Jersey Girl's Blog: December 2010

Monday, December 27, 2010

Tips on filing a civil case against sexual molestation for minor child

Child molesters can cause long-term emotional and sometimes physical damage to a child. From a legal standpoint, child molesters can face both criminal charges and civil liability. Lawsuits filed against these predators are sensitive matters. Fortunately, if a molester has assets or income, the victim can sue for damages based upon intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, battery, false imprisonment and assault. These cases can often result in large negotiated settlements. An attorney should be consulted and hired to pursue these claims. Attorneys frequently handle such cases on a contingent fee basis. Jury awards can be in the millions.

Things You'll Need:
- Valid case of sexual assault against a minor child
- Attorney fees
- Court costs and filing fees
- Legal documents to file
- Process server fees
- Private investigator fees

1. Discover the sexual molestation and collect evidence and proof including sworn witness statements. You should consider hiring a private investigator to obtain witness statements and other evidence for possible use in court. It is vitally important that you do not try to coach your child in how to describe the assault. Doing so may result in the appearance that your child is merely repeating what you have told her to say, rather than actually telling the truth.

2.Consult an attorney in a contingent fee arrangement, if possible. Handling any legal case is a complex matter, especially a molestation case. You are well-advised to hire an attorney. You can search for an attorney by location or by legal specialty at the Martindale website (see Resources).

3.Hire an attorney to represent you and your child. You may be named Guardian Ad Litem. This term indicates that a minor child is involved and represented in the case by one of her parents.

4.File a lawsuit in court through your attorney alleging sexual molestation against the alleged perpetrator. You will need to pay a filing fee although you may request a deferral or waiver of court costs. The alleged perpetrator must be served with a copy of the Summons and Complaint in which you seek general and punitive damages. You will be bringing the case as your child’s Guardian Ad Litem. You should request that your child sue as a John or Jane Doe in order to maintain privacy and confidentiality. Your attorney may now want to negotiate a potential settlement with the alleged perpetrator and his attorney, if your attorney has not already done so.

5.Present your case in court after conducting discovery, which is the legal process of finding out information about the case from other parties and witnesses.

Federal Rules

The Law Pod, has a great resource for your iPhone or your iPod Touch.

Law Pod’s web applications can be quickly and easily installed on your iPhone or iPod Touch by following the directions on the law pod home page. The Law Pod currently features the following web applications:

- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
- Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
- Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure
- Federal Rules of Evidence

Upcoming Law Pod web applications include:
- Model Penal Code
- U.S. Constitution + Amendments
- Federal Rules of Bankruptcy
- And Many More!

The Law Pod is a perfect companion for lawyers and law students.

You can find more information at Apple’s Website or, again, at The Law Pod.

Is Law School a bad idea?

Most people, including lawyers, believe that law school is an excellent investment in yourself, regardless of whether you eventually practice law or use your legal education in another career. Of course, you must balance the cost (time and money) of law school with the benefits.

One article makes the case that you should seriously reconsider your motives if you are planning to attend law school: Applying to Law School? Please Reconsider! The article notes that the cost of law school is rising and law firm jobs are increasingly difficult to get, making it difficult for law school graduates to get jobs that pay their six-figure student loan debt.

Law School Personal Statements

The art of writing a personal statement for law schools that will both get their attention and get you accepted has been polished over many years. Here are some pointers that may help.

When it comes time to write your personal statement don’t go crazy and try to be the next F. Scott Fitzgerald. Likely you will get no points for length or originality; it is content that matters. Trying to do something out of the box may only lead to admission representatives misinterpreting your meaning, and that’s the last thing you would want to happen.
Do your homework.

Cliche I know, but if you are fortunate enough to get into law school this will become your own personal mantra. So why not get started early and start a good habit? Let’s face it, if homework isn’t your strongest quality you probably shouldn’t even be considering law school in the first place.

In this case, doing your homework means getting some samples of letters that have worked for others in the past and studying the heck out of them. Study the tone that the essays took on, look at how the ideas were clearly developed and formatted. Remember that you don’t want yours to be too wordy or beyond the scope of what you need to communicate. Remember that the purpose of this letter isn’t to show them that you are Americas next great author, it’s to reinforce the fact that you have what it takes to get to graduation with honors. Be precise and concise.
Learn from others’ mistakes.

Well in this case, learn from the mistakes of others actually. Find and study some essays that were poorly written. This is your opportunity to learn what not to do. Look at the formulation of ideas and weak links in each statement. It may be that you find qualities you have been mirroring or attributes of style similar to your own in the poorly written letters. Make note of this immediately and make changes to your own style appropriately so that you can improve.
Proofread, edit, and revise.

If you write multiple drafts without getting input from someone you know you can trust, then you may be reinforcing poor ideas and qualities in your own essay. A proofreader is an essential and required element in perfecting your own letter. There will be no way to know if you are on the right track, unless you seek the advice of a professional-or many professionals, for that matter. Remember that in the end you will have to make the final call. If you’ve done all that you should to prepare then you should have nothing to worry about.

This post was contributed by Alisa Johnson, who writes about the best online college.
She welcomes your feedback at Alisa.Johnson1982 at gmail.com