The conversation began easily enough, “My brother is bleeding our parents into the poor house with his unending demands for money – money to support his addictions – and they don’t seem able to stop giving it to him, even though he isn’t getting any better. What can we do?”

Or we hear from the parents themselves, “How can I get my spouse to stop giving our adult daughter money she just spends on booze or drugs? Her promises are worthless and the demands endless.”

It’s not an uncommon condition. Parents are living longer, some adult children make childishness a career, and it isn’t easy to say no to a son or daughter, regardless of their age. Then add in the grandchildren, hostages held for ransom as your child essentially blackmails you into supporting their drug and/or alcohol abuse: “Give me the money or I will kill myself,” or “they will starve,” or “we’ll be on the streets,” is the implied or actual threat, yet the money does no good.

As parents you capitulate even as you destroy your own fragile financial security. You hand over cash, even though you know it’s useless, often wondering if your child’s problem is something you caused. You post bail, buy cars, pay rent, doctors’ and attorneys‘ fees, and pay for treatment that they rarely see through and that usually doesn’t work even when they do. Funds intended to benefit the grandchildren disappear without benefiting anyone. The cycle continues until someone dies or there isn’t anything left to extort. It seems like the only choice.

But is it?

Though it takes toughness that’s hard to muster and support that even harder to find, there are alternatives. It means finding the courage to face the reality without being swept away by understandable emotions. Managing this means overcoming a lot of mythology.

The most destructive belief most of us have held at one time or another is that alcohol and drug abuse is an incurable disease over which the addict or alcoholic has no control. Believing this, how can any parent deny support to a sick child? This is the lever that every active drunk and junkie – and many “recovering” ones as well – use to control everyone around them: “I isn’t my fault and if you don’t give me the money I’ll die.”

The trouble is that drug and alcohol abuse, dependence, and addiction, aren’t really diseases, they’re choices – choices the alcoholic and addict made and continue to make. These choices can be unmade, but as long as you’re supporting them financially, protecting them from the consequences of their choices and behaviors, why would they change?

The answer to that is that they aren’t going to.

Most of us go though our lives wishing someone else would change. The reality is, however, that we can’t change anyone but ourselves. It may not seem like much, but sometimes it’s enough. When you change how you deal with your adult children they too are forced to change. How they change isn’t predictable, but they will change.

These reactive changes are the hard part. Initially they will probably escalate their aggressive behaviors to get you to return to the old status quo, no matter how awful that really was for everyone. That will include using their children to get to you.

And what about those grandchildren?

This is when the need for support comes in. It’s hard to stand up to the drunk or the druggie when they have no restraints on what they will say or do. Endless promises, threats, and blame will follow any interruption in the cash flow. You want to believe the promises, you succumb to the threats, or you cave in to the guilt that the blaming dredges up, no matter how real or ridiculous. But you need to stand firm.

So how do you go about doing what you know is right when everything seems stacked against you?

First it’s necessary to keep in mind what you already know: your child will bleed you dry and out onto the street before they will stop exploiting you. You also know that continuing will never benefit your grandchildren. That’s a fact. Hold onto it. Cut them off and they may in fact decide to die rather than clean up. Instead, begin to plan ways to taper off the support in return for demonstrated progress in cleaning up – and be prepared to either take on the grandchildren yourself or allow someone else to. Make arrangements or contact Child Protection or both. Explore the options.

Second, they can clean up if they are sufficiently motivated and the treatment mode is carefully chosen. That’s a bit of a problem, of course. Virtually all forms of treatment in the U.S. have success rates of less than 10% over two years. AA itself reports a 95% drop out rate in the first year, and most treatment is based on AA.

Third, it really is okay to save yourself and the rest of your family. An almost universally overlooked aspect of the relationship of older parents to adult addicted children is that the financial support actually rewards the child for their self-destructive choices and behaviors while penalizing the parents, other children, and grandchildren. What kind of nonsense is that?

So what’s a parent to do?

Remember that you don’t have to stay stuck in the insanity of the addicted child’s world. You can stay clear and not be sucked down in all of the usual “powerlessness” and “disease” model ad copy that only serves to perpetuate and justify addiction-based exploitation. Drug and alcohol abuse, dependence and addiction are a choice. Sometimes the choice makes sense, sometimes it’s accidental, and sometimes it’s crept up so gradually that no one noticed it for a long time, but it’s still a choice. So is cleaning up.

You can offer to help them sober up. It’s hard to find effective treatment, but you can look for programs with a multitude of options for clients, a diverse staff (not dominated by “recovering” individuals), aftercare that isn’t limited to attending recovery groups, and a focus on the clients strengths, interests, and future activities – not on the past, on drinking and using, or helplessness. Remember that the most common cause of relapse is a belief in powerlessness. Avoid any program that makes that belief part of their philosophy.

Start rewarding yourself and your family for achievements and accomplishments, not for destructive choices and habits and behaviors. You may not be able to keep a son or daughter from destroying themselves, but you and the rest of your family don’t have to go with them.

Finally, it’s good to get competent help in this process. You need to know, regardless of the outcome, that you have done everything possible, given every opportunity, and explored every option. The process of genuinely helping an adult child is difficult at best and outcomes, regardless of advertising copy, are very uncertain. Give yourself, your troubled child, and the rest of your family, the benefit of the best opportunities and support available.

Your addicted adult child is still an adult and will still make their own choices, one of which may be their own destruction. You can encourage and support other outcomes, but not by financing the addictive behaviors. Don’t let yourself be guilt driven, blackmailed, or intimidated into perpetuating the problem.

The proverbial phrase ‘last but not least’ applies well with death records. Although it is by nature the last records started on a person, it is just as significant in content as other public records if not more. They can include obituaries, death notices and certificates, cemeteries, burials and funeral matters. Personal particulars like name, age, residence, spouse and other surviving family members, cause of death and so forth are also set within.

Death records are one of the vital records, along with birth, divorce and marriage. They are typically maintained at a government agency within the locality of where the death takes place or the capital city of the state of residence of the deceased. Being public records, they are made available for public access. Restrictions apply, but essentially, anyone can pull out the death records of anyone as long as procedures are followed.

There are different ways of accessing death records. One can write in, walk in, telephone, fax, or log in online to the respective government offices or commercial information providers. Expectedly, the most widely employed method is by logging in online via the internet. It is fast, easy and convenient, the information age being largely propelled by digitization, so why not?

There are basically two versions of online death records, free and fee-based. Government sources are predominantly free, with some charging nominal administrative fees but there don’t seem to be any established standards or guidelines as they can be quite varied in many respects. Non-government sources can be free or paid. There are some websites which provide reasonably decent information free-of-charge but they are likely to have strings attached. A common tactic that is used by commercial information brokers to entice sign-up for their fee-based subscriptions is by offering free search or teaser information. Then again, there’s no force involved and free will is retained. Some of them actually deliver very good value for money and thanks to them, Death Records won’t be dead.

Are you a caregiver or a personal attendant who works in a private household or home? As a household worker either as a caregiver or personal attendant, are you entitled to minimum wage? Over-time pay? Other benefits?

If hired directly by an individual or family, your benefits are different from one who is hired by a private firm or agency and governed by general employment laws: applicable federal and state statutes.

A live-in employee as opposed to a live-out employee is subject to special work rules discussed below.

A caregiver or “care custodian” is defined by Section 15610.17 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code as:

“… an administrator or an employee of…public or private facilities or agencies, or persons providing care or services for elders or dependent adults, including members of the support staff and maintenance staff.”

A “personal attendant” is not entitled to overtime compensation, unless: (1.) he or she is a live-in employee; or (2.) he or she does general household work (cleaning, cooking, feeding, dressing, or supervising) that exceeds 20% of the total work time; or (3.) he or she does nurse-like duties (checking pulse, taking temperature, giving medication) more than 20% of the total work time.

In these three instances, the household worker is no longer considered a “personal attendant” and is entitled to overtime pay. Otherwise, light house keeping and cooking chores qualify as work exempt from overtime compensation.

Personal Attendant As Defined In CA IWC Wage Order 15:

Section 2(J) of the California Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Wage Order No. 15-2001 defines “personal attendant” as follows:

“‘Personal attendant’ includes baby sitters and means any person employed by a private householder or by any third party employer recognized in the health care industry to work in a private household, to supervise, feed or dress a child or person who by reason of advanced age, physical disability, or mental deficiency needs supervision. The status of ‘personal attendant’ shall apply when no significant amount of work other than the foregoing is required.”

Indeed, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) has historically adopted the standard used in the federal regulations, 29 C.F.R. 552.6 on “companionship services,” to wit:

“…(T)he term ‘companionship services’ shall mean those services which provide fellowship, care, and protection for a person who, because of advanced age or physical or mental infirmity, cannot care for his or her own needs. Such services may include household work related to the care of the aged or infirm person such as meal preparation, bed making, washing of clothes, and other similar services. They may also include the performance of general household work: Provided, however, that such work is incidental, i.e., does not exceed 20 percent of the total weekly hours worked.”

Federal regulations, 29 C.F.R 552.6, supra, further clarifies that:

“The term ‘companionship services’ does not include services related to the care and protection of the aged or infirm that require and are performed by trained personnel, such as registered or practical nurse.”

Thus, the acceptable duties of a “personal attendant” involve activities of daily living such as getting in or out of bed, showering, bathing, using a toilet. A “personal attendant’s” duties of “supervising” would include assistance in obtaining medical care, preparing meals, shopping for personal items or groceries, using a telephone, even managing money.

As long as any general housekeeping duties performed do not exceed 20% of the weekly working time spent by a “personal attendant,” he or she is exempted from the protections of California Wage Order No. 15-2001 such as overtime compensation, etc., except for minimum wage. But prior to 2001, a classification as “personal attendant” also excluded minimum wage in California.

This overtime compensation exemption also applies to “personal attendants” as well as other household workers such as caregivers, spending 20% or less of their working time doing general household work, who are employed by an agency and sent to private households to work.

Benefits Of Household Workers:

A. Minimum Wage:

The state minimum wage covers all employees, including household workers (live-in employees, caregivers, and “personal attendants”) but excluding legitimate independent contractors. The current California minimum wage is $8.00 per hour since January 1, 2008, a 6.7% increase over the previous $7.50 minimum wage.

There are several factors that determine whether a person is an independent contractor or not. But the primary factor is control by the employer of the means, manner and outcome of the job. An independent contractor runs his or her own household services business, has his or her tools and materials, and controls the manner and outcome of the job.

Independent contractors are not covered by minimum wage and overtime compensation statutes.

B. Overtime Pay:

Household workers who are not live-in employees, as well as “personal attendants” who do general household work that exceeds 20% of their weekly working time, are entitled to overtime compensation, consisting of one and one half times their regular rate of pay for working more than eight (8) hours in a day, or more than (40) hours in a week.

Live-in employees must be paid one and one half times the regular rate for all hours worked over twelve (12) hours (instead of over eight (8) hours) in one work day for five (5) workdays. On the sixth and seventh day, live-in employees must be paid double the regular rate for all hours worked over (9) hours per day. See California IWC Wage Order No. 15-2001 3(A)-(B) (8 Cal Code Regs. 11150(3)(A)-(B)).

Under federal law, 29 U.S.C. 213(a)(15), “any employee employed on a casual basis in domestic service employment to provide babysitting services or any employee employed in domestic service employment to provide companionship services for individuals who (because of age or infirmity) are unable to care for themselves” is granted exemptions from minimum wage and overtime pay.

C. Other Benefits Of Household Workers:

1. Hours And Days Of Work:

A live-in employee is entitled to at least twelve (12) consecutive hours free of duty during each workday of twenty-four (24) hours, and the total span of hours for a day of work should not exceed twelve (12) hours, except that: (a) the employee must have at least three (3) hours free of duty during the 12 hours span of work; and (b) the employee required or permitted to work during scheduled off-duty hours or during the 12 consecutive off-duty hours must be paid one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for all such hours worked. See California IWC Wage Order No. 15-2001 3(A).

Moreover, no live-in employee shall be required to work more than five (5) days in any one workweek without a day off of not less than 24 consecutive hours except in an emergency. See California IWC Wage Order No. 15-2001 3(B).

2. Rest And Meal Periods:

Household workers are entitled to a ten-minute paid rest break for every four (4) hours of work under California IWC Wage Order No. 15-2001 12(A), and a thirty-minute meal period of every five (5) hours worked, just like others kinds of employees, under California IWC Wage Order No. 15-2001 11(A).

Otherwise, the employer shall pay the employee one (1) hour of pay at regular rate for each workday that the rest period, or the meal period is not provided. See California IWC Wage Order No. 15-2001 12(B), 11(D). But “personal attendants” are not granted rest and meal periods.

3. Meal And Housing Deductions From Wages:

The employer may subtract meal and housing credits from the employee’s paycheck if: (a) the employee actually uses the meals and is provided with housing; (b) meals and housing are used as salary to comply with the minimum wage; and (c) the employee executes a voluntary, written agreement, crediting meals and housing towards minimum wage.

Meal credit may be deducted as follows: breakfast – $2.45; lunch – $3.35, and dinner – $4.50. Housing may also be credited at $31.75 per week for a room ($26.20 if shared). See California IWC Wage Order No. 15 – 2001 10(C).

In summary, whether you are a caregiver or a “personal attendant” entitled to particular wages and benefits in California or in other states depends on whether the general household work you do exceeds 20% of your total work time.

(The Author, Roman P. Mosqueda, practices wage and hour law in California.

This article is not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is formed with the reader. For specific labor law issues, consult a competent attorney.)

In modern times many couples have children when they are not married. Problems can arise with respect to Child Custody, Visitation, and Child Support when these couples break off the relationship.

In a perfect world the mother and the father are amicable in such a situation, and do what is in the child or children’s best interest. However, it is much safer, and highly recommended, that you obtain Court orders with respect to custody, visitation, and support issues, so that the mother and father each know their respective rights and obligations, and so that there are no ambiguities regarding the same.

This article will discuss the issue of children who are born out of wedlock from both the mother and the father’s prospective to give you a general understanding of the law in California regarding children born out of wedlock.

The Mother’s Prospective

The mother of a child that is born out of wedlock has a unique advantage in that she does not normally have to prove that the child is hers. If hospital records indicate that a female has given birth to a child, and the birth certificate that is issued upon the birth of a child indicates that the female gave birth to the child, than there is usually no issue with the mother showing that she is the paternal mother.

The mother of a child born out of wedlock will automatically be entitled to full custody of a child absent a Court order indicating otherwise.

She may give the father visitation if she so chooses, or she can deny visitation to the father absent a Court order.

All minor children in California have a right to receive child support pursuant to a statutory guideline. (The subject of Child Support will be covered in a forthcoming separate article). If the mother of a child who is born out of wedlock wants to obtain child support from the father, she will have to file and serve a Petition to Establish Parentage on the father, and an Order to Show Cause for child support with the appropriate Court.

If the mother is on welfare or Aid to Families with Dependent Children, the District Attorney in the county in which the mother resides will ordinarily aid in this process so that the County gets reimbursed for the aid that is being provided to the mother by the County.

If a father voluntarily accepts paternity, than the Court will decide each party’s rights to custody, visitation, and child support based upon the facts in the case. If the father denies that he is the father, he may request that a DNA test be done to determine whether he is the father. Once this process is completed than the Court will determine each party’s rights.

If a mother is not sure who the real father of a child is, she will have to file a Petition to Establish Parentage on each potential father.

The Court will ordinarily allow the father visitation or custody rights to the child unless it can be shown that it is not in the best interest of the child for the father to have such rights.

The Father’s Prospective

The father of a child born out of wedlock has no rights to Custody, Visitation, or Child Support unless they obtain a Court order for the same.

If a father wants to have rights to custody, visitation, or child support for a child born out of wedlock, the will have to file a Petition to Establish Parentage, and an Order to Show Cause for Custody, Visitation, and/or Support.

The mother of the child may or may not agree that the father is the true father of the child. Either party may request that a DNA test be done to prove whether or not the father is the paternal father of a child.

Once the Court determines paternity, the Court will than look at many factors with respect to rights to Custody, Visitation, and Support.

The Court will ordinarily allow the father visitation or custody rights to the child unless it can be shown that it is not in the best interest of the child for the father to have such rights.

The Mother and Father’s Prospective as a Whole

The Court will always try to determine what is in the children’s best interest when determining who will have Custody and Visitation rights to a child or children. This can be a long and expensive process if litigated. It is recommended that a Mother and Father try to informally work out a Custody and Visitation plan for a child or children, and then get a Court Order which reflects the agreement of the mother and father.

If you cannot informally work it out than the Court will decide the issue for you.

Support of the child or children will be determined by the Court using a statutory formula which is based on both parties income, the percentage of time each person has with the child or children, and other factors.

It is always recommended that you retain a lawyer in these types of cases. Only a fool has herself or himself for a client.

You can check out our family law website at http://www.divorce-legal.net for more general family law information.

© 2007

He was rail-thin (140 pounds – tops), and strikingly handsome. Yet Allie Tannenbaum, who started out as a worker in his father’s Catskill hotel, became one of Murder Incorporated’s most accomplished killers. Tannenbaum also became a rat, who helped put his boss, Louis “Lepke” Buchalter, into the electric chair.

Tannenbaum was born on January 17, 1906, in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. When Tannenbaum was just two years old, his father Sam moved the family to Orchard Street, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In New York City, Sam Tannenbaum, as he did in Pennsylvania, ran a general store. As a teenager, Allie Tannenbaum had the habit of always talking, talking, talking. He talked so much, people said he sounded like a clock — hence, the nickname “Tick Tock.”

After World War I, Sam Tannenbaum accumulated enough cash to purchase the Loch Sheldrake Country Club, in the Catskills, in upstate New York. By the time his father bought the country club, Allie was already in his third year of high school (he also later attended college for a few semesters). This was quite an accomplishment, since most boys Tannenbaum’s age, on the Lower East Side, had already dropped out of school after the 8th grade, and were working at jobs, some legal, and some not so legal. Making use of his son’s capabilities, Sam Tannenbaum employed Allie at his hotel, either waiting on tables, or setting up beach chairs at the lake. Despite the early grunt work he imposed on his son, Sam Tannenbaum was grooming Allie as his eventual replacement. Yet, that was not to be.

The Loch Sheldrake Country Club was a ritzy establishment, and it housed many rich Jewish families, for their summer vacations. Jewish gangsters also frequented the country club. Among them were Harry “Greenie” Greenberg, Louis Lepke, and his partner Jacob “Gurrah” Shapiro. Shapiro was a thick-chested gorilla-of-a-man, who supplied the muscle for Lepke’s many illegal enterprises. Whenever Shapiro was angry, and that was often, his favorite phrase was “Get out of here.” Yet, with his gravelly voice, the phrase sounded like “Gurra dahere.” Hence, his pals gave Shapiro the nickname “Gurrah.”

Allie Tannenbaum became acquainted with several of the country clubs visitors, including Shimmy Salles, who was a bagman for Lepke’s rackets, Curly Holtz, a labor racketeer, and even Lepke himself. As the owner’s son, the Jewish gangsters invited Tannenbaum to all their parties. Tannenbaum, as per his arrangement with his father, did not get paid a single dime, until after the summer, which basically ended the resort season. While Tannenbaum walked around his father’s resort dead broke, he noticed that all the Jewish gangsters had plenty of cash to spread around. This made him a likely suspect to be drawn into their world of organized crime.

At the end of the summer in 1931, Tannenbaum was strolling down Broadway in Manhattan, when he bumped into Big Harry Schacter, one of Lepke’s underlings.

Schacter asked Tannenbaum, “Do you want a job?”

“I could use one, if it pays,” Tannenbaum said.

Schacter smiled. “This one is for Lepke. You know what kind of a job it will be.”

Tannenbaum shrugged, and said he would do whatever it took to earn some fancy cash.

Tannenbaum started working for Lepke, initially for $35 a week. His job included general assignments like slugging, strikebreaking, and throwing stink bombs where they were needed to be thrown. Tannenbaum later graduated to more important duties, like “schlammings,” which meant he “schlammed,”or cracked the heads of union workers, who were not towing Lepke’s line.

As his work production increased, so did Tannenbaum’s pay. Eventually Tannenbaum, who by then had been involved in six murders, and helped dispose of the body of a seventh murder victim, was raking in an impressive $125 a week. Because of Tannenbaum’s summer location in the Catskills, his job mostly included murders, and extortions, in upstate New York. Tannenbaum was a valuable asset to Lepke in Sullivan County, because Tannenbaum was familiar with the back highways, and numerous lakes, where bodies could be stashed. During the winter, Tannenbaum, and his family, vacationed in Florida, where Tannenbaum worked as a strong-arm-man, in several of Lepke’s gambling joints.

Tannenbaum’s biggest hit for Lepke was the 1939 killing of Harry “Big Greenie” Greenberg, who was suspected of talking to the government about Lepke’s activities. Tannenbaum was given the assignment to murder Greenberg by Lepke, through one of Lepke’s intermediaries (to insulate himself from any connection to a murder, Lepke never gave orders to his killers himself).

Tannenbaum stalked Greenberg, first to Montréal, then to Detroit, before finally cornering Greenberg in Los Angeles. On November 23, 1939, Tannenbaum, along with Bugsy Siegel, stood in wait outside Greenberg’s apartment building. When Greenberg emerged, Tannenbaum and Siegel riddled “Big Greenie” with bullets. This was considered the first “mob killing” in Southern California.

In 1940, Tannenbaum was vacationing in Florida, when he received the news that Lepke had been arrested, and that Murder Incorporated killer, Abe “Kid Twist” Reles, was now singing like a canary, about the work of Murder Incorporated. Tannenbaum immediately took a train to New York City, and went to the house of Charlie “The Bug” Workman, another one of Lepke’s top killers. The reason for Tannenbaum’s visit, was that he sought financing from Workman to go on the lam in Detroit. As luck would have it, as Tannenbaum and Workman were sitting in Workman’s living room, Detective Abraham Belsky knocked on the door to arrest Workman. Belsky was pleasantly surprised when he found Tannenbaum there too.

At first, Tannenbaum refused to squeal. When Tannenbaum was questioned by the police over a three-day period, he repeatedly said, “I refuse to answer on the grounds of my constitutional rights.”

However, District Attorney Deckelman suddenly hit Tannenbaum with an indictment, charging Tannenbaum, and “Pittsburgh Phil” Strauss, with the 1936 murder of Irv Ashkenaz, a taxicab owner, who was ratting to the cops about Lepke’s cab racket in Manhattan. Ashkenaz’s body was found near the entrance of a Catskills hotel, riddled with sixteen bullets.

“We’ve got enough on you to put you in the chair,” District Attorney Deckelman told Tannenbaum.

All of a sudden Tannenbaum, living up to his nickname of “Tick Tock,” started talking nonstop. Tannenbaum told Deckelman about all the murders he was involved with, and how they were connected to Lepke.

On the witness stand, during Lepke’s trail, Tannenbaum put the final nail in Lepke’s coffin, when he testified about the day he heard Lepke order the murder of a candy store owner named Joe Rosen. Lepke was always cool and collected, and careful about what he said in front of anyone. In fact, Lepke never gave Tannenbaum a direct order to kill. This information was always relayed to Tannenbaum through an intermediary, close to Lepke.

However, in 1936, Tannenbaum was given the order, through Mendy Weiss, to kill Irv Ashkenaz. Yet, Tannenbaum was told by Weiss to report directly to Lepke, when the deed was done. After disposing of Ashkenaz, Tannenbaum went to Lepke’s midtown office, to tell Lepke that Ashkenaz was indeed dead. When he entered Lepke’s office, Tannenbaum encountered an irate Lepke, screaming at Max Rubin, one of Lepke’s closest confidants.

Tannenbaum testified on the witness stand to District Attorney Burton Turkus, “Lepke was yelling that he gave this Joe Rosen money to go away, and then he sneaks back into a candy store, after he tells him to stay away. Lepke was hollering: ‘There is one son of a bitch that will never go down to talk to Dewey about me.’ Max (Rubin) was trying to calm him down. He was saying, “take it easy; take it easy Louis. I’ll handle Joe Rosen; he’s all right.’”

“What did Lepke say to that?” Turkus asked Tannenbaum.

Tannenbaum replied, “He says, ‘You told me that before.’ He says ‘This is the end of it. I’m fed up with that son of a bitch.’ He says, ‘and I’ll take care of him.”

Tannenbaum testified that two days after his encounter with Lepke and Rubin, in Lepke’s office, he read in the newspapers that Joe Rosen had been shot 16 times, as he was opening up his candy store in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

Tannenbaum’s testimony, concerning the Rosen murder, corroborated the testimony of Abe Reles, and was a deadly blow to Lepke. It took the jury only four hours to convict Lepke of first-degree murder, which landed Lepke in the electric chair four years later. For his testimony against Lepke, Tannenbaum was given a short jail sentence, a light slap on the wrist for a man, who had committed at least six murders.

Little is known about what Tannenbaum did for the rest of his life. He seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth, except for the times when he reappeared, to testify against his old murderous pals. In the book “Tough Jews” by Rich Cohen, Cohen says, in the 1950’s, Tannenbaum worked in Atlanta for a while, as a lampshade salesmen.

In 1950, Tannenbaum came out of the woodwork, and testified at the murder trial of Jack Parisi, another Murder Incorporated hit-man, who had been on the lam for ten years. Despite Tannenbaum’s testimony, a judge found Parisi not guilty.

In 1976, unlike most of his contemporaries, Tannenbaum died of natural causes, on an unnamed island off the coast of Florida. He was 70 years old.

There are many advantages to having a bail bond system, and one of the most important is… it is our Constitutional right. It also reinforces the American justice system: innocent until proven guilty. Without a bail bond system our jails would be extremely overcrowded, it would cost more to house inmates, and many lives could be disrupted without a chance to be released from jail.

Federal and State laws regulate bail amounts and circumstances that could cause someone to be denied bail. The right to bail is not a guarantee. The number one priority and concern is safety when determining bail. Those individuals who may be a danger to society or their community, or possibly flight risks, or maybe even charged with a serious or violent crime, are often denied bail, or their bail is set so high that they are unable to make bail and get released.

Once someone is released from jail they typically go back to their normal routines while awaiting their court date or disposition of their case. This allows them to keep working, take care of their families, and continue to pay their bills. People could lose their jobs, homes, and possibly their children, if they were not able to hire a bail bondsman and be released from jail, all before they are ever convicted of a crime.

Another advantage to a defendant being able to hire a bail bondsman and be released from jail is their safety. There is so much overcrowding in our jails, as well as being a violent and dangerous place. The longer an individual is in jail, the more likely the chance of injury or even death. The Los Angeles Times reported, “Since 2000, 15 people have been slain in Los Angeles County jails, including several low-risk inmates killed by gang members or other dangerous convicts.”

There is simply no presumption of innocence without the right to bail. Individuals could end up remaining in jail for a long time, and may not even be convicted on a crime. While they are in jail, the government is responsible for housing defendants, ensuring their safety, and room and board. If these defendants are not given the option to bail out of jail, the overpopulation and financial burden continues to increase on a prison system that is already overcrowded.

To sum it all up, it appears the bail bond system has some solid benefits that help our society. That tax money is saved by not having to pay for the daily expenditures of housing an inmate, or trying to keep them safe while in an overpopulated jail. Additionally, the risk is assumed by individuals and private companies instead of state governments, and the rights of the defendant are protected. It doesn’t cost tax payers one penny!

Once someone has been arrested and has gone through the booking and processing procedures, they should then be allowed to make a phone call. At this time, they can call anyone they choose, such as a friend or family member.

The next step is for the person who was contacted to call a bail bonds company to arrange for their release from jail. You might be surprised to find there are some instances where a the company may decline to take the case. While there are many contributing factors for a bail bondsman not to take the case, most often it is due to the amount of the bond or the type of bond. Therefore, hiring a company may result in trial and error for you to find the one who will assist you efficiently, ethically and professionally.

When the defendant contacts a family member or friend, they should provide the following information: full legal name, social security number, date of birth, who arrested them (police, sheriff, highway patrol, etc.), why they were arrested and where they are being held. If they can provide their booking number and their bail amount, this will also help to make the bailing out process much faster. All of this information is needed for the bondsman to get the defendant released as quickly as possible.

Many companies will do all types of bonds, but others may only provide one or two different types of bond. It all depends on the experience of the bondsman and the relationship he or she has with the underwriter. The different types of bond include bail bonds (at federal and state level); cash bail bonds, immigration bail bonds, and property bail bonds.

When the bond is posted by a family member or friend, they are entered into a contract with the bail bondsman. The purpose of the bail bond contract is to guarantee, to both the bail agent and the court, that the defendant will show up to their future court dates as expected.

Before anyone signs the contract, the bail bondsman will make sure the co-signer (the friend or family member) understands the commitment they are guaranteeing, and an ethical bondsman will not sign until it is fully understood. The bondsman needs to make sure the co-signer knows that if the defendant does not show up, he or she will be responsible for the full bond amount.

The need for collateral depends on the bond amount. Sometimes just a simple signature on the bail bond is all that is required, while other times the use of a property or collateral will be needed. Some bail companies who only require a signature may request that the cosigner live in the area, own a home in the area or work in the area. After the bail bond has been signed, the bail bondsman will post the bond to securely release the defendant from jail.

After this has happened, the defendant’s responsibility is to show up to his or her scheduled court date. If they do not, the co-signer will be responsible for paying the total bail amount. However, if the defendant is found and retrieved within a certain amount of time, the co-signer may only be responsible for extra expenses incurred of the bail agent to search for the defendant. The time limit on finding the defendant is set by state and federal statutes. If the defendant is retained, they most likely will return to jail without the option of a bail bond.

If you’ve been charged with a DUI or DWI (the term depends on the state), you often already face tough penalties. You can expect to lose your license for 1 year or more, a fine, probation, and to spend some time in a jail cell. If you were pulled over, were clearly intoxicated, and were arrested, those are the charges you’ll face. However, there are occasions where the penalties can be much worse.

If you get multiple DUI violations, if you are far over the legal blood alcohol content level of 0.08%, if you hurt someone in an accident, or if you placed a minor in danger, you may face a felony charge. Felony charges are far more serious, and some states consider these to be “aggravated DUI” charges. You simply cannot do without an attorney if you have been charged with a felony, no matter if it’s for DUI charges or not. For the purposes of this article, let’s consider it for drinking and driving.

What a DUI Means

Driving under the influence charges are known to most, likely because it’s such a common problem. In some states, it’s clearly stated drinking and driving is a leading, if not the #1, cause of death for drivers and pedestrians. A DUI simply means you drank too much, got behind the wheel, and started driving, thereby breaking the law.

When are you over the limit?

The BAC limit for a DUI is the same in all states. If you are at or over.08%, you will be arrested. Its very hard to defend against a BAC level. While the breathalyzer can be a problematic device, in most cases, a positive read will lead to charges. If a blood test for alcohol is taken at a later stage, that’s a more precise number.

Why a felony?

As stated, if you are way over the limit, have multiple DUI violations, were involved in an accident and hurt someone, or had a minor in the car with you, you often face felony charges. These are aggravated DUI charges in many states. This is simply because drinking and driving is such a problem, and repeat offenders are so common.

An aggravated DUI means you will face a much longer license suspension, a higher fine, and more time in jail. In these cases, you need a strong defense lest the penalties ruin your life.

How can you defend it?

You defend an aggravated DUI by hiring an experienced attorney who’s handled cases like yours before. While it is very difficult to beat these charges, there is a very good chance that your penalties can be lessened. Instead of many years where your license is suspended, thousands in fines, and months in jail, your lawyer may find holes in the case against you and perhaps avoid maximum punishment.

The important thing is to always have representation in court. Without the right lawyer, you’re all alone in front of a judge who sees cases like yours daily.

If you have been arrested for DUI, you need to speak with a DUI lawyer without delay. Many states have recently toughened up DUI laws and the fines and penalties for a DUI conviction can be significant.

Your DUI case needs a strong defense. If you are not familiar with the DUI laws and penalties in your state, a DUI lawyer should be able to explain them to you and let you know what you may face. You may also discuss your DUI defense strategy.

Many people who have been arrested for DUI feel that they cannot win their cases. After all, if there is breath test evidence for the prosecution to use against you, why fight it?

The reason to fight it is that breath test evidence is not always accurate and in many cases can be successfully challenged in court.

There are numerous ways to present an effective DUI defense. Challenging the evidence against you is key. Your lawyer has likely handled many cases like yours in the past and can advise you as to what may work to your advantage.

Expert witnesses may be used to refute the evidence, there may be something in the arresting officer’s past that can help your case or the evidence against you just may not be as strong as perceived.

If you do not win your DUI case, you may appeal the decision or have the conviction expunged from your record.

Hiring a DUI lawyer [http://www.totaldui.com] is the first step in not letting your DUI arrest ruin your life. A conviction can come with serious penalties, and you need an expert in your corner.

DUI is short for Driving Under the Influence. A person is considered to be guilty of DUI if they are in actual physical control of a motor vehicle and are under the influence of alcoholic beverages. Driving under such an influence of alcohol can be extremely dangerous both for the driver as well as the innocent by standers. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is illegal in the state of California. Apart from motor vehicles, the law also applies to boating and piloting of an aircraft. The lives of hundreds are at risk in an aircraft and stringent laws exist for pilots too.

The ability of the human body to do two things at a time such as steering and braking is considerably weakened at a blood alcohol content of 0.02%. At 0.08% BAC the driver becomes vulnerable and incapable of maneuvering a motor vehicle. Since 1990 it is illegal to drive a motor vehicle in California with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% or more. According to this law any person caught driving with a BAC limit of 0.08% or more is immediately caught and charge sheeted. Along with California a number of other states have also followed this practice. The law enforcers are trained to identify an intoxicated person.

By conducting a number of field sobriety tests (FST) the person’s ability to maneuver a motor vehicle can be identified. However, the BAC level in a persons body cannot be checked by such FST. Checking and analyzing the blood sample or the urine sample is the most accurate way of checking the BAC. BAC can also be ascertained by measuring the alcohol on a person’s breath by using a Breathalyzer. The choice of choosing the test generally depends on the person. Statistics prove that ever since this 0.08% BAC law has been put to practice, the fatalities arising out of DUI have reduced considerably.