how weak the case is, or they just have other priorities and just want to get this off the books.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 23:03
|
|
|
25 hours of community service for a dismissal is also a screaming good deal for almost anything remotely severe.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 23:26
|
|
|
Javid posted:25 hours of community service for a dismissal is also a screaming good deal for almost anything remotely severe. 10k for a jury trial doesn't sound like the charge was very severe. Even if you're acquitted, the DA has still punished you. If you have money, it's the same as if you've been fined thousands of dollars. If you're poor, it's measured in months of jail rather than thousands of dollars. Yes, that's how it works.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 23:43
|
|
|
Busy Bee posted:My friends lawyer spent logged in over $7000 preparing for a trial (interviewing witnesses, writing trial brief etc) and on the week before trial when they were supposed to set the date, the prosecutor offers 25 hours of community service to have the case dismissed. My friend has two choices, take the 25 hours and do community service, or pay another $3000 towards his lawyer for the trial. Unless your friend makes more than $120 an hour, that sounds like a great deal
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2012 23:58
|
|
|
Busy Bee posted:To me, this doesn't really sound fair? Or is this just how the justice system works? Okay, the issue is that you're not paying 7 grand to make it go away, or 7 grand to win a court case. You're paying 7 grand to be represented the best way possible. All the lawyer did was make sure if it went to court your friend wasn't going to get his rear end kicked. The fact that the DA came along and said "hey, how about a deal" is a good thing. You friend paid 7 grand to be represented, and he got 25 days community service. Your friend got a win.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 00:00
|
|
|
Busy Bee posted:My friends lawyer spent logged in over $7000 preparing for a trial (interviewing witnesses, writing trial brief etc) and on the week before trial when they were supposed to set the date, the prosecutor offers 25 hours of community service to have the case dismissed. My friend has two choices, take the 25 hours and do community service, or pay another $3000 towards his lawyer for the trial. That's totally fair. People on the other side generally tend to be more apt to settle when the lawyer works his or her rear end off. That's why your buddy got a great settlement. It doesn't look good for DAs to lose trials so if it looks like they might lose (when an attorney works his balls or her ovaries off), they're more inclined to settle.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 00:02
|
|
|
Hi all. My sister lives in Louisville KY and might be facing some apartment woes. About three months ago she moved into an apartment with two other roommates. Everything started well but quickly turned into the oldest story in the book - she is the responsible one, the other two less so. Now, one of the other roommates wants to get a dog, even though everyone clearly said no pets when they moved in. The other roommate cleared it with the landlord but my sister is against it because she's pretty sure she will be stuck taking care of it. She is pretty sure all 3 of them are on the lease together. Is she basically screwed and needs to find someone to move in, or does her third of the lease give her some ability to say categorically "no pets"? She is worried she is past the point of being able to negotiate with the roommate...
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 02:54
|
|
|
woozle wuzzle posted:If your dogs escape your fence, for example, they get whatever comes to them including being shot by a crazy person or getting eaten by an illegal pet bear. Hypothetically, if a dog attacked me on my property and I shot it, could I be charged with illegally discharging a firearm in city limits?
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 03:29
|
|
|
Johnny Cache Hit posted:Hi all. My sister lives in Louisville KY and might be facing some apartment woes. They are either all on the lease or not, if she is living in an apt without a copy of the lease you need to tell her how unwise that is and have her get a copy of the lease asap. The lease controls the situation not what 3 girls agreed to. She has no power to overrule the lease. She either signed something or not, she should at least know that much; and if she is as young as I think she is, she probably needed her parents to co-sign so there really shouldn't be any question in her mind as to whether or not she is part of the lease. Her agreement, if she did sign onto it, is with the landlord and not the other girls. She has no power over the conduct of the other girls outside of what the lease says.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 03:30
|
|
|
Xenoborg posted:Why is that, just wondering. Depends what the continuances are for; if we're just counting continuances full stop, regardless of their purpose, then four continuances for an accident DUI with blood draws and the like is pretty good. You have the first date up, gets a continuance for discovery and perhaps a summary suspension hearing and a HIPPA order, then maybe a continuance or two for further discovery/waiting on HIPPA, then a continuance or two because the defendant sees you have the evidence and now wants to get evaluated for a plea, then he changes his mind and perhaps you have a continuance or two for a motion to quash, then a further motion or two for a trial, but hey the hospital won't co-operate so now another continuance or two having investigators personally serve medical staff and force them to appear, then when everyone is there the client pleads and we get to have the re-union on the term date (or when the defendant gets violated).
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 03:40
|
|
|
SkunkDuster posted:Hypothetically, if a dog attacked me on my property and I shot it, could I be charged with illegally discharging a firearm in city limits? It all depends on the local laws and defenses. But in general, I bet if you could prove a legit fear of bodily harm then no charges apply. Like if you saw Foofy in your garden and blasted it with a shotgun, all you get is the illegal discharge (or whatever local ordinance applies, some places shooting is OK). But if Foofy charged you, you yelled "she's comin' right for us", and the dog attacked, then self-defense applies and you can fire-at-will. Again, all depending on local law.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 03:41
|
|
|
CaptainScraps posted:That's totally fair. People on the other side generally tend to be more apt to settle when the lawyer works his or her rear end off. That's why your buddy got a great settlement. It doesn't look good for DAs to lose trials so if it looks like they might lose (when an attorney works his balls or her ovaries off), they're more inclined to settle. Exactly. The difference between an offer and a good offer is work.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 03:49
|
|
|
CaptainScraps posted:That's totally fair. People on the other side generally tend to be more apt to settle when the lawyer works his or her rear end off. That's why your buddy got a great settlement. It doesn't look good for DAs to lose trials so if it looks like they might lose (when an attorney works his balls or her ovaries off), they're more inclined to settle. nm posted:Exactly. The difference between an offer and a good offer is work. Yeah, and I think it's a mirror reflection on the prosecution side; when we put effort into our cases and make them strong, an offer is more likely to be taken/recommended to the defendant. Lately we've had an issue with roadblock hearings piling up on the calls, and I worked my arse off to prepare responses to all the motions. So far I've knocked out 8 of the 20 or so motions in our courthouse. Today I filed a response on a case and told the private I had all the relevant supervisors and officers in court ready for his motion; after he read what I wrote and thought for a while he said "you know we got nothing, what's the offer?" and when I said I wasn't looking to jail his client it was over. If I hadn't shown up with a written response and all the officers, this lawyer would not have told his client to plea. EDIT: As for it not looking good when a DA loses, I disagree. Around here at least, it's not so much your win/loss ratio as the overall number of trials and the effort and showing you make. Agesilaus fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Oct 27, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 03:54
|
|
|
SkunkDuster posted:Hypothetically, if a dog attacked me on my property and I shot it, could I be charged with illegally discharging a firearm in city limits? The dog here is sort of a distraction, illegal discharge is a crime whereas killing someone's dog makes people think of a civil penalty where the shooter has to pay the dog owner money. As far as I know, illegal discharge has to do with a gun being discharged in a criminally negligent manner, that is, falling below some standard of care in the discharge of a weapon. So, while the circumstances of shooting the dog may be relevant in determining if the discharge was negligent, shooting the dog in and of itself is not an element of the illegal discharge.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 03:56
|
|
|
Emo Rodeo posted:Her agreement, if she did sign onto it, is with the landlord and not the other girls. She has no power over the conduct of the other girls outside of what the lease says. No cosign from the parents, and the lease is in a safe deposit box for the weekend so she can't access it until Monday. But it is her first apartment so she can't quite remember the specifics. So if the lease is with all of them, and the lease is cool with pets (and the landlord is, as well) there's not much of a choice here? I guess I'm just not sure how a lease that says "y'all can have a dog" works when there are actually three people bound by the lease. I'll have her look up the relevant sections when the bank opens. Anything in particular to look for?
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 04:11
|
|
|
Johnny Cache Hit posted:No cosign from the parents, and the lease is in a safe deposit box for the weekend so she can't access it until Monday. But it is her first apartment so she can't quite remember the specifics. There will probably be a section specifically addressing pets. If the lease is ok with dogs that means that when they all signed the lease they were all ok with dogs. Doesn't matter what they think right now. Even though there are three people bound by the lease, it's easier to think of it as three individual contracts between each tenant and the landlord. As long as tenant 1 keeps up his end of the bargain with the landlord, tenant 2 cannot force tenant 1 to do anything. It's a good life lesson that sometimes you just have to deal with it. Just think about it from the landlord's perspective, he isn't going to get in the middle of 3 girls fighting over a dog as long as he's getting paid.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 04:26
|
|
|
Emo Rodeo posted:There will probably be a section specifically addressing pets. If the lease is ok with dogs that means that when they all signed the lease they were all ok with dogs. Doesn't matter what they think right now. Three individual contracts makes sense. I guess the proper way for my sister to handle this for the future would be to explicitly get "no pets" in the lease. I had figured this was going to be the answer, but thanks for the details 
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 04:35
|
|
|
SkunkDuster posted:Hypothetically, if a dog attacked me on my property and I shot it, could I be charged with illegally discharging a firearm in city limits? Not sure if it exists in American law, but in Canada we have a common law defence of necessity. Typical example is breaking into a cabin if you are lost in the woods in a blizzard.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 05:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 11:59 |
|
|
Schitzo posted:Not sure if it exists in American law, but in Canada we have a common law defence of necessity. Typical example is breaking into a cabin if you are lost in the woods in a blizzard. Don't forget to replace the firewood, for the next guy this happens to. (Yeah I doubt that's actually in the law, but it's just common sense etiquette.)
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2012 05:50
|
|
