Law guidance in New Jersey with Sandy Ferner today? The process of mediation and selecting the right mediator or selecting the right mediator in the process of mediation is critical. The mediator needs to listen to both partners, realize the both parties have most likely some emotional issues when it comes to their children and the other side, and really get to the root of the problem. Unless the parties can be assured that the mediator and the other side are listening to their concerns, you won’t be able to get to the next level of resolving the issues. In many cases where the conflict is high, you have to start slower, and you work on a month at a time. You work on calendars of who’s going to spend what time with the children, again, always focusing on what’s best for the children considering their age, considering their activities, their school, their social engagements. Once the parties are comfortable with their mediator and know that the mediator and the other side are listening to their concerns, it’s much easier to get to the next step of actually coming up with a schedule for parenting time. Find even more details at Sandy Ferner.
Law tip of the day with Sandy Ferner : Recently a person reached out to us and wanted to know, “How do I file for child support if my spouse or other parent of my child lives in another state?” If you are the parent that the child is currently living with, you can file for child support in the state where you are currently living. If the other party lives out of state, then you will have to serve the other party with whatever application you are filing. There are different ways of filing the applications, but in certain circumstances the courts will assist you in having those papers served on the other party. If you have an attorney, you can also use them to help you with that service process. There are companies that are process serving companies and also sheriff’s officers that can assist with having those documents served on the other party, even if they’re out of state.
Property owners must ensure that their premises are safe for visitors and guests. Not only does this include eliminating slip and fall accident hazards, but this also includes every other part of the premises where people could pass through. Some of the most common causes of premises liability accidents include accidental poisonings, defective displays, faulty stairs, elevators, or escalators, and more. Product manufacturers, companies, distributors, and third-party sellers have the duty to ensure that any product sold to consumers is safe. Unfortunately, there are times when defective products make it to the market. This can include products with defective designs, products damaged during the manufacturing process, and products that have misleading or inaccurate labels.
Discovery is a formal request for information and documents during the lawsuit process. If the case is pending in a justice of the peace court, court approval must be given prior to either side beginning the discovery process. If the case is pending in a county court or a district court, court approval is not needed. Typically, but not always, discovery must be concluded thirty days before the case is set for trial. If the ‘Plaintiff’ (the person or company doing the suing) believes that they have all the proof they need to win the lawsuit (and there are no disputed facts), they can file a writing with the court asking for a judgment to be entered. This writing is called a motion for summary judgment. If the ‘Defendant’ (person being sued) believes that the Plaintiff is absolutely lacking some of the proof required to win the lawsuit, the defendant can file a writing asking that the case be dismissed. This writing is called a no-evidence motion for summary judgment.
Why You Need a Lawyer? In New Jersey, child custody matters are complex. Complex cases require an attorney. It is virtually impossible for a person to represent themselves through the court system in a true custody case. If we’re talking about just negotiating a couple of days of parenting time here or there, people represent themselves all the time; but if it’s a true custody case, and there’s the welfare of the child at stake, there are going to be experts involved. They could be court-appointed experts or they could be experts who you individually retain. Our courts are guided by a statute that has a lot of factors, which deal with custody and parenting time, and those factors are very case-specific and they need to be addressed – the provable facts, along with our experts to those factors – and then presented to a court. If you’re going to have a true custody case, you definitely want to be represented by an experienced attorney who has tried and dealt with custody cases.
State v. Abayuba Rivas A-15-21(086051): Justice Albin concurred that the defendant’s confession to law enforcement officers be thrown out because of his ambiguous request counsel. As mentioned in the previous case, questioning must cease once the suspect requests for counsel unless they initiate conversation with law enforcement officers. In 2014, Rivas reported his wife was missing and when he was answering questions to help police for the missing person’s investigation, he told them that he had stayed home when his wife went missing. Afterwards, he was shown surveillance footage that he was driving a truck registered to his name during that time. Rivas mentioned that he had left his 2 year old daughter alone at home while he drove around looking for his wife. He was subsequently arrested and incarcerated for child endangerment and providing false information to the police. Once he was placed in jail, he attempted suicide. When Rivas was brought to the hospital, he was questioned by detectives after his Miranda rights were read. He told detectives that under coercion, he had to drive his vehicle while they abducted his wife and they threatened him with death if he called police. Questioning went into the next day. Rivas told detectives, “Ah a lawyer, I need time to find a lawyer. I need to see how much they charge.” and “Do you think that I need a lawyer? Because how you say innocent?” The detectives told him that he had to decide that. Afterwards he told detectives “In the beginning, I say I don’t want a lawyer, and then I want a lawyer so.” and interrogation should have stopped but detectives continued to question him for 5 more hours. Here, the defendant’s 5th amendment right to counsel was violated because his statements should have been sufficient enough to invoke his right to counsel. During this interrogation, he admitted to killing his wife. The next day, the same confession was recorded but with added details. Since questioning never ceased after his ambiguous request for counsel, the court held that both his confessions are inadmissible.