Archive for the 'Richard Harris Law Firm' Category

It’s all about revenue…or is it?

Van November 18th, 2010

So the economy in Vegas, and throughout the country has tanked.  It’s certainly hitting our part of the world as hard, and evidence suggests actually harder than the rest of the country.  Our governments, i.e. Nevada and its municipalities derive a large portion of their revenues from gaming and lodging, and the state, so far thankfully, has not imposed a state income tax.  So what happens to governments when the revenue stream is hit as hard as it has been in the last two years, to make up the shortfall and continue to provide government services? 

 In the case of municipalities, a portion of their revenue stream comes from traffic enforcement, and it’s not a small amount.  Several million dollars per year are collected by municipalities in Clark County alone.  So it seems reasonable to assume that the municipalities would step up traffic enforcement in order to generate additional revenue to cover the shortfalls in the main revenue stream, i.e. gaming/hospitality taxes.  The problem with that concept, is that the Las Vegas economy is derived from entertaining people and attracting tourists, and stepping up enforcement risks putting a damper on the already weakened economy by running off the golden goose: the tourist trade. 

 So what do we make of reports that one court in Clark County had nearly 30,000 fewer traffic cases this year over last?  Should we assume that traffic enforcement has not been stepped up, or that the legendary “quotas” that we all suspect exist, have been lowered?  I wouldn’t make that assumption. 

 The first issue is, that there are fewer cars on the road in Clark County.  With the downturn in the tourist trade, fewer people are coming to Vegas, especially the California trade which largely made their way here in cars via I-15.  Remember the days when you didn’t want to be coming to Vegas from CA on a Friday afternoon, and you didn’t want to be on I-15 heading to CA on a Sunday afternoon?  It was near bumper to bumper for the entire 250 or so miles with occasional jam ups along the way.  Well, it still happens, but very very occasionally anymore. 

 Next, the population of Clark County is actually decreasing.  This is a little secret that doesn’t get much attention.  Gone are the days when people were moving to Vegas at the level of thousands a month.  In fact, some estimate that Clark County has lost as much as 50,000 in population in the last year.  Of course, with those 50,000 people go an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 vehicles.  So between the decline in the tourist trade and the reduction in population, there are fewer tickets being written for fewer vehicles on the road.

 All of these facts certainly didn’t stop the cop who gave me a ticket for allegedly failing to stop at a deserted residential stop sign at about 8:30 PM when I was the only vehicle at the intersection.  This was a particularly petty traffic stop, which was part of a trap, as there was a second cop-car at this scene, also with another driver pulled over being likewise victimized.  And I suppose that the world is a safer place because of it.  Luckily, my ticket is being handled by Ticket Busters, and my ticket will be negotiated to a parking violation, and handled without my need to stand in line at the courthouse or miss work to go to court.  Call us at 666-6666.

Life In The “Which” Lane?

Van October 4th, 2010

As you get older, everything changes. You’ve heard, 60 is the new 40? Anyone really believe that? As one who is closer to 60 than 40, I don’t believe it.

When I was a young pup, I watched Disneyland on Sunday nights, and I recall one such show that was entitled “SUPERHIGHWAY USA”. In this show, Walt Disney himself, and his henchmen, layed out what was to become our nationwide Interstate highway system. This was, of course, before Cloverleaf Industries could act on their nefarious plan to close down the Red Line and replace it with highways. (oops sorry, getting Disney mixed up with Roger Rabbitt, please disregard from “Cloverleaf Industries” on.) Anyway, back to SuperHighway USA; everything was laid out there: the banked and crowned roadbeds, the acceleration lane and freeway approaches and exits, the gentle curves. Traffic always moved quickly as we watched the model cars moving on and off the demonstration model that was used to instruct us in this new driving method. This was, of course, before freeways turned into parking lots, and commutes turned into multi-hour outings. They didn’t tell us about that in SuperHighway USA. It wasn’t supposed to be like that! Did Walt Disney lie to me? And he was such a nice man…he and that little rodent.

One of the things that was talked about in Super Highway USA, is how all highways of the future, would have multiple lanes and how the right lane was for regular traffic, and the left lane, was for people who were passing or were otherwise moving faster than people in the right lane(s). This became ingrained in my brain through Super Highway USA, through driver’s education and training, and through music. The Eagles even wrote a song called “Life In The Fast Lane.” Were they singing about the lane that has the exit lanes coming off of it, and the approaches emptying into it? No, they were singing about that lane that is farthest away from safety, closest to the approach of opposing traffic at break neck speed, far away from the entries and exits, the dangerous fast lane. So my question is: what happened to the fast lane?

Interestingly, it appears that the fast lane of today, is more often than not, something other than the left lane. Have you noticed this? I guess everyone thinks that the left lane is theirs and that when they are there, that they can go whatever speed they want, even if it’s below the speed limit. WRONG! The left lane is for those of us who can survive out there with the other fast drivers. It is not for the faint of heart. It is certainly no place to be if you’re talking on your cell phone. For more on my cell phone rant, click HERE. The left lane is the place where the law of the jungle prevails, and the law of the Highway Patrol. But today, it is no longer the fast lane. In fact, in my driving, it seems as though the lane that is open most often, where you can pick up some speed and not have many drivers to contend with is now…the right lane. What happened?

So for the foreseeable future, I’m going to be traveling and passing all of you, in the right lane. Perhaps at some future time, the fad will die and it will be cool to be in the right lane again, in which case, I’ll be back where I’m supposed to be, the place Walt Disney told me about, and the Eagles sang to me about, the place of legend and intrigue, the famed real fast lane, the left lane.

Umar…

Van September 13th, 2010

I knew there was a joke there somewhere…I just had to wait for it. In this case, the joker is Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab otherwise known as the “underwear bomber.” Wouldn’t you just love to have that moniker hanging around your neck for the rest of history? We’ve had the “shoe bomber,” now comes…the “underwear bomber.”

For those who may not recall, this is the 23 year old Nigerian national, who tried to light his fully loaded underpants on Christmas day last year on Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. He happened to be wearing a set of boxers, or briefs, we can’t and don’t want to be any more sure of which, made of plastique, or also known by the generic designation of PETN. And for those who are not familiar, this is some pretty nasty stuff. For further information on PETN click here.

Just to bring everyone up to speed, in case you’ve been living under a rock or on another planet, this guy was stopped by other passengers on the plane seeing him use a lighter and trying to light something sticking out of his pants. I’m thinking to myself, why is it, when I came back from Canada 2 years ago, did I have to let Mr. Customs practically feel my junk in order to get on the plane, and this guy waltzes on a trans-Atlantic flight with plastique in his pants. I still have nightmares about that trip. Anyway, back to business here. In any case, he got on and nearing landing tried to light up, which was seen by other passengers, who then heroically jumped him and subdued him.

So Umar, has been charged with several nasty sounding charges, including “Attempted Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction” and “Willful Attempt to Destroy an Aircraft” among others and is looking at probably several life sentences. What do you suppose will be his greeting upon entering the federal lockup. “Hey, is that plastique in your pants, or are you just glad to see me?” He can only hope it will be that kind.

So the joke is, he fired his lawyers today and will be representing himself in court. U.S. District Judge, Nancy Edmonds, almost pleadingly asked him if he was familiar with the US legal system, and court procedures, to which he answered, of course, NO, and he even admitted that English was not even his first language. Per Umar, “I prefer to represent myself. Any representation I have, there will always be a conflict of interest…any representation I get would present me in a way that is not in my best interest.” Amazing. Finally and it seems almost desparate, the judge assigned standby counsel for the accused to answer questions he may have during the court proceedings.

He did ask the judge a question, and I can’t figure out if it’s shrewd or stupid, “If I want to plead guilty to some counts, how would I go?” To which the judge wisely answered, that’s the reason he has standby counsel. What’s most amazing is this incredible legal system of ours that seems to really try to protect the rights of the accused.

Well, if you’ve tried to get on a plane wearing plastique pants, don’t call us. However, if you’ve gotten a ticket, or you have warrants outstanding, or there’s some criminal charges looming for which you need representation, please DO call us. Once you call, we’ll do more than standby, we’ll get right into your case and bring things to a conclusion. We’re Ticket Busters at 666-6666 and The Defenders at 333-3333. We are standing by, just waiting for your call.

Court Jargon Simplified

admin March 1st, 2010

After reading an article about a murder case that was taken from the Florida court to the Florida Supreme Court, and then back to the Florida Court, I thought about how confusing the article must be for a person who lacks a basic legal background.

 Footnotes or cliff notes would really come in handy for those who do not work in the legal field. Nowadays, Wikipedia is just a Google click away, but who has time for such rhetoric. Nevertheless, there are those who read our blogs..I will make this short and sweet.   

 We have a three-tiered Court System:

 District Court or Trial Court- a Judgment is reached. If you find error in the judgment reached in district or trial court, you can appeal to the Appellate Court.

 Appellate Court or Court of Appeals:  Is made up of a panel of three judges who hear arguments on both sides.

 The Appellate Court has three options: 

  • Change the judgment
  • Remand send the case back to the lower court to change the judgment
  • Send the case back to the lower court to keep the same judgment

 Supreme Court- All 50 states have their version of the Appeal to the Supreme Court.

 The Nevada Supreme Court is comprised of seven justices. There is no court higher than the Supreme Court- their decision is final.

Governor Gibbons’ Girls in Different Area Codes

admin February 24th, 2010

Our state continues to live up to its reputation of politicians gone wild and we watch it like its great reality TV.

 Cheaters, I mean the channel 8 I-team was on the scene exposing Governor Gibbons in his affair gone completely bad.

 But, what affair doesn’t go bad? It’s like a drug deal. Ever heard a news anchor say, “It was a drug deal gone bad.”

 Drug deals always go bad. There’s drugs exchanged for money, somebody gets high with illegal drugs and another person gets paid for illegal drugs.

 Of course, an affair is not illegal. These shenanigans have more to do with moral and ethics. Nevertheless, it always goes bad.

 Why do we continue to make an issue out of our politicians having affairs? Perhaps because they are elected officials running on platforms and they are held to a higher moral standard.

  Remember though, we are people running on platforms too.

 We have our religious platforms- Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist, Mormon and don’t forget the non-denominational or just plain atheist. Why should we judge? We are hypocrites. We stray all the time (drinking, gambling, cheating, omitting, one way or another we all lie) and we don’t have an entire camera crew trying to get us to confess, or do we?

  I called it in the beginning. I said, never trust a man without a bottom lip or is it a top lip? Either way. Our Governor was controversial before he was put in office. So, it seems we love the drama.

  A couple days after Chrissy Mazzeo yelled sexual assault we put him in office. All of a sudden we care about Jim’s girls in different area codes.

 Yes, last night our lipless Governor was caught in multiple lies – one after another.  This reminds me of…ah yes, Clinton – who we now pay to hear him whisper sweet nothings in our ear.

  While I was watching the video- I team vs. Gibbons, I felt myself pulling for Gibbons-  saying, come on, come on… just say, yes! Admit it and they will leave you alone. I guarantee you the camera crews would have backed off if he admitted to his special session. I’m’ just Monday night quarterbacking though.

 Until… I saw the girlfriend get in to the state vehicle. That stung a little. I felt like he was driving his girl around in the car that I pay for. Oh no he didn’t!

 For the record, I don’t agree with the Governors politics, but I do feel we have become sidetracked on the sensationalism of his personal life. Channel 8 has got us wrapped up in their own vendetta against the Governor.

Sin and Sunshine Making Vegas go to Rehab

admin February 16th, 2010

Apparently sin and sunshine doesn’t guarantee you happiness. Our Las Vegas family is quite dysfunctional according to The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. It ranks 162 cities on the happiness of its residents-Las Vegas finished 145th on the list.

So, shall our city go straight to rehab? Dr. Drew? Where were you on this one?

This poll doesn’t make any sense, we have the universe’s happiest Mayor, Oscar Goodman!

OK, the first step to rehab is admitting to the problem: Nevada residents have been hit hard with the foreclosure crisis, unemployment rate is at 13.1 percent- higher than the entire nation (9.7 percent thus far).

Our service industry is suffering tremendously because we never saved for a rainy day- no, we didn’t save for our college education. However, you can say many residents helped fund some college tuition one lap dance at-a-time. Bygones…

Nevertheless, we are still not happy.

But, don’t blame us, blame our parents. Our Governor is out having affairs and then he up and gets a divorce. Papa Obama constantly refers to us as the red-head step-child (no, not literally) and never gives us any words of encouragement- which is very necessary for a family to thrive. Recovery is far ahead, but I doubt we are unhappy.

According to the list, the unhappiest city is Huntington, West Virginia. The happiest is Boulder, Colorado.

Football Fairytale or Fable?

admin February 8th, 2010

Americans love a good comeback, a rags-to-riches story, an innocent man who gets justice or victory for a city that has been living in turmoil.

This is why yesterday’s Super Bowl win tasted like Pecan Pie for New Orleans and for many Americans. For the first time in NFL history the Saints came up and conquered, restoring hope to a city that has been in a struggling economy for the last four years.  

 After Hurricane Katrina, Americans showed solidarity and assisted New Orleans by setting up relief funds, medical aid, rebuilding houses, and donating time to America’s city in chaos.

 New Orleans hung in there, took their handouts and did what was necessary to survive after such a devastating event. But, yesterday was different.

 The Saints sent out one big thank you to all of America and finally won back their city fair and square. No more handouts. It was symbolism at its best. Maybe even a fairytale…the stories my mom would prelude with, “remember this is only imaginary.”

 After the game, I thought… finally some good karma, some divine intervention for this city. This is a perfect scenario for an economy that has been suffering for so long. This victory is sure to give New Orleans a good boost.

 However, my cynical side kicked in, the one where people yell not another conspiracy theory! No, not the voices in my head, but the die-hard Saints’ fans and of course my friends who always cheer for the underdog.

  I started to think… was this another handout given out by Corporate America? Was this an Ode to My Mum: putting out that disclaimer at the beginning of the fairytale?

 The NFL is big business… Did Peyton Manning take one for the other team? Or, did he take one for his home town?

 And, if the Colts did lose this Bowl for the betterment of society aren’t they the real heroes or are they just gettin paid.

 Didn’t this sort of thing happen with boxing too? After a while, we pretty much knew a fight might be fixed? It’s hard to believe that we can’t just have a good ol’ fashion American Football Fairytale rather than a Corporate American Hand-Me-Down Dream.

 Or, perhaps I’m still dealing with mommy issues?

Nevada DMV, Friend or Foe?

admin February 3rd, 2010

Apparently 15 percent of Nevada Drivers are uninsured according to KTVN Channel 2 news, which has caused our DMV to become babysitters or debt collectors.

 In the past the DMV took a drivers word when it came to proof of insurance, but since we can’t play well with others, we must abide by the new rule and pay.

 Before registering a car with the DMV, you must provide proof of insurance on the vehicle, if you cannot prove you have coverage or your insurance lapses drivers will be fined $250. Nevada Drivers will not have a seven-day grace period anymore.

 The DMV keeps track of lapses in insurance electronically and when lapses occur, it will prompt an automatic bill in the mail.

 So, it sounds like big brother is really looking out for us, or could it be a simple way to generate some state income?

 Either way, I guess it won’t hurt for Nevada drivers to grow up and become responsible adults.

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

admin February 2nd, 2010

Yesterday a man riding a motorcycle died after crashing into the back of a car.

The rider and another person on a motorcycle were speeding northbound on Lorenzi Street near Alta Drive. The car was also going northbound on Lorenzi when the rider hit the car’s back bumper.

According to police, the motorcycle was going so fast, it skidded more than 150 feet before stopping.  

Before riding on the back of a motorcycle with anybody I always ask if they’ve ever been in a motorcycle accident, if their reply is “no,” I don’t ride.

People who have been in motorcycle accidents and survive are most likely to use due care and don’t speed because they have experienced the ramifications.

These accident survivors have encountered one of the most horrific near death experiences- there are no fender benders in an accident involving a motorcycle- because the rider is always the most vulnerable.

Unfortunately, when you are dead there is no time to learn your lesson. Moral of the story- learn from others mistakes.

Mother and Son Killed by Reckless Driver

admin February 1st, 2010

Life is not fair when you have to pay for others’ mistakes.
A 17-year-old and his 41-year-old mother died in a car crash Friday night on Lamb and Las Vegas Blvd.
Channel 8 News Now said 20-year-old Nathan Hardy was driving recklessly before the crash and had run several red lights before slamming into Santos and his mother’s car. 
Hardy faces two felony counts for reckless driving causing death.
Sunday night nearly 200 people said goodbye to Canyon Springs High School senior Daniel Santos. Since Santos was a band member, Santos was remembered in front of the school’s band hall.  Santos often stayed after school to help others.

Our heart goes out to all of their family and friends.

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