How much do you know about the laws that govern us? And have you ever wanted to know exactly what they say?
The “Laws and Regulations” page at usa.gov is a good place to find out. Get details on recent laws like the Affordable Care Act, or laws that differ from state to state like gun regulations. You can also see bills that have been introduced in Congress and learn how to get involved and contact your elected officials.
Showing posts with label laws. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laws. Show all posts
Monday, July 28, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Alternatives to Westlaw
For federal court cases, including bankruptcy courts, one can get court filings online at www.pacer.gov. One has to register for it,, though there is no registration fee. However, all registered users will be charged as follows:
•Use of web-based PACER systems will generate an $.10 per page charge.
•Audio files of court hearings retrieved via PACER will generate a $2.40 per file charge.
It is not as easy to search as Westlaw, and many times you need to have a case number.
For actual reported court opinions - appellate cases for the most part, including the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court - you can find a lot of those on the professional site for Findlaw at http://lp.findlaw.com/. This site is available on the free Internet.
Since most trial court opinions are not reported or published, one should look for news stories in newspaper databases in
the region where the case took place.
•Use of web-based PACER systems will generate an $.10 per page charge.
•Audio files of court hearings retrieved via PACER will generate a $2.40 per file charge.
It is not as easy to search as Westlaw, and many times you need to have a case number.
For actual reported court opinions - appellate cases for the most part, including the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court - you can find a lot of those on the professional site for Findlaw at http://lp.findlaw.com/. This site is available on the free Internet.
Since most trial court opinions are not reported or published, one should look for news stories in newspaper databases in
the region where the case took place.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues
The recognition of same-sex marriages generates debate on both the federal and state levels. Either legislatively or judicially, same-sex marriage is legal in seven states. Other states allow civil unions or domestic partnerships, which grant all or part of state-level rights, benefits, and/or responsibilities of marriage. Some states have statutes or constitutional amendments limiting marriage to one man and one woman. These variations raise questions about the validity of such unions outside the contracted jurisdiction and have bearing on the distribution of federal benefits. ...
This report from Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists) discusses DOMA [Defense of Marriage Act] and legal challenges to it. It reviews legal principles applied to determine the validity of a marriage contracted in another state and surveys the various approaches employed by states to enable or to prevent same-sex marriage. The report also examines House and Senate resolutions introduced in previous Congresses proposing a constitutional amendment and limiting federal courts’ jurisdiction to hear or determine any question pertaining to the interpretation of DOMA.
This report from Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists) discusses DOMA [Defense of Marriage Act] and legal challenges to it. It reviews legal principles applied to determine the validity of a marriage contracted in another state and surveys the various approaches employed by states to enable or to prevent same-sex marriage. The report also examines House and Senate resolutions introduced in previous Congresses proposing a constitutional amendment and limiting federal courts’ jurisdiction to hear or determine any question pertaining to the interpretation of DOMA.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Fundraising Raffle Laws, Rules, and Regulations
by Deane Brengle
In the United States and Canada all types of fundraising raffles are considered to be games of chance. Consequently, they are very tightly regulated and failure to adhere to the law is considered a serious offense. If you have any doubt about the correct procedures, do not rely on anybody's word but a government official or a lawyer knowledgeable in these matters.
In many areas there may be more than one governmental body that has jurisdiction over a fundraising raffle. It is always good to check your state/province/territory and your local government for any necessary licenses and permits.
In almost all cases an application for a license must be made to the governing unit. This application and the resulting permit may takes weeks or months to process and receive. Do not proceed to hold a fundraising raffle without having the necessary paperwork in hand.
More HERE.
In the United States and Canada all types of fundraising raffles are considered to be games of chance. Consequently, they are very tightly regulated and failure to adhere to the law is considered a serious offense. If you have any doubt about the correct procedures, do not rely on anybody's word but a government official or a lawyer knowledgeable in these matters.
In many areas there may be more than one governmental body that has jurisdiction over a fundraising raffle. It is always good to check your state/province/territory and your local government for any necessary licenses and permits.
In almost all cases an application for a license must be made to the governing unit. This application and the resulting permit may takes weeks or months to process and receive. Do not proceed to hold a fundraising raffle without having the necessary paperwork in hand.
More HERE.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Sunday, December 12, 2010
State Segway Laws
Source: Governors Highway Safety Association
Segway LLC manufactures electronically propelled two-wheeled devices designed to transport one person with a maximum speed of less than 20 mph. In most states, Segways must follow the rules pertaining to pedestrians while on roads and sidewalks, such as traveling on the left side of the road, facing traffic.
Some states have minimum age requirements for operators or mandate helmet use for certain ages. One state (New Jersey) requires helmet use for all ages. No states require the operator of an to be licensed. Segways are exempted from registration requirements.
To date, Segways have been classified as neither a motor vehicle nor a consumer product. The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a preliminary opinion that they should be considered "consumer products" and therefore not be regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This designation may change if Segways or other similar electronic personal mobility devices become more common.
Segway LLC manufactures electronically propelled two-wheeled devices designed to transport one person with a maximum speed of less than 20 mph. In most states, Segways must follow the rules pertaining to pedestrians while on roads and sidewalks, such as traveling on the left side of the road, facing traffic.
Some states have minimum age requirements for operators or mandate helmet use for certain ages. One state (New Jersey) requires helmet use for all ages. No states require the operator of an to be licensed. Segways are exempted from registration requirements.
To date, Segways have been classified as neither a motor vehicle nor a consumer product. The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a preliminary opinion that they should be considered "consumer products" and therefore not be regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This designation may change if Segways or other similar electronic personal mobility devices become more common.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Countdown to the 20th Anniversary of the ADA
While Disability.gov is useful in connecting "the Disability Community to Information and Opportunities", it has been its Disability Blog, about the "latest disability news, information and trends", that has been most intriguing.
In anticipation of the countdown to the anniversary of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act this week, several guest bloggers have written personal essays about how the ADA has literally changed their lives for the better.
In anticipation of the countdown to the anniversary of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act this week, several guest bloggers have written personal essays about how the ADA has literally changed their lives for the better.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Title II of Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Takes Effect
On November 21, 2009 Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) took effect. GINA prohibits discrimination by health insurers and employers based on individuals' genetic information. Genetic information includes the results of genetic tests to determine whether someone is at increased risk of acquiring a condition (such as some forms of breast cancer) in the future, as well as a person's family medical history. For more information about Title I provisions of the law relating to health coverage read The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008: Information for Researchers and Health Care Professionals.
Monday, August 17, 2009
State Highway Safety Laws
Description from ResourceShelf:
While you may be familiar with what’s legal in your own state, it’s a different story when you’re planning a road trip that will take you through several states. Will you need a Bluetooth headset? What’s the story if your 18-year old kid and his friends are taking to the open road — with their cell phones? Well, you can always rummage around the Net in search of different state driving laws — or you could call AAA.
Or you could take the recommended ResourceShelf route and seek out a reliable one-stop shopping site — in this case, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), which maintains a collection of various highway safety laws in every state, updated monthly. Topics covered:
» Aggressive Driving Laws
» Cell Phone Driving
» Child Passenger Safety
» Drug Impaired Driving
» Drunk Driving
» Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL)
» Helmets
» Mature Drivers
» Seat Belts
» Segways
» Sobriety Checkpoints
» Speed Limits
» Speed and Red Light Cameras
» Work Zone Speed Limits
You can see a neat matrix of laws on a state-by-state basis, with comments, notations and additional information, including links to related issue briefs. If it’s more useful for you to browse all the laws at once for a particular state, you can access the information that way.
There are other treasures on the GHSA website, notably this outstanding collection of links and resources, from which you can get to all state highway safety office websites, related federal websites, and a nicely annotated page of links on various highway safety topics.
For a look at traffic safety beyond the U.S., check out this page of Global Road Safety Websites.
While you may be familiar with what’s legal in your own state, it’s a different story when you’re planning a road trip that will take you through several states. Will you need a Bluetooth headset? What’s the story if your 18-year old kid and his friends are taking to the open road — with their cell phones? Well, you can always rummage around the Net in search of different state driving laws — or you could call AAA.
Or you could take the recommended ResourceShelf route and seek out a reliable one-stop shopping site — in this case, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), which maintains a collection of various highway safety laws in every state, updated monthly. Topics covered:
» Aggressive Driving Laws
» Cell Phone Driving
» Child Passenger Safety
» Drug Impaired Driving
» Drunk Driving
» Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL)
» Helmets
» Mature Drivers
» Seat Belts
» Segways
» Sobriety Checkpoints
» Speed Limits
» Speed and Red Light Cameras
» Work Zone Speed Limits
You can see a neat matrix of laws on a state-by-state basis, with comments, notations and additional information, including links to related issue briefs. If it’s more useful for you to browse all the laws at once for a particular state, you can access the information that way.
There are other treasures on the GHSA website, notably this outstanding collection of links and resources, from which you can get to all state highway safety office websites, related federal websites, and a nicely annotated page of links on various highway safety topics.
For a look at traffic safety beyond the U.S., check out this page of Global Road Safety Websites.
Monday, March 30, 2009
IIHS makes interactive state law maps available online
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is enhancing its online presentation of state laws by using interactive maps of the United States. The first such laws to be illustrated are motorcycle and bicycle helmet laws and automated enforcement laws, with additional state law maps becoming available. The maps provide geographic representations of the laws to illustrate the extent to which US states are addressing highway safety concerns.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Legal Lad TM Legal Tips for a Lawful Life
This site provides "quick and dirty" podcasts and transcript articles on navigating legal issues. If you’ve got questions, this site has answers. Forming a business? Thinking about drug-screening your employees? Wondering about copyright on the Internet ? Learn more about the legal repercussions to these business issues, and find legal tips for your personal life, too.
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