Legal News That You Can Use

One day, a little girl we’ll call Sara was brought to the emergency room. Sara was showing some strange symptoms. She was vomiting, unable to walk straight, and had a strange chemical smell on her breath. The doctor ran some tests and discovered that Sara had a blood alcohol level of 0.035%. (The legal limit Read More

Francis and Denise had a complicated, but not uncommon, marriage. Not only were they husband and wife, they were also business partners. Francis was the head pharmacist, while Denise was the bookkeeper. Over the course of their marriage and business partnership, the couple quibbled over something. I suspect many couples often do: money. He thought Read More

One cold February morning, a police officer we’ll call Officer George ordered a breakfast sandwich at his local bagel shop. What Officer George didn’t know was that his sandwich was prepared that day by someone from his past. Back in the kitchen, a lowly cook named Ralph was lurking. See, when Officer George walked in Read More

In 2010, our state’s fearless lawmakers passed the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The Act legalized the distribution of medical marijuana to qualifying patients. The law provided for the establishment of six so-called Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs). The ATCs were to be spread evenly throughout New Jersey. The Department of Health was put in Read More

One day, Rich thought he could use an oil change. He drove his car to Pete, the local mechanic. When Rich arrived, Pete suggested they clean the battery terminal and flush the radiator as well. Rich said okay, and went inside to wait for the work to be done. A bit later, Rich noticed a Read More

When Carol Anne found out that her husband was cheating on her, she was understandably upset. But when she learned that her husband’s paramour was Myrlinda, one of Carol Anne’s close girlfriends, she was even more upset. Then it turned out Myrlinda was pregnant. At that point, Carol Anne lost it. She began making a Read More

Myron was a truck driver working for a construction company in Lafayette. One day, he asked for time off to attend a bris. (A bris is a Jewish religious ceremony in which an eight-day-old boy is circumcised.) Myron’s supervisors apparently found this funny and began calling Myron every Jewish slur there is. One supervisor even Read More

One day a girl we’ll call Sally met a boy at school. Even though she was only seven years old, Sally gave the boy a kiss. The next day, Sally was absent from class. When she returned, and for the next couple days, Sally wore long sleeve blouses. Sally’s teacher thought this a bit strange, Read More

Restraining orders protect victims of domestic violence from further abuse. They restrict the perpetrator’s contact with the victim. They can also limit the perpetrator’s physical presence in places where the victim frequently goes. However, these restrictions must be reasonable. For example, in one recent case, a New Jersey family judge found that a gentleman whom Read More

Sometimes, a recently divorced or separated parent wants to change their child’s last name. Typically, it is the mother who wants to change the child’s last name, so the name will be the same as hers. Who wants to be reminded of a failed relationship every time you look at your kids’ report card? This can Read More