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L AW Y E R S F O R J U S T I C E
PERSONAL INJURY LAW JOURNAL
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WWW.NORDSTRANDLAW.COM
SEPTEMBER 2020
PARTICIPATE IN THE CENSUS
AND REGISTER TO VOTE
Everyone living in the U.S. is required by law to be counted in the 2020 census. Santa Barbara County organizers are ramping up plans for in-person visits to those households that had not yet responded to the census. These follow-up visits were originally scheduled to take place in March but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I know there are people out there who feel like their household numbers don’t matter or their vote won’t make a difference, but that’s simply not true. Being a single cog in a big machine doesn’t make you insignificant — it makes you essential to the machine’s operation. Participating in our census has an impact on everyone in our community. It directly affects everyone’s livelihood, whether we see its results immediately or not. An undercount of just 5% is a loss of $340 million back to the community, and Santa Barbara is still sitting at an undercount of around 30%. The census numbers determine the amount of federal funding we receive, which affects
schooling, child care, nutrition, health care, infrastructure, emergency operation services, and many other programs that have been even more deeply impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. But it’s about more than what we’re currently experiencing. The census doesn’t just affect our immediate future, it determines what our community and children’s futures will be for the next 10 years. When you put the census and its impact in that kind of light, participating in it becomes important and valuable.
COVID-19 delays as well as an accelerated deadline put forth by the administration, so let’s all help them make sure their hard work pays off. Santa Barbara County has already exceeded its 2010 census self-response rate, but it’s still not enough. Everyone needs to be counted to make the most positive impact on our futures. The count officially ends on Sept. 30, so there’s still time to get you and your household counted. For more information on response rates or to fill out your census information, visit My2020Census.gov,
Census workers have had to pivot their efforts in response to both
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SantaBarbaraCountyCensus.org, or send an email to CensusSBC@ CountyOfSB.org. You can also call 844-330-2020 to find out more information by phone. Local organizers are also still making rounds door to door, but don’t wait for them to show up at your door, especially when participating online is so easy.
to confirm your registration status. This is especially important if you moved or changed your name. In fact, I re-registered this year because I recently read a book on voter suppression and learned that, a woman who changes her name after marriage but does not change her voter registration may still vote but her vote may not be counted. There are several other situations where voters’ ballots are not counted due to “administrative” errors. Vote.org or USVoteFoundation.org allows you to register online, check your status, and learn all about California’s registration and vote-by-mail
deadlines. There are even banners on Facebook reminding people to register to vote, making it easy for them to do so with the click of a conveniently placed button. Be the difference you want to see in your community and beyond. If you don’t understand how the census or voting might affect you or your family, take some time to research and find out. We the people fought for the power to participate in both acts for a reason. Let’s not let that power fall to the wayside. – Renée Nordstrand
VOTER REGISTRATION
With the presidential election less than two months away, now is the time to also make sure you’re registered to vote. Even if you’ve previously registered, it’s important
For several months now, and long before that, sentiments surrounding systemic racism in America have been heightened to extreme levels. The murder of George Floyd and every wrongful death like his have brought out a singular emotion of rage and disappointment that racism and discrimination still exist, and we’ve seen this reflected in all the protests around the country. As a lawyer, I am a champion of the law, but as a human being, I strive for equality. When I see discrimination, I feel empowered to fight injustice. Now is the perfect storm — a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd has stirred passions to the boiling point. In response to public outrage, both the House and Senate introduced police reform bills in June. Perhaps, the world is finally ready to enact the needed change to stomp out racism. I’ve represented people of all races stopped by officers without probable cause, and although I, as a white woman, can’t truly understand what they go through, I can work hard to help. I’m proud of our legal community, which has stepped up to educate our communities and to work toward police reform. Civil rights lawyers across the country have done interviews to discuss how the legal community and others can help enact change. We’ve seen police chiefs leading protests for change in their own systems, companies giving more races noticeable representation in their advertising, and GREAT CHANGE IS HAPPENING AND STILL HAS YET TO COME
professional sports teams with names steeped in controversy changing them. There are resources making it easier than ever for people to educate themselves on what racism truly means and how to combat it. And more people are jumping at that chance than ever before. There’s still a very, very long way to go. I am hopeful that we can make progress and that things can become better for all. But it must start with us. As residents of this earth, we can always do more, even if we take the smallest of steps to start. We can read books (try “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi, which I’m reading now), watch documentaries, and reach out to others with more knowledge than us. We can write to local legislators, urge police reform, engage in peaceful protesting, and serve on juries. We can do so much to empower the change that is needed. Let’s do it together.
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WHAT IS WRONGFUL DEATH? Given the recent death of George Floyd and many others who have unjustly lost their lives, “unlawful Damages are categorized as economic and noneconomic. Economic damages associated with
death” has come under close examination. NordstrandBlack handles wrongful death cases because we believe it’s important for families to get full justice and compensation when a loved one is negligently or intentionally taken from them. A wrongful death claim is a civil action brought by the surviving family of a person who lost their life due to a wrongful act or neglect by another. The most common wrongful death claims arise due to murder, vehicle accidents, work accidents, unsafe premises, defective products, and nursing home negligence. Wrongful death can occur in many ways, but our goal is the same in every case: to compensate survivors for the losses suffered.
death include funeral and burial expenses, financial support, lost gifts or benefits, medical bills up to the time of death, and the value of household services. Noneconomic damages, also called emotional losses, are the intangible losses: loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, and moral support; the loss of sexual relations; and the loss of training or guidance. In order to recover compensation in a wrongful death case, the surviving family member(s) must prove that it was the defendant’s negligence that led to the death of their loved one. The first step is proving the defendant owed a duty of care to the victim. In the case of George Floyd, the 8-minute, 46-second video shows the officer killing Mr. Floyd
by applying undue force. The officer was trained to provide a certain level of care to civilians and wrongfully abused his power. This is one of the reasons why George Floyd’s family filed a civil lawsuit for wrongful death. Nothing can bring back a lost loved one, but the family can honor them by fighting for the justice that will help to preserve their loved one’s memory. That’s what NordstrandBlack strives to do, and we’re here to help if you need us.
If you have a legal matter that needs attention, let us know. If we can’t handle the matter, we will refer you to a firm that can. Please feel free to refer us to your friends and family for their legal needs. We welcome the opportunity to help! We Want You to Think of Us as Your Law Firm
MINTYCARROTTOPPESTO
Pesto may sound like a fancy ingredient on restaurant menus, but you can make it at home in minutes! This vegan recipe is a great way to use spare carrots tops, and it tastes delicious as a pasta sauce (thinned with water) or a cracker spread.
INGREDIENTS
WORDSEARCH
1 large bunch carrot tops 1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp red wine vinegar Salt and pepper to taste
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1/4 cup fresh mint 4 chives, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
Aster Autumn Chilly Colorful Education Football Harvest Labor Libra Sapphire September Squash
DIRECTIONS
1. To blanch the carrot tops, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl of ice water. Remove the stems from the carrot tops and add the greens to the water. Boil for 3 minutes, then drain the water and dunk the tops in ice water. When they’re cool, wring out the extra liquid. 2. Use a food processor to blend the carrot tops and all other ingredients except olive oil. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil at a time to the food processor and blend until the pesto is smooth. Taste and serve!
If you’ve lovedworking with our firm, please leave us a review on NordstrandLaw.com/Review !
Inspired by YupItsVegan.com
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33 W. Mission Street, Suite 206 Santa Barbara, CA 93101 805-962-2022 NordstrandLaw.com Keep up with the latest changes in the laws affecting consumers and learn how to protect yourself at NordstrandLaw.com.
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L AW Y E R S F O R J U S T I C E
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
It’s Our Duty to Participate in the Census and Vote
2
Thoughts on a Future to Hope For
3
A Closer Look at Wrongful Death Claims
3
Minty Carrot Top Pesto
4
The Best Educational Tools to Help Students Succeed
and in partnership with The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. EduHam is a free digital program for students and their families that provides history lessons on the Founding Era of the United States. It also brings art into the mix — Miranda shows students how to create their own performance pieces based on primary source documents,
Student Tech Success
Kids these days face so many more distractions from academics than their parents did. It’s not as easy to focus on homework when TikTok, YouTube, and all sorts of video games beckon. Rather than being distracted by technology, students now have opportunities to engage with technology to help promote their learning. Here are three tools to help students at different age levels get the most from online learning.
which they can then share in the app. The program is geared toward students in sixth through 12th grade, though everyone is welcome to participate.
BEANSTALK
FIVEABLE
While Beanstalk is an online learning tool, the beauty of it is that the classes and videos aim to pull kids “out of the screen to do real-world physical activities.” These include science experiments, building projects, and more. Experienced teachers provide engaging lessons and learning tools, and many of them are free.
For high school students, the most looming challenges include the SAT and Advanced Placement (AP) exams that are so important for college. Enter Fiveable, the amazing free resource that houses thousands of livestreams, study guides, trivia games, and other resources for 15 AP subjects. Started by a former teacher, Fiveable is passionate about giving students the resources they’ll need to be successful now and into the future. With so many resources out there, students can use technology in plenty of ways to help them be successful. Here’s to a fall season full of learning!
EDUHAM
What better way to learn about the history of our nation than through one of the nation’s most popular musicals? “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda launched this learning platform in 2016 along with the show’s director
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