World News Legal developments from around the world. The following is a collection of the most recent posts from other blogs addressing topics of international law.
BRUSSELS – Belgian designer Olivier Debie, who in August filed a plagiarism lawsuit over a Tokyo 2020 Olympics logo by Kenjiro Sano, says he will no longer pursue his grievance in court.
“After consideration, I prefer to withdraw my complaint,” Debie told Kyodo News in a phone interview on Tuesday. “Even if I were to win, the legal costs would be so high that I couldn’t recoup my expenses.”
Debie had claimed the design unveiled by Tokyo last summer copied key elements of a T-shaped logo he created in 2011 for Belgium’s Theatre de Liege. Japanese designer Sano denied committing plagiarism.
While admitting he would have liked compensation for the time he lost during the lawsuit, Debie told Kyodo News he will not proceed with a defense hearing originally scheduled for Feb. 2.
“I have other projects,” he added.
Debie and the theater had jointly filed the plagiarism lawsuit in Belgium against the International Olympic Committee.
The theater came to an agreement with the IOC and pulled out of the suit in October after Sano’s logo was scrapped by the Tokyo Olympics organizers amid plagiarism allegations against other design ideas by Sano and his team.
The Olympic organizing committee is in the final stage of selecting a new logo that an official said may be unveiled around March.
A New Jersey town is attempting to protect illegal immigrants from “really unfortunate” arrests by publishing handouts in English and Spanish that encourage immigrants “to remain silent” and “have a plan!” if confronted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
The response from Princeton officials comes following the targeted arrest of two illegal immigrants in the town early Thursday morning, one of whom had a drunken driving conviction, an ICE official told NJ.com.
Councilwoman Heather Howard has been a leading advocate for working with the local immigrant population to prevent detentions and deportations.
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“These [arrests] are really unfortunate,” she told NJ.com. “They cause fear and panic in the community, and they work to undermine the community’s effort to improve law enforcement relations.”
An ICE spokesperson told FoxNews.com the town’s efforts wouldn’t impede ICE’s duties.
“It’s not gonna hinder our operations,” Alvin Phillips said. “Standard operations are still ongoing and based on priorities.”
He added: “ICE arrests are not unfortunate. In fact to the contrary of previous reports — ICE actions are in keeping with the laws and homeland security priorities: National Security, Public Safety and Border Security. I will also add, arrests in question are afforded an opportunity to meet with legal counsel.”
Several “Know Your Rights” handouts on the town government’s website advise immigrants “if you or someone you love is deportable, have a plan!” Another section of one of the pamphlets tells immigrants to not “answer questions about your immigration status or where you were born. Keep saying you want to call your attorney.”
The publications come complete with cartoons of smiling immigrants flashing cards that say “I want to speak with my lawyer” and shocked immigrants being busted by angry ICE agents, often appearing menacing and wearing dark sunglasses.
The pamphlets even encourage readers not to provide their names to officers: “Remember that providing your name has risks, and that your name can be used to start a deportation process.”
A “Right To Remain Silent Card” is printed near the end of one of the publications with cut-out lines drawn around it for those who wish to detach and carry it.
The card states: “TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Please be informed that I am choosing to exercise my right to remain silent and the right to refuse to answer your questions. If I am detained, I request to contact an attorney immediately. I am also exercising my right to refuse to sign anything until I consult with my attorney.”
Elisa Neira, the executive director of Human Services, said the goal of the literature is to better inform illegal immigrants of their rights.
Zito’s son-in-law, Domenico Scopelliti, has been charged with murder after turning himself in to police.
Police said officers arrived at Zito’s home on Friday to find a man with gunshot wounds. Attempts were made to resuscitate him but he died of his injuries.
Officials did not immediately release the victim’s name.
Mr Scopelliti, 51, was named as a suspect and he surrendered to authorities on Saturday, a police statement said.
He later appeared in court where he was charged with first-degree murder.
Zito was born in Fiumara, Calabria, Italy, in 1928 and moved to Canada in the mid-1950s.
He was reported to have had ties with branches of the ‘Ndrangheta in New York, Montreal and Italy.
Italian police say the ‘Ndrangheta operates the biggest cocaine smuggling network in Europe.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Acting amid extra tight security, parole commissioners on Friday again recommended the release of a former leader of the Mexican Mafia prison gang who now helps law enforcement, Board of Parole Hearings spokesman Luis Patino said.
Rene “Boxer” Enriquez has been in prison since 1993 on a 20 years-to life sentence for two murders, multiple assaults and conspiracy to traffic in controlled substances.
It’s the second time parole officials decided that he can safely be released. However, Gov. Jerry Brown last year rejected parole for the 53-year-old Enriquez and Brown has about five months in which he can block it again.
“Hopefully this time the governor will let him go home,” Enriquez’s attorney, Michael Beckman, said after the hearing.
Brown last year rejected Enriquez’s parole in part because of concerns that he would be targeted for retaliation by other gang members if he is released. That could endanger Enriquez, his family, parole agents and the community, Brown said.
That concern was reflected in Friday’s hearing. Prison officials kept the timing and location of the hearing secret, citing safety concerns for Enriquez and prison employees.
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Steve Sowders said three survivors were allowed to use only their first names as they testified against his parole by video conference.
“They’re concerned about their safety,” he said. “This is because of the case involves the Mexican Mafia.”
Enriquez drew attention last year when the Los Angeles Police Department used an invalid court order, spent $22,000 and cleared a downtown Los Angeles building so Enriquez could speak to a gathering of law enforcement and business leaders.
He has talked in recent years to various groups of officers and provided valuable information on the transnational criminal enterprise to which he once belonged, Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Michael Downing said afterward.
Enriquez cited his cooperation and the self-improvement classes he has taken in prison as he spoke for more than three hours Friday, according to a Los Angeles Times reporter who watched by video conference. The reporter described him as sitting like a businessman at a board meeting before the two-person parole panel, his hair slicked back and cut short on the sides.
Australia’s High Court has ruled that the government’s offshore detention of refugees is legal, sparking an outcry from the UN and human rights groups.
The verdict, announced on Wednesday, paves the way for 267 asylum-seekers currently in Australia to be deported to the Pacific island of Nauru.
The group includes 39 children as well as 33 babies who were born in Australia.
The legal case was brought by a Bangladeshi woman whose lawyers said her imprisonment on Nauru had been “funded, authorised, procured and effectively controlled” by the Australian government, without the constitutional power to do so.
Reacting to the decision, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the court’s decision was “significant”.
The government will keep Australia’s borders secure and stop drownings at sea, he said, continuing the official line that offshore processing acts as a deterrent for asylum-seekers looking to make the dangerous crossing to Australia from Indonesia or beyond.
The [government] has acted decisively to stop the criminal trade, added Turnbull.
