Advertisers: Avoid the Crunchy Frog Defense

Business owners often make difficult decisions that affect sales and revenues. This is especially true whenever a law that applies to the business will hit the owner in the pocketbook. The owners must decide whether to comply with it or not. Obviously, the overwhelming percentage do opt for compliance, but those who don't often defend their actions by arguing how much their sales would drop as a result.

I call this the "Crunchy Frog" defense, and unfortunately, it just doesn't work. "Crunchy Frog" was the name of a sketch featured on the great TV show, "Monty Python's Flying Circus." In it, the police are questioning Mr. Milton, the owner of a candy company that manufactures a box of chocolates, one of which is called Crunchy Frog. The officers inquire about it, which results in the following exchange:

Policeman: Am I right in thinking there's a real frog in here?

Milton: Yes. A little one.

Policeman: What sort of frog?

Milton: A dead frog.

Policeman: Is it cooked?

Milton: No.

Policeman: What, a raw frog?

Milton: We use only the finest baby frogs, dew picked and flown from Iraq, cleansed in finest quality spring water, lightly killed, and then sealed in a succulent Swiss quintuple smooth treble cream milk chocolate envelope and lovingly frosted with glucose.

Policeman: That's as maybe, it's still a frog.

Milton: What else?

Policeman: Well don't you even take the bones out?

Milton: If we took the bones out it wouldn't be crunchy would it?

Mr. Milton is then told that he must delete the words 'crunchy frog', and replace them with the legend 'CRUNCHY RAW UNBONED REAL DEAD FROG.' He is then asked about the ingredients of chocolate called "Ram's Bladder Cup":

Milton: We use choicest juicy chunks of fresh Cornish ram's bladder, emptied, steamed, flavoured with sesame seeds whipped into a fondue and garnished with lark's vomit.

Policeman: Lark's vomit?

Milton: Correct.

Policeman: Well it don't say nothing about that here.

Milton: Oh yes it does, on the bottom of the box, after monosodium glutamate.

Mr. Milton was then informed that the box should bear a large red label saying "WARNING: LARK'S VOMIT." He responded to both directives by arguing: But our sales would plummet! He was then hauled off to jail.

For advertisers, the lesson of the Crunchy Frog sketch should be abundantly clear. Although it may be tempting to avoid describing a less savory aspect of your product, if the law requires it, you need to do so, regardless of how it may affect your sales. The FTC and class action attorneys are quick to jump on anyone who fails to accurately describe material aspects of their product. The word "material" in this context means a description that, if included, would directly affect a consumer's decision to purchase the product.

Just as a consumer would be less likely to purchase a chocolate if they were told it contained a raw unboned dead frog, the fact that they will be charged $90.00 per month for something unless they cancel within ten days is also likely to affect their decision. If you leave that part out for the sake of your sales, you'll probably wind up answering for it in court.

The litigation in this area revolves around whether the description that was left out was material or not. If it isn't material, it becomes a case of "buyer beware." As the policeman stated at the end of the sketch:

"If only the general public would take more care when buying its sweeties, it would reduce the number of man-hours lost to the nation and they would spend less time having their stomachs pumped and sitting around in public lavatories."

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Frequently Asked Questions About Bail Bonds

Helping someone post bail, or being arrested yourself, is a tedious and dramatic situation that requires legal and financial actions as well as a lot of patience. Once a person is taken in, there are common questions that initially arise about bail bonds and how to get bailed out of jail. Here are five frequently asked questions about bail bonds and the bail bond process.

How much is My Bail Going to Cost?

This all depends on the state you are in and the charge you have been arrested on. The typical amount of bail is 10 to 15 percent of the original bond amount. So if a person's bond amount is 5,000 dollars, then their bail cost would be $500. That is if the bond is ten percent. If the rate is 15%, then the bond amount would be $750. These percentage rates are mandated by State Law, which is why they may differ from state to state.

How Long Will I Be in Jail Before I Can Post Bail?

The amount of time you spend in your county jail is dependent on numerous variables. If you have previous charges on your record or happen to be awaiting trial on pending charges, the jail time will usually increase. If you are arrested while awaiting trial on other charges, then you may be held until your next court date, and bail will be prohibited, however, this varies case to case.

If you are arrested on alcohol charges, bail will be denied for at least 8-9 hours, depending on your state. A person must be sober to be processed, so if 8 or 9 hours is not enough time, a person can be help longer before bail is allowed. You must be processed to be bailed out, but you must be sober to be processed.

If you are arrested on battery charges or resisting arrest charges, a judge can altogether deny your opportunity for bail, and keep you locked up until your court date. Court dates can be scheduled in as soon as one week, or in other common cases, one month. It can even be longer at times depending on the amount of traffic through the jail.

Can I Call Someone From the Jail for Help?

Yes. Many people are misinformed if they think they only get one phone call in jail. The jail will allow you to make as many calls as you like, so long as you are not tying up the line too long. Also, a pay phone is the only phone available, so collect calls are the only option for inmates. Something to take note on, however, is that some cell phone providers do not accept collect calls. It is recommended, when arrested, to call a local number that can accept collect calls, like a family or friend's home phone line. If you do not have anyone with a home phone line, a bail bond company can offer help and accepts collect calls from jail anytime.

If you are attempting to bail a friend or loved one out of jail, and your cell phone provider allows collect calls, they may require you to set up an account with a positive balance to accept more than one call from the jail. This means, third-party companies or your cell phone provider themselves, will mandate an upfront fee of $20 or $30 in order to accept more incoming collect calls from the jail. This is another situation in which a bail bond company can help with collect calls from jail.

Who Can Bail Me Out of Jail?

If you are arrested, a friend, family member, lawyer, or bail bond company can post bail for you. The limitations state that a person must be 18 years or older and have valid photo identification to bail someone out of jail. A person may decline to post bail for someone, or co-sign to bail a person out of jail if they fear the inmate may be a flight risk and skip their court dates. If this were to happen, the co-signer is responsible to appear to all the remaining court dates until they can bring in the defendant and turn them in to the court. They will also be held liable for their remaining bond amount to the bail agency. It is important to be sure you are making a safe decision when posting bail for a person. Ask yourself if they are responsible and if they are likely to show up for their court dates, as well as stay out of trouble in the future. If they are a repeat offender or have a streak of debt and unemployment, it could be irresponsible to co-sign a bail agreement for them. In general, if a person can pay 10-15% of the bond amount, and show proper I.D., they can bail you out of jail.

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Legal Support Services Supply a Dependable Transcription Solution

Legal support services are used inside and outside of a courtroom setting to document a conversation or testimony. Individuals are sometimes required to prepare their testament before the trial. This document, referred to as a deposition, is used in the actual hearing and prior to this event as part of discovery procedures. Deposition services supply an experienced court reporter capable of creating an official document. Lawyers supervise this outside examination process rather than a judge when the service is performed outside of a courtroom. These manuscripts serve as a reference for pre-trial discovery procedures and are made available to both sides as they prepare the case for trial.

The supplied information is checked against the witness's live trial statements to ensure variances do not exist. Outsourced help is acquired when time or staffing is limited within a firm to ensure all necessary information is available for trial. Outside reporting professionals are also used to create official manuscripts of important corporate meetings or to document internal company issues.

Why do Companies Use Deposition Services?

Deposition services are acquired for one of two reasons: to obtain witness information prior to trial or to create an official record of something. In the event of a trial, depositions are taken up front to aid in the creation of each legal party's case. They are taken within an attorney's office or in a conference room at a neutral location. The witness is put under oath just as in court and then directly examined by attending legal counsel. Examination begins with the counsel who the witness is speaking for and then transitions to cross-examination by the opposing counsel. Every spoken word is recorded by audio or visual means as a testimony is given. This information is used to generate an official written script of the conversation. The script is then supplied to both representing counsels to be used as reference. Not every firm has the sufficient work force to generate the necessary depositions for each case. Various companies rely on legal support services to prepare these official documents because they receive a qualified reporter and can easily maintain the validity of each testimony.

The reporters supplied to assist with the deposition process create the written testimony, prepare all other necessary documentation, and certify the transcripts. The testimony serves as evidence for case building before procedures begin and serves as the physical testament in instances where the individual is unable to make the hearing. Deposition services are acquired today to meet the video, audio, and manuscript needs of law firms. Countless attorneys combine video media with traditional audio recordings in order to receive increased insight to a witness's testimony. Video creation requires high-end equipment that many law firms do not have on hand. A professional service can be used to record by these means and ensure video quality as a testimony is taken. Video recording allows counselors to review facial expressions or other witness features that are otherwise unknown with traditional transcription methods. These legal support services are additionally applicable for translation, general transcription, closed captioning, or corporate purposes.

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Skiptracing Your Judgment Debtor

Finding your judgment debtor, is the first step to serve them notice of your lawsuit, and later to try to recover your judgment against them. Nobody else can pay your judgment off. If you know where your judgment debtor lives, that is often the first hint toward finding their assets, which could eventually lead to recovering your judgment. My articles are my opinions, and not legal advice. I am a Judgment Broker, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

If your judgment debtor was served at their residence or work, that is the first place to look for them. If your judgment is not recent, the judgment debtor may not live or work there any more, however those are good places to start.

Some judgment debtors try to evade creditors. Often, creditors can still find them. Start with what you know, and investigate further. For example, you may already know the address that your judgment debtor used to be at. You may be able to contact people that probably know something about them.

If you talk to your judgment debtor's current or former neighbors, family, roommates, or co-workers; do not come across in a way that might arouse their suspicions. Especially with the judgment debtor's family members, try not to arouse any suspicions, about whether or not they should talk to you, a stranger, about their family member.

The usual method to get free and informal information from those that know your judgment debtor, is to lie a little. An example lie might be "I'm a long time friend of Dan Debtor from... and I want to catch up with him, do you how I can contact him, or where he moved to?" Never lie to find a judgment debtor's banking information, however it is usually OK to find out where they live, their email address or telephone number, or workplace.

Some people might tell you a lot about someone they know, and some will even tell you about people they do not know. Listen carefully, to detect whether there are any bad feelings about your debtor. If they have negative feelings, they may tell you more useful information. Listen carefully, and gently ask them probing questions.

When you are trying to find out where a person (e.g., your judgment debtor) moved to, you are skip tracing them. The skip is the person you are trying to find. Do not try to act like a bill collector or a private investigator, or even tell them that you own a judgment against your debtor.

Often, the best source of information about a judgment debtor, is their ex-spouse or a former boy or girl friend. The next best is the debtor's friends or co-workers. Contact one or more of them, and see if you can find a sympathetic ear. Some of them may give you some valuable information.

At the same court where you got your judgment, there may be other judgments against your debtor. Finding and contacting other judgment creditors could be helpful. They might be glad to share information. Sometimes other creditors will not want to share any information, because the first judgment creditor to figure out where their debtor works or banks, gets to pay the Sheriff to levy the debtor's assets. The first to get paid usually wins.

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Find Out How You Can Check Who Is Calling Me

If you have those prank calls that you worry about, why don't you put a stop on them and go on living a peaceful life? That is not difficult to achieve. You should know that anyone can surely obtain the information they need without having to go through so much hassle. As a matter of fact, they can conduct the search without having to feel ripped off. That means that you don't have to spend all your savings just for you to obtain the information about your mysterious caller. Not only that, you will also love the fact that you wouldn't have to wait for a very long time just for you to find out the truth about those prank and anonymous calls. Within a few clicks, you won't have to wait for the information you need. So before you dismiss the idea, why don't you check out first how you can possibly find out who is calling you?

If you wish to find out who is calling me, you can first visit all those public offices and government agencies in your area. Why would you have to go far if there are offices that you check? What makes this search more ideal is the fact that you don't have to pay significant amount of money since they only charge people the administrative fee which is only minimal. You should also bear in mind that these offices are the best places to visit because they have this large database where they could easily check, verify and even retrieve people information. You should now that this tool would make things easy. In order to get started, you must first speak with the person in charge and let him know what you wish to accomplish. Without having to wait for a few hours or so, you would be able to obtain the information you need.

In case you need to bend a little because you do have a tight budget, you should know that you can always conduct the search through those online search engines. You should be ready with the information because these search engines would ask you to type in correct phone number you wish to check. You don't have to worry about obtaining accurate information because they have been tested by many individuals. As for the cost, you don't have to reconsider as well because utilizing those search engines won't cost you that much.

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Vacating A Judgment Is Not A Game

In my job, I talk with many judgment enforcers. Recently some told me about an article they saw, about vacating judgments as a recovery strategy; and wanted my feedback. That article promoted a flawed concept of offering to help vacate a judgment, to get it paid quickly.

This article explains why vacating a judgment to get it paid, is not a good idea. My articles are my opinions, and not legal advice. I am a Judgment Broker, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

What does it mean to vacate a judgment? Vacating a judgment is when a court voids, or sets aside their previous decision to issue it. The court makes a "Nunc Pro Tunc" (now for then) decision to make the previous judgment disappear. If it is vacated, that means it is like it never existed.

In theory, a creditor could bring a motion to vacate a judgment. However, it is almost always the debtor that files motions to vacate. The laws and rules covering vacating them vary by state and court. There are time limits, and courts require a logical reason to vacate a judgment. The most common valid reasons judgments get vacated are:

1) Defective service. This only works with default judgments, when the debtor claims they were not served properly, notice of the lawsuit.

2) Mistake. When a person understands the facts to be other than they are. This is not easy to prove, because ignorance of the law or negligence in researching the law, is not an excusable mistake.

3) Surprise. When a party is placed in an injurious legal situation, through no fault or negligence of their own. This is very rare.

4) Inadvertence or excusable neglect. Examples would be illness, relying on a flaky attorney, or when a court officer makes a serious mistake.

5) Void judgments. These are very rare, these are based on a lack of jurisdiction, fraud on the court, mistakes of the court, etc.

Judgments are not vacated for trivial reasons, including the convenience or wishes of the parties, or merely to settle them.

The silly strategy promoted on a few judgment-related blogs is basically, that vacating a judgment is a motivation for a debtor to pay you. "You suggest to the debtor if they pay you, a motion to vacate it can be filed with the court."

The incentive for the debtor for this flawed strategy, is that debtors want to get judgments off their credit reports. "No judgment on a credit report is better than a satisfied judgment on their credit report. Judgment owners and enforcers can make a deal to cooperate in vacating it, in exchange for getting paid."

There are four reasons why cooperating to vacate a judgment as an incentive for a debtor to pay it, is a bad idea for an enforcer especially, and also for original judgment owners:

1) Enforcers are the assignees of record, and have no standing or relation to the circumstances that caused the judgment.

2) Vacating a judgment requires a proof of service to be filed and a court hearing. Judgment satisfaction requires neither of those. The court will not appreciate any frivolous reasons to vacate it, and may wonder why the parties are wasting the court's time, when satisfying it is the correct way to settle and close the court case file. Imagine if a judge hears the debtor paid the enforcer and they conspired to vacate it instead of satisfying the judgment.

3) There are strict time limits and requirements on the causes of action to vacate judgments. This means there is a slim chance of this strategy even being possible.

4) Assignees of record, recommending and cooperating to vacate judgments might be bad policy, that could cause negative attention from government regulators, judges, etc.

The reasons and opportunity to vacate judgments is limited, and vacating them is a serious matter; and should not be used a bargaining tool.

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Kinds of Expert Witnesses: Non-Testifying and Testifying Experts

Expert Witness Testimonies are Crucial to a Case

In the courtroom, words fly between the defendant and the plaintiff. Both parties want to win their case, so they try to present arguments to prove their point. But words alone are not enough to determine whether or not the defendant is guilty of a crime being charged against him. To come up with a sound verdict, the court needs a sound evidence.

This is where expert witnesses come in.

Experts are hired by lawyers to provide useful information that either makes or breaks the case. They are individuals who are considered experts in their field because they spent many years honing their craft. They specialize in a particular domain or area of expertise, and they possess unquestionable knowledge about a particular topic.

With this, an expert's testimony is a crucial material to the case.

Are You a Non-Testifying or Testifying Expert Witness?

If you make a quick visit to expert witness directories, you'll find out that expert witnesses are classified according to their field of expertise. For instance, if you're looking for an expert to help you with your client's personal injury case, you will find a long list of experts under the "Accident and Injury" category.

But aside from field of expertise, experts are classified into two general types: non-testifying and testifying. What are the differences?

Testifying experts are those that are called to the witness stand to physically make a statement in court. These experts receive great stress due to the fact that everything about them is revealed, which includes their identity and other documents related to the case. In other words, the other party can get a hold of the expert witness's records and the documents he prepared for the trial. If the other party finds out a personal opinion noted on these documents, these notes can be used to their advantage.

To be a testifying expert, you must comply to the requirements of the Federal Rules of Evidence, particularly Rule 702. In a nutshell, before you can make an expert witness testimony in court, you must possess and be able to demonstrate a specialized set of technical and scientific knowledge.

Non-testifying experts, on the other hands, are experts don't have to go to court to make a statement. They are hired simply to evaluate the accuracy of a certain document or claim presented in court. For instance, a lawyer may hire a non-testifying medical professional to find out if a certain methodology done to a patient is done properly.

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Court Reporting Services That Benefit Large Companies

Court reporting agencies are known for supplying legal assistance to law firms, but their assistance is also valuable to companies. If your company needs the services below, you will find them at an agency that offers a full range of court reporting services.

Transcript Production

In addition to recording the language of depositions and legal trials, court reporters also record the language of official company meetings. If a company needs the language of an official meeting recorded in the form of a transcript, a reporter is the ideal candidate for the job.

Record Retrieval

Performing document retrieval in-house is an expense that most companies wish to avoid, and using a reporting agency to retrieve documents is an easy way to avoid it. Most large companies retrieve a significant amount of documents annually, from medical records for workers comp claims to financial records for audits. Agencies regularly retrieve the following types of documents, among others: medical records, financial records, criminal records, police records, and legal records.

Early Case Assessment

Early case assessment evaluates the potentialities of a legal case from several perspectives, most importantly:

How much a case would cost How much exposure the case would bring to the parties involved Whether the case would be winnable in court How long it would take to resolve the case The resources needed to help give the case a favorable outcome

Early case assessment is often performed concurrently with deposition services, as the information that is gathered in depositions is crucial for determining the things listed above. Early case assessment helps a company's general counsel make educated decisions about important legal matters.

Document Review

Document review is one of the court reporting services that law firms use the most, but it can also help companies review a large volume of documents for an upcoming legal case, assess the value of a potential business merger, or gather the information needed to respond to a regulatory inquiry. Agencies supply the legal staff and document review suites that companies need to review a large volume of documents in a short period.

Complex Litigation Support

Several scenarios make litigation complex, such as a short time to resolve a case, a large volume of complex information surrounding a case, and a large number of witnesses who must be deposed before a case can go forward. When a case has at least one of these elements, the attorneys who handle it may need support in the form of a document review team, additional paralegals or attorneys, and reporters that specialize in real time reporting. An agency provides these types of support and more.

Conclusion

Reporting agencies provide court reporting services to law firms. These services are also valuable to companies that need the language of meetings recorded and preserved in transcript form, help assessing the potential outcome of a legal case, or assistance supplying a legal team with crucial types of legal support. For more information about recording the language of depositions or other types of proceedings, contact a reporting agency today.

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Credit Card Lawsuit: How To Defeat Summary Judgment

Essentially, Summary judgment will be ruled if the facts presented during the course of the credit card lawsuit proceedings are undisputed, and accurate. Many credit card companies who are pressing charges against delinquent debtors are hoping for a summary judgment because it's basically a quick way to get the money they wanted with very little cost. On the other hand, if the debtor fights against and actually defeated summary judgment, the creditor and their plaintiff are in for a long haul.

So is it possible? How does one defeat summary judgment when facing a credit card lawsuit? The short answer is yes, it is quite possible to work your way out of a summary judgment. It starts with filing a motion to strike the evidence that the plaintiff attached to his motion to declare that there are no facts to dispute. If done successfully, the court will rule that the facts are in dispute so they will not award a summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff.

However, you could be blindsided by a Motion to Strike by the plaintiff is you failed to present notarized affidavits that support the evidence attached to the Summary judgment motion. In general, a custodian or an assistant custodian of reports will notarize the affidavits, attesting to the plaintiff's business practices and methods. The custodian will also personally check the debtor's own business records and account, stating the credit card debt amount.

Also, note that every state has its own notarization law so make sure you check your state's notarization law. In addition, you must check the guidelines for credit card lawsuit cases, which were filed in your state but its affidavit was notarized in a different state. If the out of State notarization does not comply with your state's own requirements, you need to strike the affidavit by a motion to strike.

When faced with a credit card lawsuit, it is critical to know more about the laws and guidelines mandated in your state before you file any documents in court, even an Answer to the summons. In some states, defendants are not required to send an Answer to the credit card lawsuit summons so to avoid any confusion or mistakes that could otherwise, derail your chances of winning the credit card lawsuit, do your own research! In addition, you can search for credit debt lawyers who can give you an idea how to deal with your creditor and quite possibly, how to negotiate a better deal with them.

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Lawyers And Judgments

Lawyers, even the best ones, often do not enjoy collecting judgments resulting from the lawsuits that they have successfully litigated. What options do you have when your lawyer cannot or will not collect your judgment? The simple answer is to find another lawyer, because there are many sharp lawyers that recover judgments. My articles are my opinions, and not legal advice. I am a Judgment Broker, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

What often happens, is someone hires a great attorney that wins their lawsuit, and then their lawyer says "we won, congratulations!" However, after the court victory, little or nothing seems to happen toward collecting their judgment money. As time goes by, it seems that getting paid what is due on their money judgment is just a dream.

Usually, when hiring a lawyer to recover a judgment, one must pay them their retainer, all expenses, and then by the hour. When a judgment debtor seems wealthy, or an attorney gets to keep most of what is recovered, attorneys may agree to take judgment recovery cases on a contingency basis.

Ideally, your attorney will be as aggressive collecting your judgment as they were winning it, yet this does not always happen. Worse yet, if you suddenly "fire" your contingency lawyer, you might owe them a lot of money because of Quantum Merit (sometimes spelled Meruit) contract clauses. This clause is in the retainer agreements of most contingency collection lawyers, where they get paid for the work they did, if you insist on firing them.

If you paid your lawyer by the hour to win your lawsuit, after the judgment is won, your lawyer will probably think their job is complete, and usually it will be, as per your contract with them. Either you will have to pay them more per hour, to have them try to enforce your judgment, or hope they will work on a contingency basis to recover your judgment. Perhaps your attorney simply does not know how to collect your judgment, or they just prefer not to.

When your attorney is done, and is no longer working on your lawsuit after it has been converted into a judgment, it is a good idea to check with the court and see whether your attorney has already released themselves as the attorney of record for your judgment. If not, ask your attorney to file papers with the court, to have themselves removed as the attorney of record for your judgment. When this is done, you will then be the legal owner and the sole representative for your judgment, and can do with it what circumstances allow.

What if you have hired an attorney and they are not aggressively trying to collect your judgment for you? If you have retained an attorney to recover your judgment and they are not making progress, ask them about it, at least once a year. Email is great. Do not ask more often than three times a year, as judgment recovery is often similar to a long-term chess game. There may be very logical reasons why no real progress has been made, especially in our current economy. If you have any ideas about some possible assets of your judgment debtor, or ways of possibly recovering the judgment money, share them with your lawyer.

What if you are dissatisfied with the answers you hear from your lawyer, or the results so far? Remember, if the judgment debtor is really poor or has too cleverly hidden their assets, it is not the lawyer's or any other recovery expert's fault that a recovery has not been made. If you have been paying your lawyer by the hour, and especially if you are current and do not owe them any money from past invoices, this is easy; just tell them you wish them to stop working on your judgment and remove themselves as the attorney of record.

If your attorney is working on a contingency basis, choosing to fire them is usually much more complicated. You might owe them money because of quantum merit clauses in retainer agreements, where the lawyer gets paid get for the work they did before you fired them. Perhaps you can reach a compromise for what you owe them on their quantum merit clause.

If your lawyer is not trying to get your judgment paid; you can probably find another lawyer, recovery expert, or company, to try to recover your judgment. There are many good lawyers that are experts at recovering judgments. Judgment brokers can steer you to the best contingency lawyers, recovery experts, and judgment buyers. Note that judgments never sell for cash upfront for very much.

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How to Be an Industrial Hygiene Expert Witness

Why be an Industrial Hygiene Expert Witness

An industrial hygiene expert is a professional whose main area of responsibility is the safety of a workplace. He makes sure that factories, companies, and other industrial areas are free from harmful chemicals and other substances that may cause potential harm.

If this professional provides legal-related services such as providing assistance in depositions and testifying in trials, the term "expert witness" is attached to his position or title.

Why should you consider being an industrial hygiene expert for litigious legal cases?

For one, courts across the country face a number of personal injury cases and those related to the health and safety of employees. A judge or jury's expertise is in the legal system, so to help them make informed decisions, share your expertise. There are many companies and individuals who don't get the justice they deserve, so to help the legal system give due justice, be an expert witness.

Understand the Qualifications of an Industrial Hygiene Expert

Before a court recognizes you as an expert, you must comply with a number of demanding and strict criteria. But the two most crucial criteria are the following.

1. You must have a specific area that you are considered an authority in.

2. You must demonstrate your expertise through the number of years you've been practicing your profession, awards and merits given to you, recognition from reputable organizations, affiliation, and certifications of advanced studies.

Know the Legal Duties of an Expert Witness

As an expert, understand that you have legal duties and responsibilities to uphold. Whether you testify in court or merely submit a written report about the case, there are some guidelines that you need to follow. Here are some of them.

1. You are expected to be truthful and objective in all your answers, reports, and statements.

2. Your tone should not be argumentative, and you should not favor any of the opposing parties.

3. You are to provide the court with utmost assistance. Make sure that all technical terms and concepts are explained properly. This will help the court make the right decisions.

Now that you know your legal obligations, you might want to do as much research as you can about your being an industrial hygiene expert witness. There are thousands of good sources that you can use to know the do's and dont's in testifying in court. You can even attend training if possible. And when you're ready, get listed in an expert witness directory, and wait for your phone to ring.

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Guidelines for Expert Witnesses in Court Proceedings

Before an expert witness can be admitted to court to make a testimony, he should be able to demonstrate his authority in his area of expertise. He must establish his expertise by his years of experience or practice in the field, and years of training and education to hone his knowledge base.

Legal Duties of an Expert Witness

Expert witnesses are required by the court to uphold certain standards when giving their testimony before the judge or jury. These standards can be summarized into the following legal duties.

1. Truthfulness

An expert must be truthful at all times. The court is relying on an expert's opinion to determine whether a certain piece of evidence can be admissible in court, or whether or not the plaintiff can be entitled to compensation.

2. Objectivity

An expert must be objective at all times. He must not favor any of the parties (defendant and plaintiff). He must answer all the questions asked of him without bias and subjectivity.

Guidelines for Expert Witnesses in Court Proceedings

The court takes the above-mentioned legal duties seriously. Many expert witness's testimonies were labeled inadmissible because the court doubted the expert's truthfulness and/or objectivity.

So if you are testifying in court as an expert witness in the next few days, here are some guidelines to heed for an effective testimony.

1. Make sure that your tone/voice is not argumentative.

Remember, you are summoned to help the court understand a technical concept. Let the lawyers take care of the arguments. Your job is to find a way to explain a difficult concept in the simplest possible manner.

2. Give your expert opinion and reasoning (or basis) for each in a detailed report.

Your opinion should be backed by facts, tests, or experiments that you did. All these should be clearly stated and detailed in a report. Also, you must not forget to attach relevant documents that can support your opinion.

3. Stay within your area of expertise.

There are some questions that may fall out of your area of expertise. Sometimes, these questions are tricky and might compromise your reputation or expertise. So if you are asked questions outside of your expertise, it's best not to answer them.

Above all, you should be honest. Answer all questions thrown at you, sticking to your line of expertise. After all, you are obligated to assist the court to come up with the best resolution for a dispute.

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SSDI And Dead Judgment Debtors

One way that judgment debtors avoid paying off judgments is to die. When a judgment debtor dies, it is usually game over for most creditors. However, some judgment owners either check their late debtor's estate situation. Depending on what they find out, some creditors might try to recover something on their judgment by filing a claim. For judgment owners, there is only a short time after their judgment debtor's death, to file their creditor's claim on the judgment debtor's estate.

The reason you want to verify if your judgment debtor died, is so that you can file a timely claim, to include their judgment debt in your judgment debtor's estate. If you are polite and respectful, sometimes their family will pay or settle a deceased judgment debtor's debt, occasionally even if an official claim has not been filed. This article is my opinion, and not legal advice. I am a judgment broker, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

One way to discover the death of your judgment debtor is to use the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). The SSDI includes a Death Master File, which is a list of all persons who are reported as having died, to the Social Security Administration. This list is not perfect or guaranteed, however it is usually accurate. Usually, the younger your judgment debtor or person of interest was, the more specific the SSDI tends to be.

Full access to the SSDI is not free. The Social Security Administration does not make their Death Master File records directly available online. However, the records are usually available through genealogy websites; search for "SSDI" or "Social Security Death Index". Web sites such as http://www.ancestry.com, http://www.familysearch.org, and others; allow you to search and access some historical death records for free. The best search results usually cost money.

The SSDI data includes the dead person's year of death, given (first) name, surname (last name), and middle initial. Really old SSDI records have only the year of death, old records have the month and year. The more recent the death, the better chance there will be exact and complete dates of birth and death, with zip codes. Note that if you do not find a listing in the SSDI, it does not mean the person is still living, or that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has no records on the deceased.

On publicly accessible search sites, social security numbers are now one-way. One can search by the full social security number, however the full social security number is never shown on (legal) public web sites. Paid professional databases, available for those having permissible purpose to subscribe to, may allow their subscribers to see their judgment debtor's full social security number.

Once somebody dies, their privacy rights fade fast, because of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). By making dead people's social security numbers available, much fraud is prevented. To get a copy of a dead person's social security information, you must pay, and provide a copy of their death certificate.

If you know your judgment debtor is dead, search on the web for "Form SSA-711" to get an application and pay for a copy of the SS card of a dead person, or a "computer extract" (which seems only a slightly more useful option). This will likely list their place of birth, father's name, and mother's full maiden name. Another way to go is to search for form "SS-5", to get the application form for copy of a dead person's social security card.

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Common Types of Bail Bonds

Most people out there are familiar with bail bonds, and some have even experienced a situation in which they have rendered their services. On the other hand, people are unaware that there are different types of bonds used to obtain a release from jail. Here are the most commonly discussed and used bail bonds in the industry.

A Surety Bond

This type of bond is also referred to as a bail bond. It is the most general and most commonly used bond in the industry. A bail agency will coordinate the bail bond for a person and charge a non-refundable fee, usually 10-15% of the total bond amount, depending on the state. This promises a quicker release from jail, rather than waiting for a court date, which can take anywhere from weeks to months. If the person pays for the agency's service, they are required to sign into a contract and a promise that they will show up for their scheduled court date. If they do not appear for court, the agency has a warrant issued for their arrest and they are listed as a fugitive of the law.

A Property Bond

There are instances when a person has been arrested for a major offense and the bond amount is very high. Not everyone in these circumstances has the cash they need to pay for their bail; so instead, they pursue a property bond. This is the case in which a person puts up the rights to high-priced personal assets, such as houses, land, businesses, cars, and anything else with equivalent value of the bond. Once they appear and complete their court hearings, their property can be returned. If the person is released from jail on a property bond and they fail to appear for court, they forfeit the asset they fronted for the property bond. They will also have an arrest warrant issued for their arrest and they will more than likely not receive another chance to be bailed from jail.

Being Released on Your Own Recognizance

This is a type of bond that is used for minor offenses like traffic violations. In the instance that a person is being released on their own recognizance, the federal law allows them to leave jail and be released, but only with the mutual understanding that the person is required to appear for their scheduled court date, as well as avoid any more criminal behavior.

Being Release on Citation

The very minor crimes, like j-walking, will be addressed with a citation release. This is when a police officer will write a person a ticket on the spot, and they usually have to call a number or go to the courthouse and pay a small fine. This is a strategy used to avoid over-crowding in county and local jails.

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