Justice System

Last week I received my settlement from the year and a half long legal battle with my old landlord. Despite the indeterminately large amount of damage we caused to the house over our 2 years, I still got $320 of my security deposit back. It ultimately rested on my landlords terrible record keeping meant they couldn't prove what damage occurred when. They were unethical and terrible landlords anyways. Everyone remembers me dominating them during the door fiasco of 2008 right?

I was throwing out all my old files relating to the case when I came across all my other legal items from college. I kinda forgot how many legal problems I had and subsequently weaseled out of. Student Legal Services is the best $7 of tuition I've ever been charged. I came across speeding tickets from Oklahoma and Iowa, MIP's, Noise Violations. There was the unpaid parking ticked from Chicago. The notice to appear on a trash violation. But then I came across this.

This is a judgement by the 15th district court to reduce a noise violation to a civil infraction of blocking a sidewalk. Around that time noise violations were running us $600-$800 because we were repeat offenders. I'm not sure exactly how I managed to get a loud party reduced to me blocking the sidewalk but I'll take it.

Brian Fights the Man

I was in court today, but not for being illegally good looking. The City of Ann Arbor apparently felt that our Christmas party violated city code regarding noise levels. It was just a live band in the kitchen and 100 of our closest friends, so I disagreed. I put The Cowboy to work and ended up getting the charge reduced to a mere civil infraction, for "blocking a sidewalk". That's right, I've admitted to blocking a sidewalk. Look out for this guy, he's a sidewalk blocker.

What do we get for 7 dollars?

All the legal advice you want.

I have used student legal services (SLS for us regulars) multiple times and have come away more than pleased both times. I'm sure every Michigan student has at least heard of Douglas "The Cowboy" Lewis (Pictured Below). That man got me out of 2 noise violations and saved even more money for my roommate.
I also had to go in to SLS last week because apparently our landlord is not a big fan of the BOX letter's and the Campus Corner sign. We got a notice from our landlord on Monday, that we had until Wednesday to remove the signs or they would dispose of them. Well, the fine people at SLS looked through our contract and made some calls, before telling us that we had no legal avenue to keep the box sign up. So Al and I went down to our landlord and busted some heads until they agreed to allow us to keep the Box sign if we remove the Campus Corner Sign. I count it as a victory for us, SLS, Box and America.

By the way, I don't think people use SLS to the full extent that they should. I'm going to have them write me a will, file some patents I've been thinking about, do the paperwork to change my name to Pizzapussysanta and a whole bunch of other stuff. Maybe I will get them to write a disclaimer for my Blog. It's legal advice and its free! Make way, I got people to sue.