If you are a teacher or a public school employee, it is against the law to have a physical relationship with a student. It does not matter if they are consenting adults. It is foolish to think that no one will find out about the relationship. It is even more foolish to think that the student will never tell anyone about the relationship. If you made an error in judgement, call us for some guidance.

Domestic violence cases continue to rise as many couples continue to work from home. If an argument begins, neighbors often call the police. Best tip, Walk away from the argument before it gets physical. If the police come out to investigate, they will always arrest someone. It is not a defense to say that the other person started the argument.

Many people are using dating and so called “hook up” apps to meet people. Make sure you really know who you are talking to before you say or do something that you will regret. Your first date should be in a public place. Police officers use these apps to catch people interested in committing an illegal act. Scam artists also use these apps to set up dates and later extort money from individuals who are having affairs. Other scam artists are claiming to be the parent of a minor and now want money or else they will report you to the police for having sex with their underaged daughter. If you're being extorted, call our office for help.

Arrests for drunk driving are still soaring. There are police agencies that are still known to mark bar patron's tires with chalk, that way they can easily tell which cars on the road have drinkers behind the wheel. So check your tires before you drive home. Also remember that if you get pulled over you should consent to taking the breath test for two reasons. 1. They will easily get a search warrant to take your blood and 2. the refusal triggers the loss of your driving privileges for one year. Finally, be careful what you say to a police officer. Everything you say will be used against you. The less you say the better off you will be.

For all of my friends on LinkedIn who are feeling the stress of dealing with this pandemic for almost a year, try finding a few minutes each day to exercise. I am not the exercise king, but I do know that even a few minutes every day helps clear the haze. The days begin to blur together, but stimulating some positive endorphins with a bit of exercise definitely makes you less grumpy. Or, you can watch the news every night and see what a boost that gives you. Make a change, even a small one and see if it works. "Nothing ventured nothing gained."

If you think flying a drone is cool, think about this. Mars is 125.4 million miles away and tomorrow (Thursday, February 18th) the U.S. will land a really advanced Rover on Mars just before 4:00pm EST. The Perseverance Rover is equipped with super advanced audio and visual equipment. It also has a cool helicopter that will scout the planet, too. Watching this event will be more exciting than sledding down a hill on a college lunch tray in your shorts.

Yes, distractions are necessary to keep us sane during crazy times, but we also need to persevere when things are tough. This incredible landing on Mars reminds all of us about the amazing things our country can do, but more importantly, it inspires our children to dream big! #countdowntomars #Perseverance #nasapersevere #NASA

A little advice from a criminal defense attorney:

If you are a parent of a teen you know that he or she is way smarter than you when it comes to the internet. With the schools closed, we have some very bored teens. Anyone want to guess what happens when a teen is bored? Yep! They go looking for trouble… and some find it.

As parents, we cannot check on our teens 24/7, but we can do some things to get them to think twice before they make a bad decision that will stay on the internet forever.

1. If they have decided their closed bedroom is where they want to live 23 hours a day, 7 days a week, knock on the door and bug them from time to time. This will let them know, at any time you could pop in.
2. Remind them how much faith you have in their good decisions and also mention that you check their internet history routinely.
3. Pay them to go outside for one hour or to do some chores.
4. Ask them what they want for dinner and then pay them to help you make it.

We cannot solve all teen boredom by paying them off, but in small doses, it is probably cheaper than hiring an attorney after they get into trouble :)