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Unfortunately, the cost of legal help can often be prohibitive for most people. Consumers are often forced to forgo legal help because they cannot justify the immediate high cost, despite the potential for even higher costs over the long term. In order to capitalize on this insecurity of consumers, businesses have popped up offering consumers access to legal forms and legal services using low-cost subscription models. However, these services can often hurt consumers more than they help....

Is downloading music illegal if you aren’t aware that it’s illegal to do so? Yep. The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a glove slap to that argument, by denying certiorari in the case of a Texas teenager who appealed her case to the high court. The choice not to hear the case means that, at least for now, the Court will not review the RIAA’s lawsuits against file sharers. Whitney Harper used Kazaa, a file-sharing service, to download music while she was in high school....

A Denver country music DJ fired for allegedly groping Taylor Swift during a photo session in 2013 is suing the pop super star, saying her false accusations cost him his job on the radio. David Mueller, better known to local radio listeners as Jackson, denies Swift’s claim that he lifted her skirt and grabbed her butt backstage while she was taking a picture with his girlfriend. Mueller’s lawsuit alleges that Swift has him confused with one of his co-workers, who actually did grab her and boast about it to Mueller when the two men met up at the concert....

A Tennessee state court has turned the tide of gay marriage decisions and upheld Tennessee’s ban on same-sex marriage. In a rather short decision issued by Ninth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Russell Simmons Jr., the judge denied a challenge by a same-sex couple who were legally married in Iowa. As the Washington Blade reports, this “no” to gay marriage is perhaps the first loss in at least 30 court victories for marriage equality in the past year....

To “remedy” dangerous instances of “unintended acceleration,” Toyota plans to either repair or replace the gas pedals on approximately 3.8 million vehicles. We wrote about the Toyota “unintended acceleration” problem previously in Common Law. The car company is responding to complaints by many consumers over sudden acceleration (or what Toyota calls “unintended acceleration”). Toyota initially blamed the problem on floor mats. According to USA Today, Toyota plans on working on the flaw in its vehicles starting in January of next year....

Tameka Raymond, Usher’s ex-wife, is somewhat unhappy with her former husband and father of her children. She’s so unhappy that she’s reportedly filed court documents in Georgia asking a judge to give her full custody of her sons. According to the complaint, Usher has done the following acts, which are not permitted under their custody agreement: And, most egregious of them all: Canceled her Saks 5th Avenue credit card after saying she couldn’t use its “special benefits....

Do you know what an alcohol tether is? Also called a SCRAM bracelet, it’s a tool to monitor a person’s alcohol use after a DUI conviction. A Michigan woman recently learned first-hand how they work. After Brenda Conway pleaded guilty to OWI (operating while intoxicated, Michigan’s version of a DUI), a judge ordered her to wear an alcohol tether until her sentencing next month, Detroit’s WWJ Newsradio reports. So what is an alcohol tether, and how do they work?...

Window or aisle? Your seat preference on an airplane could land you in a higher-risk category for a potentially deadly blood clot, a new study finds. The risk of developing deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, is notably higher for passengers in window seats, according to a study in the medical journal Chest. Other factors such as a passenger’s age, obesity, and the duration of the flight also play a role, the study found....

A major household brand name in small appliances, Cuisinart, issued a voluntary recall this week that affects approximately 8 million of the company’s food processor units. The recall applies to all units sold between 1996 and 2015 that have the four-rivet blade. Consumers have been warned to stop using the four-rivet blades immediately due to concerns that the product can cause injury. The company issued the recall after it had received nearly 70 reports of consumers finding broken pieces of the food processor’s blade in their food....

DUI charges can be a pain, but there are a lot of legal myths about how to beat them – for example, potentially getting your charges dismissed because of a legal technicality. What if the officer misspelled your name, or incorrectly jotted down the time of your arrest? Or what if a blood test report is lacking a witness’ signature? These are just a few questions that have been raised in the FindLaw Answers DUI & DWI forum....

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Champion Power Equipment have announced a voluntary recall of Champion’s portable generators that were sold at Costco. Consumers are urged to stop using the product immediately, due to a fire hazard caused by fuel leaking into the generator’s carburetor, reports CBS News. About 8,600 of the units were sold. So far, there have been 11 reports of fuel leaking from the generators, including eight reports of the generators catching fire and two of property damage....

In Washington, DC, the right to carry a gun in public has been the center of much debate and controversy for several decades. However, over the last several years, DC has been faced with challenges to the safety restrictions imposed on gun ownership. Just this week, one of those challenges was actually successful in dismantling a statute that made it illegal to carry a concealed weapon in the District without a permit....

In one its most significant decisions this Term, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in favor of musician Diana Levine in her lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company Wyeth. What the decision means is that drugmakers do not get a complete defense to state law products liability lawsuits simply by getting an OK from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their drugs’ warning labels. The case was brought after the plaintiff, professional musician Diana Levine, went in to a local clinic for treatment of a migraine headache....

Nancy Grace has settled with the estate of former interviewee Melinda Duckett. The wrongful death suit was set to go to trial, after many delays, next month, but the parties have instead reached a settlement which seems to be very much in Grace’s favor. The terms of the settlement, which include a payment of $200,000 into a trust fund, were filed in federal court November 5 in Ocala, Florida. In 2006 Nancy Grace, host of the “Nancy Grace Show,” interviewed Melinda Duckett, a 21-year-old mother whose son, Trenton, had disappeared....

Probation can be a pain. Between the restrictive conditions and the aggressive probation officers, it seems like you’re set up to fail. And if you’re accused of violating your probation, things can get even worse. While probation officers have the discretion to simply issue a warning for an alleged probation violation, they are generally more likely to request a court hearing to determine if there was a violation and, if so, what the punishment will be....

Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to an attorney, but does the Constitution mandate that the attorney be good? What if your attorney doesn’t give you enough information, or gives you incorrect information? Or what if he or she is really bad at trial work? Not every guilty verdict means the criminal defense attorney screwed up, but there are some cases where a lawyer’s contribution to the defense (or lack thereof) is inadequate under the law....

Lingerie model Estella Warren was arrested for kicking a police officer, escaping from custody, driving under the influence, and for fleeing the scene of a three-car accident in Los Angeles. Warren is a former Canadian synchronized swimming star as well as the star of the 2001 movie, Planet of the Apes. Police were alerted when a witness said they saw someone drive into a parked car. After responding, authorities found several other cars had been hit by the same vehicle, reports the Toronto Sun....

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has struck back at a $50 million defamation lawsuit filed against her by conservative preacher Bradlee Dean. Maddow and NBC Universal have filed an anti-SLAPP motion that, if successful, would force Dean to pay legal fees and end his suit. Dean, a former heavy metal drummer (seriously), sued Maddow and company in July. He accused her of twisting his words in order to undermine Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachman....

In New York’s Suffolk County, Thomas Demint has agreed to settle his wrongful arrest case against the local police department. The civil lawsuit, which made headlines back in late 2015, was resolved for only $50,000. In May 2014, the 19-year-old Demint was standing a safe distance away from officers that were arresting two other individuals. Demint began video recording the incident, which was happening in public in plain view. After some time, police demanded Demint stop recording, then police arrested Demint for allegedly interfering with their other arrests, and an officer confiscated Demint’s phone....

In yet another undeclared food allergen recall this year, Trader Joe’s announced last week that one of their mochi ice cream products may contain undeclared peanuts. The company issued a voluntary recall on the “Chocolate Chocolate Mochi Ice Cream” produced by Mikawaya and sold nationwide in their stores. While recalls over undeclared peanuts are not uncommon, this mochi recall was prompted due to one consumer complaint. According to the FDA, one consumer found peanut butter in their chocolate mochi, and since the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup has already been invented, the consumer just reported the inconsistency to the company....