Ask DrewDevil your legal questions

DrewDevil · #1 10-10-2007, 03:03 PM

As requested in this thread, I will answer your legal questions here. Read the other thread first.

<u>Impressive and Foreboding Legal Disclaimers</u>:

I am a lawyer, but my posts in this thread are general answers providing general legal information, not specific legal advice as to a specific situation.

Nothing in this thread shall be construed to create an attorney-client relationship between me and anyone else.

If you actually need a lawyer to give you specific legal advice, either PM me or talk to a lawyer in your jurisdiction.

I am licensed in the state of Texas only and not qualified to give legal advice relating to any other jurisdiction anyway.

Fire away.

Low Key · #2 10-10-2007, 03:05 PM

Should I ever trust a lawyer?

XXXNoahXXX · #3 10-10-2007, 03:12 PM

1. My brother got beat up in a club while security did nothing. Got his jaw broken. How much would he get if he sued?

2. Same brother also got arrested for a misdemeanor, did everything he was told to do, then all of a sudden gets a call saying the paperwork didn't get filed and he missed a court date. this was like a year ago and he emails his public defender (he's on like his 5th as they keep quitting or getting fired) weekly for updates. the public defender just says "there is no news, i'll let you know when there is." what can you do to get some real answers and progress when dealing with a public defender's office?

3. my parents have been renting the same apartment for almost 15 years. they put $1500 down as a security deposit and last month's rent. by law this is supposed to go into an interest-bearing account. if this hasn't happened, can they sue after the fact to get what the money would have earned? or is it best to let it be so long as they get their deposit back in full?

4. what tye/size firm are you at and what practice area do you focus on?

Tony_P · #4 10-10-2007, 03:26 PM

[ QUOTE ]
1. My brother got beat up in a club while security did nothing. Got his jaw broken. How much would he get if he sued?

2. Same brother also got arrested for a misdemeanor, did everything he was told to do, then all of a sudden gets a call saying the paperwork didn't get filed and he missed a court date. this was like a year ago and he emails his public defender (he's on like his 5th as they keep quitting or getting fired) weekly for updates. the public defender just says "there is no news, i'll let you know when there is." what can you do to get some real answers and progress when dealing with a public defender's office?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll field these two. Your brother should stop being a poor-ass criminal.

XXXNoahXXX · #5 10-10-2007, 03:30 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
1. My brother got beat up in a club while security did nothing. Got his jaw broken. How much would he get if he sued?

2. Same brother also got arrested for a misdemeanor, did everything he was told to do, then all of a sudden gets a call saying the paperwork didn't get filed and he missed a court date. this was like a year ago and he emails his public defender (he's on like his 5th as they keep quitting or getting fired) weekly for updates. the public defender just says "there is no news, i'll let you know when there is." what can you do to get some real answers and progress when dealing with a public defender's office?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll field these two. Your brother should stop being a poor-ass criminal.

[/ QUOTE ]

agreed.

DrewDevil · #6 10-10-2007, 03:38 PM

[ QUOTE ]
1. My brother got beat up in a club while security did nothing. Got his jaw broken. How much would he get if he sued?

[/ QUOTE ]

Most states recognize the doctrine of "premises liability," which imposes on premises owners certain level of duty to people who enter their premises. Your brother would be classified as a "business invitee" of the club, which means the club typically has a duty to use ordinary care to warn or otherwise protect an invitee from risks of harm from a condition on the possessor's premises if (1) the risk of harm is unreasonable, and (2) the possessor knows or in the exercise of ordinary care should know of the condition, and should realize that it involves an unreasonable risk of harm to an invitee. The possessor may have a duty to periodically inspect the premises for the introduction of hazards to invitees.

The classic premises liability case is the guy who gets his head bashed in by a thug in a convenience store parking lot and sues the store. I don't know if what happened with your brother was an unreasonable danger that the club should have known of or not, and of course it's impossible to tell how much he would get if he sued.

[ QUOTE ]
2. Same brother also got arrested for a misdemeanor, did everything he was told to do, then all of a sudden gets a call saying the paperwork didn't get filed and he missed a court date. this was like a year ago and he emails his public defender (he's on like his 5th as they keep quitting or getting fired) weekly for updates. the public defender just says "there is no news, i'll let you know when there is." what can you do to get some real answers and progress when dealing with a public defender's office?

[/ QUOTE ]

Your brother can tell the judge about the public defenders' poor representation at his next court appearance, or he can complain to the state bar. Ignoring a client is one of the worst things a lawyer can do and the state bars take it very seriously.

[ QUOTE ]
3. my parents have been renting the same apartment for almost 15 years. they put $1500 down as a security deposit and last month's rent. by law this is supposed to go into an interest-bearing account. if this hasn't happened, can they sue after the fact to get what the money would have earned? or is it best to let it be so long as they get their deposit back in full?

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you sure that the law requires in account to bear interest?

The answer will depend on your parents' lease and the state's property code. They probably have no claim to any part of the deposit until they move out, but once they do, they can probably sue for any amounts wrongfully withheld from them. In many states, if a landlord acts in bad faith with respect to returning a security deposit, the tenant can recover 3x damages plus attorney's fees.

[ QUOTE ]
4. what tye/size firm are you at and what practice area do you focus on?

[/ QUOTE ]

I am technically a solo practitioner but I am "of counsel" with a 12-man firm, meaning I do most of my work for and with that firm. I focus on real estate but I also do litigation work and I am expanding into divorce/family law.

RayPowers · #7 10-10-2007, 03:46 PM

I have a friend that went to Law School, passed, passed the bar exam, then was refused a law license based on an arrest over a decade ago. What was your interview process like after you passed the bar? Ever heard of anything like this? How stringent is Texas? (My friend was not even found guilty of charges, if I recall correctly, only arrested.)

Ray

sethypooh21 · #8 10-10-2007, 03:49 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I have a friend that went to Law School, passed, passed the bar exam, then was refused a law license based on an arrest over a decade ago. What was your interview process like after you passed the bar? Ever heard of anything like this? How stringent is Texas? (My friend was not even found guilty of charges, if I recall correctly, only arrested.)

Ray

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not an interview, it's part of the "Character" review of your application to take the exam. Generally speaking, you don't have to do an interview unless there is some kind of red flag. In that case you may or may not be screwed depending on the jurisdiction. (Friend of mine was/is not able to even take the Delaware bar because he has a misdo assault conviction from a bar fight when he was in college)

miajag · #9 10-10-2007, 03:50 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I have a friend that went to Law School, passed, passed the bar exam, then was refused a law license based on an arrest over a decade ago. What was your interview process like after you passed the bar? Ever heard of anything like this? How stringent is Texas? (My friend was not even found guilty of charges, if I recall correctly, only arrested.)

Ray

[/ QUOTE ]

The only way I can imagine this happening is if he was required to report it and failed to do so. There's no way he'd be denied admission just because of an arrest 10 years ago, so there has to be more to this story.

DrewDevil · #10 10-10-2007, 04:01 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I have a friend that went to Law School, passed, passed the bar exam, then was refused a law license based on an arrest over a decade ago. What was your interview process like after you passed the bar? Ever heard of anything like this? How stringent is Texas? (My friend was not even found guilty of charges, if I recall correctly, only arrested.)

Ray

[/ QUOTE ]

In Texas, to become a lawyer you must graduate from an accredited law school, pass the bar, and apply to the state bar with a "Declaration of Intent to Practice Law." You submit to a background check, fingerprint, questionnaire, and the state bar has the ability to interview you to determine if you have the requisite moral character to practice law, or something. As I recall correctly, the state bar has pretty wide latitude to deny someone's application, so there doesn't have to be a criminal conviction on record, for example. There is an appeals process, but the appeal has to be filed within a certain time after the denial.