Hour 1
Reflections on Jurisdiction
Question: You are floating in a raft on the high seas away from any national borders. Who has jurisdiction over you?
Question: What if you, an American, hurt a protected jellyfish on the shores of Brazil?
Post roads
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_road
Interstate Highway System
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System
In rem jurisdiction is the gotcha, even if the federal government respects your corrected status. In personam is only half of jurisdiction game.
As a lawyer how difficult was it to defend a ‘sovereign citizen’ accused of a crime?
https://www.quora.com/As-a-lawyer-how-difficult-was-it-to-defend-a-sovereign-citizen-accused-of-a-crime
2021 Emoji Law Year-in-Review
Emoji variations expose fabricated evidence.
https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2022/01/2021-emoji-law-year-in-review.htm
Easily the most significant emoji law ruling of the year. A plaintiff presented evidence that she claimed was from her iPhone 5 (which can only run up to iOS10), but actual emoji symbol depicted in the evidence was only available on iOS13 or higher. The court says simply: “This image is a fabrication.” Kudos to the defense team for their strong emoji forensics work.
Law Offices of David Freyd v. Chamara, No. 18-3216 (7th Cir. 2022)
In 2017, Freydin, a Chicago lawyer, posed a question on Facebook: “Did Trump put Ukraine on the travel ban list?! We just cannot find a cleaning lady!” After receiving online criticism for the comment, Freydin doubled down. People angered by Freydin’s comments went to his law firm’s Facebook, Yelp, and Google pages and left reviews that expressed their negative views of Freydin.
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca7/18-3216/18-3216-2022-01-28.html
You have the right to a public lawyer, when you are arrested (if you can’t afford one). But what, if you haven’t been arrested and you’re just interrogated by the police? Can you say ‘I want to speak to my lawyer’, since you don’t have one yet?
In the US, the police do not need to provide you with an attorney when you ask them to. They do need to stop any custodial questioning.
https://www.quora.com/You-have-the-right-to-a-public-lawyer-when-you-are-arrested-if-you-cant-afford-one-But-what-if-you-havent-been-arrested-and-youre-just-interrogated-by-the-police-Can-you-say-I-want-to-speak-to-my-lawyer-since-you/answer/Cliff-G-13
Your actual right to have an attorney present is not triggered until your first appearance in court — typically an arraignment proceeding, and likely a public defender there to run the docket with little specific knowledge of your case.
Don’t Talk to the Police
Hour 2
Foreclosures Stats and a surprise
To understand the foreclosure landscape we can get some insight at: https://www.foreclosure.com/
Today, Feb. 2, 2022 at 8-32 AM we see:
In a four- month period, bankruptcies went from 18,558 (this snag) to 272,711 (see first snag). This is a 15-fold increase in bankruptcies in 4 months.
Last Minute Relief for Foreclosed and Struggling Homeowners Now Filing Their Taxes
This is a solid explanation from March 2018. The program is still in effect.
https://library.nclc.org/last-minute-relief-foreclosed-and-struggling-homeowners-now-filing-their-taxes
Mortgage Debt Forgiveness & The Mortgage Debt Relief Act
https://www.debt.org/advice/relief-options/mortgage-debt-relief/
Home Foreclosure and Debt Cancellation
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/home-foreclosure-and-debt-cancellation
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy in the United States
In the United States, bankruptcy is largely governed by federal law, commonly referred to as the “Bankruptcy Code” (“Code”).[1] The United States Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4) authorizes Congress to enact “uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States”. Congress has exercised this authority several times since 1801, including through adoption of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, as amended, codified in Title 11 of the United States Code and the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy_in_the_United_States
Caselaw
Hare v. Mack
. . . exclusive federal jurisdiction attached when the deputized DEA agents took possession of the property and no state court had prior in rem jurisdiction. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court.
https://law.justia.com/cases/alabama/supreme-court/2022/1200562.html
TitleMax of Delaware Inc v. Weissmann
Applying the Pennsylvania statutes [in Delaware] to TitleMax does not violate the extraterritoriality principle. TitleMax receives payments from within Pennsylvania and maintains an actionable security interest in vehicles located in Pennsylvania; its conduct is not “wholly outside” of Pennsylvania. The laws do not discriminate between in-staters and out-of-staters. Pennsylvania has a strong interest in prohibiting usury. Applying Pennsylvania’s usury laws to TitleMax’s loans furthers that interest and any resulting burden on interstate commerce is, at most, incidental.
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca3/21-1020/21-1020-2022-01-24.html
Johnson v. Baker
The plain language of RLUIPA prohibits courts from evaluating the centrality of a religious practice or belief, 42 U.S.C. 2000cc-5(7)(A); a court can only scrutinize the sincerity of the prisoner’s beliefs. The court, therefore, rejected assertions that scented oil was not “really that important” to the plaintiff’s worship practice or that plaintiff needed to point to textual support or oral history proving that the Prophet Mohammad used scented oil in prayer.
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/20-17202/20-17202-2022-01-26.html
New Student Loan Discharges, Restitution, and Payment Pause Extension
On January 13, 2022, thirty-nine state attorneys general announced that Navient, one of the nation’s largest student loan servicers and an originator of private student loans, will provide relief totaling approximately $1.85 billion to private and federal student loan borrowers and to the state attorneys general. The settlement will resolve allegations of Navient’s widespread unfair and deceptive federal student loan servicing practices and abuses in its origination of predatory private student loans.
https://library.nclc.org/new-student-loan-discharges-restitution-and-payment-pause-extension
Sarchi v. Uber Technologies, Inc.
In November 2016, Uber sent Sarchi and other registered riders an email notifying them of updates to the arbitration provision and providing a hyperlink to the updated Terms. Rather than requiring the user expressly to signify assent to the updated Terms, Uber’s email stated that continued use of Uber constituted the user’s agreement to the updated Terms. The updated language read as follows . . .
https://law.justia.com/cases/maine/supreme-court/2022/2022-me-8.html
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Music Credits
Kenny Rogers – The Gambler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hx4gdlfamo
Mötley Crüe – Smokin In The Boys Room
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oVBvxA0mm0
Napoleon XIV: ‘They’re coming to take me away’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnzHtm1jhL4
Tennessee Ernie Ford – 16 Tons
https://youtu.be/RRh0QiXyZSk
Janis Joplin-Mercedes Benz(original)
https://youtu.be/Qev-i9-VKlY
Lana Del Rey – Pawn Shop Blues
https://youtu.be/56JBatEumGo
Mason Proffit: Two Hangmen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC3yZdG_2Bc
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