Legal Questions

TUSKEGEE, Alabama (CNN) — A trip through sweltering Alabama to experience some of the civil rights movement’s most important sites brought history books to life for my family and me.

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Salaries of district attorneys in Massachusetts are set by state law at just under $150,000 a year, but the DAs are free to pay assistant DAs whatever they want. As a result, ADA salaries in the state vary widely from office to office and even within a single office. In a story published this week, The Springfield Republican surveyed DAs’ offices in Western Massachusetts and found staff salaries ranging from a high of $115,000 to a low of $37,500. “While some current and former prosecutors say they are compensated fairly, a greater number grouse privately that many of the hardest workers are not the highest earners,” reporter Stephanie Barry writes.

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THE FELONY PROCESS IN ILLINOIS

Felony Defined: A serious crime that has a possible prison term of 1 year or more. Some felonies carry terms of up to 60 years. Murder is a felony, but has special rules of its own, including life in prison or execution.                             

The Arrest: When the police arrest someone and believe a felony should be charged, they call the State’s Attorney’s Felony Review Office. The State’s Attorney on duty gathers information and sometimes interviews the defendant. The State’s Attorney then decides if felony charges are proper. If so, the person is charged and held for a bond hearing.

The Bond Hearing: As soon as practical after a felony arrest, the accused is taken before a judge to set a bond. The bond court judge listens to the charges and the history of the defendant. The judge decides the terms of the defendant’s release, whether it is by personal recognizance (I-Bond) or by posting with the court an amount of money (D-Bond).

The Preliminary Hearing: After the arrest and bond hearing, the case is usually scheduled for a preliminary hearing. At this hearing a judge hears evidence to determine two matters. First, was a crime committed? Second, is there reason to believe a particular individual committed this crime? This is a very important part of the process. If the defendant wins the preliminary hearing, the judge says there is no probable cause to bring the charges, and usually the case is over. Often, even if the defendant loses the hearing, having an experienced lawyer for this hearing can be very important for later, since a record is kept of the testimony at the hearing, and this can be used later in defending the case.

The Indictment: The state can charge a person with a felony by presenting evidence to a Grand Jury. After the Grand Jury hears evidence and agrees there was a crime, an indictment is issued. In this situation there will not be a preliminary hearing. If the defendant is not in custody, a warrant will be issued for his arrest.

Assignment to Trial Court: When someone is arrested and charged with a felony, if there has been a finding of probable cause at a preliminary hearing or an indictment, the case is then assigned to the Chief Judge’s courtroom. The Chief Judge assigns the case to a trial court.

Arraignment: After assignment to a trial court, the defendant is formally told of the charges against him. It is at this point that a formal plea of not guilty is given to the court.

Discovery: This is the process by which the state must provide to the accused the evidence that it has against him. Gathering this evidence is extremely important to the defense.

Motions: A Motion is a request by an attorney asking the judge to order that something be done. Some motions, if successful, such as Motion to Quash Arrest, Motion to Suppress Evidence, and Motion to Suppress Statement, can result in the case being dismissed. Experienced lawyers keep an eye on the case and the evidence to determine if there are important motions to be made that affect their client’s freedom.

Plea Agreement: This is when the State’s Attorney, defense attorney, and defendant agree what penalty will be imposed if the defendant pleads guilty to the crime. Often the trial judge also participates in the agreement. Many cases are finished in this fashion, and an experienced lawyer knows what the usual penalties are for specific situations. In that way he can arrange for the best possible outcome for his client.

Trial: In the event that there is no agreement in return for a plea (or the case is not dismissed by way of a motion), then a trial is held, and the defendant maintains his plea of not guilty. At trial the state presents evidence to either a judge (bench trial) or a jury. The state must prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If this does not happen, the defendant is found not guilty and the case is over. If it does happen, then the defendant will have a penalty imposed by the judge who presided at the trial.

If you have further questions, please visit:   http://shestokas.com/Your_Attorneys.html

© 2008 Shestokas Raines & Malavia, P.C

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Law enforcement officials have entered on line chat groups and showed up at ball parks to show young kids how something as simple as a photo with a team uniform can lead child stalkers right to their ball field. The public has a heightened sense of protecting children on-line but adults are often just as easy prey when it comes to fraud and identity theft.

What are some other types of On-Line Identity Theft Threats

Pop Ups at Gaming Sites- You’ve Just Won!

It’s easy to get comfortable on your favorite gaming site. It’s hard to resist when a pop-up tells you that you’ve just won a free digital camera, an iPod or a gift card to a popular store if you just simply fill out this claim form. If it’s too good to be true, it usually is. At best, you’ll be asked to buy something else to qualify what’s worse, it may be an identity thief. Identity thieves can use the same technology other marketers do and once you fill out the registration form, they can use your information to get credit cards, mortgages or utilities.

Spearphishing in E-mails- Important Notices

Spearphishing is a method of con in which consumers receive what looks like a very legitimate e-mail from their bank warning of a serious security issue and asking customers to type in their log in and password to rectify this breach. Regardless of how professional and insistent the e-mail appears, don’t do it. If a bank becomes aware of a security issue you will be notified by mail, not e-mail. If this is an identity thief that is spearphishing, following through will give them access to wipe out your bank account.

On-line Communities -So Many Friends

On-line communities are very popular and can be a lot of fun. While you may “feel” that you’re interacting with just a few people, remember that Facebook, for example, has over 80 million active members.

Tips to Avoid Identity Theft in On-Line Communities

1. Never give out your birthday. It seems simple and fun to get all those good wishes but your birth date combined with other information can open the door for identity thieves to come into your life.

2. Be very careful of the photos you post. Is your house number showing in the background? Remember the example above about team uniforms? This would also apply to work uniforms. Look at each photo and think, what can this tell someone about me?

3. Never let your phone number be exposed. Using a reverse search, your phone number also gives away your address. Most people wouldn’t post their phone number on a profile page but it is easy to be lured to in a community chat.

The world-wide web opens a lot of doors for work and fun but remember there’s no “eraser” on the internet pencil. Be very careful about e-mails or promotions you respond to and what you share on profile pages and on discussion boards because you can’t take it back and identity thieves are all ears.

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Open heart surgery is one of the most invasive surgeries performed to this day. Open heart surgery, also known as cardiac surgery, is performed by a specialized cardiac surgeon trained in the most up-to-date technological advances in medicine. Open heart surgery is performed to treat complications of heart disease ranging from congenital to valvular problems. Another reason to perform the invasive surgery is to due a heart transplant. In an open heart surgery the patient’s chest, namely the abdomen, is open allowing for easy access to the heart. A big concern in open heart surgery is the need for a bloodless motionless environment so the heart must be stopped and drained of blood. This is a big concern for obvious reasons in which the use of drugs is used to limit the amount of bleeding while in surgery.

A popular drug administered during heart surgeries manufactured by Bayer Pharmaceuticals is called Trasylol. Trasylol was a leading drug used in heart surgeries to limit the amount of blood. Such heart surgeries include open heart, single double and triple bypasses, as well as transplants. However, Trasylol was taken off the market in November of 2007 because it was linked to cause kidney failure, heart damage, strokes, and death. The use of Trasylol was so widespread that it caused these adverse affects in over 20,000 patients. When Trasylol as taken off the market, it was discovered that Bayer had done a study in which they knew about these side affects years before it was taken off the market and never did anything about it. Bayer even attended its annual meetings with the FDA and did not report their findings

The disheartening role that Bayer pharmaceuticals played in not telling the public about Trasylol has cost the lives of thousands. Since Trasylol is a drug that is administered in open heart surgeries, the likelihood of the patients knowing what kind of drug they were administered is minimal. Thus when patients were experiencing negative side effects such as kidney failure, heart problems, and strokes, they had no idea why. Until the FDA took the drug off the market, people had no idea what Trasylol was and how it was affecting them. Patients who suffered adverse reactions to Trasylol, as well as those who have had a loved one die after being given the drug, are now in the process of filing lawsuits against Bayer, alleging the company was not honest about the risks associated with the drug

If you or a loved one has suffered from any of the possible harmful effects of Trasylol, such as kidney problems, heart attack or stroke, you may be entitled to file a legal claim against the drugs manufacturer.

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Federal regulators on Tuesday extended through mid-August a temporary order banning a certain kind of short-selling of the stocks of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and 17 large investment …

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DALLAS, Texas (AP) — As district attorney of Dallas for an unprecedented 36 years, Henry Wade was the embodiment of Texas justice.

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So, are you in the market for a “liberal” lawyer?  There’s no need to spend time creating a targeted want ad. Why not just use this same LexisNexis string search that former DOJ official Monica Goodling used to screen undesirable liberal leaning lawyers from the DOJ honors program: 

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