Legal Update

Venezuelan migrants who are applying for temporary legal status in the US say it offers some relief

MIAMI (AP) — After receiving death threats for openly opposing Venezuela’s socialist government, Víctor Macedo and his wife fled, staying for a time in Spain before coming to the US

For nearly two years, they have lived in Florida with the support of family and friends as they tried to build a better life for their two children.

They are among several hundred thousand Venezuelans living in the US whose lives could change now that President Joe Biden’s administration is offering them temporary legal status making it easier for them to get authorization to work in the US

“We have 18 months of peace of mind, without the fear of being deported. That is the greatest benefit, and the greatest fear,” said Macedo, 38, who dreams of opening a bakery like the one his father had in Venezuela. “We can now begin to earn income as God intended. We no longer depend on the relatives we have here.”

To qualify for Temporary Protected Status, Venezuelans must have arrived in the US by July 31. Meanwhile, the Biden administration also recently announced it would restart deportation flights to Venezuela for those without authorization to be in the US

Immigration experts and

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Legal Update

Talking Points: Should Minnesota become a sanctuary state for undocumented immigrants?

ST. PAUL — Should the North Star State join 11 other states around the county to provide sanctuary for immigrants lacking legal status? This legislative session, some lawmakers say passing the North Star Act is a top priority.

What would that mean for the estimated 95,000 undocumented people who call Minnesota home? Under the bill, law enforcement and other government agencies such as school districts and public health agencies cannot ask someone about their immigration status or help in civil immigration enforcement.

Read MORE: North Star Act aims to provide protections to immigrants

The furor over immigration has exploded as governors of the border states are sending busloads of migrants to sanctuary states like Colorado, Illinois and New York. In Minnesota, the state is divided.


Talking Points: Should Minnesota become a sanctuary state for undocumented immigrants? (part 1)

07:04

Currently, Hennepin and Ramsey counties are sanctuary communities. This status does not protect the undocumented who are arrested and charged with serious and violent crimes. It does, however, protect someone who is undocumented if they are pulled over for a minor traffic offense like a ticket.

Outside of these two counties, Esteban Rivera, an immigration attorney, says those undocumented people are

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Legal Update

Protesting new hit-and-run law, truckers dial down after talks with Home Secretary | India News

With the truck drivers’ nationwide protest against a new penal provision in hit-and-run cases triggering panic buying of fuel and essential items in several states, the Center on Tuesday stepped in, assuring transporters that a decision on enforcing the stringent provisions in such cases under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita will be taken only after consultation with the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC).

Following the assurance from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) at a meeting Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla held with the transporters, AIMTC member Amrik Singh said Tuesday evening that no strike call had been given by his union. “The drivers were protesting against the new provisions. After the meeting, the issue has been resolved,” he said.

Transporters’ associations across the country have been protesting for the past two days against provisions under the new code, as per which any driver who causes the death of a person by rash and negligent driving and flees from the spot will be jailed for up to 10 years and/or fined.

Truck drivers protesting at SP Ring Rd near Ahmedabad Baroda express way Truck drivers protesting at SP Ring Road near Ahmedabad Baroda Express Way. (Express Photo)

There was no specific provision for hit-and-run cases in the Indian Penal Code and action

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Legal Update

Legal updates for landlords: August 2023

Industry News James Wood 02/08/2023

Our Head of Policy James Wood explains more about recent legislative changes, including a new Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service and advance notice of a new version of the How to Rent guide.

While the Renters (Reform) Bill is likely to be the main legislation affecting the private rented sector over the next year, it is not the only change that landlords should be aware of.

As of this week, the Government has launched the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, and later in the year there will be new fire safety requirements for some HMO landlords and owners of blocks of flats.

Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service

This week, the Government launched the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service. This service replaces the Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes (HCPDS).

The new service allows tenants to access legal advice where they are at risk of losing their home. This advice can be provided once the tenant has evidence they are at risk of possession proceedings.

The legal advice can cover a range of including:

• repossession claims
• rent arrears
• issues with welfare benefits payments
• debt concerns
• repair and other problems with housing conditions

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Legal Update

UK Legal Update – July 2023 – Contracts and Commercial Law

Our round-up of recent and forthcoming developments in UK law
and practice for our international stakeholders.

Highlights

  • Beyond Brexit – what’s the latest on
    importing EU goods into the UK? What do The Windsor Framework and
    the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention mean? And where are we on the
    revocation of retained EU Law?


  • ESG – one of the defining issues of our
    time and at the top of our clients’ agenda across all sectors;
    we discuss mandatory climate-related disclosures and reporting
    standards, the UK’s 2023 Green Finance Strategy and measures to
    promote ethical practices in the workplace


  • Digital regulation – reforming UK data
    protection, strengthening cybersecurity and regulating AI


  • Employment Law – post-Brexit changes on
    business transfers, ethical workplace issues and reform of
    non-compete covenants


  • Competition and consumer protection –
    the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill, a tougher
    regulatory environment for consumer-facing businesses operating in
    the UK


  • UK cases round-up – the latest cases
    affecting UK-based commercial and M&A-related contracts


  • Preparing for the next Silicon Valley Bank UK
    Limited     – what happens when a lender fails to fund? And
    the end of Sterling LIBOR


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Legal Update

Minnesota DFL seeks to end Legal Marijuana Now’s major party status

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota’s DFL Party has officially challenged the status of the Legal Marijuana Now Party.

DFL officials filed a petition Tuesday with the Minnesota Supreme Court in the wake of LMNP filing what they believe are dubious certifications following two rejections by the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office.

A new law passed by the Democratic majority last legislative session requires these conditions to be met for major party status to be granted:

  • A party must have held a convention in 2022 “in all state congressional districts and at least 45 counties or legislative districts.”
  • A party had “an executive committee consisting of a chair and officers for each congressional district and at least 45 counties or legislative districts.”
  • A party had “obtained sufficient support from the voters in prior elections.”

DFL officials alleged LMNP, in its resubmitted status certification, claimed to have “implausibly” held 76 conventions in a single hour on June 8, 2023.

In the petition, the DFL also points to a Star Tribune article from last month about Krystal Gabel, a Colorado woman who said she was surprised to find out she was LMNP’s candidate on Minnesota’s presidential primary ballot.

RELATED: How Minnesota will embrace

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Legal Update

Uncertain and afraid: Florida’s immigrants grapple with a disrupted reality under new law

MIAMI (AP) — For many in Florida’s vast immigrant community, daily life in recent months has become one governed entirely by fear.

Some try to drive as little as possible and make fewer trips to the supermarket. Others no longer take their children to the park and worry about allowing them to attend school. Others are still hiding out — avoiding travel to other states, not getting regular medical check-ups, or closing their businesses and leaving town. And many are just on high alert — all because of a new immigration law Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in May.

One of the strictest in the nation, the law criminalized transporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status into the state, invalidated any US government identification they might have and blocked local governments from providing them with ID cards. Florida hospitals that accept Medicaid are now mandated to ask patients about immigration status and businesses employing 25 or more people must verify their workers’ legal status.

Other aspects of the law go into effect next year.

DeSantis, who is running for presidentsigned the bill in hopes of appealing to conservative voters and has criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for the

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Legal Update

Bill C-21: Liberal gun control bill becomes law

The federal Liberal government’s contentious gun control legislation Bill C-21 passed the Senate without changes on Thursday, becoming law on Friday.

The bill passed the House of Commons in May after months of division and political acrimony. The version that made it to the Senate was significantly expanded from what the federal government had initially tabled a year ago.

Bill C-21 passed by a vote of 60 to 24and with applause in the upper chamber.

The legislation includes measures to:

  • Tighten gun laws to include “red flag” and “yellow flag” provisions relating to a gun owner posing a risk to themselves or others;

  • Impose a “freeze” on the sale, purchase or transfer of handguns in Canada;

  • A prospective Criminal Code “technical definition” of what constitutes a prohibited assault-style firearm, meant to “cement in law” a permanent ban on future models once the bill comes into force;

  • A series of provisions meant to make it illegal to make or buy ghost guns and to combat firearms smuggling; and

  • Wording makes clear the government’s intent to uphold Indigenous treaty rights.

The bill also includes a requirement for a parliamentary review of the technical definition five

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Legal Update

In-House Lawyers Contract Law update: April 2023

If there’s an overarching theme one can derive from these cases, it’s the importance (again!) of spelling out in clear and unambiguous language the key elements of the commercial deal.  Vague concepts like “good faith” are unlikely to get you very far, and it is extremely hard to imply key commercial terms when the express contract is silent on an issue. 

While all of this reiterates the need for precise and clear-headed drafting, it does not mean we should weigh our contracts down with long and convoluted provisions spelling out each and every possibility and drafting accordingly. Pragmatism and commerciality remain evident too.  In this, we are comforted by Lord Leggatt’s wise words in Barton v Morris: “life is too short to negotiate contract terms designed to cover every contingency that may occur”.  Quite…

Barton v Morris: when staying silent costs millions

Background

On 25 January 2023, the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Barton & Others v Morris and another in place of Gwyn Jones (deceased).

While the majority decision is broadly in line with the prevailing approach taken by the courts to date in respect of contractual interpretation, ie they will be reluctant to interfere

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Legal Update

What to expect from Trump’s trials and court cases in 2024

The past year saw Donald Trump on trial twice, predicted four times and hit with a multimillion-dollar civil verdict while also fighting off other legal challenges and running for president; his 2024 court calendar could be even more chaotic.

The former president faces up to five separate trials in the new year and verdicts in two civil cases that could cost him and his business hundreds of millions of dollars. In the four criminal cases, he faces 91 felony counts, including some on charges that carry maximum prison terms of 20 years.

Only one of the impending trial dates appears to be set in stone: that of the civil damages trial in a defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, which is scheduled to start Jan. 16. That’s one day after the Iowa caucuses, in which Trump is leading in the polls and has predicted an “epic landslide” victory.

The trial dates for the four pending criminal cases are all in flux thanks to Trump appeals and efforts to delay them until after the election, but it’s possible he could stand trial as early as March in either the federal election interference case in Washington, DC, or the Manhattan

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