The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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There are and one that I am reviewing almost parallels the other regarding the facts of the case. The case that I am writing about is Hernandez, et al. v Mesa, No. 17-1678 decided on 25 February 2020 in the United States Supreme Court. In 2010, Sergio Adrián Hernández Güereca, a 15-year-old Mexican national, was said to be playing with other friends running up and down a mostly-dry culvert that extends between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The culvert center is the border between Me...
Not only can the State of Alabama, through the Attorney General, sue the city of Birmingham, but also they have. The 2017 Alabama Preservation Memorial Act was used when its former mayor had plywood sheets placed around the monument. The mayor said that the $25,000 fine was less than the price of civil unrest. But now with the killing of George Floyd, splinter groups of ANTIFA and anarchists have wrongfully attached themselves to disrupt the rightful and peaceful protestors that want their voice...
I decided to look at the Alabama Supreme Court website for recent slip opinions. A slip opinion is basically the first draft majority opinion of an appellate court before its publication in various case reporters. Looking at the opinions, I noted a couple of things. In addition to the opinions of the Alabama Supreme Court on various cases, there exist several approvals or denials on Writ of Certiorari or Writ of Mandamus. A Writ of Mandamus is used when a higher court orders a lower court or gov...
Those words from the song “Dust in the Wind” (1977) sung by the rock group Kansas are roughly based on some verses from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 1: 12-14 says (NIV) I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. (12) I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! (13) I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the win...
I think it important first if I may to express my inward thoughts. Besides my beautiful wife, I have my seven-year-old son. I’ve thought on how to address this pandemic with my family. My almost 89 year old Dad said to me that besides the fear that the Germans might march in during World War II he has never seen this affect on America. I see this as a time when our children and grandchildren see if we really walk the walk. To this I have said plainly that God is in control. Regardless of what ha...
The First Amendment to the Constitution is a part of those first ten amendments also referred to as the Bill of Rights. The portion of the first amendment that relates to religion reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Unfortunately there are not many writings that exist regarding the discussions on this amendment. It seems that the final language was a collection of suggested amendments. Prior to the rat...
Your duties will be what the Durable Power of Attorney says they are. It depends on what powers your mother (called the principal) has given you and when they become effective. There was a change in the Alabama statutes concerning Alabama Powers of Attorney beginning January 1, 2012. If your attorney used a format substantially like the sample document in the statute (as required in the statute) then there should be multiple powers that your mother may have given you and thus a multitude of...
Without specifics about yourself I’ll make this answer generic in a personal and in a business sense. I presume you looked at your financial estate planning (401K, mutual funds, stocks and bonds, life insurance, etc.) and as you do you also think about your legal estate planning. After all you are a year older; you may have gotten married, had a new child, had a child reach the age of majority (19 years), gotten divorced or suffered the death of a spouse or even a child. You may have a child g...
I am beginning to follow the impeachment issues a bit more closely as the House public hearings have begun. Possibly this ordeal will be over before you read this. I will do my best to comment on the process. I think like myself most of the country foresees the outcome. The Democratic majority House of Representatives will vote to impeach the President, most because they dislike President Trump so much and not over the issues considered and the Republican majority Senate will vote not to remove...
Well, not the legal article that you expected. I deal a lot with death, either helping folks ready the legal documents leading up to and going beyond their deaths or assisting grieved families or friends who have lost loved ones. I prepared legal documents for a couple that dated in high school and then married, but it took the husband a while to follow his wife’s wishes because he just knew he would die if he did these documents, like sooner than later. Well the truth is you will die after d...
Yes, that is correct. It is however conditioned on certain criteria and in my view will cause some changes in estate planning and in debt collection by creditors. Whenever an estate is opened in an Alabama probate court, the named personal representative whether appointed for a testate (having a Will), intestate (no Will) estate or the person initiating the settlement of a Small Estate (with or without a Will where the probate assets are less than twenty-five thousand dollars), must file a...
Yes, decided on June 20 of this year in the United States Supreme Court, the case of American Legion, et al. v American Humanist Assn., et al. Prince George’s County, Maryland erected in 1918 a memorial for the dead from their county during World War I. Because the plain Latin cross had become a symbol of that War in that one could see pictures of rows of white crosses where dead soldiers were buried. The decision was made to place the memorial in a prominent place and when the County C...
After Pearl Harbor and the means in which the sneak attack was carried out, Americans became highly suspicious of the Japanese. There were over 110,000 Japanese living on the United States West Coast of which about 70,000 were citizens. Many lived near strategic military areas on the West Coast, which was also closer to Japan and thus more susceptible to attack. Some Japanese- Americans were very committed to the mother country, having sent tinfoil and money in Japan’s war with China. Some J...
Under English common law it has been long held that one that is insane or having diminished capacity cannot be executed. But what about a person that is competent at time of the crime and at the trial and final sentencing but then becomes insane after that. Can that person still be executed when due to their insanity and diminished capacity be executed when they no longer have the ability to understand why they are being executed? In the United States Supreme Court case out of Florida Ford v...
The fact is the anti abortion laws in Alabama have never been repealed. It was the case of Roe v Wade from 1973 that allowed legal abortion in the United States, During the first trimester of a pregnant woman, the United States Supreme Court required that the procedure be performed by a licensed doctor in medically safe conditions. During the second trimester it is the health of the pregnant woman that is the determinate when the Court decided that a state may regulate abortion. During the...
Article V of the Constitution says... The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths there...
If the readers will be kind enough to indulge me I would like to share recent experiences in the Pacific northwest, specifically the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood and the Oregon coast. This grey haired man loves his family and has not taken his wife on a trip just for the two of us since our son was born six and a half years ago. Yep, bad husband! Visiting several areas outside of Portland, OR was our choice, there was little reason to consider other places. We neglected a couple of sights...
I am sure you are referring to the reaction of the past few years mostly to mentally unstable individuals who have committed crimes of murder and hate and shown to wave the Confederate battle flag believing it to be a sign of supremacy and racism. For a bit of history, about 122,000 Alabama men served the Confederacy in the various segments of its military. Of those it is believed that about 35,000 died during their service leaving about 20,000 widows and 60,000 orphans. Dependent on the age of...
Without specifics about yourself I’ll make this answer generic in a personal and in a business sense. I presume you looked at your financial estate planning (401k, mutual funds, stocks and bonds, life insurance, etc) and as you do you also think about your legal estate planning. After all you are a year older; you may have gotten married, had a new child, had a child reach the age of majority (19 years), gotten divorced or suffered the death of a spouse or even a child. You may have a child g...
Little has changed since earlier appellate cases and one will note slight subjective language in the subsequent decisions. These cases have arisen using the Establishment Clause of the Constitution of the United States to back up the adverse claims of individuals or groups in what they perceive as being unconstitutional. The Establishment Clause is a part of the First Amendment and reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” followed by the Free Exercise C...
Based on your question and if nothing is done to change the designation prior to divorce, no, you will not continue to be the beneficiary. In years past if a spouse remained on a life insurance policy, then the ex spouse remained as the beneficiary even if the owner remarried. I was always careful to counsel estate planning clients concerning this. It is still a counselable issue for my clients. In the Code of Alabama, 1975, §30-4-17 (2016 law) the opposite effect occurred in that there is a...
I have read the same thing from many sources about Aretha Franklin having no Will. She was apparently a resident of Michigan and since she purportedly died without a Will or trust then the rules of intestacy will prevail. It’s like I tell my clients, if you have no Will then the State of Alabama has one for you under it’s rules of intestacy. I don’t know the laws of Michigan but I will tell you what I do know and compare it to Alabama law. It is reported that Aretha left about $80 million dollar...
Unfortunately in my work I run across situations where there is a not a good understanding of the implications of a real property deed not having an up to date deed. One thing that happens at times, more so in rural areas is on the death of someone, their estate is not probated and their real property is inhabited by one or more heirs. The heir or heirs continue to pay real property taxes and even insurance when the property contains insurable structures. The problem is that as time goes on...
Since President Trump’s selection of Judge Brett Kavanaugh currently of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court there has been a lot of discussion. Judge Kavanaugh is a relatively young man when compared to some current and prior Supreme Court justices and was a high school classmate of current Justice Neil Gorsuch. Judge Kavanaugh can make a significant impact on cases for many y...
The state of California has a larger economy than many countries and is the most populous state within the United States. Many in California think differently from those of us in Alabama with resultant taxes and the cost of living being significantly higher, in case of taxes by design of it's legislators. Even so, within California there are different schools of thought and that is somewhat evident by the current number of Californians leaving to settle in other states which has California losin...
