Ed Shaw Law Blog
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Covers Articles on Bankruptcy, Criminal Defense, Divorce, Civil Law, and more. The Law Office of Edward R. Shaw, P.A. has been providing no-nonsense legal advice in the Brainerd Lakes Area for over 17 years.
Ed Shaw Law Blog
5d ago
I watch very little TV, but the shows that I have seen about the legal system vary in how accurate they are, some are almost completely fantasy, others were clearly put together by people who have worked in the legal system and are pretty accurate. Almost all of the shows, the more, and less accurate, usually get one thing wrong,…
The post THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE GRIND SLOWLY first appeared on Ed Shaw Law ..read more
Ed Shaw Law Blog
2w ago
The question comes up for me all the time. Oftentimes, people do not know if they need to show up for court or simply sign a written statement, called an Affidavit. Here are the rules for an in-person hearing, usually called a trial or an evidentiary hearing: anyone who will be a witness, who will make a statement to the…
The post WHEN DO YOU SHOW UP FOR COURT, WHEN DO YOU WRITE A STATEMENT? first appeared on Ed Shaw Law ..read more
Ed Shaw Law Blog
1M ago
This week, our office received the news every defense attorney loves to see, a charge against a client was dismissed by the prosecutor. How does a criminal charge get dismissed? The short answer, either the Court dismisses after a request by the defense, or the prosecutor decides to dismiss on their own. I am often asked to contact the prosecutor and request…
The post How does a criminal charge get dismissed? first appeared on Ed Shaw Law ..read more
Ed Shaw Law Blog
2M ago
This past spring some major changes were made to Minnesota Family laws. Almost all family law is made at the state level. For laws to change, new laws have to be passed by a majority of the state legislature, both houses, and signed by the Governor. That is not an easy process. In most years we do not see major…
The post NEW FAMILY LAWS first appeared on Ed Shaw Law ..read more
Ed Shaw Law Blog
3M ago
It happens every year, summer ends, and, for those of us with kids of certain ages, they go back to school. Back to school is a project even when parents live together, getting supplies, signing up for sports and extra curricular activities, getting schedules sorted out. When parents do not live together it is even more challenging, especially when they…
The post BACK TO SCHOOL first appeared on Ed Shaw Law ..read more
Ed Shaw Law Blog
4M ago
It is a common misperception, helped by many TV shows and movies, that police are always required to read you your rights when you are arrested. That is not the case. They only have to read your rights if you are in custody, meaning not free to go, and they are asking you questions. If the police fail to read you your rights, you are in custody, and, they ask you questions, they cannot use any information that they get from your answers against you. Even if the police read you your rights, if you still talk to them, they can use what you say against them. If you are not in custo ..read more
Ed Shaw Law Blog
5M ago
Ex Parte is one of those legalese terms that few who are not lawyers understand. It came from Latin, an ancient language that was the ancestor of the modern French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian languages. Some Latin terms find their way into the English language, including the term Ex Parte, which means by or for one party. In the legal system one party makes an Ex Parte request without notice to the other party. It is rare for anything in the court system to be done by just one party, without notice to the other, Ex Parte actions are rare, and only allowed in special circum ..read more
Ed Shaw Law Blog
5M ago
I spent last weekend at my kid’s soccer tournament, watching my son’s games and coaching my daughter’s. If you have not participated in youth sports before it is a great time and extremely rewarding. If your kids are in sports, volunteer to help out coaching, assisting the coach, or helping the team in some other way; you will be glad that you did. As adults dealing with the legal system, we can learn from how kids play games. We see most kids humble in victory, gracious in defeat, dealing with adversity and moving on when a call or the game does not go their way. Unfortunately, we do see a fe ..read more
Ed Shaw Law Blog
6M ago
That old saying is a little misleading. There is a good argument that knowledge is always good; the more one knows the better. The old saying comes up a lot in my line of work. I hear from people who have seen material online that tells them a little bit about how the legal system may work, but it is not helpful, or downright harmful to their case. The info they find online may be completely wrong or it may be true for a different state or a different type of legal situation than what they have. Doing your own research online can be a good supplement to the legal advice you are getti ..read more
Ed Shaw Law Blog
7M ago
This month is the 153rd anniversary of the passage of Section 1983. It is a federal law that most people have never heard of, but they usually have heard of famous cases involving police or government officials being sued under the law for misconduct or abuse of citizens. When Section 1983 was passed in 1871 it was intended to protect citizens in the south of the country, newly liberated from slavery from attacks by racist pro confederate local governments and police who often tried to prevent newly freed Black citizens from exercising their basic rights. Local officials and police in the sout ..read more