Recent Blog Posts
Understanding Field Sobriety Tests
If a police officer sees a car driving erratically and suspects that the driver may be under the influence of alcohol or another drug, the officer may stop the car and request the driver to take a series of field sobriety tests. What is a field sobriety test? The National Highway and Traffic Safety… Read More »
Alabama’s “Stand Your Ground” Law
Many people are aware of the case of George Zimmerman, who was recently acquitted for shooting Trayvon Martin in Florida in self-defense after a long and very public trial. We had a similar situation here in Jefferson County in May. While a young man was killed, in our local case the defendant did not… Read More »
Your Right to Remain Silent
The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution states that no one “shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” For 50 years, police have been required to provide what are called Miranda warnings telling you that you have the right to remain silent and that anything that you say… Read More »
Divorce and Your Transition to Single Motherhood
The dream of countless little girls is to grow up to have a fantasy wedding to Prince Charming, build a family, and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, some women grow up to discover that Prince Charming is not the man he seemed to be. Divorce can come as a welcome relief from a stressful,… Read More »
Who Can Receive Benefits in a Wrongful Death Case?
Natalie Baine was a promising young student at the University of Alabama when she was killed in an accident earlier this year. She was a passenger in a truck which cut in front of a bus in an attempt to get onto I-65. The bus hit the truck, and as a result, a third… Read More »
Alabama’s Texting While Driving Law
Alex Heit was a 22-year-old university student when he died in a car accident earlier this year. A caring and thoughtful young man who was studying to be an audiologist, Alex was not speeding at the time of his death. He was not drunk or under the influence of drugs. He was texting. In… Read More »
Will My Divorce Affect My Military Retirement Benefits?
Divorce affects people from all walks of life. Members of our armed forces are no exception. About 3.5 percent of service members are granted a divorce each year. For certain populations within the military, the divorce rate is far higher. A common question when military service men and women get divorced relates to the… Read More »
Rights of Unmarried Fathers in Alabama
About forty percent of babies in the United States are born to unmarried women. The preponderance of children born out of wedlock affects another crucial group who should be involved in the lives of these children — their fathers. Do unmarried fathers have rights to their children? The fundamental legal principle that underlies fathers’… Read More »
When You Are a Domestic Violence Victim
Hardly a month goes by without a case in the headlines that involves domestic violence. Whether it is the world-famous Oscar Pistorious killing his girlfriend or the arrest of Edward Furlong — the now-grown-up child actor from Terminator 2 — for domestic violence violations, there seems to be no end to these tragic stories…. Read More »
Have You Been Arrested for Public Intoxication?
Leland Terrell, a decorated veteran of the Mobile, Alabama police force, made the mistake of his career earlier this year. While he was off-duty, he got drunk and went to a Waffle House, where he drew his gun in public. After reviewing the evidence, the police chief fired Terrell, a formerly respected officer who… Read More »
