Definitions:
“Providers” means and includes DefenseMap.com and Defense Map, Inc. and all their volunteers, funders, donors, agents, principals, owners, employees, and anyone else acting on their behalf in connection with any of the services and purposes described in these Terms.
“Users” means and includes anyone (professional, client or other lay person, company, or other person or entity) making any use whatsoever of DefenseMap.com, any Defense Map, or any service of any kind provided by DefenseMap.com or Defense Map, Inc. or any statement of any kind in connection with such service.
“Parties” means and includes all Providers and all Users.
Agreement as to these binding Terms of Use: It is agreed that any use whatsoever of DefenseMap.com or a Defense Map (including any entry of any information on DefenseMap.com, reading of any information on or from that website or a Defense Map, any receipt of any information from a Provider, any use of a Helpline or similar tool, or correspondence of any sort) constitutes acceptance of these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use are binding on all Providers and Users. No deviation, exception, or other departure of any kind from these Terms of Use may be inferred or claimed without the written agreement of DefenseMap.com and Defense Map, Inc. specifically reciting, adopting, and agreeing to such deviation, exception, or other departure and expressly citing the specific portion or portions of these Terms affected.
Purpose: The purpose of DefenseMap.com is aid in better legal and personal outcomes for accused persons. It provides this aid by assisting those persons in supplying information about themselves and their cases and organizing that information into Defense Maps so that they, their attorneys, and others helping them may have the benefit of a fuller picture of the relevant facts in their lives and cases. It is entirely the responsibility of anyone using DefenseMap.com to provide information in ways that will serve their best interests.
Costs: Providers have created DefenseMap.com as a service to the public and do not charge for its use. Persons accused of a crime or delinquency act will all have free access to DefenseMap.com.
No professional relationship, advice, or services: It is specifically agreed that there is never a professional relationship of any kind between any Provider and any User. It is further agreed:
That the determination of legal issues and the handling of those issues can come only from individual Users’ own decisions and those of the attorneys and others they have direct relationships with, not from any Provider.
That while a Defense Map may be a part of good attorney-client communication, no collection of generic questions can be the totality of what attorneys and clients should discuss, and thorough follow-up communication in an actual professional relationship is always required.
That nothing supplied or said by any Provider, whether in a Defense Map or elsewhere, constitutes advice or professional services of any kind.
Freedom from, and waiver of, liabilities.
All Users and Providers agree that the availability of this free resource depends on their mutual protection from legal liability. To protect that availability and the protection from legal liability it requires, all Users and Providers agree as follows.
Freedom from User liability: Users will have no liability to Providers for any legal use of any kind of DefenseMap.com, any Defense Map, or any service of Defense Map, Inc., and any claim of such liability is hereby waived.
Freedom from Provider liability: In consideration of the availability to Users of this free resource and these Terms of Use, it is agreed there will never be any liability on the part of any of the Providers related in any way to any person’s or any organization’s use of DefenseMap.com, a Defense Map, anything else afforded by any of the Providers, or any other act or omission of any Provider in connection with the website or activities described in these Terms of Use. No damages of any kind, whether contractual, consequential, punitive, exemplary, or otherwise, will be recoverable from any of the Providers for any act or omission connected with these services, any Defense Map, or any information on DefenseMap.com or otherwise supplied, including through any Helpline or telephonic or electronic communication. Any claim of such liability against any Provider is specifically waived.
Freedom from third-party or government liability: It is agreed that a significant degree of the availability of DefenseMap.com depends on the cooperation of government institutions, offices, and agencies, including jails, prisons, youth centers, and other detention facilities and their supervising offices, departments, commissions, agents and employees. It is, therefore, expressly agreed that all such government entities and persons are intended by these Terms to be protected from any liability whatsoever for allowing access to DefenseMap.com and any acts or omissions whatsoever connected with anyone’s use of DefenseMap.com. It is agreed that those government entities and persons are intended beneficiaries of these Terms of Use. In consideration of the availability to Users of this free resource and the other Terms herein, it is agreed there is no liability on the part of, and no right of anyone to bring or recover on a claim against, any federal, state, or local authority, or anyone acting on behalf of any of them, in any way connected with their allowing access to or use of DefenseMap.com in a detention or correctional facility, liability on such claims being hereby forbidden and expressly waived.
Freedom from class actions: No class action of any kind may be brought against any Users or groups of users, any of the Providers, or any government entity or employee related in any way to anyone’s use of DefenseMap.com, a Defense Map, or anything on either of them or for any act or omission in connection with any of the services or products described in these Terms of Use.
Privacy statement: Providers do not intentionally share information with third parties about Users, including their identities, physical addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, or any other information provided by them in opening or using an account or submitting information on DefenseMap.com. Users may check the FAQs, Helpline, or Contact link for current information on the security and confidentiality protections used.
No liability for loss of information or confidentiality: It is specifically agreed that no security measures or apparatus can be made absolutely foolproof and that there cannot be a guarantee of no loss, compromise, or breach of confidential material. All Users agree to use their best efforts to protect the confidentiality of their information. In their sole judgment, Providers will use a combination of measures to protect the privacy and confidentiality of Users’ information. It is specifically agreed that there is no liability, and will be no liability, on the part of Providers for any loss, theft, breach, or misuse of any information supplied to or through it or any acts or omissions of any Provider in any way connected to the security of any information suppled to DefenseMap.com. Any claim for such liability is hereby expressly waived. Any claim about the handling of confidential information will be covered and bound by these Terms of Use, including those regarding protection from liability, applicable law, legal claims and arbitration, and venue.
Attorney fees and other costs: All Users of DefenseMap.com agree to pay, and will be legally responsible to pay, all reasonable attorney fees and all other costs and losses of any sort to any of the Providers incurred in defending a claim disallowed or waived by these Terms of Use.
Applicable law: It is agreed that Indiana law (a) governs the rights of all Providers and Users on any matters connected to these Terms of Use and (b) will apply to and determine any disputes, controversies, and legal claims related to any matter covered by or in any way related to these Terms.
Legal claims and binding arbitration: All Parties agree that any legal claim between them will be resolved by binding arbitration. Unless agreed in writing to the contrary, arbitration will be conducted (a) by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and (b) within 50 miles of Indianapolis, Indiana. Any party bringing a claim against any of the Providers will be responsible for its own costs and attorney fees, as well as the reasonable attorney fees and costs of any of the Providers. Arbitration fees will be divided half to Providers and half to any person(s), User(s), or others making a claim or defense against any of the Providers.
Settled jurisdiction of any lawsuit: Without waiving the requirement that any legal claim related to the use of DefenseMap.com or these Terms of Use must be resolved by binding arbitration, all parties agree that any lawsuit involving any of them or in any way related to the services described in these Terms of Use must be brought in a court of general jurisdiction in Marion County, Indiana. Any person or entity bringing a claim against any Provider will owe all reasonable attorney fees and costs recited above regarding “Attorney fees and other costs.”
Severability of terms/No waiver of rights: If any part of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining Terms will remain in effect and enforceable. No Provider’s failure to enforce any of its rights under this agreement will be considered or construed as a waiver of those or any other rights.
Entirety of agreement: These Terms of Use constitute the entirety of the agreement between any and all Providers and Users.