Defining Felony Charges and How Criminal Lawyers Can Help

What is a felony?

The most serious types of crimes are referred to as felonies. The usual definition is that a felony is any crime that may be punished by more than a year s imprisonment, or death. A crime that has a maximum sentence of a monetary fine, or a short period of confinement in the local jail is not a felony. A statute may not specifically label an offense as a felony, but the punishment defines the offense as a felony. State criminal codes may call a crime an aggravated or gross misdemeanor, but the offense calls for a sentence of more than one year in the state penal system. Your state lawyer, such as an Austin criminal defense lawyer in Texas can help define these specific codes. Those offenses will be treated as felonies. When crimes charged are more serious, the need for an experienced criminal defense attorney to help a defendant through the process becomes even greater.

Felonies include both violent and non violent crimes, such as grand theft, embezzlement of large sums of money, first degree assault, or assault that causes severe bodily harm, all degrees of murder, rape, racketeering, large scale fraud, kidnapping, and serious drug crimes.

What are the consequences of a felony convictions?

If a person is convicted of a felony, he or she may find that his or her rights may be restricted more than those of a person convicted of a misdemeanor. Convicted felons usually serve more time incarcerated, and the conditions of their incarceration generally are more severe. There are many other consequences, as well. In many states, people convicted of felonies may not serve on juries. They may lose their right to vote, or to engage in some professions, like teaching or law. Felons are often prohibited from serving in the military, or owning firearms. In addition, as noted above, many states have so called three strikes laws that require that a person be sentenced to life upon his or her third felony conviction. Experienced defense counsel, will help you not only before and during a trial, but can make sure you may be able to return to a normal life as soon as you can.

What are the differences between misdemeanors and felonies?

Depending upon the circumstances of the case, some crimes may be considered either felonies or misdemeanors. Serious felonies, for example, assault, sexual abuse or drunk driving, often refer to conduct that could be a misdemeanor. If an assault causes severe bodily injury, for example, it is often regarded as a felony, but a local state lawyer, such as a Jacksonville DUI defense attorney, may be able to have the charges reduced to a misdemeanor. Simple assault that causes no lasting injury, however, is a misdemeanor. Similarly, while drug offenses usually are felonies, possession of a small amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor in many states.

Less serious offenses, such as traffic violations, are often prosecuted as misdemeanors, even though they may be felonies in some circumstances, or the most minor type of crime, infractions, in others. A traffic violation usually is an infraction if there was no collision, no one was hurt, and no property was damaged. The violation becomes a misdemeanor or a felony if someone is injured, or there was destruction of property. Sphere: Related Content

Understanding Birth Injury and Your Medical Malpractice Rights

What is Birth Injury?

Birth injury is caused to the baby in the womb of the mother or during the delivery or later after the delivery. These injuries can be minor or fatal. If the baby sustains brain injury then it will prove to be fatal as the whole life of the baby will be affected. Due to the injury a bay may develop cerebral palsy or become mentally retarded. This type of major birth injury not only affects the child but also affects the family members as they have to bear the burden of the child throughout their life. Sometimes the injury may be caused due to the negligence of the hospital staff. In this kind of situation there is a provision in law where the parents can sue the hospital for compensation.

Causes of Birth Injury

There are various causes of birth injuries. If the baby is overweight during birth then problem may arise during delivery due to which the baby may suffer from shortage of oxygen which may affect his brain tissues. If a baby is born premature he may sustain birth injury as the body of a baby who is born within thirty seven weeks is very fragile the baby may be injured during birth. The pelvis shape and size of the mother is defective due to which normal delivery is not possible and the baby sustains injury. The mother suffers from prolong labor pain which may cut off the supply of oxygen to the undelivered baby and cause damage to his delicate brain tissues. Abnormal position of the child during birth that is the leg comes out first and then the head which is also known as breach position.

Additional Types of Birth Injury

Caput is the injury caused when there is difficulty in delivery. This injury mostly occurs in babies who are delivered with the help of the vacuum extraction. The soft tissues of the babies scalp is bruised which heals within few days. A baby may show signs of bruising due to the use of forceps during the delivery. Hemorrhage in the small blood vessels of the eyes, this is very common and does not cause any damage. Temporary or permanent facial paralysis may occur due to the breakage of the facial nerve. Fracture of the collar bone during delivery is a very common occurrence. Healing occurs quickly. The group of nerves that supply blood to the arms and the hands may be injured if there is difficulty in delivering the baby's shoulders. Some the injuries are minor and the baby recovers within a short period but some of the injuries are fatal which may have a permanent impact for life.

Your Rights

Should you or your family be subjected one of these tragic injuries, you are protected under the law. A birth injury lawyer specialist in the state the injury took place in will have expert knowledge of local laws and statutes and be able to find justice for you in court, including compensation for pain and suffering and the helping to ensure that no one else must endure the same negligent treatment. Sphere: Related Content

Copyright Protection and Musician's Legal Rights over Song Ownership

Creative people of all types all come back to one legal touchstone and that is copyright law. It is often sited in all kinds of cases involving literature, film, publishing and certainly in music. Within the music industry, the ability of copyright to protect an artist’s work has come under new challenges in the last ten years. The rise of peer-to-peer file sharing, online music downloading and other internet related ways that music gets passed around has presented some real challenges to musicians to collect what is due them as owners of music under copyright.

There are numerous royalty rights associated with the writing, publication, performance and distribution of music that have to be sorted out by a complicated infrastructure that the music industry maintains to protect its own. But when you get back to the basics, the copyright of a piece of music works in music the same way it does in any literary field. That copyright, at least at first, belongs to the songwriter.

That is where the simplicity of the situation ends. For most songwriters, complete ownership of a song rarely remains the exclusive property of that author of the song. Most songwriters work with a publishing house to get their music out on the market. Even if the songwriter is writing songs for their own band, the publishing house provides the valuable service of not only publishing the song or songs but getting them out on the market to be covered or produced by others as well, if that is how the songwriter wants.

So this is a valuable service that is provided by the publishing house. In exchange for handling all of the promotion of the music, the publishing house takes over 50% of the copyright. This may seem like a lot to give up but there is a hidden side to sharing copyright that benefits the songwriter maybe even more than the promotional help the publishing house provides.

Because the publishing house now has a vested interest in that creative work, they also have a vested interest in protecting it. A copyright over a piece of music, at least on paper, is a pretty strong legal right. It covers all aspects of how that song can be used. If the song is used on a recording, obviously the songwriter has some rights to the proceeds of that release. But even if the song is just covered in a performance, technically the copyright owner has some rights to payment for the use of that exclusive creative intellectual material.

The issue is as much one of enforcement as it is whether the rights are there or not. This is a judgment call to be made by the songwriter, the publishing house and the legal representation of all involved. Sometimes seeing your creative material used has such a positive marketing value that to start a legal battle for the monetary rights could hurt your music career as much as it might help you.

These are decisions that musicians and owners of copyright or royalty rights are making every day in the music industry. The debate over the value of fighting for copyright versus allowing small infractions in exchange the marketing value of your music being heard is one that is held more and more as music sharing has become more common with the spread of internet services. While a strict copyright lawyer might argue that once you stop defending your ownership, you loose it forever, the truth of the marketplace is not always that black and white. The rights are there, to be sure. But the wisdom of how to let your music make you more successful calls for the use of judgment and a savvy that comes from your extensive knowledge of how the music industry really works. Sphere: Related Content

Hard Facts about Car Accidents

Hard Facts about Car Accidents

car accidents, attorneys

Crashes have already become part of our daily lives. It makes us tripped off our usual activities. It kills, injures, damages. Their horrible effect lingers in our mind however, we are not learning from it because according to statistics, car crashes are increasing wildly every year. Aside from recklessness and defective parts which are the common causes of accident before, deviant causes like drug and alcohol dependency are also apparent nowadays.

car crashes are soaring high. In fact, every year it continues to take lives, injure people and damage properties. Thus, there is an indispensable need for us to know the facts revolving car crashes to make sense of the damage that it has caused us and will probably cause us in the future.

With these statistics in mind it is important to find local Seattle personal injury attorneys that are familiar with Washington state and can provide the best legal guidance to win a lawsuit should you be injured or need reimbursement for medical expenses.

In the past, there have been few nightmares about car collision. One of which happened on 1896 where there was only four registered cars in the United States. Unfortunately, two of them collided with each other in St. Louis. In 1960, the world’s most solitary tree located in Tenere Desert, Central Africa was struck into by a truck.

As of 2003 there is a close to 7 million car crashes yearly. Out of which, there are 3.5 million injuries involved. There is also approximately $4,900 car accident crashes cost per second. It means to say that there is a car accident once or thrice every month. What is alarming is the fact that teenagers are 22 times more likely to speed up like a rocket compared to those persons 65 years or above. Another fact involves the statistics which shows that 1 out of 5 Americans are involved in an alcohol-related car crash. The most common day of accident was recorded to be Saturday and the second was Sunday.

In connection with the future, it is expected that in the year 2025 there will be an elderly population (70 years or older) of 33 million. The current population is predicted to grow 2.5 as fast as the overall population. This will definitely result to a greater percentage of crashes which is either ‘turning left’ or ‘rear end. Thus, it is expected that the elderly population will encounter an increasing accident ratio. Also in this year, the cost of car crashes in the US will increase up to 450 billion dollars.

Drivers, though familiar with these facts are still oblivious of their duty to safeguard theirs and their passenger’s protection. Speeding off and non-usage of seatbelts are some of the causes of terrible collision, where the victims will need to hire a Seattle auto accident attorney to find any sense of justice. A number of collisions can be prevented if and only if, drivers are following the rules of thumb of driving. That alone can save many lives and properties. Sphere: Related Content

Complying with Business Law Requirements

As a businessperson, or even an aspiring businessperson for that matter, once you enter the corporate jungle you are faced with continual challenges. Indeed, you would reap many benefits especially if your company is incorporated.

However, you are also bound to quite a number of legal obligations, wherein, whether your company is faring well or not, you have to fulfill.

When establishing a business, remember that you have to submit strictly to what is required by the laws and statutes that govern the location where your business will be put up, and in California can find business formation services in San Francisco to provide guidance to those laws..

The foremost responsibility in line with this is forming a corporation. The corporation is an entity that you need to form solely for the purpose of legality. When all of your required papers have been filed, the corporation becomes an independent and legal "person" that is separate from its workers.

The protection from legal responsibility or liability is perhaps the most strategic benefit that making a corporation come into being or "incorporating" a business has in store for businessperson/businesspersons. Instead of having an individual shoulder the debts and lawsuits, these would automatically fall upon the corporation's liability

Simple steps necessary in spearheading the formation of your corporation:

1. Distinguish your corporation by deciding on a unique name for it. Register the name you have decided upon in the "state of incorporation."

2. Form and organize your corporation by assigning or choosing its shareholders, officers and directors. Ratify a legally binding by-Law and agreement on the shares of stocks.

3. Complete the necessary paperwork, making sure of the accuracy of information, and then file it.

For you to fulfill the requirements entailed to form your corporation, faithfully, here are several ideas that would help your legal compliance of getting your corporation formed and done with.

Aside from the genius or creativity factors, make sure that the name of your corporation is indeed unique and appealingly functional and is not being used already by others. Upon coming up with a name, you think would be effective enough, check out if it has been taken by others at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under the state where you would be incorporating your business.

Immediately upon finding that no other companies has taken the name you have conjured, immediately file for your trademark with the USPTO.

If there are statutes offering the provision of pensions and/or insurance, spend some quality time researching the standards given by the federal law on how to manage them. Usually, provision of pensions and/or insurance is not necessary for corporations.

Be informed concerning the differences on taxation matters on C and S corporations. Unless you prefer becoming considered an S corporation, you will automatically be included in the C class, foremost.

It is acceptable for you or others from your corporation to hold down several positions. Most states do not question this situation.

Do not forget to get the proficient legal assistance of an experienced corporate lawyer, in order to accomplish the formation of your corporation, successfully without any unnecessary delay due to inconsistencies. Sphere: Related Content

Understanding Construction Accident Liability and Your Rights

Everyday, workers in construction sites are being exposed to several different dangerous situations and conditions. Construction workers face great risks of sustaining personal injury in the course of their job as compared to other American employees employed in other industries.

Common kinds of accidents met by workers in the construction sites:

- accidents during scaffolding
- falls from roofs or ladders
- defective equipment/machines – example is failure of lifting equipment
- forklift truck accidents
- unsafe safety harnesses
- compressed gases accidents
- fires
- explosions
- electrocution
- serious cuts
- welding accidents
- trench collapses
- crane accidents
- power tool accidents
- holes in flooring

These are several examples of the myriad things that could go awry in a construction work site. Construction workers have six times more risks in being killed due to the hazardous circumstances in their work site than other employees with other occupations and work site.

If you are among the construction workers who sustained a personal injury as a result of any construction accident, here are the things you should do!

• write down in a journal the events that happened leading to your accident and the important details about it:

- location of the accident
- the weather condition
- the equipment or material you are using that may have caused your injuries
- the people near you during the time of the accident
- the things they did and you did as soon as the accident occurred
- the malfunction of the equipment if you believe so

• Write down other aspect of the incident you believe is essential. Your lawyer will request this written narrative later on.

• Find an experienced lawyer with specialized knowledge in construction accident injury cases. Claims and lawsuits involving construction accidents are sometimes very complex. Thus, finding a knowledgeable lawyer in the particular laws and statutes governing the construction site where you were injured must be your top priority.

Identifying liability for construction accident injuries

Many people and entity may be considered at fault for construction accidents. Complete account of the circumstances surrounding the accident and thorough investigation is needed to come up with the ones who may be at fault and therefore liable to pay for damages caused by the accident.

- property owner or general contractor of the construction site
- sub contractors

• these are the persons or entities that can be liable in case the unsafe work condition and work site is the primary cause of the injuries you sustained

• Likewise, they may also be liable for having provided you with unsafe equipment or materials you used that caused your injury. Otherwise, the product manufacturer, distributor or seller can be held accountable for these kinds of accidents, too. Sphere: Related Content

Legal Advice for Women Planning to File for a Divorce

If you are really considering starting divorce proceedings then it is essential that you are well prepared before actually commencing them. By doing this it will make the whole process go a lot more smoothly and cause you less stress and pain as well. Also be well prepared will ensure that you can make more sound and informed decisions about your future life. When it comes to getting divorced there are many pitfalls associated with the whole process but if you keep the following divorce tips for women in mind, you will be able to cope with any eventuality.

Tip 1 - Make sure you have all the right paperwork together before you actually go ahead with your divorce proceedings. You need to gather all the information you can on accounts that you and your partner holds relating to any assets or debts that you may have either as individuals or as a couple. Also get all the information together regarding bank accounts, credit cards, investments and of course the mortgage. Plus if you can arrange to have your tax statements for the past 3 years along with pay and employment information.

Tip 2 - When getting ready to start divorce proceedings it is a good idea to have a clear understanding of what your financial situation is. The best way of doing this is by looking at the debts you and your partner owe against what assets you may have. When we talk about assets we mean investments, savings along with any equity that you have in the property that you jointly own. Once you know the assets you have then you subtract the debts that you and your partner jointly have and this will tell you just how much the marital estate is worth and which is often divided equally between the couple.

Tip 3 - Once you have made the decision to commence divorce proceedings you need to seek out the right kind of legal advice as quickly as you can. If you can why not actually seek legal advice during the very early stages and when you are actually considering whether to go ahead with the process or not. It is best to look for a lawyer in the state you live in. For instance, in New Jersey you may choose a Bergen County divorce lawyer. Choose one who has a clear understanding of family law and is able to clearly spell out the various options available to you.

Tip 4 - It is extremely vital that when you are preparing to file for divorce that you ensure that all your finances are in order especially your tax return. The last thing you want to be faced with just as the divorce is about to be finalized is problems concerning your tax returns as a married couple. If you are in any way worried that your partner has not filed tax returns correctly, then why not arrange to file your own as a married person but with the note that you have chosen to file yours separately from your partners.

Tip 5 - Something else you will need to make sure that you have sorted out before you file for divorce is if you have sufficient life, medical and health insurance coverage. Most people once they get married choose to take out insurance policies together rather than separately simply because it will save them money. Therefore, as soon as you are ready to file for divorce you need to get all the right sorts of insurance coverage in place. Along with medical, health and life insurance coverage for you and any children you may have you need to make sure you have insurance coverage for your home and any vehicles you use.

So when it comes to you filing for divorce the more prepared you are the better you will be able to cope with any thing that happens throughout the process. This is even more important if there are children involved as their feelings need to be taken into consideration as well. So by being better prepared you and your partner will hopefully be able to come to a more amicable settlement.

The best way to avoid any of pitfalls associated with divorce proceedings is to be well prepared. By keeping the above divorce tips for women in mind you should actually find the whole process when it comes to your divorce much easier to cope with. Sphere: Related Content