Child's Play.. Not

I guess I'm on this rant today because I had a child in my office crying. This is not the first time and it will not be the last. I see these children torn apart way to often. This child with a still solemn little face told me what her father had said to her. "Go ahead live with your mother. She is a B**** and you are just like her." This baby loves her father and will never understand why her father hates the part of her that is like her mother.

So very many times in a divorce the children become the parents. This happens because parents try to hurt each other through the children. Mom says "Your Dad is so mean. If he would only pay YOUR child support I could take you to the store and buy you a new bike." Dad says, "If only your mother would use the money I send her for YOU. She spends all of YOUR money on HER clothes." The child tells each parent what the other has said. Using the children as a go-between for your issues gives children power they can not handle. They should not try and cope with these problems. Divorce is hard enough on children without your burdens placed on their shoulders.

Children also hear every mean hurtful thing you say about your spouse. Your wife is still their mother. Your husband is still their father. You are divorcing each other not the child. Your child still loves their father and mother no matter how mean crazy and perverted they have become to you. Many judges in Alabama's Family Courts send parents to class to learn how to behave. This does not happen until after the divorce papers have been filed. By the time a divorce is in court the child has already heard enough pain to last a life time.

Watch what your children see and hear. Just because you do not see them does not mean that they can not hear you talk to others or each other. Children slip around to find out what is going on. When they hear you let them hear that you are in control of your emotions. Let them know that no matter what is going on your love for them will not change. If you can quit loving your child's other parent the child thinks that you will quit loving him. If you are having marital problems be very careful.

Lennon and You

Most everyone possesses some property at the time of their death. Wills are the best way for you to let your desires known about how your possessions should be handled after your death. A well-written will eases the transition for survivors by transferring property quickly and avoiding many tax burdens. While it is difficult to think about death, it can give you great peace of mind and reduce the burdens of your loved ones. If you die without a will, The state of Alabama decides what happens to your property. The law attempts to distribute the property according to what most people want, but it does not always work that way. Without a will your property goes to relatives. Your spouse and children will take your property. If you have no spouse and no children, your parents will take your property. If your parents are not alive then your siblings, grandparents, and children of the grandparents take your property. If no close relation can be found, the property will eventually belong to the state. If you leave behind a girlfriend or boyfriend, you will not be able to provide them with any inheritance unless there is a valid will. If there are people whom you do not like or trust, you may choose to disinherit them with a valid will. Naming a guardian for your children after your death is a valuable benefit that a will can provide. The court is not bound by the naming of a guardian in a will. However, the court will certainly consider it. This is often the only way to make your wishes known after you have died. Bereaved love ones often come into my office with a power of attorney assuming that they can use this to take care of the matters left unattended by their love ones’ death. A power of attorney is effective only while the person who signed it is alive. Once that person dies, the power of attorney is no longer effective. It terminates immediately upon the death of the loved one.

Only an attorney can legally draft a will for a person, unless a person tries to write his own will. Personally written wills are often incomplete, and not valid under Alabama law. An invalid will is worthless. Kits for writing a will are normally not state-specific. If your will fails to follow the law of Alabama, it will be invalid.

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
Imagine
By John Lennon

John Lennon, who could imagine no possessions managed to accumulate a great deal of wealth and possessions before his death. He made his wishes known to the world through his will. Even though you do not have the property or wealth of John Lennon, you need to make a will right now because no one knows about tomorrow. If you would like to read Lennon’s will it is on the internet at this site. The wills of Elvis, Nixon, Marilyn Monroe, Princes Diana and others are also found there. http://www.courttv.com/archive/legaldocs/newsmakers/wills/

Just Shoot Me In The Head

It has been almost a month since I have Blawged. It has been a very busy time. I have been to the beach with other criminal defense attorneys. This was a very good time. I learned many useful things. I learned or re-learned techniques that will help me to be an even better lawyer. I guess I really need a refresher. Two of my clients were found guilty before I left. The reason... I allowed them to persuade me to let them testify. They both were terrible witnesses. The first told way too much and admitted way more than he had to. He just volunteered information that he thought would be helpful for him. It was not. The other was a very smart person. This person (Probably the smartest person that I have represented.) thought that the jury could not detect an obvious lie. I guess thinking you are the smartest best liar in the world does not help you win your case. I had told them both, "Just tell the truth. Do not volunteer any info. Answer the questions truthfully."
I’ve been trying another case this week. The Judge asked me if I were going to put the defendant on the stand. I told the Judge, "If I ever let a defendant talk me in to putting them on the stand again PLEASE JUST SHOOT ME IN THE HEAD." It was a lesson well learned. The jury took about 40 minutes to return a not guilty verdict.

Not My Kind of Place

I went to McDonald’s on Saturday. I was out yard selling and just needed a cup of coffee. That should have been an easy thing to get. I was at a place that was suppose to be a happy place. Maybe it is not that at the drive through. Anyway, I waited for a long time in line. The car ahead of me gave up and drove off. I drove up to the little speaker to place my order. Nothing happened for many minutes. Finally a small whisper in static said something. I placed my order. It was not complicated. I ordered a large coffee and a large soft drink. There was no reply. After some moments I drove to the first window. A young polite lady was there to take my money. I gave it to her and told her that it was hard to hear and understand her on the speakers. A woman standing behind her turned to me. She had been eating the pickles and was all sour and puckered up. She told me that it was her over the speaker and not her girl. She stomped off. I found out later that the brusque woman was the store manager. I drove to the next window where after an amount of time had elapsed I was handed two small cups. I told the girl at that window that I had ordered two large drinks. The surly manager told her that I had not ordered large drinks. I could see and hear the manager through the closed window. She spent several minutes yelling about me to everyone in the restaurant. She told them that I did not order large. She mimicked me. She made a spectacle out of herself. She did not offer to make the drinks right. She never said that if I paid the difference she would get me the large drinks. She just continued with her ridicule of me. I finally motioned for the young lady to open the window. I gave her the drinks back and asked for my money to be returned. She did this with an apologetic look. Her manager had a look of self-satisfaction on her face. I went across the street to Burger King where they did it my way. They were very congenial and friendly. This morning I wrote an E-mail to McDonald’s. I hope that the clown that runs the McDonald’s corporation will do something about their service.

Sex Offenders

We have a problem in Alabama with sex offender notification laws. We should have predatory sex offenders register and have the community notified. In Alabama we treat all types of crimes as if they were predatory. Child molestation by an adult is a predatory crime. Sexual torture and first degree rape are also predatory crimes. We require individuals who have been found guilty of these crimes register as sex offenders. We also notify the community where they move so that neighbors will know of the danger.

The problem in our state is that we require others to be put on the list and the community notified. Often a man can be charmed by an experienced young lady into a sexual act. I know of one case where the young man was not experienced in sexual matters. The 15 year old went to his home. Took off all of her clothes. She seduced him. He was found guilty of rape 2nd. Rape 2nd is a crime no matter who is at fault. This young man will be on the list of sex offenders for the rest of his life. He is very unlikely to engage in this behavior again. I know of another case where a 15 year old went to a party with the drugs. She got the guy high and took him into the bedroom. She performed the acts on him. She wanted him to marry her. He did not. She had him arrested for rape 2nd.

Rape 2nd is not the only offence in Alabama that requires registration. Promoting prostitution, incest, indecent exposure, Public display of obscene sticker or sign may also require a person name to be put on a list of sex offenders. The inclusion of so many on the list only causes confusion as to which offenders pose real threats to public safety.

The US House of Representatives has before it a bill (H.R. 4472) that requires youth in the juvenile justice system to register on the national sex offender registry and also on Alabama's state registry which currently excludes some juveniles. The research shows that youth sex offenders have low re-offense rates (3-8%). Over 90% of arrests of children for sex offenses represent a one-time event that will never recur.

This is a link that will take you to the serious sex offender list. You can see who has been convicted and lives in your area.
http://community.dps.state.al.us/

WAKE UP

It seems that the marketers of sleeping pills have been staying awake to get us to believe that we are not getting enough sleep. Global sales for all sleeping pills, called hypnotics, will reach $5 billion in just a few years. "The pill-taking is real but the refrain that Americans are sleep deprived originates largely from people funded by the drug industry or with financial interests in sleep research clinics." said professor Daniel Kripke of the University of California
Medco Health Solutions, a managed care company, informs us that the number of adults aged 20-44 using sleeping pills has doubled from 2000 to 2004. In years past sleep problems were commonly reported in the elderly. Now even 10 year olds are using sleeping . This may be because of using the pills as a part of the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Now the kicker is that people who sleep less than 8 hours a night live longer, are successful, and make more money. For more info on this sleep study go to this link. http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060323_sleep_deprivation.html

My Army Sargent father had the right idea. If I stayed up too late at night he would wake me up that much earlier the next morning. I do not have trouble falling asleep unless I stay up past 11 p m. If I do have a problem I just listen to old law professors drone on. I wake up somewhere after 4 a m but by 5 a m every morning. This has been very helpful for doing work without being interrupted by the rest of the household. This is when I do my Bible study and prayers. This is the time that I work on idea’s for cases. It is wonderful to know that because of my sleep schedule I get more done and will probably live longer. I will have to shave off a few more hours each night to make more money though.

Tax Free

In 1774 the US consisted of 13 colonies who sent delegates to Philadelphia Pennsylvania to form the First Continental Congress. The colonies were under the rule of England's King George III. The delegates were unhappy with England, but were not yet ready to declare war. The colonies were concerned about the taxes that had to be paid to England. A committee to draft the Declaration of Independence included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Philip Livingston and Roger Sherman. Thomas Jefferson was the actual writer of the first draft of the declaration. Jefferson's version was revised byBenjamin Franklin and John Adams before it went to the Continental Congress where they also edited the document. A vote was taken late in the afternoon of July 4th. Of the 13 colonies, 9 voted in favor of the Declaration.To make it official John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence. It is said that John Hancock signed his name "with a great flourish" so "King George can read that without spectacles!."

Alabama will have its first "tax holiday" beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Friday August 4, 2006, and ending at twelve midnight on Sunday August 6, 2006. Certain school supplies, computers and clothing will be free of state sales or use tax, though local taxes may apply. More specific information and phone numbers can be obtained by visiting the link below:
http://www.revenue.alabama.gov/salestax/SalesTaxHol.htm