davidminklaw

Archive for 2011|Yearly archive page

,

You have been arrested and accused of a crime. What should you say?

In Criminal Defense Attorney on September 30, 2011 at 5:19 am

If you already confessed to committing a crime, you will need the assistance of a criminal defense lawyer immediately. An experienced attorney will try to get the confession thrown out of court. There are many reasons why someone confesses to a crime and some may be reason enough for the confession to be thrown out. A common defense strategy is to try and prove the suspect was unfairly coerced into a confession. Police are not required to tell the truth when they are questioning a suspect. They can intimidate suspects, trick them, and exhaust them. (There are limits to what the police can do, for instance they cannot physically coerce a confession). These are some of the reasons you should not answer questions without your attorney present.

All citizens now have constitutional rights in this country. Of course this has not always been the case – when the early settlers were accused of a crime, they did not have the right to remain silent or the right to an attorney to be present during questioning. They were intimidated and threatened by their interrogators. They also didn’t have the right to keep soldiers out of their homes or to prevent an illegal search and seizure by the police. When the Founding Fathers formed our government, one of the things they knew had to be put into law was the Bill of Rights to prevent government from misusing its power.

You now have the right to a fair and speedy trial. You have the right to counsel. You have the right to face your accuser in open court and a right to a public trial. You have the right to subpoena witnesses in your behalf. You have the right of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. You have a right against unusual and cruel punishment.

Because you also have the right of being considered innocent until you are proven guilty, you should take advantage of the services of a criminal defense attorney as soon as you are suspected of committing a crime so you are not put in the position of being questioned without an attorney present, who is there to protect your rights.

About the author:
This post was donated by Chris Keyser, a criminal defense lawyer in Minnesota.

,

Disability Claim Denied? Don’t Give Up!

In Disability on September 2, 2011 at 8:02 am

Not being able to work because of an injury or sudden disability is frustrating. Besides dealing with the pain and new reality of being disabled, often you have to fight to submit a disability claim. Being injured is stressful enough, and having to deal with disability denial makes that stress worse.
Don’t give up if your claim is denied. There are many actions you can take to speed up the process, fight back against denials, and soon be on your way to possible claim approval.

#1 – File your claim ASAP
As soon as you realize that you will be filing a claim for disability, file the claim. Don’t wait or put it off. The Social Security Administration can’t start processing your file until they actually have it in hand. Right after an injury can be confusing and stressful, yes. But the sooner you have your claim filed, the sooner a decision can be made. Get a family member or friend to help you fill it out, or look for a reliable disability claims attorney to help you file your claim. There are also many online resources that can assist with any questions you may have, including the ssa.gov website.

#2 – Always send in ALL supporting documents
When you send in your claim, make sure to include all supporting documentation required to file your claim. This information often includes:
• Birth certificate
• Social security number
• Complete contact information of doctors, caseworkers, hospitals and/or clinics that oversaw the treatment of your disability or injury
• Any medication you took, along with complete dosage information
• Lab work and any findings or summaries
• Summary of any work you did prior to your disability or during your disability
• Copy of W-2 forms or tax returns if self employed
Online forms are available on the ssa.gov website, including forms: SSA-827, SSA-199, SSA-545, SSA-546, etc…

#3 – Let medical professionals know you’re filing a claim
Make sure that your primary healthcare giver and any other medical professionals that you see about your injury/disability know that you are filing a claim for disability assistance. Quite often there are forms that doctors have to fill out when a patient has a disability claim.
It can seem like the Social Security Administration will do whatever it takes to make the process of filing a disability claim laborious. While this may be the case sometimes, many times the reason why they seem to be dragging their feet on a decision is that they don’t have enough information. By making sure that you get your claim in quickly and have all of the documentation they need to make a quick decision in your favor you’ll speed up the process of approval.
The process of filing a claim can certainly seem frustrating, but by doing your research and following the steps outlined by the Social Security Administration you’re sure to do your due diligence in accomplishing your goal of having a claim approved.

Have you had to file a disability claim in the past? Did you find the process slow? Tell us, in the comments below!

About the Author –
Vern Marker is a freelance writer. He has gone through the disability denial process, and is very well versed on the topic.

,

Choose a Minnesota criminal lawyer who will help you protect your freedom

In Criminal Defense, Criminal Defense Attorney on May 19, 2011 at 7:27 am

Your freedom may depend on the Minnesota criminal defense attorney you choose. If you are convicted of a crime, your family and friends will be affected too, and the cost of conviction isn’t just monetary. You lose your right to vote. It’s extremely difficult to be employed after a criminal conviction. You lose your reputation. You could lose your vehicle and driving privileges and your rights to own a gun, even your life.

You need a defense attorney watching out for you to make sure your constitutional rights are not being violated. They will make sure the evidence against you was properly seized and that the latest technology and experts are used in defense of your liberty.

Your Minnesota criminal lawyer will make sure the police had reasonable suspicion to stop your car and that they got a valid warrant to enter your premises. They will check for the proper chain of authority and make sure it was unbroken. If you didn’t have an attorney present when you were arrested, were your rights to remain silent explained to you? You need an attorney with you throughout the alarming process of being suspected of committing a crime to the arrest and throughout a criminal trial.

Choosing the best criminal defense attorney for your case is important to your future. The State of Minnesota requires attorneys to be certified specialists in certain types of law so check to see if the attorney is certified for the crime you are being accused of committing and how much experience they have defending people against that crime. It’s important to have their office located near you. Ask about fees and find out about how much time the whole process will take. You have a huge stake in this important decision.

, , ,

What’s the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy?

In Bankruptcy on May 6, 2011 at 6:55 am

The biggest difference between the two bankruptcies is that in Chapter 13, you have assets you want to keep and if your unsecured debt were reorganized you could pay something towards it, too; in Chapter 7, you have few assets and cannot pay your unsecured debts.

Both have a plan for you to keep your house. In Chapter 7, you need to be up to date on your payments and owe about the same as what the house worth. You are allowed to have some assets-just not a lot. You’ll probably be advised to file for Chapter 13, if you are behind on your house payments but can afford to pay the mortgage if you didn’t have to make up the back payments now. The past due amount can be added to the new court approved payment plan.

In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, if your car payment is current and there’s relatively little equity, you can probably keep it. However, if you owe money, the lien holder will probably insist that you pay what you owe them, in cash, at the time of the bankruptcy. They can decide to let you reaffirm the loan and again you have more options if you are current on your payments. If you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can keep the car even if there is equity but you will have to reaffirm the debt. If you own your car outright and its value is significant, the Trustee can force you to sell it to pay off your debts in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In Chapter 13 you can keep it.

If you owe back taxes, Chapter 13, helps you put the amount you owe in with your other unsecured debt and the IRS has to accept the plan and has to stop adding interest and penalties to what you owe. You can’t do that with Chapter 7.

Arizona debt relief is available to you so, meet with an experienced Chandler Arizona Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer who will give you the best advice for your situation. There are pros and cons to each decision and everyone’s situation is unique

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.