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By Immigration Attorney Natalia Segermeister of The Visa Firm of Price Benowitz LLP.

Early in June, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a decision on a case of an asylum seeker that broke U.S. precedent and violated international law.

The case Sessions ordered an immigration judge to deny was called Matter of A-B-, and it overruled a previous decision on a case called Matter of A-R-C-G-.

In the Matter of A-B- case, a woman from Guatemala was seeking asylum from the husband who had raped, beaten and burned her throughout the course of their marriage. After finding herself unable to leave him in Guatemala, she hoped seeking asylum in the United States would provide the protection she needed.

In the past, victims of domestic violence could apply for asylum in the U.S. if their own governments failed to protect them. In many cases, they were granted that asylum. But this landmark decision has overruled not just one case, but thousands that find themselves in the same unfortunate situation.

Due to the fact that precedent was broken and that Sessions no longer allows those left unprotected from entering the United States, it has been said that he is in violation of international law.

“Our immigration system unfortunately gives the Attorney General unilateral power in these cases,” says Asylum Lawyer Natalia Segermeister of the Visa Firm of Price Benowitz LLP. “It is a very serious matter that could deny help to those that need it the most.”

In addition to overruling the case, Sessions has also stated that asylum seekers are not leaving their countries because they face persecution, but simply because the immigration laws in the United States are so relaxed. That has never been true, and such assertions are justification for ignoring protections enshrined in international treaties and adopted in U.S. immigration laws.

After the decision was made, Sessions stated that one decision did not mean that those facing persecution from gang and domestic violence would never be able to seek asylum within the United States.

For the time being however, it seems clear that this latest ruling will affect tens of thousands asylum claims made by people trying to flee violent situations in which their home country is unwilling or unable to protect them.

By Richmond Criminal Defense Lawyer Karin Riley Porter with Price Benowitz LLP.

Traffic safety advocates in Virginia successfully persuaded a House subcommittee to strike down a Senate bill that would have allowed people to drive drunk on their own private property.

The bill, which was introduced earlier in 2018, was struck down by the panel back in March. The bill was created by Senator Richard Stuart, a Republican from King George County.

Stuart’s goal for the legislation was to protect people who might be accused of driving under the influence of alcohol if they happened to move a vehicle on their private property and a police officer drove by and initiated a traffic stop. Stuart cited a man who was accused of drunk driving while sitting behind the wheel of his vehicle listening to music in his driveway.

The bill, known as SB 308, was originally defeated by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. It was placed back on the floor for consideration by Republican Senator Mark Peake of Lynchburg in February. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 37-3.

“Facing a DUI charge in Virginia can be terrifying,” Karin Riley Porter, a Virginia DUI defense attorney, said. “You might not know what to expect moving forward as you try to fight your case.”

Once the bill moved to the Virginia House it was put in front of a subcommittee there, also called the House Courts of Justice Committee. Members of the committee heard from various advocates against drunk driving once the bill reached the Virginia House.

A Republican representative from Frederick, Christopher Collins, recommended that the bill be passed over indefinitely, which would mean it would have been killed for the legislative session. The subcommittee voted 7-0 to kill the legislation in the Virginia House.

“I think it’s good news,” Kurt Erickson told WTVR. Erickson is the CEO and president of a nonprofit group known as the Washington Regional Alcohol Program. “Its passage would have otherwise been a dangerous precedent to communicate that in Virginia, it is OK to drive drunk here but not there.”

With the subcommittee voting by a 7-0 count to kill the legislation it means that the entire Virginia House will not have the opportunity to vote. Stuart was not present for the vote held by the subcommittee.

By Connecticut Drug Crimes Attorney Mark Sherman.

Synthetic drugs have become so mainstream in the United States that the government has solicited input from the public as to how federal sentencing guidelines can be updated to handle the epidemic.

The United States Sentencing Commission, USCS, sought help from the public recently to determine how sentencing can become more uniform for drug charges that cover not only heroin and cocaine but also fentanyl and other synthetic drugs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released some very alarming statistics related to the opioid epidemic plaguing the country. There were some 63,000 deaths in 2016 related to drug overdoses. Of those, 20,000 deaths were attributed to overdoses caused by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

“Drug charges are serious and should be defending against vehemently,” Mark Sherman, a Greenwich criminal defense attorney with The Law Offices of Mark Sherman, LLC, said. “Depending on the severity of the charge you could be facing anywhere from a year in prison to decades.”

One person who spoke in front of the USCS was retired police officer Keith Graves. Graves was a supervisor for a special narcotics unit in California before calling it a career.

Graves had the following to say about how fentanyl dealers need to be dealt with in a report: “You can’t treat somebody who’s dealing fentanyl — the number one cause of drug overdoses in the U.S. — the same as you would someone who’s dealing heroin. That’s because one kilo of fentanyl is the equivalent to 50 kilos of heroin.”

Graves noted that fentanyl is being found in bath salts, marijuana, heroin and just about every other drug out there, including meth. He also said that emergency personnel need to treat the drug like you would a hazardous materials incident, wearing gloves and other protective equipment because of its strength.

The USCS officially submitted amendments for the federal sentencing guidelines to Congress on April 30. One of the amendments submitted by the USCS deals strictly with synthetic drugs, which have had a direct correlation with the explosion of overdoses and overdose deaths across the country.

Should Congress pass these amendments to the guidelines for sentencing they will take effect on November 1, 2018.

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Gather around the bonfire and revisit all your favorite camp memories at the Newseum on July 27. Spots are filling up fast, so grab your whole bunk and join us at Camp Newseum Nights before tickets sell out!

• After the counselors have gone to bed, enjoy an open beer and wine bar all night as well as signature cocktails in our partyvators
• Visit the dining hall to snack on some of Wolfgang Puck’s camp favorites
• Head to the amphitheatre for a concert from D.C.’s hardest-working cover band, Jeff From Accounting
• Get competitive with your fellow campers and play games, including giant pong, with DC Fray
• Visit the Glamping Cabin for hair and makeup touchups with GLAMSQUAD
• Sing your favorite summer jams in our karaoke talent show
• Get creative in our Crafts Cabin with friendship bracelet and pet rock-making
• Write home at our postcard-designing station, courtesy of Paper Source
• Gather around the campfire with Story District and enjoy tales from D.C.’s funniest storytellers
• Test your athletic prowess in our archery booth or our corn-hole arena on the terrace
• Go on a field trip with Newseum curators in our newest exhibit, Pictures of the Year
• Enjoy giveaways from &pizza and China Chilcano, and make summer memories in our OM Digital Photo Booth

There’s no official Camp Newseum Nights uniform, but come dressed in your camping best!

Buy your tickets now! Get the best deal of the night by becoming a new member through the Newseum Nights promotion and receive all the benefits of an annual membership and a FREE ticket to the event (a $135 value)!

Newseum members also get VIP treatment with an early start to the party through a special “Members-Only” line at our Pennsylvania Avenue entrance.

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By New Jersey Alimony Attorney Galit Moskowitz of Moskowitz Law Group, LLC.

A recent tax law passed by Congress may have people wanting to check their prenuptial agreements. The new law deals with alimony and taxes, and it may end up hurting those the agreement was originally meant to protect.

In the past, the spouse paying the alimony was able to deduct it from their annual income taxes. In addition, the spouse receiving the alimony was to report any alimony payments as taxable income. At the time, this was considered to be fairest to both parties, as it allowed for more income to be available to be split between the divorced parties.

But the new tax law does not allow the payer of the alimony to deduct those payments any more. That could be an issue for many, as historically, prenuptial agreements have always been drafted with the understanding that alimony payments could be deducted from the payer’s income taxes. Because it no longer will be, it could find the payer in a difficult financial position.

The only alimony orders that will be affected by the new law are those that went into effect on December 31, 2018 or after. Still, any person that is part of an alimony agreement, whether they are the payer or the receiver, should look at the agreement to determine if it needs to be changed.

“Changes can be made to prenuptial agreements if both parties agree to it,” says Galit Moskowitz of Moskowitz Law Group, LLC. “Postnuptial agreements, or those that are entered into after marriage, may also be an option for those that are no longer satisfied with their prenuptial agreement due to the new tax law.”

In either case, those that have a prenuptial agreement must carefully read it and ensure that they know whether they will be protected. If there is no action made by December 31, 2018, both parties will be bound to the agreement and that could make it financially difficult for the spouse paying alimony.

Financial advisors can help make sense of the prenuptial agreement and how parties will be affected after this new law. If the agreement needs to be changed, a family lawyer can help parties come to an agreement that is more beneficial to both of them.