For our first installment, Criminal Defense Attorney, Seth Bloom, of Bloom Legal fields questions from internet users about DWI convictions and Expungements.

Questions answered this session:
“How long will a DWI conviction remain on my record?”
“Can I have a DWI conviction expunged from my record?”
“Do I have to report a DWI to my employer?”

We look forward to reading and answering your questions each week and would like to invite you to submit them to us either via our LawQA profile or in the comments section on this blog.

While we will not be able to answer all of the questions we receive, we will do our best to answer those which seem of most interest to our readers.

(It is important to note that the content of these videos is not intended to constitute actual legal advice, these are general commentaries on broad topics of law. If you need assistance with a specific legal question, you will need to hire an attorney. Bloom Legal is available 24/7 by phone at 504-599-9997 or online and we always offer a free consultation.)

Photo Courtesy of NPR.org

Shohaib Athar, a computer programmer from Abbottabad, Pakistan reportedly posted a number of tweets to his Twitter page complaining about the noise from a helicopter hovering near his apartment at approximately 1 am. He continued to tweet about the sound of explosions and other signs of conflict throughout the night.

According to reports, shortly after his posts to Twitter, Athar was flooded with e-mails from the news media asking him for more information.

For more on this story, visit NPR.

Photo Courtesy of NYDailyNews.com

Prosecutors in the case are using an unprecedented reading of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) traditionally used to prosecute highly skilled hackers who commit security breaches.

According to sources, Mr. Walker accessed his wife’s e-mail account using her password which he found in a a notebook. He claims that he read her e-mails suspecting that she was carrying on an affair, a suspicion with proved to be true. The discovery of the affair led Mr. Walker to be concerned for the safety of the woman’s child who apparently had witnessed violence perpetrated against his mother by the man she was currently carrying on an affair with (her second husband). The defendant used the information obtained from the e-mails to alert the woman’s first husband (the child’s father) to the situation prompting him to file a custody order.

While it is certainly not advisable to attempt to access and or read anyone else’s e-mail, it seems clear that the original intent of the CFAA was to protect citizens against advanced computer hackers and not to impose severe sentences upon people such as Mr. Walker who do not have a computer hacking background and pose no real security threat.

If you or someone you know are facing charges for an invasion of privacy or hacking, contact Bloom Legal today at 504-599-9997 to schedule a free consultation to discuss the details of your case.

Photo Courtesy of boingboing.net

Assange is facing one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape against two women who allege among other things that Assange had sex with both on separate occasions without using a condom despite their express wishes that one be used.

Supporters of Assange and his organization, Wikileaks, have begun to circulate speculation that his arrest is related to the recent leak of US Diplomatic Cables through the Wikileaks website and not about any alleged sexual misconduct.

Assange is expected to remain in prison in London until the 14th of December while he fights extradition to Sweden.

The recent storm of controversy surrounding Wikileaks’ release of classified information has raised important questions about rights to free speech and the unregulated nature of the Internet.

Charges of sexual assault can have extremely severe consequences to anybody whether or not they are based on truth. If you or someone you know are being charged with sexual assault it is imperative to seek competent legal counsel. Call Bloom Legal today at 504-599-9997 to schedule a free consultation to discuss the details of your case.

Photo Courtesy of DigitalTrends.com

In order to give a strong message to the people of Louisiana about the new law prohibiting texting while driving, firefighters cut out the young girl who received the brunt of the accident from the car of the texting teen and told her mother that she was no longer going to be able to perform simple tasks such as eating or brushing her teeth.

Officers took the other girl away in cuffs charging her with the negligent act of texting and driving. These officers were making it clear to those who viewed the mock accident in person, or on the news, that Louisiana is serious about its new law prohibiting texting and driving.

While we do not condone dangerous behavior while driving, we understand that accidents happen. If you or someone you know are issued a ticket for texting while driving or are in an accident with someone because they were texting, contact Bloom Legal today at 504-599-9997 to schedule a free consultation to discuss the details of your case.

Photo Courtesy of DigitalTrends.com

Prior to this weekend, police were able to cite drivers for text messaging behind the wheel only if they had been pulled over for another primary offense such as speeding. The new law will make it possible for drivers to be stopped merely for being seen texting while driving.

Fines will start at $75 and can go up to as much as $500 for repeat offenders although some police departments have issued statements indicating that they will be issuing warnings early on in order to allow for a short learning curve.

Another part of the law that will take effect this weekend will ban any use of cellphones behind the wheel for drivers age 17 and under.

If you are pulled over and issued a ticket for texting while driving it is important that you consult with an experienced traffic attorney in order to minimize the risk of incurring points against your driver’s license and hikes in your insurance rates. Contact Bloom Legal today at 504-599-9997 to schedule a free consultation.

Photo Courtesy of kozinets.net

In the realm of personal injury cases in particular, information relating to the event in question can often be traced through a defendant’s Facebook profile. In some instances, references to drinking or attending a party on the date of a traffic accident have been used as evidence to suggest that a party was negligent.

This poses an interesting question into how lawyers will come to advise their clients in the future when accepting cases. It may eventually become standard practice for attorneys to require their clients to delete their social media profiles before accepting their cases or at the very least to enable strict privacy settings.

As a general rule, individuals involved in pending trials and court cases should never disclose information that pertains to those trials and the events in question in any sort of public forum. The personal tone and apparent privacy of social media platforms like Facebook can make it easy to forget just how publicly accessible the content within can be.

For the full article on Courtney Van Winkle’s talk please visit this site.

If you are involved in a matter that could justify a personal injury case, contact Bloom Legal at 504-599-9997 to discuss your options and learn how we can help you today.

House Bill 1259 would make it a crime to “coerce, abuse, torment, intimidate, frighten, harass, embarrass, or cause emotional distress” to anyone 17 years and younger through the Internet or any other electronic communication.

On March 18th, the bill was adjusted to take care of two problems brought to attention by members of the senate committee. The first concern, brought forward by State Sen. Ann Duplessis (D- New Orleans), regarded the punishment for adults. Originally six months in jail for a first offense, Duplessis was concerned that this would create a legal loophole to avoid harsher penalties included in the cyberstalking law already in the book. Instead, the bill was amended to include a penalty of up to one year in prison and a maximum of a $2,000 fine. Second, State Senator Conrad Appel called for a malicious intent clause to be placed in the bill to avoid unnecessary charges on innocent children.

After the amendments were included, the Committee voted 4-1 to send the bill to the Senate floor.

By posting this story of consumer dissatisfaction on the web, enyaWecurB has found an alternative to the usual path to justice that our society has established:  the judicial system.  What does this mean for enyaWecurB, and what does this mean for you?  Should you follow enyaWecurB’s example with your next consumer complaint?

The answer for enyaWecurB is enya didn’t have to pay a dime for posting about this extreme dissatisfaction, and letting others know that the Blockbuster subscription service may have problems.  As long as enya can document what has been written as being truthful, Blockbuster has no recourse against enya for defamation — and heck, Blockbuster might want to make enya happy.  Enya might get results from this because Blockbuster’s public relations department thinks it’s a good idea. 

However, enyaWecurB may have some legal hassles if the Sherman Oaks store is harmed by the phone number being listed.  If the business there is significantly damaged, then BlockBuster might have a claim against enya for interference.   Stranger things have happened.

As for going to the web rather than going to the courthouse – well, it’s not new, really.  Complaints to the Better Business Bureau and letters to the local newspaper, as well as protesting outside of stores, have all been done in the past.  Warning others of bad service isn’t new; the distinction is that there’s no avenue for compensation here.

If you want an Evildoer to compensate you for damages that you have sustained, then you have to enter into the judicial system.  Here, there are judges with the authority to make others pay.   Online ranting may feel great, but it doesn’t force Blockbuster’s hand.  A judgment in the hands of a sheriff for execution, that’s another story. 

Of course, there’s the issue of cost-effectiveness here — when is it worth your while to go to small claims court?  But that’s a different post, for a different day.