When you bring a dog into your family, you assume that you’re getting a healthy animal who will be a buddy and best friend for several years. Unfortunately, sometimes things don’t work out the way you hope. Instead of a pet who will go on hikes and give you comfort, your new dog develops health problems that ruin your financial stability.

If you find yourself in this situation, you might want to look into California’s dog lemon laws. California is one of 22 states that currently have lemon laws in place that are designed to protect pet owners. They are surprisingly similar to vehicular lemon laws.

What are California’s Lemon Dog Laws?

The purpose of California’s lemon dog laws is to protect you from the financial headaches that go hand in hand with inadvertently acquiring a dog ...

You just watched your neighbor commit a crime. You know what they did was illegal, but you aren’t sure what you should do about the situation. You don’t want to get anyone in trouble. On the other hand, you know you don’t like the idea of living next to someone who blatantly breaks the law.

Assuming that your neighbor didn’t break a minor law, like jaywalking, it’s in your best legal interest to report the crime to the authorities. The reason for this is simple. If your neighbor gets caught and the police find out that you’ve been turning a blind eye to the situation, you could land in hot water. This is especially true if your neighbor is abusing a roommate/parent/friend, or if they are involved in a child endangerment/neglect situation.

Some people don’t realize that their...

Lawmakers aren’t fooling around when it comes to people messing with other people’s mail. The issue of mail theft is explored in US Code Section 1708. It’s important to understand that because mail theft involves the United States Postal Service, a federal agency, mail theft is considered a federal offense. The State of California will likely add a few charges as well.

What is Mail Theft

If you read US Code 18 Section 1708 you’ll learn that taking any piece of mail that wasn’t sent to you is considered mail theft. It doesn’t matter if the mail is taken directly from a post office employee, snatched from a mailbox, or snuck of a mail truck. It’s all mail theft.

Additional Offenses That Are Frequently Added to Mail Theft Charges

It’s rare for a person to be charged with jus...

California lawmakers are serious about protecting the environment. Strict dumping laws is one of the ways they accomplish this.

What is Dumping?

When they talk about dumping, California lawmakers aren’t referring to the careless text you got from your ex stating that they just wanted to “be friends.” The lawmakers really aren’t concerned about your relationship status. What they’re actually referring to when they talk about dumping is the practice of taking garbage and dumping it somewhere that it doesn’t belong. A perfect example of this is taking a few old mattresses and tossing them in a ditch, or abandoning your broken down vehicle in a little-used alley.

Anytime you dispose of a bag of trash in a manner that is hurried, sloppy, and results in the trash laying around s...

You approach a stop sign. You step on the brake, slowing your vehicle. You look both ways and see that there’s no oncoming traffic. You drive through the intersection without completely stopping your vehicle. This is called a rolling stop. It’s a traffic violation that can cause you a great deal of grief.

The Problem with Rolling Stops

As a licensed driver, you’ve entered into a kind of unspoken agreement with the State of California that you’ll come to a complete stop each time you’re confronted with a stop sign or red stoplight. The problem with a rolling stop is that they can quickly become a dangerous habit. A large majority of traffic accidents are caused by rolling stops, particularly rolling stops that include a right turn on red...

Child abuse laws are designed to protect children from being hurt. They’re good laws that make a lot of sense. Unfortunately, they are also laws that can be used against people, particularly parents who are engaged in a child custody dispute. It’s not unheard of for one parent to accuse the other parent of child abuse in order to obtain full custody of the children. It’s an accusation that can deal a lasting blow to both sides.

While there have been instances of men lodging false child abuse claims against women, it’s far more common for a woman to falsely accuse a man of child abuse. Data collected by the Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) indicates that 85% of all child abuse protective orders are filed by men and issued against men...

Most of the people impacted by California’s spay/neuter laws barely noticed a change. The reason for this is because the vast majority of the people who are mentioned in the law were already spaying and neutering their pets.

Why California Created Spay/Neuter Pet Laws

California lawmakers realized that there was a major pet problem in the state. The lawmakers didn’t mind that lots of people owned loved and well cared for pets. They were concerned about the sheer number of pets that were running around the streets and rural areas that were homeless. Lawmakers decided that it was time to step up and force people to do something about their pets.

Rescues Have to Spay/Neuter Pets

Most rescues had a spay/neuter policy in place before the official passing of the law, but there were some e...

All of us want the lush, gorgeous kind of lawn we see featured in landscaping ads and gardening magazines. Even with minimal landscaping, a beautiful, healthy lawn really showcases the home, giving it a great deal of curb appeal.

The problem many California homeowners encounter is that maintaining that stunning lawn takes a great deal of water. Using too much water on your lawn could create some serious legal headaches.

How Much Water Can You Use

There are some parts of the world where you can put as much water on your yard as you’d like. That’s not the situation in California. The entire state is always conscious of a potential water shortage. It’s something state and local lawmakers would like to avoid...

On the surface, carjacking and grand theft auto might seem like very similar crimes, but the State of California disagrees.

What is Carjacking

The State of California addressed the topic of carjacking in California Penal Code Section 215. If you decide to take a car that is currently being operated or is in the possession of another person without that person’s permission, you can be charged with carjacking.

In a carjacking case, prosecutors face an uphill battle. In order to convict you of carjacking, the prosecution has to prove:

✦ The owner was quite close to the car when you drove away in it
✦ That you used either force or fear to gain possession of the car
✦ You fully intended to keep the owner from the vehicle on either a permanent or temporary basis

The punishment for being fo...

It doesn’t matter if you’re an employee or an employer, it’s important to understand California’s labor laws. The problem most people encounter is that the state hasn’t gone out of its way to break these laws down in a way that is easily researched or understood.

Minimum Wage

California is a bit peculiar because instead of creating a flat minimum wage that covers everyone, California has two different minimum wages. The first is $13. The second is $12. The amount of minimum wage an employer pays is based on the size of the business.

The problem with this system is that it urges California employers to keep the number of employees under 24 which can often discourage them from trying to expand their business or to take on additional employees during the times that they are busy.