I didn't know how to narrow my search exactly, so sorry if there's some very appropriate thread I'm missing, there were a ton of legality-related ones that I didn't know which to choose from. So some preventative questions, specific to the USA and MN if possible...Tried searching some other places on the net, no conclusive results. Trying not to get evicted from the place I'm midway moved into:
1) If I ask an officer for his/her name and badge number, is there some legal obligation on their part to provide it to me?
2) If as a result they tell me to shut my face, threaten to arrest me for asking politely, call me Mr. Big Shot Philadelphia Lawyer, and ultimately refuse, is this grounds to file a complaint?
3) If they claim there are "50 people on the front lawn" when in fact there are 2 people on the front steps umm....yeah how the fuck do you combat that?
3) I have a digital voice recorder about twice the size of my thumb and the run around we're being given repeatedly is very, very inconsistent: What does the law say about recording interaction with the police using some form of audio device (checked, illegal in Massachusetts, though video tape is not, could find no further info regarding Minnesota...) Can it legally be confiscated or destroyed? Is this admissible evidence?
4) What kind of probable cause would be necessary to enter your back yard to harangue you and your very small number of guests?
5) What can you do when an officer accuses you of urinating in a neighbors lawn when you are very clearly urinating in your own? (lolololol) ... I pointed out that I was not and he shut up, but how easily can they abuse their word against yours? In this situation and in others?
This is worrying because, as I frustratedly speed typed in the WDYLL thread, a window in the house was just broken and the grate on the chimney, along with a number of bricks, were ripped out and thrown off the roof-- which is unexpected and very bad timing considering that the landlord is probably about to receive a write up from the police.
Ok, incredibly sleep deprived here from a very very long day of work, almost moving, going-away-partying, and not really sleeping. So I'm off to bed.
― RabiesAngentleman, Sunday, 3 August 2008 09:31 (sixteen years ago) link
I don't know how numbers work.
― RabiesAngentleman, Sunday, 3 August 2008 09:32 (sixteen years ago) link
(btw, not necessarily me talking to the cops in all of these questions, just thought it easier to word the collective events as such without mucking it up with irrelevant "i said this he said that" stuff. basically I was the urinator. but nonetheless affected by whatever the outcome of all this may be, blah blah blah. still pretty drunk, sorry. done with further mucking. sleep now.)
― RabiesAngentleman, Sunday, 3 August 2008 09:43 (sixteen years ago) link
wow i think i dreamt your night. i woke up relieved.
― Surmounter, Sunday, 3 August 2008 12:04 (sixteen years ago) link
The answer to most of your questions is: you have certain legal rights when interacting with the police, but the attitude of the particular police you're dealing with will dictate the extent to which you can exercise those rights. Is it your right to ask for a name and badge number? Absolutely. Can the officer in question, if so inclined, charge you with assault or resisting arrest for doing so? Sure. Eyewitnesses and (I would think) recording devices can help, but picking your battles helps even more.
I think the ACLU site has some good info on police interaction. I don't know about MN in particular.
― Deric W. Haircare, Sunday, 3 August 2008 13:30 (sixteen years ago) link
I woke up and expected to reread this thread and find more of a drunken wreck, kudos me for holding it together, sorta.
Not quite the answer I was hoping to hear, but thank you. The particular officers we're dealing with police a sleepy little town just north of a semi-sleepy little college town (where all the "action" is) and as a result have nothing but us non fish to fry. I don't foresee their attitude lightening up any time soon.
Kinda wish my brother who has four years of law enforcement training were there, will probably call him today with these questions.
Or my friend who just graduated law school, shit. "He's not a lawyer, but I am" would have felt pretty nice. I wonder where he was.
― RabiesAngentleman, Sunday, 3 August 2008 14:36 (sixteen years ago) link
If I was named as one of the beneficiaries in a will, would I get notification in the mail and how long between the death and the notification? I ask because I'm writing something in which this happens. Thanks!
― the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 2 November 2024 15:26 (three days ago) link
I work tangentially with bequests and my understanding is that the trustee is obligated to inform you by mail as soon as possible after the death. So, like, maybe a few weeks after at most? You will likely have received a beneficiary notice in the mail at the time you were named the beneficiary as well.
― brimstead, Saturday, 2 November 2024 16:00 (three days ago) link
Thanks!
Are you also told how much $$ you're bequeathed?
― the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 4 November 2024 16:42 (yesterday) link
You are told either how much $$ or what percentage of the estate you are bequeathed. Someone with more experience should totally come in and correct me if im wrong though :-)
― brimstead, Monday, 4 November 2024 16:47 (yesterday) link
Wouldn't this depend a lot on how quickly the executor moved to probate the will? Often the person named as executor is a close relative with no legal experience, possibly the same person trying to manage end-of-life healthcare. Someone in that situation may not pay much attention to testamentary issues until well after the death is certified. Depending on the size of the estate, how well it was planned, and the family dynamics around its distribution, it could take such an executor quite a while to get the probate process rolling.
Beneficiaries named in the will should be notified by mail at the same time the executor files an application to the probate court to prove the authenticity of the will and certify their status as executor. But if there's no will, or questions about the location or validity of the will, or no legal counsel to steer the executor through the probate process, it's easy to imagine a considerable amount of time passing between someone dying and their beneficiaries receiving notice.
IMO you could plausibly stretch or shrink the time in question quite a bit, depending on what works best for what you're writing.
NB I'm not a lawyer or estate planner but I have served as an executor and expect to do so again :(
― Brad C., Monday, 4 November 2024 17:24 (yesterday) link