The California moral brigade is out in full force to cast stones at 42-year-old Christine Hubbs, the Livermore woman who is facing charges of sexual assault of two teenage boys.  It’s important to Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers to step in, and point out that Hubbs continues to remain innocent until proven guilty, and that additional circumstances surrounding the alleged assault don’t really matter.

Hubbs faces 67 counts in all of sexual assault, including unlawful sex with a minor and exhibition of lewd material to a minor.  Prosecutors allege that she first made an advance towards one of the alleged victims when he was 14 years old.  After the alleged sexual assault incident in December 2008, she allegedly sent the boy sexually explicit text messages, and asked him to keep in contact with her.  There were two victims in all, and one of them was allegedly taken to a motel for sexual intercourse.  Prosecutors also say that Hubbs fueled the relationship by getting the boys expensive gifts, including video games.  She’s currently being held on $20 million bail.

It has been very amusing to see parts of the media salivating over unimportant details of the alleged assault.  The media has gone all out to paint Hubbs as a heartless Jezebel, and everything from her daughter’s personal relationships to the way Hubbs dresses has been dragged out into view for public consumption.

For instance, Hubbs apparently drove a Hummer with a license plate that had the letters “HUMDNGA” printed on it, and the media has taken silly details like this and run with the story.  There has also been much made over the allegation that one of the victims was her daughter’s ex-boyfriend. Local TV stations have been talking to neighbors who sniffed at how Hubbs dressed like a girl half her age, and gave the local children rides in her SUV.

None of this is even relevant to the case, and the media should be doing a more responsible job of keeping attention focused strongly on the facts, and nothing else.  But that, of course, would be much too boring. In the meantime, this woman’s reputation and personal life are being dragged over the coals.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation has settled the rest of the gender discrimination claims that were brought against it by thousands of its current and former female employees.  The company has agreed to pay more than $152 million to workers who were employed by company between 2002 and 2007.

Of the settlement, $60 million is meant to cover back pay.  Besides the $152 million, Novartis will also have to pay an additional $22.5 million for company programs aimed at eliminating discrimination in the workplace.

That announcement came just a few months after a jury in May awarded a punitive damages verdict against Novartis of $250 million.  The jury had found that the company had discriminated heavily against its female employees.  This discrimination took the form of giving female employees lower pay than male employees, and discriminatory practices during promotions.  It was the largest gender discrimination award in US history against any company.  This new settlement replaces the punitive damages.  In May, a New York court also awarded 17 named plaintiffs and nine testifying witnesses, compensatory damages of $3.4 million.  That is part of the settlement of $152 million announced this week.

As part of the settlement, Novartis has also agreed to undertake a series of measures as part of a three-year program aimed at the treatment of female employees equally with male employees.  These programs will include revising the company’s sexual harassment policies and bringing in external specialists to identify gender discrimination in the company, and to correct it.

The settlement has not yet been approved, and it will go before a federal judge in Manhattan soon.  As the largest punitive damages verdict against any company in a gender bias lawsuit, the Novartis discrimination class-action will set a standard for other gender discrimination claims to follow.  The case had been heavily followed by Los Angeles employment law lawyers and corporations across the country.  It also came after a court ruled that a massive gender discrimination class action against Wal-Mart could proceed.

By now, almost everyone knows the pool safety drill – never leave the children unsupervised in the water, install 4-feet high pool fencing and make sure that all doors that lead to the pool are latched. However, if you own a property with a swimming pool, there are other things you can do to make sure that your pool is drown-resistant.

It’s important for property owners to make sure that there is a special pool safety first aid kit available right at the poolside. This kit must be available and accessible in case of an emergency. Pool safety experts and California premises liability lawyers also suggest waterproof telephones if you need to call for emergency medical help.

Property owners can also consider pool alarms. There are new and sophisticated models available these days. You can buy different kinds of alarms depending on the kind of pool you have. There are separate alarms for in ground pools and above ground pools. For instance, one alarm device detects waves in the water when an object, like a child, falls in, and will sound an alarm both inside and outside the house. Have alarms on all doors that lead to the pool.

There are other gadgets you can buy to drown proof your pool. For example, all in ground pools need a pool cover. It’s not merely enough to have a cover that’s meant simply to protect the pool from dirt and debris. It’s important to have a pool cover that meets industry standards. Your pool cover should be able to support the weight of a person walking on it.  It’s also important to make sure that your hot tubs are covered and locked when not in use.

Inflatable pools are a major drowning risk in children below the age of five. These are very popular because they’re easy to install, and work out cheaper than in-ground pools. However, these pools can hold thousands of gallons of water, and offer very little protection against drowning. Parents must know that all that open, easily accessible water makes the pool a drowning magnet.

Consistent and chronic headaches are one of the complaints most often reported by people who live with a Traumatic Brain Injury. New research seems to indicate that these painful headaches can be eliminated using special eyeglasses lenses that contain prisms.

The study was conducted by physicians at the University of Michigan Medical School. The results of the studies seem to indicate that the severity of headaches, dizziness and anxiety reported by patients who suffered a brain injury, can be lessened to some extent by using these lenses. According to the researchers, this is a brand-new approach to the treatment of post-concussive symptoms.

Researchers have known for long that traumatic brain injury can result in vision problems. Now however, they believe that the vision problems that result from TBI are also responsible for post-concussive symptoms, like headaches and dizziness. Up to 25% of patients suffering from TBI continue to suffer from post concussive symptoms for about a year after suffering the injury.

The brain injury causes a condition known as vertical heterophoria, or visual image misalignment. In order to cope with this misalignment, the eye muscles are forced back into proper alignment. This leads to strain on the eye muscles, and can result in post concussive symptoms like dizziness, anxiety, neck pain and headaches. When the researchers used eyeglasses with prisms to realign the images, it led to a reduction in the strain on the eye muscles. The eye muscles were now less fatigued and stressed, and therefore, there was a massive reduction in the severity of the person’s postconcussive symptoms. In fact, the researchers found that the symptoms were reduced by as much as 71%.

Traumatic Brain Injury is one of the most common conditions afflicting veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. These also occur frequently in auto, truck and motorcycle accidents, falls and assaults. Considering that up to 6 million people in the United States suffer from a Traumatic Brain Injury, and that many of these people suffer from postconcussive symptoms, these findings are very encouraging to Los Angeles brain injury lawyers.

The month of May has been dedicated to motorcycle and bicycle safety across California. The campaign coincides with summer, and the fact that higher numbers of bicyclists and motorcyclists will be on California roads. The California Department Of Motor Vehicles has brought out a new safety video that aims at educating motorists about motorcyclist and bicyclist safety.

The video is titled Sharing the Road with Motorcycles and Bicycles, and runs for approximately 5 1/2 minutes. It features a series of safety tips and information for motorists. Some of these tips that seem to be lost on many of California’s motorists are:

• Pay attention to motorcyclists and bicyclists while you’re driving
• Look for motorcyclists and bicyclists, especially at crowded intersections
• Check your mirrors before leaving lanes
• Check your mirrors before merging

To these tips, Los Angeles personal injury lawyers would add their own advice:

• Give bicyclists a space of at least 3 feet as you pass them by. Don’t drive too close to a bicycle.
• Don’t yell at bicyclists.
• It’s not fun to drive close to a bicyclist and blow your horn. It not only scares the cyclist, but could also cause him to fall off his bicycle with serious consequences.

The number of bicyclists on California’s streets has always been huge, and these will increase now that summer is here. Bicycle safety has been a thorny issue in California, and there have been certain high-profile incidents recently that involved aggressive driving by motorists.

California has seen a massive increase in the number of registered motorcycles to up to 800,000 in January 2010. There is no excuse for motorists to ignore motorcyclists’ rights when there are these many motorcycles on the roads. Los Angeles motorcycle accident attorneys have long been concerned about high motorcycle accident rates in the state. In 2009, there was a drop in fatalities, but that could be attributed to the effects of an economic recession.

With the month of May being dedicated to these serious safety issues, it’s the right time for law enforcement agencies in California to take up these concerns more seriously.

The month of May will see more numbers of Californians, adults and children alike, take to the streets on their bikes. It’s the ideal month to kick off a national campaign for bicycle safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is partnering with League of American Bicyclists to declare the month of May as National Bike Safety Month.

The League of American Bicyclists is inviting California bicyclists, bike safety advocates and anyone who’s interested in making the state and country safe for bikers, to join in their awareness efforts. The group has brought out a special step-by-step guide to anyone who’s interested in promoting bike safety campaigns in their community. The guide takes users through the entire gamut of steps necessary to conduct and promote a successful campaign. You have all the advice you need, from writing a promotion campaign plan, locating the funds for it, building strategic partnerships with other community groups for massive success, and finding volunteers for the campaign. You also have all the information you need on promoting your bike safety campaign.

Some California cities, that have traditionally been bicycle friendly, are gearing up for more numbers of bikers in May. The city of San Francisco for example, typically promotes bicycle safety by having, what it calls, Energizer Stations. Bicyclists can drop by the centers for refreshment, and to paste on reflective leg bands.

There are other suggestions that the League of American Bicyclists has that California bicycle accident lawyers find very promising:

• Have an all-commuter race in your town, including passenger vehicles, motorists and motorcyclists.
• Have a Bike to School Day in your town.
• Establish a bicyclist mentor program in which experienced bicyclists train novice bikers.
• Encourage establishments to have a single Bike to Work Day every week for their employees.
• Get high ranking law enforcement officials, the town mayor and other high-ranking authorities involved in your campaign.

More awareness of bicyclists leads to fewer bicycle accidents, and greater safety for all. Hopefully, these 31 days of May will lead to some change in the attitude towards bicyclists in California.

If you have been arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles it is best to hire an attorney in Los Angeles that knows the local laws and the court system.  You may have several opportunities to have your charges dropped depending on the circumstances of your arrest.  Some of the more common reasons for dropping the charges are:

• no probable cause
• faulty equipment
• inaccurate police report

An officer must have probable cause in order to pull you over.  Weaving across the lines, no turn signal or failure to come to a complete stop are all good reasons for pulling someone over.  If you have been pulled over and there is no probable cause you may have your charges dropped.

In order to be charged with a DUI you must fail a breath, blood or urine test.  If the equipment that you are being tested with is faulty or has not been correctly calibrated, you may have grounds to have your charges dismissed.  A good Los Angeles DUI attorney will leave no stone unturned when reviewing your case.  So if there was a piece of equipment that could possibly provide false readings, they will find it.

A police officer must make an accurate account of the entire stop.  If they report something as fact that can be disputed in court, it may give the judge grounds for dropping the case against you.  Finding these inaccuracies takes due diligence on the part of your attorney.  Make sure you find someone who will take interest in your case.  Don’t just hire any attorney.  Make sure to find someone who will take your case as seriously as you do.