Parental rights termination proceedings require a clear judgment

Because even family law judges make mistakes in rendering family law rulings, it is best to have an attentive family law attorney represent you especially when your fundamental parental rights are at risk in a termination of parental rights action.

In April 2012, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled on a case involving termination of parental rights. The Nevada Supreme Court determined that the lower Nevada district family court must make express findings of fact in its written family court order, or on the record, when determining whether to grant or deny a petition to terminate a parent’s parental rights.  In that specific family case, the district court had failed to find facts by the clear and convincing standard required to terminate a parents rights:

The court stated:

A petitioner in termination proceedings has the burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that termination is in the child’s best interest and that parental fault exists.  When a district court fails to make any findings concerning this standard of proof in its order or on the record, this court is unable to determine on appeal whether substantial evidence supports the district court’s ruling.  In the present case, neither the district court’s order nor the record contains findings of fact to support the district court’s conclusions, and thus, we reverse the order terminating appellant’s parental rights and remand this matter to the district court to enter its findings.  

 In re Parental Rights as to C.C.A., 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 15 April 5, 2012 

In this case, the family trial court had a two day evidentiary hearing and then failed to either give an oral ruling or a written ruling that explained the findings of facts and conclusions of law to warrant the court terminating your parental rights.

When you say to yourself, I need an attorney for parental rights, call us.

REQUIRED DISCLAIMER

The information about termination of parental rights contained on this page is not intended to be legal advice about termination of parental rights.  Your termination of parental rights matter should always best be evaluated by a Las Vegas family lawyer.  You should treat termination of parental rights with the seriousness it requires.  Just as you would not likely conduct surgery on yourself, you should not represent yourself in court regarding your termination of parental rights matter.  

At the very least, the best free advice a lawyer can give: consult with a local attorney—multiple times if necessary if you insist upon representing yourself.

When you say, I need a criminal defense lawyer in Las Vegas, call us.

Traffic Ticket Lawyer in Las Vegas, Henderson, and Nevada Federal Court

Many residents and tourists are charged with traffic violations each year in and around Las Vegas, but few of them realize the problems associated with being convicted of the traffic charges.

When a person who is given a traffic citation by the police pleads guilty to the traffic violation, pays a fine, and attends traffic school, they probably have not considered the following ramifications associated with pleading guilty to a traffic citation:

•          Every conviction for a moving violation likely will raise your insurance rates.

•          Multiple convictions for traffic violations will likely result in a driver’s license suspension or license revocation. In Nevada, if you are convicted of driving with a suspended license, you may 
be restricted from acquiring a new license for a full year.

•          If you were involved in an automobile accident, received a moving citation, and are being sued civilly, the conviction may be used in the civil lawsuit to show that you were per se negligent.

•          If you have a commercial driver’s license (CDL), you may lose your license and the ability to earn a living. 

•          If you handle the traffic ticket by yourself, you will probably take at least 1 day off from work to go to court to resolve the ticket, and it is not a pleasant experience. 

As a result of convictions for moving violations, like simple speeding tickets, you will likely pay fines, court administrative fees, increased insurance costs, and attend traffic school. Further, you could suffer possible suspension or revocation of you driver’s license. If your Nevada license is suspended, you will not be able to obtain a license in any other State until the Nevada suspension is completed. On top of this, you will need to miss a whole day’s pay, just to go to court!

So, how can you likely prevent the headaches associated with the above for some minor traffic infraction?  You hire a criminal defense attorney with experience negotiating thousands of citations.  Louis Schneider has negotiated plea deals for misdemeanor traffic citations for many years and will bring his knowledge to the court for your matter and you will likely have to do little more than pay his fee, give him a copy of the citation, and then pay the fine to the court upon a negotiated deal.

When you say, I need a traffic ticket lawyer in Las Vegas, 

Call us: (702) 435-2121

Free information regarding jurisdiction in Las Vegas for divorce

Las Vegas is a popular destination for divorce.  In Las Vegas, if you reside here for six weeks with the intent to remain indefinitely, Las Vegas courts can gain jurisdiction over your divorce.  However, if children are involved in the custody process, then jurisdiction would not be established for the child custody unless the children have resided in Nevada for six months.  If you have a desire to get divorced in Las Vegas, you should consult with a qualified family law or domestic relations attorney who is licensed to practice las in Nevada.

We offer the additional below advice free of charge, but it could save you years of grief:

Call the Law Offices of Louis C. Schneider for assistance with your Las Vegas divorce.  Call as soon as possible and speak to no one else about your case except your Las Vegas divorce lawyer.  The more you talk about your divorce or child custody to people, the more potential witnesses there may be against you.  Do not post on Facebook, do not text, do not e-mail, and do not talk until you talk to us.

Dogs Smell Bad, why this Matters for your Drug Arrest…

Did the police use a dog to sniff out drugs and then arrest you in Las Vegas, Henderson, or Southern Nevada for possession or intent to distribute or sell? 

If so, you should immediately call a Las Vegas criminal defense attorney who has experience with dog sniff drug cases.  Say nothing to the police before, during, or after the arrest.  In fact, say nothing to everyone except your criminal defense attorney.  Failure to remain silent could greatly negatively impact your defense.

Can the police use a drug dog to sniff out narcotics or other contraband? 

Yes!

Why?

Because…under the plain smell doctrine, if contraband can be detected by smell, this provides sufficient cause for the police to conduct a search without a search warrant if exigency so demands.  (Exigency means that the search has to be done now because waiting would cause some problem—i.e. the evidence would disappear).   Often, though, and depending on State or federal law, the police officer will wait for a magistrate to sign a warrant to conduct the search.  The same rules apply if a drug dog detects the odor. The plain smell doctrine is articulated in the United States Supreme Court opinion of Johnson v. United States 333 U.S. 10, 13 (1948).  As you can see, this rule has been around since at least 1948.  It is an extension of the “plain sight rule” which says that evidence indicating a crime has occurred that is in the plain sight of the police officer can be used as evidence even absent a search warrant.

Recently, though, the courts are questioning this police dog plain smell rule.  In California, for instance, a package of marijuana reeked and the police conducted a warrantless search.  Upon conviction for possession, the defendant appealed and now the higher courts are deciding whether the plain smell rule is constitutional and a valid extension of the “plain sight” rule. People v. Robey (S197735). 

Plain smell is more problematic than plain sight. For instance, a package may smell of drugs because it was somewhere that drugs had been, but the package itself contains private belongings of an innocent person.  This is perhaps one of the more compelling reasons to prevent officers from relying on the sense of smell, whether by their own nosy noses or those of their dogs.

Attorney Louis C. Schneider has had recent success in a huge criminal case involving drugs, interstate transport of drugs, and police dog sniffing out drugs.  After rigorously reviewing the evidence, the police procedure, and filing a motion with the criminal court, it was apparent that the police procedure that the police officer and the police dog used was illegal.  Louis Schneider will use the same diligence in reviewing the evidence against you when a police dog results in your arrest for possession of drugs in Las Vegas, Henderson, Clark County, or Southern Nevada.

REQUIRED DISCLAIMER

The information about Las Vegas drug criminal charges contained on this page is not intended to be legal advice about criminal law.  A Las Vegas defense lawyer should always evaluate your criminal law matter as soon as possible.  You should treat your drug charge with the seriousness it requires.  Moreover, the information contained in this blog is not intended to guarantee any result.  Each case is unique and will require special attention by a criminal defense attorney.

When you say, I need a criminal defense lawyer in Las Vegas, call us.