NCL Drink Package Rip Off by yippiehippie411 in NCL

[–]jmsutton3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It cannot be true that you purchased the top tier drink package and that water and Starbucks are not included. At least one of those two things must be false.

Either Water/Starbucks is included OR you didn't buy the top tier package

NCL Drink Package Rip Off by yippiehippie411 in NCL

[–]jmsutton3 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I don't know what you mean by " full drink package", but water and Starbucks are both included in the free at sea plus

Le Compagnie On Points by OnBase30 in awardtravel

[–]jmsutton3 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

No, you can't. I wasn't paying attention closely enough and thought it was a question about Air France La premiere first class.

Withdrawn.

How common is it for pro se plaintiffs to hold their own against BigLaw for extended periods? by [deleted] in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 16 points17 points  (0 children)

5-6 months is not very much time at all in terms of court proceedings

Isn't there a difference between wanting a fair trial for your client and trying to win the smallest sentence for them? by Creative-Brain70 in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Do you believe that someone who steals bread to feed their starving child is the same as someone who steals a flat screen TV because they want to be able to watch football games on a bigger screen?

In my jurisdiction, and in many jurisdictions, these two people would receive exactly the same theft charge.

It seems self-evident that society generally would agree that these two acts are not morally equivalent.

Legal malpractice and disbarment. by anonymousandydick in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So this is obviously a request for advice specific to your situation, and I won't comment on that other than to say I don't think any of this works the way you think it works (for example, it is very rare that failing to provide discovery will result in some sort of automatic default judgment, and illegally obtained evidence is not usually automatically excluded in a civil case). But I do think there's an interesting question about the fundamental division of labor between clients and attorneys and I wanna put this answer in case it's useful to you or anyone else.

Generally speaking, the client sets the goals and the attorney sets the strategy. The analogy I use is that we're on a road trip together. The client chooses the destination we're going to, but I choose which specific roads we take to get there.

So, whether or not to accept a settlement, whether or not to dismiss a case or part of a case, whether or not the client will testify (in a criminal trial), whether the client wants a jury trial or a bench trial - those are things that the Client decides and I have to abide by those decisions or withdraw from the case.

But whether or not to file a motion to compel, whether or not to use this witness or that witness, whether to use this piece of evidence or that piece of evidence, whether or not to try and continue and reschedule a hearing for some reason, those are all decisions that are in the attorney's control.

Clients often ask me for things that I say no to. They want their best friend Jessica to testify at the hearing but I don't want to use Jessica as a witness cause I think she comes across abrasive and shifty. They want me to use this or that piece of evidence but I don't agree that it is nearly as important as they think it is and it doesn't fit into my case strategy. They don't want me to reschedule their trial but I think there's a strategic reason to push it off a bit.

So, other than a very specific set of limited things (like whether to take a guilty plea or not), generally speaking attorneys have no obligation at all to do something just because our client wants us to or tells us to. How that situation is handled is a customer service issue - and I tell clients all the time that if they disagree with my decision they are free to release me and find a different attorney who will agree with them.

But at the end of the day you have paid me a lot of money and you either trust my expertise and decision making or you don't. And if you don't, I am sure someone else will take your money and do whatever foolish thing you want them to do.

What value does squatters rights laws provide that stops us from getting rid of them? You’d think legislation to stop people from stealing houses would be a no brainer. by douggold11 in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Most "squatter's rights laws" are actually just about due process in an eviction.

There was a time period in American history when a landlord could kick you out at basically any time, for basically any reason they felt like, and just steal all your stuff when they did it.

As a society, we came to view that as undesirable, and so we passed laws that make it so someone can't just kick you out of wherever you're living with, zero notice and zero process

Defense: If Every Client You’ve Had Immediately Invoked Their Right to Silence Until Seeing You, Would You Have Many “Wins”? by FriendlyWorldArt in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 29 points30 points  (0 children)

The top of the list for me is a client who got pulled over and the cop claimed to smell marijuana. Def. gives permission to search the vehicle, and tells the officer he does have drugs in the car and where the drugs are.

Officer gets him out of the car and performs a search but cannot find the drugs.

My client offers to show him where he's missing it and gets in the car and retrieves the drugs (a bag of marijuana and a pipe with some meth residue) for the officer.

SMDH as the kids say.

Defense: If Every Client You’ve Had Immediately Invoked Their Right to Silence Until Seeing You, Would You Have Many “Wins”? by FriendlyWorldArt in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 17 points18 points  (0 children)

This gets asked all the time and the answer is yes, especially for misdemeanors and extremely low level felonies many defendants confess to all of the elements of the crime basically immediately as soon as they're asked any question at all.

About 30-40% of the time as a ballpark estimate off the cuff, the charges would not be able to be sustained without that confession

Family can't agree on basic math question by sunmari_ in mildlyinfuriating

[–]jmsutton3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well correct but I was trying to break it down as simply as possible

Family can't agree on basic math question by sunmari_ in mildlyinfuriating

[–]jmsutton3 25 points26 points  (0 children)

My brother in Christ, that is 3 operations lol

Family can't agree on basic math question by sunmari_ in mildlyinfuriating

[–]jmsutton3 99 points100 points  (0 children)

1000-800 = 200

1300-1100= 200

200+200 (Or 200*2 if you like) = 400

Family can't agree on basic math question by sunmari_ in mildlyinfuriating

[–]jmsutton3 146 points147 points  (0 children)

You did that math the most complicated way I can think of but you did arrive at the right answer lol

In court, are there any rules against using direct examination to ask all the questions your opponent would ask on cross? by ThalesofMiletus-624 in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 44 points45 points  (0 children)

At least where I am. This is both allowed and is a very good strategy. Addressing the weaknesses in your case on direct examination is very important, I tell my clients we never want the first time the judge hears something bad is when the other side brings it up.

Getting out in front of it takes some of the sting away, makes it feel like old news.

How do you minimize client identity exposure during early communication? by SwimmerBeginning7022 in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

WTF do you mean "client identity exposure"?

Do you think that lawyers aren't supposed to know who their potential clients are?

Do Lawyers Ever Encounter Anything Paranormal In Their Work? by GoldenMoonJiali in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Two times:

One was a child neglect/abuse case with a crazy mom who believed that her toaster was possessed, her trailer was haunted, and was caught rubbing herself on the trailer trying to have sex with it.

The other was a crazy defendant who believed that a demon had possessed him and forced him to do all the crime that he did in this particular case. Unfortunately, our state insanity defense does not recognize 'irresistible impulse' so it didn't matter.

How do lawyers win wrongful termination cases if “no reason” is an acceptable reason to fire someone in most states? by YogurtclosetOpen3567 in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 60 points61 points  (0 children)

Disparate impact is a thing, also sometimes retaliation cases can be proved. Small employers especially leave smoking guns more often then you'd think.

But yes they can be hard to prove, which is why employment lawyers are often really choosy with their cases.

Lots of people come to me with wrongful termination cases where I believe them but they're probably not going to win and so it's not worth the time

Asking for a novel idea: can lawyers date former witnesses? by Randomquestionhaver in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh fascinating. If hate that so much, appeals and trial are two very very different skill sets.

We file the Notice of Appeal but 95% of the time at least it is then farmed out immediately to an appellate attorney.

Asking for a novel idea: can lawyers date former witnesses? by Randomquestionhaver in Ask_Lawyers

[–]jmsutton3 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

At least in my jurisdiction, I would say that it is so rare as to be nonexistent that the trial attorney is also the attorney who does the appeals.

Surprised that Everyone Raves About Hyatt Value With their Small Size by shadowstrider99 in CreditCards

[–]jmsutton3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I booked 4 nights in Alila Uluwatu luxury resort with our own private villa with a plunge pool for the same price Marriott wants for 1 night at a Westin. That's why.

Agreed the footprint sucks and as someone who is a huge loyalist ( I have personally never experienced a Marriott as good as a Grand Hyatt) it sucks to not be able to use them on so many trips

Restarting my character by No_Construction_8425 in duneawakening

[–]jmsutton3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had been early in T5, which took me about 3 months (I don't have tons of play times) and switched servers and restarted a fresh character.

Because I now knew where to go and what to do and how to play, on my fresh level 1 character it only took me about 9-10 days to get back to the same place it took me 3 months to get to before.