Ask A Lawyer: Recent Episodes
Blaine Clooten
You have legal questions. We are a legal resource. We are a great first stop on the journey to legal knowledge. We are committed to providing high quality content to answer commonly asked legal questions. Our material is intended to demystify the law, and legal process. We are a compass, a navigation point, a first line of defense. We provide free insight, and our information is fact checked. This show is made possible by https://fairpunishment.org The show is hosted by Blaine Clooten, an Oregon licensed attorney. Blaine is an attorney, but he is not your attorney. Andrew McGuire is a friend of the show and frequent guest. https://oregonlegalfirm.com
How do I file criminal charges? How does a prosecutor choose which cases to file charges on? What are the issues that might prevent filing?
What is Will? What is required to make a Will valid? What is a Power of Attorney? What is a Power of Attorney used for? And more!
On this episode of Ask a Lawyer, Blaine Clooten is joined in studio by his wife, M. Nicole Clooten, a family law expert.
Nicole has been practicing family law for close to ten years. She specializes in divorce and custody cases in Oregon.
Will I get alimony (will I have to pay alimony). Alimony is actually referred to as spousal support in Oregon.
How is alimony decided?
Do I have to pay child support?
How is child support decided?
Kelly Clarkson example! Does it matter who files first?
Copyrights Part II - Eric Priest is a professor at University of Oregon School of Law.
Can you sue someone for posting a Photo of you?
Can you sue someone for posting a Photo without your consent?
Can I sue Someone for using my Photo?
Can someone take your photo without your permission?
What is protected when I record a song (Musical work/Sound recording)
Do I need to register my recording?
Can I use a snippet of someone's song on my blog?
Can I cover someone else's music?
Eric Priest researches in the area of intellectual property law, with a focus on copyright law in the information age and creative industry ecosystems in the U.S. and China. Professor Priest currently serves on the U.S.-China IP Cooperation Dialogue, organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Renmin University in China. The Dialogue is a multi-round interchange between U.S. and Chinese experts on the most challenging intellectual property issues facing China. The National Committee on U.S.–China Relations named Professor Priest a 2014–2016 Public Intellectuals Program Fellow. From 2006–2007, he was a fellow in residence at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
Professor Priest holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law (where he served as Editor-In-Chief of the Chicago Kent Law Review), and a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota.
Copyrights! Eric Priest is a professor at University of Oregon School of Law.
What is the definition of Copyright?
What is a good example of a copyright?
What are the different types of works that can receive a copyright?
Does a copyright need to be registered?
How does Copyright protection work?
What is not covered by copyright (fair use/non commercial use/parody/public domain)?
Does a Copyright expire?
Will Mickey Mouse enter the public domain? (Steamboat Willie 1928)
What does that mean?
Copyright infringement examples?
Eric Priest researches in the area of intellectual property law, with a focus on copyright law in the information age and creative industry ecosystems in the U.S. and China. Professor Priest currently serves on the U.S.-China IP Cooperation Dialogue, organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Renmin University in China. The Dialogue is a multi-round interchange between U.S. and Chinese experts on the most challenging intellectual property issues facing China. The National Committee on U.S.–China Relations named Professor Priest a 2014–2016 Public Intellectuals Program Fellow. From 2006–2007, he was a fellow in residence at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
Professor Priest holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law (where he served as Editor-In-Chief of the Chicago Kent Law Review), and a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota.
Trademarks! Eric Priest is a professor at University of Oregon School of Law.
What is intellectual property?
What is a trademark?
What does it protect?
What is the difference between a Trademark and Copyright?
Examples of Trademark?
Do Trademarks expire?
How hard is a Trademarks to obtain?
Registered v. Non registered
Use v. Registration
Infringement - How to avoid? How to assess risk? Avoidance through product differentiation, geography, and business type?
Eric Priest researches in the area of intellectual property law, with a focus on copyright law in the information age and creative industry ecosystems in the U.S. and China. Professor Priest currently serves on the U.S.-China IP Cooperation Dialogue, organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Renmin University in China. The Dialogue is a multi-round interchange between U.S. and Chinese experts on the most challenging intellectual property issues facing China. The National Committee on U.S.–China Relations named Professor Priest a 2014–2016 Public Intellectuals Program Fellow. From 2006–2007, he was a fellow in residence at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
Professor Priest holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law (where he served as Editor-In-Chief of the Chicago Kent Law Review), and a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota.
How to write a sworn statement. What is a sworn statement? Why are they important. When might be sworn statements be used? What is included in a sworn statement?
Blaine Clooten is joined by Andrew McGuire in studio for this installment of Ask a Lawyer.
Blaine Clooten is joined in a studio by Andrew McGuire to ask questions about indictments. What is an "under seal" criminal indictment? Is that different than a secret indictment? What is a secret indictment? What is the process? Are all indictments secret? Why would you need a secret indictment? Along with examples and more!
How do I know if the property I want to buy has one? How do I find out if it is abandoned or not?
This is by no means exhaustive, and I’ll try not to use legalese, but we need to start with some basic ideas. Easements are nonpossessory interests in land of another, entitling the easement holder to limited use of the other’s land. Nonpossessory is a term to describe any of a category of rights held by one person to use land that is in the possession of another.
An easement does not give the holder a right of possession but rather a right to use something from the possessory estate of another.
An easement holder is a person with a legal right to use the easement and may include the owner of the land across which the easement passes.
There are numerous ways of creating easements. The way in which the easement was created will necessarily determine the scope of the easement and the extent of the encumbrance on the underlying real property.
Think of utilities, the most common type of easement, which provides for access to the dominant estate over the servient estate. A utility easement allows for wires, cable, or pipes to be strung over, placed upon, or buried under the servient estate.
A grant of an easement should be drawn and executed with the same formalities as a deed to real estate.
Generally, abandonment occurs only when an easement holder manifests the intent to relinquish the servitude by affirmative conduct.
Typically, when buying a piece of property, you will obtain a title report. The title report should show all easements of record.
The most efficient way to vet out an easement is to have a local real property lawyer in the county where the land is situated to investigate the chain of title and other instruments pertaining to the parcel that are public record.
Andrew McGuire joins Blaine Clooten in a studio for this installment of ask a lawyer.
Can you sue someone for posting a picture of you?
1 Can you sue someone for posting a picture (photo) without your consent?
2 Can I sue someone for using my picture (photo)?
3 Can someone take a photo of you without your permission?
**Can you sue a landlord for emotional distress?
Blaine Clooten**is joined by Andrew McGuire for another ask a lawyer session. Andrew poses the following questions, which are then discussed:
1 What qualifies as emotional distress?
2 How do you prove emotional distress?
3 What kind of damages do you experience with emotional distress?
4 How do you prove mental anguish in court?
5 Can I sue someone for stress?
6 Can you sue a landlord for emotional distress?
7 Can you sue the police for emotional distress?
Are Wills public record? Can Andrew get his hands on Betty White's Will?
Betty White died on Dec 31, 2021. She most likely had a will in place but do you remember what movies she was in….
Toy Story 4 (2019)
SpongeBob SquarePants (2016 - TV Series)
WWE Raw (2014)
The Lorax
30 Rock
So. can I go see Betty White’s will - is it public record because she passed away on Dec 31st.
What is a power of attorney? Andrew asks Blaine about power of attorney using the lottery as an example.
Story:
George just won the Jan 5th $640M Powerball jackpot and he wants to go get the cash prize. Is this something he’d need power of attorney for?
If George was married - could his spouse/wife override who he gave power of attorney to - to accept the winnings and actually go get the cash prize?
What is chain of custody?
This episode uses OJ Simpson as the jumping off point, but dives deeper into what is chain of custody and how it works.
An example of the chain of custody procedure that is carried out at a crime scene is in the collection and preservation of evidence through the use of an exhibits log. This procedure is used once a scene of crime officer has collected evidence at a crime scene.
The evidence collected at the scene of the crime is handed into an exhibits officer who is present at the crime scene, the exhibits officer would then log information about the evidence, such as what it appears to be, the submitting officer’s name and date and time it was received onto an exhibits log sheet.
Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman….
OJ Simpson - chain of custody - OJ’s glove. On the scene there are detectives that found bloody gloves must put them in a bag but isn’t it true - they could have taken that glove - put it into the washer which is why it shrank and didn’t fit OJ’s hand?
On this episode of ask a lawyer, we discuss the 5 most common types of civil cases.
- Contract disputes 2. Property disputes 3. Torts 4. Class action cases and 5. Complaints against a city.
How do you protect yourself financially from your spouse?
What is a fair divorce settlement?
Most states have a requirement, whether you're a community property state, or a non-community property state, or something else in between. Almost all of them have a requirement that there's going to be some sort of equitable distribution of property. If we want to understand a fair resolution, the first thing that we really need to understand is what property is out there, what actually exists. And the only way that we can do that is by gathering our documents and going through that analysis.
Episode #3: Deposition Questions
- Do you legally have to give a deposition?
- Can I refuse to give a deposition?
- Can I walk out of a deposition?
- What happens if you fail to appear for a deposition?
- What are tricky deposition questions?
- Do you have to give a deposition in a civil case?
- Can a deposition be changed?
- Do judges read depositions?
- How many times can I be deposed?
- How many times can you postpone a deposition?
- Is a deposition a bad thing?
Introduction to Blaine Clooten, and what this podcast is going to be about. This is the ask a lawyer series.
Ask a lawyer about:
False Accusations
- What do you do if someone makes false accusations against you?
- Can you press charges against someone for making false accusations?
- How can I prove my innocence when falsely accused?
- How to stop someone from making false accusations
- How to prove false allegations in court
- False accusation law
- What is the penalty for false accusation?
- Can you go to jail for false accusations?