Houston Divorce Lawyer Answers Common Questions About Mediation
By: Marilyn Gale Vilyus
If you are reading this, then you are probably either thinking of filing for divorce -- or have a feeling that your spouse may be filing for divorce -- whether you want to separate or not.
One of the common questions that an individual going through the divorce process asks is "What is a Divorce Mediation?"
Mediation is a process which allows both you and your spouse to maintain control over your destiny and the terms of your divorce settlement. Both parties and attorneys attend either a four-hour or eight-hour mediation, depending on the complexity of your case.
Is the Mediator a Lawyer?
Although some mediators are social workers, most commonly the mediator is a lawyer who acts as a neutral person to help you settle your case.
How is the Mediator Chosen?
The mediator is chosen and agreed upon by the attorneys. Every Family Law attorney has a "short list" of competent mediators who specialize in family law with whom we are familiar, whose style we are comfortable with, and who we have found to be effective, particularly considering the individual aspects of your specific case.
What is the Role of the Mediator?
The role of the mediator is to facilitate an agreement between the parties to prevent the necessity for a trial.
Can What I Say Be Used Against Me Later?
Everything said during mediation is confidential. The mediator cannot be made to testify in court if a settlement is not reached. The mediator will only report one of two things: "settlement": or "no settlement".
Further, you and your attorney will advise the mediator what you do or do not want shared with your spouse and your spouse’s attorney!
How Does This Work Exactly?
Procedurally, you and your attorney will remain in one room, while your spouse and his or her attorney stays in a separate room. The mediator travels from room to room conveying each side’s offer and/or counteroffer.
Sometimes, the parties mediate by all being in the same room together. This is common if your mediation is taking place at a county dispute resolution center.
About The Author
Law Office of Marilyn Gale Vilyus
Attorney/ Mediator
16151 Cairnway Drive Ste. 210
Houston, TX 77084
281-550-6650
http://www.westhoustonattorney.com
Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
This article is designed for general information only. This information is not intended to be legal advice. Consult an attorney for before making any legal decisions based on your individual circumstances.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Copyright What Can You Protect
By: Richard A. Chapo
The legal protection known has “copyright” has come front and center over the past few years with major legal rulings regarding peer-to-peer networks on the Internet. Copyright protection, however, can be a confusing area of the law. This article details what can and cannot be protected by copyright.
Copyright Protection? - Yes
Copyright protects "original works of authorship" in a tangible, fixed form of expression. The material does need to be directly perceptible as long as it can be expressed with the aid of technology. A good example of this is a movie, which requires a projection device of some sort.
Materials that can be copyrighted include:
1. Literary works;
2. Musical works, including any accompanying words
3. Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
4. Pantomimes and choreographic works
5. Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
6. Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
7. Sound recordings
8. Architectural works
Each of these categories is traditionally given a very broad reading. For instance, “literary works” include computer programs and plans for building a home are considered "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works." While copyright cuts a broad path, it doesn’t cover everything.
Protected by Copyright? – No
If a work is not tangible, copyright protection will not apply. This can lead to confusion, so here are a few categories not eligible for protection from copyright:
1. Works that are not fixed. For example, the statements made by experts at a round table discussion or a comedian’s stage act.
2. Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans. These materials may be eligible for patent protection.
3. Ideas, procedures and methods.
Copyright protection is a valuable intellectual property tool. If it all possible, copyright the material you produce to prevent others from misusing it.
About The Author
Richard Chapo is with http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com - providing legal services to businesses in San Diego.
The legal protection known has “copyright” has come front and center over the past few years with major legal rulings regarding peer-to-peer networks on the Internet. Copyright protection, however, can be a confusing area of the law. This article details what can and cannot be protected by copyright.
Copyright Protection? - Yes
Copyright protects "original works of authorship" in a tangible, fixed form of expression. The material does need to be directly perceptible as long as it can be expressed with the aid of technology. A good example of this is a movie, which requires a projection device of some sort.
Materials that can be copyrighted include:
1. Literary works;
2. Musical works, including any accompanying words
3. Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
4. Pantomimes and choreographic works
5. Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
6. Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
7. Sound recordings
8. Architectural works
Each of these categories is traditionally given a very broad reading. For instance, “literary works” include computer programs and plans for building a home are considered "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works." While copyright cuts a broad path, it doesn’t cover everything.
Protected by Copyright? – No
If a work is not tangible, copyright protection will not apply. This can lead to confusion, so here are a few categories not eligible for protection from copyright:
1. Works that are not fixed. For example, the statements made by experts at a round table discussion or a comedian’s stage act.
2. Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans. These materials may be eligible for patent protection.
3. Ideas, procedures and methods.
Copyright protection is a valuable intellectual property tool. If it all possible, copyright the material you produce to prevent others from misusing it.
About The Author
Richard Chapo is with http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com - providing legal services to businesses in San Diego.
Breathalyzer Results
5 Tips on How to Avoid a False DUI Breathalyzer Result
By: Lawrence Taylor
Let's say you had a drink or two but don't feel you are under the influence of alcohol. However, you are arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and offered the choice of taking a breath or blood test (or, in some states, urine). Most DUI suspects choose the breath test -- a choice which could doom your chances to prove your innocence. Consider the following advice when deciding which test to take:
1. If you smoke cigarettes, you may want to pass on that Breathalyzer mouthpiece the officer is handing you. Scientific research has shown that smoking can raise the test result considerably -- enough to get you charged and convicted of drunk driving. This is because most breath analyzing devices will falsely report acetaldehyde as alcohol. Acetaldehyde is a compound produced in the liver in small amounts as a by-product in the metabolism of alcohol. However, scientists have found acetaldehyde concentrations in the lungs of smokers are far greater than for non-smokers. ("Origin of Breath Acetaldehyde During Ethanol Oxidation: Effect of Long-Term Cigarette Smoking", 100 Journal of Laboratory Clinical Medicine 908). Translated: because breathalyzers can’t tell the difference between alcohol and acetaldehyde, cigarette smokers will have a higher blood-alcohol reading.
2. If you are a diabetic with possible low blood sugar, you should also avoid the breath test. A well-documented by-product of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is a state called ketoacidosis, which causes the production of acetone -- and acetone, like acetaldehyde, will be reported by the Brethalyzer as alcohol. In other words, the Breathalyzer will read significant levels of alcohol on a diabetic’s breath where there may be little or none. See "Diabetes, Breath Acetone and Breathalyzer Accuracy: A Case Study", 9(1) Alcohol, Drugs and Driving (1993). To make matters worse, the reactions of a person in the early stages of a diabetic attack include dizziness, blurred vision, slurred speech, weakness, loss of coordination and confusion -- the same symptoms which the patrol officer is looking for: the clear signs of a person under the influence of alcohol. And the officer's observations are quickly followed by a failing performance on DUI field sobriety tests.
3. Are you on a low-carb diet? Or had nothing to eat in quite awhile? Avoid the Breathalyzer in a DUI investigation -- for the same reasons stated in number 2. Perfectly normal, healthy individuals can experience temporary conditions of low blood sugar after consuming small amounts of alcohol, resulting in exaggerated but false symptoms of intoxication. Fasting glycemia can exist where a person has not eaten in 24 hours or has been on a low-carbohydrate diet. Production of glucose in the liver is stopped while the alcohol is broken down. Result: the blood sugar level will drop, affecting the central nervous system -- and producing symptoms of a person under the influence of alcohol and a higher breath test result.
4. If you have acid reflux or have burped or belched before taking the Breathalyzer, offer to provide a blood sample instead. The reason is that you will be breathing alcohol from your stomach into your throat and oral cavity, where it will stay for 20 minutes or so -- to be breathed directly into the breath machine. This is not a good thing. The machine's computer is multiplying the amount of alcohol in the breath sample by 2100 times to provide a reading of the alcohol in the blood. This is because it assumes the sample came from the lungs, not the stomach, and the average person has 2100 units of alcohol in his blood for every unit of alcohol in his breath (called the partition ratio). The Breathalyzer does not "know" that your breath sample is not from your lungs and that it should not multiply the alcohol level by anything. Result: false high readings -- and a DUI conviction.
5. When you see that officer in the rear-view mirror, don't reach for the mouthwash or breath spray to disguise the drink or two you've had. Most of them contain significant levels of alcohol (Listerine, for example is 27% alcohol) and create a mouth alcohol effect: they remain in the oral cavity for 20 minutes or so -- just long enough to be breathed into the Breathalyzer, with the same results mentioned in number 4. Some breath machines have a mouth alcohol detector, but these are highly unreliable.
About The Author
Lawrence Taylor is the senior member of an AV-rated law firm of Las Vegas DUI lawyers practicing drunk driving defense exclusively. See http://www.duilasvegas.com / for more information.
By: Lawrence Taylor
Let's say you had a drink or two but don't feel you are under the influence of alcohol. However, you are arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and offered the choice of taking a breath or blood test (or, in some states, urine). Most DUI suspects choose the breath test -- a choice which could doom your chances to prove your innocence. Consider the following advice when deciding which test to take:
1. If you smoke cigarettes, you may want to pass on that Breathalyzer mouthpiece the officer is handing you. Scientific research has shown that smoking can raise the test result considerably -- enough to get you charged and convicted of drunk driving. This is because most breath analyzing devices will falsely report acetaldehyde as alcohol. Acetaldehyde is a compound produced in the liver in small amounts as a by-product in the metabolism of alcohol. However, scientists have found acetaldehyde concentrations in the lungs of smokers are far greater than for non-smokers. ("Origin of Breath Acetaldehyde During Ethanol Oxidation: Effect of Long-Term Cigarette Smoking", 100 Journal of Laboratory Clinical Medicine 908). Translated: because breathalyzers can’t tell the difference between alcohol and acetaldehyde, cigarette smokers will have a higher blood-alcohol reading.
2. If you are a diabetic with possible low blood sugar, you should also avoid the breath test. A well-documented by-product of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is a state called ketoacidosis, which causes the production of acetone -- and acetone, like acetaldehyde, will be reported by the Brethalyzer as alcohol. In other words, the Breathalyzer will read significant levels of alcohol on a diabetic’s breath where there may be little or none. See "Diabetes, Breath Acetone and Breathalyzer Accuracy: A Case Study", 9(1) Alcohol, Drugs and Driving (1993). To make matters worse, the reactions of a person in the early stages of a diabetic attack include dizziness, blurred vision, slurred speech, weakness, loss of coordination and confusion -- the same symptoms which the patrol officer is looking for: the clear signs of a person under the influence of alcohol. And the officer's observations are quickly followed by a failing performance on DUI field sobriety tests.
3. Are you on a low-carb diet? Or had nothing to eat in quite awhile? Avoid the Breathalyzer in a DUI investigation -- for the same reasons stated in number 2. Perfectly normal, healthy individuals can experience temporary conditions of low blood sugar after consuming small amounts of alcohol, resulting in exaggerated but false symptoms of intoxication. Fasting glycemia can exist where a person has not eaten in 24 hours or has been on a low-carbohydrate diet. Production of glucose in the liver is stopped while the alcohol is broken down. Result: the blood sugar level will drop, affecting the central nervous system -- and producing symptoms of a person under the influence of alcohol and a higher breath test result.
4. If you have acid reflux or have burped or belched before taking the Breathalyzer, offer to provide a blood sample instead. The reason is that you will be breathing alcohol from your stomach into your throat and oral cavity, where it will stay for 20 minutes or so -- to be breathed directly into the breath machine. This is not a good thing. The machine's computer is multiplying the amount of alcohol in the breath sample by 2100 times to provide a reading of the alcohol in the blood. This is because it assumes the sample came from the lungs, not the stomach, and the average person has 2100 units of alcohol in his blood for every unit of alcohol in his breath (called the partition ratio). The Breathalyzer does not "know" that your breath sample is not from your lungs and that it should not multiply the alcohol level by anything. Result: false high readings -- and a DUI conviction.
5. When you see that officer in the rear-view mirror, don't reach for the mouthwash or breath spray to disguise the drink or two you've had. Most of them contain significant levels of alcohol (Listerine, for example is 27% alcohol) and create a mouth alcohol effect: they remain in the oral cavity for 20 minutes or so -- just long enough to be breathed into the Breathalyzer, with the same results mentioned in number 4. Some breath machines have a mouth alcohol detector, but these are highly unreliable.
About The Author
Lawrence Taylor is the senior member of an AV-rated law firm of Las Vegas DUI lawyers practicing drunk driving defense exclusively. See http://www.duilasvegas.com / for more information.
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