Peter Wang Per Diem Attorney

Peter Wang Per Diem Attorney We have fought for more than 40 years to protect civil rights and achieve lived equality for communities in need.

Peter Wang Per Diem Attorney combines the power of law, organizing, and the private bar to make lasting change where it’s needed most.

09/30/2020

Parolee Rights after Early Release
Parole is not available to all prisoners behind state or federal bars, and there are often certain conditions necessary to ensure the safety of the public when releasing the individual. Some of these conditions are what a person may consider unlawful, but to understand the full possible rights available, the person may need to hire a lawyer.

Challenging the Parole Condition
For a person moving from a prison to the freedom that parole offers, he or she may need to sign the conditional paperwork that provides the parole situation. If the individual does not sign the document, he or she may remain in custody for a longer period of time. Challenges to the conditions may take time and trying to do so may require the freedom of parole. The first step is to file an administrative appeal to challenge the condition. Unfortunately, if the administrative appeal does not push through, it is because the condition is a state statute. This invalidates the appeal.
The Rights of the Parolee
When a person progresses through an early release due to parole, he or she has fewer rights than before a conviction. The conditions of the release generally require certain aspects that are in direct conflict with the rights of a United States citizen. These may include searches and seizures of property without a warrant, questioning the person without the need for suspicion of illegal activity and many other issues. The rights are greatly diminished than before prison was a factor for the person. Knowing what rights still exist may depend on the state and the specific circumstances.
Conditions of Parole
When released early from a long sentence in prison for good behavior or cooperation, a person enters parole. The conditions of this period of early release may come with certain stipulations that press the individual into difficulty. These provisions may include items that may incriminate the person more so than when he or she was in the courtroom defending against the criminal act. With fewer rights and protections in place, this could result in the parolee incriminating his or her situation further than when convicted. However, while the person may refuse to answer questions, he or she may suffer a revocation of the parole for doing so with a probation officer or other law enforcement.

The right to avoid self-incrimination may still exist, but refusal to cooperate or answer questions for certain issues generally leads to the removal of parole as an option. The person may suffer additional criminal charges when supplying answers. If the person must undergo a lie detector test as a condition of the parole, it is possible the test may reveal new incriminating information. It is up to the parolee to determine if he or she wants to answer the questions and possibly face new criminal charges or suffer a loss of parole. It is often suggested that such a person consults with a lawyer before proceeding with the test.
Other Parolee Rights
When in the parole period, the individual has fewer rights depending on the item. He or she cannot own a gun, may have difficulty in obtaining a business license and could also face problems when attempting to pursue other avenues of employment. During the parole process, he or she will need to progress through the conditions of the parole time. If this involves a lie detector test or answering questions from officers or a parole officer, he or she may need to submit to the procedure however many times the condition demands. Self-incrimination is possible. However, if the individual already has a conviction for the actions specified, the crimes generally do not affect his or her parole unless the answers uncover new material or other victims.
S*x Crimes and the Lawyer
When on parole for molesting others or different s*x crimes, police and the parole officer may need to ask the individual certain questions to ensure he or she did not engage in the same activity convicted of which sent the individual to prison. These questions may only uncover new evidence since the early release for the parole period. Then, if he or she did commit a new s*x crime, the person may face a revocation of parole.

It is important to have a lawyer on hand when it appears the rights of the individual may face violation based on the conditions of parole. The legal professional will explain if the action is necessary or if the questions are unnecessary.

09/28/2020

Making Objections during an Expert Witness’ Deposition
It is crucial for both the lawyer and the expert witness to understand the objections that could occur during the deposition period. While the opposing lawyer may need this time to object to various issues with the professional, the opposing legal team may also reflect and prepare to counter the objections to keeping the expert witness in the case.

The Objection to an Expert Witness
When an expert gives sworn evidence through a report, testimony or results to a test with other evidence, objections may arise from the opposing legal team. The lawyer that hires the expert may need to prepare him or her to encounter various objections, and this could lead to the professional’s readiness to answer questions and refute the objection based on factual data and information connected to the evidence, testing methods and results that the tests confirm. Challenges to the validity of certain facts or the relevance to the subject material often occur during the deposition period.

The expert will need to reflect on the facts, give answers about the subject material and explain the field of study better when an objection occurs. This may require additional discussion to defend against the initial challenge issued. If the expert must explain damages, he or she may need to discuss the calculations. If the subject regards and accident, the professional may need to walk the judge and opposing legal counsel through each step of reconstruction of the timeline of the incident. This is often necessary for both civil and criminal cases. If the objection is the report, the expert may need to go through each page individually.
Reliability and Testing Methods
When the expert witness proceeds through the deposition, he or she will either give a report or details of relevant testing methods and results with the tests. The initial objections may occur because the testing processes are not those used by similar experts in the same field of study. If this is not a sufficient objection, the legal team may object to the results. When the professional has an error rate greater than five percent or that fluctuates significantly, the end product is not often reliable. This may prove to affect the opinions the expert gives based on the facts and data in the case.

If the lawyer is not able to depend on the reliability of testing methods or the results from error rate fluctuations, the objection may call the expert out. This could lead to exclusion of testimony, exclusion of those results or the disqualification of the professional similar to or proceeding a Daubert challenge. Other objections may arise if the expert witness is not able to clearly explain the subject matter, results or testing methods as with the effect on evidence. Reconstructions that infer certain issues could negatively affect the conclusion. Objecting to these concerns is important when the professional does not appear to know the field well or cannot clearly define certain issues.
Exclusion of Testimony
If the expert is not able to prove he or she is relevant to the case or the testing methods are reliable, the legal team may issue an objection that leads to the objection of testimony. Some cases may exclude certain evidence or the testing itself. If this is the case, the judge may explain to the expert what he or she must do in addition to previous actions. The professional may need to retest evidence or recreate a report. Others may need to try a different tactic entirely. The exclusion could lead to testimony that is inadmissible which does not help the lawyer that hired the expert.
The Burden of Proof
Because the expert witness is only one aspect of a case, he or she may need to prove that his or her expertise and knowledge are relevant to the proceedings. The professional usually has the burden of proof to explain that testing methods do provide a foundation to base opinions on and explain the subject matter. A connection to the test, evidence and results is crucial. However, the burden is primarily observed through the explanation and if any confusion clears up during the deposition with the evidence and details of the case.
Disqualification of the Expert
If the expert is unable to answer or succeed in the objection, he or she may face either exclusion or disqualification. This would relieve the expert of testifying and further involvement in the legal proceedings. For the professional, it is critical to successfully answer the objection.

09/26/2020

Examination Tips for Expert Witnesses
There are numerous tips that an expert witness may use to help with examinations, and many of them revolve around the questions and how to answer best with cross-examination. Understanding the question given is crucial to giving the answer that best defines the information and removes confusion from the courtroom.

Think about the Answer
Before an expert witness may give answers during an examination, he or she must think about the answers. This may require time, or the expert may need to think back on prepared statements for such questions. Usually, the professional will work with the lawyer to prepare for any number of questions. The individual may need to give clear and concise answers. Some may require time to form an answer that does not contradict testimony or give an answer that does not match what the expert wants to say. Accuracy with answers to inquiries during an examination is crucial.
Accepting Statements
The expert witness of a case may need to refute certain statements that another witness or the lawyer states during the examination. This may require an explanation, a detailing of an incident or backing up an answer or refuting the statement through facts. The opposing lawyer may use the same tactic when asking questions during the examination stage to confuse or exclude an expert witness. Some statements require clarification such as when the lawyer asks about a problem, an issue or the incident. These could mean anything, and the expert must focus the statement on a specific matter.
Avoid Figuring out the Question Behind the Question
It is important for an expert witness to avoid thinking about the question asked too much. The lawyer will want certain information during the examination period, and only he or she will know what that is. Answering the question to the best of the ability of the lawyer is often the only way to prevent exclusion, disqualification or inadmissible evidence. By showing that the testing methods are valid and have reliable data with conclusive results, the professional may have a better chance of remaining on the case. With relevance to the subject material, he or she may help the lawyer that hired him or her.
The True Focus on the Question
The expert should devote his or her attention and energy on answering the question clearly and completely. There should remain no doubt that the professional understands the field of study. A clear and concise answer may also remove confusion which may also, in turn, help the lawyer understand the subject material better. This is important, so the results and information given about the case are available and received without conflict. The opposing lawyer and judge may need time to comprehend the data further and better. With the focus on answering and completely giving the necessary information, the expert has a greater chance of informing the courtroom.
The I Don’t Know Rule
If the expert is unaware of the answer, it is perfectly within his or her purview to say I don’t know. While when concerning the field of study and how to produce results from testing methods, this is not a valid answer, he or she could give this answer if the question is not within the scope of the field or if the subject material requires additional research for specific matters. The professional should not feel pressured to know all the answers no matter how much the opposing legal counsel appears to put on the pressure. Some answers require a no.
Documentation Analysis
Before answering questions about paperwork, documents and certain files, the professional should analyze them first. It is critical to fully know and become aware of the details contained within various papers and documents before giving any answers about the information submitted. Just because the expert uses the document in his or her field of study does not mean that the professional should not assess what is given in the courtroom. Some files have different details while others expose facts that may counter what the expert specified previously.
The Lack of Argument
The opposing legal counsel during an examination may attempt to insight an argument from the expert. It is important that the assessment and examination has a lack of argument. This may prove that the professional does know his or her field of study and is aware of how to proceed correctly. This lack of argument may also show the court that the professional belongs in the case and is reliable and relevant.

09/25/2020

Remedies for a Breach of Contract
When two parties make a contract and one breaches it, there are generally two types of remedies that are available to the non-breaching party: equitable remedies and legal remedies. Each type has several subtypes of remedies that may be available.

Equitable Remedies
Equitable remedies are those that are imposed when money damages would not adequately cure the non-breaching party. The following types of equitable remedies may be available in the given case:

- Specific Performance
Specific performance is an order by the court that requires the breaching party to carry out the contract as it was originally written. This type of remedy is rare. However, it may be ordered in certain circumstances. For example, specific performance may be imposed when the subject matter is unique, such as a famous painting or a specific piece of property. Courts are hesitant to order specific performance because it requires the ongoing monitoring by the court of the contract.

- Rescission
Rescission of the contract is a remedy that allows the non-breaching party to cancel his or her responsibilities under the contract. This remedy might be available when the contract was based on fraud or a mistake by one or both of the parties. It is also available if both parties prefer to cancel the contract and return any money that had been advanced as part of the contract.

- Reformation
Reformation allows two parties to modify a contract so that it more accurately reflects what the parties intend. This remedy requires that the contract be valid. It may be available when one of the parties had a mistaken understanding about a material term of the contract.

- Legal Remedies
Legal remedies often take the form of monetary damages that are awarded to help make the innocent party whole. Some examples of legal remedies are discussed below.
Compensatory Damages
Compensatory damages are those that are meant to compensate the non-breaching party for the breach. These include expectation damages and consequential damages. Expectation damages are those that give the non-breaching party the monetary funds that he or she would have received had the contract been performed. These damages are usually based on the contract itself or the fair market value of the subject matter of the contract.

For example, compensatory damages may be the amount necessary for the non-breaching party to purchase a substitute product that is equivalent to the one contracted for. If the contract was for a sale of goods, compensatory damages are usually the difference between the contract price and the market value of the goods.

These damages also consist of the expenses necessary to make the non-breaching party whole after the breach, such as advertising expenses to advertise the products that the breaching party failed to pay for. However, the non-breaching party generally has a duty to mitigate his or her losses.

Consequential damages are those damages that reimburse the innocent party for indirect costs that resulted from the breach. They often result from special circumstances that are involved in the contract that may not be ordinarily predictable. For example, an innocent party may ask to be reimbursed for the loss of business profits that derived from not having access to the necessary materials to produce a product for a third party.

In order for the innocent party to receive these damages, he or she must show that this loss was reasonably foreseeable to both parties when they wrote the contract and the loss was a direct result of the breach.
Liquidation Damages
In some contracts, specific damages are pre-determined. These damages are called liquidated damages. They are typically part of contracts where it would be difficult to determine the actual amount that a party was damaged due to a breach, such as a breach of a contract not to compete.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are meant to punish a guilty party in order to prevent that party or others from engaging in similar conduct in the future. However, punitive damages usually require a stronger intent than is necessary in standard breach of contract claims. For example, to be awarded punitive damages, a plaintiff may have to show that the breaching party acted in a malicious or fraudulent matter. Some states specifically prohibit plaintiffs from recovering punitive damages on breach of contract claims.
Attorney Fees and Costs
The prevailing party in a breach of contract claim may be able to collect attorney fees and costs that he or she incurred in order to bring about legal action. Some states only allow these damages if they are specifically provided for in the contract.

09/24/2020

After a Riot, Who Pays for The Damage?
Riots erupt in the United States often in the wake of racial tensions created by police activities. Often beginning as peaceful protests, these demonstrations sometimes degenerate into violent riots where people and property suffer harm, leaving innocent people to pick up the pieces.

This has led many to ask who should pay for the damage after a riot?

Insurance
The first entities that typically must pay for these injuries and damages are insurance companies. When a property owner suffers losses thanks to rioters, insurance policies will often cover the losses. Similarly, those injured on someone's property may be able to seek relief from the insurance company of the property owner. And, of course, the insurance of motorists whose vehicles are damaged in a riot typically pay for those losses, as well.

However, insurance is not always obliged to pay for the types of losses sustained in a riot. For example, some businesses may not have protection against theft (a common occurrence during riots). Depending on how one's injuries are sustained, property insurance may not be liable if the injury suffered was not one against which the property owner could have taken measures to protect the injured party. Some policies may even include explicit exceptions for damages suffered due to civil unrest. Others may have high deductibles that make it impossible for the property owner or injured person to become whole again, particularly after the devastation that widespread rioting may cause to a community.
Rioters
The next obvious target for seeking recovery is from the rioters themselves. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to identify these people during the chaos of a riot. If one is fortunate enough to have surveillance camera footage, they might be able to get a positive identification for a suspect, but then the issue becomes recovery. Often, those who engage in riots feel in some way disenfranchised, normally due to financial disadvantage. As a result, the odds of making a full recovery from individual rioters are very small.

However, if one wishes to pursue this option, the first step would be to contact law enforcement. Report the individual's conduct and provide any supporting evidence establishing the individual's presence at the scene and actions he or she took that caused harm. If the state opts to press charges against that individual, then anyone he or she harmed by the actions that led to the prosecution could be entitled to restitution.

Alternatively, one could file a personal civil suit against the individual. Theories for the suit would vary based on the type of harm suffered, whether it was a personal injury suffered in an attack, property damage and loss from a break in, vandalism, lost business, etc. To fully investigate the options for a civil action, contact an attorney.
Government
Finally, one might think to look to the government for assistance. Unfortunately, since 1883, when the Supreme Court ruled in Louisiana ex rel. Folsom v. New Orleans, states have been able to make their own determinations as to whether or not to grant riot relief. As a result, not every state has a riot relief fund, and even if it does, it is not obligated to provide payments from that fund. This case also means that there are generally no federal funds available for riot damage as there would be in the event of disaster relief. Thus, organizations like FEMA will not be on the scene after most riots, passing out food and shelter. If the state legislature does not opt to fund riot relief or to disburse those funds to someone who has suffered a loss, there are generally no other government options.
Private Organizations
In some cases, private organizations have stepped in to fill the void between these various recovery options. When insurance, private actions, and governments simply do not cover the harm caused, these organizations will sometimes help to make injured people whole again. Unfortunately, as with any charitable organization, their resources are limited and they can usually only help those most deeply affected by a riot. This may require one to file requests for assistance early and follow-up on them frequently. Even then, payment is far from guaranteed.
To Learn More
In each case, there may be additional options available based on one's location and the circumstances of the rioting. To more fully explore all of the available options, contact an attorney in your area. You can use the lawyer search feature of HG.org to find an attorney near you.

09/23/2020

Keeping Secrets: The Attorney Client Privilege in NC
When someone is served with a subpoena to testify in court, he or she generally must go to the courthouse and testify in open court at the risk of being held in contempt of court, i.e., incarcerated, for failure to do so. And the witness must answer all of the questions from the attorneys while on the witness stand.

There are only a handful of times when the court says a witness can’t be forced to testify, or when a witness may testify only about certain things. One of these times is when you tell your lawyer something that qualifies as attorney-client privilege (ACP). A privilege is a special right, the ability to avoid testifying, or testifying about a certain subject.

North Carolina Privilege

North Carolina has privileges for communications with physicians, nurses, clergy, psychologists, school counselors, licensed marital and family therapists, social workers, counselors, optometrists, peer support group counselors, agents of r**e crisis centers and domestic violence programs and limited protection for journalists and spouses. [1] One case explains that the ACP is “. . . an established rule . . . that confidential communications made to an attorney in his professional capacity by his client are privileged, and the attorney cannot be compelled to testify to them unless his client consents.” [2]

The Policy Behind It

ACP fosters crucial trust between the client and the attorney. It is a time-honored tradition that encourages people to be honest with their attorneys so that the attorney can effectively protect that person’s civil rights. Otherwise, the attorney would potentially have to testify about conversations with his or her client. This is particularly important when a client who is accused of a crime faces the threat of incarceration or even death if there are pending capital murder charges.

What’s Required to be ACP?

There are five requirements for communication to be protected by ACP. [3] The first is that the attorney must have the relationship of attorney and client when the communication is made. If you are talking with your cousin, who happens to be an attorney, about your other cousin’s new boyfriend, that is not a privileged communication. Second, the conversation must be made in confidence. Generally, the only people who can be present during the conversation are the attorney and the client. Someone else’s presence while communicating with your attorney can break ACP. The third requirement is that the conversation has to be about the issue you are seeking legal advice about in the first place.

Fourth, the conversation must take place in the course of giving or seeking legal advice for a proper purpose to qualify for ACP. In other words, the client needs to be seeking legal advice. If you see your lawyer at your daughter’s basketball game, and you have a discussion about the game, politics, the coach or other similar topic, there is no ACP. There’s no requirement for a lawsuit to be filed to have the benefit of ACP. But the proper purpose means the ACP doesn’t apply for a client and lawyer who are discussing things for an improper or illegal purpose, such as helping the client commit fraud. Fifth, only the client can waive ACP, and to keep it, he or she must not have waived the right to it. A client who starts testifying about the conversation he or she had with the attorney “opens the door” to the subject, and ACP has been waived.

How Broad is ACP?

In certain cases of privilege, such as doctor-patient privilege, a judge in North Carolina can decide to over-rule the privilege if it is “necessary to a proper administration of justice.” An example of this would be when medical records for substance abuse are admitted over the objection of the parent in a child custody case so that the judge can use the records to determine a parent’s sobriety. However, a judge cannot overrule the ACP. If the situation meets the definition of the ACP, that privilege is absolute. It also applies to both civil and criminal matters. Although the client is the person who has the right to assert ACP, an attorney has an independent legal obligation to use the ACP on the behalf of the client. Even after a client dies, the attorney is still required to assert the ACP on his or her behalf.

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[1] NC Gen. Stat. §8-53 to §8-57.1.
[2] Dobias v. White, 240 N.C. 680, 684 (1954).
[3] State v. Murvin, 304 NC 523 (1981).

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