DUI (Driving under the influence) or DWI (Driving while intoxicated) is regarded as the most serious misdemeanor offense. In many cases, repeat offenders are considered felons. Worst case scenario, the offense can be marked and will forever go on your record, whereby you will suffer socially and financially.

A number of people charged with this offense are not always guilty. Scholarly research shows that most of the sobriety tests performed are inconclusive. In many cases, chemical tests, breath analyzers (Intoxilyzer 5000), or infrared breath machines are not considered valid. Many of the field sobriety tests performed to judge whether the driver's motor skills are impaired are considered faulty, as they are not performed uniformly and in many cases the police officers improperly guide and instruct the person. In the hands of an adept criminal lawyer or a DUI lawyer who can argue the credibility of the tests, you can avoid the damages that DUI charges may bring. DUI Lawyers can also obtain a pre-trial ruling through which the sobriety tests can be excluded from being produced as evidence on the grounds of lack of a adequate scientific analysis.

Effects of DUI charges:



Guaranteed suspension of driver license and driving privileges. In some cases, if you hold driver licenses in more than one state, you can lose both. Suspension can last anywhere from 90 days to 5 years.
Your vehicle can be sent for impounding.
Probation.
Time doing Community Service.
Heavy fines.
Mandatory counseling.
Incarceration (even for first timers).
House arrest.
And in most cases, time in prison.

Most of the proficient and experienced DUI attorneys and Criminal Defense Attorney’s will tell you that the majority of people charged with DUI/DWI are not irrational juveniles, but average, law-abiding citizens who were slapped with heavy fines and charges after just two glasses of wine. As laws get tougher, equally tough are the criminal lawyers who can tackle most of the charges. Do not go to an average lawyer who might naively expose you to more liabilities. DUI/DWI offenses are ugly, and if not handled correctly, the charges can accumulate.

If you are wrongly charged, by law you have no reason to be facing charges. So remember the law is on your side. Hire an excellent criminal lawyer with whom you can go through all of the details of the trial. Discuss with them the reason for the charges, and all possible allegations and charges that the opposing counsel might throw at you. Also try to find outstanding character witnesses who will stand by you. Therefore, it is important to hire a knowledgeable DUI lawyer who will guide you in the preparation for the trial and make you aware of all the penalties you may face.

This article is written by Douglas R. Lipton the founder of Lipton Law Offices Mr. Lipton has over thirty years experience in criminal defense and cases involving violation of criminal law in San Jose and surrounding cities in California.

By: Douglas R.Lipton
This article is written by Douglas R. Lipton the founder of Lipton Law Offices. Mr. Lipton has over thirty years experience in criminal defense and cases involving violation of criminal law in San Jose and surrounding cities in California.

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QUICK LESSON IN BREACH OF CONTRACT

This quick summary is being sent as a memorandum to help other attorneys in understanding what a breach of contract is. Please continue to contact us with your questions or issues. This analysis is what we use in our offices when we approach any breach of contract case. The elements for breach of contract are strictly construed. It is imperative that you do not skirt around the elements when analyzing your client's case.

ELEMENTS OF A BREACH OF CONTRACT

1) INITIAL INFORMATION
In a breach of contract action, the plaintiff must plead the existence of a contract and its terms that establish the obligation at issue. The complaint must indicate on its face whether the contract is written, oral, or implied by conduct. If the action is based on an alleged breach of a written contract, the terms must be set out verbatim in the body of the complaint, or a copy of the written contract must be attached to the complaint and incorporated by reference.

2) PLAINTIFF’S PERFORMANCE OR EXCUSE FOR NON-PERFORMANCE
The plaintiff must prove that he has fulfilled his obligations and complied with any and all conditions and agreements of the contract that he is required to perform. If plaintiff was unable to perform because defendant prevented him from doing so, plaintiff must allege such excuse for non-performance in the complaint.

3) DEFENDANT’S BREACH
A breach is defined as defendant’s unjustified or unexcused failure to perform. BAJI 10.85(3). The plaintiff must plead the facts constituting the breach in unequivocal language.

4) RESULTING DAMAGE
Any breach, total or partial, which causes a measurable injury, gives the injured party a right to compensatory damages.

SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CAN PROVE THE ABOVE ELEMENT AND IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT THERE IS A BREACH OF CONTRACT?

Answer:
Generally, Compensatory Damages - the measure of damages for breach of contract is the amount which will compensate plaintiff for all detriment proximately caused by the breach or which, in the ordinary course of things, would be likely to result from the breach.

Other factors that need to be considered are:
• Certainty - damages must be clearly ascertainable in both nature and origin; but the fact that amount of damage is not susceptible of exact proof or is uncertain, contingent, or difficult to ascertain does not in and of itself bar recovery.
• Restoration - damages for breach of contract ordinarily include all amounts necessary to place plaintiff in same position as if breach had not occurred.
• Lost Profits - Note future profits can be recovered to extent they can be estimated with reasonable certainty; lost profits are recoverable to extent they are natural and the direct consequence of the breach.
• Rescission and Restitution - rescission and restitution are alternative remedies in action for damages where there has been repudiation or material breach of a contract, transfer of unique goods is involved, other remedies are inadequate, subject of contract still exists and interests of innocent purchasers for value and defendant’s creditors will not be unjustly affected.
• Specific Performance - Note: specific performance is granted only when money damages are inadequate.
• Real Property - specific performance is given in land sale contracts on the assumption that every piece of property is unique and money damages are therefore inadequate.
• Injunction (Very Limited Availability) - injunctive relief is largely within discretion of the trial court, considering inadequacy of damages to plaintiff, as well as harm to defendant.

By: Paul Cheng
The Law Offices of Paul P. Cheng is a full service firm with its main location in Pasadena, California. Paul Cheng is a master communicator and has lectured to thousands of individuals in many different areas of the law. His goal is to empower the public by giving them the basic legal knowledge to achieve their goals. To be placed on the e-blast for future lectures and exclusive offers email: paulchenglaw@aol.com To find out more about the Law Offices of Paul P. Cheng go to http://www.paulchenglaw.com.

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Insurance, especially life insurance, can be a very confusing topic for most Americans. We often pay various insurance premiums our whole lives. Understanding the nuts and bolts of your life insurance policies can benefit you and your family greatly in the unfortunate event of your death or the death of a family member.

Life insurance comes in a bewildering array of variations. There's whole life insurance, variable life insurance, and universal life insurance, all of which are collectively known as cash value life insurance policies. With these policies, a portion of the premium you pay goes to purchase insurance coverage, while another portion is used as an investment. Taxes on the investment portion of the policy are generally deferred until you collect the proceeds.

If you are married, especially if you have dependent children, or if you have debts such as a mortgage, car payment, or credit card balances, your family could be at serious financial risk if you should die suddenly and your income were suddenly no longer available. Spouses are often left unable to make all the payments, raise the children, educate them, etc. on a single income. Life insurance is your family’s protection against the drastic lifestyle changes that occur in the event of your death.

We tend to think that if we buy life insurance and pay the premiums, then upon our death, collecting the life insurance will be easy for our beneficiary, but that is not always the case. Life insurance companies review each claim carefully before parting with their money and some life insurance claims are denied. Apart from fraud in the policy on the part of the policy holder, the most common ground life insurers use to deny claims is that there was a "material misrepresentation" on the life insurance application. That misrepresentation may occur in the original application for insurance or in a later amendment to the application.

A material misrepresentation sufficient to deny a claim cannot be just any misstatement. Under many states' laws, a material misrepresentation is one that, if fully and truthfully disclosed, would have led to refusal by the insurance company to issue the life insurance policy. Material misrepresentations accusations are commonly made about just about anything on the life insurance application including the person's employment history, age, income, other insurance in force, whether or not they smoke cigarettes, driving record, drinking history, hobbies, etc. The most commonly alleged misrepresentations involve the applicant's heath and medical history.

Recovering money from an insurance company that denies a life insurance claim is no easy task. Many life insurance claims are paid without much fuss on the part of the insurer, but there are times when claims are delayed and denied. The claims that are subject to the most suspicion are the ones filed in the first two years the policy is in force. In many states, the insurance company can deny the claim by retroactively rejecting the application if it finds that the application contained a “material misrepresentation”.

Like most insurance companies, life insurance companies are regulated on the state level. If you have questions regarding your claim, its delay or its denial, contact your state department of insurance and an experienced life insurance claim denial attorney.

By: Sara Goldstein
If your life insurance claim has been delayed or denied in New York or New Jersey, please contact the Insurance Litigation Attorneys at Trief & Olk.

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We have all seen the commercials on television. The attorney appears on the screen and asks if you have been injured in a car accident, or a slip-and-fall accident, or in countless other scenarios where your injury could be worthy of financial compensation. To many, this tactic appears uncouth, and its widespread use is one of the reasons that accident lawyers often suffer from an unsavory reputation. However, if you are among the unfortunate individuals who have been injured due to the negligence of another party, accident lawyers can be your only ally when seeking compensation for your damages or injuries.

Accident lawyers – also known as personal injury attorneys, plaintiff lawyers, and trial lawyers – provide legal representation to parties who have been – or claim to have been – physically or psychologically injured due to the negligence or wrongdoing of another party. Accident lawyers specialize in tort law, which is a form of civil law that deals with relationships between individuals and/or organizations. In contrast, criminal law involves individuals and/or organizations and the State. When one party has injured another party, accident lawyers are there to help the injured party receive appropriate compensation for their ordeal.

When accident lawyers are hired to represent their clients they assume several responsibilities on their behalf. While adhering to a strict code of ethics, accident lawyers must carefully examine the potential case and weigh its merits before filing a lawsuit. If the case has merit, then the accident lawyers will file complaints, make arguments in court, draft legal paperwork, and research their client’s case so that they can best represent their interests.

Accident lawyers are compensated in several different ways, although a contingency fee is the most common. A contingency fee is an agreement where the client has no financial obligation to the attorney until the case is successfully resolved. Upon settlement, the attorney will then keep a portion of the money as compensation. Other less common forms of compensation for accident lawyers are flat fees – a set amount regardless of the outcome, retainers – money paid before representation takes place, and hourly rates – where the client is billed for each hour that is dedicated to their case.

In today’s society, accident lawyers are an oft maligned group. They are blamed for frivolous lawsuits and escalating health care costs, among other things. While those charges have merit in some instances, one should not conclude that accident lawyers are not an important component of our legal system. Accident lawyers are the individual’s last line of defense from further damage as a result of an accident or negligence. Sadly, we need accident lawyers after we have already been wronged, but with their competent representation we can not only receive just compensation, but the damages collected from negligent parties act as a deterrent from continuing to act in an irresponsible way in the future. In short; accident lawyers help prevent accidents as well.

By: Michelle Bery
For easy to understand, in depth information about accident lawyers visit our ezGuide 2 Lawyer.

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