Salem Legal Follies

Either slimy Sloan never paid attention in criminal law class or her mind is scrambled by the way her mother died. Chanel couldn’t have committed murder because she didn’t intend to kill the prof’s batty wife. And she didn’t commit manslaughter because she didn’t intend to harm her when she pushed the woman. The death was strictly accidental. If there’s any blame here, it goes to the university for failing to discourage unethical faculty members from preying on women students.
 
Today, Gwen was fretting about the Spectator being sued for libel because of something she wrote. She should get a grip. Most Salemites whom she’d write about are well known public figures who live often over-the-top lives. Since the legal standard for libel in the case of public figures is that the writer has to know what he/she is reporting is false Since almost any news about leading Salemites might be true, Gwen would be in the clear. In the alternative, she could just add the word alleged to her reports.
 
Poirot said:
Interesting........when my dad was ill, he had a meeting scheduled with his lawyer, as he had not updated his will in some years, and wanted to do so, to make sure his children got a third. Alas, he passed away, his original will prevailed, (his 2nd wife inherited), and when she passed away a couple years ago, it all went to her brother, who had been managing her finances. Was not my dad's plan at all.
One should think very carefully when making a will. (of the future, and the what ifs, ands, etc. )
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My husband and I updated our wills several times as determined by current circumstances and ages of children. When he died, I updated mine within a few months to be sure nothing was missed. Everyone should have a current will and review it periodically to be sure no changes are needed: death of a child, etc.
 
Even shyster Sloan would be shaking her head over Justin’s eagerness to sue “Rednax” without doing some research. How does he know that Xander had an employment contract? It seems like a fly-by-night start-up lie that would have at-will employees, meaning that the X-Man could have been fired at any time. And what makes the bumbling barrister believe that winning a suit against Rednax would get Xandy Claus a dime? Such a company would be operating on the edge of bankruptcy, meaning they’d be no money to pay successful litigants
 
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Puzzled me as well, Dr. B. First......what address is Justin using for this company? What names does he use in the suit as officers, corp. head, atty., etc. How can he notify the company, or have papers delivered. He forged ahead without talking to Xander, ............with WHAT INFO???? Is there any sort of info on this company as to assets, start up date, completed jobs, ANYTHING???

Justin is forging ahead despite having not even .001 info on this company, Xander's employment, status, etc.
 
Gabi may now be married to scheming Li Shin, but getting rid of him will be so simple that even Justin or Belle could handle it. All she needs to do is file for an annulment on the grounds of fraud. Her case would rest on the fact that she never would have married Li if she’d known of his plotting with mad scientist Rolf. (Another classic example of fraud would be a woman who was led to believe that her fiancé was richer than Victor only to learn after the wedding that he has less money than Leo.)
 
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Jason, having said their I dos and been declared husband and wife by an authorized officiant before witnesses, they are married. Signing post-wedding documents is for the public record. They have no effect on the validity of a properly conducted marriage. That said, Gabi can now rush to the courthouse and get her marriage annulled, making it one of the briefest in Salem history.
 
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Sloan now suing Chanel and Paulina is frivolous litigation. Sometimes, this type of move can make sense because the burden of proof is lower in civil cases — preponderance of the evidence instead of beyond a reasonable doubt. And sometimes such suits do succeed, Recall that the families in the O.J. Simpson case successfully sued him after he was acquitted (although they never collected much). However, in that case there was a mountain of evidence. All shyster Sloan has are her angry accusations with nothing to substantiate them. In real life, Sloan’s case would be dismissed long before it ever got to a jury.
 
It was surprising that veteran sleuth Steve didn’t know that recordings made without the consent of either party are strictly illegal. (Even Bo Brady would be saying, “what were you thinking??”) Yes, the mighty Patch has been bending and breaking the rules for years, but you don’t mess with evidence admissibility standards. What Steve ought to have done is get Little Johnny to sign on to his save Marlena campaign by consenting to being recorded in the future.
 
On Friday, the Kritter was doing some serious squawking about how she couldn’t be guilty of murder because she never “intended” to kill anyone. As even Justin and Belle could tell her, she’s all wrong. She can be charged with depraved indifference murder because her action toward Kate, Kayla, and Marlena displayed a depraved indifference toward human life. An analogy would be if the Kritter took a shot at a passing passenger train and killed Chanel. She didn’t “intend” to kill Chanel, but her actions showed a depraved indifference toward human life, meaning a murder charge would be justified.
 
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As I noted in another post, shyster Sloan is putting her legal career in danger by representing both Li and Rolf. Since either one of these paragons of virtue would likely get a better deal from Melinda by throwing the other under the bus, Sloan is committing a major breach of professional ethics by representing two clients with conflicting interests. Since the Li-Rolf conflict of interest is so obvious, Sloan could easily be disbarred, which would give Eric something else to sulk about. It should be noted that if Sloan was OK with maybe losing a client, she could salvage the situation by disclosing the conflict to Li and Rolf and getting approval of her continuing to represent them. However, since neither one of them is naive or altruistic the chances of them of approving Sloan’s dual representation would be slim and none.
 
Sloan suing over Leo’s ”psycho” article could be in for tough sledding. As the grifter pointed out, threre’s no libel if an article is the truth. Leo could also argue that he was saying that in his opinion Sloan was a psycho, not that she actually is one, Leo could also raise the defamation standard for public figures like Sloan — he’d only be liable if he knew what he was saying was false. Triying to show what the grifter actually “knew” could be a tall order.

After Chanel smacked Sloan, it could have provided the shyster with a civil assault action, but she blew it with her counterattack.

Finally, Sloan failing to aid the stricken Paulina was pretty shabby, but results in no legal liability. Sloan had no legal duty to help Paulina who is not a friend or relative, etc. In contrast, if Chanel saw Paulina drowning in Salem harbor she’d have a legal obligation to help because it’s her mother.
 
Yesterday, Poirot mentioned Stefano’s will and his numerous unknown, unworthy, or allegedly deceased children. If the Phoenix wanted to keep things simple, he could have left his estate to his then known, reputable heirs, Tony, EJ, and Chad, and specifically excluded the Kritter and other possible offspring. If he wanted to provide for the unknown or allegedly deceased, his will could have established a trust fund that would provide for any such people who turn up
 
Poor Xander is worried about the negative effects of the prosecution bringing up his past crimes. He shouldn’t. Xander’s past misdeeds cannot be entered into evidence unless Xander foolishly decides to testify on his own behalf. The prosecution could then ask him about his prior bad acts (“didn’t you once lock Eric Brady and Nicole Walker in a cage?) to undermine the truthfulness of anything Xander says.
 
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