Blawg Search - Law Blogs, Lawyer Blogs, Legal Blogs Directory & Search Engine

A Phoenix Fire Department captain is in critical but stable condition due to injuries she sustained in an 11-vehicle crash along Interstate 17 Monday evening. Ten people and fire crew were injured in the crash which involved a fire engine, according to authorities. The fire captain, 49 and another woman, 23, were taken to a Valley hospital in critical condition. The other nine people injured suffered minor injuries. The fire truck was responding to a house fire and was heading east on Dunlap... Posted on August 14, 2009 at 03:55 pm by Chrissie Cole

King Nut Companies recently announced a recall of peanut butter distributed under the King Nut label, made for the company by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). The recall was issued after salmonella was discovered in an open five-pound tub of King Nut peanut butter. The products are not sold directly to consumers; they are distributed through food services accounts to hospitals, prisons and more. The FDA, CDC and health departments in Minnesota and Connecticut, have now confirmed that the... Posted on February 1, 2009 at 05:13 am

A pickup truck crashed Sunday morning, April 27, killing four of its passengers. The vehicle was carrying as many as 60 people when it rolled over in a remote part of Arizona. Investigators believe that the people in the pickup truck were illegal immigrants. The truck was driving from 50 to 60 people and 20 to 30 people fled the scene of the accident into the desert. So far none of the passengers who fled have been found. So far there have not been any arrests made, but police officers are... Posted on April 27, 2008 at 07:22 pm

Structural collapse causes a number of Arizona construction accidents resulting in catastrophic injuries and even wrongful death. According to a news report, a roof collapsed at a school construction work site sending two workers to the hospital with injuries. The school was apparently undergoing a two-story addition and about 10 construction workers were on the job when the accident occurred. Workers were reportedly cutting the first floor. The front wall of the building basically pitched out... Posted on November 19, 2009 at 06:00 am by Breyer Law Offices

A number of Phoenix construction accidents are entirely preventable. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires all employers, including construction companies, to institute state and federal mandated safety standard specifically in order to prevent tragic accidents that commonly occur at construction sites in Arizona and elsewhere in the nation. However, not all companies follow these safety standards. As a result, construction site accidents continue to cause injuries... Posted on November 17, 2009 at 06:00 am by Breyer Law Offices

Falls are the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry in Arizona and the rest of the country. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, an average of 362 deaths occurred as a result of falls each year from 1995 to 1999, a trend that is apparently increasing. A number of construction site falls occur because workers do not use proper harnesses as required by federal law. Here is an example of a fatal fall at a construction site where a worker fell 125 feet and died after a tall... Posted on November 12, 2009 at 07:00 am by Breyer Law Offices

The harsh penalties for an Arizona extreme DUI conviction have been well chronicled in this blog. However, what happens when we apply these penalties to people who were only visiting Arizona and charged with DUI? One could take the view: who cares? When people come to "our state" and commit crimes, they deserve whatever they get. On the other hand, you could look at what I believe are the unintended effects of these penalties on visitors to Arizona. Moreover, these unintended consequences... Posted on November 18, 2009 at 07:37 am

The truth of the matter is we don't really know. Most labs in the Phoenix Arizona area claim to be accurate within 5%. That means if your blood result came back at .08, then the true result can be anywhere from 5% lower or 5% higher. Other scientific organizations claim 5% is not a realistic range of accuracy. For example, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences claims that the accepted range of accuracy is 10% higher or lower. After interviewing toxicologists over 100 times, doing a... Posted on October 28, 2009 at 02:05 pm

Some things in life seem obvious. It is hotter in the summer. It is colder in the winter. The government must get a warrant to stick a needle in your arm before they forcibly take your blood. However, this last presumption has not been so obvious in Arizona. For years in Arizona, attorneys have been arguing that law enforcement must get a warrant before taking your blood during a DUI investigation. Unless, of course, the person "expressly consents" to the blood draw. However, many Arizona... Posted on September 4, 2009 at 07:03 am

The private inurement rule and private benefit rules exist to ensure that charitable assets are preserved for the benefit of the public and not diverted to private use. This is a fundamental concept that distinguishes tax-exempt organizations from for-profits. The rules originate in the language of Code Section 501(c)(3). Code Section 501(c)(3) contains the specific requirement that: [N]o part of the net earnings of [the exempt organization] inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or... Posted on November 18, 2009 at 02:33 am by admin

Thirty-eight U.S. states as well as the District of Columbia and many local jurisdictions require some type of registration for charities trying to solicit funds. These laws create a patchwork of largely inconsistent laws that nonprofits must contend with. To add to the confusion, the jurisdictions that require registration have different definitions and standards regarding who must register, which documents are required, whether nonprofits must renew their registrations, and which government... Posted on November 14, 2009 at 11:55 pm by admin

Sometimes no good deed goes unpunished. In this case, the board and staff of both nonprofits did a great job of putting their mission and beneficiaries first, only to be ambushed by their lack of stakeholder communication and buy-in. Posted on November 14, 2009 at 10:23 am by admin

I spoke with Ken Sharp, host of Ridin Dirty Radio, yesterday. He is currently broadcasting out of Los Angeles on KLAA. He's trying to find air time in the Phoenix area where his show started, but is having trouble lining it up. Ken's show is one of the most important tools for public understanding of DUI laws around. Here's a little about his show: Police Chief David Baker to appear on Ridin' Dirty DUI radio show : DUIAttorney.com: "Ridin' Dirty has been the recipient of both national and local... Posted on November 14, 2009 at 04:53 pm by Dan Jaffe

I am happy to report the good news that Atlanta DUI attorney Richard Lawson won a not-guilty verdict in a Cherokee County DUI trial on a case that many Georgia DUI lawyers would have advised their clients was impossible to win. The victory goes to show that, for DUI attorneys and their clients, good things happen when the defense declares that they are ready for trial. To sum up the case, Mr. Lawson's client had a prior DUI charge from about 4 years earlier in Cobb County. Once question that... Posted on November 5, 2009 at 12:32 pm by Dan Jaffe

While most DWI lawyers learn the law from manuals written by attorney-authors like San Antonio DWI Attorney Kyle Simpson, San Diego DUI Lawyer Larry Taylor, and Michigan DUI Lawyer Patrick Barone add so much value to the profession for thousands of other DUI attorneys around the country by distilling thousands of statutes, administrative codes, cases and scientific articles down to a practical and useable volume. While many lawyers pretend to be self-made experts on the subject, the attorney... Posted on November 5, 2009 at 10:23 am by Dan Jaffe

You have set up a corporation, designed a stunning logo, and registered your trade name. You have opened a bank account in the name of your company, rented office space, and begun wooing clients. You're a business owner, right? Not necessarily. Many people -- perhaps even most -- who consider themselves business owners don't really own a business, they own a job. Even if you have set up many of the formal indicia of a "real" business, one key factor prevents your organization from being a... Posted on November 14, 2009 at 09:44 am by BiziBoom Blog

We all have high opinions of ourselves. Talk to any random person in your industry and you will hear the same refrain: "We focus on the needs of our customers and provide world-class services at cost-effective prices" or something equally nonsensical. If you don't believe me, check the website of three of your closest competitors. Then read your own website. Of course these high platitudes are not true. You do not live in Lake Woebegon, where "all the women are strong, all the men are good... Posted on November 9, 2009 at 03:12 am by BiziBoom Blog

(Part Ten in a Series) A key employee has just left your company, joined your fiercest competitor, and begun a brain dump of your most critical intangible assets. What can you do? If this is the first time you have thought about protecting your intangible assets, the unfortunate answer is, "Not much." That ship has sailed. The cow's out of the barn. Elvis has left the building. You must begin today if you want to protect your intangible assets. Waiting until a crisis arises only assures that... Posted on October 31, 2009 at 09:12 pm by BiziBoom Blog

The Arizona Court of Appeals recently rendered a decision regarding Arizona community property law in an Arizona divorce case. A summary follows. In Quinlan v. Quinlan, Not Reported in P.3d, 2009 WL 3644806 (Ariz.App. Div. 1), the wife appealed from a ruling from the Arizona divorce court arguing that the family court erred in determining that Husband's IRA accounts were his sole and separate property, among other things. In this case, husband and wife were married in October 1989; wife filed a... Posted on November 6, 2009 at 02:52 pm

Many people often ask what an Arizona "No Fault" Divorce really means. In simple terms, it means that in Arizona any husand or wife, despite what the other spouse may want, can get divorced without the other agreeing that the marriage should be disolved. The Arizona divorce statute requires that there must be an "irretrievable breakdown" of the marriage for the court to be able grant a divorce, or as it is technically called, a dissolution of marriage. If either a husband or wife by petition... Posted on October 25, 2009 at 02:58 pm

The Arizona legislature is in the process of reviewing the Arizona Child Support Guidelines. This review process occurs approximately every 4 years in order to insure that the Arizona Child Support Guidelines are in sync with the current economic situation. The review process is required by federal law, which requires states to have child support lawsthat are: (a) applicable state wide; (b) take into consideration the non-custodial parents earnings and income; (c) are based on specific numeric... Posted on October 19, 2009 at 08:04 pm

In order to become a naturalized citizen, an applicant must demonstrate that s/he can read, write, and speak basic English and answer correctly a certain number of American civics questions. Exception to the RulesSome people are exempt from this requirement, such as age 50+ who have been green card holders for 20 years, or those who are age 55+ who have been green card holders for 15 years. In addition, people who have a physical or mental impairment may qualify for a waiver of the tests. To... Posted on October 29, 2009 at 08:43 am by Immigration Blog

By Carolyn Mason, Contributor Support letters can be very helpful in immigration, particularly when seeking naturalization (citizenship), a waiver of something that prevents you from obtaining a visa to enter the country, or when fighting removal (deportation). Strong support letters are critical if there is anything in your background that may lead to discretionary denial of the benefit or relief you are seeking. A number of solid support letters may favorably influence the consular or... Posted on October 22, 2009 at 07:51 pm by Immigration Blog

by Carolyn Mason, Contributor The Diversity Immigrant Visa program is an annual lottery, conducted by the State Department, to distribute applications for 50,000 diversity visas (DV). Winners are randomly selected from on-line entries and there is no fee to enter. There are, however, strict eligibility requirements: entrants must be from countries with low immigration rates to the U.S. (see below), as this is the purpose of the program. Winning the lottery entitles the entrant to apply for an... Posted on October 11, 2009 at 01:57 pm by Immigration Blog

Here is a corner of copyright law: the Derivative Works Exception. 17 U.S.C. &#xc2&#xa7203(b)1), the Derivative Works Exception, presents a defense to a claim of infringement. It provides that a derivative work prepared under the terms of a license "may continue to be utilized under the terms of the [license] after its termination." The Supreme Court explained in Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder, 469 U.S. 153 (1985), that "an entitlement to continue to distribute derivative works under the Derivative Works... Posted on September 9, 2009 at 02:24 am by dennis l. hall

Failure to register a copyright keeps a copyright plaintiff from obtaining attorneys' fees and statutory damages. One has to register to proceed with litigation; but, registration of a copyright only allows statutory damages and attorneys' fees for infringements occurring after the registration. Section 412 of the Copyright Act provides that registration is a prerequisite for statutory damages and attorneys fees. Statutory damages and attorneys fees are governed by Sections 504 and 505 of the... Posted on August 26, 2009 at 02:35 am by dennis l. hall

It was a simple photojournalism picture, taken by an AP stringer, when a Los Angeles artist, Shephard Farley, found the image on the web and used it to produce his rendering as a poster: . The poster has become ubiquitous, and the photo owners (there is a dispute there too about ownership) are now claiming infringement. This is a great case to think about fair use. If you emphasize the copyright owner's property rights, then you can emphasize the first three factors of the four factor test and... Posted on February 27, 2009 at 12:18 am by dennis l. hall

Carel A. Prater, also known as Chad Prater, was indicted by a Florida Grand Jury a few weeks ago. The charges were based on Mr. Prater's business which was built apparently around the notion that income is not taxable. He would in support of this, prepare false tax returns and bogus documents for his clients, tell them to conceal assets and income from the IRS by setting up "shell limited liability companies" and "unincorporated business trust organizations", and by transferring ownership of... Posted on February 22, 2009 at 12:44 pm by Michael S. Anderson

Many reading this entry are likely wondering who "Koko Taylor" is. at least those who don't follow "Blues" singers. To tell the truth, I didn't know either until I read this forbes article. Apparently, Koko Taylor is a blues singer who has won at least one Grammy as well as 25 "Blues Music Awards." In the 90s, she had some good years income wise, and just didn't withhold enough income tax resulting in a rather large tax debt. She is now about 80 years old and you'll probably agree that, her... Posted on February 15, 2009 at 09:26 pm by Michael S. Anderson

Should bankruptcy be considered a last resort in dealing with IRS debt? In my opinion, yes. It should however, always be carefully considered. The potential benefits of a bankruptcy can be undeniable in relation to a taxpayer's potentially less effective options. Having said that, bankruptcy does have some obvious negatives for the taxpayer with serious income tax debt. The more common are as follows: 1. Bankruptcy Costs Money There is the attorney who is analyzing your case and representing... Posted on February 11, 2009 at 03:48 pm by Michael S. Anderson