Izquierdo Law August 2017

IzLegal Illustrated

The Past Can Haunt You Can a Minor Crime Ruin Your American Dream?

America was founded on the principle of people coming here from all over the world — a melting pot of hardworking individuals limited only by their imagination and work ethic. While it hasn’t always worked out that way, I still believe that diversity is one of the most American values we have and that our strength as a nation depends on it. Growing up, I didn’t live in a particularly diverse neighborhood. Most of the people I saw every day were Cuban-Americans, like myself. But they’d all come here pursuing that dream, and as I got older, I saw that dream existed in every neighborhood, regardless of its residents’ backgrounds. This nation wasn’t founded by people who “had it great” where they came from, and I recently had the privilege of representing someone who reminded me of that. I believe he will be a fine American citizen in a few years. He’s a hardworking guy from another country who, in the past, had a little bad luck. He wound up in court over a minor marijuana charge, and he waived his right to an attorney. It’s always a bad idea to do that, but he didn’t know any better — a fact that would become important. Fast-forward many years and he’s now married to an American citizen and wants to start the process of becoming a lawful permanent resident — the first

step on the road toward citizenship. He has a great job, works hard, and believes in all the things that we Americans do. Unfortunately, that marijuana charge rose up from the past, and it looked pretty grim for a minute. His immigration attorney sent him over to us. We said to the court, “Look, he was basically railroaded into this charge. It was a misdemeanor charge, and he technically waived his right to an attorney, but nobody ever explained why he needed one!” The court vacated the conviction and set him up for an actual trial. On the day of the trial, his charges were dismissed. Now, he’s free to continue on with his path to residency, unencumbered by past criminal history that came from bad luck. You don’t need to be an immigrant to be plagued by past charges, though. We all make mistakes; have bad days; and can be denied jobs, security clearance, and even housing based on those bad days and little mistakes. If you are an immigrant, though, you’ll have an even tougher time. But there may be good news for you — just as there was for this client — and we’d like to help you out. Past charges can be revisited, reopened, and often put to rest. Like I said, I believe that diversity is an American value. Justice is an American value, too. Are you ready to get your own justice?

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3 Studying Hacks for Successful Students

Are your kids already sweating exams this semester? Fear not! Combine these tips with a regular studying routine, and they’ll be set for anything their teachers assign this year. CHEW ON THIS Not all classrooms allow gum, but those that do offer students a distinct advantage. According to Scientific American, chewing gum increases the flow of oxygen to the areas of your brain responsible for attention and memory. Your child can even coordinate gum flavors with each of their classes. Do they have a biology test coming up? They can chew peppermint gum while they study and while they take the test. Their brain will associate the minty flavor with those plant cell organelles they studied for an hour the night before. Just be sure to stick with sugar-free flavors! PROOFREAD WITH GOOGLE Is your student scrambling to perfect their essay before a midnight deadline? Be sure they leave time to read the essay aloud! Tom Stafford, a psychologist who studies typos at the University of Sheffield, notes that when we reread our work, “we don’t catch every detail; we’re not like computers or NSA >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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