The Court Of Public Opinion

While no one ever plans on being arrested, it is a good idea to know what you should and shouldn’t do in case it ever happens. By understanding what is expected of you and what circumstance can make your situation worse, you will be better able to handle the distress and fear that comes with being arrested.

First of all, there are certain things that you should do if you ever find yourself in this scary situation. Do attempt to stay calm and try to only speak to the police officer in a respectful, polite manner and tone of voice. By staying calm you will be better able to assess the situation for what it really is and better able to recall all of the details of your arrest later for your attorney. By being polite and respectful you will cut down on the chances that the arresting officers will become angry or aggressive, which could lead to your being injured or harmed.

Do give the basic information that the officers are asking for without being surly or rude. This information includes your name, address, and telephone number, the name of an immediate family member and their phone number and the name of the place of your employment. Not only do the police officers need this information to file the forms of your arrest, they will also need it when setting your bail.

Do exercise your right to remain silent. You are not required by law to answer any questions that could incriminate you and you do not have to speak to the police, district attorney or anyone unless you are in the presence of your lawyer. If the police continue to ask you questions or harass you for answers, you should simply keep repeating the phrase, I wish to speak to my attorney.

Do exercise your right to make one phone call. This call should probably go to your lawyer but in a case where you do not have a lawyer, you should call a close family member and instruct them to obtain legal counsel for you as soon as possible.

Do attempt to get the names and badge numbers of the police officers that arrest you. You have a right to this information but for various reasons, some officers may attempt not to disclose this information to you.

There are also a number of things that you should not do if you ever find yourself under arrest.

Do not resist arrest. Even if you believe that the charges held against you are false, insisting on your innocence at this point will not help you or stop the arrest. Wait until you are taken to the police station and allowed to call an attorney. Once your attorney arrives, speak through him or her to defend you innocence.

Do not act in an aggressive manner or yell out threats about filing harassment complaints. Aggressive behavior will only cause the police officers to try to restrain you and your bad behavior could be held against you later when you are trying to fight the charges in court.

Do not complain when the police officers handcuff, search, fingerprint or photograph you. All of these processes are a normal result of being arrested. Go through the process with as much cooperation with possible.

While being arrested will never be a pleasant experience, the way you act and the things you choose to do and not do while going through the process can go a long way toward easing the pain, inconvenience and humiliation of the experience.

? 2005 LawyerVista, a website where you can perform a lawyer search for your city or state, including Albany criminal lawyers and Oregon criminal lawyers.

You may reprint this article as long as you don?t alter or edit it in any way and include the author?s credits and this copyright notice including a working link to us.

Green card is the term used to describe a document that gives a person born in another country the right to live and work in the United States. A green card is usually issued to those people who are permanent resident aliens and who wish to eventually become a United States citizen. Once a person has held a green card for almost five years with no legal problems, they are eligible to apply for citizenship or naturalization.

There are two main ways to be deemed eligible for a green card. The first way is through your employment in the United States. In this case, the employer of the foreign individual must agree to sponsor that individual. Once sponsored the individual may make application for a green card. This application is usually a much faster process for those individuals with more education or specialized job skills. Those individuals that have common job skills or less education may have to wait for a longer period of time before their application is reviewed and accepted.

The second way that an individual may become eligible for a green card is through their immediate family. In this case, if a foreign individual has a family member such as a child, parent or sibling that is an American citizen, then they may apply for a green card. If a parent of a foreign minor child is an American citizen then that child is automatically and immediately eligible for a visa.

Another way that a foreign person can qualify for a green card is through marriage to an American citizen, however, the American citizen must reside in the United States. Once the person has obtained their green card they can apply for permanent residency but the laws controlling this process are very stiff. In this case, the married parties must prove that their relationship is legitimate.

In addition to the above options for obtaining a green card, there are special circumstances that allow certain individuals who do not meet the above criteria to obtain a green card in a timely manner. These special circumstances include the following:

• Asylum. This special circumstance applies to any foreign individual who is in the United States and fears returning to their country of origin. This fear can be brought about by any persecution that is based on a person’s race, political views or religion.
• Labor. Individuals that posses a special skill that is desperately needed in the United States can obtain a green card in exchange for their willingness to perform the job and skill set at a specific job in a specific region assigned to them.
• National Interest Wavier. If an individual possesses the professional skills to be of service to the national interest of America then that person can be granted a green card without employer sponsorship.
• Researchers. For academic researchers who are internationally recognized for their achievements, there are special circumstances that allow that individual to receive a green card in exchange for sharing their information and knowledge.
• Specialized Skills. Individuals that possess specialized skills and that are experts at the top pf their field may apply for and be granted a green card. These individuals are usually exempt from the labor certification process.

Although special circumstances do exist, the normal application process for and the granting of a green card usually take many months and is a very complicated and exhaustive system. If you are contemplating applying for a green card, it is advisable to speak with an attorney before hand.

? 2005 LawyerVista, a website where you can locate a lawyer in your city or state, including New Mexico immigration lawyers and

Here’s What Happens When Pieces Of The Story Are Missing

Think about this: When I speak to a medical expert and send him a client’s medical records to review, it is extremely important that we have all of the necessary documents. If some crucial piece of information is missing, my expert may come to a conclusion about your case that is inaccurate because he doesn’t have everything he needs.

Image what happens if your case proceeds to trial and you don’t tell me everything in your history or background and we don’t learn it during the discovery part of your case. At trial you can be sure the defense will have learned it through their investigation and it’ll blow up on you at trial. I guarantee it.

The defense will take the missing information and ask our expert the following questions:

Q: Doctor, if you were aware that Mr. Jones was a drug addict, would that change your opinion of the case?

Q: Doctor, if you knew that the patient chose not to take his blood thinner medications to prevent stroke, and he had a stroke, would that change your opinion about the treatment rendered by these doctors?

Q: Did you know that Mr. Jones told the emergency room nurses that he wasn’t allergic to any medication?

Q: Assume the nurses asked him if he was allergic and he said no.

Q: Assume that the nurses gave him penicillin because he specifically told them he wasn’t allergic to any medications.

Q: Assuming those facts to be true, and by the way, you know that he didn’t tell the nurses he was allergic, right?

Q: If he didn’t tell the nurses he was allergic to penicillin, and they asked if he was allergic, are you still saying they are responsible for the reaction he suffered when he was given penicillin?

So what happened here?

The expert doctor was never told that the patient failed to inform the nurses that he was allergic. He came to conclusions about the treatment based on incomplete and inaccurate information. The physician had to concede the point on cross-examination that if he had not told the nurses about his allergy, then there was no way the hospital could be responsible for his allergic reaction.

Let’s look at it another way: Why would a client with injuries hide information from his lawyer?

The reasons are endless. Some clients feel that it’s none of the attorney’s business. Some don’t like others to know their intimate details of an illness or personal details about their finances. Whatever the reason, a client that withholds information may seriously hamper and jeopardize their case.

The key is to let the attorney determine what information is important and relevant. If I know about a problem in the case, let’s say someone was convicted of a crime in the past, I know how to deal with it properly and can advise you how to handle the questions that you will be asked. If you lie about your past history (Q: Have you ever been convicted of a crime?) that is literally the ‘kiss of death’ for your case.

Remember, your credibility is the most important part of your case. If you are found to have lied during your testimony, the Judge will instruct the jurors that they may disregard all or part of your testimony. In New York, this jury instruction is called Falsus in uno, which means that if you lied about one thing, there is the possibility that you have lied about other things as well. How can a jury believe you if you cannot even acknowledge your past problems?

When an injured client comes to a lawyer for help they must build a mutual trusting relationship. You must feel confident with your lawyer and his or her abilities. If you don’t, you should seriously consider getting another lawyer.

Attorney Oginski has been in practice for 17 years as a trial lawyer practicing exclusively in the State of New York. Having his own law firm, he is able to provide the utmost in personalized, individualized attention to each and every client. In our office, a client is not a file number. Client’s are always treated with the respect they deserve and expect from a professional. Mr. Oginski is always aware of every aspect of a client’s case from start to finish.

Gerry represents injured people in injury cases and medical malpractice matters in Brooklyn, Queens, New York City, the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. You can reach him at http://www.oginski-law.com, or 516-487-8207. All inquiries are free and totally confidential.

If you have been in an accident, whether at work, in an automobile or under some other circumstances, you may be wondering if you need to seek the advice and counsel of an attorney. On one hand there are the advertisements by lawyers on television that insist that you need their help to protect your rights. On the other hand, the insurance company that is handling your claim may insist that they are doing everything necessary for your interest and health. Who should you believe?

In most cases it is advisable to seek the counsel of an attorney. Even if you do not end up hiring him or her to represent you, it is a good idea to at least consult with them to make sure that you understand all of the legal repercussions of your injury. Many times, certain laws or rights maybe unknown to you, or worse, the insurance company may not willingly inform you of all of your rights.

In order to get what you deserve and need from any accident settlement, it is important to follow a few standard guidelines. First, as soon as possible after the accident, even if you think it might have been your fault, you need to at least seek an initial consultation with an attorney. Although you may feel as though you cannot afford legal help, it can be more costly to ignore your case or try to process it alone. Through an initial consultation a lawyer can help you determine whether you even have a case, who is at fault if you do, what actions can be taken and advise you about any time limits you face before your case would be invalid. It is also a good idea to speak with a lawyer before speaking to anyone else about the case. This includes any one at your place of employment, the other party’s insurance companies and their lawyers.

By deciding not to retain a lawyer, you could also be losing out on money that you will need in the future. For example, if the other party’s insurance company states that they will pay your medical bills, you may feel as though that is fair. But what happens if any of the symptoms come back after your initial treatment? Since you have already settled with the insurance they are not likely to come back and pick up the tab for further medical or hospital bills. Another disadvantage to settling with an insurance company without first speaking to a lawyer is that in some cases you may not notice or feel the consequences of your injuries until months after the accident. In these cases, lawyers are experienced enough to know what the long-term effects of certain injuries can be and they can help to protect you from future financial problems due to medical issues or setbacks.

In the case of an automobile accident, it is always a good idea to retain the services of an attorney, even if you where the only party injured in the accident or if you feel that the accident was definitely your fault. Many times what victims of an accident say at the time of the incident will change once they have had a chance to talk their attorney, insurance company or even friends. In order to protect yourself from further fault, you should hire an attorney to defend you against any false claims.

In the case of a work related accident you should always seek legal advice. Most workmen’s compensation cases are very complex and the outcome of any trial could greatly affect your future workload and financial security.

Any other type of accident that does not fall under these guidelines should also be taken to a lawyer, at least for an initial review. Only an attorney can tell you for sure if legal representation is necessary in your case.

? 2005 LawyerVista, a website where you can find a lawyer in your city or state, including Chicago automobile accident lawyers and New York automobile accident lawyers. You may reprint this article as long as you don?t alter or edit it in any way and include the author?s credits and this copyright notice including a working link to us

Car accidents are a regular occurrence in California. Statistics show that you will be in an accident once every six years so you should always be prepared in the case of an accident. If you have been involved in a car accident, here are 8 tips to keep in mind in the event that you’re involved in an automobile accident.

1. Your safety comes first.

The first thing to do after an accident is to remove your vehicle from the path of other cars on the road. If you cannot move the vehicle, turn on your hazard lights, light flares if you have them or even raise the hood to warn other drivers that your car is in the road . If you notice any leaking fluids, get as far away as possible to ensure your safety.

2. If anyone has been injured, call an ambulance for help.

If anyone has been seriously injured, it’s important to try and stop any bleeding as best you can. If possible, avoid moving the injured victim as it could make the injuries even worse.

3. Let emergency personal help you.

Don’t attempt to be brave. If you feel you may have suffered an injury, let an ambulance take and treat you. The faster you are treated for your injuries, the shorter your recovery time.

4. Do not admit fault of the accident.

You may feel the accident was caused by you but further investigation may show differently.

5. Take down details of the accident and get important information.

You should note the location of the accident, time and date, description of the other vehicle involved, other vehicle owners information, and police officer information such as bad number and name.

6. Call the police to report the accident.

In the state of California, the driver has a duty to make an accident report.

7. Notify your insurance company

No matter how small or great the damage is to your vehicle, it’s always important to let your insurance company know about the accident that occurred.

8. Never drive a vehicle without auto insurance

California law requires you to have insurance to operate an automobile. The right insurance coverage protects your personal assets and covers medical expenses for those who are injured. It also reimburses for lost wages and other damages that may have occurred as a result of the accident.

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Car accidents are a regular occurrence in California. Statistics show that you will be in an accident once every six years so you should always be prepared in the case of an accident. If you have been involved in a car accident, here are 8 tips to keep in mind in the event that you’re involved in an automobile accident.

1. Your safety comes first.

The first thing to do after an accident is to remove your vehicle from the path of other cars on the road. If you cannot move the vehicle, turn on your hazard lights, light flares if you have them or even raise the hood to warn other drivers that your car is in the road . If you notice any leaking fluids, get as far away as possible to ensure your safety.

2. If anyone has been injured, call an ambulance for help.

If anyone has been seriously injured, it’s important to try and stop any bleeding as best you can. If possible, avoid moving the injured victim as it could make the injuries even worse.

3. Let emergency personal help you.

Don’t attempt to be brave. If you feel you may have suffered an injury, let an ambulance take and treat you. The faster you are treated for your injuries, the shorter your recovery time.

4. Do not admit fault of the accident.

You may feel the accident was caused by you but further investigation may show differently.

5. Take down details of the accident and get important information.

You should note the location of the accident, time and date, description of the other vehicle involved, other vehicle owners information, and police officer information such as bad number and name.

6. Call the police to report the accident.

In the state of California, the driver has a duty to make an accident report.

7. Notify your insurance company

No matter how small or great the damage is to your vehicle, it’s always important to let your insurance company know about the accident that occurred.

8. Never drive a vehicle without auto insurance

California law requires you to have insurance to operate an automobile. The right insurance coverage protects your personal assets and covers medical expenses for those who are injured. It also reimburses for lost wages and other damages that may have occurred as a result of the accident.

Michael Bomberger is San Diego personal injury attorney and a partner in the law firm of Estey & Bomberger. For additional information feel free to visit http://www.esteybomberger.com or http://www.personal-injury-attorney-in-san-diego.com

Life is not always a smooth sailing. Sudden unfortunate accidents do occur at times. One cannot do much to completely avoid the accidents. The pain and suffering that it brings along with it can leave one in total dismay. One cannot completely eradicate the misery brought by accidents but a bit of respite can be achieved if some authority takes charge of at least the financial loss that occurs with accidents.

There are several independent accidents claim service providers. They have specialist solicitors who are members of The Law Society panel of personal injury experts. These experienced solicitors are able to manage wide variety of accident claims that may be either accident at work, industrial illness, cycle accident, pedestrian accident, slips and falls, car accident compensation. Most of the claim service providers offer free phone consultation to guide you in the best way to claim compensation for the incurred injury and loss.

Accident compensation in the UK is managed by numerous independent firms, most of which have experienced solicitors who are veterans in getting approval for accident claims. They can efficiently manage both incidents involving any minor injury or incidents that can pose a risk to one?s normal living. If ever one falls a prey to any unfortunate accident it?s always advised to take help from professional claim managers since they are more experienced and can better handle the technicalities involved in the matter.

If one exercises due diligence it is easy to come across a claim management company that does not charge any initial fees for their services. Keeping the interest of accident victims in mind, there has also been an amendment in the law involving solicitors. The new amendment promotes NO WIN NO PAY scheme. According to this if the legal advisor of the victim does not win the case and get the claim accepted he would not be entitled to any professional or legal charges. This development comes as a boon to many sufferers.

There are wide varieties of compensations that can be claimed including ?general damages? ?pain and suffering?, ?loss of amenity?, ?disadvantage in labor market?, ?special damages? and several others. Even damages hard to characterize or calculate can be redeemed if one finds a competent solicitor.

With the advent of Internet most claim settlement companies also own a website that informs about the services of indemnity provided by them. Fortunately people in UK are entitled to vast array of reimbursable items ranging to even loss of future earnings. Cases involving medical negligence also come under legal compensation category. Whatever the case, a person should choose carefully the claim management firm who represents them.

Jon Hartley writes about a variety of legal topics, but focuses on accident compensation. Learn more at http://www.neat-compensation.co.uk/.

Massive train crashes seem the dramatic stuff of movies and novels, billowing steam engines destined for disaster, fixed irreversibly on track to collide. Indeed, in the 19th century train companies used head-on train collisions as a publicity stunt. The Crush Crash in Waco, Texas drew so many observers that Waco became, for one night, the second largest city in the state. Even this staged event ended in disaster, however, when a boiler burst and the flying debris killed two in the crowd. Unfortunately, this less-than-dramatic conclusion represents the reality of train wrecks, and these days that reality is represented in lawsuits as soon as the smoke clears.

Perhaps modern day railroads do not encounter anything so catastrophic as the rerouted steam locomotive that caused a mountain to collapse in Ayn Rand?s Atlas Shrugged, but train crashes are still a major problem in the United States. Train crashes injure more than 500 people every year, though deaths remain relatively rare. Aside from catastrophic collisions, railroad deaths usually occur at crossings, where the train?s course crosses the path of car traffic. The chances of dying in a car-train crash are ten times more likely than dying in a regular car collision.

Settlements with railroad companies for crashes can amount in the millions of dollars, but this just reflects the severity of injuries incurred in such accidents. Trains are currently set up in compartments to reduce the distance people would fly in the event of a major collision. However, safety experts with the Federal Railroad Association have conducted full-scale crashes and found that the dummies in such seats were flung up and over the backs of the seat compartments, some striking luggage racks. Seatbelts would prevent this sort of injury, but they are not a standard installment of most trains.

At least half of all the railroad tank cars on the tracks today were built before 1989 when new regulations required them to be reinforced with steel. About 30,000 of these tankers have not been rebuilt at all, and no government agency forces the companies that own these tank cars to spend money to bring them up to safety standards. This results in another great railroad danger, as many of these tankers carry dangerous chemicals. Just this past January, nine people died and an entire geographic region had to be evacuated from homes, businesses, and schools in South Carolina when a train collision caused a tanker to leak chlorine gas.

Train wrecks are clearly not an entertaining matter. Because of the structure of the tracks and signals, train collisions are nearly always due to negligence, either human error or faulty equipment. As such, any injuries incurred on a railroad are entitled to compensation and should be discussed with a lawyer right away.

If you have more questions, contact a railroad accident lawyer or read about railroad collisions at http://www.hugesettlements.com.

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Everything. In order to evaluate liability, a trial lawyer must be able to figure out your speed, the time it took to arrive at the accident point and the distance you travelled from one point to another.

We only need two out of the three elements to figure out the third. For example, if you travelled 100 feet in 10 seconds, we can easily calculate your speed. If you were travelling at 50 miles per hour, and you drove 1/4 mile, we can calculate exactly how long it took for you to travel that distance.

Speed, time and distance are crucial in determining liability in your case. What do you think the outcome would be in a case if you didn’t exactly know your speed, and you testified that you were travelling at 10 miles per hour, and it took you 2 minutes to travel 100 feet. Obviously, the numbers you recall or estimate are not accurate because they are totally inconsistent with physics.

Keep in mind that it’s not always crucial for you to know exactly all the details involved in your accident. There are usually other witnesses involved who can add to whatever information you have. Anyway, when your credibility is at stake, you must tell the truth, and understand that while driving you are not looking to calculate speed, time and distance in anticipation of a pending accident or lawsuit.

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Q: My mother was in a car accident last week, and already she’s gotten letters from lawyers asking if she’s ok, and if she wants a lawyer? Is it ethical for a lawyer to send such a letter?

A: First, I hope she is feeling better. Second, in limited circumstances in New York, it may be acceptable for an attorney to send such a letter to a victim of an accident. The majority of lawyers feel such a letter to a victims’ home is demeaning and degrading. Some lawyers feel this is nothing but a solicitation, which is clearly not permitted in New York. Other attorneys (the ones who send these letters) feel that it may be their only chance to entice the injured victim to come to them as a client.

The letter is supposed to only offer them legal assistance and guidance- should they want it. Again, how do you choose which attorney to use when you’re inundated with a flood of letters from different lawyers promising to help you with your accident claim?

The answer is simpler than you think. Ask yourself why a an attorney would even bother to send such a letter. Are they really that desperate to need to send such a letter? How did they get your name anyway? I’ll tell you how- maybe it came from the tow truck operator who took your car away. Maybe it was from an ambulance technician. Maybe it was from a police blotter at the police station. (That’s public information that many investigators working for lawyers troll for in various police stations).

Ask yourself another question. Do you let a stranger into your house simply because he says he saw you need a paint job, and amazingly, he’s a painter who is willing to paint your house for a great price? Did you call him? No. Did you seek out other customers of his to determine if he’s reliable and professional? No. He just showed up while trolling through the neighborhood. Is this the type of painter you want working in your house? I don’t think so.

The same rationale holds true for a lawyer that sends you an unsolicited letter following an accident. What do you know about that lawyer? Probably nothing. Does that mean that he (or she) isn’t a good lawyer? No. But, again, think who you want for your attorney. Does it help knowing that your lawyer gets many cases this way, by sending out unsolicited lawyer letters hoping that a few unknowing people will answer the letter? The choice, as always is yours. Make an informed choice.

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