Monthly Archives: November 2017

Buying a Home with a Well What Your Real Estate Agent Should Know

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Thinking of buying a home with a well? While you might be used to city water, 44% of households in the US are dependent on well water, with about 13% of them privately owned and operated, according to the National Ground Water Association. While wells can be a very reliable source of drinking water reliable source of drinking water, there is a learning curve about well ownership. Your real estate agent can be a valuable resource in this area as they will be able to get the documentation that confirms that the well conforms to all state and local ordinances and that it has been properly maintained. Without doing the proper due diligence, you might be positioned to quite literally throw your money into a hole in the ground.

What to Expect from the Seller

In many states, home sellers must pay for water tests and disclose the results to potential buyers. Smart owners will have an inspection done prior to putting the home on the market and use the results as a selling point. Where the law does not require inspections and testing, savvy buyers request a well inspection and water test as a contingency on offers to buy a property, as a well inspection is not included in the standard home inspection and requires a specialist. If the results do not prove favorable, you can cancel the sale or request the seller make things right.

In the absence of an inspection prior to sale, you can find yourself with a costly problem.

What to Look for when Buying a Home with a Well

As a buyer, there are several things to consider when examining property that has a well.

First of all, how does the water taste and look? If minerals or bacteria have leached into the water, you should notice that the taste and appearance of the water are off. This is a sign that you need the well inspected and the water tested for contaminants.

Water problems are often dominant in an area. You can often find information about local water problems on the EPA website as well as from local testing companies. If there is a factory, an agricultural operation, or a coal mine near the property you are viewing, a lab might test for specific chemicals such as sulfide, nitrate, iron, chloride, or other chemicals related to the industry.

Well owners should have maintenance records available to verify how old the well is, whether there are other old wells on the property, compliance with local codes, and past testing results. Seeing the past records will indicate how much time you have before you might need to replace the well, and alert you to other problems related to it.

Since wells have an average life expectancy of 20-plus years, the home should be set on two or three acres of property to assure that you have enough acreage to have another well drilled in the future.

The current well should be properly located on the property so that it is at least 100 feet away from backyard chicken or poultry coups and the nearest edge of the septic drainfield, and 50 feet away from the house and any pesticide applications. The wellhead should also be positioned so that rain water flows away from it.

Get Help to Determine the Condition of the Well

With the help of your real estate agent and well and water professionals, you should get a good idea of what to expect if you buy a specific property with a well. Many water quality issues can be handled with testing and installation of water treatment equipment, but some well problems require more extensive, costly repairs that might make buying a home with a well impractical.

Florida Criminal Lawyer Tips

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We
have all heard the lawyer jokes. However, if you or someone you know
has been charged with a crime, a solid criminal defense attorney will
become your best friend. If you are facing fines, imprisonment or
probation in Pensacola, you need a Pensacola criminal defense attorney
with the experience, knowledge and tenacity to win your case or get a
plea bargain. You also want a lawyer who is extremely familiar with the
local Pensacola courts, Pensacola judges and Pensacola prosecutors who
may be seated beside you.

Unfortunately,
many people don’t know good criminal defense attorneys, since up until
this point, there was no need. Then a desperate search begins. We’ll
address some of the characteristics to look for in a good criminal
defense attorney and the do’s and dont’s of navigating the path. There
are many issues to be considered including ability, price, experience
and rapport.

1. Choose a criminal defense attorney who
specializes in the area of defense that you need in the state in which
you are being charged. State criminal defense attorneys are
licensed to practice in certain states. If you are facing a Florida
conviction involving drugs or alcohol, for instance, find a good Florida
DUI attorney. If you are in a custody battle, hire an excellent Florida
attorney who specializes in Family Law.

2. Referrals.
Referrals are a good source for finding a criminal attorney. Maybe you
have an accountant who works regularly with law firms. Or maybe you know
a Florida civil attorney who can recommend a competent Florida criminal
attorney. Remember, this is not the time to hire your uncle who once
got your nephew off on a speeding ticket. If you are charged with a
crime that involves criminal law, this is not the time to choose someone
who is inexpensive or inexperienced.

3. Determine what you want in a lawyer.
Not enough can be said for rapport with a criminal defense attorney.
You don’t have to “like them”, but you should respect their criminal
defense skills. Do you want someone who is young and eager or older and
well established? Will the criminal defense attorney be working the case
himself or will you be relegated to a junior executive or law clerk?
Young attorneys can be great for misdemeanor charges or traffic
offenses. Felony cases are a different matter and should be handled by a
criminal attorney with at least a couple of years experience. Find out
what percentage of time your lawyer will be spending on the case (this
can dramatically effect the fees as well) or what would happen if that
attorney suddenly had a family emergency. Find out how many court
appearances the attorney has made. For instance, if you have committed a
crime In Pensacola how many cases has he/she tried in that
jurisdiction.

4. Professional Organizations.
At the very least, a criminal attorney should belong to the County and
State Bar Associations. Many of these organizations offer referral
services you can use to find a defense lawyer in your area. Has the
lawyer you are considering published any books, articles or treatises?
If so, they have already been subjected to the most brutal audience
possible (other lawyers) and probably are a subject matter expert in
that field of criminal law.

5. Investigate whether the attorney has a Martindale-Hubbell rating.
“AV” is the highest ethics ratings based on the opinions of lawyers and
judges. “BV” and “CV” rated lawyers are good as well. Know that not
every criminal attorney participate in the Martindale-Hubbell rating
system.

After you have located a criminal defense attorney, call
them to schedule an appointment. Many Pensacola criminal attorneys offer
a free initial consultation. If possible, talk to the defense attorney
on the phone before you meet to ask about his/her specific experience
with criminal cases such as yours. At this time talk about hourly rates
or retainers, so you know the fees to defend your case.

Choosing the right criminal attorney is a big decision. Your freedom and future could be at stake!

How Folding Gate Can Keep Your Property Windows And Doors Secure

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To make your property secure, Installing folding gate on your window and doors is one of the essential security steps to keep intruders out. Folding security gates are easy to install, offer a high level of protection against break ins, and look good. Folding gate permanently attaches to the sides of an door and window and has a drop pin in the middle for extra stability. It can be used as pair folding gate for wider opening. It can be pivoted on vertical gate rails when an opening is necessary. Here’s all you need to know about boosting windows and doors and doors security with folding gates.

If you’ve ever been the victim of a break in, or seen it happen to a relative, friend or neighbour, you know what a devastating occurrence it can be. Not only is there the loss of valuable possessions but also the mess to clear up, the lingering fear, the tedious hours spent at police stations, and the sense of violation. The sad fact is, though, that most burglaries would never have happened if the property owner had taken some precautions by boosting window and door security, for instance.

Simply put, you are ten times more likely to be burgled if you dont have basic security – even something as simple as putting strong locks on your doors and windows and doors will keep your house much safer. But why stop there? If you really want to make your property virtually impregnable, look into installing folding gates on your windows and doors.

Perfect for both commercial and domestic applications, folding security gates give your unparallel windows and doors and doors security by sliding into place behind your windows and doors and creating a strong barrier against intruders. Also known as sliding gates, retractable gates, collapsible gates and concertina gates, they slide away behind the curtains when not in use. These gates are also available for doors.

These gates are crafted from a range of materials with Powder coated Steel being the material of choice owing to its unmatched blend of strength and durability.

A great feature of these gates is that even when in position they allow the flow of air for ventilation. In other words, they keep the bad guys out while allowing light and fresh air in. In the summer, you can leave your windows and doors open with no reduction in security.
What’s more, folding gates require minimal maintenance and take up little space, just a little bunching at the sides and some headroom above.

You can choose from a range of folding gates of varying security levels depending on your needs. Using gates in a home which is usually occupied for example doesn’t require the security level of business premises containing valuable possessions and which may be unattended overnight or over the weekend.

The great thing is that they’re a visual deterrent. So the sight of these gates will probably dissuade the would-be burglar from even attempting to break in. This should prevent the damaged windows and doors that can result from a botched break in attempt.

Another benefit of these folding gates is that they look good, too. You can get them in a range of style including vertical, horizontal or diamond lattice designs. They’re usually supplied in a powder-coated white finish. You can however choose a powder coating of any standard colour with either a gloss or matt finish. This way, you can match your new gates to the existing decor of your property. In other words, folding security grilles form an effective barrier against intruders, while maintaining the original appearance of the building.

This ability to offer security while maintaining the original appearance of the building is especially useful for the offices of professional firms such as solicitors, accountants and estate agents. For such firms, it’s important to maintain a professional image at all times but also need high security as they keep sensitive client documents on the premises. Folding gates work perfectly here. They slide into place to offer protection when the office is closed and they slide out of side when not in use.

Folding gates also offer ease of installation. They’re usually installed internally, cause minimum disruption, and generally don’t require planning permission.

Installing folding security gates is the best thing you can do to make your property safe and you can choose matching gates for your doors. Check out the wide range of accessories and hardware for folding gate installation available online and request a quotation today from a reputable online supplier and make windows and doors security a reality for your home or business. As a final plus, you may well get a reduction in your insurance premiums.

Building A Darkroom On A Shoe String Budget

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Developing your own film and prints is one of the many fun parts of being a photographer as well as a great way to have some quiet time expanding your photographic skills. There’s something to be said about a door that literally cannot be opened and the impact of having no interruptions can have on your work. Unfortunately, few people have access to a local darkroom, so the best alternative for developing your own prints is to create a darkroom at home.

The Location Really Does Matter

Garages, sheds, basements and extra rooms are all great places to have a darkroom. Just remember before choosing a location that you’ll need access to running water and that the chemicals are hazardous and smelly. Additionally, since the room you choose will have to be completely sealed of light, it’s a good idea to choose a room with no windows that you don’t mind removing from normal life – once you make a room a darkroom it’s not going to serve as anything else. That’s why sheds or basements are common darkroom locations because they can be used just for that purpose and have running water and electricity. You can also set up a darkroom in an unused bathroom however this might be a bit cramped.

The Must-Have Darkroom Supplies

Most darkroom supplies are rather basic and won’t cost you much to get started. Excluding whatever it takes to lightproof the room you use, you can get by with the following:

* 3 Trays big enough for 8×10 paper
* 3 Sets of tongs
* Chemicals (see below)
* Enlarger and timer (see below)
* Easel
* Darkroom light

The only expensive things you need are the enlarger, which you fortunately only need to purchase once, and the chemicals, which will need to be refreshed now and again. You can buy a photo enlarger for around $200 and a basic timer for about $150 or you can search online for some used equipment.

The chemicals are a bit more complicated. You can get most chemicals in either powder or liquid form. Powders are easier to store but will require mixing and sometimes can become airborne, while liquids are a little easier to deal with but take up more space and are often more expensive.

At a minimum, you’ll need to buy some developer, fixer and some stop bath. It’s a good idea to buy small quantities, or if using a powder only mix small amounts at a time, as the chemicals will go bad over time. You’ll also want to keep the chemicals in the dark in plastic bottles as glass can easily break when you’re working in the dark. A darkroom light will help you see while working with your paper but please know that a darkroom light can still ruin undeveloped film so only develop your film in complete darkness.

How to Set Up Your Darkroom

Once you have the chemicals sorted and all of your supplies in order, you’re good to go. The best darkroom layout will have a dry side and a wet side – do your cutting and enlarging on a workbench or table, then have another bench or table with your developer, stop bath, and fixer laid out and ready to go. If you have the budget, it’s best if you can have a special darkroom sink that is “always running, always full” so you can make sure that your prints are fully clean from chemicals. You may also want to consider adding a lock to the door to prevent accidental door openings while your working. However if you lock the door, just make sure that you can easily open it from inside in case of an emergency.

Once you have all of the supplies you need, you can really set up your darkroom in any place that’s protected from light. Just find a setup that works for you and before long, you’ll be developing and printing your images and will be proud to tell your friends you did it all from the comfort of your own darkroom!

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Steel Windows

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It doesnt matter if its a residential or commercial building, steel windows can prove to be a good option. Just like pretty much any product, steel windows have many advantages, but also have their own disadvantages when compared to some other windows. We will use the remainder of this post to explain some of the reasons why you may want to choose steel windows over the other options available.

Let’s first talk about the brighter side of picture, the great undeniable and incomparable qualities of steel windows:

The strength of steel is great for making windows. This incredible strength makes steel windows capable of holding larger size of glass panels much easily. Steel is very durable and will last for years and years, a lot longer than the alternatives available, however they may need replacing eventually as the surrounds and the glass in the window are not as durable as the frames themselves! You can buy steel windows very narrow sight lines. There are plenty of different designs available. You can find any type of modern or antique designs of steel windows according to the architectural design of your house or building. They create a beautiful feature on pretty much any property they are installed on. The windows can be painted in any colour to match with painted surrounds which are usually popular in shop windows and also in many commercial properties. Steel windows are good at fire rating. Steel windows are weather resistant. Steel requires less maintanence than some of the alternatives which you could use.

Now let’s come to some cons of steel windows which are obviously very few and less important as compared to the benefits of using this material for replacement windows:

Sometimes it is thought that steel windows give a commercial look to your house, which is mostly not true, as there are enormous beautiful steel window designs for houses that can add a lot to the beauty and appeal to any house. Steel windows are heavier than any other material windows. Steel windows are rather costly in making and installation as compared to other materials. When you look at the alternatives, steel windows can be slightly more difficult to install. Some alternatives are more energy efficient than steel windows.

I hope, knowing about some pros and cons of steel windows will help you selecting material for your house or commercial building windows.

Septic Tank System Do’s And Dont’s And Maintenance

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The Septic Tank System like any machine that requires proper use and maintenance. This article provides information on the proper
care and use of your septic Tank and Drainfield “Septic System”. At the very least, the Septic Tank needs to be pumped out every three to five years.
If you decide to not maintain your Septic Tank System the following is what you can look forward to:

1. A falling Septic System can be a threat to your families health and the environment, especially your well for your drinking water supply or nearby recreational lake waters.

2.Reduced Property Value and has a negative experience with your neighbors.

3. A Septic System is expensive to repair and may require constant pumping of the septic tank, possibl installation of a
holding tank, or possibly you could have to MOVE OUT of Your HOUSE until the costly repairs are complete.

4. Messy back-ups of sewage into the house (ruining your hardwood or carpet) or sewage gases smells in your home.

The warning signs that you may have a problem with your Septic Systems Drainfield:

* Sewage water surfacing over the drainfield, sand filter or mound.
* Slow drainage of bathtubs, sinks and toilets, frequent back-ups, and water over the Septic Tank Lid.
* Lush green grass and wet to saturated soil over drainfield. Sewage smell and gas odors.

DO NOT DO THESE THINGS

* Add excessive amounts of caustic chemicals to the system. Normal household cleaners in moderate amounts won’t damage your Septic System, but concentrated or toxic chemicals may kill the good bacteria in the Septic System.

*Do not drive cars or machinery, park cars or machinery over top of the Septic Tank or Drainfield area.

* Do not put cooking oils, lard, fats or greases into the sink drain. Separate this fats and greases into a can or container and throw it away in the garbage as part of your household trash.

* Do not secondary bathrooms such as shop or garage bathrooms, motorhomes or your gutter downspouts into the Septic Tank System.

* Do not Put baby diapers or WIPES,feminen products, or other materials containing non-biodegradable substances into the Septic Tank. (even if the baby wipes say flushable!! This is for homes on SEWER only)!

* Do not waste water by leaving the shower running for long periods time while waiting for it to warm up.

* Do not use high volumes of water on the same day. Spread out high volume water usage, use throughout the week. In other words DO NOT do all your laundry on Saturday and
it is better to run the dishwashers and washing machine on separate day’s.

* Do not plant trees over or near the Septic Tank or the Drainfield, Mound System or Sandfilter box. Roots can intrude into the Septic Tank and baffles and clog or damage the Distribution Box and the the drainfield pipes.

* Most of the timel, Septic Tank additives are not needed for residential Septic Tank Systems and these products should never replace the routine maintenance septic tank pumping schedule. Most of the time, these so called cleaners will cause the sludge and scum layer to be broken down into fine enough particles that they will be pushed out into the drainfield, which causes the drainfield lines to become clogged.

* Do not turn off the ATU (Aerobic Treatment Unit) Tank, even if you are going away on a vacation.

**Caution** Do not believe these sales people for the Septic Tank Cleaning enzimes! They will tell you that if you use their product, you will never have to pump your Septic Tank again…. The truth is that these products will break down the solids in the tank and they then are sent out to the drainfield. You might not have to pump your Septic Tank as often, but you will have to replace the drainfield instead! This is not a good trade off. Pumping your septic Tank every 3 years at approximately $400.00 or have your Septic System replaced for $10K ? Be responsible and pump the Septic Tank every 3 years!

DO THESE THINGS!

* Have a maintenance plan in place with your Septic Tank Pumping Professional ( www.LillySeptic.com) – If you have a screened outlet baffle, schedule your septic System Maintenance professional clean the screen on a yearly basis. This will prevent blocked screens causing a messy backup into the house.

* Properly use and maintain the system, which includes pumping the Septic Tank, inspecting the Septic system, bottle brushing the laterals (when recomended by your Septic Tank Pumping crew ( www.LillySeptic.com ), and other maintenance items recommended by your Septic System Service Technician.

* Divert surface water and roof runoff away from the septic tank and drainfield area.

* Iinstall low flow toilets and laundry washing machines and other water conservation devices.

* Run the dishwashers and washing machine with full loads only and spread out the laundry throughout the week. It is best to
run the Dishes and Laundry many times during the week rather than do all of the laundry on saturday. NO MORE WASH Day !

* Maintain records of your Septic Tank Pumping, Septic Tank lid and drainfiled location, (AS-Built Drawing) Septic System Inspections, maintenance, and any repairs done to the system.

* avoid construction of sheds or parking area’s in the drainfield area. Avoid having livestock in the area of the Septic Tank or drainfield as they can damage the lines.

* Make sure that the alarm is functioning properly for the pump and/or Sandfilter for pressure distribution systems with an audible and visual alarm to alert you to problems.

Legal Issues of Electronic Messaging

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Electronic mediums lend themselves to informality. When people forget that electronic messages are actual records of communication that can be used in court, this can lead to serious legal trouble. Whether it’s an email or a Facebook comment, electronic messages can be used in legal disputes in the same way that paper records have been used in court for decades. >

Electronic Messaging at the Office
It’s never a good idea to mix personal uses with company email systems or electronic message boards. Tracking whether an employee is using email for personal use instead of working is harder than, say, tracking whether he’s using the company phone for personal use. But using company electronic messaging systems for informal purposes can make employees careless. Gossiping via email can lead to libel and harassment issues that can escalate to serious legal disputes.

Employer Liability
It’s important for employers to put in place a solid electronic messaging policy. Outlining the proper uses of company electronic messaging systems and drawing a clear line between work and personal uses will save companies a lot of trouble in the future. It’s important for both employees and employers to remember that just because you erase a sent email, it does not mean that that email cannot be retrieved. Any legal liability that can result from a written paper document can also result from an electronic message. Furthermore, third parties can seek legal action against an employer as a result of the electronic messaging activity of the company’s employees. These activities may include libeling a rival company or violating spam laws. Electronic messages can also be used as evidence in sexual harassment suits and cases involving workplace slander and discrimination.

Copyright Law
In terms of copyright issues that can arise from improper use of electronic messages, it’s key to remember that just because you have a published document saved on your computer as a PDF file, it doesn’t mean that you own it. If you so much as forward a copy written document to a friend or co-worker, it can be a violation of copyright law. It’s important to get legal discovery help to find out whether you need special permission from the publisher before you copy or share any piece of intellectual property.

Mark Anesh Offers Legal Advice in Litigation Cases

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Mark Anesh is an experienced legal professional with expertise in providing legal advice to professionals in litigation cases. Mark Anesh is known as a -lawyers’ lawyer’ as he has often represented legal professionals, lawyers, attorneys, agents and other professionals from public as well as municipality liability fields. His clients are often involved in difficult cases and they seek him for legal counsel as he achieved great success in representing legal cases that involve professional liability clauses. Mark Anesh takes an aggressive and authoritative stance while presenting his clients and all his arguments are backed by sound legal reasoning and thorough research into the client’s case.

Along with representing clients in litigation cases, Mark Anesh has also represented insurers in coverage disputes and declaratory judgment actions. The risk management services for lawyers offered by Mark Anesh are very popular and these classes include audits, seminars, newsletters, and online continuing legal education about the various aspects which the lawyers need to take care of while running their business. Mark Anesh and his team also provide legal help to professional through several 1800 hotlines owned by Mark Anesh. Professionals who want legal advice and want to reduce their claims often call the hotlines to get the expert opinion to simplify their legal troubles.

A gifted speaker, Mark Anesh regularly delivers lectures on risk management for attorneys for the New York State and American Bar Associations. He is also an adjunct professor of law at Touro Law Center, an assistant adjunct professor of law at the Hofstra University School of Law. Mark Anesh was also the founding president of Woodbury Jewish Center in Woodbury NY in 1987. The Jewish center started with 12 families and now it has more than 500 families. A successful lawyer, Mark Anesh is the first choice of repeat offenders who want a trusted and experienced lawyer to represent them in any of their cases. Mark Anesh has a great record of winning the cases and he has also a number of professional liability insurance policies and obtained approval for them from various state insurance departments.

Are Royal Assent, Pardons And Prorogation Fact Or Legal Fiction

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Elizabeth II is the Head of State of the United Kingdom and fifteen other member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. These countries are constitutional monarchies, meaning that they operate under an essentially democratic constitution, the Queens principal role being to represent the state. Very often, she is viewed as a symbolic and apolitical personage with no real power. But is this entirely true? Does the Queen really possess purely nominal authority, or can she in fact exercise her will in any public action? This is not an easy question to answer. I will attempt to do so by focusing mainly on one of her most important theoretical prerogatives: the right to grant or deny royal assent to laws passed by Parliament.

A difficulty in judging the extent of the authority presently held by the monarchy lies in the fact that the British constitution has not been codified into one single document and much of it remains unwritten. The extensive power that the monarch once indisputably possessed, including the right to administer justice, dissolve Parliament or pardon crimes, was largely a matter of common law and not statute. What laws were codified (the Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Act of Settlement of 1701 standing among the most important) served more to restrict the Monarchs power than to entrench it. Thus, the residual powers still reserved to the Queen continue to be more a matter of constitutional convention than of written rules. Formally, no Act of the British Parliament becomes a proper law until it is given assent by the Queen. Yet in practice, Elizabeth II assents to all bills, irrespective of her opinion on them. The last time a British monarch rejected a law was in 1708, when Queen Anne vetoed the Scottish Militia Bill, and even then, she did so at the request of her ministers. Since then, the right of royal assent has fallen into disuse, leading some constitutional theorists to claim that a new convention obligating the monarch to assent to all bills has arisen. This view was famously stressed by Walter Bagehot in his 1867 volume The English Constitution:

…the Queen has no such veto. She must sign her own death-warrant if the two Houses unanimously send it up to her. It is a fiction of the past to ascribe to her legislative power. She has long ceased to have any.

In earlier generations, such a bold assertion of the monarchs supposed lack of power would have been unpardonable. Even I see some flaws in this theory. For one thing, the only evidence on which it stands (besides Bagehots claim) is custom. Even if all the monarchs since Queen Anne have assented to all bills presented to them, there is no formal change in any official policy that would indicate that the practice will be followed for the next bill. Additionally, if the Queen decided to withhold assent to a bill, what legal mechanism could force her to do otherwise? It would seem to me that in such an event, the veto could only be effectively circumvented by some kind of revolutionary act – as a minimum, by the Government refusing to respect the veto, which would undoubtedly lead to a constitutional crisis.

The situation is more clear-cut in Canada, which, unlike the United Kingdom, has a constitution that is largely written. The Constitution Act, 1867 clearly delineates the powers of the Crown. According to Section 55 of the Act, when the Governor General (the Queens representative in Canada) is presented with a bill that has been passed by Parliament, he may declare that he assents to it in the Queens name, that he withholds his assent, or that he reserves the bill for the signification of the Queens pleasure (letting the Queen decide the matter; according to Section 57, she may do so within two years after the Governor General receives the bill). Furthermore, as per Section 56, the Queen in Council (the Queen acting on the advice of her Privy Council) may disallow a law assented to by the Governor General within two years after receiving a copy of the law. Therefore, the Queen, together with the Governor General, does have the formal authority to veto a law passed by the Canadian Parliament. Nevertheless, no Governor General has done this since Confederation in 1867, although some provincial Lieutenant Governors have vetoed provincial laws or reserved them to the pleasure of the Governor General (under the authority of Section 90 of the Constitution Act, 1867). This happened most recently in 1963 when Saskatchewans Lieutenant Governor Frank Bastedo reserved a bill.

On top of that, there are instances in recent Commonwealth history of other royal prerogatives being directly exercised by the Crown against a governments wishes. Depending on the country, the crown may have extensive official powers, including the appointment of ministers, granting of pardons for eliminating criminal records, or calling an early election, and some of these have been exercised in person, especially during unclear political situations. A classic example is Governor General Byngs 1926 refusal to call a very early election at the request of Canadian Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, who wished to remain in power despite the stronger footing of the Conservative party in Parliament. Byng refused to do so; King was incensed by this supposed infringement on democracy, but Byng stood his ground. Another famous example was the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam by Australian Governor General John Kerr during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Whitlams controversial government did not have control of both houses of Parliament and he petitioned Kerr to call a half-senate election. Instead, Kerr dismissed him and appointed Malcolm Fraser, the leader of the Opposition, in his place.

The fact that the royal prerogative is rarely exercised, if at all, by the Queen and her representatives, appears to be more the product of a conventional good will on their part than an actual legal requirement. I hope Bagehot would pardon me if I surmised that he overdid it when he claimed that the Queen must sign her own death-warrant; what he was speaking about was more a matter of everyday practice as he saw it than a real summary of the standing law. After all, the monarchy seeks to stay popular and in todays age of democracy, its very existence depends on public approval.

The Truths Top Criminal Law Attorneys Wish More People Were Aware Of

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There are many “truths” that are helpful if you find yourself in need of a criminal defense attorney.

1.) Do not retain a criminal law attorney or DUI defense lawyer based upon the attorney’s office location.

For
many hard working people, it is simply easier to go to a local criminal
law attorney blocks away to make legal decisions that could land you or
a loved one in jail and/or effect one’s livelihood forever. While a
general practice attorney is often acceptable for non specialty areas
such as the drafting of wills, contacts, etc., criminal and drunk
driving defense has become a specialized field requiring unique training
and attention. For example, most police departments have officers who
are trained to do nothing other than pursue drunk driving arrests or
drug crimes. As a result, it is often critical that your attorney be one
that has devoted himself or herself exclusively to the practice of
criminal law or DUI defense with more training in the field than the
officer who has arrested you. In an age where most all top criminal or
DUI attorneys are accessible for free phone or computer consultations,
there is simply no reason not to consult with as many capable criminal
defense law attorneys as possible before making the all important
decision of who will defend you in a criminal court of law.

2.)
Be wary of a fee arrangement that requires you to pay a criminal law
attorney or drunk driving attorney base upon an hourly rate.

It
is often the practice of top criminal attorneys to have a client pay an
initial retainer fee for their criminal defense, followed by a detailed
fee for services performed beyond the initial retainer fee, or down
payment. While not a problem limited to criminal law attorneys or DUI
lawyers, a professional paid by the hour has a financial interest in
prolonging services for their financial benefit. Within the context of a
criminal prosecution, this financial arrangement can too often prove to
be a lose lose situation for an uniformed client. This is so because
not only is a client faced with the prospect of limitless and often
frivolous professional fees, but also the potential of creating
unnecessary conflict between defense counsel and a prosecutor who will
often attribute delays in settlement to a client who is punished for the
needless actions of a criminal arrest attorney with financial thoughts
on his mind not always consistent with an effective criminal defense.

3.)
Never speak to law enforcement without a criminal law attorney and be
especially pro active in retaining a criminal law or DUI defense lawyer
at your earliest opportunity

One who has been arrested for a
felony or misdemeanor crime or accused of a criminal offense must always
be aware that an arresting officer or detective is not your friend. No
matter the kindness and sympathy one in law enforcement may extend to
you, the fact that you are a professional, veteran of the armed forces
or contributor to the sheriff’s department is not going to legally aid
you in providing a legal defense. Only a rookie or inexperienced
detective or police officer will yell and scream at one being
investigated for a crime. Rather, an effective law enforcement officer
is usually trained in the art of gaining a suspect’s trust and in turn
the potential for an incriminating statement without the assistance of a
capable criminal defense law attorney to protect you. Do not let the
truth get in the way of reality. It is an officer’s job to thoroughly
scrutinize a statement given in good faith for any possible
discrepancies in an effort to incriminate one subjected to a criminal
investigation. Once that statement, no matter how innocently intended or
misinterpreted has been made, the job of your criminal law attorney has
been made infinitely more difficult. If you or a loved one is the
target of a criminal investigation and have not given a statement
without the presence of your criminal attorney, consider yourself
fortunate. You have the benefit of securing the services of a top
criminal defense lawyer prior to charging decisions and settlement
options being made within a prosecutor’s office.