Is This the America You Want?

By Sara Naheedy and Tom Scott, Authors of Stack the Legal Odds in Your Favor The Problem One can look anywhere in the world where there is money or power, and corruption can be found rearing its ugly head.  This has been the case throughout history.  It is human nature.  However, any legal system, not […]

Book Review: Stack the Legal Odds in Your Favor

What happens when an attorney and a guy who’s not a lawyer with a history fighting in court on his own get together to create a legal self-help book? You get a book with an attitude.  Think Mark Wahlberg in the courtroom. Authors Tom Scott and Sara Naheedy combine to bring the attitude and the […]

The USA vs. King George. Or as we know it, the Declaration of Independence

While the Declaration of Independence is revered for its eloquence, and inspirational philosophies, in the most straightforward sense it is a legal document written by a lawyer and approved by lawyers. Of the Declaration’s signers 25 of 56 were lawyers. Of the non-lawyers, the rest were in business and active in public affairs. The statistics […]

Illinois Requirements for a Valid Last Will and Testament

The Constitution’s Tenth Amendment notes that any power not given to the federal government is reserved to the states or the people. The Constitution does not give the federal government power over the disposition of property upon someone’s death.[1] This is a power reserved to the states, and the law in this area varies from […]

Sixth Amendment Right to Be Informed of Criminal Charges

It certainly seems obvious and fair that when the government charges someone with a crime that the person be told what law he has violated and what he did to violate that law.  That a government does not always conduct itself in a fair manner and that it needs to be reminded of the obvious […]

Sixth Amendment’s Speedy Trial Right: Ancient, Worthy and Elusive

The Constitution’s Bill of Rights contains many protections for those the government accuses of having committed a crime.  Among them is the Sixth Amendment right to a “speedy trial”.  The provision is stated: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy … trial” The right may has old roots and […]

Considerations in Appointing a Child’s Guardian in a Will

There are many reasons to create a Last Will and Testament, but for parents with a minor child, appointment of a child’s guardian is among the best.  Doing so may be a parent’s best chance at choosing a child’s guardian angel. Estate planning has many facets including property titles, trust documents and more, but none […]

Federal Restrictions on Gun Ownership by Convicted Felons

Federal law provides significant penalties for felons in possession of weapons, unless the felon has his rights restored by the convicting state. Anyone who has been convicted of a felony is banned by federal law from ever possessing “any firearm or ammunition.” Specifically a person “convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment […]

The Sixth Amendment’s Right to the Assistance of Counsel

Thanks to television police reading the Miranda Warnings people are familiar with a criminal defendant’s right to an attorney and that an indigent defendant may have appointed counsel. Such protections have not always been part of United States law. The right to an attorney is found in the Constitution’s Sixth Amendment.  The Sixth Amendment was ratified as part of the Bill […]

The Sixth Amendment, One Amendment, Six Constitutional Rights

The Sixth Amendment contains rights beyond the well-known right to an attorney in criminal matters. There are six constitutional rights in the Sixth Amendment.  They are procedural rights designed to protect an individual’s inalienable natural rights of life and liberty found in the Declaration of Independence. The Sixth Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights, […]