The Missouri Bar

New Laws Require Changes to Pool Drains

A 6-year old boy drowned in a Connecticut pool that did not have a property drain cover. His death lead authorities to charge Shoreline Pools President David Lionetti with manslaughter. (Read more)

New federal laws state that pools must have drain covers that prevent accidents and drowning. The law was passed after the granddaughter of former Secretary of State Jim Baker died when she became trapped by a drain. Find out the details about this law at Stamford.com.

News Anchor Spies on Collegue

a CBS news anchor in Philadelphia faces up to six months in jail for hacking into a collegue's email. 51-year old Larry Mendte's actions led to the firing of his coanchor. When officials discovered Mendte had spied on her, he, too, was terminated. (Read more)

Just how much privacy do you have at work? And when does spying cross the legal line? Attorney Bill Martucci explains in this Law in Your Life podcast.

The Debt Trap: NY Times Tackles American Debt Woes

The New York Times is tackled astronomical American debt in this enlightening new series. Featured in this article is a 47-year old woman with $280,000 in debt. At least $20,000 of her $48,000 income before taxes went to pay interest on her debt. A medical emergency, lost job and big bills have pushed her into foreclosure.  Read the story

The Law in Your Life offers these podcasts as resources for foreclosure and bill pay. And coming up this Friday, a special podcast about how bankruptcy can impact foreclosure proceedings.

Legal Myths

Foreclosures

Spears to Pay Child Support

Pop star Britney Spears was ordered today to pay $20,000 per month in child support to ex Kevin Federline. Spears' former backup dancer got custody of the couple's two children after the singer had a break down in front of the world. Under the agreement, K-Fed keeps custody of the boys, ages one and two, while Spears has visitation.

Missouri's child custody laws recently changed. The revised law means some will pay more in child support. Find out more in this Law in Your Life podcast.

Law in Your Life #44: Legal Myths

If you pay just a little on a bill - even if it isn't the minimum payment, you can't get sued. If you tell collection agencies to stop calling, they can't call you anymore. You can ignore a court order and the case will just go away. The world is filled with myths about the judicial system. What is truth and what is an old wives' tale? Host Angela Wilson gets the facts from Columbia attorney Michael McCrary. (Internet Explorer users click twice.)

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College Prep

Thousands of Missouri teens are excitedly buying up new clothes, dorm refrigerators and pricey text books. But getting ready for college is about more than just buying stuff students need. These teens also need to be prepared for legal issues that may occur.

Students face landlord/tenant issues, credit problems and bankruptcy as a result of credit card and other debt, arrests for underage drinking or drug possession, loud parties and more.

In this Law in Your Life podcast, host Angela Wilson discusses these issues with University of Missouri-Columbia legal services attorney Steve Concannon.

Students: Be Careful Before Taking that Free Sandwich Coupon

Credit card companies have stepped up marketing cards to college students. Some offer free sandwich coupons or T-shirts to get students to sign forms. Suddenly, that student has a line of credit - and most don't know how to manage it. Many students find themselves with overwhelming credit card debit on top of their student loans, and unable to make even minimum payments. Before you sign on for that freebie, read the form carefully.

CNNMoney.com has more details.

The Missouri Attorney General's Office offers helpful hints for students to prevent astronomic debt from overshadowing what should be enjoyable college years.

Atlanta Airport Should Allow Guns

Debate over a new concealed weapons law is heating up in Georgia. Gov. Sonny Perdue backs a plan to allow guns at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. If approved, weapons would only be allowed in unsecured areas. This month, a new rule allows anyone who passes a background check to carry concealed weapons in restaurants, state parks and while riding public transportation. (Read more in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.)

Missouri also has a conceal and carry law. Find out what you need to know in this Law in Your Life podcast.

KC Star Tackles Child Abuse Cases

The Kansas City Star this week will run a four-part series detailing how Missouri courts handle child abuse cases. The series focuses on the trail of David A. Brake. Here are the details from the Star:

Child sex crimes are the toughest to prosecute, but it is even tougher on the kids who testify. In the first of a four-part series, The Star follows the trial of The State of Missouri v. David A. Brake in order to examine the process and problems of prosecuting child sexual crime.

The powerful first in the series ran over the weekend. Check at Eric Alder's article. The Star also details how Missouri handles sex crime allegations in this article.

E-mail Lawsuit Against Blunt Dismissed

A Cole County Judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging Gov. Matt Blunt violated Missouri's Sunshine Law by deleting public emails. However, the judge is staying his judgment for 10 days to allow attorneys to amend the suit. Missourinet has the details:

Judge dismisses lawsuit filed against Governor Blunt by Brent Martin

A judge in Jefferson City has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Governor Blunt, alleging that the governor has violated state law in how his office has handled e-mail correspondence.

Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan has ruled that special investigator Mel Fisher lacks standing to bring the lawsuit. Attorneys for Governor Blunt had argued in court yesterday that state law made no provision for the type of special investigative team appointed by Attorney General Jay Nixon. Blunt's attorney, John Holstein, had argued in court that allowing the lawsuit to go on as is would establish a poor precedent.

Callahan has given the Attorney General ten days to join the lawsuit or for Fisher, the former State Highway Patrol Superintendent, to establish personal standing so that the lawsuit might continue. Callahan has not ruled on the motion to intervene brought by the Associated Press, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Kansas City Star. The media have all made various requests for e-mails from the governor's office.

The lawsuit alleges the governor's office has violated both the state records retention law and the Sunshine Law by deleting e-mails that should have been retained.