Hochul, lawmakers fail to reach compromise on wrongful death expansion–The Buffalo News

• Chris Bragg

ALBANY – Ahead of a midnight deadline, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature appeared highly unlikely to reach a compromise on the Grieving Families Act, a bill that would have allowed families that have lost a loved one due to misconduct to sue for “emotional” losses.

Among the proponents of the bill were families of the 10 victims of the racist mass shooting at a Tops Markets store on Jefferson Avenue in May.

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The Grieving Families Act would have allowed families to also seek damages for emotional loss. Proponents also say the current system discriminates against low-income people of color and does not account for nontraditional family structures. For instance, a longtime unmarried partner of a wrongful death victim does not currently have standing to sue. 

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CAN ILLINOIS’S ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN SURVIVE SCORES OF ROGUE SHERIFFS?–Vanity Fair

BY ERIC LUTZ

But the law, signed by Governor JB Pritzker on January 10, is facing not only the inevitable barrage of legal challenges that always spring up in response to gun control measures—it’s being undermined by the very officials tasked with enforcing it. More than 90 sheriffs in a state of 102 counties have vowed to defy the Protect Illinois Communities Act, claiming in nearly identical statements—based on a template drafted by Jim Kaitschuk, executive director of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association—that the law is unconstitutional. “The right to keep and bear arms for defense of life, liberty, and property is regarded as an inalienable right by the people,” read one iteration of the statement, issued by Sheriff James Mendrick of DuPage County, the most populous county to join the protest. “Neither myself nor my office will be checking to ensure that lawful gun owners register their weapons with the State, nor will we be arresting or housing law-abiding individuals that have been arrested solely for non-compliance of this Act.”

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While the sheer extent of the resistance may seem remarkable, its animating spirit is nothing new. As Mary McCord, executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, told me, adherents of the fringe sovereign-sheriffs movement have long held that sheriffs are the supreme legal authorities in their jurisdictions, with more power than state or federal authorities. The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a far-right sovereign-sheriffs group founded by former Oath Keepers board member Richard Mack, has expressed support for the insurgent sheriffs. Another group associated with the movement— Protect America Now, founded by Arizona sheriff Mark Lamb, a proponent of Trump’s election lies—counts at least three Illinois sheriffs as members: Ogle County sheriff Brian VanVickle, Logan County sheriff Mark Landers, and Livingston County sheriff Tony Childress. 

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A story that deserves more attention than it is getting–Today’s Edition Newsletter–Robert B. Hubbell

Professor Timothy Snyder of Yale has published a comprehensive explanation of the situation on his Substack blog, Timothy Snyder, Thinking About, ­­­­­­The Specter of 2016. Here is a key paragraph that summarizes the connections between McGonigal and the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska:

The reporting on this so far seems to miss the larger implications. One of them is that Trump’s historical position looks far cloudier. In 2016, Trump’s campaign manager (Manafort) was a former employee of a Russian oligarch (Deripaska), and owed money to that same Russian oligarch.  And the FBI special agent (McGonigal) who was charged with investigating the Trump campaign’s Russian connections then went to work (according to the indictment) for that very same Russian oligarch (Deripaska).  This is obviously very bad for Trump personally.  But it is also very bad for FBI New York, for the FBI generally, and for the United’States of America. 

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U.S. Federal Judge Denies Motion to Suppress Jan. 6 Location Data–LAWFARE

By Avery Schmitz

On Tuesday, a federal judge denied a motion to suppress Google Location History data obtained by the U.S. government with a “geofence” warrant in furtherance of charges levied against David Charles Rhine for his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. capitol. 

While Rhine claimed that a 4th amendment violation invalidated the warrant, the Court noted that even if the use of location data was deemed unconstitutional, a good faith exception would have been applied to allow the evidence at trial. Judge Rudolph Contreras dismissed the challenge, ruling that the unusual circumstances of the Jan. 6 attack criminally implicated virtually anybody within the determined 5-acre geofence between 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m on Jan. 6.

According to the opinion, the geofence warrant has provided the Department of Justice with data on just over 5,700 devices. Geofence warrants allow prosecutors to distinguish people whose identities are unknown but whose locations implicate them in an illegal act. The Justice Department has expressed interest in obtaining more comprehensive information on the activities of 1,498 of these users.

You can read the opinion here …

Sexual Harassment Policy for All Employers in New York State–NYSDOL

This model policy is a template that can be used by employers to meet the New York State Labor Law requirements for a sexual harassment prevention policy. Employers are encouraged to tailor this policy to their individual needs, though as the minimum standard, no section in this policy should be omitted. The list of examples provided in this model policy is not meant to be exhaustive.

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Link to NYSDOL Model Policy

DOJ Accuses FBI Official Of Concealing Massive Cash Payments From Foreign Gov’t

By Josh Kovensky

The same FBI official accused of illegally working for a Russian oligarch also faces charges of concealing a $225,000 payment while he was working for the bureau, court papers say.

Per a Jan. 18 indictment, a D.C. federal grand jury charged Charles McGonigal, a former special agent in charge of the counterintelligence division at the FBI’s New York City field office, with nine counts relating to a scheme in which he allegedly took hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from a former foreign intelligence official.

The indictment does not specify whether McGonigal did anything specifically in exchange for the money — he faces charges of concealment, false statements, and falsifying official records.

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Universities offered software to sniff out ChatGPT-written essays–The Register

Teachers hopefully get their hands on the tool within months

Katyanna Quach

Turnitin, best known for its anti-plagiarism software used by tens of thousands of universities and schools around the world, is building a tool to detect text generated by AI.

Large language models have gained traction since the commercial release of OpenAI’s GPT-3 in 2020. Now multiple companies have built their own rival machine learning systems, kickstarting a new wave of startups developing products powered by generative AI. These models operate like general-purpose chatbots. Users type instructions, and they will respond with passages of coherent, convincing text.

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Turnitin’s VP of AI, Eric Wang, said there are obvious patterns in AI writing that computers can detect. “Even though it feels human-like to us, [machines write using] a fundamentally different mechanism. It’s picking the most probable word in the most probable location, and that’s a very different way of constructing language [compared] to you and I,” he told The Register.

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Should lawyers embrace or fear ChatGPT?–Legal Rebels Podcast

By Victor Li

For some academics, researching, writing, editing and publishing a scholarly piece of work can take months, if not years, of painstaking effort, diligent commitment and rage-inducing frustration. In December, Andrew Perlman, the dean of the Suffolk University Law School and the inaugural chair of the governing council of the ABA Center for Innovation, authored one in less time than it takes to watch an episode of the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon.

To be fair, Perlman had some help. Released Nov. 30, ChatGPT, a chatbot created by OpenAI and “is fine-tuned from a model in the GPT-3.5 series,” has made waves in a short amount of time for how responsive, sophisticated and realistic it is. ChatGPT can write a Shakespearean-style sonnet about whatever theme a user chooses, tell jokes and answer questions.

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In this episode of the Legal Rebels Podcast, Perlman spoke with the ABA Journal’s Victor Li about the possibilities of ChatGPT to bridge the access to justice gap, help lawyers work more efficiently, and change the way that students learn about the law. He also talked about potential pitfalls and what ChatGPT users should be careful of.

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ABA Journal: Legal Rebels

Should lawyers embrace or fear ChatGPT?

 

 

Federal judge sanctions Trump, attorneys over $900,000 for ‘a continuing pattern of misuse of the courts’ — The Hill

BY JULIA MUELLER

A federal judge in Florida on Thursday sanctioned former President Trump and his legal team more than $900,000 for what he characterized as a “continuing pattern” of misusing the court to pursue political interests in response to a “frivolous” case against former senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 

“This case should never have been brought. Its inadequacy as a legal claim was evident from the start. No reasonable lawyer would have filed it. Intended for a political purpose, none of the counts of the amended complaint stated a cognizable legal claim,” U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks, an appointee of former President Clinton, wrote in the order. The case at hand had previously been dismissed. 

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Supreme Court issues report on Dobbs leak–CNN

By CNN staff

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The Supreme Court issued an investigative report on Thursday, announcing that it has yet to determine who leaked a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade to the media last year, but at least 90 people had access to the document at one point.

In a statement, the court said that the investigative team “has to date been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence.” It is also unlikely the leak resulted from a computer hack, the statement said.

Investigators said they conducted 126 formal interviews of 97 employees, all of whom denied disclosing the opinion. They also conducted a fingerprint analysis, “looked closely into any connections between employees and reporters,” and “especially scrutinized any contacts with anyone associated with Politico.”

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Read the report…