Drunken driving laws contain an alphabetic menagerie of acronyms: DWI, DUI, BAC, OVI, and HGN, just to name a few. Knowing what they mean could help you in avoiding a felony charge. Some of these definitions change based on state laws, but many of them remain constant throughout the nation. Don’t be a drinking and driving dunce when it comes to these 10 DUI abbreviations every driver should be familiar with:...
Actor Alec Baldwin was arrested this morning after police stopped him for allegedly riding his bike in the wrong direction on a street in Manhattan. New York City police say Baldwin was riding a bike while facing traffic near Union Square Park about 10:15 a.m. When officers stopped him and asked for identification, Baldwin allegedly refused to show ID and became belligerent, prompting his arrest, reports The Associated Press. Baldwin may have an anger problem, but was he right about this bike thing?...
The American Airlines-US Airways merger should be blocked to protect consumers from higher fares and fees, the U.S. Justice Department argues in an antitrust lawsuit filed Tuesday. The antitrust lawsuit (attached below) upends American’s plans to exit bankruptcy via a deal that would create the world’s biggest airline. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which both grew through mergers of their own in recent years, are currently the two largest domestic carriers....
It’s been a rough year for Bill O’Reilly. Last April, he was forced out of Fox News after more than 20 years with the network. At the center of the firing were investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior by the long-time conservative anchor. It was revealed that O’Reilly had entered into numerous settlements with women who had accused him of inappropriate behavior. Now, despite O’Reilly’s best legal efforts, a federal judge has ruled that those settlement terms can be revealed to the public....
While there are many arguments in the death penalty debate, our duty as a nation is to make sure that the process remains humane. The Food and Drug Administration, however, may have just called even that into question. Thiopental, a so-called death penalty drug, has seen better days. The anesthesia, designed to prevent inmates from feeling any pain, has been difficult for states to acquire, delaying executions across the country. And now that Hospira, Inc....
Yes, Christmas shopping is expensive. But you know what’s more costly? A criminal conviction. Not only could a shoplifting charge be expensive (from the costs of defending yourself and paying fines), but a shoplifting conviction could go on your record and stay there. Here’s how shoplifting could go on your record, and what you can do to take it off. Under most state laws, shoplifting is included under criminal larceny statutes, which prohibit taking property without permission....
While Gabrielle Solis may never have had money troubles, Eva Longoria, star of the ABC hit show Desperate Housewives, certainly does. Any interest rate greater than 12% is considered an unlawful interest rate, according to FindLaw. An unlawful interest rate is known by the term usury. Usury is an unconscionable and exorbitant rate or amount of interest which exceeds those permitted by state law. Nachum claims that the Desperate Housewives star is not legally entitled to 8% plus the 23....
Michael Bryant, former Attorney General for the province of Ontario, Canada, was charged with criminally negligent homicide, and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death in a deadly road-rage incident that killed Toronto bicycle courier Darcy Allan Sheppard. The incident occurred Monday evening on Bloor Street in Toronto’s posh Yorkville neighborhood, just blocks away from the Ontario Legislative Assembly, in the heart of the Canadian city’s hotel district. But here’s the real kicker: when Bryant was Ontario Attorney General, he was an outspoken opponent of illegal street racing, arguing that “[t]he damage that these vehicles can cause can sometimes be catastrophic....
A recent level 2 voluntary recall has been initiated by GlaxoSmithKline as a result of a defect in the delivery system for nearly 600,000 of the company’s popular asthma inhalers. As of yet, the recall is targeted at wholesalers, distributors, and sellers of the inhaler, rather than users directly. The affected inhaler is the Ventolin HFA 200D. Fortunately, only inhalers with the following lot numbers and expirations are subject to this recall:...
Lindsay Lohan’s car crash is a lesson on what not to do following a car accident. The 25-year-old actress is accused of getting into a car accident last week when her rental Porsche collided with an 18-wheeler. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt in the accident. Unfortunately, reports have surfaced that Lindsay Lohan lied to police officers who responded to scene and now could face jail time, reports the New York Daily News....
The state of North Carolina’s legislature has joined those of Maryland and Virginia in approving a resolution apologizing for slavery. Senate Joint Resolution 1557 was approved by both the North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate. An excrept from the resolution reads as follows: SECTION 2. The General Assembly urges schools, colleges, and universities, religious and civic institutions, businesses and professional associations to do all within their power to acknowledge the transgressions of North Carolina’s journey from a colony to a leading State, to learn the lessons of history in order to avoid repeating mistakes of the past, and to promote racial reconciliation....
Being questioned by police can be intimidating, even when you haven’t done anything wrong. In that kind of situation, you’ll probably have a lot going through your mind. That’s especially true if you’re trying to keep a story straight. Remembering all your legal rights and whether police are upholding them during the questioning is probably not going to happen. To simplify things, here are three important rights to keep in mind if you end up at the police station answering some questions:...
CBS news producer Robert Joel ‘Joe’ Halderman was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for allegedly trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman, host of the CBS Late Show. He is being arraigned in criminal court in downtown Manhattan this afternoon. Surprisingly, the Letterman extortion suspect – a veteran news producer – does not appear to have realized how blatant his apparent extortion and blackmail attempts really were. Did he even consider that he might get caught?...
The Mt. Soledad cross in San Diego violates the U.S. constitutional ban on government endorsement of religion, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 3-0 decision. The decision, which reversed a lower court ruling, marks the latest twist in a legal dispute dating back to the 1980s, Reuters reports. The case could eventually wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case was brought on behalf of Jewish war veterans who challenged the legality of the 43-foot-tall Mt....
With the recent Secret Service scandal still in its infancy, discussions about the place for legalized prostitution in the U.S. have resurfaced. Among the debated topics, the question of whether the practice would be safer if it were legal remains dominant. Prostitution occurs in every part of the world. In Columbia, where the Secret Service scandal originated, prostitutes are allowed to operate legally in specified “tolerance zones.” But should America follow in a similar vein, and if they did, would it make the sex trade safer?...
Fans of United States of Tara, the Showtime television series about a housewife with dissociative identity disorder (DID) may be interested to know about a federal criminal lawsuit filed in Virginia today: the United States vs. Tara. Is there a connection between the two Taras? The lawsuit is actually titled the U.S. v. Tara L. Maden, and is a criminal case against a woman charged with driving a motor vehicle on the Fort Belvoir U....
One out of every 86 adult Louisianans is currently behind bars. That’s nearly double the national rate. It’s also triple that of Iran, seven times that of China, and ten times that of Germany. These statistics have earned Louisiana the designation of being the prison capital of the world. And according to The Times-Picayune, Louisiana’s staggering incarceration rate can be traced back to the need for “cold, hard cash.” Most inmates are housed in local, for-profit facilities, according to the paper....
Served with a lawsuit, actor and comedian Mike Epps, best known for his role in The Hangover, threw a hissy fit in front of a Texas audience earlier this week. And there’s some pretty explicit video to boot. Mike Epps was in the middle of his comedy routine at the Verizon Theater in Grand Prairie, Texas when a process server neared the stage and tossed papers at him. Obviously knowing what it was, he then began yelling obscenities at the woman, working the event into his act....
Amanda Bynes was pulled over for driving on a suspended license and finally had her car impounded, reports Entertainment Weekly. Let’s see if this keeps the former child star out of trouble. Because despite a recent string of arrests, criminal charges, and her most recent license suspension, the 26-year-old Bynes kept driving straight into trouble. Now without her BMW, the hope is that Bynes couldn’t possibly get into any more trouble because of her bad driving....
Statutory rape is an unusual crime with very few defenses. Even if an underage partner consents to sex, relations with that partner are against the law and will be charged criminally, regardless of use of force. People below a certain age cannot legally consent to sex. Statutory rape laws exist to protect children, even from themselves, so if a youth says they are of age to consent, that has historically not been a defense....
