As everyone generally understands, people living in the United States enjoy the right of freedom of speech. However, the right to speak freely is not unlimited. Individuals do not have the right to defame, slander or libel another person with their speech. Defamation is false and unprivileged spoken words or written publication, which exposes any [...]
Colleges around the country are actively taking measures to reduce the number of underage drinking incidents on their campuses. Many schools have completely eliminated the use of alcohol during fraternity and sorority recruitment. Some, monitor the tailgating activities that involve alcohol and some have even banned outdoor activities that involved alcohol in the past. Of [...]
Facebook isn't just for 'friending' anymore. The social network is also being used as a tool to fight crime, according to a recent survey. Four out of five law enforcement officials use social media to assist in criminal investigations, according to an online survey by LexisNexis. The websites used most frequently in police officers’ efforts to level criminal [...]
Ohio Governor John R. Kasich recently signed House Bill 99 into law. As of June 1, the new law is put into place; however, drivers can expect a 6-month warning period after the effective date. During this time, law enforcement officers will issue warnings, not citations. What happens if you are pulled over and you [...]
Bullying is THE hot topic in Ohio and throughout the country. The big movie right now, is Bully, a documentary, out in theaters now about kids bullying each other. The media shows many cases of bullying and a lot of times, legal terms are used. All across our country the discussion of bullying suggests that, [...]
The most popular social platform is Facebook. It has become to comfortable that people are not even filtering what they post or upload on the internet. We all know that people have become extremely absorbed by social media networks. A recent piece of news shows some unfiltered and hurtful posts on Facebook that landed a [...]
With the internet being accessible in most homes and many public places, such as libraries and internet cafes, more and more people are able to conduct business through the World Wide Web. With the increase in usage also comes the increase in internet-related crimes. Since the establishment of the first computer crime law, the Counterfeit [...]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has changed its definition of rape to include male victims. The definition, currently used to report crime statistics in the Uniform Crime Report, shows an important change to recognize male victims. Advocates for victims of sexual abuse and rape say that the numbers reported by the Uniform Crime Report have [...]
A very distraught gentleman recently came in to our law offices after learning he was being investigated for possession of child pornography. Under Ohio law, this crime is called Pandering Obscenity Involving a Minor, a fourth degree felony in Ohio. If convicted, he would face 6-18 months in prison on each count plus registering as a [...]
A driver convicted of being under the influence while sitting in a driver's position could lose their license and driving rights for approximately six months. The car does not need to be on for a law enforcement officer to make this arrest and she can arrest someone with a BAC level above .08 if the driver has [...]