Category: Criminal Law

Understanding “Res Ipsa Loquitur” In many personal injury cases, determining whether a party is liable for another’s injuries because of negligence can be difficult. In some cases, it may not be clear exactly how the injury was caused, or perhaps the injured party may have contributed to the accident, which can make determining liability even harder. When two parties are at fault, the fine line of who is more at fault is a blurry one at best. In some situations, however, the cause of the injury is so clear that there can be no mistake that someone’s negligence caused the accident. This is when the doctrine of “res ipsa loquitur” comes into play.

If you were ever arrested and charged with a crime, you might believe that these events from years ago won’t come back to haunt you, but that may not be the case. Past arrests, even if they did not result in convictions or formal charges, remain available on your criminal offender record information (CORI) and visible unless you actively seek to have them removed. This can have lasting impacts on your life, ranging from lost employment opportunities to an inability to receive financial aid. The only way to ensure that a record, however minor, does not affect you indefinitely is to request that your files be sealed or expunged by the office of the commissioner of probation.