Lawyers for Veterans, First Responders and Educators

06/28/2019

https://blog.theveteranssite.greatergood.com/brent-taylor/?utm_source=mmp&utm_medium=paid-affiliate&fbclid=IwAR0itbc-ajB3cgHLG8kwfUq_6_-ri2zR9gLLBaY2i8TO3pGnpzZ8IvRZZC4

In his last update, the Major wrote, "Another month has flown by since my last update. Things are going great..."

12/03/2018

https://www.foxnews.com/us/christmas-vacation-inspired-holiday-display-sparks-panic-in-texas-prompts-veteran-to-call-911

A veteran is a person who is always ready to serve his community. That is why we should do what we can to help show how much we appreciate them.

It may be beginning to look a lot like Christmas across parts of the country, but one set of holiday decorations sparked panic in a Texas neighborhood.

11/22/2018

https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/3076/American-Trucker-Pays-Tab-For-Canadian-Veterans-In-Ottawa-Restaurant

An American trucker in Ottawa treated a large group of Canadian veterans to dinner to honor their service. Trucker John Meiring was passing through Ottawa and decided to stop at Robbie's Spaghetti House for dinner.

11/08/2018

In answering your question please be aware that I am speaking of a private taxpayer. There may be special provisions that change the analysis if you are speaking of certain public or governmental...

10/04/2018

Recently a judge ruled that the United States had to continue to extend protections granted from a temporary program until the case challenging the US executive action to remove or suspend those...

10/01/2018

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/eb2126a3-10a2-3a73-9a1c-debac36600a0/federal-judge-sides-with.html

Why Can't The Judge Hear the Case: A Person must have "Standing" to bring a lawsuit in a particular court. Standing is the term that means you must show a sufficient connection to and harm from the action you are seeking to challenge. Generally the person must show they are adversely effected by the action, the law explicitly grants them standing, or they are not harmed directly but the action is such that standing should be granted because those who are harmed are unlikely to be able to bring suit themselves. The topic is much more complex but that should suffice to explain it for our purposes here.

What is Eminent Domain: Eminent domain is the power of a government to compel citizens to give up private property to that government for “Public Use”. Under the Fifth Amendment’s “Takings Clause” the property owner must be given just compensation for his/her land. Local, state and the federal government have the power of eminent domain. Eminent domain can be assigned down to government agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service.


Is this settled law: While the right to use eminent domain is settled law, many factors are under constant dispute. Such disputes include 1) what is public use? 2) what is just compensation. And others.

How can a private company use eminent domain: In Kelo v. City of New London , 545 U.S. 469 (2005), the Supreme Court found that the general benefits a community enjoys from increased economic growth qualifies as a permissible “Public Use” under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2016/05/10/39687

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit lobbed by advocates and property owners trying to stop Dominion Energy's and Duke Energy's efforts to forcibly acquire property for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

09/28/2018

Understanding Statutes of Limitation.

What is it: It is a statute that says that a civil or criminal case cannot be brought after a certain period of time. In certain cases the "clock" can be paused or may not start until certain criteria are met.

Why do we use them: There are numerous reasons for their use but the most oft-cited reasoning is that they prevent cases being brought when the amount of time that has passed is thought sufficient to make the collection and production of evidence too difficult or unreliable. Time may erode memory as well as physical evidence, making it difficult to prosecute or defend against certain claims.

Why do people want to get rid of them: The idea that a criminal gets away (or a perpetrator of a civil act) is onerous to a law abiding citizen. Many people argue that science now allows for evidence collection that does not degrade over time.

09/28/2018

https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-attorney-general-defends-law-205320571.html

The constitutional rights of children in school are regularly limited. In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the Supreme Court upheld non disruptive speech for public school children.

Further, in Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Justice Byron White said that “a school need not tolerate student speech that is inconsistent with its basic educational mission, even though the government could not censor similar speech outside the school.”

When it comes to the question of REQUIRING speech the court is usually quite clear that where the state cannot limit speech, it also cannot require it.

The issue here is that the state is saying that the individual students cannot opt out of the pledge, but that the parents of those students must opt out. The question this raises is "are school children entitled to their first amendment rights in school or does their status as legal minors mean that those rights, at least partially, belong to the parents of those students"?

The Texas attorney general has jumped into a Houston area lawsuit to defend a

09/28/2018

We at Lawyers for Veterans, do not have an opinion about the veracity of Professor Ford or Judge Kavenaugh in light of the allegations of sexual assault. However, the discussion over sexual violence leads us to discuss what you should do in that terrible event.

If you or someone you know is sexually assaulted here are some ideas for what steps can be taken.
1) Is the victim in a safe place? If not then first get to one. 2) Call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673). These are people who are trained to help you.
3) Remember that you are a victim, this is not your fault.

03/18/2017

https://www.yahoo.com/news/katrina-girl-bring-air-force-163626524.html

'Katrina Girl' to Bring Air Force Vet Who Rescued Her During 2005 Hurricane to Junior ROTC Ball: 'I Would Do Anything to Repay the Hug,' He Says