Corinna K. Hamilton, Esq.

07/14/2024

To the Citizens of the State of Florida:

Reminder that Florida is a closed primary state so be sure to change party affiliation to be able to vote for those representatives that share your ideals in the primary election. Mark these dates in your calendar.

- Deadline to register or change party affiliation for 2024 Primary Election: July 22, 2024
- U.S. Senate/HOR and Florida Senate/HOR Primary Election: August 20, 2024
- Deadline to register for 2024 General Election: October 7, 2024
- 2024 U.S. and Florida General Election: November 5, 2024

06/28/2024

On June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1984 landmark law precedent, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. In short, Chevron instructs courts to defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute. It has become the most-cited administrative law decision ever, shaping judicial review of administrative actions.

Just yesterday, the majority struck down the ability of agencies to enforce their rules via in-house tribunals before technical-expert administrative judges. Instead, it ruled, agencies must sue accused malefactors in federal court before juries.

"Today’s decision is an important course correction that will help create a more predictable and stable regulatory environment," said U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark. "The Supreme Court’s previous deference rule allowed each new presidential administration to advance their political agendas through flip-flopping regulations and not provide consistent rules of the road for businesses to navigate, plan, and invest in the future."

The Supreme Court revisited Chevron in two companion cases—Relentless v. Department of Commerce and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.

02/13/2024

I have been following this for a while as I learn more about cryptocurrencies. This is indeed a very messy case and is seriously lacking in media coverage.

“The COPA v. Wright case is more than a legal battle over copyright claims and the identity of bitcoin's creator. The result of this case could redefine the future of governance, intellectual property rights, and the legacy of bitcoin itself.”

At the heart of the case is Wright's contentious claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of bitcoin.

01/18/2024

During three and a half hours of lively oral arguments today, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared inclined to limit or even overturn a foundational doctrine of administrative law that has empowered executive agencies for several decades.

The doctrine, called Chevron deference, has required judges since 1984 to defer to government agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes.

Supporters of the doctrine say it allows specialized agencies to fill in gaps in ambiguous statutes to establish uniform rules in their areas of expertise, a practice they say was contemplated by Congress.

Its opponents, including business groups hostile to what they see as overregulation, counter that it is the role of courts, not executive branch officials, to determine the meanings of statutes. They also say that agencies’ interpretations can change with new administrations and put a thumb on the scale in favor of the government even when it is a party to the case.

The Supreme Court considered whether to overrule the seminal 1984 Chevron decision, which requires judges to defer to agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutes.

01/15/2024

“During the time I’ve been given to share my testimony here, I think it’s important to note before I start that in these five minutes I’ll be speaking that somebody in the United States will die of a drug overdose, and it is almost a 72% chance that during those five minutes, it will be fentanyl-related,” the singer, whose real name is Jason DeFord, said at the Senate’s Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

The rocker urged lawmakers to pass the FEND Off Fentanyl Act.

12/28/2023

The lawsuit filed Wednesday cited examples of OpenAI’s GPT-4 spitting out large portions of news articles from the Times, including a Pulitzer-Prize winning investigation into New York City’s taxi industry that took 18 months to complete. It also cited outputs from Bing Chat — now called Copilot — that included verbatim excerpts from Times articles.

The Times said OpenAI and Microsoft are advancing their technology through the “unlawful use of The Times’s work to create artificial intelligence products that compete with it.”

12/19/2023

Former President Donald J. Trump is ineligible to hold office again, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, accepting the argument that the 14th Amendment disqualifies him in an explosive decision that could upend the 2024 election.

In a lengthy ruling ordering the Colorado secretary of state to exclude Mr. Trump from the state’s Republican primary ballot, the justices reversed a Denver district judge’s finding last month that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — which disqualifies people who have engaged in insurrection against the Constitution after having taken an oath to support it from holding office — did not apply to the presidency.

Mr. Trump is expected to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Tuesday’s ruling applies only to Colorado, but if the Supreme Court were to affirm it, he could be disqualified more broadly. The Colorado Supreme Court stayed its ruling until Jan. 4, 2024, to allow time for appeals.

It’s the first court to find that the disqualification clause of the 14th Amendment applies to Mr. Trump, in addition to affirming that he engaged in insurrection.

10/20/2023

The bill, spearheaded by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), comes amid heightened scrutiny over the Supreme Court following reporting from ProPublica that several justices, who enjoy lifetime positions, have accepted large gifts from Republican donors without disclosing them.

But the proposal is unlikely to gain traction in the Senate, where Republicans have opposed Democratic-led legislative efforts to address ethical lapses and misconduct at the high court.

Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a hallway interview last month that there has been “no indication” from Republicans, whose votes are needed for bills to move forward in the narrowly divided chamber, that they are interested in legislating in this area.

Senate Democrats detailed long-shot legislation Thursday that would the cap the number of years Supreme Court justices may regularly hear cases, part of a broader effort to rein in the conservative court.

10/17/2023

😂

09/28/2023

I’m seeing more and more individuals talk about “rental arbitrage” in attempts to get a leg up in this current real estate market. In recent weeks, I have seen some even boast of holding 60+ arbitrage properties.

In the simplest of terms, rental arbitrage can be described as one word – subleasing, which is the practice of renting property from a landlord, usually for a term of 1 or more years, then furnishing and decorating the property before listing it as a vacation rental on Airbnb, VRBO, or some other short term rental website for maximum profit.

Seems like a win-win, as long as everyone gets paid… right? Not always.

If you are a landlord in this environment, you need to be aware of this increasingly common practice and make sure, whether or not you are pro-arbitrage, to tailor your lease agreement tightly in order to avoid liability issues and costly legal disputes that can, and frequently do, arise.

If you are looking to start a rental arbitrage business, it can be very lucrative, although you should be aware that there are very real risks involved. Prior to entering any contract, educate yourself about all of those potential risks, as well as the legal intricacies, such as licensing and tax requirements and city ordinances you may need to comply with. Keep in mind how important property and liability insurance are, and evaluate whether other security or protection measures should be taken to keep guests safe.

Importantly, if you’re interested in rental arbitrage, seek advice from professionals who know the ins and outs of negotiating contracts and legally running this type of business. Be sure to call your lawyer and accountant!

Can you build an Airbnb property empire from flats you don't own? According to rent-to-rent influencers, yes.

09/27/2023

The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Tuesday, accusing the company of illegally maintaining its monopoly power "to inflate prices, degrade quality, and stifle innovation for consumers and businesses."

The FTC's lawsuit focuses on alleged practices undertaken by Amazon that the agency says result in higher prices for consumers.

For instance, Amazon allegedly punishes sellers on its platform that offer products at discounted rates elsewhere online. By placing such sellers in an inferior position in potential customers' search results, Amazon can render them "effectively invisible," the FTC said.

Further, the company allegedly makes products' eligibility for availability on Prime contingent upon vendors using Amazon's expensive fulfillment service, the FTC said. "This unlawful coercion has in turn limited competitors' ability to effectively compete against Amazon," the FTC added.

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Amazon accusing the company of illegally maintaining monopoly power.

09/27/2023

A New York judge ruled on Tuesday that Donald J. Trump persistently committed fraud by inflating the value of his assets, and stripped the former president of control over some of his signature New York properties.

The decision by Justice Arthur F. Engoron is a major victory for Attorney General Letitia James in her lawsuit against Mr. Trump, effectively deciding that no trial was needed to determine that he had fraudulently secured favorable terms on loans and insurance deals.