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The pendulum is swinging back in Georgia regarding sex offender laws. It is often politically expedient to be “tough on crime,” especially when it comes to drugs, crime and sex offenders. However, sometimes states find that their sex offender law does not serve the purposes for which they intended. At that point, it can become difficult to reverse course. Politicians can easily be portrayed as being weak or soft on crime and it can become a liability....

An Illinois man who worked as a swan caretaker drowned after being attacked by an aggressive swan, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Anthony Hensley, 37, of Villa Park, Ill., was in a kayak in a suburban condominium complex’s pond, where he was checking on a group of swans Saturday morning. Unexpectedly, one of the swans attacked Hensley, who fell out of his kayak and into the water. The swan continued to chase Hensley as he struggled – and failed – to swim to shore, witnesses said....

Hands up if you’ve listened to the prerecorded message on just about any customer service number telling you the call will be recorded, and wondered if it’s really legal to record a phone conversation. Even if you haven’t wondered it before, you’re probably wondering it now that we mentioned it. Unfortunately the answer isn’t a clear yes or no. It depends on a couple of factors. The legality of recording conversations is regulated by federal and state wiretapping laws....

Johnson and Johnson has become a regular subject of our injury blogs. From talc-based baby powder causing cancer to vaginal mesh implants causing bleeding and loss of sexual function to anti-psychotics causing breast enlargement in male patients, Johnson and Johnson has been the subject of hundreds of lawsuits and been forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in jury verdicts. To be fair, many of the allegedly defective products were made by J&J subsidiaries, but the most damning accusations claim J&J knew of the danger to consumers and sold the products anyway....

As previously discussed, LA’s top prosecutor Steve Cooley filed lawsuits to shut down what he claims are illegal marijuana dispensaries. Now, the city is drawing its first legal challenge from an advocacy group. Americans for Safe Access, organization that supports medical marijuana and works with dispensaries like Organica (recently sued by the city) and has filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, the L.A. Daily News reports. At issue is the short seven-day time frame the city gave the clinics to relocate once the ordinance takes effect....

It may be a surprise to some recent divorcees, but child support can take a large – and mandatory – chunk out of any parent’s annual income. Most states have resources available to give parents a ballpark figure for child potential child support payments. Each resource, however, requires a bit of background knowledge about how child support works. Here is a general overview of how a parent can navigate and successfully use a child support calculator to get a better idea of her future child support obligations:...

Like an early Mother’s Day gift, Yahoo’s new maternity leave policy, announced last week, is being well received by women in the workforce. But chances are, your employer may not be so generous when it comes to time off and other benefits for new moms. Yahoo now offers mothers up to 16 weeks of paid time off after childbirth. The company will also give new parents $500 to spend on things such as house cleaning, groceries and babysitters....

More bad news for strapped home owners. In a decision announced Nov. 9th, in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, Judge Ann Montgomery found that borrowers don’t have a right to modification loans under the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable program. Even if borrowers won’t receive protection under the Constitution for the loan modification process, many will still need to attempt it. A loan modification is much like a mortgage refinance in that it changes the terms of your existing home mortgage to potentially make it easier to continue to pay under new, more difficult financial circumstances....

The State of the Union address always gets people talking, and President Obama’s call to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour certainly did the trick. Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25. It’s been that way since 2009. That rate applies to federal employees and to anyone protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act. But many states and some cities also set their own minimum-wage levels that are higher than the federal baseline....

Americans love sports. Athletics – both playing and watching – is part of our national DNA. And like anything we do so often, we run the risk of getting hurt as an athlete or as a spectator. But figuring out who’s at fault for sports injuries can be difficult. Here are some big questions surrounding sports injuries and sports injury lawsuits: 1. Injured at a Sporting Event: Can You Sue? It’s not just the athletes that can get injured....

The Oscars are a great excuse to get your friends together and throw a fabulous party. But social hosts will want to take a few precautions to avoid potential legal drama. We know you’re probably busy with party preps, so here are nine legal tips to make sure your Oscars party doesn’t involve any unexpected legal plot twists. And the “Best Legal Tips for an Oscars Party” are…: An Academy Awards party is usually good, harmless fun, but mix it with too much booze and you could win the prize for “Most Negligent Host at an Oscars Party....

Trampoline parks are springing up all across America, and so are emergency room visits by children getting hurt at these facilities. A recent study revealed emergency room visits following injuries sustained specifically at indoor trampoline parks ballooned from fewer than 600 in 2010 to nearly 7,000 in 2014. Trampoline Park Waivers Trampoline park waivers almost always contain clauses waiving your right to recover any costs associated with injuries sustained while jumping on the trampolines in the park....

Lucky dog! A Texas dog stands to inherit the estate of his former Texas master. Kenneth Bortz accumulated a sizable estate during his life including enough furnishings to fill ten homes, reports the New York Daily News. However, when he passed away, none of his family members wanted his collection of china, furniture, and other collectibles. As a result, the items went up for sale and the proceeds will be used to care for his dog....

Walmart may have taken a stand against discriminatory legislation, but that message of acceptance hasn’t trickled down to its entire staff. The retailer is being sued for harassing and firing a transgender employee, its third discrimination lawsuit in the past five months. A former employee sued Walmart in July for denying health insurance her same-sex spouse, and in August six former employees sued for race and age discrimination. The latest lawsuit alleges that a manager harassed and then fired a transgender employee because of her gender identity....

The white collar is mostly gone. But economic crime is still going strong. Bribery, extortion, embezzlement, fraud, and tax evasion are all alive and well as white collar crimes. These are serious offenses that do much damage to victims and society in general. Yet, they get less press than classic violent offenses. It’s important to understand how financial fraud can be more harmful to your business. There are at least a few reasons we tend to worry less about white collar crime....

When copper heiress Huguette Clark died last year, she left a $300 million estate, two wills, and many angry relatives. Perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of Clark’s wills were her accountants, attorneys, nurses, and other hospital staff. Her family members were largely left out, reports NBC. Clark had been a recluse for years and died estranged from her friends and family in a hospital room. So the will leaving them out was not that surprising....

Xarelto, the brand name of blood thinning medication rivaroxaban, can help treat and prevent dangerous blood clots in patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgeries. An unfortunate side effect of Xarelto is an increased risk of internal or external bleeding. A serious of lawsuits (some 20,000 in all) have been filed against the makers of Xarelto – Johnson and Johnson and Bayer AG – claiming the companies failed to warn consumers of the bleeding risks....

A new “Sesame Street” online “divorce kit” aims to deal with a subject that the children’s show has been silent on during its run. But now the show is tackling divorce, a subject that’s a part of many children’s lives. To help parents and kids, the show is releasing a multimedia kit called “Little Children, Big Challenges: Divorce” that includes an online show segment, a storybook, a guide for parents, and an app....

You work hard to hire the best employees. But are you working hard enough to keep them? As it turns out, getting a great staff into the office is only half the battle. Not only do you have to make your company attractive to applicants, you have to make it a great place to work and stay long-term. Running a successful small business means fostering a fantastic work environment that attracts, and retains, the best talent....

Any surgery can be dangerous. First, a medical condition that necessitates surgery is generally a serious one. And even mild anesthesia carries risks. After that, a surgeon has to successfully complete the procedure, and then there’s closing the wound up and recovery. That’s a lot of things that can go wrong, causing serious and even life-threatening injuries. Here are seven of the most common surgical errors that can lead to patient injuries, and when you might have a case for medical malpractice....