Event Helps Heroes to Prepare their Wills

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Men and women who are putting their own lives on the line each and every day to serve and protect the people should have readied documents to protect their families’ future and assets when an unfortunate event happens to them.  This is according to the lawyers that came to Moriarty Civic Center on Saturday.

Torrance County launched “Wills for Heroes,” a public service program that offers free health care directives, power of attorney, and wills for first responders as well as their spouses.

Eleven attorneys came to draft the documents at Civic Center, many of them coming from Santa Fe and Albuquerque.  First responders were invited from the county including paramedics, police departments, and fire departments.  The service is free, with a potential savings of $600 - the average cost of creating and notarizing all the wills and other documents needed by a person and their spouse.   ”It’s a one-stop shop and the people will have legally active documents when they walk away from here,” said Matt Page, Assistant District Attorney.

“I want to create a will because I don’t want machines to keep me alive if I become incapacitated, and I also don’t want my own family to make these kinds of decisions for me,” says Susan Enchinias, Moriarty Police Officer.  

Tags: Albuquerque, assets, attorney, attorneys, heroes, lawyers, Moriarty Civic Center, police officer, responders, Santa Fe, Wills
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“I want a Lawyer”

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

DUI wasn’t a big thing twenty or thirty years in the past. As long as you didn’t cause an accident or no one was hurt, you will just be given some points on your license, small fine, probably a mandatory DUI Class, and one night to sober up in jail.

Today, however, things are different. First time offense can give you significant jail time, hefty fines in most courts, costly and extensive classes to attend, and probably some community service requirements. Some insurance companies even routinely cancel the car insurance if a person has a DWI or DUI conviction.

So what can you do to prevent all this? First of all, don’t try to explain anything to the police officer arresting you. Remember that “anything you say may be used against you…”

As soon as you are arrested, cooperate fully with the police officer and say these words “I want a lawyer.” These should be the first words as well as the last that goes out of your mouth. Then repeat these words often. It would help you avoid more problems and even stop the police officer from questioning you further.

A lawyer can minimize your sentence or even throw your case out of court. Of course, there are no guarantees, but without contacting a lawyer, it may be difficult or impossible to acquire leniency before the judge.

Tags: dui, DUI conviction, DUI offense, dwi, lawyer, police officer
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Arrest: Beginning of the Criminal Justice Process

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

An arrest occurs when someone is taken into custody and that person is prohibited to move about of leave. Sometimes the use of handcuffs or physical restraint is not necessary. An arrest is already complete when the police officer tells the suspects that they’re “under arrest.” So generally, an arrest can be described as a person’s involuntary or voluntary submission to a police officer’s exercise of authority over him or her.

A police officer can only arrest a person under the following circumstances:

• *The officer personally observed a crime – for example, the officer sees an actual purse snatching,   then he or she may arrest the purse-snatcher.
• *The officer has “probable cause” – when the officer has reasonable circumstances, facts, or belief that a particular person is about to commit or committed a crime, then that person may be arrested. For example, the officer received a call reporting armed robbery in a liquor store and then he sees the suspect with a gun and cash running down the street, then that man may be arrested.
• *The officer obtained a warrant to arrest – this is a legal document issued by any magistrate or judge to allow any officer to arrest the suspect.

If this happens to you, you can question the lawfulness of your arrest including the actions of the officer. However, this battle should be fought in court together with a criminal attorney rather than fight it on the street.

Tags: arrest, criminal attorney, criminla, custody, police officer, suspect
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