It can be tempting to go about your estate planning alone. The process may seem easy enough, and you can save money by just downloading a few forms online and doing it yourself. We get it. But you should know that it’s not as easy as it looks, and even the tiniest mistake can cause problems of epic proportions down the road.
Unconvinced? A U.S. News article “The Dangers of DIY Estate Planning” details why you shouldn’t go it alone. [Read more...]
In recent years, state legislatures and law enforcement across the country have been cracking down on distracted driving, a growing problem in the U.S. that causes thousands of accidents every year. 3,331 were killed in distracted driving related accidents in 2011—accounting for about 1 in 10 car accident fatalities, according to Distraction.gov. In 2012, Alabama’s texting ban went into effect. Our state’s law is one of the tougher laws in the nation, as it allows “primary enforcement.” This means that law enforcement can pull over a driver for texting alone—the driver does not need to be committing another offense, like speeding, to receive a ticket. [Read more...]
No family expects that they will undergo a bitter dispute over a family member’s will; however, you might be surprised how often it happens. When a will isn’t crystal clear regarding who gets which assets, arguments can begin. And often, it isn’t the most valuable items that family members squabble over: it could be the piece of antique furniture or painting that holds sentimental value for more than one person.
A recent Wall Street Journal article explores this very topic as well as ways to overcome familial dispute as easily and inexpensively as possible. [Read more...]
Photo Credit: Sarah Cole/al.com
Is your route to work an accident waiting to happen?
It might be, if it takes you through any of Huntsville’s most dangerous intersections. AL.com gives a list of the top ten deadliest intersections in the city. If you regularly drive through any of the following spots, you might want to consider taking extra precautions when driving or even switching your route altogether.
Juries are an essential part of the American justice system. It is the constitutional right of all American citizens, under the Sixth Amendment, to have a speedy, public trial by an impartial jury of their peers.
But despite the importance of juries, few people want to serve on them. A recent article on AL.com reported that a troublingly high number of residents of Huntsville and Madison County completely ignore a jury summons. [Read more...]
A recent blog post by New York attorney Peter DeFilippis raises this extremely interesting question, which has come about as a result of a high-profile Arizona trial currently in progress: the case against Jodi Arias, the woman accused of murdering Travis Alexander. Arias claims that she acted in self-defense. During the trial, the jurors introduced more than 100 scrutinizing questions for Arias to answer. Arizona is one of the few states that expressly permit this practice; other states have varying rules ranging from an outright ban to approval under certain conditions.
DeFilippis is in favor of allowing questions, stating that “the silence between the attorneys and jurors can be deafening: jurors yearn to ask the lawyers questions and lawyers would love to know more about what the jurors are thinking about their cases.”
There certainly are advantages to allowing jurors to ask questions. It can be beneficial for jurors to ask questions when they need clarification about any issues or concerns. If jurors are able to ask questions, they can clear up any issues before jury deliberations begin. By the time the jury is instructed to issue a verdict, attorneys cannot present any further arguments or information, and any jury member that still has questions or concerns may rely on (often untrue) assumptions when deliberating. Asking questions can be especially helpful in civil and criminal cases where the evidence—such as DNA analysis, for example—can be technical and complex. In addition, the ability to question witnesses may keep juries more engaged during the trial.
DeFilippis argues that “this process insures that the jury is better informed and makes its decisions based more likely on facts gleaned from testimony under an oath than conjecture.”
However, there are also drawbacks to permitting questions from the jury. DeFilippis mentions that allowing jury members to raise their hands and ask questions on the spot could be “highly problematic.” If a defense attorney objects to a question—for example, because the question would introduce inadmissible evidence—it could prejudice the jury member who asked the question against the defendant. An alternative method is giving juries the opportunity to submit their questions in writing to the judge, who can discuss the questions with the attorneys, receive any objections, and read certain questions to the witness. Still, this approach also has a few problems. Namely, it could slow court proceedings, and juries that do not hear their questions asked could feel slighted or make an assumption as to why it was not asked.
There really is no easy answer to this perplexing issue. Should jury members be allowed to ask questions in every case, only under certain circumstances, or not at all? Should there be limitations placed on the questions asked or restrictions on how the questions are submitted? What do you think?
A current U.S. Supreme Court case may have striking implications for personal injury lawsuits with regard to generic drugs. Generic drugs, the less expensive versions of brand-name drugs, make up 80% of prescriptions today. And unfortunately, many prescriptions injure thousands of Americans each year.
The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for reviewing drugs and deciding whether they are safe to market. [Read more...]
By now, most Americans have heard of the “floating hell” cruise: the Carnival cruise that caught fire and broke down during its voyage to Mexico. The cruise, which was supposed to take only four days, stretched out into eight until tugboats pulled the disabled ship into a Mobile, Alabama harbor.
In a lawsuit against Carnival filed in late February, several passengers of the Carnival cruise described the allegedly deplorable conditions that they suffered while awaiting rescue. [Read more...]
A recent study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that distracted driving and the resulting accidents are a larger problem in the United States than in Europe.
The CDC analyzed information several surveys done in 2011, which examined the driving behavior of thousands of residents of Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. [Read more...]
For decades, federal and state governments, the National Safety Council, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and related organizations have made it their mission to reduce traffic accidents and deaths. And for years, these efforts seemed to be working. According to the CDC, the number of motor vehicle deaths fell from 46,900 in 1990 to 35,900 in 2009. The NHTSA reported a drop in accident-related fatalities in 2010 and 2011, as well, with 2011’s death rate at a low of 32,367. [Read more...]
