IF MEL GIBSON CAN GET HIS CRIMINAL RECORD EXPUNGED, WHY CAN’T YOU?

You remember that incident where Mel Gibson got pulled over in Malibu for drunk driving. The one where he had an obscene outburst, started making racial slurs, and started screaming he owns Malibu. Yes, that one! Well, turns out a judge ordered to have that 2006 DUI record of the actor expunged.

So you may be wondering how is it that Mel’s arrest, seen around the world, could be expunged. Answer is simple, there are only a few requirements you have to meet for a judge to order your record expunged! Now you’re probably wondering why you haven’t done it already. If your record was expunged you wouldn’t have to fear applying for employment, you wouldn’t have to disclose it to employers, you actually wouldn’t have to disclose it in most instances!

Now you probably want to know whether you qualify. Pursuant to Penal Code 1203.4 you need to meet the following requirements to be eligible:

First, you need not be on probation or parole (you need to have already fulfilled the terms of your probation/parole).

Secondly, you can’t be serving a sentence.

Thirdly, you can’t be charged with any other offense (meaning there are none pending against you currently).

Lastly, the crime can’t fall into the category of ineligible cases which include infractions, crimes where a prison sentence was served, or sex offenses.

So that’s it, those four things and you can have your record expunged! If you believe you meet the criteria an experienced criminal attorney can help you get the expungement you need!

 

AVATAR STAR GETS SLAPPED WITH A RESTRAINING ORDER! SEE IF YOU NEED TO GET A RESTRAINING ORDER

Avatar star, Sam Worthington, was slapped with a restraining order today against a photographer he assaulted and punched in the face.

Worthington appeared in court to face charges stemming from the February 23 incident in which Sam allegedly punched the photographer, Sheng Li, following an altercation the photographer had with his girlfriend, Lara Bingle.

During the hearing, Sam was charged with two 2 counts of 3rd degree assault, 1 count of attempted assault, 1 count of harassment — and faces a maximum of one year in jail if convicted.

The terms of the restraining order state that Worthington has to stay away from the photographer for six months.

DO YOU NEED A RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST SOMEONE- Abuse, threats, and harassment are serious issues, and it is important to know that something can be done about them. Restraining orders can offer you the protection you need.

There are in fact many different types of restraining orders that you may obtain. Some of the most common include:

• Emergency Protective Order: Protects victims of abuse, serious harassment, or stalking. An emergency protective order is available 24 hours a day from the police.
• Domestic Violence Restraining Order: Protects individuals from family members, spouse or former spouse, parties that have a child together, or parties that have a current or past dating relationship.
• Civil Harassment Restraining Order: Protects individuals from others than those listed in a Domestic Violence Protective Order.
• Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order: Protects elders and dependent adults from physical and financial abuse, neglect, isolation, abduction, harm, or deprivation by a caregiver.

If you believe that one of these restraining orders is appropriate for you, here are the guidelines under which they are typically ordered:

Domestic Violence Restraining Order

May be appropriate if:  You have been abused and you have one of the following relationships to that person:

• Spouse or former spouse
• Cohabitant or former cohabitant (with whom you have a romantic or close relationship, just roommates will not qualify)
• Current or past dating relationship
• Parent or child
• Brother, sister, grandparent or grandchild
• Step-parents, step child, step brother, step sister, step grandparent
• In laws: any relationship to a spouse’s blood relatives

If granted, the court may order them not to harass you (personally or by telephone); not to molest, attack, strike, assault, stalk, batter, threaten; not to come within a specified distance of you; not own or possess a gun; and to move out of your home. The court may also order child custody, visitation, and child support.

Civil Harassment Restraining Orders:

May be appropriate if: you and the restrained person don’t have a domestic violence case open, and that person stalked, harassed, sexually assaulted you, or threatened you with violence.

If granted, the court may order the person not contact you; stay away from you, your home (unless you are roommates) and your work; not assault, batter, threaten, stalk, or harass you (personally or by telephone); and not to own or posses a gun.

Emergency Protective Order: 

May be appropriate if: You are in immediate danger. The order typically lasts to 7 days, and if granted the court can order that person to stay away from you, your home, and your work. Also, to immediately move away from you residence, and not to possess a gun. The court may also order temporary care and control of a minor child to you (the protected person).

Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order:

May be appropriate if you are: 65 years of age or older, or between 18 and 64 years of age (and suffering from a physical or mental condition requiring you to dependent on someone) and you have been abused (this includes physical, mental, emotional, financial abuse, neglect, and abandonment).

If granted, the court can order someone not contact you, stay away from you and your home, move out of your home, and not own or possess a gun.

LUDACRIS REFUSING TO PAY HIS CHILD SUPPORT! HOW YOU CAN MAKE SURE YOUR EX-SPOUSE ABIDES BY THE DIVORCE DECREE

Rapper-actor Ludacris went to court Wednesday claiming he could not afford to pay his child support payments. The Fast and Furious star claimed he only made $55,000 last year and could only pay $1,800 each month in child support. The judge didn’t buy that argument and required the actor to pay $7,000 in child support to the mother of his two month old baby girl, Cai.

Unfortunately, situations like this are prevalent and many people don’t pay their child support. According to the US Census Bureau more than $14 billion in payments to custodial parents were not received.  In fact, only 41.2% of custodial parents received the full amount of child support owed to them in 2009. These are some terrifying statistics for a single parent who just got out of a divorce.  It is even more irritating that after the marriage settlement agreement, your ex-spouse still refuses to pay the support obligations or only pays a few dollars here and there. That is why knowing how to enforce a marriage settlement agreement and child support orders are important.

ENFORCING A MARRIAGE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT. Enforcing a marriage settlement agreement is done through filing a motion with the court. Usually, this requires showing that ex-spouse failed to follow the terms of the agreement. There are many reasons you may need to ask the court to assist you with enforcing your agreement. The most common reasons include the following:

• your ex-spouse failed to make child or spousal support payments
• your ex-spouse failed to maintain health, dental or life insurance policies
• your ex-spouse has not paid for the children’s college education and expenses, and
• your ex-spouse is in default on your mortgage payment.

EX-SPOUSE NOT PAYING SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS. If you are indeed in a situation where your ex-spouse is not making child or spousal support payments here are a few steps that you may be take:

• 1) File a petition for contempt– Once this is done a judge can “compel” your ex to pay by garnishing their wages or, sending them to jail until they agree to make regular payments. (Generally, judges don’t send individuals to jail the first time they are in contempt of a support obligation, as they would not be able to work and pay support during their time in jail. However, for circumstances where the individual continuously is held in contempt then the judge will likely send them to jail until they pay up.)
• 2) Get a wage garnishment— A wage assignment is a way to get your ex-spouse’s employer to deduct a portion of his/her paycheck each week to pay for the obligation. (Department of Child Support Services DCSS also provides these options of enforcement)
• 3) Get a QDRO – A qualified domestic relations order is an order that recognizes a payee’s right to receive portions of the benefits payable to a participant in a retirement plan. Basically, you would be able to get a portion of your ex-spouse’s retirement benefits, including pension plans, 401Ks, 403Bs, and  other ERISA plans (excludes IRAs).

We know that going through a divorce is tough, and that’s why getting your ex-spouse to abide by the marriage settlement agreement shouldn’t be even tougher. That is why, it is good to know your options and have an experienced family law attorney by your side through it all.

Family Sues Uber for the Wrongful Death of their 6 Year Old Daughter

6 year old, Sofia Liu, was struck and killed by Uber driver Syed Muzzafar last month, and the family has now brought a wrongful death action against the driver and the company.

Sofia was crossing the cross walk with her younger brother and mother when they were hit by the vehicle. At the time of the crash, driver Muzzafar was logged on to the Uber X smartphone app and was available to provide rides.

For those of you who do not know, Uber is a relatively new company which engages in ridesharing.  Essentially, the company connects passengers with drivers of vehicles through a smartphone app. In just its first 3 years of start up the company is now generating $200 million a year in revenue beyond what it pays its drivers.

However, Uber has claimed that the tragedy did not involve a vehicle “doing a trip on the Uber system.” The company has since declined to comment.

The lawsuit will likely revolve around whether the driver was acting as an agent of the company during the time of the incident and whether the activity was within the scope of his employment. But as we mentioned, the driver was engaging in one of the main duties of employment and functions of the company (driving and looking for passengers on the company’s app). If the court finds that the driver was acting as an agent for Uber, the company will be held liable.

Michael Jordan sues Jewel-Osco, and Wins!

Former NBA star, Michael Jordan, brought a $5 million lawsuit against Jewel-Osco, grocery store chain, alleging violations of his trademarks and publicity rights.

The 7^th circuit ruled on the case today and held in favor of the former Chicago Bulls star. The court stated that Jewel-Osco’s grocery chain ad congratulating Michael Jordan on his induction into Basketball Hall of Fame “was not a welcome celebratory gesture but a misappropriation of his identity for the supermarket chain’s commercial benefit.”

The ad, featured in Sports Illustrated magazine, read “Jewel-Osco salutes #23 on his many accomplishments as we honor a fellow Chicagoan who was ‘just around the corner’ for so many years.” The ad also includes the Jewels logo and says “Good things are just around the corner.”

The last sentence was obviously a way for Jewel’s to invite customers and get the Jewel logo in the minds of consumers as being associated with Michael Jordan.  That is exactly what the court said when they ruled in favor of the former NBA star. 

The court also rejected Jewel-Osco’s defense that the ad was protected under the First Amendment. In rejected that argument the court stated that it was in fact  “commercial speech” which is not afforded the same heightened first amendment protection.

Basically, if a grocery store chain want to use a former NBA star’s “likeness” or publicity rights to promote their stores, they have to pay up like everyone else.

COULD JUSTIN BIEBER REALLY BE FILING A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACTION AGAINST BLAKE GRIFFIN??

Is Justin Bieber really considering a domestic violence action against Blake Griffin!?   (See “story” for reference).  The short answer, probably not.  If you thought the answer was yes, I know of a very generous Nigerian King who would love to speak with you.  But, legally speaking, he potentially could!

Each year, around 1 million women, children . . . and YES, ALSO MEN, suffer from violence at the hands of an intimate partner, and approximately 4 million people experience a serious assault by someone they know or love.  In fact, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Injury Prevention (CDC) nearly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner or family member.  To make matters worse, domestic violence is rarely an isolated incident.  If you or your loved ones have been victimized by domestic abuse the best way to make it stop is to fight back!  In California, filing a domestic violence lawsuit and petition for a temporary restraining order is one of the best ways to do so.

California’s Civil Code creates liability for someone who inflicts injury caused by domestic abuse.  According to domestic violence laws, abuse includes: physical hurting or trying to hurt someone, sexual assault, making someone reasonably afraid that they or someone else are about to be seriously hurt, harassing, stalking, threatening, destroying someone’s property and other similar offenses.  One important thing to remember is that you can file a civil suit against someone guilty of domestic abuse even if you already have a pending criminal or family law case involving that person!  So, your decision to press criminal charges should never affect your decision to file a civil suit.  However, oftentimes victims of domestic violence need immediate court intervention.  Under those circumstances, a restraining order is very helpful.

To get a temporary restraining order, you (or your attorney) have to prove that a person has abused you and that you have a close relationship with that person (e.g. married, divorced, dating, living together as more than roommates, etc.).  Restraining orders are fairly flexible and can be used to order a person to: stay away from certain places or people, do certain things, move out of the home, no longer be able to carry a gun, and others.  Finally, the court has the discretion to give a temporary restraining order rather quickly, as soon as within 24 hours, so you should not let your fear of retaliation stop you from standing up for your legal rights.

If you, or a loved one, have been a victim of domestic violence, the FIRST STEP is to call the authorities.  In Southern California, in addition to calling the police you can contact the domestic violence hotline at 1-800-978-3600.  The SECOND STEP, is to contact an attorney.  An experienced family law attorney can fill out the proper paperwork and forms (available at www.courts.ca.gov), file the necessary forms with the court, serve the opposing party, draft the appropriate declarations, and appear at your hearing to assure that your legal rights are protected. While you may not be able to afford a high profiled attorney, such as the one Justin Bieber has been rumored to have hired:

You do not have to be alone in your legal fight against domestic violence!

STEPCHILDREN ADOPTIONS IN CALIFORNIA: Removing a Step Between You and Your Kids

Do you love and care for your stepchildren like they are your own?  Are you sick and tired your spouse’s ex consistently being uninvolved, but suddenly taking interest when you want to take your stepkids on a trip out of town?  Do you hate not having an equal say in what schools your stepchild attends, or what doctors provide him or her with medical care?  If you want to remove that extra step that every so often gets in the way of you being able to be the parent that your children love and need, then perhaps adoption is the answer for you.

Legally speaking, adoption creates a parent-child relationship and gives the adoptive parents and children the same exact rights and obligations as biological parents and children would typically have.  In California, there are basically two ways that stepparents can achieve this relationship: the “easy way” (consent) and the “hard way” (a hearing).  Under either method, there are certain requirements that a stepparent must meet:

• Legal Marriage or Domestic Partnership: the adopting and legal parents must be legally married or in a domestic partnership registered with the State.
• Age Requirement: the adopting parents must be at least 18 years old, and at least 10 years older than the child; although the age difference requirement may be waived in certain circumstances.
• Consent of the Child, Maybe: If the child is 12 years old or older he or she must consent.
• Consent of the Other Biological Parent? . . .

That last bullet point is where things can get tricky.

The Easy Way.  If the biological parent consents to the adoption, then the process is not overly complicated and can potentially be completed in less than a year.  First, there are forms to fill out, review, copy, and file with the court clerk (Forms: ADOPT-200, 210, 215 and others depending on local requirements).  Second, the papers must be served on the other parent and that parent must consent.  Third, there is an interview and investigation process which, in Los Angeles, is done through the Department of Children and Family Services.  Fourth, there are local requirements which must be fulfilled depending on which county you live in.  And finally, there is an adoption hearing to make sure that all of the “i’s” are dotted and the “t’s” crossed.

The Hard Way.  If you cannot get your stepchild’s biological parent to consent, then the adoption hearing becomes significantly more complicated.  The court may still grant the adoption, however, you (ideally read “your attorney”) must prove one of three things:

• Abandonment: the other birth parent abandoned the child for over a year and has not paid any child support or seen or talked to the child.
• Failure to Object: you properly served the other birth parent with the Adoption Request and they did not respond.
• Best Interest for the Child: a judge determines that the adoption is in the best interests of the child.

As you can see, obtaining consent is obviously the easier path.  Unfortunately, gaining consent is often easier said than done.  In any case, for the best results I recommend (as does the Los Angeles Superior Court website) that you consult with a family law attorney licensed to practice law in the State.  Finally, the Sacramento County Law Library website has provided a flow chart which may be helpful in understanding the process of adoption: http://www.saclaw.lib.ca.us/uploads/files/AdoptionFlowchart.pdf.