UNBIASED - DOJ Announces New Firearm Regulation, Iowa Enacts Immigration Law Similar to Texas, Don't Be Fooled By This Fake O.J. Simpson Post, Shohei Ohtani's Interpreter Charged, and More.

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Starting point is 00:00:50 call the Conax Ontario helpline at 1-866-531-2600. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Welcome back to Unbiased, your favorite source of unbiased news and legal analysis. Welcome back to Unbiased. Today is Thursday, April 11th, and this is your daily news rundown. Before we dive into today's stories, though, I do want to share with you that today's episode is sponsored by Filevine, every law firm's absolute best friend. Filevine is everything you need to manage cases, increase client communication, track billing, and manage your time. And one of my favorite offerings from Filevine is complete customization. So you can completely customize your products to cater to your specific practice

Starting point is 00:01:37 area. Personal injury, not a problem. Family law, perfect. Insurance defense, great. No matter your practice area, Filevine has a solution for you. When I was practicing as an attorney, I wish my law firm had Filevine. It would have made my life so much easier, and who knows, maybe I'd still be practicing. Schedule your free demo today by clicking the customized link in this episode description, and then once you love what you see in the demo, use code JordanIsMyLawyer for 15% off your purchase. Being a lawyer is stressful enough, so leave what you can to Filevine. Without further ado, let's get into today's stories. The first story is really the main story of the day, aside from OJ Simpson's death, which we'll get into a little bit later. But the Justice Department announced today that a new rule will soon take effect clarifying when a person is considered

Starting point is 00:02:30 to be engaged in the business as a firearm dealer, opening them up to more requirements. So let's clarify some things here because this is a bit of a confusing storyline. Back in 2022, Congress enacted the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The BSCA has various components, but the most relevant component for purposes of this story is Title II. Title II expands background check requirements for people under the age of 21. It establishes new criminal offenses. It extends firearm restrictions for those convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors against dating partners. It does a lot. But another thing that the BSEA did, and specifically Title II,

Starting point is 00:03:10 is change the definition of what it means to be engaged in the business of dealing firearms. Being, quote, engaged in the business opens you up to additional requirements. So the reason that the definition was expanded in the BSEA is because previously there was what gun control advocates called a gun show loophole. Because of how the definition of engaged in the business was previously written, gun sales made at gun shows didn't necessarily require background checks and didn't always require sellers to have a license to sell. So the BSCA expanded the definition of what it means to be engaged in the business and therefore open sellers up to these additional requirements. So let's talk a little bit about the change in definition. Previously, engaged in the business

Starting point is 00:04:03 was defined under federal law as, quote, a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms, end quote. However, the 2022 law changed the phrase with the principal objective of livelihood and profit to predominantly earn a profit. So now the definition of engaged in the business reads, quote, a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business to predominantly earn a profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms. So what's the difference? Well, according to the government, to predominantly earn a profit means that the intent of the underlying sale is predominantly to obtain a monetary gain, whereas previously the principal

Starting point is 00:05:01 objective of the sale had to be profit and livelihood, which was much, much narrower. So although the new phrase isn't that much different, it does cast a wider net as to who classifies as being engaged in the business, meaning there are now more sellers who fall under this definition that now must have a license to sell and are required to conduct background checks as well. This was the government's way of sort of closing that so-called loophole. So that was the BSCA, which was enacted in 2022. And under the BSCA, all dealers are required to comply with the law. But following the enactment, President Biden issued an executive order directing the DOJ to adopt a new rule to expand the definition of engaged in the business for purposes of ATF regulation. Because although

Starting point is 00:05:53 we as the people had the BSCA to abide by, President Biden wanted a new rule for the ATF to abide by. Because the ATF is an executive agency, it's regulated by rules such as these. So by finalizing and publishing this new rule, the ATF will now also be bound by this new expanded definition. And one of the differences with this new rule and the BSCA is that the rule goes a little bit further than the BSCA did. So the rule goes beyond just updating the definition of engaged in the business. The new rule also gives some guidance as to who might fall into that definition. So it clarifies the definition of a dealer. It defines other terms as they apply to dealers like purchase and sale. It sets forth specific conduct that may

Starting point is 00:06:45 constitute being engaged in the business. So as examples, the DOJ says that if a seller uses online ads to promote sales, keeps records of sales, or operates a credit card system for sales, that dealer may now fall under this new definition of being engaged in the business. The DOJ also clarified in this new rule that it does not apply to people who transfer firearms privately amongst family members, people who are liquidating a personal collection and not restocking, or those that are just genuine hobbyists. So this final rule gives a lot of clarity to the expanded definition that was put into the BSCI. The Justice Department is calling this new rule one of the

Starting point is 00:07:25 most significant gun regulations in decades. According to the department's estimation, the rule will affect roughly 23,000 firearm dealers that are currently unlicensed, and those dealers will now be required to have licenses, of course, and then also conduct background checks when making sales. I do also want to make clear before we move on that this new rule does not require universal background checks. This rule is simply to expand upon an already existing definition in legislation, which will in turn expand requirements for background checks, but certainly does not require universal background checks. The Justice Department is expecting legal challenges to this rule,

Starting point is 00:08:05 but it does say that it tried to stick to the definition assigned by Congress in the BSCA so as to not have any significant challenges that pose a real danger. The second story is out of Iowa. Iowa's governor signed a new law that is similar to Texas's controversial SB4, but also a little bit different. So let's talk about it so you have your facts straight. Iowa's new law will take effect July 1st, assuming no legal challenges get in the way. But what it says is that it is illegal for an alien to enter or attempt to enter the state of Iowa if that person has been denied admission to the United States or removed or deported from the

Starting point is 00:08:46 United States. An alien, as used in the statute, is defined under federal law as any person not a citizen or national of the United States. Under Iowa's new law, should a person be arrested, they'll make an appearance before the judge. At that time, the judge can either order the person be released or keep them in custody. After that initial appearance, the judge has a decision to make regarding prosecution. The judge can either continue with prosecution or instead order the person deported. So drop the charge and instead deport them. However, this removal option is only available if the person agrees to it, the person hasn't previously been convicted of violating this law, and that person is not charged with another

Starting point is 00:09:29 offense. This is very similar to Texas's law. Under Iowa's law, a person who violates it cannot be arrested on a school property, in a place of worship, in a healthcare facility, or a sexual assault survivor facility. Same as Texas's law. And like Texas's law, if a judge does order someone deported, the judge must also identify the mode of transportation for that individual to be brought back to the border, as well as the specific law enforcement officer or state agency that will monitor the departure. Now, Iowa's law is obviously a little bit different than Texas's SB4 because

Starting point is 00:10:07 SB4 allows for the arrest of those who just simply enter the state of Texas illegally. So they enter the state of Texas between one of the lawful points of entry. The Iowa law, though, only allows for the arrest of those who enter the state of Iowa illegally and had previously been denied admission or previously removed or deported. So this differential is obviously an attempt by Iowa's governor and the state legislature to sort of stay a little more in line with current federal law than the extent that Texas went, but it's very likely that Iowa's law will be challenged as well. Let's touch on a few headlines and short stories before we end this episode with some good news. Previously, when I had Friday episodes,

Starting point is 00:10:51 I would end the episode with good news. So instead, I'm going to end Thursday's episode with good news. OJ Simpson's family announced today that he passed away after losing his battle with cancer. He passed away yesterday. Simpson was, of course, a famous football star, but he rose to even more fame when he was charged with murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and later acquitted. If you have not seen the show, The People vs. OJ Simpson, I highly, highly recommend watching it. I binged it at one point and honestly could not stop watching it. Really great show and gives you a lot of insight into the case and the trial and all of that. And by the way, there is a fake post going around on social media right now that

Starting point is 00:11:31 I just want to give you a heads up on. It says OJ Simpson's final tweet before he died. And it's there's a picture attached to it that looks very real of a tweet from OJ Simpson's account that says, quote, I just want y'all to know I did that shit. So just as an FYI, that is fake. It is not a real post. The DOJ announced today that Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter is facing federal charges over allegations that he stole $16 million from Ohtani. Ohtani is a pitcher for the LA Dodgers who does not speak English. So this interpreter, you know, interpreted for him all the time. And a few weeks ago, initial reports came out that Otani had wired millions of dollars

Starting point is 00:12:11 to a bookie in Southern California to cover the gambling debts of his interpreter, Ipe Muzuhara. Muzuhara initially said that Otani knew of his gambling debts and willingly wired the four and a half million dollars to the bookie. But then Mizuhara later backtracked on that statement, and Ohtani has always maintained that he knew nothing about Mizuhara's gambling debts, never agreed to pay his debts or make payments to the bookie. As of today, Mizuhara has been charged with bank fraud and impersonating Ohtani on phone calls with the bank to approve wire transfers. The DOJ said Mizuhara had initially helped Ohtani set up his bank account back in 2018, used that knowledge to eventually steal Ohtani's money, and that between November 2021 and January

Starting point is 00:12:58 2024, Mizuhara wired more than $16 million from Otani's checking account. In some good news to end this episode, in July of last year, the Hooman family lost their family dog, Mishka. The father and husband had taken Mishka to work with him in an auto garage in San Diego, but at some point Mishka wandered off from the garage and never came back. For more than seven months, the Hoomans got no word on Mishka wandered off from the garage and never came back. For more than seven months, the humans got no word on Mishka's whereabouts. No one ever found her. No one ever spotted her. Then two weeks ago, police in Harper Woods, Michigan got a call about a stray dog.

Starting point is 00:13:36 They picked the dog up. They brought it to an adoption society who quickly discovered that the dog had a chip. And after calling the chip company and having the chip scanned, it turns out that the stray dog was Mishka. The adoption center then called the Hooman family to let them know the dog had been found. And the Hooman family was actually traveling at the time that they got the call from San Diego to Minnesota for Easter. So as soon as they landed in Minnesota, the husband drove 10 hours to pick up the dog, drove 10 hours back to Minnesota, brought the dog back to the family, and it was the ultimate reunion. I do have a video of that reunion linked for you in the sources section. So despite

Starting point is 00:14:18 traveling over 2,000 miles, Mishka is now home. They don't know how she got to Michigan. They're thinking maybe she was stolen, but regardless, eight months later, the dog is now back home with its family. A pretty incredible story. That is what I have for you today. Thank you so much for being here, and I will talk to you on Monday.

UNBIASED - DOJ Announces New Firearm Regulation, Iowa Enacts Immigration Law Similar to Texas, Don't Be Fooled By This Fake O.J. Simpson Post, Shohei Ohtani's Interpreter Charged, and More.

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