Cool Beans SF

Copyright 2006 The Divorce Center P.A.

If you or your spouse are unable to agree on the terms of your divorce, everything will be decided by a judge in a final court trial. You have a right to request a jury trial. Most people are familiar with jury trials - where a jury of citizens from your community will decide the issues.

But family law courts are overcrowded and overworked. While a jury trial is your right to request, asking for one will give the judge a negative impression of you before your case ever begins. In many states, including Florida, the “bench trial” is the trial of choice for a divorce case. A bench trial has no jury. The judge serves as the jury and also serves as the judge. The bench trial concentrates all the decision making power in one person, the judge. So in a typical divorce, the judge is the most important person in your life. So it is best to always “play to the judge” throughout your case.

The vast majority of judges are intelligent, compassionate, and concerned with doing the right thing. But judges are human and you must guide your behavior in, and out of court, by how you may appear to another person. From the start of your divorce to the final judgment (and possibly beyond) you must take “the high road.” This means you should act rational and with integrity. Don’t act up, or do anything the judge may use in a decision to punish you.

Always tell the truth and do what you promise to do. If your actions don’t match your words, a judge will pick up on that. Be the person everyone admires throughout your divorce and the judge will pick up on that as well. A judge will frequently give the benefit of the doubt to a person that appears to be rational and honest. Further, a judge that gives you the benefit of the doubt will go out of his or her way to do the right thing.

However, you must be aware that as human beings, judges can act unpredictably. You may get a certain ruling because the judge “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” that day and you looked like the bad-guy in court. Again, you will always come out best if you maintain a squeaky clean image. During your hearing, avoid appearances of instability. Even if you don’t speak during your trial, the judge is probably looking at and evaluating you.

Don’t:

• interrupt your attorney every 3 minutes
• glare at your spouse or the opposing attorney
• speak directly to the other party or attorney
• speak to the judge if you have an attorney - unless asked to
• furiously write notes in a compulsive-looking manner
• wear revealing or dirty clothing

The rules strictly prohibit any communication with the judge outside the presence of the other party. So do not attempt to speak to the judge in private. Letters to the judge are also prohibited. All communications with the judge must be conducted in the presence of the opposing party. And in practice, any communications must be done at a mutually arranged hearing in front of the judge. Finally, always be aware your actions and words are being measured and analyzed by a stranger. But in this case, the stranger is a judge and has power over your life and your divorce.

Howard Iken is the founder and managing attorney of The Divorce Center. He represents divorce clients in Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, New Port Richey, Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando County, Florida. For more information, call his toll free number at 1-888-4My-Divorce (1-888-469-3486). Get a free education on divorce issues by visiting www.18884MyDivorce.com You can view the common steps in a divorce by visiting www.18884mydivorce.com/pub/Divorce/divorceflowchart.htm

There’s no doubt that it’s easier to register your photographs before you publish them. But if you didn’t get it done then, it’s better late than never to register your published images. The good news is that it’s more convenient and cheaper than ever to register your photographs after they have been published.

Pursuant to a recent change in copyright law, you now can register a group of published images on one form. The only requirements are that the photos must have been published in the same year, made by the same photographer and have the same copyright claimant. This should fit the profile of most photographers and their work.

Another beneficial change in the law is that group registration of published images currently requires only one “deposit” or copy of the image. Previously, you had to submit two of the actual published copies. Now you can register your published images on one form, with only one deposit, one application and one filing fee, as long as they meet the above requirements.

Specific instructions on how to prepare your registration forms for published photographs are available from the Picture Archive Council of America at http://www.pacaoffice.org/copyright.html in “The Importance of Copyright Registration”

You no longer have an excuse. Go to the dentist, change the oil in your car, and register your images, both unpublished and published. It’s better late than never.

Take my advice; get professional help.

PhotoAttorney

Copyright 2005 Carolyn E. Wright All Rights Reserved

— ABOUT THE AUTHOR —

Carolyn E. Wright, Esq., has a unique legal practice aimed squarely at the needs of photographers. A pro photographer herself, Carolyn has the credentials and the experience to protect photographers. She’s represented clients in multimillion dollar litigations, but also has the desire to help new photographers just starting their careers. Carolyn graduated from Emory University School of Law with a Juris Doctor, and from Tennessee Tech Univ. with a Masters of Business Administration degree and a Bachelor of Science degree in music.

She wrote the book on photography law. “88 Secrets to the Law for Photographers,” by Carolyn and well-known professional photographer, Scott Bourne, is scheduled for fall 2005 release by Olympic Mountain School Press. Carolyn also is a columnist for PhotoFocus Magazine.

Carolyn specializes in wildlife photography and her legal website is http://www.photoattorney.com

A criminal record search is the process of collecting and accessing criminal records, arrest records, and background information on certain persons either through online providers or through local courthouses.

Using online providers is a valuable time saver. If you want to search for a criminal record offline, first of all, you have to submit a request for the record with every jurisdiction where the person has lived as an adult. Later on, you should request records from both the state and federal authorities. Thirdly, you need to pay the required fee, if any, to the state authority. Your request should be as specific as possible about the person, including if available the person’s legal name, prior names Social Security Number (SSN), race, date of birth, present and past addresses. The procedure for obtaining a criminal record varies depending upon the jurisdiction that holds the record and the purpose for which you require the record.

Now, online providers offer information about criminal records of the accused. There are two types of online criminal records searches, namely, Instant search and Delayed search. In case of Instant search, one can have access to the records instantly and quickly, but every state jurisdiction may not offer instant access to its criminal records. If we use an authorized agent like Integra Scan for searching, it is called a delayed search, which will take more time to give results. The results given by delayed searches are more complete than those given by instant searches. Even for state criminal records and federal criminal records, there are separate options in websites for searching records. Similarly the methods for searching county criminal records differ from country to country.

All types of people and organizations use criminal record searches. For instance, business organizations need searches for knowing about the criminal background of their potential employees, if any, before offering them employment. A criminal record check is the standard procedure to be followed in the recruitment procedure of almost all of the U.S. firms.

Criminal Records provides detailed information about criminal records, criminal records online, and more. Criminal Records is affiliated with Bail Bond Agents.

The US Immigration laws are rather complex and could be the source of confusion and misunderstandings. There are many types of American visas, some of which allow you to come to the USA for a visit or a temporary stay, while others allow you to remain permanently. Choosing the correct visa requires understanding of the applicant’s background and needs, therefore it is advisable to consult with a certified immigration lawyer.

Temporary Visas

Temporary visas are for people who wish to come over to the United States and stay for a short period. They exist for multiple reasons for staying, such as working, studying, visiting relatives and tourism. Depended on the actual visa, it is possible to stay in the US from several months to several years.

Permanent Visas

Permanent visas are for people who wish to move to the United States permanently, they are commonly referred to as “Permanent Residency” status or “Green Card”.

The most common ways of obtaining a permanent visa is through:

- Partner / Family - An immediate relative who is a US citizen or permanent resident.

- Work / Employment - visa based on an actual Job offer by an American corporation.

- Business - Substantial Business or Investments in the United States.

- Other - Winning the annual Green Card lottery.

Green Card Lottery

Each year the US government issues about 50,000 “green cards” (permanent residency status) to applicants from all over the world. Permanent residency status allows you and your family to immigrate and live in the US indefinitely, while enjoying all rights such as working and studying. After several years of legal permanent residency you may apply for US citizenship and a passport.

Rainbowmaster: Exclusive Immigration Information Resources - USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and much more. http://www.rainbowmaster.com

In this article we’re going to discuss what can be done about errors to hopefully avoid malpractice suits that are taking over the United States at an alarming rate.

With all the malpractice suits filed in the Unites States each year, one has to wonder if the doctors involved are getting a proper education. Certainly you didn’t have the number of malpractice lawsuits even as recently as the 80s as there are today in the start of the 21st century. So obviously since more errors are being committed something needs to be done to minimize them, if possible. The question, is what?

First off, it needs to be pointed out that in the course of treatment for a patient, many errors can be committed. The commitment of the error is not the problem. The problem is not finding the error in time. This error detection can occur any time between the beginning and end of the patient’s entire course of treatment or more specifically, between the beginning an end of a particular procedure. This error detection can be of the error’s mode, expression, or its consequence.

To give a specific example, a nurse can reach for a 2 gram Lidocaine syringe and change the motion towards its correct target, the 100 mg syringe. The nurse realizes that she was going for the wrong syringe but immediately makes the correction. This may be a conscious correction or not. As humans we do so many things from habit, especially when we do them over and over for a length of time. Little research has been done into the psychology of how people react to their realizing they are about to make a mistake. Some people show a pronounced physical reaction, such as a jolt of the body where they will noticeably reach for a different instrument and then there are people who do this totally in their minds where nobody can even tell they were about to commit an error.

Probability tells us that these type of errors are very common and in almost all cases are corrected. Statistics show that for every one error corrected by a physical action after the error occurred, there are 10 instances where the error was detected before any wrong action was taken. The point is, errors are more common than we realize but don’t get reported because they are caught early enough.

In order to correct these errors that don’t get caugh, experts suggest that there should be specific training in the use of tactics which will lead to improvement in error self detection. In other words, instead of 1 out of every 11 errors not being detected until after the error is made, we get to the point of 1 out of every 100 errors. This will greatly reduce the number of malpractice lawsuits. In order to do this, system analysis must be done on surgical and other procedures. Areas must be identified where errors are most likely to occur. The problem with doing such studies is that this will ultimately raise the cost of healthcare and if it doesn’t decrease the number of malpractice lawsuits then medical costs will be even worse than they are today.

Others suggest that the malpractice laws themselves need to be changed. Errors occur. Medicine is not an exact science and people need to understand that. Making it more difficult to file a malpractice lawsuit might help matters on both ends. Doctors and nurses will be more relaxed and patients may have a little more trust in the medical profession because of this.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Malpractice
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Get out of your own way

Developing a strong mental golf game involves identifying the chief problems that usually stump us, and then learning how to eliminate them from the equation.

Stress is the #1 cause of those mental stumbling blocks– too often, we let outside influences ruin our day. A partner that is too boisterous, too many golfers on the course, the weather, not enough warm-up time before the round, etc.

These factors all too often adversely affect our mental golf game.

Pros use these mental tactics everyday when they play, but only recently has the amatuer golfer started to recognize the importance of developng a strong mental approach to golf. As a matter of fact, learning how to cotrol the mental aspect of one’s golf can make all the difference in the world!

I’m not a mental golf expert- but I know someone who is! The book “Own the Zone” is one of the most incredible books I’ve ever come across. You might consider this book if you truly want to elevate your game.

Get a Grip

I’ve doubted this theory before- and always came up wrong. the theory is “positivity” and it involves keeping a positive state of mind in golf (or anything for that matter!).

This doesn’t mean you have to be happy-go-lucky (God knows I can’t stay that way!), but you have to maintain a certain “can-do” attitude when it comes to your golf.

How many times do we shank a ball into the lake on the first tee, and our day is pretty much done from there? If you’re like me, you’re mentally playing catch-up the rest of the day. Not fun!

Instead of dwelling on that bad shot, immediately start thinking and visualizing what your next shot needs to be. Putting that shot immediately out of your mind will tell you mentally that you’re going to stay in a positive mode. I know it sounds hard, but give it a try!

Going for it…..or maybe not

Playing within yourself is a key aspect of developing (and assisting) your mental golf game.

When you chance a shot you have doubts about, your odds of pulling the shot off successfully are slim. You’re giving your mind a fighting chance when you stay true to yourself, whatever shot that would be.

Playing to your strengths is not only a good course strategy, but a solid mental one as well.
Rob Moore operates HI-WAYgolf.com , home of golf tips and golf equipment reviews to help Break 100 Now!