Skier & Associates is pleased to announce that our website describing the expungement process and how we plan to handle expungements for eligible clients is now LIVE.
Visit http://www.alabamaexpungement.com/ to learn more about the process of expunging your arrest record as well as what we can do for you if you are one of the thousands of people who are eligible for expungement of your arrest record.
Often, divorced parents become dissatisfied with custody arrangements that are put in place by their divorce court years after the order was entered. Whether one parent feels that the other parent is not keeping up their end of parental responsibility, or a parent who does not currently have any physical custodial rights now wants them, there are many reasons that a parent may be interested in having a custody order modified. Depending on what the specific circumstances are, however, the approach may differ from case to case.
In 1984, the Alabama Supreme Court established a rule, called the McLendon standard, by which petitions for custody modifications should be reviewed; if the original order was not one for joint custody, and the noncustodial parent seeks to modify the order, then that parent must establish that the positive good brought about by the modification must more than offset the inherently disruptive effect caused by uprooting the child. In addition, that parent seeking the change must show not only that he or she is a fit parent, but also that the change of custody materially promotes the child’s best interest and welfare.
If you are following the new law regarding expungement of arrests for certain offenses in Alabama, you will want to read this article:
The article does an excellent job of explaining the rationale behind the law as well as the circumstances under which a person can apply for an expungement.
There are two basic ways to dissolve a marriage in Alabama: divorces and annulments. Although media coverage of divorces is widespread, particularly with regard to celebrity couples, much less coverage is granted to annulments. The effect of an annulment is to declare an invalid marriage as having been void from inception. As opposed to traditional divorce situations, where grounds must be established as having taken place during the marriage, an annulment requires there to have been some extenuating circumstance at the inception of the marriage that rendered it ineffective. Additionally, there are other marriages that may be considered “voidable” rather than void at inception, and court action would have to be taken in order to have such a marriage declared voided.
Generally, fraud that is utilized to induce a marriage or to motivate a party to participate in a marriage may render such a marriage voidable. The prototypical “shotgun wedding” is a classic example of this. If a party to a wedding is improperly motivated to participate under threat of violence or death, otherwise termed “duress”, then a valid argument could be made in favor of an annulment.
Alabama has a new law that will allow many people who have been accused of committing a criminal offense, but had the charges dismissed, were found not guilty by a jury, or completed a program such as drug court or pretrial diversion to have the record of their arrest expunged from their criminal history.
This is a very big deal. At Skier & Associates, we have been advocating and lobbying for such a law for nearly a decade. It seemed to us to be demonstrably unfair that there was no remedy to have a criminal history cleared under these circumstances.
Our initial reading of the law is that the law will apply to people who were accused of a misdemeanor offense or a non-violent felony offense, and the case was disposed by dismissal, nolle pross, no-bill by a grand jury, or acquittal at trial.
In domestic relations proceedings, establishing proper jurisdiction is paramount. Upon the proper establishment of the two forms of jurisdiction needed, petitioners in a family law matter will be ready to have their case heard, but the likelihood of being heard only by a judge is high; contrary to belief, there is no right to a jury trial in a divorce proceeding.
In Alabama, a court must hold both subject matter and personal jurisdiction over a divorce case before it may hear the case. Subject matter jurisdiction, the first required type of jurisdiction for a court to hear a divorce case, is present if: (a) the status of the marriage is before the court; (b) a valid, statutory ground for divorce is pled; and (c) the residency requirement is met. Subsection (a) is fulfilled when the divorce pleading is filed, so long as at least one of the parties to the divorce is domiciled in Alabama. Under subsection (b), the ground stated for divorce must be sufficiently proven; if at least one of these grounds is not proven, a jurisdictional defect is said to have taken place and the proceedings will be deemed void.
Because of subsections (a) and (c), personal jurisdiction (further detailed below) is necessarily included in subject matter jurisdiction. Filing fees are always required, and differ in amount based on the county you are filing in. If the required filing fees are not paid, a jurisdictional defect is considered to have occurred. Because of this, careful planning is required for a properly filed divorce action to hold weight in Alabama’s court systems. For this reason, if you are considering proceeding with a domestic relations matter, it is highly important that you consult with an experienced family law attorney.
I was recently given the honor of being appointed to serve a second three-year term as CJA Panel Representative from the Middle District of Alabama. The CJA Panel is the group of private practice lawyers who are accepted by the Federal District Court to receive appointments to represent clients in that court. As CJA Panel Representative, my first task of the year was to attend the national conference in Alexandria, Virginia.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Criminal Justice Act, the landmark legislation that set up the system of appointed counsel in place today, allowing even those among us who are unable to afford legal representation will receive the competent, skilled assistance of a lawyer.
After attending the conference, I have a couple of thoughts that I would like to share.
For the past twenty years or so, Alabama laws have been changing in order to address the problem of violence among those in family relationships. These Domestic Violence laws supplement existing laws such as assault, menacing, reckless endangerment, or harassment if the alleged victim “is a current or former spouse, parent, child, any person with whom the defendant has a child in common, a present or former household member, or a person who has or had a dating or engagement relationship with the defendant” (Code of Alabama, § 13A-6-132)
In many cases, the “Domestic Violence” designation can result in an increased penalty upon a conviction, and even in the deprivation of civil rights such as the right to possess a firearm. In nearly every case, however, it results in differences in the way cases are handled.
It is the practice in most courts that a person arrested for an offense involving domestic violence is immediately served with a protective order that seeks to prevent further incidents, and sometimes forbids any contact at all between the accused and the alleged victim. Violations of these orders can lead to additional charges being brought against the accused. Because of this. it is important to carefully read these protective orders and strictly comply with their contents.
When a person is under 21 years of age at the time they allegedly commit a criminal offense, Alabama law allows them to be treated by the Court as a “Youthful Offender.” What is Youthful Offender (YO) status and what does it mean for me if I qualify?
When a person is granted YO by a judge, this designation has several benefits, some of them substantial.
First and foremost, if the charged offense is a felony, YO drastically reduces the range of punishment in the case to a maximum sentence of three years. Depending on the level of felony offense involved, this can be an important benefit. Even for a class “C” felony, a YO designation would reduce the maximum time of incarceration from 10 years to 3 years.
Equally importantly, the granting of YO has the effect of sealing the record of the case. Any record of the charge, arrest, and court proceedings are made off limits and are not accessible to anyone not involved in the case. This can be important as a young person embarks on their life and applies for jobs or educational opportunities.
Once a person has been granted YO status, even if they are found guilty of the charged offense, it will not show up on their record as a conviction. Instead, the court will treat it as an adjudication, and none of the usual effects of a conviction will apply. A person adjudicated as a Youthful Offender will not be deprived of their civil rights such as the right to vote or the right to carry a firearm.
The trade-off is that in order to be treated as a Youthful Offender, a person must forefeet their right to a trial by jury, and any trial would be before a judge only in a proceeding that is closed to the public.
No one wants to find themselves the subject of a police investigation, or under arrest for any criminal charge, no matter how minor. Many of us are unprepared and lack the knowledge of how to conduct ourselves in that situation. The information below will help you to handle that situation in the best way possible.
Alabama Pardon and Expungements Blog