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The first individual lawsuit for a child plaintiff poisoned by lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan has been filed. The child is a 2-year-old girl who went from friendly and responsive to perpetually irritable, according to the Detroit Free Press, and the lead levels in her blood are nearly three times higher than the baseline for toxicity. Luke Waid, the child’s father, announced on Monday with his lawyers that they filed suit against State of Michigan and Flint officials, including Governor Rick Snyder, former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley, and former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling....

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was reindicted on corruption charges by a federal grand jury. According to Reuters, prosecutors reindicted Blagojevich because the constitutionality of the law underpinning some of Blagojevich’s original charges – honest services fraud – has been challenged and is currently the subject of U.S. Supreme Court review in another case. Apparently, prosecutors do not want to wait around to see if the honest services fraud statute holds up....

Representing yourself in court is already a bad idea. And we’re pretty sure referring to yourself as ‘an idiot’ and ‘incompetent,’ all while demanding the court pay you $1 million for your legal service, probably doesn’t help matters. But that’s the sovereign citizen movement for you. Wait, what the heck is a sovereign citizen? Above the Law If you haven’t heard, so-called sovereign citizens declare themselves beyond municipal, state, and federal proceedings and statutes, and claim they are subject to their own interpretation of common law....

As Election Day approaches, Texas’ new voter ID law is causing problems for some voters, including some of those closest to the government. According to The Huffington Post, 90-year-old former U.S. Speaker of the House Jim Wright was unable to obtain a voter ID card on Saturday. The expired driver’s license and university faculty ID card Wright presented – the only forms of photo ID that he had – were insufficient for the new voter ID law....

– James Walker Nor a boy either, for that matter. Yet even now, people seem to fear this exact thing. Each year, September 25 to October 2 is Banned Books Week in the land of the free. Each year since 1982, The American Library Association (ALA) has sponsored this week as a teaching moment to bring to the attention of all that some censorship, or attempts at censorship, still exist in the libraries and schools of our country....

Virtual visitation. It’s a sign of the times, and not necessarily in a bad way. It’s a new tool for parents to use is difficult custody situations. U.S. family courts have begun to devise virtual visitation rights allowing parents the ability to interact with their children online, as reported in a recent FindLaw Writ post. “Virtual visitation,” has also been referred to as “e-visitation.” While obviously parents do not need a court’s permission to visit with their own children online, the courts can order such time to be set aside if the custodial parent is not cooperating....

You’ve likely heard a lot about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the last few days, and chances are the chatter isn’t going to stop. The bill has the potential to change the way you use the Internet. It’s designed to give rights-holders more power to stop online piracy, but it arguably shifts the burden of enforcement to technology companies. As a result, SOPA may affect small business. Google’s policy counsel testified at the House hearing on Wednesday and specifically addressed how SOPA may affect small business....

Every states has adopted a Graduated Driver’s License (GDL) system, which restricts all new drivers with different requirements and different punishments for violating these restrictions. The punishments are determined by state law, and they may surprise you. If you were born before 1970, this nomenclature in the driver’s license process may be new to you. There are usually three phases, where a person graduates from a learner’s permit up to a full driver’s license:...

Disability insurance can give you a source of much needed income if you’re too injured or sick to work. That’s if it pays out. All too often, Social Security disability insurance claims are denied, for a variety of reasons. This can be a disheartening experience, but it’s important to know that a denial is not the end of the process. It is possible to appeal a denial of your disability benefits, but the first step in the appeals process is figuring out why your claim was denied in the first place....

Though they were never able to have their fourth child, the IVF mixup that left Carolyn Savage implanted with the wrong embryo has come to an end. She and her husband Sean settled the potential medical malpractice case, but have agreed not to name the clinic. Early in 2009, Carolyn Savage went to a local fertility clinic for an in vitro fertilization procedure, hoping to have a fourth child. Ten days later, the clinic called and told her there was a mixup: she was pregnant, but they had implanted the wrong embryo....

If you were prescribed the anticoagulant, or blood thinner, Xarelto and were injured as a result, you are not alone. If you choose to sue the drug manufacturer, you will also not be the first. Last month, an estate administrator was the latest to file a complaint against Janssen Pharmaceuticals and a slew of other entities in federal court in Louisiana on behalf of a deceased woman who allegedly died from complications associated with the drug....

The notorious pepper-spraying cop from a student “Occupy” protest in California is appealing for worker’s compensation, claiming he suffered psychiatric injury from the 2011 confrontation. John Pike, formerly with the University of California, Davis’ police force, has a settlement conference set for August 13 in Sacramento, reports The Associated Press. Pike was fired in July 2012, eight months after an investigation found that his action was unwarranted. Online videos of him and another officer casually dousing demonstrators with pepper spray went viral, sparking outrage at UC Davis leaders....

What is “sharenting”? Over 50 percent of moms and 33 percent of dads are guilty of doing it, a recent survey reveals. Do you post photos, stories, and videos of your little ones on your Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram? You’re not alone. A University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital poll found that a majority of parents do post about their children and the trials and tribulations of parenthood online. Researchers call this “sharenting....

Antoinette Tuff made an incredibly difficult 911 call and helped to prevent a mass shooting at an elementary school near Atlanta on Tuesday. What can we learn from Tuff’s heroic call and how she handled the situation? Tuff, who works in the front office at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy, called 911 when a gunman, later identified as Michael Brandon Hill, walked into the school, armed with an assault rifle....

Nearly 275,000 organizations nationwide had their status as a non-profit revoked last week, with the Internal Revenue Service releasing a list of non-profit groups that either failed to complete the required forms or had not submitted documentation for the last three years. Though this represents about 17% of non-profits across the country, The NonProfit Times reports that a large portion of the listed organizations are no longer in existence or have reformulated into new organizations....

Internships sound like a win-win for all involved: employers get access to new ideas and perspectives, all unpaid; and students and people entering the field gain valuable insight and experience. But those benefits don’t come without risks. There are rules when hiring interns, especially unpaid interns, and limits on what they can and cannot do. So to make sure your small business and your interns are getting the most out of the internship experienced, here are three things to think about:...

Guest post by Jennifer K. Halford, Esq. Many business owners operate their business out of their homes. It is convenient. Startup and operation costs are limited. And there are no overhead costs associated with an office building or storefront. Yet operating a business out of your home is not as simple as sitting down at your kitchen table and getting to work. You need to make sure you are legally able to work out of your home....

If you think shoplifters are your biggest problem, think again. In North America, employee theft surpasses shoplifting and in amounts eight times the average stolen by shoplifters. With statistics like these, at some point during your career, you will undoubtedly catch an employee stealing. When that day comes, do you know how you will react? If you don’t, it’s time to start thinking about it. To get you started, here’s a basic plan for handling employee theft....

Labor law isn’t a neat package of rules and regulations that is easy to reference. Rules protecting employees and employers are scattered in different laws and regulated by different agencies. That means it can be hard to figure out what kinds of protections are available to employees. In many situations, it won’t be your employer telling you. When it comes to enforcing rights, it’s good to know what you’re entitled to....

Baltimore Police Officer Gahiji Tshamba is accused of shooting to death an unarmed Marine outside of a city nightclub. Officer Gahiji Tshamba was indicted by a grand jury on first-degree murder and handgun charges, the Baltimore Sun reports. Tshamba is a 15-year veteran of the city police force. Apparently, he had been hanging out with friends and a female companion when witnesses said Tyrone Brown, a former Marine, groped Tshamba’s female companion, which led to an argument and confrontation....