AABANY Co-Sponsors: Trial Reenactment of Korematsu v. U.S.

On April 3, 2019, AABANY co-sponsored with Fordham APALSA and the Federal Bar Association a trial reenactment of the historical case, Korematsu v. U.S. in a packed Moot Courtroom at Fordham Law School.

As every seat in the spacious Moot Courtroom filled up and audience members began to stand along the sides, Dean Matthew Diller of Fordham Law School delivered passionate opening remarks. The Dean noted that the reenactment is vital to this time, for we not only need to remember the best of this nation, but also the worst of it. Judge Denny Chin, United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and his wife Kathy Hirata Chin played their usual roles of Narrators 1 and 2. The cast of the reenactment consisted of students and faculty from Fordham and a few members of the AABANY Trial Reenactment Team.

Korematsu’s struggles were recounted on a sunny afternoon in April 2019, yet a sense of heaviness that seemed to belong to an older time filled the room. Fred Korematsu was arrested during WWII for his disobedience of Executive Order 9066, which ordered Korematsu to an incarceration camp for being Japanese American. Korematsu spent the rest of his life fighting for justice. The performers’ voices were amplified through microphones, accompanied by PowerPoint slides projected onto the wall on the stage, guiding the audience through Korematsu’s decades-long struggle. When Fred Korematsu exclaimed on the stage, “The Supreme Courts’ decision meant that being an American was not enough — you also have to look like one; otherwise, you may be seen as an enemy of the state,” one cannot help but reflect on the differences and similarities of minority experiences between past and present.

The last part of the reenactment struck a thought-provoking and alarming note when the Korematsu case was overruled in a footnote in the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Hawaii, but the decision itself served as justification for the travel ban targeting Muslims, raising the question of whether one injustice was exchanged with another. The reenactment ended with a wave of prolonged and warm applause from the audience.

A Q&A session and a reception followed, ending the night with great food, drinks and company.

We thank Judge Denny Chin and Kathy Hirata Chin for their continuing contributions to AABANY’s reenactment program. We thank Fordham Law School for hosting the event, and Fordham APALSA and the Federal Bar Association for co-sponsoring the reenactment. We thank the volunteer actors for delivering incredible performances. Last but not least, we thank everyone who attended the event for joining us in remembering Fred Korematsu and celebrating his achievements.

For more information on AABANY’s trial reenactment programs, visit our reenactment website at https://reenactments.aabany.org/.

AABANY Joins NAPABA’s Amicus Brief in the Supreme Court Opposing the Addition of a Proposed Citizenship Question to the 2020 Census.

On April 1, 2019, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), joined by Sixty-four (64) bar associations and AAPI-serving community organizations, submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Department of Commerce v. New York (18-966) opposing the addition of a proposed citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

In a press release, NAPABA stated:

On April 23, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal in Department of Commerce v. New York (18-966).  In January, the Southern District of New York found that the Administration’s decision to add the question was ‘arbitrary’ and ‘capricious,’ and that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In a related challenge, California v. Ross, the Northern District of California found the Administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Enumeration Clause of the Constitution. A decision is pending in a third challenge, involving AAPI and Hispanic plaintiffs, in the District of Maryland.

The AAPI organizations urge the Court to uphold the district court’s ruling to enjoin the addition of the citizenship question: Amici agree with the district court ’s finding that the addition of a citizenship question will likely lead to an undercount of noncitizen households of at least 5.8 percent. . . . This chilling of participation in the 2020 Census will have a disproportionate effect on the AAPI community. . . . These heightened concerns for the AAPI community come at a crucial moment, because Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the country and stand to make substantial gains in political representation based on that population growth.

AABANY is pleased to announce that it is a co-signatory to NAPABA’s amicus brief in the Supreme Court opposing the addition of a proposed citizenship question to the 2020 census. The addition of the citizenship question will negatively impact the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. It will depress response rates from Asian Americans, the fastest growing racial group and the largest segment of new immigrants in the country, and impact our ability to protect our rights and ensure political representation.

To read the full press release and the amicus brief, click here.

Invitation to Town Hall on Federal Contract Compliance Programs and Opportunities

On Wednesday, April 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is holding a town hall for the legal industry at the Hilton Millennium Downtown New York, 55 Church St., New York, NY from 9 am to 1 pm.

The focus of the OFCCP is to review its compliance assistance efforts and identify options for enhancing contractors’ understanding of their nondiscrimination and affirmative action requirements.

The OFCCP is holding the town hall to learn more about what is important to its stakeholders in the legal industry and to enhance the scope and the quality of OFCCP’s compliance materials.

The Network of Bar Leaders and its members (including AABANY) are invited to attend and provide feedback to help the OFCCP develop policy for stakeholders in the legal industry and related fields. OFCCP will be looking for innovative ideas on how to make its existing compliance assistance efforts more practical and collaborative.

The meetings are open to the public but will be of particular interest to human resource managers, equal employment opportunity specialists, chief compliance officers, and other personnel in the legal industry who are directly involved with ensuring their company’s compliance with OFCCP’s requirements. Workers, job seekers, community groups and anyone interested in OFCCP and our work are also encouraged to attend. Please note only two tickets are available per organization on a first come, first served basis.

You can attend a town hall by registering through OFCCP’s website

Western District of New York (WDNY), Rochester Division Recruiting Chapter 7 Panel Trustees

The United States Trustee seeks resumes from persons wishing to be considered for appointment to the panel of trustees who administer cases filed under chapter 7 of title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code). The appointment is for cases filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York, primarily in the Rochester Division. Chapter 7 trustees receive compensation and reimbursement for expenses, in each case in which they serve, pursuant to court order under 11 U.S.C. §326 and §330.

The minimum qualifications for appointment are set forth in 28 C.F.R. § 58.3. To be eligible for appointment, an applicant must possess strong administrative, financial and interpersonal skills. Fiduciary and bankruptcy experience is desirable but not mandatory.

A successful applicant will be required to undergo a background check, and must qualify to be bonded. Although chapter 7 trustees are not federal employees, appointments are made consistent with federal Equal Opportunity policies, which prohibit discrimination in employment.

All resumes should be received on or before Friday, May 17, 2019.

Forward resumes to: Kathleen Schmitt, Assistant U.S. Trustee, Office of the United States Trustee, 100 State Street, Room 6090 Rochester, NY 14614.

If you have any questions email [email protected]

AABANY CLE: Selling and Purchasing Real Property from an Estate

On Wednesday, April 3, 2019, Margaret Ling, AABANY Development Director and Real Estate Committee Co-Chair, and Pauline Yeung-Ha, Pro Bono Committee Co-Chair, presented a CLE and networking event entitled “Selling and Purchasing Real Property from an Estate.” The event was hosted by Flushing Bank at their Astoria branch and was co-sponsored by AABANY, KALAGNY, and Big Apple Abstract Corp.

Margaret and Pauline discussed the importance of doing your due diligence when selling or purchasing real property from an estate. They shared horror stories of clients trying to cut corners and scam the system. One story involved a separated husband and wife, where the wife claimed that the husband had passed away and tried to rush the closing on the sale of their house. After some investigation, it was discovered that the husband was alive and well in Greece. The moral of the story was that as real estate attorneys it is imperative to not blindly trust surrogates and extremely important to demand proof of death to prevent future liability and to protect your license.

Margaret and Pauline also discussed the tax implications and other liabilities that accompany the different types of estate structures, which included Joint Tenancy, Tenants in Common, Tenants by the Entirety, Life Estates, and Trusts. They advised that practitioners can save themselves a lot of trouble by taking the time to do their due diligence and by speaking to title companies.

We thank Flushing Bank and its staff for hosting the CLE panel for the evening. Thanks also to the speakers and everyone that attended. One CLE credit in the area of professional practice was awarded to attendees. To learn more about the Real Estate Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/120.