The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, to obtain access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such records (or portions of them) are protected from public disclosure by one of nine exemptions or by one of three special Read more…
During the 2013 Session of the Texas Legislature,House Bill 308—the “Merry Christmas Bill”—was filed to protect Texans’ right to acknowledge traditional winter holidays like Christmas and Chanukah on public and private school grounds. The bill allows students, parents, teachers and administrators the freedom to acknowledge these traditional winter holidays without fear of Read more…
Our office speaks to many licensees after they have been arrested – these arrests can range from driving under the influence, domestic violence, drug possession, assault, and even manslaughter. Often, licensees ask us how their boards or agencies knew about their arrests before he or she even reported it. For Read more…
Code of Civil Procedure §1094.5(c) establishes the two basic tests for determining whether the evidence supports the findings in an administrative writ of mandate proceeding: If authorized by law to exercise its independent judgment on the evidence, the court determines whether the findings are supported by the weight of the Read more…
On September 28, 2014, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 2396, which provides that an individual with an expunged conviction cannot be denied a license solely because of the expunged conviction, notwithstanding any other law in the Business and Professions Code. This new law gives relief to applicants applying to certain Read more…
On November 14, 2014, Steven L. Simas, owner and founder of Simas & Associates, Ltd., will be serving as one of several presenters for Administrative Writs of Mandamus: What You Need to Know. This day-long seminar is being co-hosted by Pincus Professional Education and the Sacramento County Bar Association Administrative Read more…
It is deceptively easy to make mistakes on your résumé and exceptionally difficult to repair the damage once a prospective employer receives it. So prevention is critical, especially if you’ve never written one before. Here are the most common pitfalls and how you can avoid them. 1. Typos and Read more…
Internet fraud schemes are prevelant and diverse. Lately, they have been increasingly targeting lawyers and law firms – and more importantly, the banks where lawyers have their client trust accounts. While most are pretty obvious, there has been documented cases where attorneys have fallen victim. And as a result, thousands of Read more…
STAR Certification On January 1, 2013, the Bureau of Automotive Repair (“BAR”) replaced its former “Gold Shield” program with STAR certification. The STAR program is the Bureau’s certification program that applies to a Registered Automotive Repair Dealer that is also a licensed smog check test-and-repair station or a test-only station Read more…
Before reviewing the steps one should take to evaluate an appeal of a lower adjudicator’s decision, it is important to note that an appeal is almost never a re-trial. Meaning, rarely does an appeal provide you with an opportunity to retry the facts of the case. In actual, judicial branch, Read more…