CIMA Law Group Blog

Netflix Documentary Suggests a Flaw in Our Justice System

Our Father, a shocking documentary recently released on Netflix, unfolds the story of a fertility physician in Indianapolis, Dr. Donald Cline, who for decades deceivingly inseminated numerous patients, including one of his colleagues with his own sperm sample. Prior to the artificial insemination procedure, some patients provided samples from their spouses, while others were told the samples being used came from healthy medical student donors. Without the women’s knowledge or consent, Dr. Cline, in at least 94 instances, discarded the spouse’s or donor’s sample to use his own during the procedure.

No one suspected such horrendous practice to have taken place within the clinic of a devoted Christian, church elder, and respected citizen. Dr. Cline’s doings would have perhaps remained unknown if it were not for one of his offspring, Jacoba Ballard. After receiving the results from a 23andMe at-home DNA test she took, she discovered she had 7 half siblings. Such a discovery with time led her to uncover her biological father’s secret. Eight of the ninety-four who to this day have been identified share their tragic stories. Several of them received intimidating threats of retaliation should they intend to pursue criminal charges against him and bring his actions to public knowledge.

In search of justice, the siblings reached out to the offices of the Marion County prosecutor and attorney general of Indiana, asserting Cline’s medical practices were tantamount to rape and asking for an investigation. After a slow process, the results of the investigation were frustrating to say the least. According to investigators, Dr. Cline’s actions did not constitute rape, nor was there any law that was violated with which he could be charged. It was not until officials noticed he had lied during the investigation that they were able to charge him with two counts of obstruction of justice, for which he pled guilty and later received only a $500 fine. Sadly, at times we find imbalances in the justice system between what is immoral and what is unlawful. However, lobbying efforts led by victims of similar cases led to the enactment of Indiana’s fertility-fraud law, which prohibits fertility doctors and specialists from introducing any reproductive material as well as medications or procedures to the patient without their full knowledge or consent.

At CIMA Law Group we are committed to helping you get the justice you deserve through legal representation and government lobbying. We specialize in Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, Immigration, and Government Relations.

Could the Buffalo Shooting Have Been Stopped Sooner?

Crisis occurs. In most serious cases, the first step in the presence of such danger, an emergency, or a catastrophe is to dial 911. As the procedure goes, there is a dispatcher on the other end of such call to provide guidance or assistance, specific to the coordinating need(s). This dispatcher essentially could withhold the power behind a matter of life, or death.

With this in mind, how would you react if this potentially life determining phone call was interrupted by the words, “Why are you whispering”?

On May 14th, 2022, a supermarket, “Tops Friendly Market”, in east Buffalo, New York joined the protracted list of locations in which a racially targeted massacre has occurred within the United States. As the strategically planned mass shooting took the lives of 10 people- with almost all (11 out of the 13) of them being identified as Black- this shooting has been identified as one of the deadliest racist massacres in our countries more recent history.

The gunman and evident suspect was identified to be the New York native 18 year-old, Payton S. Gendron. Gendron conspicuously manifested this attack to be done with racist hate, as he allegedly wrote a white supremacist publication online prior to the killings stating that other racially motivated massacres inspired his violent actions; planned his 200 mile travel in order to execute his plans; flashed an anti-Black racial slur on the barrel of his weapon in the face of his victims; and live streamed the conspicuous onslaught for all to see.

The worker at the supermarkets front service desk at the time of the shooting, Latisha Rogers, took out her personal cellphone to call 911 after repeatedly hearing a “large boom”. After Ms. Rogers quietly pleaded for help, at the discretion of this dispatcher, the only response that she received from the dispatcher was, “‘What? I can’t hear you, why are you whispering? You don’t have to whisper, they can’t hear you”– leading the young Tops worker to hang up the phone, in fear of being heard. This dispatcher has been since been put on administrative leave and under investigation, according to Erie County Officials, as there was ample evidence that this response was inappropriate and against all training and protocol.

Although Payton Gendron is now being held without bail and is set to be prosecuted for his unfathomable racist and violent actions, and while there has been a date set for the hearing of the dispatcher in regards to her termination of employment- it is difficult not to wonder if this dehumanizing massacre could have been ceased more promptly, had this phone call been answered by a different dispatcher. It is vital that Congress rapidly addresses the United States frightening rise in violent white nationalism, and the need for immense reform in legislation- specifically regarding the possession of assault weaponry.

This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.

Buy the dip?

It is a very uncertain time to be an investor, with Wednesday recording the biggest one-day decline in the S&P 500 since June 2020. As Warren Buffet would say there is “blood in the streets”, but is now a good time to buy? Or will we continue to see bleeding in the months ahead? The causes for the market crash are variables including: low earnings reports from top companies, inflation, rising interest rates, and the uncertainty of the global market due to the Russia and Ukraine conflict.

With the United States economy being on the brink of a recession it is important to evaluate your investment strategy. If you’re a long-term investor, then this pullback is something that comes along with the ride. But if you’ve recently entered the stock market this could be a very scary experience that might cause you to panic sell. History tells us that when it comes to investing, an investor must develop a “zoom out” strategy. And not to focus on the day to day price action. This is because the S&P 500 has come back from every one of its prior bear markets to eventually rise to another all-time high.

A way to avoid all of the market fear is by dollar cost averaging– by putting in a little bit of money on a consistent schedule (i.e weekly, monthly, quarterly etc.) you take the emotion out of investing. When a stock price is at a low point you buy more shares, and when the stock price is at all time high you buy fewer shares. The benefit to this strategy is having a lower average price per share over time. A 2012 study by Vanguard found that historically investing your money in a lump sum vs. dollar-cost averaging produced better results 66 percent of the time. The longer the time frame, the greater the chance that investing all at once beat dollar-cost averaging. It would be ideal to know when a bottom was in and to invest a lump sum. But that strategy is not practical, and noboby is right 100% of the time. The winning strategy is dollar cost averaging.

If you or someone you know has been in an accident and need assistance, CIMA Law Group is here to help. CIMA specializes in personal injury, criminal defense and immigration and are here to provide to you the quality assurance you need.

Why Do We Fear Semi-Trucks?

Semi Trucks, Awareness, Arizona, News, Current Events

We are no strangers to the dangers about driving on the road alongside semi-trucks, but what is it about them that we fear so much to not want to drive near them? Are they too big for us? Are our cars too small or too big to pass them? Are their trucks going to tip over at any moment? There is so much we do not know about them, yet here we are driving on the same highway. With all these questions we ask ourselves we must at least know the basics about them: how to safely pass them, how to use our lighting, how to stop and how to be on the lookout for distractions.

In Arizona the infamous highway known is the I-17 that stretches from the South of Phoenix to Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. Known also for the fact of being the 4th most dangerous highway in the country. Along this highway is one of the most jammed packed highways with many Semi-trucks along the way. To be able to drive across all 146 miles of this highway there are many things to put into perspective not only with the road but the semi-trucks you might encounter.

There is no doubt that when a semi-truck is going at a below average speed that you will pass them. In order to ensure a safe passing you must be sure to have the left lane available and never stay in the lane for too long. All cars must pass quickly to make sure the driver of the semi-truck can see your car. Otherwise being caught in the blind spot can increase the chances of the semi-truck switching lanes and not seeing your car. Semi-trucks are known to have a larger blind spots than most vehicles so it is imperative that those who are passing react fact but safely.

When driving alongside a semi-truck it is important to know that high beams can temporarily blind the driver. This causing the loss of the sight and an increased chance for an accident to happen along the way. Even for a few seconds it is crucial to both the driver with the high beams and as well as the semi-truck driver.

When trying to stop your own vehicle it is important to be aware of your surroundings and any car or semi-truck that is behind you. If a small car were to brake last minute while a semi-truck is behind them, chances are the small car will be hit at a high speed rate. Semi-trucks take a little longer to stop due to the abundance of weight they have to carry. Which is why when you need to stop your vehicle, signal ahead of time and brake slowly, this will allow the semi-truck to be aware of what steps need to be taken. Whether that be getting into the opposite lane or being able to brake ahead of time.

One the biggest distractions are cell-phones. They may be convenient to use but not while you are driving. This is one of the basic components of driving and there must not be any distractions while doing so. When texting and driving there is an equal amount of danger to you and the people driving next to or around you. Never reach for anything and never have a hand off the wheel. Stay alert and fully focused on the road ahead and any moving vehicles around you.

Although semi-truck drivers are fully trained and prepared to take on the long journeys ahead of them there are still minute factors that weigh into the dangers of getting involved in an accident with them. No one should fear the road ahead of them and that sharing the road is no easy task. Which is why prodiving yourself with the knowledge of what to look out for is one of the many factors that weigh into you either having safe drive or an accident waiting to happen.

Si usted o conoce a alguien que necesitan asistencia, CIMA grupo de abogados está aquí para ayudar. CIMA se especializa en lesiones personales, defensa criminal y inmigración y están aquí para proporcionarle la garantía de calidad que necesita.

No More Happy Meals for Russia

McDonalds has announced that it will be closing all of its locations within Russia following President Vladamir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

McDonalds had previously closed 800 restaurants in the country since the war broke out last March, but are now going through with a complete shutdown of their operations in Russia, which will cost the company $1.2 to $1.4 billion and roughly 9% of global revenue. This decision to “de-arch” Russia comes from what McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski calls a breach of the company’s “commitment to our global community” and values.

McDonalds isn’t the only western corporation to remove themselves from Putin’s Russia with the Starbucks and Coca-Cola company halting sales. However, McDonalds is the biggest representation of what this new era of Russia will be like moving into the next decade.

While corporate boycotts like these may not seem to pack as big a punch at first glance, there is a significant cultural soft power that companies like McDonalds possess when in other countries. When the fast food chain first went abroad in the 1990s, it was a signal for a new era of globalism to take hold of the world after decades of the Cold War.

The presence of such a pervasive American product within Russia was a symbol of President Mikhaevl Gorbachev’s “Glasnost” policy realized, the opening of a relationship between the Russian people and the West, and the soon after collapse of the Soviet Union.

Now, McDonald’s withdrawal is a symbol of Putin’s increasing isolation of Russia from the rest of the world. It is thus important to reflect on how war is conducted in more ways than through force and that we should consider the impact our cultural soft power has on other states or in humanitarian matters.

Russia’s new era is one that will continue to see a removal form the rest of the world should this war continue; and while McDonalds’s arrival in 1990 signaled an opening up to the world, their departure now sends a clear message from the west to Putin– you are on your own now.

US Attitudes Towards Afghan and Ukrainian Refugees

Though Afghan and Ukrainian refugees may find themselves fleeing to the same country, their experiences are starkly different. The treatment of these two groups by the United States (U.S.) do not reflect an even policy nor cultural attitude towards those seeking asylum from hostile governments or a devastating invasion, but rather show a naked bias America has towards which refugee comes from which country.

This disparity is visible from two perspectives– the first being governmental. Despite the Biden Administration’s claims that there is no “double standard” when it comes to acceptance of refugees from any country, it is evident that there lies a favoritism towards refugees from Ukraine in the asylum seeking process. Those fleeing from Afghanistan are required to show proof of vaccination, have a physical consular interview, and most damaging, must pay a $575 administrative fee if they wish to enter on humanitarian grounds. Ukrainian refugees are required to do none of these.

The second perspective comes from the cultural attitudes of the American citizenry. A recent survey by the Washington Post shows that citizens within the U.S. are more likely to be favorable towards Ukrainian refugees, with 30% showing full support; while only 12% feel unconditional support should be offered to those from Afghanistan. Open ended responses painted bigoted and unfair judgments on Afghan refugees, citing a lack of cultural assimilation or respect for American laws as a source of mistrust.

Of course, the expedited acceptance process for Ukrainian refugees both legally and culturally does not negate the hardships they endure nor should it be used to criticize them in comparison to Afghan refugees. Both groups have suffered and should not be treated so differently by the United States government or its people.

Rather, we should take this instance to reflect on our own cultural attitudes towards others and how that feeds into our legal framework. Ukrainians share many ethnic similarities and customs as other Europeans, which more easily translates to Americans than those of Afghanistan. There’s also the xenophobic attitudes towards people from the Middle East and North Africa that have persisted strongly for the last two decades, evidenced to still be alive and strong by the survey responses which wrongfully fear an increase in refugees might lead to heightened terrorism.

While our government needs to make larger steps to accepting refugees from any country on a humanitarian basis equally, we too as its citizenry must alter our attitudes and mindset both to inform those we elect to change and to simply be good people. There is a shared value between people and its governing body, shared symbolism and ideas. Give me your “huddled masses yearning to be free” is what is written at the base of the Statue of Liberty with no distinction between people or place of origin, a symbol Americans proudly allow to represent us. It is not solely the burden to the government to live up to these symbols and ideals, but of the everyday citizen that informs them.

We cannot wait on the Biden Administration to remove restrictions on one group over another nor should we rely solely on laws and government to correct these errors when we forget our humanitarian norms. The difference in treatment between Afghan and Ukrainian people when they are one group–refugees–should serve as a signal that we are in need of evaluating ourselves not on separate levels, but as a whole.

The Royal Tour of the Caribbean

The former British colonies in the Caribbean have faced a reckoning recently over whether to ditch Queen Elizabeth as head of state and forge a new path away from the monarchy.

As someone who is of Indian ancestry and was born in the United Kingdom, and visits there regularly to see my relatives, the British monarchy has mixed emotions within my family. I admire the Queen’s longevity (celebrating her 70^th year on the throne at the age of 96) and her image of stability during times of crisis. On the morning of Princess Diana’s death my parents and grandparents traveled to London to place flowers outside her home and during a royal wedding we are glued to the TV.

On the other hand, we are all aware of the suffering of millions of people. The effects of slavery and resource exploitation are still being felt in South Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean due to the actions of the British monarchy. Dr. Velma McClymont told TIME “Today, Jamaicans are still struggling and relying on remittances from relatives abroad. I’m 65 years old this year, and I’ve been sending remittances [from the U.K.] to rural Jamaica since I was 17 years old.”

William and Kate’s recent tour of the Caribbean to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee did not go so great, to say the least. In Belize, a visit to a cocoa farm was scratched after residents protested. In Jamaica, the prime minister declared his country was “moving on” from the British monarchy, with Will and Kate standing next to him. In the Bahamas, the couple arrived to demands from a group calling for slavery reparations that they acknowledge Britain’s economy “was built on the backs of our ancestors.” There were also the images of the couple standing in the same open-top Land Rover that carried the Queen and Prince Philip in 1962. To some of the residents it was described as having a colonial appearance. The aim of the trip was to “strengthen the Commonwealth and discourage other countries from following the example of Barbados last year in becoming a republic”. If anything, the trip had the reverse effect.

The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated and exposed the wealth gap and the inequalities many face around the world. It didn’t help that earlier this week Prince Charles announced that the top priority of the British government is to “help ease the cost-of-living for families,” with a promise to “level up opportunity in all parts of the country”, all while sitting in a golden throne wearing his royal regalia covered in jewels. It is unclear what the monarchy will look like after the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The scandals of Prince Andrew and the Harry/Meghan saga are not going away anytime soon. The fervor of full independence in the former colonies will continue to grow.

Protests Against Roe v Wade

Since it was announced that there is a discussion in the supreme court about overturning Roe v Wade, it has become one of the nations biggest stories. The leaked supreme court draft discussing the future of Roe v Wade has sparked hundreds of protests. Activists have began to lead these protests in order to get their voice heard and are hoping to make a difference.

One large protest was conducted by many New York City high school students. These teens were holding signs that they hoped would send a loud and clear message. They said they planned to protest the anticipated ruling every week until there has been a final opinion released.

Other protests that have taken place are located directly outside two Supreme Court justices homes. The protesters are chanting outside the homes of these two and claimed they would like to impinge on their privacy. These protestors expressing that they will not go backwards in time. The protests have happened everyday since the draft was leaked.

The leaking of this draft has brought out all age groups to come and fight against overturning Roe v Wade. Signs have been created, petitions have been signed, and people have fought over this leaked draft. Protestors believe this is their right which cannot be taken away by the government. The protests will only continue until there has been a final decision made.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

News broke recently that The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is set to be made into a Netflix original movie in the coming years. This is exciting news for young adult book readers, as adaptations to some of the most popular books have become more prominent. It is especially exciting because the book and following movie have a bisexual woman as the main character. With other film adaptations, LGBTQIA+ representation is focused on side characters, and while this is important, having such a popular book increases exposure.

The book follows a young journalist who gets the opportunity of a lifetime to interview an iconic old hollywood actress. This fiction novel gives the reader the impression that the author was in part inspired by the old glamor and hints of Elizabeth Taylor. Most of the book is told in story form, meaning the movie will be moving forward and backwards in time. Most of the hype for the movie is because of the aesthetics and some particularly spicy scenes.

While the book came out in 2017, it has had many surges in demand, with social media influencers on what some call “BookTok ” promoting how good the book is, the publishers claim they can’t keep the book in stock. With the continued popularity, this movie is highly anticipated by readers. The cast list and release date aren’t known yet, but as the date comes closer the movie is likely to gain popularity.

Social Media

Over the past decade or so, social media has grown into a billion dollar industry. Incorporating everyone with internet access, a phone, and a need to share personal information. There were no clear signs of how social media was going to take off at first because it was such a new idea. Now that we’ve grown with it we can analyze its effects, how companies use it to track data and target ads or how it negatively affects mental health and can disconnect people. But all platforms involved create their own communities that follow trends as they come along. The issue of validity and a sense of belonging is increasingly important in virtual spheres and it is creating new market fluctuations.

The market fluctuations from social media are most easily measured in the situation that happened with GameStops stock over a year ago. Over multiple social media platforms people joined together to inflate the stock in an attempt to show how most financial power is held in wall street. In a more physical sense, these trends are happening on such a scale for the fashion industry every day. Millions of people are interacting and influencing fashion trends, but in an attempt to stay relevant, they constantly change what they are promoting. These constant changes move what people are buying, and how or what companies are producing. This leads to more waste from overproduced under consumed goods. These wasted goods are usually dumped into landfills and all of the labor and time that went into production counts for nothing.

There are positive changes that have come from social media, like the ability for people to have more global interactions or promote social movements. There is mass awareness and information spread about movements like Black Lives Matter and Environmental changes. The industry deserves more attention and regulation as it can have positive and negative effects depending on how it is being used. This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.