Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Police Tired of Babysitting Domestic Discord Situation

 https://www.avvo.com/attorney-answers/53548-wi-jay-nixon-1529181/answers.html?sort=recency%2520http%3A

Jay K. Nixon , Avvo Rating: 10 Criminal Defense Attorney in Kenosha & Janesville, WI
While these charges may, or may not be defensible, you should know that sometimes there is a "price" to be paid, anytime that the police need to repeatedly "babysit" a domestic situation; the deeper message perhaps being "Folks, we don't have time for this, so you guys need to work it out. once and for all." That is often eventually done by separating, sometimes involuntarily by the system's incarcerating of one or the other of you, (and sometimes both),. Or, you might someday be forced to separate by a PO's order, after someone is sentenced, if they are convicted. You are apt to like the outcome more, however, if you can instead work this out voluntarily, by professional counseling, or by separating if that doesn't work. Either way, both of you currently need separate, confidential legal consultations with different lawyers. Posting all these details on a public website is not a good idea, and can actually be used against you in court later. You both therefore both need to make your own intelligent decisions on what you each wants to do next, with professional assistance. Either way, good luck to both of you!
Please forgive my typos if I am answering this by phone. If any answer on AVVO helps you, mine or someone else's, please mark it as "helpful" or "best answer" to help AVVO know which answers to show others. Answering this question does not make me your attorney or entitle your information to attorney/client privilege, but you can post comments here for clarifications, etc. You can also see past answers to similar questions on AVVO , or see over fifteen years of past answers at https://www.avvo.com/attorneys/53566-wi-jay-nixon-1529181/answers.html . See 15 years of past answers at http://www.lawguru.com/answers/attorney_control_panel/answered. Answers are not intended as legal advice, may contain attorney advertising materials and may, along with questions, be used in public attorney advertising materials, unless you request otherwise. All answers and questions on public websites are public documents which do not enjoy attorney client privilege.

Sunday, October 25, 2020

No Will; Who Gets the Ashes? Probate for Intestate Estates

 

https://www.avvo.com/attorney-answers/53548-wi-jay-nixon-1529181/answers.html

 

How do I go about getting all of my ex-husbands/9 yr. old sons fathers belongings from his mother including my son’s father’s ashes?   . . .did not leave behind a will but has told many ppl that if anything ever happened to him, he wanted our son to have everything. well his mother has taken EVERYTHING . . .

Jay’s Answer (Jay K. Nixon, Probate Attorney with offices in Kenosha & Janesville, WI)

Unfortunately, verbal promises, family relationships and desires will get you nowhere in probate court. Instead, the court is forced by the law to follow strict rules of decent, succession and control set up by the state legislature for “intestate” (without a will) cases; or to act on all those issues as is called for in a valid will, if there is one. That is why living trusts have more or less replaced wills these days as the estate planning document of choice.  In those, with proper planning, more informal arrangements can be set up before death, which continue seamlessly after death, with no need to involve any court in most cases. Here, without a will or a living trust, there is literally nobody in charge until a court appoints somebody, and that will not happen on its own. Instead, a lawyer needs to prepare and file roughly 8 complex forms, and petition the probate judge to appoint somebody as the personal representative (fka "executor"), give notice to known family and creditors, and publish a notice of hearing in the local newspaper's legal notices section, among other things. Subject to court oversight.  Then, the personal representative can then make all those decisions, including distribution of the ashes and personal effects. Any family member can file such a petition, and request that they themselves or anyone else be appointed as personal representative, which request will nearly always be granted if nobody else objects to or files their own competing petition. Until then, regrettably, the legal system will be unavailable to assist you in resolving these family disputes. Therefore, you should talk to an experienced probate lawyer if you wish to solve these problems, otherwise it’s "every man for himself," indefinitely, until some eventually steps up to the plate to take charge.

Saturday, October 24, 2020

 

https://www.avvo.com/attorney-answers/53548-wi-jay-nixon-1529181/answers.html?sort=recency%2520http%3A

How often are police officers rebuttal witnesses instead of direct witnesses?

Answer by Attorney Jay K. Nixon, with offices in both Kenosha & Janesville, WI

Police officers will testify for whomever subpoena's them to testify. Usually, that is the DA, but they are theoretically supposed to be neutral public servants who record evidence regardless of whether it favors the prosecution or the defense. The latter category is known as "exculpatory evidence," and the government has a duty to disclose it to the defense under both the United States Constitution and the Wisconsin Constitution, under the famous decision of Brady vs. Maryland, many decades ago. Under that rule, the defendant is supposed to get all reports favoring the prosecution, but also all of them favoring the defense, as well as the right to testimony by the officer(s) who discovered that evidence, if necessary. Since officer's primary duty is to prosecute criminals, however, the vast majority of their reports (and therefore their testimony), favors the government, so they are usually witnesses in the Prosecution's "case in chief," and less frequently in the defense case. Both the prosecution and defense use both direct testimony witnesses and rebuttal witnesses, when either side wants to refute something entered into evidence by the other side.

 

See question

How can I go about this?

I currently have 16 points on my license (tickets Aug.2019, sept 2019, feb 2020) it got suspended for 6 months and I was supposed to get it reinstated in January of 2021, however the other day I got pulled over and got two more tickets, now 23 poi...

 

Jay’s Answer

Monday at 5:31pm

You were apparently representing yourself when you accumulated thise 23 points on your record, so you might want to pause a moment now to ask yourself " exactly how good of a pro se attorney am I?" Since your track record in court seems not much better than your driving record, it might be time to try something completely different, both in your driving and on your legal representation, and retain an attorney if you ever want to drive legally again. Meanwhile, you should also make friends with Uber, Waze, Lift and any other ride sharing apps you can find until you get your license back, since at this point, you will probably start exposing yourself to jail if keep on driving. You must also be getting close to Wisconsin's five year revocation due to being a habitual traffic offender by now, so the time for complacency has truly now passed for you. Wake up!

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Preliminary Hearing Waiver in a Serious Drug Case

 

https://www.avvo.com/…/can-i-cancel-me-waiving-my-prelimina… Can I cancel my waiving of my preliminary hearing in a major drug case? …


Jay K. Nixon Avvo Rating: 10 Criminal Defense Attorney in Janesville & Kenosha, WI
Once you waive your right to a preliminary hearing, I doubt if you would ever be allowed to retract that decision. You still have a right to a full blown trial by jury, so you haven't really waived all that much; and since the purpose of the prelim is only to make sure that there is some evidence against you before you are put through the tortuous step of a trial, waiving it is therefore a less than a critical step. Most judges would have better things to do than allow you to reverse your march towards justice by this sort of a retreat. Appellate courts would also probably sustain any decision denying this request to implement your apparent change of heart. Either way, you are far better off worrying about getting a good outcome at your trial rather than in crying over spilt milk this way. You might instead consider devoting more energy and resources towards funding a private investigator, for example, or by retaining a second chair attorney to assist your primary one at your trial.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Defense Attorneys Cannot also be Prosecutors; What to Expect from Your Criminal Defense Attorney

 

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/authorized/does-a-defense-atty--ever-prosecute-a-client-or-ma-5007234.html?answered=true

Does a defense atty. ever prosecute a client or make feel uncomfortable? Responsibilities that should be properly expected of?

 

Avvo Rating: 10   Criminal Defense Attorney in Kenosha & Janesville, WI


No, defense attorneys cannot also be a prosecutors against clients at the same time that they are defending them. While many defense attorneys, including yours truly, were formerly prosecutors, retiring from prosecution and switching to defending clients is usually a permanent, one way move, which is rarely undone later. Even if it does happen, however, and an attorney who once represented you later takes a job in a DA's Office, his or her ethical duties of confidentiality and avoidance of conflicts of interest would disqualify that attorney from prosecuting you or exposing any of your secrets to the police. Attorneys take these professional responsibilities very seriously and can lose their license to practice law if they ever violate them. All that being said, attorneys usually try to have candid, in depth discussions with their clients about the case off the record and in private. That can sometimes include challenging them about their version of the facts in private, in order to better prepare them for the real thing in court later, when the DA cross examines them after they testify at a trial, for example. That has nothing to do with prosecuting the client but is instead a normal part of a trial defense. Anything said during these would be a protected, confidential matters, however.

Monday, October 12, 2020

How to Handle Bullying by your PO, Absconder Warrants

 

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/authorized/what-can-i-do-if-i-m-been-harassed--lied-to-and-se-5005853.html

 

What can I do If I’m been harassed, lied to and set up to fail by my PO in WI?

My PO threatened and bullied me into giving her a false statement Saying that I had used drugs when I had not. She claims that The lines on my drug test weren’t dark enough therefore I was using and would go to jail right now if I did not give her a statement admitting to drug use. I had to pick my daughter up from school, but she told me I was going to jail right then if I did not give her a statement saying are used drugs. I gave her the lies she demanded so I could keep my freedom. Two hours later I had an appointment at the rehabilitation place I was mandated to get counseling at by my probation officer they also gave me a drug test which came back negative as I knew it would - The next month when I met with my probation officer I...

Jay K. Nixon   3.5 stars 10 reviews   Avvo Rating: 10  Criminal Defense Attorney in Janesville & Kenosha, WI    Your lawyer should immediately negotiate your voluntary surrender on the warrant, since you are technically an absconder for every minute that passes before you do turn yourself in. For that violation, they will not need any drug tests, so there are essentially no defenses available to it. Once you are in custody, your lawyer can approach the DOC about your allegations, and suggest transfer to a new PO, or her supervisor, for further proceedings. Prior to that, however, your lawyer can hopefully have a conversation with her about your allegations, to see if the matter can be resolved ahead of time. Either way, revocations are very hard to beat, so that last thing you ever want to do is contest one, if there is any other way out of it. You also always have the option to voluntarily revoke and serve your time "inside" rather than "on the street," on supervision. You will then be free of such harassment, even if not free in any other sense of the word.

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Recovering Compensation for Minor Injuries in Car Accident

 https://www.avvo.com/attorney-answers/53548-wi-jay-nixon-1529181/answers.html


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Can you get money for peeing yourself in a car accident ? I peed myself in an accident and I'm wondering if I can get money for it.

Jay’s Answer : I agree that this alone would not get you much. The better question is what else was going on at the time that might have caused it, such as temporary unconsciousness due to a conclusion, extreme pain or stress. You should therefore have your case evaluated by an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible, since your time to bring such a claim is limited under both insurance claims policies and the statute of limitations (sometimes three years or less in WI). Frew insurers would seriously consider a long delayed claim if there were so little documentation injuries as this, so time is certainly not on your side.