Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with criminal

Help me understand war criminals!

hasna — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:21:27 -0800

Which books help me get into the psyche of war criminals, suicide bombers, etc? I am currently looking for books that reveal the offender's inner motives, perspective, or mindset about their crimes, and the context in which they committed them. Not ones that simply justify the crimes, but explore the human side of the offenders.

I'm specifically interested in books about events in the past century: Rwanda, Palestine, Iraq, the Holocaust... although any outstanding books dating further back in history are welcome, too. And I'd prefer if they weren't overly heavy with advanced psych vocabulary - those meant for the layperson are preferred.

I currently have "The Road to Martyr's Square" and "Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak", so any along those lines, either biography, autobiography, or historical fiction.

Thanks!

How do I sue an abusive step-parent?

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:43:51 -0800

How does an adult find a lawyer to sue an abusive step-parent more than a decade after the fact? I want to sue a step-parent for damages. They've ruined my life and made it a living hell of dysfunction.

I suffered over 10 years of extreme physical and emotional abuse as a child and it has wrecked me, my self confidence, my ability to function. We're not talking about a "I never got my pony" scenario. We're talking about severe physical violence from a grown adult to a child along with very severe psychological/emotional abuse.

I'm not at all interested in hearing anything about "letting bygones be bygones", or "forgive and forget". I've tried that. I'm tired of blaming myself for being broken and damaged like it was somehow my fault I had the shit kicked out of me on a daily basis.

The goals of the lawsuit are,

1. I want punitive, monetary damages to pay for therapy and treatment so I can have what's left of my life as functional as I can manage.

2. I want to help set a legal precedent that abuse isn't tolerated and parents are indeed legally and fiscally responsible for the crimes they committed under the umbrella of "parenting".

3. I want this step-parent to realize that what they did was not ok and that after many attempts at communication and reconciliation they've willfully denied their responsibility and haven't even attempted to offer an apology.

How do I find a lawyer? How do I find a pro-bono lawyer that will consider my case?

He Took the Money and Ran

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 07:11:16 -0800

What to do about an Outlaw Agent? I work in a creative field. Let’s say for the sake of discussion I’m a graphic designer. I had an agent who would procure for me the occasional commercial gig. The agent had fallen quite behind on payments and he insisted that the clients had not paid him yet and he could not pay me until they did, which is understandable for a small company. I finally contacted the clients and asked about my invoices. They said the invoices had been paid months before. I left the agency immediately, sent a cease and desist for my works on the agency’s website and an email requesting a full accounting of what the agent owed me. I calculated this to be around $5,000, but it is likely more.
The agent skipped town (NYC) and continues to run the agency remotely. He does not respond to my emails or phone calls. It has been two months.
I would love to recover my money but am feeling this is unlikely at this point since I can’t afford a lawyer. I figure the next best thing would be to see this taken to the next level and I would like to press charges. I know for a fact that this agent has done this to several other designers to the tune of thousands and thousands of dollars. I’m not sure what I can press charges for or even how to go about doing it. Do I contact the NYPD? The FBI since he’s conducting his shady business across state lines? Help me, criminal minds of Metafilter!

I don't want my dad driving his brother around in my car.

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:06:47 -0800

My dad generally drives his brother, a registered child molester, anywhere he needs to go, which amounts to maybe 1 trip a week. My dad and I will soon be (hopefully temporarily) sharing a car. I do not want my uncle in my car. My dad doesn't share my concern. In the past, my mom drove me so crazy bitching about it that I had to sit my dad down and tell him not to loan his truck out to his brother any more (because if he used it to commit a crime, she would be an accessory since her name was on the truck's title too). Yes I know my mom should have done it, but she didn't, and I did... that's not what this question is about. At one point I said, "but Dad, he's a child molester." My dad said, "so what?"

My uncle, having once been fired from a public school janitorial position for inappropriate conduct with a student, was arrested and served a prison sentence for molesting his grandchildren. He has completed the 10-year probation which required him to avoid being around children. My dad feels he has paid his debt to society.

My mom and I feel differently. Those kids he molested will never be the same. What my dad does not know is that I was molested as a child for over 4 years, though by a cousin on my mom's side of the family, not my uncle. My mom feels that if my dad knew this he would "go ballistic" and call my cousin a scumbag and cause all sorts of trouble. (I think he would too, given his history.) But when it's his family, it's different. (My dad even bailed him out of jail when he was initially arrested, without asking, to my mother's fury.)

My dad knows my mom does not want him driving her car at all (not least because he's a REALLY bad driver and tends break every car he touches, destroying transmissions and drivetrains). So he keeps saying he and I are going to have to share a car. His is near the end of its life and he wants to trade it in on the CARS program, and I just happen to be in need of a car. I don't really want him sharing my car either, but if I must, I certainly do not want a registered sex offender to be recognized in my car, especially since I work in childcare. I feel I am risking my job and potentially any future related careers.

Although the car will be in my name, due to their financial assistance and general family pressures, I really can't refuse to lend my dad my car from time to time (about once a week), especially since when I have been carless, he lent me his.

How do I make my dad "get" that I don't want anything to do with a child molester but especially do not want my car being used to ferry him around? (Yes, I realize my dad could agree with me on the surface and then sneak around driving his brother anyways, but I am hoping he won't.) I would really prefer he keep his still-functioning car so we each have our own, but he is pressuring us to take the Cash For Clunkers deal quickly, fearing the money will run out soon.

Books on Hitler - Nazi Germany

snap_dragon — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:05:05 -0800

I just finished reading Hunting Eichmann and am wondering if any MeFites could recommend any other popular nonfiction books on Nazi Germany, Hitler, war criminals, etc. I don't do huge tomes well (400 pages or less!). The only other books I have read are MAUS and Explaining Hitler. Thanks for your input. So much out there...don't know where to begin. Probably the more well known the better as they may be available at my library.

Hang out the shingle or get more experience first?

Happydaz — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:10:50 -0800

I just graduated from law school on Sunday. I want to open my own law firm and practice criminal law after I pass the Oregon bar. But how can I get up to speed fast enough that I don't give my new clients poor legal services? I've been reading several books on starting your own practice. (Foonberg's 4th edition, How to Start your own Solo Practice and Succeed by Gerald Singer, and Solo by Choice.) But these books all focus on the business side of starting a law practice. Getting clients, running an office, whether you have the right personality to solo, etc. What I want to know is can I realistically become competent enough in criminal law that my clients aren't getting screwed while I learn the ropes?

I would really like to hear from anyone who has started their own law firm in any area of law. Did you start right out of law school or did you work for someone else first? What would you change if you could do it again?

Crimes committed by Ferris Bueller during his Day off.

steinwald — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:14:56 -0800

Seeking list of crimes committed by Ferris Bueller during his Day off. I would like a comprehensive list of each offense Ferris and his friends commit during the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". Ideally, please list the offense (criminal trespass to vehicle, battery, etc.) and the category of crime if it was committed by an adult (eg, felony, Class A Misdemeanor, etc.) Illinois jurisdiction. Thank you very much.

How to get rid of a new roommate who, it turns out, has a rap sheet?

UrbanEye — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:44:58 -0800

Just signed a 5 month lease with 4 roommates found on Craigslist, then found out one guy has a criminal record a mile long! How should I begin to deal with this so things don't get physically dangerous, or legally murky? I am a current tenant at an apartment which will soon have 3 new tenants on a lease, and 2 (including myself) who have been there for a month or so. The landlord wants everyone to be on a one year lease, but one tenant is moving out in mid July. So, we signed a lease that's good till July and we will need to find a replacement for the person leaving in July before signing the one year lease.

Anyway, myself and the other tenant staying on found two really cool, nice people for the apartment. Unfortunately, the landlord sort of went over our heads and gave our fifth room to someone we had shown the place to, but had not confirmed as someone we liked.

Turns out that the 5'th roommate got out of jail two months ago, (a fact learned due to alcohol). A quick check of online court records brought up a substantial list of retail theft, drug, and criminal mischief charges. We (obviously) knew nothing about this beforehand.

The 5'th roommate has also made our lone female roommate, (the other tenant staying on from before) very uncomfortable with his lewd commentary. Upon finding out she was married, he said "that must be hard, but you have guys on the side right?" *wink* *wink*

I foresee a very complicated situation developing very fast. I don't want to live with a thief and a creep, but I also don't want to try kicking out a man who's been to jail and has been charged with "resisting arrest", "simple assault", and "criminal mischief".

My landlord may or may not know how to handle this in a mature way.

Autobiography by a former criminal turned author?!

mrhaydel — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:24:03 -0800

NameThatBookFilter: Autobiography by a former criminal/hard timer that later became an author? I'm getting sucked in to going through and adding books on Goodreads.com, and I'm having the darndest time remembering a particular book.

It was an autobiography written by a former criminal, who did hard time in a well known prison (not Alcatraz, but maybe Folsom, San Quentin, or Attica?), probably in the 50s or 60s.

The cover of the book, I'm fairly certain, was simply a face shot of said author, not his mugshot, but what seemed like a recent photo at the time (he looked to be in his 60s maybe). He was white, fairly short hair, possibly with a mustache.

In it, he basically traces his life from childhood and being in correctional facilities all the way up to him doing time in prison. While in prison though, I'm almost positive he authored at least one or two works of fiction, that might have even been somewhat popular.

I read this book somewhere back between around 2003-2004.

Anyone have any suggestions?

How do criminal trials proceed?

Jason Land — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 02:17:00 -0800

I'd like to know the exact steps that happen in a criminal trial. I was called for jury duty in California a while ago. It was about a man accused of selling cocaine. I was rejected as a juror during the selection process. I'm curious as to what would have happened next. I rarely pay strict attention to TV and movies during court scenes, focusing on the acting, and it's TV and movies, so I can't imagine it's that close to reality.

More specifically, what happens after the closing arguments? (Please also include what usually goes on before that though).

Thanks,
Jason Land

Expunge Drunk Love

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:41:10 -0800

Exactly how easy is it to get a criminal record expunged? I have a couple misdemeanors on my record, one count of Disorderly Conduct and one Violation of Probation (plead no contest to both). Both events took place 6-7 years ago.

It's a black mark that has followed me for years, and I was wondering with what ease it is to get my record expunged, as well as what barriers may stand in the way of doing so.

In the time since, I have graduated college and kept a clean record, if nothing but a speeding ticket.

Interestingly enough, for one job I applied, they did a background search, and per mandate, I was also sent the results of said inspection, and only my federal and local (different county) records were checked, so nothing showed up.

I'm looking to apply for a position that necessitates a state-issued license (medical field), and as I understand, details of an expunged record must still be disclosed. Considering the details of my DC misdemeanor, it would paint me in a voraciously negative light. To what degree of detail would I have to divulge? Is it only really from an ethical standpoint that one must disclose an expunged charge, or would it show up on a background check that could be leveled against me in the hiring process if I claimed to have no prior history?

What was that jury thinking?

abdulf — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:04:27 -0800

Have you been on a jury? How do you come to your decisions? I'm a prosecutor recently out of law school and I've started to try misdemeanor cases.

Sometimes after a trial, I get a chance to ask jurors a question or two, about how they came to their decision. However, most of the time, people are bolt as soon as the case is over.

I think it's important to add that I've never been on a jury so I don't really know what goes on in there other than what I've seen in movies like "12 Angry Jurors".

What are your experiences serving on a criminal jury? Or even just the voire dire process?

What can I do as a prosecutor to more effectively gain your participation in voire dire and to present the case to you in trial? For what it's worth, most of the cases I do are generally shoplifting, assaults, driving while intoxicated and drug possession cases.

Help me find out if these nice-seeming tenants are actually defaulting murderers.

ignignokt — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:04:44 -0800

LandlordFilter: Who's got credit and criminal background checking service recommendations? So, I have some applicants to rent my place out, and now I need to check out their viability as tenants. I can check on their work and rental histories by calling companies and landlords myself, but I need to pay someone to do credit and criminal background checks. Googling turns up a lot (including this, which appears both tempting and suspicious), so I'd prefer to go with something MeFites have already used without getting burned. Can anyone recommend a service?

In regard to credit, I'm more interested in defaults and bankruptcy than I am in a credit score number.

Getting from Canada to USA while having a criminal record.

PowerCat — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:58:00 -0800

Hello My father is deathly ill from a stroke in Mission, TX. Me and my mother are in Montreal, Canada. My mother has a criminal record from a few years ago from marijuana growing. I'm thinking flying to Mexico, and taking a bus through the border, but I don't know what's implied with having a criminal record.
This is going to happen early next week, so there is no time to send out faxes and papers unless it takes less than 48 hours.

Can metafilter think of any way for her to get to Mission to see my father?
Are there any special recourse for such emergencies?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

bump (key) for (no) justice

oats — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:17:14 -0800

It looks like someone tried to open my front door with a bump key. What should I do? The deadbolt lock on my front door has become very difficult to open, and there is the imprint of the top of another key on the front of the keyway. I'm a little freaked out. Should I report this to the police? Is it likely whoever did this will be back later?

Any suggestions as to what I might do?

Ex-criminal thinking of committing new crimes.

TooSlick — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:17:12 -0800

Ex-criminal thinking of committing new crimes. I'm considering a new business wherein I show people how vulnerable they are to robbery, burglary, identity theft, kidnapping and any other form of criminal mischief.

My proposed plan of action is to 'target' Top 100 CEO's and the like, sending them a 'teaser' package pointing out some of the obvious, yet specific to them, risks to their current life security. This package would ideally prompt them to contact me for further, in-depth security consulting.

My credentials are also my dilemma in this endeavor: I am very criminally minded, genius level IQ, with a high thirst for risks and thrills. Nearly 20 years ago I was on the Most Wanted List for over 14 months during which time I committed or planned most every crime for money imaginable. Then came 13 years in state and federal prisons. I have been out now more than five years crime free. I want to use my powers now for good, not evil.

My question: will my past limit my future? How do I protect myself - and my clients - in this endeavor. I certainly have the credentials and know how to protect them, but at the same time I don't want my proposed business to come off like some old mafia shakedown of clients thinking that they're "paying for protection."

How does one trust an ex-con who is trying to help others from being connned?

Someone I love needs a lawyer.

bricoleur — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:38:41 -0800

How would you go about finding the best criminal defense attorney in your state?

Freakonomics and MySpace abductions.

SirStan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:27:25 -0800

I live in Vermont. I work in a small town that has been directly affected by the recent Brooke Bennett tragedy (family involved 12 year old in sex ring and killed her, attempted to blame it on a MySpace predator) in an industry that is directly related to dealing with the aftermath. I am also reading Freakonomics, which amongst other things has persuaded me to look past media hype and compare numbers to actual relevant data. I have two questions 1. How many children a year are kidnapped/abducted that can be directly attributed to social networking sites online vs other baseline statistics (how many children's parents kidnap them, how many children are killed due to negligence such as not belting kids in).

2. (Completely hypothetical) Given say a $500,000 grant to promote child safety, where would the money most be effective in comparative ranking to "ZOMG MYSPACE" alerts and education.

Are online predators really any statistical danger, or just an easy and new headline.

Yeah, I know, YANML or whatever...

miss lynnster — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:49:40 -0800

Hypotheticalcriminalfilter: if someone was allegedly caught committing fraud against another person (specifics to follow) what would the exact legal charges be (felony fraud/misdemeanor fraud, etc.) and what would the likely sentence be if that person had charges filed against them and was found or pled guilty? I'm looking for what the answer would be if this person was caught and the crimes were committed in the state of California.

Case #1: Let's say person A allegedly stole person B's brand new debit card, authorized it and took approximately $200 out of the account without knowledge of person B.

Case #2: Let's say person A allegedly took a blank check of person B's (again without their knowledge) and cashed it for approximately $8000.00, most likely forging a signature.

Bonus Questions:

A. Is there any way that person A could've allegedly taken money out of person b's equity accounts without their knowledge? How would that be possible? If it is true, how could it be proven?

B. What about if person A allegedly borrowed a large sum of money from person B... what would happen if person A had the paperwork destroyed and denied the loan ever happened and it was a gift? Has this money just vanished never to be seen again? Is there anything that can be done on person B's behalf without their involvement? Assume person B is too incapacitated to handle this themselves.

Note: I'm neither person A or person B. I'm just law abiding person C, who really wants to trust people but also believes in justice and in not being stupid.

If I work out of my apartment, will I be my only client?

pantheON — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:54:21 -0800

Can I run a criminal law practice out of my apartment? I'm in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I'm currently articling (for my American friends, that's a mandatory one-year apprenticeship I have to complete to get called to the bar) at a mid-sized insurance defense firm. I've concluded that I want to get out of this area of the law and I'm interested in pursuing a career in criminal defence. I've been told that I'll likely have to take legal aid cases almost exclusively until I gain some more experience and can establish a full practice. My question is a narrow one: What are the practicalities of working out of my apartment until I can build a practice that can support office space. My apartment is in the business district of the city and about a 10 minute walk from the courthouses. Could I, for example, work out of my apartment, store my files there, and meet clients in public places?

Have Studies Been Done On Criminal Background Check Accuracy?

peacecorn — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 05:53:10 -0800

How reliable, statistically speaking, are criminal background checks? Criminal background checks from a large national agencies (ADT, ChoicePoint, etc) obviously aren't infallible. But has anyone done actual studies on this topic?

I'm asking from an employer's perspective, not as some scofflaw looking to see what my chances of "slipping through the cracks" are. I need to report on how thorough and complete these checks really are, so I'm looking for hard data.

I found this MSNBC article in which an expert off-handedly mentions "we've done studies and...," and I saw this from the CS Monitor which uses a small sample sized criminology study.

Problem is, I'm not sure these data points represent enough evidence to counter the gut-feeling assumptions of my audience of the infallibility of the background check process.

The ideal study would be of a large sample and would focus on felons slipping through the cracks due to missing data (i.e., credit check data is useless, and details about the many people with data that IS on their report in error isn't as helpful as I'd like).

Anything like that out there?

how to get a job in television punditry--with a felony on your record.

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:02:52 -0800

CareerObjective: I think I have pronounced strengths in almost every area that would benefit a Television Pundit/Talking Head—as well as the strong desire to make a living at same. I also have at least one glaring drawback (hint: I’m a convicted felon) there's a lot more info inside. Feel free to skim if you'd like. So… one time the head of my department in undergraduate told me (cobbled together from my faulty memory and a letter of recommendation he later wrote) “John, in spite of all your shortcomings as a pupil, you’ve always frankly amazed me with your ability to craft insightful and interesting analogy, and tailor it to your audience in a way that often creates for them a revelatory experience.” I was floored. Made me feel ten feet tall. Also, he was right.

Help me bring this talent to the world. I’ll give you some background, you go nuts. I’d like some honest advice, because I ask this question in complete earnestness, looking for some way to make this a reality. As trivial as this profession is, as disposable and odious as you may consider the men and women who earn their living this way, please suspend your enmity to help me realize a dream. Email any private thoughts to exconpundit@gmail.com.

I’m 30 years old, white, monolingual--BS in Geography and Economics from a State University, graduated in the bottom 25% of my class—but I still have a suspicion that by whatever objective criteria you’d like to rate the efficacy of on-air punditry talent, I’d score exceedingly high. I’m not a braggart, I swear; and I’m frankly at a loss for what anyone would get from bragging anonymously. Forgive me any self-aggrandizement—I actually pride myself on humility in my daily life.

I’m handsome. Like… real handsome, think a butched-up 6’3” Scandinavian Jude Law. I speak well, I have a charming manner and an engaging way of talking. I’m the guy people queue up to talk with at the dinner party. Suits hang on my broad shoulders like you wouldn’t believe. I have a command of the English language that exudes authority on any given subject. If my piercing, expressive eyes and straight, car-salesman teeth don’t charm you, the erudite wit and man’s-man Midwestern, lower-class charm and occasional idiomatic interjection will. The camera loves me. But these are not my main strengths.

My greatest punditry strength: an eidetic memory for historical, cultural, and economic trends, people, and events for any region of the world. Serious. If I ever read it, it’s still with me. This can be, like, party-trick-level (name every neighbor of Iran, clockwise, starting with Turkey), or it can be just… scary stupid showoff shit (the first six, “five year plans” of the Soviet Union: date adopted, stated goals, successes/failures, and historical legacy). I understand most of it… but by God I remember all of it. Matched with my rhetorical quickness, and well, I can do pretty much whatever you’d like.

I also spent time in prison. I sold a lot of weed to a cop. I haven’t broken one law since, and I paid my debt to society. No violence or coercion or fraud, or treachery. You’re helping a reformed man… not some deranged or incorrigible scofflaw.

How do I go about landing my first punditry gig? I can’t go the government route—no way to get a security clearance. I have no idea about a think-tank route, and my undergraduate grades sorta… keep me from getting an advanced degree (6 grad school applications so far, 6 rejections). ALSO: I'm not sure how keen the think-tank would be on the convicted-felon thing.

So that leaves me with what…? Christopher Hitchens started by writing. I can write “well”, but no better. I mean to say--I pity you if you pay to read what I write. Like I said—I remember all of it… understanding it (well enough to write cogently about it), well, that depends on which day you catch me.

Metafilter. I swear I will make you proud if you help me realize this dream. I got everything but the connections, and I’ll tirelessly pursue any reasonable course of action that we as a group can come up with.

(And… I’m not an insufferable egotistical trasp in real life, I promise. You’d like me. I’ve always felt the best when I’m making people feel listened to and smart and valued. I just felt like I had to get you worked up and excited about my prospects to get you on board. Some anonymous immodesty was required. Forgive me. Many thanks.)

Getting into Japan with a criminal record

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:11:16 -0800

So I have a small issue with my criminal record and obtaining a Japanese student visa. I'm not sure if anyone will really be able to answer this question, but I will ask anyway.

I will be heading to Japan this fall as a graduate researcher, which requires me to apply for a student visa to stay in the country for two or more years. As part of the visa application process, I must fill out a form called "Application for Certificate of Eligibility."

It is a particularly bureaucratic document that requests all the standard names, addresses and personal history one would expect to provide during a visa application. This includes a small portion that asks, "Do you have any criminal record (if yes please explain)" and then provides a very, very tiny blank line for explanation.

I do in fact have a criminal record, though it was all acquired before the age of 21. No drug charges, nor violent crimes. A few theft and vandalism misdemeanors is all, but it's still more of a record than I'd like to have when applying for a visa to live in a foreign country.

I want to be honest on my application, but I also have a huge interest in my graduate school, which put me through an incredibly trying application process, and I don't want to forfeit my dreams and goals because I can't get a visa (I've already made it through the most demanding part of the grad. school ordeal, I just want my visa!). So I'm considering simply bubbling in the "No" instead of the "Yes."

This seems like a horrible idea--except there's one catch--I've done this before. The last time I lived in Japan I also required a student visa, and that time I lied, bubbling in "No," when prompted on my criminal background. It may have been a bad idea, but my certificate was approved, no problem, and I had a visa in days. I'm tempted to do the same thing this time around, but I'm strongly compelled to be honest, as lying on any part of the application is a disqualification.

So here's the questions, in order of importance: how much does a criminal record hurt my chances of getting a student visa in Japan? If I should choose to circle "Yes," how should I explain this, and what will the people evaluating my application be looking for in that tiny blank? What could i possibly write in that space that would explain multiple juvenile misdemeanors? Should I tell my university about the problem? Any other suggestions on how to deal with this?

I'm currently working on expunging these things from my record, but it's time consuming and expensive.

Please keep any comments relating to the morality of lying on a visa application to yourself. Also, comments along the lines of "you should have thought about this when you were breaking the law," aren't necessary, as we all make mistakes and I've had plenty of time to think about mine.

Will they throw the book at me?

Cat Pie Hurts — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 12:27:17 -0800

Going to court in MA because I'm not such a smooth criminal. In mid-November 2006, I was pulled over for having an expired vehicle registration (it expired just over a month before). Unbeknownst to me, my driver's license expired the month before (I was on a 10 year renewal and had completely forgotten about it). I also had unpaid parking tickets that caused both license and registration to be suspended, My plates were taken by the police and my car towed away. The officer told me that if I took care of getting my license and registration reinstated quickly, chances are that they will just let me off.

I just received my criminal(!!) complaint notice and my arraignment date at the Waltham District Court.. I am quite terrified. I've never been charged with criminal violations before. I've never had to appear in court before. I have no idea what to expect. What should I bring with me? How should I dress? What should I plead, guilty or no contest? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Looking for songs and movies that can teach abusers about relationships

Alison — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:01:58 -0800

Looking for popular songs and movies that can be used to educate people in the system for abuse related crimes. These examples will be used to facilitate discussions about relationship boundaries, male entitlement, and inappropriate behavior. A friend runs group counseling sessions to reform/educate male criminals convicted of crimes related to personal relationships. Most are physical/sexual abusers attending these sessions as a condition of their release. She has a book to help run the group. However, the book is not right for many of her attendees as many have a 8th grade level education and are unable to keep up. The examples will be used as a shortcut to help them learn about appropriate behavior using things they are already familar with.

My friend is looking for songs, movies and other media to help facilitate group discussion. The clips won't be used as examples of right and wrong, but as conversation tools. She is looking for things that the attendees will likely already know and remember and is especially interested in appropriate songs from the hip hop and country music genres. Because this is job related the content should be at about a PG-13 level or below. Also, we are not looking for a discussion about how well criminal reform works. Save it for the blue.

Here is one example of a song she plans on using:

The Temptations
"Ain't Too Proud To Beg"

...If I have to sleep on your doorstep
All night and day just to keep you from walkin' away
Let your friends laugh, even this I can stand
Because I want to keep you any way I can

Ain't too proud to beg, sweet darlin'
Please don't leave me girl, don't you go
Ain't to proud to plead, baby, baby
Please don't leave me girl, don't you go...

The more well known the movie/song is to the general population the better. This means that the Mountain Goats probably wouldn't be appropriate.

Here is another example with appropriate content, but rejected because of obscurity:

Weezer
"No One Else"

...I want a girl who will laugh for no one else
When I'm away she puts her makeup on the shelf
When I'm away she never leaves the house
I want a girl who laughs for no one else...