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Demitrus Evans

@demitrusevans

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🌍 International Trade, IP
⚖️ Founder@TEILFirms
📈 Go global ✈️
💼 Compliance,Contracts,Distributorship
🎤 Speaker, Legal Education Advocate

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If you are arrested in a country that is not your own, there may be an international-law protection you should know about.

It is called consular notification and access.

Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, when a foreign national is arrested or detained, authorities generally must inform that person without delay of the right to have their consulate notified.

If the person asks, the authorities must notify the appropriate consulate without delay. For nationals of certain countries, separate treaties require notification even if the person does not request it. (Travel.state.gov⁠)

Why does this matter?

A consulate can communicate with its citizen, visit the person in detention, help the person understand the local legal system, assist with locating legal representation, and in some circumstances communicate with family members. The consulate does not become the person’s lawyer and consular notification does not automatically stop or dismiss the criminal case. (Travel.state.gov⁠)

This obligation works both ways.

The United States expects foreign governments to provide these protections when an American citizen is arrested abroad, just as U.S. authorities have treaty obligations toward foreign nationals arrested here. (Travel.state.gov⁠)

So if you are a foreign national who has been arrested or detained in the United States, one important question to ask is:

“Have I been advised of my right to contact my consulate?”

And if you are an American arrested while traveling abroad:

Ask to contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

Knowing your rights matters — especially when you are navigating a criminal justice system in a country that is not your own.

#ViennaConvention #ConsularNotification #InternationalLaw #KnowYourRights #attorneyevans by @demitrusevans

Why does federal law require special protections when certain Native American children are removed from their families?

Because there is a history behind the law.

For generations, Native American children were separated from their families, Tribes, languages, religions, and cultures. Congress eventually responded by passing the Indian Child Welfare Act — ICWA — in 1978.

ICWA establishes federal protections in certain state child-custody proceedings involving an “Indian child.” Under the statute, that term has a specific legal meaning: generally, an unmarried person under 18 who is either a member of a federally recognized Tribe, or who is eligible for membership and is the biological child of a tribal member. (Indian Affairs⁠)

When ICWA applies, the child’s Tribe may have important rights in the proceeding, including notice and the right to intervene. In some circumstances, a party may also seek transfer of the case to tribal court. (Indian Affairs⁠)

The Supreme Court considered major constitutional challenges to ICWA in Haaland v. Brackeen and, in 2023, upheld the law against the principal challenges the Court reached. (Supreme Court of the United States⁠)

So if your child, grandchild, or another child in your family is being removed, placed in foster care, or is involved in a termination-of-parental-rights proceeding, and you believe the child may be a member of — or eligible for membership in — a federally recognized Tribe, say something immediately.

Tell your lawyer, the child-welfare agency, and the court that there may be an ICWA issue.

Ask:

“Does the Indian Child Welfare Act apply to this child?”

Do not assume that Native ancestry alone is enough, and do not wait until the case is almost over to raise the issue. The court ultimately determines whether ICWA applies. (Indian Affairs⁠)

This law is about much more than paperwork or notification.

It recognizes the legal interests of the child, the family, and the Tribe — and it was enacted to help prevent the unnecessary separation of Native children from their families and tribal communities.

#ICWA #IndianChildWelfareAct #TribalSovereignty #NativeAmericanLa by @demitrusevans

Native American Heritage Month is an opportunity to recognize living cultures—and the legal agreements that helped shape this country.

Treaties between the United States and Native nations recorded commitments concerning land, resources, and rights. They deserve attention as legal documents, alongside the history and perspectives of the people affected by them.

As a contracts lawyer, this matters to me. Understanding an agreement means examining who made it, what was promised, and what rights were reserved.

Here in the Chicago area, the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis included land cessions and conditional hunting and fishing rights.

What do we know about the treaties connected to the places we call home?

#NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #TreatyRights #NativeNations #ChicagoHistory #TEILFirms by @demitrusevans

Under the American Rule, each side generally pays its own lawyer unless there is a legal basis for shifting those fees.

That basis may come from:

a contract,

a statute,

a court rule,

or, in some circumstances, a court order.

That is why fee-shifting provisions in contracts matter.

A clause saying the “prevailing party” can recover attorney’s fees can dramatically change the financial risk of a dispute.

So before signing a contract, do not just look at what happens if somebody breaches.

Also look at:

Who pays the lawyers if the dispute ends up in court?
If you are about to sign, negotiate, or enforce a business contract and you are not sure what the attorney-fee provision means, schedule a consultation before the dispute gets expensive.

A short contract review now can be far less costly than litigating unclear language later.

NEED A CONTRACT REVIEW?
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#FeeShifting #AttorneyFees #ContractLaw #BusinessLaw #attorneyevans by @demitrusevans

So if the government says, ‘We need your property,’ that does not necessarily mean the only question left is when you move out.

Imagine the government decides it needs part of your property to widen a highway.

You may not want to sell that portion of your land.

The government may still have authority to acquire it through eminent domain — but you are generally entitled to just compensation, and there may be issues that can be challenged. The government may have the power to take property.

But that does not mean it gets to take it without rules or without paying just compensation.

Eminent domain is the government’s power to acquire private property for public use.

The Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause requires just compensation when private property is taken for public use.

Disputes can arise over the public purpose, the government’s authority and procedure, and perhaps most importantly:

What is the property actually worth?

#EminentDomain #PropertyLaw #KnowTheLaw #LegalTok #attorneyevans by @demitrusevans

A deposition is part of the discovery process.

A witness or party answers questions under oath, usually outside the courtroom, while a court reporter creates a record of the testimony.

Lawyers use depositions to learn what witnesses know, preserve testimony, evaluate the case, and sometimes prepare for trial.

And because you are under oath, what you say matters.

Your deposition testimony may later be used in court, including to challenge you if your testimony changes.”

Example:
“Suppose you witnessed an accident. Before trial, one of the lawyers may take your deposition and ask you exactly what you saw, where you were standing, and what happened.”

A deposition may not happen in a courtroom, but it is still sworn testimony.

There may be no judge or jury in the room, but the testimony is recorded and can become important later in the case.

#Deposition #Discovery #CivilLitigation #KnowTheLaw #AttorneyEvans by @demitrusevans

Voir dire is a phrase meaning “Speak Truth.” It happens before the evidence starts — because who hears the evidence matters.

The VOIR DIRE process is used to question potential jurors before a jury is selected.

Its purpose is to identify bias or other circumstances that could prevent someone from fairly and impartially deciding the case.

#VoirDire #JurySelection #CourtroomBasics #LegalTok #attorneyevans by @demitrusevans

An appeal is not just about whether the lower court was wrong.

It is also about how the higher court is allowed to review that decision.

The standard of review determines how closely an appellate court examines a lower court’s decision.

Different issues can receive different levels of deference, which is why identifying the applicable standard is a critical part of appellate analysis.

#StandardOfReview #AppellateLaw #KnowTheLaw #LegalTok #AttorneyEvans by @demitrusevans

A waiver generally means the intentional relinquishment of a known right.

And depending on the law and the circumstances, waiver may sometimes be shown not only by what someone says or signs, but also by their conduct.

That is why contracts often contain provisions saying that failing to enforce a right once does not necessarily mean that right is waived forever.

Example:

If a contract requires payment by the first of every month, but one party repeatedly accepts late payments without objection, that conduct may create an argument about whether strict enforcement of the deadline was waived.

The exact result depends on the contract and applicable law.

The important lesson is simple:

Having a legal right and consistently protecting that right are not always the same thing.

#Waiver #ContractLaw #BusinessLaw #LegalTok #attorneyevans by @demitrusevans

An LLC operating agreement can address ownership, management, voting, distributions, transfers, departures, deadlocks, and what happens when circumstances change.

Do not wait until the owners are fighting to figure out what the rules are.

Put the rules in writing while everyone is still getting along.

#OperatingAgreement #LLC #BusinessLaw #LegalTok #attorneyevans by @demitrusevans

An easement is a legal right to use someone else’s property for a specific purpose.

For example, your neighbor may have the right to use a driveway that crosses your land.

A utility company may have the right to run power lines, pipes, or other infrastructure across part of your property.

And in some places, an easement can involve access to a road, shoreline, or body of water.

The important thing to understand is this:

The person with the easement usually does not own your land.

They have a limited legal right to use it for a particular purpose.

And depending on the type of easement, that right may continue even after the property is sold.

You still own the land.

But your neighbor may have a legal right to use that path.

“Ownership does not always mean exclusive use.”

That is why when you buy property, you should understand not only what you own, but also what rights other people may already have over it.

#Easement #PropertyLaw #RealEstateLaw #KnowTheLaw #attorneyevans by @demitrusevans