As a criminal defense lawyer who also does some civil work, I’m often struck by the differences between civil and criminal law when it comes to pre-trial testimony. In civil cases, it would be almost unheard of to have a witness testify at trial who had not been deposed prior to trial. Often, litigators will know the witness’s answers for
Williamson v. Lamm is an instructive example of how the standard applicable to determining whether a material change in circumstances has occurred with regard to a residential parenting schedule is different from that for determining whether such a change has occurred with regard to child custody. Williamson involved an equal time permanent parenting plan with the mother designated as the
A recent decision issued by the Fourth District Court of Appeals is a cautionary tale for landlords who think they can use “self-help” remedies against their tenants. As discussed in detail herein, for this particular landlord it was an expensive lesson. In Palm Beach Fla. Hotel & Office Bldg. Ltd. P’ship v. Nantucket Enters, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 18069, the
Imagine that you are an elderly patient being admitted to a nursing home. Your son signs the admission contract. You don’t see the contract, much less sign it. Unbeknownst to you, the contract contains an arbitration clause. Now imagine that you develop an eye infection while in the nursing home, and your eye has to be removed. Can you sue
In 1979, Hollywood introduced us to a dramatic courtroom exchange between a judge and a criminal defense attorney, whereby the two courtroom participants are convinced that the other is “out of order.” “And Justice For All,” in its final scene, has defense attorney Arthur Kirkland, played by Al Pacino, and Judge Francis Rayford, played by the late Jack Warden, pointing
In addition to changes to various state and federal employment laws, Los Angeles Metropolitan Area employers will face some additional challenges in 2017 — a new restriction on investigating job applicants’ criminal records as well as municipal minimum- wage increases. Ban the Box — Criminal Convictions “Ban the box” refers to the movement to restrict employers from inquiring about applicants’
“Too often in our family law practice we are confronted with the problem of a non-disclosing spouse. Most typically, this is a self-employed spouse or a spouse who runs his or her own business.” All civil litigators must contend with the issue of the statute of limitations. Few things are worse than telling a client with a viable claim, “I
There is a lot of controversy concerning the treatment of minors following an auto collision injury. Insurance companies hold a strong position that minors don’t need medical care simply because they can’t communicate the injuries properly. Common symptoms such as headaches, neck pain and low back pain, are often overlooked after an auto accident, simply because the child does not
A military aviation claim is a tort claim – usually negligence – that arises out of an aviation mishap resulting in injury or death to military members or veterans. Defendants are commonly the government, aircraft manufacturers, component manufacturers, maintenance companies, and pilots or the companies who employ them. Claimants are commonly close family members or estates of deceased persons. Only
Recently a Wake Forest football radio broadcaster (who was previously a Wake Forest football player and assistant coach) was caught providing at least parts of Wake Forest’s game plans to opposing football programs. He had been given access to game plans to better understand, announce, and provide insight to the Wake Forest radio audience during his football broadcasts. We can
As a criminal defense lawyer who also does some civil work, I’m often struck by the differences between civil and criminal law when it comes to pre-trial testimony. In civil cases, it would be almost unheard of to have a witness testify at trial who had not been deposed prior to trial. Often, litigators will know the witness’s answers for
Williamson v. Lamm is an instructive example of how the standard applicable to determining whether a material change in circumstances has occurred with regard to a residential parenting schedule is different from that for determining whether such a change has occurred with regard to child custody. Williamson involved an equal time permanent parenting plan with the mother designated as the
A recent decision issued by the Fourth District Court of Appeals is a cautionary tale for landlords who think they can use “self-help” remedies against their tenants. As discussed in detail herein, for this particular landlord it was an expensive lesson. In Palm Beach Fla. Hotel & Office Bldg. Ltd. P’ship v. Nantucket Enters, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 18069, the
Imagine that you are an elderly patient being admitted to a nursing home. Your son signs the admission contract. You don’t see the contract, much less sign it. Unbeknownst to you, the contract contains an arbitration clause. Now imagine that you develop an eye infection while in the nursing home, and your eye has to be removed. Can you sue
In 1979, Hollywood introduced us to a dramatic courtroom exchange between a judge and a criminal defense attorney, whereby the two courtroom participants are convinced that the other is “out of order.” “And Justice For All,” in its final scene, has defense attorney Arthur Kirkland, played by Al Pacino, and Judge Francis Rayford, played by the late Jack Warden, pointing
In addition to changes to various state and federal employment laws, Los Angeles Metropolitan Area employers will face some additional challenges in 2017 — a new restriction on investigating job applicants’ criminal records as well as municipal minimum- wage increases. Ban the Box — Criminal Convictions “Ban the box” refers to the movement to restrict employers from inquiring about applicants’
“Too often in our family law practice we are confronted with the problem of a non-disclosing spouse. Most typically, this is a self-employed spouse or a spouse who runs his or her own business.” All civil litigators must contend with the issue of the statute of limitations. Few things are worse than telling a client with a viable claim, “I
There is a lot of controversy concerning the treatment of minors following an auto collision injury. Insurance companies hold a strong position that minors don’t need medical care simply because they can’t communicate the injuries properly. Common symptoms such as headaches, neck pain and low back pain, are often overlooked after an auto accident, simply because the child does not
A military aviation claim is a tort claim – usually negligence – that arises out of an aviation mishap resulting in injury or death to military members or veterans. Defendants are commonly the government, aircraft manufacturers, component manufacturers, maintenance companies, and pilots or the companies who employ them. Claimants are commonly close family members or estates of deceased persons. Only
Recently a Wake Forest football radio broadcaster (who was previously a Wake Forest football player and assistant coach) was caught providing at least parts of Wake Forest’s game plans to opposing football programs. He had been given access to game plans to better understand, announce, and provide insight to the Wake Forest radio audience during his football broadcasts. We can
