Some reminders for Christmas

Happy Holidays every one, I’m here to remind all of you that even if Christmas Day is looming next week to please stay safe. The holidays are always hectic, and you can still get in trouble even if you’re just shopping. Just take a look at some of the extreme cases of Black Friday shenanigans - definitely not a nice way to start the holidays indeed.

Always keep your guard up, certain crimes like assault, burglary, theft, and general disorderly behavior have been observed to rise during the holidays. For a fun and safe holiday for the whole family, keep these reminders in mind.

Be responsible when drinking

Festivities and alcohol might be a combination that makes sense, but it’s not if it lands you in jail. Again, do not drink and drive because it can be fatal, unless you have someone to take you home safely. The police also do not appreciate disturbances brought by alcohol, and they do not care if it’s the holidays because they’ll arrest you just the same.

Secure the house at all times

Before going to sleep every night and before leaving the house alone, make sure that all doors and windows are locked tight.

When leaving the house for a long time, get someone to watch over it for you

You don’t want your holidays to end up in a sad note when you see that your house has been broken into. Find neighbors or friends willing to watch them for you while you are away, and tell them how long you are planning to be away.

Put presents under the Christmas tree only on Christmas Day

Presents are very tempting targets to burglars, particularly gifts under the tree. That’s why it’s best to leave them empty until Christmas arrives. It’s also wise to avoid leaving presents in the car, not only will you lose those presents, but you might lose the car too.

Let there be light at Christmas time

If you’re not doing it already, lighting up your whole home can discourage robbers from entering it. Using timed switches also ensures that your light will periodically turn on even when you’re away.

Know who your visitors and callers are

The holidays are also rife with scammers. Always have some suspicion for anyone you are not expecting to visit. The same goes for callers, though it helps if you have caller ID.

 Be careful when shopping online

Again, scammers take a lot of people advantage whenever the holidays arrive. Make sure that you know that your payment method (credit cards rather than debit cards) is secure and your contact is legitimate. Be very careful when giving out personal information.

Of Men's Rights and Law

For the longest time, men have been getting the short end of the stick when the law should be fair to everyone.

For starters, men in general will be imprisoned longer, and receive harsher penalties for the same crime when compared to women. Lighter sentences are handed out to women, often through probation or suspended sentence, sometimes not even receiving a sentence at all. And yes, when imprisoned, they have better chances and have a shorter duration when getting a parole.

Domestic violence cases are especially tricky. When someone calls the police because of an alleged domestic violence crime, someone has to spend a night in jail, even if the caller was a male victim. This should be against the presumption of innocence, yet it still happens.

While domestic violence cases are already bad enough, rape cases are even worse for men. People are more inclined to believe the woman rather than the man when in rape cases, even if the man is innocent. Even if they are victim, it is still equally bad. If the victim is male, most people will treat him with ridicule or claim that he was lucky for “getting some”. The judge or the jury may also have this same mindset, as evidenced by many cases when the woman rapist got off scot-free or a slap on the wrist.

False rape claims are rising because they only receive nominal punishments, while he spends his days in jail, or have to pay ridiculous fees.

And of course, there's paying child support and/or alimony. It may not be related to criminal defense, but it still is a huge problem in the US, with women still taking advantage of getting payment even if they she has the higher income, or just to ruin or give the man a bad reputation. And yet, when he can’t pay, again, he gets sent to jail.

All of this are happening even in the state of Nevada. As a criminal defense lawyer in Las Vegas, I sincerely hope that domestic abuse laws will continue to improve in the future, and treat men and women the same just as anyone else.

Additional reading:

• Woman who cried wolf about rape may have to face her victim in court
• 4On Your Side investigates traffic stop nightmare
• How to Ruin a Man’s Life over $13

Thanksgiving & DUIs

Drunk driving and driving while intoxicated are seen to be more frequent during holidays. Amazingly, Thankgiving Eve DUIs have been neck to neck with New Year`s Eve DUIs in the last few years.  Bars owners, Liquor stores and establishments have struck some light into this, According To the Wall Street Journal (Source), liquor selling establishments confirm that there is a lot of alcohol being sold on Thanksgiving especially with the younger crowd where this holiday has now started to be about being popular and to be seen in certain known areas in the cities and towns.

Here are some astonishing facts:

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism say that there is likelihood of 2 or even 3 times more death related Drunk Driving and DUIs on holidays like Thanksgiving Eve and New Years Eve.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that between Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years,  over 12,000 people will be killed and about 25,000 injuries will take place directly related to alcohol. This is a huge number and is it rising?

This DUI blog creates a form of solution to this problem, where past offenders or Alcohol abusers are asked to especially maintain Sober on the holidays. Everyone feels that alcohol goes perfectly with holidays but that should really not be the case. These are the days when you need to watch out even more Drunk Drivers and to go very moderately on any liquor that is passed or served between family and friends.

Even though it's my job as a criminal defense attorney to defend my clients, everyone, please stay safe during Thanksgiving or any holiday for that matter.

Why do we have Criminal Defense Laws?

According to the laws made by our founding fathers and after numerous civil revolutions and laws and bill ramifications, we know that every US citizen has a right to defend themselves from accusations of crime. The law looks for justifiable proof that indeed a crime has been committed by looking at physical evidence. The law permits that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

So why do we have these laws? These laws are meant to protect ourselves from being severely penalized for actions that may not have been committed. These laws give everyone a legal base for defending themselves in court. In the past, many innocent people have been tried arbitrarily and they have suffered due to not having a legal process affected by the government.  A person could be lynched or thrown in prison due to “hear-say” and circumstantial evidence.  There was a time when religious or political leaders often disregarded a person’s right to defend themselves and guilt was decided almost randomly.

If there were no criminal laws that allowed a person to defend them, the fabric of society, what it stands for and even its own definition would fall and civilization as we know it would come to a halt.

Criminal defense laws are an integral part of the constitution where everyone has the right to remain free of charge unless physical evidence can be used to prove guilt of the person. Often, these laws are meant not only to provide black and white answers like guilt or innocence only but they are also observed to see that if there was a crime committed  - how much of it was deliberate or planned.  Sometimes crime is committed due to negligence, or simply due to bad circumstance.

This is how a court decides whether the crime, if committed, is a felony or a misdemeanor and how sentencing or judgement should be passed.  Not all charged are guilty and not all crime is deliberate and everyone needs to be able to tell their share of the incident. 

This is how the constitution and the laws protect us, by allowing persons to have their side to the story heard by the courts.  This is the basis of Criminal Defense and it is applicable to everyone who is charged with Homicide, DUI/DWI, domestic abuse, Juvenile crime, Sex offenses, Burglary and theft and more.. 

Please contact a criminal defense attorney if you need any help in your case.

Domestic Violence Crimes

Domestic Violence Crimes

Unfortunately crimes happen at home, in a family and close relationship setting. 

Here are some chilling facts: 

40-70% of women related homicides are directly caused by someone they are intimate with. 

While countries like Bangladesh, Peru, Tanzania and Ethiopia showed signs that the violence was almost close to 50% of female members, The UK and US were close to about 30% and 22% respectively.

In the US, women in a household of larger income brackets are subject to domestic violence much less than those who are not doing very well. The age of women subject to this in the US are usually 16-24yr olds. 

(source:http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/resources/campaigns/women-against-violence/week-6-stories-from-around-the-/domestic-violence-facts.html)

All domestic violence acts are manifestations of the accused trying to dominate and have more power over the other person and it could be sexual, physical and verbal. 

Throughout the years, parents, husbands, cargeivers, caretakes and who have you been involved in violence at home. Many customs in some countries were acceptable. 

Here are a few types of violence that goes beyond just battery or physical assault. 

Acid throwing - done by a jealous partner, especially seen and heard of in Asia and in the Middle east.

Dowry deaths and Bride burning - prevalent social problem in parts of Asia especially India where the family compels the bride to suicide through persistent humiliation in order to extort dowry money. 

Honor killing - Justification of killing someone who brings dishonor to the family name. 

Marital rape - forced and coerced sex with unwilling spouse.

Foot Binding - painful binding of feet of young girls by parents to make them grow smaller. 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_domestic_violence)

In Nevada, there have been much debate about the actual figures of domestic violence but Nevada has been a hot zone for this kind of crime. Read more here.

The truth is that this crime is out there and most often goes unnoticed.  You can find out more about the statutes, penalties and legal definition of domestic abuse here.  If you are in Las Vegas, Henderson and surrounding areas in Clark County, you need to know what the law says about the victim and to the aggressor.

If you need legal help :
Contact Attorney Ross Goodman
Criminal Defense Lawyer
520 South 4th Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101-6593
Phone: (702) 383-5088 / Fax: (702) 385-5088

Zero Tolerance Laws, Zero Sense

Protecting the children is part of any good parent's job, and to that extent, it's also the school's duty to look after and nurture them as their second home. But sometimes, the rules just make no sense at all, which I feel has been plaguing America as of late. Take this case in Brooklyn for example. Here's a short summary for those who didn't read it:

Erin was called up by a drunk friend of hers at a party to drunk to drive. She arrived to pick her friend up after work, but moments after the police arrived and started arresting several students for possessing alcohol, including Erin. She was cleared later on by the police, agreeing that she had not been drinking, smoking or using any drugs. But Andover High tells her that she has violated the district's zero tolerance policy. During the middle of her senior year, she was demoted from captain of the volleyball team and suspended from playing for five games.

I'd say that's taking it a little too far, being punished without participating in the party in the first place. There was no drinking involved, much less driving under the influence. She was even the designated driver for her friend. Sadly, this is just one of the many stories that pop up all over the Internet about authorities in schools punishing students for doing nothing, or in this case, doing the right thing. What kind of message does this give to them?

Just remember that if this happens to you, get the help of a defense attorney immediately. Don't let them take advantage of the law, and fight.


Resource:
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/10/13/north-andover-high-punishes-teen-for-giving-drunken-pal-ride-home-from-party/

DUI SCHOOLS IN NEVADA

DUI SCHOOLS IN NEVADA

DUI or Drunk Driving is unfortunately a fact of life that just seems to happen no matter where you are.  No matter how much legal or civil policies are made, there just seems to be that person who takes a little too much and endangers himself or someone else.

Just like with crime, we really can have a better and developed society without crime in the streets and neighborhoods but we do know one thing for sure - that although it may be controlled to some level, we will never see the end of it.

This applies to DUI - all we can do as a part of society is try and control it and do our part -- even in simple ways like being a designated driver for someone who cannot drive back home or encouraging someone to take it easy on the booze...

but these things do happen and when they do there can be harsh sentencing and if the DUI is not major, a lot can be achieved through DUI classes.

These lessons and classes can be given  during sentencing and usually required in the state of Nevada for DUI. The main objective is to be able to "Reduce Risk" by making drunk drivers understand the consequences of their actions, how they can be safe and keep others safe in the area..

Here are a few DUI schools in Nevada especially Clark County and Las Vegas areas..

Las Vegas DUI Schools

Clark County Court Education Program

Northwest Traffic School

City Of Las Vegas First Offender DUI Program 
200 Lewis Ave
Las Vegas NV 89155

ABC Therapy  - (702) 598-2020

Cornerstone DUI School 

North Las Vegas DUI Schools

City Of North Las Vegas Alcohol & Substance Abuse Prevention (702) 633-1130

Smart Choices (702) 609-1705

Henderson DUI Schools

ABC Therapy 
Diagnosticare, Inc 
Highway Alcohol Awareness Program 

For more information on DUI sentencing, BAC Calculation and other important DUI related information, you can look it up in my DUI/DWI defense page.