Wrongful Death and Negligence at Apartment Complex
Facts: Dwayne Whipple and his wife took one of their children to the hospital and left another of their children, 2-year-old Jaylen, with an aunt who lived in an apartment complex. The apartment complex was surrounded by a chain link fence. Jaylen's aunt opened the door to the apartment and went to her car to retrieve something. Unknown to her, Jaylen followed her out of the door to the apartment. Jaylen crawled through a gap in the chain link fence and went onto a neighboring property where a lake was located. Jaylen's body was later recovered by rescue workers, and he was pronounced dead due to drowning.
Primer on Evidence
Private investigators called to testify at a judicial proceeding must be familiar with rules of evidence. Basic to abiding by the rules is knowledge of evidence that is material, relevant or competent. Material evidence is the substantive part of a case presented at trial or is evidence that has an effective impact on the decision of the case. In a very basic sense, evidence is material to the extent it can be seen and understood within the context of the matter in question. Another way to think about material evidence is to think of the opposite, i.e., immaterial evidence, which is evidence that has nothing at all to do with the issue at hand. (read more...)
Deter, Prevent, Detect
The odds of becoming the victim of a home burglary are reduced when the home owner does three simple things: Deter. Make your home an unattractive target--unattractive to burglars, that is. The common modus operandi of the burglar is to prowl neighborhoods looking for homes that are vulnerable. A vulnerable home is one that appears to be unlocked, unprotected or unoccupied. (read more...)
Fire Sprinklers Excluded from State Building Code
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and every major fire service organization in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts came together on November 3rd to protest a new state-wide building code. The code excludes the requirement for installation of fire sprinklers in the construction of new one- and two-family homes. (read more...)