With respect to the crime of shoplifting, Alabama law allows peace officers, merchants or their employees who have probable cause to reasonably detain persons suspected of shoplifting. The law provides:
Williams, a false imprisonment case decided on April 26, 1996, the Alabama Supreme Court defined probable cause as “such a state of facts in the mind of the prosecutor as would lead a man of ordinary caution and prudence to believe or entertain an honest or strong suspicion that the person arrested is guilty.”.
Rather, probable cause demands that a merchant have a reasonable belief (from personal observation or reliable second-hand sources) at the time of detention that the suspected individual is guilty of shoplifting.
Merchants who detain persons suspected of shoplifting must do so in accordance with state law in order to avoid civil liability for false arrest, false imprisonment or unlawful detention. As stated in the shopkeeper’s statute, merchants are protected from criminal or civil liability for false arrest ...
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Classified as a class A misdemeanor offense, fourth-degree theft is punishable by up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $6,000.
Shoplifting may be one of the most common crimes committed in Alabama, but that does not mean it is considered a minor offense. Referred to in criminal statutes as theft of property, shoplifting can be treated as a felony offense depending on the value of the merchandise taken. Even at a misdemeanor level, those convicted may face up to a year ...
Theft of property in the first, second or third-degree are all felony offenses. Third-degree property theft occurs when an individual steals property worth between $500 and $1,500. This offense is considered a class D felony under Alabama Code §13A-8-4.1. When the property stolen is worth between $1,500 and $2,500, ...
The Stand Your Ground Law in Alabama gives a judge the ability to determine absolute immunity in civil and criminal prosecution. When the Stand Your Ground Law is plead in Alabama by a defendant, a hearing will be conducted, prior to trial, without a jury, to determine if your actions in self-defense were reasonable under the law.
Here is an example of jury instructions on the Stand Your Ground Law in Alabama. A reasonable belief is a belief formed in reliance upon reasonable appearances. It is a belief not formed recklessly or negligently. The test of reasonableness is not whether the defendant was correct in his/her belief but whether the belief was reasonable under ...
Today, you can literally, Stand Your Ground, and have no duty to retreat in Alabama. A person is presumed under Alabama Law to be justified in using Deadly Force if they are defending against imminent physical harm to themselves or another. Here is the appropriate Alabama Code Section . You can use deadly or physical force to defend yourself ...
Furthermore, once Self-Defense becomes an issue, the Defendant in an Alabama Criminal Matter no longer has the burden of proving Self-Defense, but the State then has the burden to prove the defendant did not act in Self-Defense and must prove the same Beyond a Reasonable Doubt .
Alabama’s lemon law protects consumers falling into one of two categories: purchasers of a new or previously untitled vehicle used in substantial part for personal or household purposes, or any other person entitled to enforce the vehicle’s warranty.
When replacing a vehicle under the Alabama lemon law, the manufacturer must provide a new vehicle that is comparable to the vehicle that is being replaced. The reasonable allowance for use does not apply to a replacement.
If the client purchased their vehicle outright or paid it off by the time their Alabama lemon law claim resolves, they can use awarded funds as a down payment on a new vehicle. They could instead use those funds to buy a less expensive vehicle outright. However the client uses their money is entirely up to them.
The law covers used vehicles as well. Alabama’s lemon law does not cover motorhomes or any vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 5 tons or more.
How to Evict Commercial Tenants in Alabama. If you rent a commercial space to a tenant that has defaulted on rent payments or who broke the terms of the lease, you may wish to evict the tenant. It should be said that you should only pursue the eviction route if you have exhausted all other options, such as discussing the default or breach with ...
If a tenant is unable to pay rent after a particularly slow period, you may want to offer a repayment plan or other means of assistance. However, if the tenant is unwilling to work with you, or if his or her business is doing so poorly that there is no hope of recovery, eviction may be necessary.
Depending on your answers to these questions, eviction may or may not be the best business decision. If you decide it IS a sound business decision, the sooner you start the eviction process, the better, as each day you are unable to re-rent the space is another day in which you lose money.
It is not unthinkable that if your commercial tenant is having money issues that he or she may file or already have filed bankruptcy. If this is the case, your options may be limited. Once a person or business entity files for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy courts place an automatic stay on collections actions. Unfortunately, evictions fall within the “collections” category. If your tenant has already filed for bankruptcy, you may be prohibited from serving him or her an eviction notice or from beginning the eviction proceedings.
The state has laws against eavesdropping and surveillance, with the key elements being "trespassing" and "private place.". For instance, the law bars someone from "intentionally" engaging in surveillance while trespassing in a private place. Surveillance is the "secret observation" of a person's activities with the purpose ...
The law also lays out what it means by "private place.". "A place where one may reasonably expect to be safe from casual or hostile intrusion or surveillance, but such term does not include a place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access," according to the Code of Alabama 13A-11-30.
On the other hand, a neighbor is entitled to maintain a video camera that watches his porch , but he can't cross the imaginar y line and point his camera at his neighbor's window, said Rex Reynolds, former Huntsville chief of police and public safety director.
Huntsville YMCA CEO Scott Mounts said the YMCA has numerous cameras at its facilities but draws the line at areas where privacy is expected. "We have a lot of security cameras throughout child care centers and throughout our facilities," Mounts said.