Biker and Motorcycle Lawyer Blog / Blawg

The Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez & Associates is pleased to announce that we now have a physical office in San Francisco, California. This office will allow us to better serve our personal injury clients in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Our law firm does personal injury cases throughout the State of California. To go to our Personal Injury Website, click here now.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

The “In The Wind” section of this Blog has become kind of a catch all Blog for subjects that do not fit into the other Blogs on this site.

I figured I would do a little Thursday morning rant since it is about to rain here in Southern California so I cannot ride my motorcycle today.

I am absolutely fed up with the bait and switch rebate scams that seem to now be the norm rather than the exception these days when you go shopping for items. You know what I am talking about. You see a computer advertised for let’s say $999.00. You go to buy the computer; only to find out that the in-store price is actually $2,000.00 with a rebate of $1001.00.

They then tell you to look at the fine print of the ad for the rebate verbiage. You have just been sucked into their store by a bait and switch scam.

At this point at least in California, it is legal for stores and companies to advertise in this way. I think it is time for the California State Legislature to enact laws which prevent the bait and switch rebate scams that are going on.

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We have all read about the untimely death of 39 year old Anna Nicole Smith. Ms. Smith, a former Playboy Playmate of the Year, had a tumultuous life to say the least. She was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She became a stripper in that small town. She met and married a geriatric billionaire who subsequently died leaving a billion dollar plus estate.

Subsequently a lengthy legal battle ensued between Anna Nicole Smith, and the estate of her deceased geriatric husband which continues to this day. What is novel about this case is that it has gone on for approximately 9 years, and has gone up all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Many of you probably watched or heard about the Anna Nicole Show on cable TV. Her antics on that show were sometimes bizarre to say the least. She was always seen on the TV show with a man which I will not name here, who represented himself as Anna Nicole Smith’s Attorney. I do not know what State this attorney is licensed to practice law in, but I did check the California State Bar register, and there are a few attorney’s listed with his last name.

I watched the show and thought that it was real bizarre that an Attorney at Law would constantly be hanging out and traveling with only one client. However, I figured that if she was paying him enough so be it. On a personal level that type of attorney/client relationship is not my cup of tea. I am a trial lawyer.

Based upon my personal opinion, Anna Nicole Smith seemed stoned out her mind on the show. She slurred her speech and seemed out of it. If you have watched the show, you know what I mean.

Anna Nicole Smith then went on to lose a tremendous amount of weight and recently got back into the limelight as a Spokesmodel for a weight loss company, and she started doing modeling again.

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I wanted to let our members, visitors, and everyone else know that on Monday, February 12, 2006, the software and database that drives the Biker Law Blog is going to be upgraded.

Upgrade COMPLETE -stk

This upgrade is necessary to better improve the engine that the Biker Law Blog runs on. This upgrade may cause some intermittent outages throughout the day, and also may cause some minor problems with functionality.

If you experience any problems, or notice any problems after February 12, 2006, I would appreciate you reporting them by email to Norman@norman-law.com .

Thank You,
Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

First off everyone knows or should know that drinking and driving is illegal in all States depending upon the amount of alcohol that you have in your system.

In California you are driving illegally if your blood alcohol content or BAC is .08%

If you drink and drive you are facing losing your drivers license, car or motorcycle, having it impounded, jail time, Court ordered school, and massive fines. It is just not worth it from a legal standpoint.

This article is about Motorcycle safety and not the legal aspects, but the legal aspects are also a consideration.

Most people do not realize that Alcohol is one of the most powerful drugs known to man. A drug is a mind altering substance. Any of you that drink alcohol know full well that alcohol will give you a buzz real quick, especially if you are drinking shooters or mixed drinks. Even one beer will alter your mental state.

I myself quit drinking about 10 years ago for my own personal reasons. I am a sober biker!! I am not writing this article to preach to others not to drink. You can drink as much as you want; it is legal.

The purpose of this article is to preach to you about not drinking and driving, and to not let your brothers and friends drink and drive.

There are statistics all over the Internet about the effects of alcohol on your ability to operate a motor vehicle. Any of you who think that you drive or ride better after a few drinks are flat our full of shit, and you know it. If you don’t know it than maybe you might have a few screws loose.

Drinking and Driving in a car is bad enough, however on a motorcycle it is 100% times more dangerous.

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I have been receiving tons of legal questions regarding motorcycle law, personal injury, family law, and motorcycle safety through the Blog System.

What is really annoying to me is when I receive a great question but the person does not leave their return email address so I can respond to their question.

If you want to contact me through the system you can click the little email icon next to any of my post. Make sure you include your email and contact information in your private message to me; otherwise there will be no way for me to know how to contact you.

You can also register as a member within the system on the right sidebar so that when you contact me, your email will be included. It would probably be best if you put a return email in your message even if you are a member of the Biker Law Blog.

You can also send me a direct email at law@norman-law.com or contact me through my Law Office Website at www.bikerlawyer.net.

Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

My friend Mike Odom, a fellow biker, has been keeping a close watch on the Billy Lane Case on his Blog which you can find by clicking here.

You can find some of his recent articles on the case by clicking here.

It appears that Billy Lane has hired two criminal defense lawyers to represent him in his drunk driving manslaughter case.

Some members of my blog and others visitors have asked me to comment on the fact that Billy Lane has hired two criminal defense attorneys, and whether it is allowed.

In California and in Federal Court where I am licensed to practice law, it is not uncommon for there to be two or more attorneys of record. I myself have associated in Counsel (a 2nd lawyer) in cases that I have done.

It is much easier to put on a case when you have other lawyers helping, especially at trial. The lead lawyer in a case is usually called the 1st seater, and co-counsel is usually called the 2nd seater. Two eyes and ears are in most cases better than one in complex cases.

You may remember the O.J. Simpson criminal murder case that was conducted in Los Angeles Superior Court Central. (The Stanley Mosk Justice Center) O.J. Simpson had no less than 10 lawyers on his team and he was found not guilty in the criminal case.

Everyone must always remember one thing; the United States Constitution presumes that all men or women charged of a criminal offense; are innocent until proven guilty in a Court of competent jurisdiction by a jury of their peers. Our system of justice may not be perfect, but it is the best in the world.

It is thought that it is better to let 12 guilty men go free than to convict one innocent man. That is the way our justice system works. Our forefathers came from countries that used various methods of torture to get people accused of a crime to confess to their crimes. Most people confess to anything under torture. Our founding fathers created a more fair system of justice!

The subject of this article is Billy Lane and his case; not our system of justice and its benefits or faults. This is the subject for a future article.

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If you have been on the Internet for any length of time you have probably been the victim of Spam. Spam is unsolicited email.

Some spammers are simply trying to pitch their product, while some spammers are trying to do other devious deeds to your computer by injecting harmful scripts, Trojans, viruses, spyware, and other nasty things into your computer.

You would be a fool to open an attachment in an unsolicited email.

These people are taking it to a level which I have never seen before. They are sending fake PayPal emails out, fake Bank emails out, fake official looking emails out from governmental entities, etc.

I for one receive no less than 1000 spam emails per day. I have multiple programs set up to catch and filter out spam, viruses, spyware, etc., but some of it still comes through.

There are various State and Federal laws setup that can give you a legal remedy against the Spammers and other malcontents. These laws provide for fines and prison time for those persons who are caught and prosecuted civilly and by law enforcement officials.

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If you are not familiar with this story, you can click here to read my original article.

Since I have written the article, I have been contacted by bikers and motorcyclist who reside in Canyon Lake, California about potentially initiating legal action against Canyon Lake for their practice of blatantly discriminating against residents who own motorcycles.

Canyon Lake you are now on notice that we may be coming for you in a Court of Law real soon! It might be better if you just let residents who own motorcycles ride in your city!

The President of the Canyon Lake Motorcycle Club recently informed me about more hypocrisy from the Brain Dead of Canyon Lake. It appears that they care more about banning motorcycles from their city than their own children! No shit; true story. You can read a newspaper article about it here.

Apparently speeding cagers have been putting kids who are getting on and off of school buses in and around Canyon Lake in danger. What idiot would speed by a school bus or school bus stop with children standing by? This is another issue that will not be discussed in this article.

The residents of Canyon Lake complained, so the Riverside County Sheriff assigned motorcycle officers to go after the speeders. Guess what; those brain dead residents of Canyon Lake, California complained that the cops were using MOTORCYCLES to correct the problem. Can you believe it? Here the cops go out to try to help their kids and they complain because they are using MOTORCYCLES?

The President of the Canyon Lake Motorcycle Club calls it an embarrassment. I call it lunacy.

Discrimination in all of its forms is in plain language “Ignorance.” Ignorance and Discrimination walk hand in hand.

So if one of the brain dead residents of Canyon Lake loses a child to a speeder because they complained about the cops using motorcycles to catch the speeders, than guess what; you asked for it.

How can a group of people be so dumb that they would put their prejudice against bikers and motorcyclist above their own children? The Answer is simple; PURE IGNORANCE.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. ,© 2007

In modern times many couples have children when they are not married. Problems can arise with respect to Child Custody, Visitation, and Child Support when these couples break off the relationship.

In a perfect world the mother and the father are amicable in such a situation, and do what is in the child or children’s best interest. However, it is much safer, and highly recommended, that you obtain Court orders with respect to custody, visitation, and support issues, so that the mother and father each know their respective rights and obligations, and so that there are no ambiguities regarding the same.

This article will discuss the issue of children who are born out of wedlock from both the mother and the father’s prospective to give you a general understanding of the law in California regarding children born out of wedlock.

The Mother’s Prospective

The mother of a child that is born out of wedlock has a unique advantage in that she does not normally have to prove that the child is hers. If hospital records indicate that a female has given birth to a child, and the birth certificate that is issued upon the birth of a child indicates that the female gave birth to the child, than there is usually no issue with the mother showing that she is the paternal mother.

The mother of a child born out of wedlock will automatically be entitled to full custody of a child absent a Court order indicating otherwise.

She may give the father visitation if she so chooses, or she can deny visitation to the father absent a Court order.

All minor children in California have a right to receive child support pursuant to a statutory guideline. (The subject of Child Support will be covered in a forthcoming separate article). If the mother of a child who is born out of wedlock wants to obtain child support from the father, she will have to file and serve a Petition to Establish Parentage on the father, and an Order to Show Cause for child support with the appropriate Court.

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