Every Vote Counts...Literally

With election day right around the corner I thought I would share a personal experience as it pertains to an election campaign.

One hears the phrase "Every vote counts" during times of election, but this term holds very true to myself and my family in a very literal sense.

My father and law partner, Martin A. Carbone, Sr., was the acting City Court Judge in Mechanicville, NY for 12 years before seeking the top judicial spot. Prior to his campaign in the fall of 1991, he had already served a year as the full time City Court judge, as his predecessor fell ill and could not complete the remainder of his term.

In order to successfully seek re-election, my dear old dad not only had to fight with the powers that be to finish out his current term, but he also had to change political parties in order to be endorsed and run on a major party line.

My family and I felt like it was us against the world so to speak and we went full speed ahead in my dad's quest to remain City Court judge.

To add insult to injury, my father broke his foot right at the begining of his campaign and was unable to go door to door and meet the public at large. I, who was 16 at time, took his place along with my mother. Together we canvassed the majority of the city of Mechanicville spreading the good word on behalf of my dad.

On election night, things were tense because the race for judge was a dead heat. When the night was over, it appeared that my dad had lost the election by 4 votes. However, the absentee ballots were not accounted for so we had to wait about a week to get the final results.

When all the votes were in, my father had won the election by 4 votes. The celebration was short lived, however, as his opponent challenged the validity of some of the absentee ballots in NY Supreme Court and the election was overturned in his favor by one vote.

Our family was initially devastated, but we brushed ourselves off and filed an appeal in the NY State Appellate Division. The appeal took a few months and my dad quietly lived in exile, away from the confines of his city court chambers.

I remember like it was yesterday when I was in my high school band class and a fellow class mate came up to me and said that I was wanted in the main office. I asked what the problem was and he said my father was on the phone. This struck me as odd since my father had never called me at school before. Remember, this was before cell phones, email and text.

I picked up the phone, praying that nobody died. On the other end, I hear my dad simply say "5-0." Confused, I asked him to repeat what he said. He again only said "5-0." Having not a clue what he meant, I said, "5.0 Mustang?" (they were popular at the time) He said "No, 5-0 decision in our favor."

It then hit me that he was reffering to the 5 judge panel that sat on the NY Appellate Division. To win an appeal, one needs at least 3 of the 5 judges to rule in your favor. In our case, all 5 judges ruled in my dad's favor, hence the "5-0."

I lost my mind after I realized what happened and everyone in the school office looked at me like I was nuts, but I couldn't have cared less.

As a result of the Appellate Division's decision, the election was now overturned in my father's favor when one absentee ballot was thrown out and one was reinstated. The one that was reinstated was initially rejected in Supreme Court because it was filled out in green ink. The judge who threw it out must have overlooked the fact that the law was changed in 1974 allowing absentee ballots to be filled out in ANY color ink, not just blue or black, which had been the standard prior. So with the luck of the Irish, the green ink absentee ballot put my dad one vote over the top and named him City Court judge.

The war was not quite over until April 1, 1992, when the NY Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, refused to hear my father's opponent on appeal. It was over. It was official. On April Fool's Day, my father was officially named City Court judge of Mechanicville.

The moral of this long winded story is every vote counts. Quite literally in my father's case. One vote determined the outcome of his election. If one person who voted for my dad had instead sat back and decided that they didn't need to vote because they wouldn't make a difference, they would have been gravely mistaken. Unfortunately, this is the attitude of a lot of voters, especially when it comes to the major elections.

I experienced how every vote counts up close and personal. On election day, if anyone out there decides not to vote solely on the notion that their vote doesn't count, rest assured, it does. Who knows, your vote just might be the deciding factor. Literally.

For more information or if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to visit us at www.carbonelawyer.com

Carbone & Carbone LLP, Martin A. Carbone, Esq., Attorney at Law

http://www.facebook.com/carbonelawgroup
http://twitter.com/carbonelaw1
www.lakegeorgelawyer.com

Steve Jobs and the Law

With the passing of the incomparable Steve Jobs, one cannot come across a tech article or blog without the mention of his name. With that being said, it is arguable that without Steve Jobs, we would have no blogs to even read. Steve Jobs without a doubt had a significant influence on countless people's lives in terms of technology.

While that may be a mere understatement, what some do not realize is that Steve Jobs in some way, shape or form changed how we as a society function in terms of business across countless platforms. Jobs made computers "cool." His intent was to implement them into our daily lives, for the average person, not for the select "computer literates" that at one time, were very few and far between.

Steve Jobs' influence has been very apparent in the legal world in recent years. The iPad, for example, has only been around for less than two years, but numerous attorneys routinely bring them into the court room, replacing voluminous files and dates books. At one time, paper calendar organizers were a staples item for any busy lawyer. Since the advent of smartphones, specifically the now iconic iPhone, even some of the most "old school" attorneys have ditched their paper planners in favor of their always up to date and synced iPhone.

Steve Job's influence in technology has also been felt in the realm of legal research. More and more law firms are ditching their trusted voluminous legal books, treatises, and journals for online materials. While Jobs did not invent the internet or computers themselves, he had and continues to have an integral impact as to how we use said resources in our everyday lives.

Steve Jobs, simply put, made computers and technology hip, cool, and fun. He made a once complicated venture user friendly and allowed the masses to enjoy what previously only those in NASA could cope and understand. Jobs paved the way for modern computer icons such as Mark Zuckerberg, Sean Parker, Shawn Fanning and Biz Stone. It is arguable that the whole social media revolution would have been brought to the forefront had it not been for Steve Jobs paving the way.

Lawyers, in my opinion, are greatly indebted to Steve Jobs for providing such devices such as the iPad and iPhone, which now serve as a "mobile office" for many attorneys working in the trenches. Steve Jobs, indirectly, did something that very few thought was possible. He made lawyers cool.

For more information or if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to visit us at www.carbonelawyer.com

Carbone & Carbone LLP, Martin A. Carbone, Esq., Attorney at Law

http://www.facebook.com/carbonelawgroup
http://twitter.com/carbonelaw1
www.lakegeorgelawyer.com

Getting Pulled Over

Getting pulled over by the police while driving can be a very shocking, startling, and extremely stressful experience. For most drivers, this has happened at least on one occasion and it is something that should not be taken lightly during the moment it is occurring.

Typically, a driver is pulled over by an officer of the law when they are breaking some sort of traffic law, such as speeding, running a red light or stop sign, etc. Other reasons may include suspicion of driving while intoxicated or other criminal offenses. When one views the flashing red light in their rear view mirror, it is important not to go into complete panic mode and disobey said blinking cherry.

When one is summoned to pull over, they should do so immediately. This is common sense of course, but one would be amazed on how many drivers do not do so immediately and suffer the wrath of the patrolling officer once they do indeed stop.

It is vitally important to remain in your vehicle once an officer pulls you over. In this day and age, an officer never knows who can be a danger to their person so they will be quick to defend themselves if they feel threatened by one's actions. Simply stay in your car and follow the officer's lead. They will often open the conversation with either "License and registration" or "Do you know why I pulled you over?" Your response to either of those questions should be in a respectful tone and in compliance to what they are asking. Do not refuse to offer your license and registration, even if you feel as though you have done nothing wrong. Do not aggressively argue with the officer, as this will only aggravate the situation, ultimately costing you further hardship down the road.

You may ask the officer questions, such as what you were doing wrong and so on, but do so in a respectful manner. One does not have to be meek. Simply get your questions across and then continue to follow the officer's direction. Sometimes the less you say the better, as certain things can be used against you when the officer is writing up their ticket, or tickets as the case may be. Remember, the police have heard every excuse in the book and are in no mood to listen to something they likely heard 20 times already that day.

By refusing to give your license and registration to the patrolling officer, one opens themselves up to not only traffic violations, but also criminal charges as well. An officer can charge the non-complaint driver with obstruction of governmental administration, which is a class A misdemeanor. If you catch the officer in a real bad mood, they could even compound the charges and issue a citation for disorderly conduct, failure to comply with an order, and even throw in a parking on pavement violation to add insult to injury.

So if one is ever pulled over by an officer of the law, please be sure to let cooler heads prevail and do what is asked at the time of incident. If you feel that you were targeted or charged unjustly, the time to fight the charges is after the initial stop is over. Do not try to "fight city hall" while on the side of the road. Take your time, seek counsel if necessary, and proceed accordingly. A short fuse and bad attitude can be extremely costly in the long run. Greet the officer with a smile and live to fight another day.

For more information or if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to visit us at www.carbonelawyer.com

Carbone & Carbone LLP, Martin A. Carbone, Esq., Attorney at Law

http://www.facebook.com/carbonelawgroup
http://twitter.com/carbonelaw1
www.lakegeorgelawyer.com