Child abuse laws are designed to protect children from being hurt. They’re good laws that make a lot of sense. Unfortunately, they are also laws that can be used against people, particularly parents who are engaged in a child custody dispute. It’s not unheard of for one parent to accuse the other parent of child abuse in order to obtain full custody of the children. It’s an accusation that can deal a lasting blow to both sides.

While there have been instances of men lodging false child abuse claims against women, it’s far more common for a woman to falsely accuse a man of child abuse. Data collected by the Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) indicates that 85% of all child abuse protective orders are filed by men and issued against men...

Lawmakers aren’t fooling around when it comes to people messing with other people’s mail. The issue of mail theft is explored in US Code Section 1708. It’s important to understand that because mail theft involves the United States Postal Service, a federal agency, mail theft is considered a federal offense. The State of California will likely add a few charges as well.

What is Mail Theft

If you read US Code 18 Section 1708 you’ll learn that taking any piece of mail that wasn’t sent to you is considered mail theft. It doesn’t matter if the mail is taken directly from a post office employee, snatched from a mailbox, or snuck of a mail truck. It’s all mail theft.
Additional Offenses That Are Frequently Added to Mail Theft Charges

It’s rare for a person to be charged with just...

Owning a pet is a wonderful experience. In exchange for providing for their physical needs, your pet gives you unconditional love and great joy. Pet owners are usually healthier and happier than California residents who don’t own pets.

While there are lots of perks associated with owning a pet, there are also several California pet laws all pet owners need to know.

Your Dog Must Be Properly Licensed

If you own a dog, it has to be licensed. Failing to stay on top of your dog’s license could result in your county charging you a fine. The only dogs who are exempt from the state’s licensing laws are puppies who haven’t turned four months old.

All Dogs Have to be Up to Date With Their Rabies Vaccination

If you own a dog, you’re responsible for making sure it has had a rabies vaccinat...

Unemployment fraud isn’t new. There have been instances of it dating all the way back to when the system for helping people stay financially solvent after they suddenly lost a job was first created.

The high number of people who were forced to claim unemployment benefits when the pandemic struck the United States, combined with some unexpected unemployment bonuses the government instituted in an attempt to keep the economy running has triggered an interest in unemployment fraud.

Loree Levy, a spokesperson for the California Employment Development Department, recently confirmed that the state is on the lookout for people who are committing unemployment fraud.

Levy’s department released a press release the addressed the issue...

We’re all familiar with the Miranda Rights, which basically grants us the ability to not tell the police anything if we’re arrested. While we’ve heard thousands of television cops recite the famous words “you have the right to remain silent” few of us actually know what that means.

The History of the Miranda Rights

The Miranda Rights take their name from Ernesto Arturo Miranda. He was arrested in 1963 and placed in a line-up. The victim selected Miranda. When the police questioned him, he confessed to the crime. It looked like an open and shut case, when in fact, it turned into a case that forever changed police procedure in the United States.

After Miranda was found guilty of raping and kidnapping, his attorney argued that the case should have been thrown out because Miranda ...

The idea of online school isn’t new. Online schooling has been around for some time and many parents have taken advantage of it. Other parents have thought about it from time to time and briefly considered looking into it but never got around to it.

The pandemic has pushed the concept of online schooling to the forefront of everyone’s mind. Some schools have even opted entirely do away with in-classroom learning and devote all of their resources to virtual education.

How Online Schooling Differs from Home Schooling

It’s important to understand that online schooling and homeschooling aren’t exactly the same thing.

Homeschooling is a type of schooling where the parents have total control over their child’s education...

California is known for its earthquakes. Unlike wildfires which can be somewhat predictable and avoidable, there’s never much warning before an earthquake occurs. Even with the surprisingly accurate MyShake earthquake phone app you usually have less than a minute to prepare yourself for the tremor.

Early preparation and common sense is your best line of defense when “it comes to surviving a California earthquake.

Keep Your Home in Good Repair

Routinely go through your home and any outbuildings and make sure that they are earthquake ready. The house met the current earthquake building guidelines when it was constructed, but it’s up to you to make sure that it stays earthquake ready...

Covid-19 has created some big legal questions that no one really considered prior to the pandemic hitting the United States in March. One of the questions both employers and employees are asking is if employees can be required to work during the government ordered lockdown.

The answer isn’t as straight forward as most people might assume it is.

Working From Home

If it turns out that a business’s employees have the ability to work from home, they can be told that they have to work during the government lockdown. One of the surprising things about the pandemic is how many businesses who thought they needed to have their employees come in every single day are finding that it isn’t necessary at all...

Over the past 10 or 15 years, cameras have become a major part of our daily lives. They’re on our phones, in our homes, built into doorbells, and even mounted on the dashboards of our cars. We usually don’t give them a second thought until the police request the footage. That’s when we suddenly start to wonder exactly what our rights are.

Can the Police Request Camera Footage Without a Warrant?

If you’re wondering if the police can ask to see the footage one of your cameras has captured even when they don’t have a warrant, the answer is yes. Where things get murkier is when you’re trying to figure out if you have to grant their request.

Do You Have to Hand Your Cameras to the Police?

If the police suspect that the camera on your phone, dashboard, or home security system cont...

Some states have incredibly strict laws when it comes to carrying knives. California isn’t one of them. The state actually has a surprisingly permissive attitude when it comes to both open carry and concealed knives.

The general rule of thumb is that yes, you’re free to carry a knife while you’re out and about. Things don’t start to get sticky until it comes to the number of knives you own.

California’s Laws Regarding Carrying Knives

It’s common knowledge that California states you can carry a knife either open or concealed. What is less well known is that there are some knives you can carry concealed and others that must be open carry. If you have a dirk or a dagger, you’re allowed to keep the knife on you, but you’ll have to make sure it’s visible...