Traffic & Criminal Law Articles
Traffic and Criminal Law Articles
- PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY FROM THEFT
- PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN IN AUTOMOBILES
- WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT OR YOU CAN BE ARRESTED
- BAD CHECKS CAN BE COSTLY
- USE A FAKE ID AND GET YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE SUSPENDED
- NEW BILL EASES SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY RULES FOR YOUTH
PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY FROM THEFT
The 1990s spawned new types of crooks who concentrate on stealing your identity. An identity thief obtains some piece of your sensitive information (Social Security number; bank and credit card account numbers; or your name, 地址和电话号码)，并在你不知情的情况下使用它进行欺诈或盗窃.
If your identity is stolen, 你可能会花几个月或几年的时间来清理小偷对你的好名声和信用记录造成的混乱. 一些受害者被拒绝贷款，甚至因他们没有犯下的罪行而被捕.
Identity theft is such a serious problem in this country that President George W. 布什今年签署了一项法案，为消费者提供新的保护措施，防止身份被盗，其中包括免费信用报告和一个全国性的欺诈警报系统，以便在被盗发生后将损失降到最低. The measure also requires that receipts omit the last digits of credit cards, 企业在收据上涂黑了社会安全号码和借记卡号码.
Protect yourself by monitoring the balances of your financial accounts. Look for unexplained charges or withdrawals. 确保你收到了账单，并从三个主要信用机构中的任何一个订购了信用报告. (If your personal information has been lost or stolen, check all your reports more frequently for the first year). Place passwords on your credit card, bank, and phone accounts. Avoid using easily available information like your mother’s maiden name, 您的出生日期和您的社会安全号码或电话号码的最后四位数字. 一定要定期更新电脑上的防病毒软件，否则小偷可能会引入程序代码，导致你的电脑发送存储的文件.
不要在电话或互联网上提供个人信息，除非你主动联系，并确定你是在与谁打交道，因为身份窃贼冒充银行代表, Internet service providers or even someone from the government. 当有人问你要社会安全号码时，问问为什么需要这个号码，以及如何保护这个号码. Because identity theft is such a serious problem, 伊利诺斯州的主计长丹·海因斯将不再在支票上打印社会安全号码.
PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN IN AUTOMOBILES
《365买球平台》自1983年7月起在伊利诺伊州生效. Amended on January 1, 2004, 法律要求任何在伊利诺伊州使用非商业车辆运送儿童的人必须按照以下方式进行:
八岁以下的儿童必须坐在适当的儿童安全座椅上，包括婴儿座椅, 可转换座椅(面向婴儿的后座椅和面向幼儿的前座椅)和与车辆膝盖和肩带系统一起使用的增高座椅. 八岁以下儿童的父母或法定监护人有责任为运送其子女的任何人提供儿童安全座椅. The initial violation will result in a $50 fine. Subsequent violations are punishable by $100 fines.
WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT OR YOU CAN BE ARRESTED
美国最高法院澄清了警察在路边停车时的权力范围. 最高法院认为，即使是轻微的罪行，警察也可以逮捕并给人戴上手铐. 一名司机因未系安全带而被逮捕并戴上手铐，法官们做出了不利于他的裁决.
法官们表示，这种逮捕并不违反宪法对不合理搜查的保护. In the 5-4 ruling, which could affect anyone who drives a car, 法官们表示，这样的逮捕并不违反宪法第四修正案对不合理扣押的保护. 这起案件的裁决禁止一名德克萨斯州妇女起诉给她戴上手铐并把她送进监狱的警察. 一家下级法院裁定，盖尔·阿特沃特不能就逮捕一事提起诉讼，因为警察没有侵犯她的宪法权利.
1997年，阿特沃特在结束足球训练后开车送两个孩子回家，一名警察拦住了她，发现三个孩子都没有系安全带. 德克萨斯州的法律允许警察逮捕常规的交通违规行为，超速除外. The officer arrested Atwater, handcuffed her hands behind her back, and took her to the city police station. A friend looked after her children, and her pickup truck was towed away. Atwater’s mug shot was taken, and she was released after posting bond. 后来，她没有对安全带违规行为提出抗辩，并支付了最高50美元的罚款. Later Atwater and her husband, Michael Haas, sued the city and the police officer, saying the arrest violated her constitutional rights.
Rejecting her argument Justice David H. 苏特代表大多数人写道:“逮捕和登记对阿特沃特来说是不方便的, but not so extraordinary as to violate the Fourth Amendment.”
BAD CHECKS CAN BE COSTLY
任何开出支票却因缺乏资金而被拒付的人，现在都可以在小额索赔法庭或其他民事法庭就支票的面值提起诉讼, attorneys’; fees and court costs, plus three-times the amount of the check. Treble damages are limited, however, to a maximum of $500. 书面要求必须由支票持有人通过认证邮件发送到支票持有人最后为人所知的地址. 在书面要求之后有三十天的等待期，然后才能提起诉讼.
USE A FAKE ID AND GET YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE SUSPENDED
If your college student uses fake identification to purchase alcoholic beverages, 他或她可能不知道他或她的驾驶执照可能被吊销长达四年. Be sure to alert your children to this new Illinois law.
NEW BILL EASES SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY RULES FOR YOUTH
伊利诺斯州众议院改变了一项要求，即被判有性犯罪的青少年必须登记为性犯罪者. Originally, a law took effect January 1, 2006, 青少年罪犯必须在该州的两份性罪犯名单中的一份或两份名单上呆上10年。这两份名单是一份仅供学校和执法官员使用的青少年登记册，而在年满17岁之后，则是一份可供公众查阅的登记册.
这项新法案将让法官决定少年性犯罪者是否必须登记. 法官将被要求举行听证会，以决定犯罪者是否必须在年满17岁时登记为性犯罪者. This legislation would not affect juveniles tried as adults, and they would still be forced to register.