April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which means you will see lots of teal ribbons adorning backpacks, clothing, and other spaces. This month is intended to raise awareness of the prevalence of sexual assault as well as to acknowledge and support the resiliency of assault survivors. Victims of sexual assault and abuse have to grapple…
Lawyers are the first to tell you that you don’t always need to go to trial; for every valid claim that makes it to trial, there are dozens that never see the light of day. Just as there are provisions, edicts, and even laws that prevent frivolous lawsuits from going to trial, there are provisions…
Following a car accident where there were injuries, the responding law enforcement officer will typically write up a police report. While a police report for a car accident is generally not admissible in court, it is an important piece of evidence when it comes to assigning fault and capturing the facts of what happened in…
In California, “Rape is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person not the spouse of the perpetrator, under any of the following circumstances: Where a person is incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent…. Where it is accomplished against a person s will by means…
Maybe this seems like a no-brainer: any teacher who is reported to have behaved inappropriately should immediately be suspended, pending an investigation. And if that investigation yields results that corroborate the student’s testimony, you might assume that teacher would immediately be fired, if not hauled off to jail. Unless your child attends Desert Sands Unified,…
According to Safe4athletes.org — a nonprofit dedicated to helping abused students and sports organizations draft effective policies to prevent, stop, and report abuse — sexual abuse and harassment of athletes of any gender by coaches is a major problem. Students and young athletes place their trust in coaches to help the students achieve better athletic…
Today, most businesses, organizations, and nonprofits have Internet service at work and on mobile devices. While the Internet makes communication across the globe and throughout companies easier, it is also a new source for sexual harassment. People can now use a variety of technologies to make workers of both sexes feel frightened to open their…
Parents trust that the time children spend with religious leaders will uplift the children morally and spiritually, and provide a path for the values needed to be good members of their communities. Sadly, it is too clear from media coverage and court proceedings that some religious leaders are abusing this most sacred trust. Religious leaders…
ESPN is a global conglomerate worth $16.9 billion dollars. Throughout most of America, those four letters are synonymous with sports. Wanna check the scores? Turn on ESPN. Planning on watching the draft? ESPN’s got it. Throwing a big party to watch the semi-finals? ESPN has you covered. But just because you’re a media tycoon doesn’t…
A school district’s top priorities are to protect their students, while providing the best educational environment possible. The Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District and Paso Robles Joint Unified School Districts both lost sight of their role in protecting students’ safety when Jeremy Monn, a high school teacher, was transferred from one district to another…