Legal basics on lesson plan at People’s Law School event
Experts offered free advice Wednesday at Bennie Dover Jackson in New London
New London — If the police come to your house with a search warrant, are you required to let them in?
How has social media impacted the work of defense attorneys?
Do children have the right to live with the parent of their choice in a divorce case?
Twenty-five adults took advantage of a rare opportunity to receive free legal advice Wednesday, attending the People’s Law School seminar at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School.
Attorneys and acting New London police Chief Peter Reichard, using real examples from their daily work, presented the basics of criminal law, divorce proceedings, small claims court and landlord/tenant disputes. A week earlier, attorneys had presented on juvenile court, immigration law, personal injury claims and child custody, support and visitation issues.
Bennie Dover Principal Alison Burdick said 50 people had turned out for the program altogether. The school district had worked with Superior Court Judge Kenneth L. Shluger to assemble a program to help people navigate the legal system.
“We looked at the superintendent’s vision to reach out to aspects of our community we hadn’t engaged before,” Burdick said.
People often are intimidated to walk into a law office or the police department, she said, so having the experts come into the
school setting seemed like a good way to make the information accessible. She said she was “psyched” with the turnout for what may become an annual event.
As students arrived, parent education coordinator Kevin Booker Jr. and other volunteers provided handouts and snacks, and guided participants’ kids into a classroom where they were supervised and entertained during the program.
In a corner classroom, the acting police chief and defense attorney Erica Rodriguez reviewed the basics of police procedure and what happens in court in the aftermath of an arrest. Reichard, talking about police officers’ right to conduct a “terry stop” or “stop and frisk” on someone they have “reasonable suspicion” is breaking the law, said that just 1½ hours earlier, officers had come across two men sitting on a bench in McDonald Park drinking beer. Drinking in public is illegal, and when one of the men started to back away from the police, an officer decided to pat him down and found him in possession of a handgun, Reichard said.
And yes, Reichard said in response to a question from the audience, when police bring a lawfully obtained search-and-seizure warrant to your home, you are required to allow them into the house.
In response to audience member Cheryl Lawrence’s question about whether people who were quietly drinking a couple of glasses of wine at the waterfront park would be arrested, Reichard said public consumption of alcohol is illegal, but that police officers have discretion in many situations.
“Your attitude has a lot to do with it when you’re talking to a police officer,” he said.
Rodriguez outlined what happens after an arrest, explaining how bail, which she said can seem excessive, is intended to insure a person appears in court. She outlined diversionary programs available to help people avoid a criminal record and reminded the group that their internet posts could get them in trouble.
“I advise people to be careful what they use on social media,” she said. “I can print it out and use it in court.”
Attorney Marcia Escobedo, who practices law in Bridgeport, taught a group of 10 the ins and outs of small claims court, where cases involving claims of less than $5,000 are handled. Class participants wanted to know how to bring a claim as well as how to defend one and had questions about the required paperwork.
“The clerks aren’t going to want to give you legal advice, but if they see you are trying to fill out the forms the best you can, they’ll help you,” Escobedo said.
When a man in the audience complained he had encountered “tight-lipped” clerks, she suggested calling the central office for small claims for additional help.
In another classroom, attorney Robert G. Tukey of the Suisman Shapiro law firm talked about the major issues addressed during divorce proceedings, custody of the children and dividing assets.
“One of the things that is very important is not to put the kid in the middle and say, ‘Where do you want to go?’,” Tukey said. “What the kid wants is for the parents to get back together. The question, and what it always boils down to in court, is what’s in the best interest of the child.”
Responding to a student question, he said judges do take into consideration a child’s wishes and that it is important to know that custody orders can be modified.
Down the hall, Karen L. Sears, managing attorney for Connecticut Legal Services, talked about the rights of landlords and tenants, security deposits and eviction notices. She said landlords are required to provide access to heat, water, sewage and electricity and explained that a landlord is required to return a security deposit, with an accounting of the interest it has accrued, unless the property has been damaged beyond ordinary wear and tear.
“A scuff mark on a wall is ordinary if you’ve lived there for five years,” she said. “If the molding is missing because somebody sold it, it is not ordinary wear and tear.”
At one point, the conversation touched on frivolous lawsuits.
“You cannot prevent anyone from suing you for whatever they are suing you,” Sears said. “All you are left to do is defend yourself.”