Welcome to this episode of Sisters Sidebar with Barb McQuaid and me, Joyce Vance. If you've got a question for us, and we hope you do, please email us at sistersinlawatpoliticon.com or tag us on social media using hashtag sistersinlaw. But don't just type your questions. Your voices are important, and we want to be able to hear them too. So our overlords, our wonderful producers, have helped us figure out how to do that. Now you can email us a voice memo using one of your notes apps, and we might get to play it on the show. Let's get started. And speaking of audio questions, Barb, there's an audio question for you from Harry. Hello, sisters. This is Harry from Richmond, Virginia. In light of the seashell indictment of Jim Comey, I'm wondering whether the Department of Justice will now be setting up grand juries throughout the country to indict every single person carrying a sign at the No Kings rallies and others saying 8647. Thanks for educating me and everyone else and keep up the good work. Thank you. Well, thanks for that question, Harry. It's one that's certainly been on our minds. I saw an interesting meme this week of Kash Patel in an FBI raid jacket and then a banner that said, CSI, Seashells Victims Unit. So I think we're all thinking about that. But it is a problem, isn't it? As you've said, we see this, you know, 86-47 on T-shirts. We see it at no Kings rallies. We see it all over Amazon. I actually went on there and did a search. You can find T-shirts, caps, bumper stickers that say 8647. And here's why it matters. It's not simple hypocrisy. It is a matter of what's called selective prosecution, which is a violation of due process. And so I imagine we will see a motion from Jim Comey filing a motion to dismiss this indictment for selective prosecution. This often fails. But the argument here would be that other people similarly situated have not been prosecuted for communicating the exact same message. And I think he's got a very strong case here that this prosecution is arbitrary, not for any lawful, legitimate law enforcement purpose, and that he was selected not because there's a desire to improve public safety, but as demonstrated by the failure to charge all of these other people to single him out to punish him. Joyce, I've got a question for you. Here's your next question. This one comes to us from Kathy in Montgomery County, Maryland. She asks, what happens to the congressional representatives serving in a district if it gets divided or a new one is added due to redistricting? Do they move over automatically? You know, this is such a great question because there's a lot of redistricting in the air. And the short answer, Kathy, is that they don't move over automatically. Redistricting changes the map, not the person holding the office. So here's how it'll work. Current representatives, they'll keep their seats until the next election. Even if a district is split up or redrawn, the sitting member of the United States House of Representatives, they continue to serve the remainder of their term. And the new district lines will take effect for representation during the next election cycle. An interesting little gloss on this is that these folks don't have to move to run. Under the Constitution, House members have to live in the same state, but not necessarily the exact district. So they can run in the new district, even if they've been sort of, it's called, gerrymandered out of it. Politically, though, living in the district really matters a lot to voters. So we're all talking about the impacts of gerrymandering and redistricting right now with the current Republican-led race to the bottom. This will have real impact on candidates. And as we discussed in our show last week, candidates don't have an entitlement to these seats in Congress, right? None of us should feel sorry for them. But to the extent that people have representatives that they've elected that they would like to keep, this really does become a political sort of a musical chairs issue with making sure that people still have a district that they can run in. Well, Barb, here's a question for you from Jenny. She asks, if someone has no will or identifiable next of kin, what happens to their stuff and how do the lawyers involved get paid? Oh this is a really good question And I glad you asked it because I think there are a lot of people out there I have some very good friends and family members who are in this boat and I always tell them this So the law of your state will govern exactly what happens So it different in every state But generally the gist is this A probate judge will appoint a personal representative to be the executor of your estate, and that person will be assigned to distribute your assets according to state law. Usually it starts with next of kin and then they move outward to find distant relatives. You know, like you read these books, like some aunt you never knew you had died and left you a million dollars. Like that could actually happen. If there is no one that they can find, either a close relative or even a distant relative, then what happens is your assets is sheet to the state. That means the state just gets all your stuff. And at the same time, all of this is time consuming. And that personal representative that got appointed by the court, they get paid out of your estate. And so to make sure your assets go where you want them to, if you have no next of kin, you know, send them to a nonprofit organization that you care about. But those assets are going to be they're going to go somewhere. And if you don't designate them, they're going to go to a personal representative and the rest to the state. So take control of your destiny, even in the afterlife. This episode is brought to you by IQ Bar, our exclusive snack, hydration and coffee sponsor. IQ Bar protein bars, IQ Mix hydration mixes, and IQ Joe mushroom coffees are the delicious, low-sugar, brain and body fuel you need to win your day. They have something for everyone, but we recommend the Ultimate Sampler Pack. It's a great way to try all of IQ Bar's products and flavors, complete with 9 IQ Bars, 8 IQ Mix sticks, and 4 IQ Joe sticks. 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Message and data rates may apply. see terms for details. The link, it's in our show notes. I'm sorry, Joyce, what is it I'm supposed to type? No, I'm just kidding. Joyce, did I tell you that my fast-growing trees from last spring, the lilac shrubs, are thriving and blossoming. That is so exciting. You know, I got a lilac tree last year too, and I just noticed that it's blooming out. I've fertilized it. I can't wait to see what it does. Yeah, you know, fast-growing trees are the bomb. Fast-growing trees is America's largest and most trusted online nursery with thousands of trees and plants and more than 2 million happy customers They have all the plants your yard or home needs including fruit trees privacy trees flowering trees shrubs and houseplants, all grown with care and guaranteed to arrive healthy. It's like your local nursery, but anywhere you live and with 1,600 plus varieties of trees and plants. That's more than you'll find anywhere else. 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I've been listening since day one, and I appreciate all the knowledge that I've absorbed from you all. My question is, how can Congress pass a law such as the Civil Rights Act and SCOTUS turn it over? I guess I don't understand how Congress can pass any law if SCOTUS is just overturning them. I would love to hear your feedback on this. Thank you so much. Well, hey, Lindsay. I'm glad that you like the show. And I've got an answer for you. You know, it might feel a little bit contradictory. At first, I wrote about this a lot in my book, Giving Up is Unforgivable, a manual for keeping a democracy. So I enjoyed seeing the question. It comes down to how the constitutional system is designed for our country. And the short version answer is that Congress writes laws, but the courts decide whether those laws are constitutional. And that division, it's intentional, and it comes from the principle of checks and balances. Here's how it works in practice. Congress passes a law, and I think that it may be that the example that you had in mind was the Civil Rights Act of 1964. So we'll use that. That law was passed to prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Someone challenges the law in court, a person, a business, a state. They go in and they argue that the law exceeds Congress powers or that it violates the Constitution And then it up to the courts to review the law through the process of judicial review That was established in a very early Supreme Court case called Marbury v. Madison. And that case in our history and tradition ever since established that courts and ultimately the Supreme Court of the United States have the authority to decide whether a law that Congress passes is constitutional or not. Barb, actually, the question that I have for you, it comes from Ryan in Green Bay, Wisconsin. And the question, this is very simple and elegant. He asks, how are small claims cases brought and how are they adjudicated? Oh, this is a great question. I'm so glad you asked this, Ryan. This is designed to allow individuals to litigate disputes without breaking the bank. Because so often when you've got a small claim, you say, well, gosh, it's only a few thousand dollars. And so if I go, if I hire a lawyer, I'll spend more money than the amount in dispute without, you know, ever getting anything back. And so what's the value in doing it? I just won't do it. And so small claims court are set up. There are judges who preside over these small claims. There are no juries. It's just a judge who decides. And usually there is a limit, depending on the state, of the amount in controversy. So in Michigan, for example, the amount is $7,000. If you've got a dispute with somebody who did work on your home, for example, and the amount is under $7,000, then you would file your own small claim in small claims court. You don't get a lawyer. the other side doesn't get a lawyer, it's all done very quickly. It's like the people's court. You show up and you say, here's what happened. I paid this guy to fix my roof and he didn't fix my roof and I gave him $7,000 or something less, $6,000. If the other person, what often happens is they don't show up, a default judgment is entered against them. And then you can use that to try to obtain assets from them. If they do show up, they give their side of the story and the judge makes a decision right there. So it's quick, it's easy, and it's for low value disputes so that you don't have to expend all your funds on a lawyer or a drawn-out legal process. All right, Joyce, got the last one from you. This one's from Susanna right here in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And Susanna asks, what's the difference between a trademark and a copyright? You know, this is a fun question. I have an answer for you, but only because as a young lawyer, I actually worked on some intellectual property cases, and I was nerdy enough to have this same question myself early on. What it comes down to is trademarks prevent consumer confusion by distinguishing one brand's goods and services from other brands. And copyrights, they're meant to protect the owner's exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, or display their own creative work. So to flesh that out a little bit, you'll see a trademark used to protect a brand identity like hashtag sisters-in-law, a name, a logo, a slogan used in commerce. It distinguishes the source of the goods. Copyrights protect the actual original creative work. So Barb's and my books are copyrighted, music, art, and software. And a trademark will last indefinitely so long as you use it and you renew it. But copyrights actually do expire, right? I mean, we've all seen that. That's when music can be used publicly because the copyright is no longer effective. So it's a really important distinction that's being drawn here. And I thank you for the question. I think these are fun little sort of twists and turns in the law that we should all be familiar with. Thank you for listening to Sister Sidebar with Joyce Vance and me, Barb McQuaid. Keep sending in more great questions for next week's show. And if you send in a voice memo, we will try to play your question during our next episode. Follow Sisters Sidebar and hashtag SistersinLaw wherever you listen. And please give us a five-star review. It really helps others find the show. Please show some love to this week's sponsors, IQ Bar and Fast Growing Trees. The links are in the show notes. Please support them because they make this podcast possible. Don't forget to pick up hashtag Sisters in Law merch and other goodies at politicon.com slash merch. And see you every week on Wednesdays and Saturdays for new episodes of hashtag Sisters in Law and Sisters Sidebar. See you next week. Hashtag Sisters in Law. I'm sorry, are we going to do Barb asking Joyce or Joyce asking Barb here?
