New Year, New Policy?
January 8, 2014 | Adriel B. VillarrealWhen is the last time you reviewed your insurance policies? Many people purchase their policy when they are young and no longer covered under their parent’s policies or when they first buy a house and never think twice about it. But reviewing your car insurance policy is actually very important. This is a New Year’s resolution that is relatively simple to follow through on and could save you time and money in the unfortunate event that you or a family member is hurt in a car accident. A few weeks ago I finally decided to compare prices for my auto and home owners’ insurance policies. I was given some motivation to do so after the bombardment of insurance company advertisements during a college football. I guess in some way all the constant advertising caused me to think about my coverage and whether or not I was getting a reasonable rate for coverage. I jumped online and within about one hour I had quotes from several companies promising me the “best coverage” and experience etc. Ultimately, I determined that the effort of switching my auto, home, umbrella and life policies was not worth the marginal savings I was quoted. While I did not learn any earth shattering discoveries during my online searches one thing…
Read MoreThe Police Have Confiscated My Property. What Can I Do?
January 6, 2014 | Adriel B. VillarrealIf the police have taken your property they have typically done so under Minnesota’s asset forfeiture laws. They can only do this in one of two cases. The first is that they believe your property is “instrumental” to the crime you are accused of committing. So, for example, if you were pulled over and charged with a DWI or DUI, then the police could take your car, arguing that the car was instrumental to your ability to commit that crime. Note that this doesn’t happen after you are convicted of the crime. This means that a good attorney may be able to help you get our property back. The second case is when the asset is believed to have come from “criminal proceeds.” That is, someone sells $100,000 worth of drugs and uses that money to purchase a house. This is less common because it’s very difficult to prove. What About Asset Forfeiture? There are also cases of judicial asset forfeiture, but a judge can only take your assets after a notice and a hearing. All the same, this can be done without convicting you of any crime. If this has happened to you or happens to you in the future, know that you must move very fast if you want your property…
Read MoreExpungement Laws in Review
January 3, 2014 | Jon P. EricksonThere is currently a state of Minnesota House/Senate “working group” that is meeting periodically to try come up with modifications to the existing laws on expungement (sealing of criminal records) in Minnesota. The hope is that they can draft changes to the current law to allow expungements for more criminal matters including juvenile cases. The Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) is assisting this “working group” of legislatures along with the Minnesota Council on Crime in Justice in drafting this potential legislation. I am a member of the MACDL legislative subcommittee and will be assisting in this endeavor. I will periodically be blogging on the status of this legislation in the upcoming session of the MN legislature so look for my blogs. I also encourage you to follow this legislature in the news as it progresses through the session. We here at BGS are set up to assist anyone who wants to pursue an expungement of their criminal record, please contact us with inquiries regarding this legal issue.
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