Drunk driving or driving under the influence (DUI) is the act of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or while in an inebriated condition. It is a common problem in the United States and the rest of the world. DUI is responsible for 41 percent of total traffic deaths.

Alcohol tends to get absorbed into the bloodstream and is carried to the brain immediately upon consumption. Laws in the US in relation to DUI have become extremely strict. In the state of California alone there are approximately 200,000 arrests for DUI every year. The law has enforced strict and stringent measures against people who have found to have a blood alcohol count of 0.08% or more.

Based on California law, a person under the influence of alcohol is charged on two counts, a Vehicle Code section 23152(a) count, driving impaired by alcohol and 23152(b), driving above a .08% Blood Alcohol Content.

California Highway Patrol records, 1998 states that in 1997, a total of 31,189 people were injured in alcohol-related traffic accidents in California. This comes down to approximately 86 people per day. Injuries caused in such accidents comprise of roughly 10.94% of the total 284,871 traffic injuries in California. It also states that in 1997, a total of 1,100 people were killed in alcohol-related accidents in California – this equates to 3 people per day. These deaths roughly represent almost 29.96% of the total 3,671 traffic fatalities in California.

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Strict and stringent laws have been enacted to deal with offenders caught while DUI. Jail sentences range from 2 days to 120 days depending on the intensity of the offence. Similarly DUI schooling may also be recommended. This may range from 15 weeks to 18 months. Sale of the vehicle or impounding may also take place with the proceeds going towards charity.

Statistics have proved that since the enactment of the 0.08% blood alcohol count, the DUI arrests have decreased by an assenting rate of 45%. The number of deaths and injuries has also shown a 50% decrease. This is a positive indication, which proves that to an extent, the imposition of fines and punishments has shown affirmative results.

Alcohol offenses are serious crimes, which carry major consequences if convicted. An alcohol related crime can be one of many subcategories including, DUI, DWI, underage drinking, public drunken behavior and the illegal distribution, production and sale of liquor.

If you have been charged with any of these crimes, 1000Attorneys.com can help you find a pre-screened lawyer who specializes DUI charges in California. All Attorneys are insured and monitored by a process approved by the California Bar Association and the Supreme Court.

Any punishment or penalties assigned by the court in a California DUI / drunk driving case is separate from the repercussions possible at the DMV. The California DMV will suspend the driver’s license for a minimum of four (4) months for a first-offense (1st) DUI / DWI arrest if the driver loses the hearing.

The DMV will suspend the driver’s license for one year for a second offense (2nd) and two years for a third offense (3rd). These are the repercussions faced by California drivers who submit to a chemical test of their blood or breath. In the case of a refusal, the DMV punishment is increased: a first-offense (1st) will trigger a one-year suspension with no opportunity for a restricted license.

A second offense (2nd) with refusal will result in a two-year suspension, and a third offense (3rd) will cause a three-year suspension.

Think of your record as you do your credit report. It is direct reflection of who you are, what you have done, and what type of person you are. While some may believe this written reflection of your life is difficult to control, selecting the proper Criminal Defense in a trying time can be the safety net you need to protect your record, your life, and your future.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a Virginia criminal defense, it is imperative that you hire an experienced, aggressive and proven attorney with the reputation and representation you need to fight for your record and your freedom.

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Of all of the options available to you for searching for the right Virginia Criminal Attorney to include online searches, classified listings, word of mouth, and even simply visiting your local attorney’s office, ensure you take the time to investigate your attorney. Remember, your attorney works for you – not the other way around. Hire a lawyer with experience on both sides of the bench… with both defense and prosecution experience. This way, you can be sure your representation understands both sides of the argument, and know what to expect when you arrive in court.

Do your research, search for the right attorney, and after you’ve interviewed many Virginia Criminal Attorneys, make your last call to Virginia Criminal Attorney Michael A. Robinson of Robinson Law, PLLC and hire the aggressive defense with proven results you need to fight for your record, and your life.

Bankruptcies on a Credit Record

A Chapter 7 bankrutpcy may display on your credit for 10 years from the date of filing. Chapter 13 may stay for 10 yeas also, but it is customary for those to be removed after 7 years.

Here is more specific advice and input from various FAQ Farmers:

Seven to ten years from the date of discharge.
All discharged bankruptcies whether a state or federal filing remain on a CR for 10 years. A dismissed chapter 13 remains for 7 years, a dismissed chapter 7 remains for 10 years.
Chapt.7-11-12 will remain for ten years. A chapter 13 will remain for seven years if successfully completed, for 10 years if dismissed.
Ten (10) years for a discharged chapter 7 or 13. Seven (7) years for a dismissed chapter 13, ten (10) years for a dismissed chapter 7.
Although it is true that the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act does provide that bankruptcy entries will remain for 10 years, there are some creditors that will only leave a chapter 13 bankruptcy on your record for 7, rather than 10 years. They do this to encourage people to pay part of their debts rather than discharge it all under a chapter 7. More importantly, the effect of bankruptcy on one’s ability to get credit is vastly overstated. The key to getting the credit you need has far more to do with the amount of present income you have rather than any negatives on your credit report. In short, if you have good present income, the creditors will look past your credit report to your wallet in the sense that it is possible, even with a bankruptcy on one’s record, to get credit for cars and new credit cards as soon as you are discharged in a chapter 7 (about four months after you file), and after a year or so, you can even get a mortgage on a house. They may not give you the best rate, but if you have good present income, even a person with a bankruptcy on their record can get the credit they want in almost all cases.
You will not qualify for a FHA until a chapter 7 has be discharged for 2 years. A chapter 13, you will only have to wait a minimum of 1 year from filing date.

To find a Pre-Screened Lawyer in your area, please call our 24Hr Unbiased Lawyer Referral Hotline at .

The following information regarding Patents, Trademarks and Copyright is brought to you as a public service of . The material presented is general legal information intended to alert you to possible legal problems and solutions.

Patents are intended to protect inventions of a functional or design nature. Trademarks provide protection for indicators of the source of products and services used in commercial trade, such as words or logos. Copyrights provide protection for literary and artistic expressions. Patents, trademarks and copyrights are collectively referred to as intellectual property.

Patents are granted by the federal government to protect inventions for a limited period of time. There are three types of patents: utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. A utility patent gives the patent holder the right to exclude others from making, using, importing, offering to sell and selling his or her invention for a period of 20 years from the date of filing a patent application. A utility patent may be obtained for processes, machines, articles of manufacture, or compositions of matter if the invention meets three basic criteria. (1) It must be useful; (2) it must be novel, in that it has not been previously known by others; and (3) it must be sufficiently different from what was previously known that it would not be obvious to someone having ordinary skill in that field.

Design patents are available for new and original ornamental designs for an article of manufacture. A design patent protects the design for 14 years from the grant of the patent. Plant patents may be obtained for certain types of asexually reproduced plants that do not occur naturally, for example, new varieties of roses.

An inventor may prepare and file a patent application directly with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. However, the availability and scope of protection depend on how a patent application is prepared, so it is recommended that an inventor first consult a registered patent attorney or agent.

At the outset, the attorney or agent may suggest that a novelty search be performed to see if a similar invention has been described in a previously issued patented. If an invention appears to be sufficiently different from what is known to exist, he or she can prepare the necessary papers to apply for a patent.

Utility patent applications include a detailed description and drawings of the invention, as well as claims that legally define what protection is requested. It is possible to file a temporary application, referred to as a provisional application, before filing a regular utility application. A provisional application also must have a detailed description and drawings of the invention, but is not examined. A regular utility patent application that is filed within one year of the provisional application will be treated as though it was filed when the provisional application was filed. A patent attorney or agent can inform you of the advantages and disadvantages of filing a provisional application.

There are strict statutory requirements in the United States regarding the time within which a patent application must be filed after an invention has been publicly used, or sold, or offered for sale. It is important that an inventor be prompt in seeking help in protecting his or her invention. If your invention has been in public use, offered for sale, sold or otherwise commercialized for more than one year before your patent application is filed, the inventor is barred from obtaining a patent in the U.S. unless the inventor can show that the public use was primarily experimental. Other countries have different bars, which are generally much more strict than those in the U.S., so it is best to consult a patent attorney or agent before you do anything to commercialize your invention or disclose it to others.

The words “patent applied for” or “patent pending” mean that an application has been filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Such notices create no legal rights, however, as patent rights are created when the patent is granted.

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A United States patent provides no protection in foreign countries; however, filing a patent application in the United States prior to any non-confidential disclosure of the invention will temporarily preserve the inventor’s rights in most foreign countries, so long as applications are filed in those countries within one year after the U.S. filing date. However, so long as inventions are kept confidential, applications can be filed in other countries at any time.
A patent is a property right that may be held for one’s own use, sold outright to another, or licensed to others.

After a patent is issued, the federal government does not police the market for violations or infringements. If others infringe the patent, it is up to the patent owner to assert his or her rights.

A trademark is a word, a name, a symbol, a device, a combination of these, or other indicator used exclusively to identify the source of products and distinguish them from others. Examples are “Kodak” for cameras, and “Chevrolet” for automobiles. Service marks are like trademarks, except that they identify services. Examples of these would be “McDonald’s” for restaurants, and “Holiday Inn” for motels.

There is a hierarchy of protection for trademarks and service marks. The strongest are coined or arbitrary marks that in no way suggest or describe the product or service. An example is “Kodak” which was a coined or made-up word when first adopted.

Next, and also protectable, are marks that merely suggest the product or service or suggest some characteristic or quality of the product or service.

At the bottom of the list, and generally not protectable, are descriptive marks. Generic terms can never become valid trademarks.

Rights in a trademark or service mark are acquired in the United States by being the first to use the mark in commerce on or in connection with the goods or services. Rights also may be established by filing an application for trademark registration in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office based on a bona fide intention to use a mark at a later date. A mark is not registered until it has actually been used on a product or service.

It is not necessary to register a trade or service mark. It can be protected under state and federal laws without registration. However, it is beneficial to register the mark, either with the Oregon Secretary of State, or if interstate commerce is involved, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

When a mark is registered, particularly at the federal level, the registration provides to others notice of the registrant’s claim of ownership, and it gives federal courts jurisdiction to hear infringement claims. Once a trademark is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, it may be accompanied by an “R” in a circle, or by some other notice indicating that it is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Before you adopt a mark for use on either a product or service, you should have a search performedto determine if someone else has previously established rights in the same or a similar mark. Again, an attorney may be helpful to you in making such searches before you adopt a mark and in later registering your mark.

Additional information on patents and trademarks is also available at the web site of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, www.uspto.gov.

Copyrights seek to promote literary and artistic creativity by protecting what the U.S. Constitution broadly calls “writings of authors”. Copyrightable works include literary works, musical and dramatic works, sculptures, motion pictures and other audio-visual works, sound recordings and computer programs.

A copyright protects only the particular expressions of ideas and not the ideas themselves. To be protectable, a work must be original and it must evidence some creativity. Depending on the nature of the work, the owner of copyright has the exclusive right to reproduce the work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies of the work, to perform the work, to display the work, and to authorize others to do these things.

Once a copyrightable work has been created and fixed in a tangible form, such as being written down or recorded, it is protectable, whether it has been published or not. If it is to be published, all copies of the work that are published should preferably bear a copyright notice. The statutory copyright notice consists of the symbol of a “C” in a circle or the word “copyright,” the year of first publication, and the name of the owner of the copyright. In the case of sound recordings, a “P” in a circle must be used in place of the “C” in a circle. Audio-visual works should bear both the circle “P” and circle “C” indicators.

Copyrights may be registered with the Copyright Office in the Library of Congress. As of 1989, it is no longer necessary to place a copyright notice on a work, nor is it a requirement to apply for registration with the Library of Congress, but such notices and filings are strongly recommended to obtain advantages in the event that a copyright is to be enforced in a court of law. For example, registration is still to bring a lawsuit, and the existence of a registration prior to an infringing act may entitle the copyright owner to additional monetary awards by a court.

An individual’s copyright lasts for the author’s lifetime plus 70 years. A copyright registered anonymously, under a pseudonym or as an entity lasts 120 years from creation or 95 years from the date it is first published, whichever

There are few things in the world scarier than being on the wrong end of a letter addressed by the IRS. In California, there are a handful of other tax-seeking organizations that can and will come after consumers who don’t handle their taxes correctly. One of the biggest problems for consumers is that the tax code is notoriously difficult to master. Even if you have the best intentions, you can still run into issues when trying to properly file tax returns and deal with back taxes. With that in mind, where are consumers turning to stay out of trouble? Many find comfort with skilled .

Tax attorneys have lots of different functions, depending upon the specific needs of a consumer. Some attorneys deal specifically with tax planning, helping individuals avoid those difficult situations with state or federal tax entities. Others help individuals figure out the best ways to direct their money so that they avoid tax penalties. These things are especially valuable to people with lots of income and many different investment vehicles. That is not all that California tax lawyers do, though. Additionally, they help beleaguered individuals stand up to the IRS and work things out when situations get sticky. 

help their clients deal with scary direct audits and similar issues. Whether the IRS is coming down on a person directly or they are sending threatening letters, individuals need a solid legal professional on their side to ensure that everything turns out alright. What most people don’t understand is that when they get into trouble with the IRS, there are many different options in play. There are ways out of that trouble and people have repayment options if it comes to that. Often times, individuals have done nothing wrong, and they just need a legal professional to make sure that all of their affairs are in order. 

Without this legal shield, people tend to make poor choices. They act hastily and make decisions that they will end up regretting in the long run. This is the reality of the situation, and it is a testament to the overwhelming power and influence of federal and state organizations. Though these organizations might come across and intimidating and overbearing, they do not have a monopoly on legal and tax code knowledge. Skilled, experience California tax attorneys share a similar knowledge of the law, and they’re adept at providing protection.