Category: Law

Many people charged with driving on a suspended or revoked license say the same thing: "I didn't know." Sometimes that's true. But Minnesota law makes "I didn't know" a weak defense in a lot of cases. The safer move is to check your Minnesota license status before you get behind the wheel. Why "I never got the letter" may not help Minnesota law counts a letter mailed to your last known address as notice. Not updating your address is not a defense. So a letter sent to an old home can still count against you. How to check your status The Department of Public Safety runs online tools through its Driver and Vehicle Services division, known as DVS. With a MyDVS account, you can view your license status and request…

Every outdoor camera needs power. How it gets that power shapes the whole project. It decides how reliable the camera is, how often someone has to touch it, and who you need to hire. Power comes first Most people pick the camera first. They compare picture quality, the app and the price, and power is an afterthought, if it comes up at all. But a camera with a shaky power plan is the one that goes dark when it counts. A dead battery or a tripped outlet means no video, and at a place you don't visit often, you might not notice for weeks. Three ways to do it Outdoor cameras generally get power one of three ways. Battery. It runs on a rechargeable pack. Nothing to wire, but someone…

Free and low cost bankruptcy filing tools have gotten good. Some are run by nonprofits. Some are companies that charge a flat fee to type your forms for you. Filing without a lawyer is legal. The court calls it filing pro se. Plenty of people do it and come out fine. The real question is not whether you are allowed. It is whether your case is the kind that survives a mistake. Where Doing It Yourself Usually Works A no asset Chapter 7 with a simple picture is the best candidate: You rent, or you have no equity in your home Your car is worth less than the loan on it, or there is no car loan The debt is credit cards and medical bills Your income is clearly under…

Spring hits and the bikes come out. You see them on the back roads heading toward the bay, on Route 5, on the bridges over the Patuxent. Most rides end fine. The ones that don't? They can change your life in about three seconds. Here's the deal with motorcycle crashes in Maryland. They're not like fender benders. Injuries get serious fast. Adjusters fight harder. And the rules around helmets, fault, and what you can actually recover? Different than what most riders think. Start with helmets. Maryland still requires every rider and passenger to wear one. Eye protection too, unless your bike's got a windscreen. The MVA sets the standards, which basically means a DOT-approved helmet does the job. You can read the whole law over at Maryland Transportation Code §21-1306…