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Bottom line: Don’t argue with the judge. This woman turned an arraignment into a 300 day jail sentence. ELYRIA — Ebony Burks earned the dubious distinction earlier this month of drawing the longest jail sentence that Elyria Municipal Court Judge Gary Bennett has ever handed down for contempt of court. Burks’ 300-day stay in the Lorain County Jail came out of an Aug. 14 hearing during which she was being arraigned on domestic violence and assault charges in separate cases.

Two year old Jacob Bisbee was mauled to death by three pit bulls (often considered a dangerous breed) owned by his step-grandfather, Steven Hayashi. The tragedy occurred in 2010. According to Contra Costa County prosecuting attorney Mary Knox: Hayashi repeatedly ignored pleas by his wife and Jacob’s father to remove his five pit bulls from the home the extended family shared on Trailcreek Court. July 22, 2010: Hayashi was designated as the caretaker for Jacob and his four year old brother while his wife slept after a night shift. Hayashi went out to play tennis with his son, leaving Jacob and the brother unsupervised. Hayashi… Read More

Xzavier, Chandler, Debbie, and Reggie all know the horrors of texting & driving firsthand. Watch their stories in this It Can Wait Documentary. Visit http://www.itcanwait.com to take the pledge, and learn more about the dangers of texting while driving. I represent people who have been injured in car accidents — cars are the deadliest of weapons.  Distracted drivers who believe that they’re different than other drivers, that they are in control when their eyes leave the road, are delusional. It takes no more than a split second for your car to veer off its path and strike an innocent pedestrian, bicyclist, motorcyclist or other… Read More

The American Bar Association polled lawyers from all over the country and asked them to vote for their favorite. Here’s the list. Is your favorite novel on the list? Or do you have another novel that you prefer? Put your answer in the comment section below! To Kill a Mockingbird Crime and Punishment Bleak House The Trial Les Miserables Billy Budd Presumed Innocent The Scarlet Letter The Bonfire of the Vanities An American Tragedy The Paper Chase Bartleby the Scrivener Native Son The Stranger A Tale of Two Cities A Time to Kill The Caine Mutiny Their Eyes Were Watching God QB… Read More

This has nothing to do with being a lawyer and everything to do with being a human being. I saw this on www.tumblr.com and realized that this is a concept worthy of going viral. If you go into a Starbucks or Peets or Coffee Bean or any coffee house, order a coffee for yourself and order a “suspended coffee.” You’ll pay for two coffees but will walk out with one. A homeless person, on a cold winter day, will walk in and ask the barista if they have a suspended coffee and, lo and behold, the homeless person will walk out with a hot… Read More

Folks, I don’t usually reprint other articles on my blog.  However, this one along with the inciting video is worth the read and watch! Bottom Line: Judges, as well as attorneys and litigants, need to be held responsible for their actions. From the ABA Journal: An admittedly intemperate family court judge has been suspended without pay for the remaining years of his term by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. In one angry rant from the bench that has been viewed on YouTube more than 200,000 times, Putnam County Circuit Court Family Law Judge William M. Watkins III repeatedly told a pastor appearing before… Read More

As if Lindsay Lohan doesn’t have enough problems already! Lindsay instructs her lawyer, Mark Heller, to say no more to the judge.  Heller continued to talk.  Lindsay quietly questions him and then finally says “Oh my god, I’ll kill you” (see video below). Although New York’s Heller was scolded by Lindsay’s California judgesfor being incompetent when it comes to California law, my guess is that he’s a tad more qualified to speak before the judge than is Lindsay.  Regardless, I just wanted to share the TMZ video with you. Heller made a great deal for Lindsay on charges that she… Read More

Baby you were born this way!  In California, we can protect the ones we love by setting up a Domestic Partnership (marriage is a-coming soon).  The benefits and responsbilities of a domestic partnership are manyfold and are the subject of another post. How fabulous would this have been if a domestic partnership could have been realized back in the late 1800s and early 1900s?  Check out this video proving that loving relationships date back to way back when (to the tune of “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga) For purposes of this post, though, here are the requirements for setting… Read More

The death of a loved one is by far one of the saddest and toughest experiences that we will ever go through. When a loved one passes, his or her body deserves to be treated with love, respect and dignity. They deserve to rest in peace. We expect that a funeral home, funeral directors, creamatoria and all of their staff members are going to care for our departed loved ones with the utmost sensitivity and care. We don’t expect them to add to our grief and emotional pain by mishandling the remains of our loved ones and causing emotional distress to those… Read More

You’re going to need the advice and representation of a personal injury attorney if you’re injured in California. Chances are, though, you’re not going to be hiring an attorney within the first few hours of the incident. So, with or without an attorney, here are Five Very Important Steps you should take immediately after an accident or injury. Step One: Don’t Discuss The Incident With the Other Party or Their Representative The other party, or their representative (usually an insurance company adjuster or investigator) may try to get to you to answer questions soon after the incident – oftentimes within hours. Statements that you make at… Read More