The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

The Constitution of the United States guarantees the citizens of this country certain rights. Police brutality violates those rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The police are obligated to treat everyone with dignity and respect and to honor your rights under the Constitution. You have the right to be free from the use of excessive force and cruel and unusual punishment even if you broke the law.

It is apparent that too many Latinos are put at risk everyday of their liberties and in some cases their lives, because of police brutality. The Latino community is a population that suffers a disproportionate number of instances of police brutality.

Although the use of reasonable force by the police in certain circumstances is necessary and understandable for the protection of innocent citizens, there are well documented cases of police abusing their authority and causing harm to undeserving citizenry. Police brutality can take many forms, such as racial profiling, false arrest, sexual harassment, intimidation and corruption. The majority of incidents of police brutality go unreported and therefore undocumented.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of police brutality, please contact the Latino Section of The Cochran Firm with offices nationwide today to schedule a private consultation at no cost to you to learn what you can do to protect your legal rights and the legal rights of those you love.

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If you are dealing with broken plumbing, heating, or other unsafe building conditions in your rented apartment building or rented house and are being ignored by your landlord, help is on the way.

Problems with leaky roofs, and malfunctioning heating systems or water heaters are the responsibility of the landlord. If your concerns about your living conditions are being ignored, there are legal actions you can take to make things better. Your landlord must make necessary repairs to make your living conditions meet local housing codes and to ensure the premises are safe. In a landlord/tenant dispute, the law is on your side. There are legal rights that protect tenants from being exploited by their landlords and it is important that you know what those legal rights are and you take advantage of the full protection of the law.

Headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana, but connected to a nationwide network of attorneys, the Latino Section of The Cochran Firm is ready to help the victims of oppression across this country, standing by our commitment to uphold civil rights for all. The Cochran Firm Latino Section is dedicated to ensuring equal treatment under the law for all.

If you have attempted to resolve a landlord/tenant dispute with no results, please contacto the experienced landlord-tenant dispute attorneys with offices nationwide at el Bufete de Abogados Cochran today to schedule a no cost to you consultation to learn how to solve your problem quickly and successfully.

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Wage and hour disputes take place daily nationwide involving employees and employers who are either unfamiliar with or do not adhere to Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) standards and regulations.

Although wage and hour disputes are complex, the law puts the responsibility on employers to ensure their workers are fully compensated under the law. The most frequent violations include failure to pay overtime, denial of meal or rest breaks, minimum wage violations and failing to pay on time.

All workers, with very few exceptions, are entitled to the current minimum wage, an uninterrupted, unpaid meal break of at least thirty minutes during an eight hour work period and two uninterrupted, paid, ten minute rest breaks for every four hours worked. Thousands of employees have lost wages due to unpaid overtime, unpaid meal breaks and for being coerced to work "off the clock" through intimidation and threats.

Laws are designed to protect workers' rights and The Cochran Firm's Latino Section is experienced in handling wage and hour violations, and has the expertise to make sure unscrupulous employers are held legally accountable for their violations of federal law. The Cochran Firm takes pride in taking on those who would abuse workers in the Latino community and stands up for the rights of laborers who are not treated fairly.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of wage and hour law violations, please contact the Latino Section of The Cochran Firm, with offices nationwide today to learn how you can protect your legal rights.

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Your immigration needs are very important to you and your family. It is vital you obtain the highest quality representation and legal advice in all fields of immigration law.

Clear and hones communication is essential in immigration matter, but it is easy to make mistakes on employment visas or family visa applications. The Department of Homeland Security often issues new guidelines for entering the United States and it is difficult for you to know when changes occur. An immigration law attorney can assist you with these complex issues.

The Latino section of The Cochran Firm has attorneys with special knowledge in Immigration Law. The Latino section of The Cochran Firm is headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and is accessible nationwide to handle all your Immigration Law needs.

If you are experiencing difficulty dealing with Immigration laws anywhere in the country, please contact the Latino Section of The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential consultation at no cost to you with our nationwide network of experienced attorneys.

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In early September 2009, CNN posted an article detailing the racial discrimination against Latinos in Suffolk County. The report is a part of a running series called, "Latino in America," where CNN discusses the state of the Latino population in the USA. This particular report raised some alarming issues about the current status of racism in the USA today.

The impetus for this report was the murder of an Ecuadorian immigrant named Marcelo Lucero. As the article says, "Prosecutors allege that the killers were a group of teenagers who targeted Latinos as part of a sport they called 'beaner-hopping.'" The FBI also claims that hate crimes against Latinos rose 40% between 2004 and 2007 nationwide. Two different county officials were also quoted in the article saying hateful things and threatening violence against gatherings of Latin people.

While the above claims are disturbing enough, it is unsettling that all of these things happened in one county in the USA. While this country has made great strides in eliminating racial intolerance, racism still exists in this country today, as shown in the FBI statistic.

Racial discrimination is not only morally wrong, but it can also be illegal. If you or a loved one has been the victim of racial discrimination or gender discrimination, please contact the Cochran Firm today. We will fight for your rights and get you the judgment that you deserve.

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Federal and state anti-discrimination laws prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on race, color, religion, age, gender or disability.

Still, low income Latinos are discriminated against routinely nationwide with millions of Spanish-speaking immigrants living their lives unprotected by the law. Latinos are cheated out of wages, denied basic healthcare coverage and are victims of racial profiling.

In a survey, over 40% of Latinos said they experienced theft of their wages by their employers, another 40% reported unfair treatment by police and over 70% of Latino women experienced sexual harassment by superiors, who used their immigrant status against them. In addition, Latinos are often passed over for promotions despite their qualifications and long term employment.

The Latino section of The Cochran Firm has attorneys with special skill and knowledge in Civil Rights, Immigration Law, Class Action and Personal Injury cases. Headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana with offices in Atlanta, Georgia, the Cochran Firm-Latino Section is accessible nationwide to handle the legal needs of the Latino community.

If you have experienced employment discrimination anywhere in this country, please contact the Latino Section of The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential consultation, at no cost to you with our nationwide network of experienced anti-discrimination attorneys to protect your legal rights and get the representation you are entitled to in your fight for justice.

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