Legal Questions

Read more

(FORTUNE Small Business) — When Mark Publicover sees his kids bounce against the safety net that wraps around their trampoline, he beams with paternal pride - the device, invented 11 years ago, was his brainchild.

Read more

Roundup: Legal News Worth Noting
Scalia’s Write-Hand Man
Of Virgins and Christians and Net Neutrality
The American Lawyer Launches New Site
Eight Years of Patent Board Rulings, Down the Drain?
India’s Biggest Law Firm?
South Korea, Japan and the Jury System
Foreign Corruption Now Big Business
Sharpton Calls Acquittals in Sean Bell Case An “Abortion of Justice”
Student Twitters Himself Out of Jail

Read more

Entrapment is the act of a law enforcement agent inducing a person to commit an offense, which the person would not have, or was unlikely to have, otherwise committed. An entrapment defense generally requires the defendant to prove that he never would have committed the crime absent the police trapping him. At the same time, the government will attempt to show that the defendant was predisposed to committing such a crime so as to negate the entrapment defense. If the government is able to show that the defendant readily and quickly responded to a single invitation, then they may be able to establish that the defendant was inclined to committing the crime on their own. However, even if the defendant was predisposed to committing the crime the government may still be required to prove it was not the law enforcement’s suggestive nature that caused crime to be committed.

As an affirmative defense, a defendant who is claiming that he was entrapped is stating that he did in fact commit the crime for which he is being accused. What the defendant is suggesting is that he should be excused from criminal liability, because absent being lured to the crime or enticement to engage in the criminal activity, he never would have committed the offense. Federal law provides that a defendant can both plead not guilty to the act of the crime and claim an affirmative defense of entrapment. However, both defenses are seldom asserted simultaneously.

Generally, entrapment is most commonly asserted as a defense in sting operations. For example, in the case of a drug sting if the police put pressure upon a person to sell drugs who initially refuses, but is persuaded to do so, then they could be seen as entrapping that individual. In the process of such operations, the police often engage in the same so-called crimes as the target suspect in order to gain the trust of the individual. Sometimes this conduct may be unethical and rise to the level of entrapment.

There are certain limitations, however, on when a defendant may raise an entrapment defense. Serious criminal charges such as homicide or felony murder can never be a defense to entrapment. In addition, if a defendant has a criminal history he may have a difficult time proving an entrapment defense because the government will attempt to introduce evidence of the prior convictions. If the prosecution can demonstrate a previous history of similar crimes then it becomes extremely difficult to prove entrapment.

The circumstances under which an entrapment defense may be employed are fairly specific, but an attorney familiar with an understanding of entrapment defenses may be able to give you more information regarding a particular situation.

Read more

If you need to carry out your own investigation on a person living in Texas, your efforts should be focused on accessing Texas public records. Public records comprise tons of valuable data, including personal, civil, criminal and financial information, and therefore can be of great help in any investigation.

Searching for Texas public records might mean a lot of legwork, time and efforts, especially, if you yourself are not from Texas. Government agencies, courts, educational institutions, churches and various offices are all on your list, and even if you know exactly where to look for the information you need, rummaging through archives and retrieving information can take ages.

In our computerized era, however, all public records are available in electronic form – and this goes to Texas public records as well. In other words, you do not have to hunt for actual copies, when everything you need is available at a few clicks.

To a certain extent, the information you can obtain online can be free. This goes to basic information like the person’s name, address and house phone number. But further details you may need for your investigation are likely to be paid in order to be accessed.

Many official government sites will charge you for each search. And though you are likely to find what you want, depending on your enquiry, the fee can be quite hefty. Some sites charge only if your search returns positive results. While conducting a single search might be worth the price, investigating about a few people will result in a rather heavy bill.

Looking for Texas public records, you will most probably have to check both state agencies’ websites as well as some of the bigger sites that contain public records nationwide. Finding these sites alone can still be challenging, especially if you have little idea about how to tell genuine public records sites from their fraud duplicates, looking for ways to get easy money from you.

If you want to get all public records in one place, that is, access the most comprehensive databases on the Web, the best thing for you would be joining an online public record directory. Such directories charge a one-time fee, allowing unlimited number of searches for any kind of records, including civil and criminal records, personal information, birth and marriage records, real estate records, certain financial information and much more. Apart from all-nation public record databases, there are more specialized websites, where you can search all public records within the given state.

Take a minute to visit my blog and learn how you can search Texas public records within seconds!

Read more

DWI or driving while intoxicated with alcohol or other drugs is a serious crime and requires severe punishment. If you take DWI lightly, then Dallas DWI laws may seem harsh to you. Remember, DWI affects not only your life but also the lives of the hundreds of others who innocently share the streets with you. Thus, even harsh laws in this area seem to be only a welcome move.

Read more

The Chapter 7 bankruptcy is our most popular form of personal bankruptcy here in the US. Often times we have to resort to it because we have experienced an unplanned, sudden loss of a job, or a major injury. If you truly want to discharge all of your debts and have a fresh financial start then you must have bankruptcy liquidation under this chapter.

Even if your deep into debt, if you qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy then you can get out of your financial situation. The best way to qualify is to have little or no assets in your name. You can do this by relinquishing the ownership of your valuables to your family or friends. The best way to do this is with a legal bill of sale form. This will give you a legal way to prove you no longer own those assets. ItÂ’s important to do this anyway because creditors may try to stake claim on those assets.

If you qualify, then filing for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is probably your best option, and should be taken into consideration. There are some debts that you can’t discharge though such as federal student loans, alimony, and child support payments owed. If one of these is the main reason for your debt then forget about going this route, but if theyÂ’re not the main reason then youÂ’re on the right track.

It often times becomes overwhelming for some of us to keep up with debt. Getting rid of it once and for all will free you from the stress caused by your overwhelming financial burdens. It’s an amazing feeling for those of us who have been in serious debt before.

Another great thing about the Chapter 7 bankruptcy is that you will be eligible for new loans within months. Everyone knows loans are a great way to build credit. Almost immediately after filing you can start to rebuild your credit, thatÂ’s the great thing about going this route.

Probably the best thing getting rid of debt is ending the phone calls from creditors. Finally be able to experience peace and quiet for once in your home. Also, you know have had a crash course in what will happen when debt is improperly managed and you will be better suited to handle any future financial trouble.

Also, once you eliminate your debt you can begin to rebuild your savings account, education fund, retirement fund, and whatever other kind of fund you want. You no longer will need to worry about creditors trying to stake their claim on your hard earned cash.

There are so many benefits to filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy its no wonder why itÂ’s the most popular form of personal bankruptcy in our country.

Read more

New York environmental officials are suspending the registration of four commercial pesticide products manufactured by the Scotts Company.
via 1010Wins

Read more

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights, validating Republican-inspired voter ID laws

Read more

“The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office may have a major problem on its
hands — the possibly unconstitutional appointment of nearly two-thirds
of its patent appeals judges,” reports Marcia Coyle in the National Law Journal. The issue dates back to a procedural change in the law eight years ago, and it could, potentially, invalidate any ruling involving one of those
“unconstitutional” judges since March, 2000.

Read more