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It’s no surprise that Hollywood loves legal stories – after all, criminal cases and injury lawsuits make for good drama. What they don’t seem to love, however, is realism. There are some great movies based on important personal injury suits, including “Erin Brockovich,” “Philadelphia,” “A Civil Action,” and “Class Action.” But they don’t necessarily give a practical picture of what a personal injury suit actually entails. That’s unfortunate, because a personal injury lawsuit is often the best way to get compensation when others violate your legal rights....

New Jersey is often the punchline of national jokes but it looks like they’re coming out on top when it comes to keep the divorce rate low. The divorce rate in New Jersey clocks in at 9%, according to the 2011 American Community Survey. That’s the lowest divorce rate in the nation and significantly lower than the national average of 52%. Divorce rates peaked in the 1980s but there’s been an uptick recently, reports The New York Times....

In the wake of Ahmad Khan Rahami’s arrest as the main suspect in a series of bombings in New York and New Jersey last week, CNN asked the question: “Does bombing suspect deserve due process?” Donald Trump lamented the fact that Rahami received medical treatment after he shot during his arrest and may have access to a lawyer. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he hopes President Barack Obama will declare Rahami an enemy combatant so he could be placed in military custody and interrogated without a lawyer or Miranda warnings....

Are there advantages to hiring older workers? Many businesses are finding that there are. Around 200 employers including Google and AT&T have signed an AARP pledge to recognize the value of older employees and to consider applicants over 50, The Associated Press reports. In this day and age, many business owners try to steer clear of hiring workers over 50. This is often due to stereotypes that older employees are slower, don’t understand new technology, and just lack energy in general....

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired millions with his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, hoping that one day people would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” In the nearly five decades since King’s “Dream” speech, the U.S. Supreme Court has grappled with the issue of racial discrimination in a series of cases. Here are five important decisions that reflect King’s call for change....

There is a phrase in economics popularized by Milton Friedman that there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. The logic behind the principle is fairly simple – it is impossible to get something for nothing. Perhaps that is the case, but there are times when you have to be paid for not working. So maybe there is, in fact, such a thing as a free breakfast or dinner....

An estimated 15 million Americans have food allergies, including 1 in every 13 children. Every three minutes, someone is rushed to the emergency room for an allergic reaction to a food allergy. Nearly 90 percent of food-allergic reactions are caused by milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, wheat, soy, and shellfish. With the prevalence of food allergies, can you be held liable if someone has an allergic reaction to your food products?...

In the latest legal twist, a judge has been removed from the case of Ohio serial killing suspect Anthony Sowell for web site postings. The Ohio Supreme Court has ordered Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold to be removed from the trial to avoid an appearance of bias resulting from web site postings made about Anthony Sowell on a newspaper’s web site, CNN reports. As previously discussed, 11 decomposing bodies, all African American women, were found in Anthony Sowell’s home....

William Halby learned that the medical expense deduction income tax rules aren’t as broad as he originally thought. The IRS wouldn’t let him deduct expenses paid to prostitutes. But, of course, how was he to understand section 213 of the Tax Code, after all, he was only a mere tax lawyer? You see, Halby, 78, claimed that the health benefits of sex therapy allowed him to deduct his visits to his “service providers” as medical expenses....

A fun day in the sun may not always be that fun, especially if you sustain a beach injury, or if there is a tragic drowning. Who is legally liable for accidents that happen on the beach? What if there are lifeguards on the beach that could have helped with the accident, or who were reckless in their rescue? It depends. Laws generally vary from state to state, so some states have more restrictive laws on who is liable for beach-related injuries....

For any of you who have been following “the one that got away” story of the litigation over Asian carp, the story continues today. As you may reacall, the Supreme Court has washed their hands of the fishy case, so now the battle over the carp has adjourned to a lower federal court. Five states; Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and Pennsylvania filed their suit against federal government, Chicago’s water department and others in U....

The Colorado Court of Appeals has sided with a group of students fighting against a gun ban on their college campus. The ruling revives a lawsuit that a judge tossed out, when the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus argued in 1994 that University of Colorado’s policy banning concealed violates state gun laws, the Associated Press reports. University officials say they are disappointed by the ruling. The ruling by the panel reverses the original decision....

New York bus monitor Karen Klein caught the nation’s attention when she was bullied by a group of middle schoolers. So far, the 68-year-old grandma is not considering a lawsuit against her attackers even though the harassment and bullying she endured would likely entitle her to pursue charges. A video of the incident shows four middle school boys harassing Klein, calling her names and insulting her. At one point in the video, she cries as a result of the abuse, but she never lashes out at the boys....

A recent case out of Los Angeles is making headlines for the $1 million verdict awarded by the jury. The plaintiff in the case was a 65 year old man who suffered from degenerative back problems, and claimed not to be injured at the scene of the accident. The accident was characterized as a low impact crash. While there may be a couple eye-opening facts about this case, the settlement negotiations are the most shocking....

Your rental property is supposed to make you money every month and this income allows you to do more – go on vacations, splurge on special occasions, and enjoy the life of the landed gentry. But all that could change if you don’t pay attention to conditions on the property and ensure that tenants are safe. Landlords are sued by tenants and their guests for negligence when injury occurs on a property and there is evidence of owner neglect....

If you are thinking about divorce or are starting to go through the divorce process, you may be wondering how long spousal support is supposed to last. If you’ve been out of the working world for an extended time, you may be worried as to how you will survive financially, when you don’t have the support of your former spouse. In fact, some individuals will take finances into consideration when determining whether to divorce at all....

Divorce is never easy, even when it’s the right thing to do. But there are ways to make it simpler, less expensive, and less painful. Being prepared, working with your spouse, and making smart filing decisions can cut down on unnecessary delays, costs, and emotional anguish. Here are a few things to keep in mind when beginning the divorce process and some ways to keep your divorce as fast, cheap, and painless as possible....

Missouri high school teacher Tericka Dye can’t escape her pornographic past. The former science teacher left her teaching job after students discovered X-rated films she starred in the mid 1990s. Tericka Dye, who also taught under the name Tera Myers, is under administrative leave and does not plan to return to teach at Parkway North High School in St. Louis, CBS News reports. This isn’t the first time Dye, 38, has been in the news....

Accused Colorado movie theater gunman James Holmes’ psychiatrist, Dr. Lynne Fenton, could soon be subject to more than a dozen lawsuits. Fenton is facing criticism and possibly as many as 14 negligence lawsuits for allegedly not properly treating Holmes and not alerting authorities to the possible threat that he posed. The University of Colorado is also likely to be named in these lawsuits, reports CNN. Holmes had been a doctoral student at the university, and Fenton had treated him....

A judge has approved Kodak’s bankruptcy exit strategy. The once towering photography giant is now slated to become a much smaller digital imaging company that will focus on commercial and packaging printing. Kodak filed for bankruptcy last year after struggling for years with digital photography competitors and growing debt. But what does a Chapter 11 bankruptcy exit plan entail and how does it work? A Chapter 11 bankruptcy is about reorganization and focuses on trimming costs and seeking new sources of revenue or income, while temporarily holding creditors at bay....