The United State Court System, an Eye for Research – Legal
The United State Court System, an Eye for Research
Matthew Abts
A Cup of Tea, Coffee, or Something Else www.quiettable.com
Whenever investigating an individual or business, one of the most basic checks is for lawsuits, criminal charges, and bankruptcy filings. But how do you research the court system Is there one simple site to go to where you pop in a name and are rewarded with a listing of all court filings across the country pertaining to that individual No such luck ... yet, anyway! To understand court research, you first need to understand a bit about the USAs court system.
There are two major separate court entities in the USA, the State court system and the Federal court system. The Federal court system is divided into three branches, the federal criminal, civil, bankruptcy, and appeals courts. These courts are not single entities -- there are a number of federal courts scattered across the United States, each covering a certain geographic district within a circuit. For a map of the circuits, see www.uscourts.gov/images/CircuitMap.pdf. For example, there is a Northern Mississippi district court, as well as a Southern. Cases are prosecuted by US Attorneys, who are elected, or Assistant US Attorneys, who are government employees. Regarding federal law, federal statutes are divided into sections called Titles. Title 11, for example, deals with bankcruptcy, and under that Title you will find Chapters, such as Chapter 7 regarding liquidation of a business. All personal and business bankruptcies fall under federal statutes and are dealt with in federal court, and bankruptcies make up nearly 70% of all federal court cases. This makes researching whether an individual has a history of bankcruptcy a considerably simpler matter, since only the relevant federal court needs to be searched. Title 18 contains the majority of the criminal statutes for the federal criminal court. Note that in many cases it can be decided for an individual to be tried in the federal rather than State court system, under federal-question jurisdiction rules, for a variety of reasons. For example, in a recent case where two teens burned a cross in a black familys yard, it was decided to prosecute them in federal rather than State court -- the penalties that could be imposed by the federal court system were greater. Likewise, cases involving citizens from different States will be tried in Federal courts if the monetary amount involved in the case is greater than $75,000. There are a number of other types of cases that are likewise defaulted to federal court, including cases involving patents or copyrights, cases challenging State laws usually for Constitutional reasons, and cases involving federal agencies.
The State court system is somewhat more complex in its terminology, since this terminology differs from State to State, but in the end the terminology resolves into a system of upper and lower courts in civil and criminal matters. The State civil court was an upper and lower court, as does the State criminal court. In some States, these are referred to as the supreme and county courts, or the superior and justice courts. The upper courts tend to deal with more important subjects, or crimes with stiffer penalties such as armed robbery, cases of gross malpractice, and often divorce. Lower courts will deal with misdemeanor crimes and small money claims ie, small claims court. In criminal cases of all sorts, the prosecutor is usually the United States government from the States attorney office, and the case will be lised as The State of Wherever V. Lastname. Upper and lower courts are relatively simple to understand -- big money cases or cases involving serious crimes go the upper, and everything of lesser importance to the lower, but dont forget that most divorces are tried in the upper court! Unfortunately, the State court system doesnt stop there, but also includes, depending on the State, a variety of other courts such as the municipal court or traffic court, which handle matters specific to their speciality ie, argue traffic tickets in traffic court. There are also appellate courts, for dealing with appeals.
So, now that we understand the court system a bit better, how do we go about finding court records For Federal courts, this is a relatively simple matter: The majority of records are accessible through a system called PACER Public Access to Court Electronic Records. PACER allows searching different courts by a variety of fields, including name. You as a citizen can sign up for PACER with a credit card at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/ -- the service isnt free, but only charges a few dollars for good documentation on most cases. Note that some districts still arent in the PACER system for example, the Alaska district court -- in this case, you can always pay a visit to the nearest district federal courthouse. Every district has one, and the records should be open to the public for free. Feel free to drive there and peruse! If the district court is further than you want to travel, there are courthouse researchers across the country who make a living looking up court records for those to far away from the court to visit in person.
State records are somewhat more complex. To access these records over the Internet, not only should the State records be online, but also the individual county in question. Most State higher court and appellate courts are online with free searching, but many lower county courts are not, only offer some records, or charge high fees. Of course, if youre only interested in researching cases in your area, all you need to do is drive to your local county courthouse, where the records are, by Federal law, public access. Your county courthouse should not charge you a fee to access these records, they should be free to peruse. Charging a fee online is for electronic access, not for seeing the actual documents themselves. Once again, if the county is outside your area you can hire a courtresearcher to do the job for you. To find county court researches and county/State courts on the Internet, simply do a search engine search for Countyname county court, and follow the links from there.
About The Author
Matthew Abts is an x-military private investigator specializing in background investigations and judicial claims processing.
Your Cars Electrical System – Auto
Your Cars Electrical System
Kevin Schappell
When the automotive industry was in its infancy, it used electricity only to ignite the fuel inside the engine. By the late 1920s, the electric starter replaced the hand crank, electric headlights made acetylene lamps obsolete and the braying of the electric horn drowned out the squeak of the hand-squeezed air horn. Today, an automobile requires an elaborate electrical system of circuits just to produce, store, and distribute all the electricity it requires simply for everyday operation.
The first major component in the electrical system is the battery. The battery is used to store power for starting, and for running auxiliary devices such as clocks, radios and alarms when the engine is off. The next major component is the starter motor, which is used to start the engine. The third component is a charging device powered by the engine, known as the alternator. It powers the electrical system when the car is running, and restores the charge within the battery. With these basic components, the car maintains its supply of electricity. A device called the voltage regulator keeps the power level stabilized, and the fuse box keeps minor problems from becoming major ones.
Many different auxiliary electrical devices are used in modern cars, such as: radios, cellular phones, rear window defrosters and electric door locks, as well as a vast array of motors powering everything from the moon roof on down.
The above information is directly from the Auto Insight program, which you can buy online from AutoEducation.com.
Common Problems:
The battery is usually the first part of the system to wear out. Most batteries last between 3 and 7 years depending on brand and design. Batteries can be fine on minute, and dead the next. More on this later.
Blown fuse: Is one part of the electrical system not working like the interior lights or dash lights The first thing to check is the fuses. Look for the fuse panel under the dash, in the glove box, or even in the engine compartment in some cars. Most fuse boxes will be labeled by circuit. Modern cars use a blade type fuse which is rectangular in shape and transparent. Look for the wire, which runs through the fuse, and see if it is burned through. Any discoloring of the fuse is a good sign the fuse has blown. If you have doubts, replace with a new fuse and test the system, which is not working.
Alternator: Does your car start ok, but your headlights dim when idling. It could be a bad alternator. When the alternator cannot produce enough electricity to keep the electrical systems running and the battery will have to be used to take up the slack. This will eventually wear down the battery and not allow your car to start.
Troubleshooting:
I dont think there is a tougher system to troubleshoot on your car than the charging/starting system. This is due to the fact that there are many things that can go wrong and its tough to test some components without special equipment. Lets go over some possible situations and their possible causes.
Car wont start, all I hear is a click but the engine does not turn.
First check all battery cables for corrosion as this will keep power from flowing freely to the starting system. If they are dirty, clean with a wire brush and reattach. Apply a light coat of grease to the top of the terminals to prevent further corrosion.
Battery could not have enough power stored in it to spin the engine. This can be caused by a bad cell in the battery or from a bad alternator not charging the battery when the engine is running. If you can get the car to a mechanic, have him or her test the battery and charging system with a special tester. This tester places a load on the battery and can tell the condition. They can also check to see if the alternator is working to its full potential.
Starter or solenoid could be bad. If you can not jump start the car and all of the battery cables are ok then suspect the starter.
Car wont start, I hear nothing.
Check battery cables as above.
Have the battery tested. There could be a bad cell causing a short. You can try jump-starting but often the car will not stay running.
Car wont start, all I hear is a horrible grinding noise.
Grinding noises point to the starter not properly meshing with the flywheel. This can be caused by a bad solenoid or a bad spot on the flywheel.
I have also seen starters loosen up so they no longer contact the flywheel at the proper distance. While not common, it is something to keep in mind.
Car starts but my headlights are dim at low engine speeds.
Look to the alternator for problems. Take the car to your mechanic to have the alternator checked for proper operation.
Check for loose wires going to the alternator. Also check for corrosion, as this will inhibit the alternator from charging properly.
Check the tension on the alternator belt. If it is too loose, the belt may slip and not drive the alternator properly.
As you can see there are plenty of things to go wrong with the charging system and it is always best to take the car to your mechanic and have it tested before you go replacing parts blindly.
Preventing problems with your electrical system:
Replace your battery every 4 years as a safety measure. It will save allot of headaches down the road.
If your battery is not a sealed unit, check fluid levels in each cell. Only fill with distilled water and be careful around the acid, which is in the battery.
Check your alternator belt frequently for cracks and tension. Replace per your cars manufacturers recommendations.
Clean your battery connections at least once a year. Parts stores sell a handy terminal cleaner which is basically a round wire brush, which works wonders. Once you reattach the terminals, coat with a layer of heavy grease or special purpose grease sold at parts stores. This layer will block the air from reacting with the connectors and creating corrosion.
How to jump start your car:
Jump-starting your car does not have to be a hard task. First lay out the cables on the ground between the two cars. Make sure that the cable is not tangled and none of the end clamps are touching each other. The car with the good battery should be running.
Step 1: Take the positive red clamp closest to the car with the good battery and hook it to the positive terminal of that car. The positive terminal will have a + sign on it and usually a red wire running to it.
Step 2: Repeat this step on the car with the bad battery, hooking up the positive clamp to the positive terminal on the battery. Make sure the clamps are contacting well and can not fall off.
Step 3: Take the negative cable black closest to the car with the good battery and hook it to the negative terminal of the battery. The negative terminal will have a - sign and usually a black wire running to it.
Step 4: This is the last step and the most important. Take the negative clamp closest to the car with the bad battery and attach it to a bare metal part of the engine. DO NOT hook it to the batteries negative terminal as there maybe hydrogen gas present from the battery and a spark from the connection could cause an explosion.
Thats it...... turn the key on the dead car and the car should start. If it does not, try revving the engine on the good car to boost the charge coming from the alternator. If this does not work, try wiggling the cables to assure you have a good connection. GOOD sets of jumper cables are a necessity. I have had cheaper sets not jump-start a dead car. I actually had to double up two cheap sets to get enough current to start my car. The cheaper sets will have thinner cables, which cannot carry enough amperage to start some stalled cars. I would suggest buying a cable, which has 4,6 or 8-gauge wire.
About The Author
Kevin Schappell maintains http://www.carbuyersclub.com where he gives advice on buying, selling, insurance, and financing. A mechanical engineer and car guy, Kevin has decided to spend his online time helping others learn about automobiles. To learn more about how your car works, Kevin has created http://www.mycarwizard.com.
kevin@schappell.com
Boost your Immune System – Diet
Boost your Immune System
Alfred Jones
The Immune System is probably the most important system in your body. It was designed by nature, millions of years ago, to aid the body in recovering from injuries and illness. In other words