Law & Ethics - February 2007

I am located in Wisconsin and having a contract dispute with Verizon (based out of New York) . The call center office I get when I call them is located in Illinois.

Questions:
1. Can I legally record my conversations with Verizon employees?
2. Can a company like Verizon (that is operating as a merchant) legally require me to NOT record my conversations with them? I believe privacy laws are intended for private citizens, not merchants.

Wisconsin, New York, and Federal Law only require 1 party consent. Illinois law requires all party consent.

2007-02-25 07:44:32 · 8 answers · asked by mukwonago53149 5

My daugher's biological father lives an hour away. He has visitation and gets her once a month. He is claiming that I have to go pick her up since he came and got her. He refuses to meet me half way and I have a court order that sais that she has to be back by Sun. night. Fri. through Sun. He claims that he is taking me back to court and that this would be the standard procedure. I am giving in this time and going to pick her up but what else can I do. I am not obligated to drive an hour away to pick her up am I?
I called the police and they said that since this is a civil matter then I have to consult my lawyer. Nothing they can do so that is why I am going to pick her up.

2007-02-25 07:32:47 · 7 answers · asked by Tammy 2

he cancelled by text . i feel hurt.. i dont know if i should cal him.. i know he went out last night. and might be hung over

2007-02-25 07:16:39 · 9 answers · asked by Alicia C 1

Can anyone give me some ACADEMIC insight into why a woman might kill a 10 yr old deaf boy (not her child)? I'm assessing a fictious crime for my coursework...

2007-02-25 07:04:24 · 5 answers · asked by Belle 3

then makeing them all leave to search bagdad inch by inch of corse search them before they leave then get rid of stragerlers in town secure it then let them back one by one so who do we give this plan to? and remember anyone not complying is guilty and will be punished

2007-02-25 07:04:24 · 5 answers · asked by mike g 1

"Speaking for the ACLU, Mr. Rust-Tierney was a leading proponent in the late 1990s for unrestricted access to the Internet, arguing before the Loudoun County Library Board that people would "continue to behave responsibly and appropriately while in the library" and that "maximum, unrestricted access to the valuable resources of the Internet" should be allowed. "

http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20070223-104642-1644r.htm

What are your thoughts and opinions on this matter?

2007-02-25 07:04:21 · 4 answers · asked by 3rd parties for REAL CHANGE 5

hange Type Size Legislators see twist on threats
Mary Jo Pitzl
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 25, 2007 12:00 AM

Two lawmakers in as many months have gone public about threats they received over their stance on illegal-immigration bills.

It's a sign of the fevered sentiments about the issue, and, some fear, a breakdown of civility in the Legislature, where there is little consensus on what the state should do about the issue.

And it's a case study in the power of the Internet to quickly spread a message, as well as the unpredictable and often abusive caroms those messages can take. advertisement




Last week, Republican Rep. Bill Konopnicki told fellow members of the House of Representatives that he and his family had received threats because of his "no" vote on a bill that would have denied workers' compensation benefits to undocumented immigrants.

One of those threats came in a letter to his home in Safford, which shook him to the point that he decided to go public.

"I never thought that I would fear for my safety or for the safety of my family when I took my seat as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives," the three-term lawmaker said in an emotional floor speech.

His experience came several weeks after Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, was flooded with e-mail threats over her sponsorship of a bill that would have banned citizen patrol groups unaffiliated with law enforcement. The bill prompted an immediate, and sharp, response after the Minuteman Project issued a news release opposing the legislation.

Sinema publicly complained about e-mails that threatened her with physical harm and rape. She asked House leaders to postpone a hearing on her bill, citing security concerns. They didn't and the hearing proceeded peacefully.

The hostile and often profane comments in the e-mails go beyond the frustration many people feel about immigration, lawmakers say.

"They didn't say, 'We'll kill you,' but the threat was there," Konopnicki said of the messages he received.

Likewise, Sinema said she feared for her safety after the string of threats filled up her e-mail and voice-mail boxes.


Threats called common


Some lawmakers, including House Speaker Jim Weiers, said threats to lawmakers are common and that the two recent cases are simply the only lawmakers to go public about it.

Rep. Warde Nichols, R-Gilbert, said he received death threats after he sponsored legislation two years ago that would have defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Unfamiliar vehicles with unknown occupants would park outside his home, he said. He also said he received pornographic videotapes in the mail in unmarked boxes, which his kids rushed to open, requiring lengthy explanations when he returned home at night.

Nichols said he kept the harassment quiet, sharing the threats with the state Department of Public Safety.

"I think when you put it out there, it escalates things," he said.


Word spreads fast on Net


But the Internet reaches farther and faster than any lawmaker's statements from the Capitol and can take a local issue and give it international resonance.

Sinema said that's what happened to her. Her bill on patrol groups caught fire once the Minuteman group issued a news release opposing the legislation, catching the attention of Web sites and bloggers nationwide and beyond.

"What happens when they do that is the crazies come out," Sinema said, adding that the Minutemen in no way advocated violent or profane responses.

John Craft, a professor at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said the impersonal nature of the Internet makes it easier for people to send abusive and insulting messages.

"You're not looking the person in the eye as you're calling them names, and I think that makes the difference," he said.

Couple the Internet with the combustible immigration issue, and one person's stand in one corner of Arizona can circle the globe.

Even the Catholic Church has not been immune from over-the-top criticism for its position in support of migrants' rights.

"I've had to call the police," said Ronald Johnson Jr., executive director of the Arizona Catholic Conference, explaining that a letter in 2005 drew threats.

Johnson said nothing in his experience compares with the passions immigration ignites. Sure, there some pushback for the church's position on abortion and gay rights, he said.

"We touch all the hot buttons, but immigration tops them all," Johnson said.


Maintaining civility


At the Legislature, Speaker Weiers is trying to maintain a civil tone as talk again turns to immigration issues, spokesman Barrett Marson said.

"The problem is, passions run high," Marson said.

Konopnicki said he had asked Weiers to talk to Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, whose e-mail alerts to constituents on immigration bills triggered the threatening messages. One of those e-mails highlighted Konopnicki's "no" vote on a bill that would have denied workers' compensation coverage to workers who are found to be in the country illegally.

Konopnicki, a business owner, said he voted against the bill because he believed it would open employers up to lawsuits, even if the employer had done everything in his power to determine a worker's legal status. The bill died on a tie vote.

Pearce did not want to talk about his fellow Republican's problems, other than to say that he and Konopnicki have long disagreed on how to resolve immigration issues.

An e-mail that Pearce sent to supporters portrayed the Safford Republican as working counter to immigration reform.

"Bill Konopnicki continues to fight any real immigration enforcement," the e-mail said. "He has fought me for the past 5 to 6 years on employer's (sic) sanctions or any real enforcement."

Konopnicki said he raised the issue publicly because he believes legislative discussion on immigration has devolved to an almost McCarthy-like tone.

"(W)e are losing focus on the merits of the issues and are instead relegated to bearing insults and accusations," he said in his floor speech. "I can't help but recall the now famous words of the attorney, Joe Welch, when he asked Senator McCarthy: 'Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of honor?' "

Pearce said his e-mails are a way to keep people up to date on issues.

"We always remind people of politeness and decorum," he said. "We don't ask them to attack anybody."

Rep. Pete Rios, a 22-year veteran of the Legislature, said the roiling emotions on immigration have not had a public parallel since the impeachment trial of then-Gov. Evan Mecham 20 years ago.

"When it comes to immigration, it brings out a fringe element that says you've got to deny everything," said Rios, a Hayden Democrat who is Latino. Anything short of total denial brands a lawmaker unpatriotic and worse.

Rios said he has heard it all, although like other lawmakers, he said the threats against family are a new twist. He said he is sympathetic with Konopnicki's plight.

"He probably hasn't experienced it as much as those of us because he's a Republican, and he's not a minority," he said.

2007-02-25 06:52:53 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous

In a Lawsuit Settlement

2007-02-25 06:36:39 · 7 answers · asked by linda 1

I need to make a 30 second movie about anti tobacco i want it to me something funny. I had a great idea but my actor bailed on me so now i have nobody who i know who smokes. I have the camera for only today because its a class set.. any ideas! please?!

2007-02-25 06:34:56 · 5 answers · asked by Iitami© 2

This Person lives in the UK, suffers from anxiety and depression (on medication for it), was caught due to a small bump with another car which was not in motion and no other people were involved.

Just so you know I am 17 years old and don't have a provisional licence so the person I am describing is not me. So please I would rather people didn't come in and say "OMGZ your sick, you should die" Thank you.

2007-02-25 06:34:52 · 18 answers · asked by Cirrus 1

2007-02-25 06:24:16 · 5 answers · asked by kvsmiller 3

some people, when they were not able to use any lawfull method to gain advantage over me, started to use criminal and pity methods to ruin me because they were extremelly nervous and inferior. They should be stopped. how is possible society to work normally with such people?

2007-02-25 06:21:00 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-02-25 06:15:05 · 4 answers · asked by a_friend_indeed 1

i mean,if there are lawyers that can use their tittles or profession with the same rights than their original country.

2007-02-25 06:01:39 · 3 answers · asked by ticoguana 3

Is he going to fade into obscurity like his Nazi counterparts after he, like they did, retires to his spread way down in Paraguay?

2007-02-25 06:01:04 · 6 answers · asked by Ti 7

Generally do you know whether your client is guilty or not guilty or do you prefer not to know?

2007-02-25 06:00:09 · 4 answers · asked by Belle 3

What makes it allowed to be done? is it the freedom of speech act? does it effect people culturally?

2007-02-25 05:57:24 · 4 answers · asked by Only Me and My Self 1

Hypothetical question. Two criminals are caught and found guilty of theft. Criminal A stole for himself, and criminal B stole for his hungry family. Should criminal B serve less time than criminal A?

2007-02-25 05:49:49 · 8 answers · asked by th_779 1

2007-02-25 05:47:10 · 3 answers · asked by tiger 1

My boyfriend lived there and died last month.I let my daughter stay there while i was trying to get his belongings out.The new owners knew she was there.Her and her boyfriend took the mantels out and sold them.The police said they couldnt do nothing it is a civil matter.The house was built in1870.Would the person that bought them have to give them back if i can prove they was stolen? Her and her boyfriend are out on bond for something else.She said my boyfriend gave them to her when he was alive.I know thats a lie.He did buy the house cheap but he wanted it put in my name.so i was the legal owner and it was already sold when they took them.

2007-02-25 05:42:49 · 8 answers · asked by skyler 3

After the hate rhetoric spewed by Michael Richards, Mel Gibson, and now Tim Hardaway, should Freedom of Speech be revised in the United States?

Should the Government make "Hate Speech" illegal? I am in support of this.

Freedom of Speech in implied only when speaking out against the Government or for a social cause. But, if you speak out against a group that lives within the U.S. it should be made illegal.

It should be made illegal to speak agaisnt blacks, gays, jews, arabs, naitve americans, asians, and hispanics or any other minority who lives with this country.

However, a person living in private can blast blacks, gays, jews, etc as much as they want as they are not publicly announcing their hate, and they cannot be charged with a conviction if they can prove their hate to be true. This will allow a forum of debate.

I am in favor of this...I think this sounds like a really good idea. I hope the government looks into this.

2007-02-25 05:42:44 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-02-25 05:41:55 · 3 answers · asked by spicysaucylatina 4

Short of shooting and killing this guy, I want to totally ruin him. I can't go into details, but he keeps doing something to my family that I can't just let go. It needs to stop, and he won't. He has no reguard for my children...in the event of an emergency...and a police report has been filed for harassment. What can I do to him to end this whole thing to make him never want to mess with us again..

2007-02-25 05:41:23 · 7 answers · asked by BRIDGIE74 2

can he release the keys to my mom?

2007-02-25 05:34:19 · 9 answers · asked by spicysaucylatina 4

2007-02-25 05:33:33 · 1 answers · asked by Legandivori 7

A begger, a very stinking one, has the right to take the bus or the subway.
He desn't pay taxes, doesn't give anything back to the society, the productive one which works so buses and undergrounds, etc., can exist.
When he gets in, everybody has to move.

Does this guy has the right to use public means of transportation?

Are there rights without duties? Doesn't he has the duty to clean himself before having the right of using the bus? If so why are they allowed to use those disturbing all of us?

2007-02-25 05:33:21 · 13 answers · asked by Carlos C 2

Does the right to refuse service give them the ablity to say no to outside food. What if for some medical reason you can't eat the food that is sold in the theater (expect the water). Then can you bring your own food?

2007-02-25 05:23:08 · 8 answers · asked by Mooseguy 2

Or worse, is it bordering on genocide?

2007-02-25 05:16:35 · 7 answers · asked by Sketch 4

I mean when they burn the flags they say they are using the freedom of speech, not when they burn it when it is old and tattered.

2007-02-25 05:10:51 · 19 answers · asked by Chase 5

17 years ago today I walked in on my wives affair in my own bedroom. I have been in counseling for 16 years since the event. She took everything from me, my pride,dignity, my heart and most of all MY CHILDREN. She has since married a very wealthy marketing something or another, and I need to know if their is any laws against suing an ex-wive for mental distress, pain and suffering, and abandonment.

2007-02-25 05:02:23 · 9 answers · asked by Undecided Voter 1