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Daily Archives: May 18, 2020

Special coronavirus e-journal highlights guardianship, digital legal planning, older inmates

“The American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging has released its May-June 2020 issue of BIFOCAL, a “Special Coronavirus Edition,” which features articles and resources to support the elder law community in these unprecedented times. Articles include information about legal delivery tools, pandemic rules guardians should know, legal documents that lag in a digital world and the fight for older prison inmates. The May-June issue is a collection of articles written by some of the country’s foremost law and aging experts who are available for interviews to media outlets seeking sources. Some experts and their articles include:

  • 5 Tips to Help Elder Law Practitioners in the Age of COVID-19, by Rajiv Nagaich, an elder law attorney in the Seattle area and a fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
  • Working Remotely? Legal Delivery Tools You Need Now, by Hilary Dalin, director of the Office of Elder Justice and Adult Protective Services at the Administration for Community Living in Washington, D.C.; Sarah Galvan, senior staff attorney at Justice in Aging and who  works on the National Center on Law and Elder Rights (NCLER); and Liz Keith, program director at Pro Bono Net
  • Ready, Set, Pause: The Digital World Waits for Legal Planning Docs to Catch Up, by Charles Sabatino, director of the ABA Commission on Law and Aging
  • New Pandemic Rules Guardians Need to Know Now, by the ABA Commission on Law and Aging, The National Guardianship Association, and the National Center for State Courts
  • Notarizing Docs Amid Stay-in-Place Orders: The Evolving Status of State Laws, by Rebecca Salido, intern, ABA Commission on Law and Aging
  • Inside Vermont’s Prison System: Fighting for Older Inmates as Outbreaks Spread, by Annie Manhardt, staff attorney at the Prisoners’ Rights Office in Montpelier, Vt.
  • Seniors Facing Foreclosure Get Temporary Reprieve, by Odette Williamson, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center who focuses on housing sustainability, issues impacting older adults, and directs the Racial Justice and Equal Economic Opportunity initiative
  • Consequences Can be Enormous for Seniors Without Internet, by Jeremiah Underhill, legal director at Disability Rights of West Virginia, and a co-coordinator for Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders (WINGS) in West Virginia
  • Remembering Lori Stiegel: An Unwavering Elder Justice Advocate (1957-2020), by Erica Wood, former assistant director at the ABA Commission on Law and Aging…”

Legal Issues Related to the COVID-19 Outbreak: An Overview Updated

LC CRS Reports – Legal Issues Related to the COVID-19 Outbreak: An Overview Updated May 18, 2020:  “The COVID-19 outbreak has rapidly shifted the congressional agenda in recent weeks, while altering the daily lives of millions of American residents. Alongside the many medical, economic, social, and public policy questions raised by the pandemic are a… Continue Reading

Libraries Do Not Need Permission To Lend Books

Medium – Fair Use, First Sale, and the Fallacy of Licensing Culture: “Licensing culture is out of control. This has never been clearer than during this time when hundreds of millions of books and media that were purchased by libraries, archives, and other cultural intuitions have become inaccessible due to COVID-19 closures or, worse, are… Continue Reading

U.S. House approves remote voting, though the tech is unclear

TechCrunch: “Congress will allow remote voting for the first time in its history, after the U.S. House approved Resolution 965 late Friday in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The measure — sponsored by Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern — authorizes proxy voting by members for renewable periods of 45 days and allows for remote participation in… Continue Reading

Google censored search results after bogus copyright claims

Reclaim the Net – “We recently did a deep-dive for members about how the DMCA and copyright claims are one of the greatest growing threats to free speech online. Now, an investigation has revealed that Google has fallen victim to fake copyright notices and is taking down several legitimate news articles and similar search results.… Continue Reading

The Rise of the Anti-Lockdown Sheriffs

The Marshall Project – Opposition to stay-at-home orders is the latest example of a history of powerful sheriffs, which stretches back to the end of slavery and the settling of the frontier. “…Mike Herrington [Chaves County NM] is one of at least 60 sheriffs nationwide, spread across more than a dozen states, who are publicly… Continue Reading

We Can Prevent a Great Depression. It’ll Take $10 Trillion.

Derek Thomson – The Atlantic – Don’t think of that number as “big” or “bold.” Just think of it as the appropriate dosage for a once-in-a-century economic affliction: “Last week, House Democrats unveiled their latest pandemic-relief package. The bill combines aid for families, a bailout for struggling cities and states, and additional funds for testing,… Continue Reading

China has been trying to avoid fallout from coronavirus

CNN – Now 100 countries are pushing for an investigation: “Russia has joined about 100 countries in backing a resolution at the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA), calling for an independent inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic. The European Union-drafted resolution comes on the back of a push by Australia for an inquiry into China’s initial… Continue Reading

Developing policies for effective COVID-19 containment: The TRACE model

Brookings – “States across the U.S. are considering paths to re-opening following months of stay-at-home orders and a widespread shuttering of the economy in response to the threat of COVID-19. Policymakers now face the task of crafting strategies that will allow resumption of activity without producing additional waves of infection that could do even more… Continue Reading