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Many Michigan prisoners may be glad to have their sentences commuted, but some victims’ families feel just the opposite. They are unhappy that Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is granting commutations at a record rate. She has freed 124 prisoners in the last two years – including killers – and is on pace to commute more sentences. According to the Detroit Free Press, Gov. Jennifer Granholm insists that most of the freed prisoners pose no threat to the safety....

Students forced to eat on the floor as ‘punishment’ have settled for $500,000 in a lawsuit against the school district. In 2008, fifth grade students at an elementary school in Camden, New Jersey were disciplined by then-Vice Principal Theresa Brown. The bilingual class was forced to eat on the floor for two weeks when one student accidentally spilled water, reports the Chicago Tribune. The bizarre punishment was bad enough. But the administration’s way of handling it makes it look much worse....

If your child is a student athlete and gets injured, you’ve been warned: Not all school sports-related injury lawsuits will succeed. School sports injuries run the gamut from a simple bruise or cut to more permanent injuries that can affect students for life. When injuries happen, parents often think about taking legal action. But because of a number of reasons, the outcome of school sports injury lawsuits can be very hit or miss – some end in large payouts, while others are tossed out of court....

The City of Seattle will pay $1.5 million to the heirs and estate of John T. Williams, a Seattle woodcarver shot dead by a Seattle Police in August 2010. It was an emotionally-charged police shooting that say a law enforcement office quit and avoid prosecution. On August 30, 2010, Seattle PD Officer Ian Birks stopped his patrol car after seeing Williams crossing a street carrying a knife and a piece of wood....

2. Some Non-Work Activity Is Indeed ‘Work.’ Even though it may not seem like work, your employees are entitled to be paid at least minimum wage for some non-work activities such as: Meals and break times (even if an employee uses those breaks to sleep), Time spent putting on work-required uniform or safety gear, and Time spent sharpening knifes or maintaining other instruments necessary for work. 3. The Standard Is Employee-Focused....

Last year you may have been introduced to William Shatner’s turkey fryer fire video about how to deep-fry a turkey without getting burned. The video goes through some basic safety precautions and a few “don’ts” to make sure frying enthusiasts stay safe on Thanksgiving. But it’s not the only video out there for people looking to enjoy some deep-fried Thanksgiving fare and still avoid a visit from the fire department....

After the appalling accusations levied at elder care facilities in Florida and California in the face of natural disasters, people are justifiably a little more worried about how their elder relatives are being cared for. What constitutes elder abuse? How do we know when it’s happening? And how can we deal with elder or nursing home abuse when it happens? Here are three legal tips when it comes to identifying and responding to elder abuse, from our archives:...

The kids are out of school for the summer, and now it’s time to ship them off to a nearby lake so someone else can keep track of them for a few weeks. We kid. You probably love to spend time with the little ones, but recognize the value in getting them out into nature and teaching them to canoe, shoot arrows, and sing campfire songs. And you also want to make sure they’re safe....

Traveling with pets? There are some laws you should know about. For many of us, our furry (or fur-less) little friends are not only that – they’re family. It’s not uncommon to want to bring all of our loved ones with us when we jet off, or gas up our cars, to travel somewhere. Summer is quickly approaching, and many long weekends are ahead of us. This means even more excuses to explore a new place or just take a break somewhere away from home....

With court testimony drawing to an end in the trial against Prop 8, we have taken the highlights of the end of court testimony in order to give you a snapshot of what went on in Judge Walker’s courtroom in San Francisco (since cameras were banned from the courtroom and all). The plaintiffs closed with Gregory Herek, a UC Davis psychology professor. He testified that most people feel that their sexual orientation is not a choice....

Buying a house is not something you’d take lightly. And when you find the perfect home, you want to keep it. But this is life, and things happen. So, if you’ve agreed to buy a house and change your mind, can you back out? And is there a time limit on your ability to get out of buying a home? The answer could depend on just how far into the home-buying process you are before you want to reverse course....

Chances are, you’ve driven over a bridge at least once or twice in your life. Have you ever thought about the idea of it collapsing and plunging your car down 50, 70, 100 feet? Recently, a bridge on I-10 connecting California and Arizona collapsed due to heavy rain and erosion. Luckily, nobody died. One car and its driver did crash because of the collapse, but the driver survived with some injuries....

Gender discrimination is pervasive in the work place, even if we don’t intend to perpetuate it. In 2011, the gender pay gap was 23 percent. For every dollar a man earned, a woman in the same job earned only 77 cents. Is this because men are smarter? Is this because employers are evil and biased against women? No. Discrimination is often inadvertent and unintentional. Most employers don’t design biased policies against women on purpose....

You got a visa so that you could enter the United States lawfully and return without trouble. But now the clock is ticking and your visa is about to expire, and you’re wondering what happens if you stay here anyway. The consequences of overstaying a visa can be very severe or quite minimal, depending on your circumstances. Of course, your best bet is to try to extend a visa before it expires, and you do have that option, generally speaking....

Let’s face it, renting an office space can be a daunting task. Commercial leases allow for plenty of room to wheel and deal, which can be a double-edged sword. It gives you the opportunity to bargain for what you want, but the options can be overwhelming. Fear not, business owner. Here are five legal questions to ask yourself before you rent office space: Remember, commercial leases are quite different from residential ones....

Last Friday, the California legislature passed legislation that will cut money from the prison system’s budget and reduce the number of inmates in its overcrowded prisons by an estimated 16,000. But will it be enough to satisfy a federal court order that the state submit a plan to reduce the number of inmates by more than 40,000? As discussed here previously, last month a panel of federal judges issued an order mandating that California present a plan to cut the population in the state’s vastly overcrowded prisons by over 40,000 inmates....

You can sue for diabetes medication side effects. But you can’t sue the drug maker under state law if it is a generic Food and Drug Administration-approved medication. That doesn’t mean there is nothing you can do. It just may impact the claims you can make depending on the drug you have taken. Suing for pharmaceutical drug defects is common and falls under personal injury law. The drug manufacturer is not the only target of the suit....

The National Labor Relations Board has passed a new union election rule. The new rule will alter labor union laws, making it easier and quicker for employees to hold unionization elections. The rules are set to go into effect on April 30. That is, if they survive a legal challenge filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. What should employers know about the new union rule? Generally, it will make it easier and faster for employees to vote on unionization....

[UPDATE: After this post was published, Eric Garner’s family accepted a $5.9 million settlement from New York City.] The widow of Eric Garner, the Staten Island man choked to death by NYPD officers last year, has rejected an offer of $5 million to settle a potential wrongful death lawsuit. Despite urging from the family’s attorney to accept the money, Esaw Garner declined the offer and the family has indicated it intends to sue the city instead, for $75 million....

Facebook has more personal data on its users than almost any other website, and certainly more than any other social media site. And that data is particularly valuable to advertisers, who like the ability to target ads as closely to their chosen demographic as possible. This goes for job ads as well, as employers want to reach people who live in a certain area or tout specific credentials like degrees or job experience on their profiles....