In Virginia, it’s illegal to be intoxicated by drugs or alcohol in public. The officer has the discretion to transport you to a detoxication center (or drunk tank) in lieu of arrest. Pursuant to Virginia Code 18.2-388, if any person “profanely curses
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A question I get often is what are my parental rights if there is no custody order in place? In most states, the answer is it depends. If you were married to the other parent, and are listed on the child’s birth
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At midnight, the District of Columbia ordinance reducing marijuana possession to a $25.00 fine went into effect. The legislation amended the possession or transfer of up to one ounce of marijuana from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil violation. The public consumption
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Last week, the Senate held a hearing on child trafficking and re-homing. The practice of re-homing involves parents giving away their adopted children to strangers they meet online. The little-known practice gained some press when Reuters news service investigated the issue last
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Many people wonder – can I move to another state with my civil protective order? How will the state enforce it? If you have a Washington, DC Civil Protective Order, it can be enforced in another state, as long as it meets
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Sometimes parents will ask if the grandparents have any rights to visitation during their divorce or custody case. In 2000, the United States Supreme Court decided Troxel v. Granville, which stated that parents have a fundamental right to the “care, custody, and
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As summer starts, many working parents start to wonder when they can leave children home alone. There is no federal law regarding the age at which children may stay home or babysit. Very few states have any laws on the subject either.
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A Virginia man, Jesse Lee Herald, chose to get a vasectomy as part of his plea agreement in a child endangerment case. The agreement will shave off up to five years of his of his prison sentence. Herald has at least seven
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With graduation season in full swing, many parents are thinking about college. For parents going through a divorce, the question becomes a matter of who is going to pay for college. In Virginia, child support ends when the child turns 18; or
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As school comes to an end, seniors across the country play senior pranks. It’s a tradition that’s very common, and so most of the time students don’t get in much trouble about it – except to receive clean-up duty. Not the case
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