Because food companies aren’t required to label GMOs, you won’t know if the food you buy in a grocery store is genetically modified, or whether there are health consequences to eating it. Further, the wind can blow GMOs in your garden, making you liable to paying license fees to Monsanto.

Genetically modified food is everywhere since the modified seed was planted in 1996. It was a soybean injected with a gene from a bacteria resistant to Roundup weed killer. Farmers spray their fields with herbicide, killing everything but the genetically-modified crop.

Today, genetically-modified soy accounts for 85 percent of all acreage in the United States by 2004, as well as 45 percent of corn, 76 percent of cotton, and 84 percent of canola.  The Associated Press reports 90 percent of soy acres today are planted with genetically-modified crops. Nearly any soy product a consumer buys will contain GMOs, and the potential health consequences of eating them are unknown. But you’ll never know because labels indicating the presence of GMOs aren’t required.

Attorney Daniel Ravicher

“It is quite ironic that Monsanto is one of the only companies in America that does not want you to know you’re buying their product,” says attorney Daniel Ravicher, a lecturer at Cardozo School of Law and the director of the Public Patent Foundation, one of 270,000 individuals represented by the groups in the lawsuit. “So that has to tell you there’s something wrong.”

After quietly buying all but one of the nation’s largest seed companies in the ‘90s, Monsanto is now the nation’s second-largest seed company.

According to a report by the Center for Food Safety, Texas farmers say GMOs have pushed conventional seeds off the market. When farmers use Monsanto’s seeds, they’re kept under the corporation’s thumb.

Contaminated Corn

When a farmer buys a genetically-modified seed from Monsanto, he signs a legal agreement promising not to save his seed, forcing the farmer to buy new stock from the company every year.

If he decides not to plant GMOs, he has to be sure that none of last year’s seeds grow – even if they fell into the field during harvest, or if there are a couple left in equipment.

Anyone can be liable under the law. If pollen from a genetically-modified crop pollinates other crops, Monsanto can sue. This forms the basis for the lawsuit, which the judge dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

“The constitution says that the courts are only allowed to hear actual cases of controversy – not hypothetical disputes,” explains attorney Ravicher. Monsanto filed a motion to dismiss, which the judge granted.

In her opinion, Judge Naomi Buckwald writes, “Defendants have never filed a patent infringement suit against a certified organic farm or handling operation over the presence of patented traits in its operations …. Indeed, defendants have expressly declared that it is not their policy ‘to exercise patent rights where trace amounts of our seed … are present … as a result of inadvertent means.’”

News reports highlight Monsanto’s successful lawsuit against a seed cleaner who said he had no way to distinguish GMOs from regular soybeans.

Ravicher says that case, and others, show the judge’s statements are incorrect. Between 1997 and 2010, Monsanto filed 144 lawsuits. The giant has an annual budget of $10 million and a full-time staff devoted to investigating and suing farmers who don’t pay patent royalties. According to the Center for Food Safety, most people settle out of court because they don’t have the resources to fight, and the settlements are kept secret with confidentiality agreements.

In the ‘90s the company won a lawsuit against a journalist who did an investigation about the company’s growth hormones for livestock and got fired when Fox Corporation refused to air it. She filed a lawsuit and lost; the court said she had no whistleblower claim on Fox based on news distortion; falsifying news is not against the law. Dairies still don’t have to label milk from cows treated with growth hormone, and like GMOs, we don’t know the health consequences.

Patent Problem

In patent law, the question is, “Has a human being significantly changed what God gave us?” says Ravicher. “We agree with Monsanto that their seed is not natural. We believe that their seed is poison. It’s not the same as a seed from nature. It’s harmful. It’s bad technology. We don’t argue that it’s not patentable because it’s not created from nature. It’s very different from nature. It’s bad for society.”

Twenty-seven other countries farm GMOs: corn, wheat, soy, canola, cotton, tomatoes, papaya, cotton, potatoes and sweet pepper. If GMO pollen fertilizes a plant, each following generation will contain the modified gene – so GMOs will continue to spread.

California will become the first state to put a question about GMOs labels on its ballot this November.

George Zimmerman during a court hearing Thursday April 12, 2012, in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of the 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Gary W. Green, Orlando Sentinel, Pool)

A long-neglected MySpace page has come back to haunt George Zimmerman as he and his legal team prepare his defense against second-degree-murder charges in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

On the page, which he created in 2005, Zimmerman:

• Disparaged Mexicans as “wanna be thugs” likely to pull knives and commit crimes.
• Bragged “Every time I go to court, I win” after felony obstruction of justice and battery charges were reduced to a single misdemeanor.
• Called a former fiancée who accused him of domestic violence an “ex hoe.”

Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer in a Florida gated community, has admitted shooting and killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. For weeks Zimmerman appeared likely to avoid charges because of his claim that he shot in self-defense, which is allowed under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground Law.” On May 8, he pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Martin’s family and many others believe the black teen, who was visiting a family member in the neighborhood, was seen as “suspicious” by Zimmerman because of his race, and that Zimmerman initially skirted charges because of racially uneven application of “Stand Your Ground.”

Commentators have rushed to use Zimmerman’s MySpace page to bolster their argument that he’s prone to stereotype minorities, and to highlight his past run-ins with the law. Defenders point out that Zimmerman, whose mother is from Peru, is himself an ethnic minority, and that his MySpace page also shows him interacting with friends of many racial backgrounds, including some who are black.

But while Zimmerman’s seven-year-old online comments may be stirring public opinion, they’re unlikely to have an impact on him at trial.

“Whenever you’re going to trial, the judge wants to keep focused on a very specific question: Did this person commit this crime at this time?” said Aaron Pelley, a criminal defense attorney in Seattle, Wash. “It doesn’t matter what else happened other times.”

That means that old behavior that’s not directly related to Zimmerman’s charges – including his posts to social media – probably can’t be used to convict him of a crime, said Pelley said.

But there are exceptions and times when old online statements can come to bear in court, which people should keep in mind when they post to Facebook, Twitter, blogs or other online media.

A one-time status update made weeks or years before an alleged criminal act took place probably won’t be allowed in court, but prosecutors can bring up online comments if they establish a long pattern of behavior, Pelley said.

So a single status update that says, “I drove while drunk last night,” and that was posted weeks before a defendant was pulled over with alcohol in her blood, likely won’t make it to court. Nine months of daily updates that say, “I was wasted last night and then drove home,” however, might establish enough of a pattern to be used in court.

Prosecutors can also use online comments directly related to the crime at hand, along the lines of: “I was so drunk when I got pulled over!”

Aaron Pelley

When a defendant takes the stand, his or her testimony could also ultimately allow old social media posts to be brought up by prosecutors, Pelley said. “If I stand up in court and say, ‘I never get wasted and drive,’ a prosecutor now has a chance to cross-examine you,” he said. The prosecutor can bring up evidence related to what a defendant says to challenge that testimony.

But Zimmerman would only open the door to a review of his old MySpace comments in the unlikely event that he testifies during trial and makes claims that are contradicted by previous online statements.

Old social media comments may not play much of a role during trial, but they can make a difference before and after, Pelley said.

Online statements may be brought forward by prosecutors as they’re establishing probable cause, and may also be used when setting bail ahead of trial. If a defendant is found guilty, those comments may  also be considered during sentencing.

Social strategy

“As a defense attorney, I don’t want anything out in the world about a client that I don’t think will help my case,” Pelley said. But that does not mean that anyone likely to face criminal charges should automatically forego use of social media, he added.

In politically charged cases, for example, a social media campaign can help build support for a defendant or draw attention to an issue. Pelley often defends sick people facing criminal charges for their use of marijuana for medical purposes.

“For us to speak out can help, but you have to weigh – before you say anything – whether it helps or hurts the case,” he said. For that reason, people facing serious charges should be careful about what they post, and should check with their attorney before writing anything online that could reflect badly on their case.

Get the free Criminal Law Newsletter. Subscribe Today

Indeed, George Zimmerman’s defense team has not been shy about using social media to drum up moral and financial support for their client. In recent weeks, they have set up Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as a website. Zimmerman has raised more than $200,000 for his defense using the Web.

“We understand that it is unusual for a legal defense to maintain a social media presence on behalf of a defendant, but we also acknowledge that this is a very unusual case,” his attorneys wrote on the George Zimmerman Legal Case website they established. The O’Mara Law Group’s goals in creating a social media presence for Zimmerman, according to the site, include disputing incorrect online rumors, discrediting fraudulent sites that purport to speak for Zimmerman, and continuing to raise funds for his defense.

“We feel it would be irresponsible to ignore the robust online conversation, and we feel equally as strong about establishing a professional, responsible, and ethical approach to new media,” the firm wrote.

 Read more about social networks at work in the courtroom.

Do you think statements made on social media should be used against a defendant at trial? Share your opinion by leaving a comment below.

The study found that the longer couples remained separated, the greater was the likelihood that they’d get divorced. The average length of a first separation was four years, but for the smaller group who reunite, the average separation was only two years. Seven percent of the separations in the study lasted at least 10 years.

The study, presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America in San Francisco earlier this month, was based on data from 7,272 individuals who were between the ages of 14 and 22 in 1979 and went on to get married. Fifty-one percent of them were still married, and among the rest, 60 percent reported having gone through a separation and 79 percent of them ultimately divorced.

Stephen McDonough, who practices divorce and family law at The Divorce Collaborative in Franklin and Bedford, Mass., says he was not surprised to hear that the divorce rate among separating couples was that high.

Stephen McDonough

He also believes that the high likelihood of divorce for separating couples underscores the need for careful legal planning when separating or planning to separate.

“If they are going to separate, my recommendation would be to consult with an attorney or a mediator,” McDonough says. “Sometimes the mediation route can be especially cost-effective. It can be worthwhile for both parties to be on the same stage to avoid conflicts and so that everyone is clear on who’s going to pay the electrical bill, who’s going to pay the Visa bill, what about the mortgage, and the parenting plan if there are children. If you take a little bit of time before, or at the time of, separation, to work those things out, you’re certainly getting off on a better foot.”

He said that couples who take time to sort out those arrangements on the front end of a separation may be saving money in the long run if those decisions are left to a divorce court to resolve.

McDonough says he focuses his practice on divorce and family law, so his exposure to separation plans tends to be retrospective but relevant to the divorce planning.

“If they’re considering divorce—either court-based or mediation—we want to know what they have been doing. What has the arrangement been as it relates to finances or parenting? If those agreements have been going relatively smoothly, then oftentimes they can carry over and be incorporated into an actual legal divorce agreement.”

While the high divorce rate reported in the study didn’t surprise McDonough, the average lengths of separation were somewhat more surprising, he says.

Not that he hasn’t seen some long ones. Recently, he says, a matter involving an older couple in their 50s came to him and he says they’ve been separated for 15 years.

Separated–and Co-Habitating

One definite change McDonough says he’s seen in recent years is that oftentimes separated couples continue to live under the same roof—a direct offshoot of tougher economic times, he believes.

“That can be super stressful—not only on the couple, but certainly also on any children who are living in the house,” he says.

It’s unfortunate, McDonough says, that children are often the primary factor in influencing whether parents make a move or not.

Get the free Divorce & Family Law Newsletter. Click here to subscribe

“All the time we hear, ‘We stuck it out for the kids,’ even if it’s clearly evident that there’s a lot of conflict in the house. All the research shows that it’s best for kids to not be exposed to that conflict. So if you think that through and you don’t want the kids to be exposed to a lot of conflict, then a lot of times the actual physical separation is actually what’s best for the family.”

McDonough admits that it’s difficult for divorce lawyers not to feel like marriage counselors.

“It’s certainly part of the job in some ways,” he says, laughing. “We don’t give mental-health advice because we’re not mental-health professionals, but it’s impossible to separate some of these issues from the legal issues.”

If you’re considering a separation, consult an attorney who can help ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible and assist you in crafting a legal plan for the future.

• Doctor thought the baby was dead
• Hospital equipment was faulty and poorly maintained
• Jury found hospital 100 percent responsible

“It Came Back to Life”

Thirty-six weeks pregnant in August 2008, disaster struck when Victoria Upsey suffered a placental abruption, where the placenta separates from the uterus wall, placing the fetus in immediate danger of losing oxygen to its developing brain. Upsey rushed to the Pottstown Memorial Medical Center to try to save her pregnancy, but once there she received terrible news: Her baby was already dead.

The obstetrician on duty had performed an ultrasound and found no signs of a fetal heartbeat, leading to his tragic conclusion. However, when an ultrasound technician showed up more than an hour later to confirm the reading he found that the baby was, in fact, still living, leading Dr. Charles Touey to come up with the excuse of the century: He testified in court that the baby must have died, then come back to life, eighty-one minutes later.

Jurors didn’t buy it, and earlier this month awarded Upsey $78.5 million, mostly for future medical care for her baby Parrys, who will need round-the-clock care for the rest of her life. Touey was let off the hook, as the jury decided the hospital was 100 percent responsible for Parrys’ injuries because they were using old, poorly maintained ultrasound equipment.

“In my opening statements, I talked 90 percent about the doctor, but by the time closing arguments came around, I was talking more around the hospital than the doctor,” says Daniel Weinstock, attorney for the plaintiff. “It kind of surprised everyone in the courtroom.”

Faulty Equipment

Placental abruptions are a relatively common affliction, occurring in about 1 in 150 deliveries; however, abruptions that threaten a baby’s life are much rarer, 1 in every 800 to 1,600 deliveries. Any labor and delivery staff would be experienced in dealing with the emergency, and the Pottstown response in this case was found lacking.

Dan Weinstock

The evolution of where exactly to point the finger came about as the testimony unfolded in the trial. From the start it was clear Touey’s claim about the baby’s resurrection wasn’t going to stand. “That is something I’ve never seen before in my life,” says Weinstock. “There’s no literature suggesting that this explanation is even plausible.”

Consequently, the doctor changed his story to implicate the faulty ultrasound equipment. In fact, the hospital had up-to-date equipment in its radiology department, but since the emergency occurred on a weekend the department was locked and the staff had to make due with the bedside ultrasound machine, for which there was no record of the annual maintenance it is supposed to receive. Complicating matters, the ultrasound technician wasn’t on duty, so Upsey had access to neither the best equipment nor the person most qualified to use it. “Patients are entitled to better care than that,” Weinstock says. “To have neither is below the standard of care.”

Even when Upsey insisted she could still feel the baby kicking, the staff delayed any subsequent action until the ultrasound technician arrived at the hospital and pronounced the baby alive. All told, the delay took 81 minutes, a critical passage of time when the baby lost oxygen to the brain and suffered irreparable damage. 

Devastated Child

After the doctor and hospital acknowledged that the ultrasound equipment didn’t work properly, they were in a tight spot, liability wise. “They’re trying to argue that the doctor isn’t negligent but that the machine wasn’t good enough, but at the same time same the lawyer was trying to argue that the equipment was good enough to meet the standard of care,” Weinstock says. “It was an untenable argument. The jury rejected it and was offended by it.”

Touey also acknowledged that the 81 minute delay caused the Upsey baby’s brain damage, essentially making the plaintiffs’ arguments for them. “We proved our case through our experts, then we proved our case through the defendant and defense experts,” says Weinstock.

Now baby Parrys will have her medical needs taken care of, but it’s small comfort for what but for the hospital’s mistakes could have been a healthy baby. “She needs help with all her activities for daily living,” the attorney says. “She can’t sit up, roll over or control her head. She’s tube fed. She will never speak. She truly is a devastated child.”

Learn more about medical malpractice or find an experienced attorney in your area on Lawyers.com.

This year 50,000 pedestrians will be involved in traffic accidents, and of those, 4,000 could die, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). If you are hit by a commercial vehicle, both the company and the driver can be liable.

Accident victim being rushed to hospital.

The most dangerous city for pedestrians is Orlando, FL, according to a report by the Transportation for America showed. We talked to attorney William Umansky about what your legal options if you’re injured when you are on foot and are hit by a car.

Most of the cities on the Most Dangerous Cities for Pedestrians list are in cities in the South. While there are several reasons for the increased number of accidents, Umansky cites the large number of tourists – — both pedestrians and drivers — who aren’t familiar with the roads and traffic patterns.

He adds that road construction is another cause of pedestrian accidents is road constructi

on, which adds to the overall confusion.

Commercial Drivers Are Liable for Accidents

Attorney William Umansky

If you are hit by a commercial vehicle being used for business purposes, such as delivering flowers or furniture, both the business and the driver could be sued under a theory called “vicarious liability.” This means that an employer is liable for its employees’ acts.

The best ways to avoid an accident are to follow the crossing sign, assume other drivers aren’t paying attention and stay off your cell phone.

If you’ve been injured as a result of being hit by a vehicle, search Lawyers.com to find an experience personal injury lawyer to recover the costs of your injury.