The sad reality that children can be used as pawns in an effort by one parent to hurt another parent never dawned upon me until I witnessed it first hand. Throughout my entire life, I had never seen, or heard of such a thing and it never occurred to me that anyone would do such [...]
The Problem with Eyewitness Testimony a talk by Barbara Tversky, Professor of Psychology and George Fisher, Professor of Law Laura Engelhardt Stanford Law School, April 5, 1999. In a presentation sponsored by the Stanford Journal of Legal Studies, George Fisher placed Barbara Tversky’s research on memory fallibility into the context of police investigations and jury [...]
While people are certainly entitled to their own opinions, they are not entitled to their own facts. Unfortunately, because the our legal system encourages complexity and bases decisions on arcane, often illogical, byzantine rules which encourage gamesmanship rather than fostering an environment that discourages falsehoods, you, the truth-teller are in no advantageous position for being [...]
The television show "Lie to Me" starring Tim Roth tells a story about a "human lie detector" who, by reading facial cues and reactions, can tell whether any individual is telling the truth or not. There are no shortage of people out there, Judges among them, who are convinced they have some special ability to [...]
When I became a family law attorney/mediator after a dozen years as a therapist, one of the biggest surprises was the extent of lying in Family Court: lies about income, assets and even complete fabrications of child abuse and domestic violence. Why would people lie so much, I wondered? How did they get away with [...]
1 Count 30 Days from The Date of Service of Process Begin counting days the day after service is made. Count Saturdays and Sundays. If the 30th day falls on a weekend or holiday, the defendant has until the next court day. 2 Take The Defendant's Default Do this step by filling out and filing multiple forms [...]
California Supreme Court Outlaws Science In DUI Cases Scientific evidence challenging the accuracy of breathalyzers is not admissible, California Supreme Court rules. Scientific evidence cannot be brought into evidence to challenge a borderline conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) in California. The state Supreme Court last week rejected Terry Vangelder's attempt to [...]
California laws regarding the possession of marijuana are complex. There is no need to be arrested and your plants confiscated for growing or possessing marijuana in California unless you are not following the guidelines and understanding either the state or local county rules that apply. It may surprise you to know that what will go [...]
