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Jurist
[JURIST] Convicted US district court judge Samuel Kent [official profile] on Tuesday submitted his letter of resignation to President Barack Obama effective June 2010, after pleading guilty [JURIST report] to obstruction of justice [18 USC § 1512(c)(2) text] charges in connection with the alleged sexual harassment of his secretary and former case manager. The delayed resignation would allow Kent
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5:21
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website] on Tuesday upheld [opinion, PDF] a ban on handguns in two Illinois municipalities. The panel of judges affirmed the district court ruling [opinion, PDF] that the incorporation of the Second Amendment [JURIST news archive] into the Bill of Rights as it is applied to the states is a question for the Supreme Court [official
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5:18
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] has rejected Georgia's system of voter citizenship verification by way of a Social Security and driver's license database. In a letter [text, PDF] released Monday, Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King told Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker [official profile] that the proposed changes are discriminatory. Referring to
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4:39
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Jurist
[JURIST] Canadian Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan [official profile] on Tuesday announced [press release] the introduction of legislation [C-35 text; materials] to the House of Commons that would allow victims of terrorism to sue perpetrators in Canadian courts. The Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act [Public Safety backgrounder] would allow any individuals who can prove a link between an
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4:19
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Federal Social Court of Western Germany [official website, in German] ruled Tuesday that Jewish-German Holocaust [JURIST news archive] survivors as a class are eligible to collect old-age pension benefits. Specifically, the court found [DW report] that although the work performed by three particular Jewish pension claimants in connection with their concentration camp detentions
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3:45
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Jurist
[JURIST] Human rights groups on Tuesday called for the Spanish government to continue prosecuting those who violate international law under the principle of universal jurisdiction [AI backgrounder], sending a manifesto [text, PDF, in Spanish] to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero [official profile, in Spanish]. The call from more than 100 human rights groups comes less than two
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12:26
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Jurist
[JURIST] A court in China's Yunnan Province [official website, in Mandarin] on Tuesday sentenced three executives from a Chinese chemical company for polluting Yangzonghai Lake [Greenlaw backgrounder]. Chengjiang Jinye Industry and Trade Company chairman Li Dahong was sentenced to four years in jail [Xinhua report] and fined 300,000 yuan ($44,000 USD) by the Chengjiang County Basic Level Court,
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11:14
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Jurist
[JURIST] An Iraqi court Tuesday convicted and sentenced an Iraqi man to life in prison for the 2004 kidnapping and killing of British aid worker Margaret Hassan [Times Online obituary]. Ali Lutfi al-Rawi, allegedly a member of a gang that kidnapped and killed Hassan in Baghdad, pleaded not guilty to the charges. After a hearing in Baghdad's Central Criminal Court, al-Rawi was found guilty [Times
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10:36
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Jurist
[JURIST] A Pakistani court on Tuesday ended the house arrest of the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) [CFR backgrounder], the Pakistani militant group suspected of carrying out the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. The Lahore High Court said that there was insufficient evidence linking Hafiz Muhammad Saeed [Global Jihad backgrounder] or his charity group
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9:51
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Jurist
[JURIST] A team of investigators from the UN Human Rights Council [official website] arrived in Gaza Monday to begin examining alleged violations of international human rights law during December and January's fighting between Israel and Hamas. The team is headed by former South African Constitutional Court [official profile] judge Richard Goldstone, who was also the chief prosecutor at the
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9:26
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Jurist
[JURIST] Former Enron [JURIST news archive] executive Kevin Howard [DOJ materials] pleaded guilty [plea agreement, PDF] Monday to falsifying books and records in relation to Enron's broadband service. The plea resulted from accusations [complaint text] that Howard indirectly caused the false recording of revenue earnings for Enron by failing to disclose material facts to outside accountant Arthur
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Jurist
[JURIST] A federal court on Monday stayed habeas corpus challenges [opinion, PDF] brought by three detainees held at Bagram Air Base [official website; GlobalSecurity backgrounder] pending appeal. Judge John Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] granted a motion [text, PDF ; JURIST report] filed in April by the government asking that he certify and suspend
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7:27
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Jurist
[JURIST] The decision to not release photographs [JURIST report] allegedly depicting detainee abuse followed warnings from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki [official website, in Arabic; BBC profile] that releasing the photos would cause more violence and could delay the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, according to a McClatchy report [text] published Monday. According to the report, Maliki
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5:58
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Jurist
[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] said that appropriate steps would be taken [statement] to help prevent acts of violence related to the Sunday shooting of abortion doctor George Tiller [BBC profile]. Holder has enlisted the US Marshal Service [official website] to offer protection to other at-risk people and facilities in the country. Additionally, Holder maintained
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5:32
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Jurist
[JURIST] A California court on Monday dismissed [opinion, PDF] a lawsuit challenging a state law that prohibits discrimination based on gender orientation or identity in public schools. Judge Shelleyanne Chang of the Sacramento County Superior Court [official website] said that the challenge to California Education Code sections 220 and 210.7 [text] brought by Advocates for Faith and Freedom [
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5:13
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Moscow City Court [official backgrounder] on Monday rejected the appeals of former Yukos [JURIST news archive] chief executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky [defense website; JURIST news archive] and his former business partner Platon Lebedev [defense website]. The court dismissed all appeals [RIA Novosti report] from the preliminary hearings concerning the second set of embezzlement, oil
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3:59
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Jurist
[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] denied [opinion, PDF] the government's motion on Monday to keep sealed unclassified judicial records connected to the imprisonment of Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees. Judge Thomas Hogan ruled that the public has both First Amendment and common law rights to access the unclassified documents.
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Jurist
[JURIST] Canadian Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] Monday asked to have his US military lawyers dismissed [CBC report] for arguing and disagreeing among themselves. The disputes among the members of Khadr's US defense team arose from chief defense counsel Colonel Peter Masciola's efforts to dismiss Lieutenant Commander William Kuebler [JURIST news archive] as
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11:34
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Jurist
[JURIST] Finland's Office of the Prosecutor General [official website, in Finnish] on Monday charged [press release] former Rwandan pastor Francois Bazaramba with genocide and 15 associated murders. Bazaramba is accused of organizing and carrying out the killing of more than 5,000 civilians in the in the town of Nyakizu during the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder; BBC backgrounder].
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative [official website; rule, PDF] went into effect Monday, heightening document requirements [text] for entering and re-entering the US by land or sea. The initiative requires all citizens of the US, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and Caribbean nations to have a passport or other form of approved documentation in order to enter or depart the US. The
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9:56
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Jurist
[JURIST] US automaker General Motors (GM) [corporate website] filed [case materials] for Chapter 11 [text] bankruptcy protection Monday. The proceedings will be handled by Judge Robert Gerber of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York [official website], the court which is also overseeing the bankruptcy of rival automaker Chrysler Group [corporate website]. US President
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9:16
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] issued an order Monday allowing the government more time to appeal a ruling [JURIST report] mandating the release of photos allegedly depicting detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. The order, issued by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg [UPI report], follows a Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] request [motion, PDF; JURIST report] last week
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9:06
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Jurist
[JURIST] The legislative committee of the Israeli cabinet [official website] on Sunday rejected a bill that would make a declaration of allegiance to a "Jewish, Zionist and democratic" Israel a prerequisite to the issuance of a national identity card. The measure was proposed last week by Knesset [official website] member David Rotem of the Israel Beytenu [official websites] party, which was the
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7:26
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] issued opinions in two cases on Monday. In Bobby v. Bies [Cornell LII backgrounder; JURIST report], the Court ruled [opinion, PDF] unanimously that a post-conviction hearing to determine the mental competency of a capital defendant convicted before the Court's 2002 ruling in Atkins v. Virginia [opinion, PDF], which prohibits
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7:12
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday granted certiorari [order list, PDF] in Bilski v. Doll [docket; cert. petition, PDF] to review the scope of patentable subject matter. The Court will review a US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit [official website] en banc ruling [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] which affirmed a Board of Patent Appeals and
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5:33
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Jurist
[JURIST] A federal bankruptcy judge on Sunday approved the sale of most of the assets currently held by Chrysler Group to Italian automaker Fiat S.p.A. [corporate websites]. Judge Arthur Gonzales of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] approved a bankruptcy plan that would transfer 55 percent of Chrysler to a United Auto Workers (UAW) [union website]
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5:33
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Nevada Assembly [official website] on Sunday approved a same-sex partnership law [SB 283, PDF; materials], overriding the governor's veto [press release, PDF] by a 28-14 vote [roll call vote]. The measure, passed in the state senate [roll call vote] a day earlier by the requisite two-thirds vote, seeks to give same-sex partners the same rights, protections, and benefits as are given
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Jurist
[JURIST] Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama [official profile] on Sunday dismissed calls from Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] to publish the official death toll [AI press release] during the finals weeks of the armed conflict [JURIST news archive] that ended earlier this month. Bogollagama said that only Sri Lankan courts will be permitted [France 24 report] to
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6:57
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Jurist
[JURIST] Officials from the G8 countries [BBC backgrounder] on Saturday agreed to work toward establishing a system for trying pirates captured in African waters [JURIST news archive]. The recent increase in pirate activity has created problems for where to try captured pirates. If the pirates are tried in Europe, they may be able to bring successful asylum claims, and in Africa, poor governance
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Jurist
[JURIST] Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith [official profile] confirmed on Friday that Australia is considering the Obama administration's request that Australia accept six of the Uighur Guantanamo detainees [JURIST news archive] who have already been cleared for release. Smith said that each case will be considered using the same guidelines that were used to consider the prior
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12:51
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Jurist
[JURIST] US President Barack Obama [official website] rebuked [text; video] Republicans who would oppose his nomination of Sonia Sotomayor [WH profile; LOC materials] for the US Supreme Court [official website] Saturday in his weekly address. The president predicted failure for "those in Washington who are attempting to draw old battle lines and playing the usual political games, pulling a few
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11:29
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Obama administration urged the US Supreme Court [official website] Friday to reject a petition for certiorari [text, PDF; JURIST report] filed by 14 Chinese Uighur Muslims held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archives] seeking their release. Taking the same stance as the Bush administration, the Obama administration argued in its reply brief [text, PDF] that although the Court has the
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12:13
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Canada [official website] ruled [judgment text] Friday that a convicted marijuana grower should not have to forfeit her house pursuant to a sentence since asset forfeiture may result in unequal treatment of convicted criminals. The court, reviewing a Court of Appeal for British Columbia [official website] ruling [judgment text], rejected the lower court's totality
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9:46
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Jurist
[JURIST] A New York state appeals court ruled [opinion text] that a family court does not have jurisdiction over a child support claim against a same-sex partner with no legal or biological ties to the child. In an opinion released Tuesday, the court ruled that a family court of limited jurisdiction has not been specifically authorized to entertain such claims. Although the court cited precedent
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8:58
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Jurist
[JURIST] A prosecutor from the Spanish National Court has asked that arrest warrants be issued for three accused Nazi prison guards [JURIST news archive] currently living in the US. Prosecutor Pedro Martinez Torrijos said [DPA report] that Johann Leprich [DOJ press release; JURIST report], Anton Tittjung [AP report] and Josias Kumpf [DOJ press release, PDF] are accomplices to genocide owing to
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8:18
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Jurist
[JURIST] Defense counsel for Canadian-born media mogul Conrad Black [CBC profile; JURIST news archive] on Thursday submitted [docket] an application for bail [motion, PDF] pending appeal to Justice John Paul Stevens of the US Supreme Court [official website]. The application for bail follows the Supreme Court's recent grant of certiorari [JURIST report] in Black's case, appealing his fraud
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7:15
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website] on Thursday charged 10 brokers [complaint, PDF; press release] with fraud for misleading customers into investing in high-risk mortgage securities. According the SEC, brokers from the defunct Brookstreet Securities Corporation held out collateralized mortgage obligations (CMO) [SEC backgrounder], which the SEC says are
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5:45
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] Thursday requested [motion, PDF] the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] to recall an earlier mandate requiring the government to release photos of alleged detainee abuse. The motion asks the court to recall their April ruling [JURIST report] because "the Solicitor General has determined that the government
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5:40
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Jurist
[JURIST] A federal court on Thursday upheld the constitutionality [opinion, PDF] of mandatory DNA collection for all persons arrested or detained under federal authority. Judge Gregory Hollows of the US District Court for the Eastern District of California [official website] found that although the collection of DNA from those arrested on federal felony, sexual abuse, or violent crime charges
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5:04
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US has failed to adequately prevent and prosecute war crimes and other abuses during its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions [official website] Philip Alston [oficial profile, DOC] said in a report [text, PDF] released Thursday. The report found, "Some aspects of the rule of law have been taken seriously during
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4:04
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Jurist
[JURIST] Canada's Supreme Court [official website] agreed [docket] Thursday to review an Ontario court decision upholding media restrictions on the Toronto 18 [Toronto Star backgrounder] terrorism case. Under Canada's criminal code [text] the media may attend pre-trial hearings but in some instances may not report on them to prevent biasing potential jurors. The plaintiffs, which include the
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Jurist
[JURIST] German legislators in the lower house of the Bundestag [official website, in German] Thursday approved a bill [text, PDF, in German] that criminalizes training in terrorist camps, among other provisions. Under existing law, prosecution of an individual for involvement in a suspected terrorist organization requires membership in the organization or support of it. The proposed legislation
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11:51
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Jurist
[JURIST] The International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] on Thursday denied [order, PDF] Belgium's request to compel Senegal to extradite former Chadian president Hissene Habre [BBC profile]. Belgium had accused Senegal of violating international law, including Article 7 of the Convention Against Torture [text], by not trying Habre in Senegal, where he has lived under house arrest
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10:21
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Tokyo High Court [official website, in Japanese] granted an appeal Thursday to consider 30 people for official recognition as atomic bomb victims, ruling that 9 of the plaintiffs who were previously denied should receive the status. Officials said that the government will consider revising [AP report] the way it determines which atomic bomb survivors are to receive free medical care
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8:27
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Jurist
[JURIST] Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] Secretary-General Irene Khan said Thursday that the global economic crisis is exacerbating [press release] the world's human rights failures, urging governments to "invest in human rights as purposefully as they are investing in economic growth." Khan spoke at the release of the 2009 Annual Report [text, PDF; materials], which says that
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7:31
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Jurist
[JURIST] A US federal judge Wednesday sentenced [DOJ press release] the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) [ADL backgrounder; case materials] and five of its officials pursuant to their convictions of providing material support to Palestinian group Hamas [BBC backgrounder]. District Judge Jorge Solis sentenced Shurki Abu Baker, Mohammad El-Mezain, Ghassan Elashi, Mufid Abdulqader and Abdulrahman Odeh to
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7:06
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Jurist
[JURIST] The UN Human Rights Council [official website] adopted a resolution [text, DOC] Wednesday "welcoming the conclusion of hostilities" in Sri Lanka, but failing to call for an investigation into war crimes committed during the conflict. Adopted during the 11th special session on human rights [materials], the resolution condemned the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) [JURIST news
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5:50
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Jurist
[JURIST] The photographs of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archive] that US President Barack Obama [official website] does not want to release include depictions of rape and sexual assault, according to former US Major General Antonio Taguba on Wednesday. In an interview [text] with the Daily Telegraph, Taguba maintained support for Obama's decision [JURIST report] not to
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5:37
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Knesset [official website], Israel's parliament, on Wednesday approved 47-34 the preliminary reading of a bill that would punish public statements likely to "cause an act of hatred, scorn or disloyalty to the state" with one year in prison. Introduced by MK Zevulun Orlev [official profile] of the Habayit Hayehudi [party website, in Hebrew] party, the bill is aimed at criminalizing
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4:56
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Jurist
[JURIST] A disciplinary panel of judges ruled Wednesday that former US District Court judge Samuel Kent [official profile] engaged in conduct that constitutes grounds for impeachment [certification letter, PDF], and urged prompt action on the matter. Kent, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice [JURIST report] for lying about allegations of sexual harassment of two female assistants, had
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4:11
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Myanmar court hearing the trial of pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] has rejected the defense's request to call four witnesses. While the prosecution has been allowed to call 14 witnesses, Suu Kyi's lawyers will only be permitted one defense witness [BBC report], who is scheduled to testify Thursday. Suu Kyi's lawyers believe that the decision
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11:26
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Jurist
[JURIST] Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions [official website], the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website], said Wednesday that he does not anticipate a filibuster [AP report] against US Supreme Court [official website] nominee Sonia Sotomayor [official profile]. Sessions addressed [press release] the Judiciary Committee's process, stressing the importance of Sotomayor
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9:45
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Spanish Supreme Court [official website, in Spanish] announced Wednesday that it will accept a challenge [order, PDF, in Spanish] accusing Audiencia Nacional Judge Baltasar Garzon [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] of knowingly giving an unjust verdict or resolution. The decision comes as the result of a complaint filed by Manos Limpias [group website, in Spanish], a union of public
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9:23
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Constitutional Court of Moldova [official website] has upheld a recent law barring certain government officials from holding dual citizenship. The controversial law no. 273 [backgrounder, PDF] was passed by the Communist Party in April 2008 and, among other provisions, requires citizens to relinquish foreign passports before taking a seat in parliament. The European Court of Human
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8:33
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Jurist
[JURIST] Former US solicitor general Ted Olson and prominent litigator David Boies [professional profiles] announced [video] Wednesday that they have filed suit [complaint, PDF; motion for injunction, PDF] challenging California's constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive], Proposition 8 [text, PDF], on federal Constitutional grounds. The complaint, filed Friday in
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8:31
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Jurist
[JURIST] Mexican security forces arrested 27 government officials in Michoacan Tuesday on corruption charges related to the illegal drug trade [Los Angeles Times backgrounder]. Those arrested include [Houston Chronicle report] 10 mayors, the chief adviser to the Michoacan attorney general, the director of the Michoacan police academy, and the top public security aide to Governor Leonel Godoy [
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6:50
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Jurist
[JURIST] A Tasmanian anti-discrimination court Wednesday upheld [decision text] an Australian Red Cross [organization website] policy [text] to refuse blood donations from sexually active homosexual males. Petitioner Michael Cain tried to donate blood in 2004 but his offer was refused after he affirmatively answered an inquiry into whether he "had male-to-male sex" in the past 12 months. Cain
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6:07
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Jurist
[JURIST] Tunisian Minister of Justice and Human Rights [official website, in French] Bechir Tekkari announced Tuesday that the country is prepared to accept the return of 10 Tunisians currently detained at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. Tekkari said [AFP report] that Tunisia is capable of conducting fair trials and is "entirely happy to welcome [the detainees] and examine their penal
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5:33
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Jurist
[JURIST] A federal judge ruled [order, PDF] Wednesday that recorded conversations [transcript, PDF] between the brother of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich [JURIST news archive], Robert Blagojevich, and Illinois Senator Roland Burris [official profile] could be released to the US Senate Ethics Committee [official website] to be used in the committee's investigation into the appointment of
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5:02
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Jurist
[JURIST] Jordan should restore its rule of law by ending extrajudicial detentions of crime victims, personal enemies, and persons freed by the courts, according to a report [text] released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website]. Per the 1954 Crime Prevention Law [DOS backgrounder], which is currently in effect, government officials have the power to order administrative detentions
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4:29
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Jurist
[JURIST] Nobel Laureate and pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] on Tuesday told a Myanmar court that she did not violate the terms of her house arrest when an American man swam to her house. While Suu Kyi did not deny the fact that she allowed the man to stay after he swam to her house, she did deny responsibility [AP report], saying instead that the Myanmar
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4:04
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Eastern High Court of Denmark [official website, in Danish] ruled Tuesday that the Copenhagen counterculture group Christiana [community website, in Danish] had not acquired permanent property rights [press release, in Danish] to the abandoned Copenhagen navy base and that the Danish government [official website] was within its rights to cancel the group's use of the property. The
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3:36
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Pentagon said Tuesday that it has evidence that confirms that 27 released Guantanamo Bay detainees [fact sheet, PDF] have engaged in combat or terrorism against the US. The evidence, implicating five percent of ex-detainees, includes "fingerprints, DNA, and reliable, verified, or well-corroborated intelligence reporting." The five percent who have been confirmed is less than the
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12:33
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Sweden [official website, in Swedish] ruled [judgment, PDF, in Swedish] Tuesday that the Swedish government would have the final authority on granting extradition of an alleged Rwandan war criminal. The Republic of Rwanda requested extradition of Hutu Sylvere Ahorugeze for charges of genocide and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the 1994 genocide [
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12:11
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] on Tuesday lifted a ban [judgment, PDF] preventing opposition politician and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif [JURIST news archive] from participating in politics. The Supreme Court had barred [JURIST report] Sharif from holding elected office in Pakistan because of an earlier criminal conviction for "hijacking." Sharif was convicted of
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11:15
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Jurist
[JURIST] An Egyptian court on Monday overturned the conviction of dissident Saad Eddin Ibrahim [professional profile] on charges related to defaming Egypt. Ibrahim, founder of the Ibn Khaldoun Centre for Development Studies [academic website], has been a prominent human rights activist and outspoken critic of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak [BBC profile]. A dual US and Egyptian citizen, he was
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10:35
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Jurist
[JURIST] Delegates to Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) [official website] have recommended that a war crimes court be established to try individuals accused of committing atrocities during the country's 1989-2003 civil war. Thirteen representatives from each of Liberia's 15 counties met with the TRC during week-long Regional County Consultations to allow the committee an
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10:12
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Jurist
[JURIST] The California Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Tuesday that constitutional challenges to Proposition 8 [text, PDF], which amended the California Constitution [text] to prohibit same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive], lacked merit and that the amendment stands as lawful. The proposition, which took effect in November, 2008 after voter approval [JURIST report],
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8:20
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] issued three opinions on Tuesday. In Montejo v. Louisiana [Cornell LII backgrounder; JURIST report], the Court decided 5-4 to overturn [opinion, PDF] its 1986 decision in Michigan v. Jackson [text], which found that the Sixth Amendment required that police cease interrogations after a suspect had invoked his right to counsel, ruling that the Fifth
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7:04
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Jurist
[JURIST] US President Barack Obama [WH profile] on Monday announced [press release] Sonia Sotomayor [official profile] as his nomination for the US Supreme Court [official website]. Sotomayor, currently a justice for the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website], would replace Justice David Souter [official profile, PDF; JURIST news archive] when he retires [JURIST report] at
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6:55
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Tuesday granted certiorari [orders list, PDF] in Merck Co. v. Reynolds [docket; cert. petition, PDF], in which the Court will decide when the statute of limitations begins to run in a securities fraud case under the "inquiry notice" standard. Investors brought a class action suit against the drug maker Merck Co. [corporate website] in
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5:34
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Jurist
[JURIST] US military lawyers for Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Mohammed Jawad [ACLU materials, JURIST news archive] asked the Supreme Court of Afghanistan [official website] Monday to demand his release from the facility. The lawyers have petitioned the Afghan high court because the planned closure of Guantanamo [JURIST news archive] has allegedly delayed the case [AP report] in
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5:31
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Jurist
[JURIST] Representatives of the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS) and the Law Council of Australia (LCA) [official websites] said Monday that the Fijian government's plan to take over the issuance of legal licenses threatens to disrupt the rule of law in the country. In a decree [text, PDF] issued Friday, the government of Fijian Prime Minister Commodore Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama [BBC
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15:34
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Russian State Duma [official website, in Russian] passed a bill on Friday that would end the ability of the country's Constitutional Court [official website] to select its president and double the length of the court president's term. The bill was approved in its third reading by a final vote of 352-57 [St. Petersberg Times report]. Under the legislative amendments [JURIST report],
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13:47
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Jurist
[JURIST] Mongolia Democratic Party [party website, in Mongolian] presidential candidate Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj [Taipei Times profile] on Monday defeated current president Nambar Enkhbayar [official website, in Mongolian] in the country's general election. Educated in the US, Elbegborj ran on a platform of fighting corruption [Xinhua report] and redistributing profits from the country's mining
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9:50
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Jurist
[JURIST] Former Bosnian Serb leader and war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic [ICTY materials; JURIST news archive] on Monday filed a motion [text, PDF] renewing his claim that that International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] should drop charges against him because of a deal he made with former US ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke [PBS profile]. Karadzic
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11:23
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Jurist
[JURIST] Former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] apparently committed suicide Saturday by leaping off a 30-foot cliff. Roh and members of Roh's family were under investigation [UPI report] by the Republic of Korea's Supreme Prosecutor's Office [official website] for allegedly accepting bribes while in office. A spokesperson for South Korea's Ministry of
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7:35
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Jurist
[JURIST] The first person convicted under Canada's post-9/11 terrorism law [JURIST report] was sentenced Friday to 36 months in prison, and released by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice [official website] in consideration of the time he has already served in prison since his arrest in 2006. The yet-unnamed man will be on three-year probation and placed under a ten-year weapon ownership ban,
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12:21
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia [official website] on Friday affirmed [opinion, PDF] a district court ruling [JURIST report] that tobacco manufacturers conducted a scheme to deceive American consumers as to the health effects of their products through a pattern of mail and wire fraud. The US brought the initial action under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
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11:39
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Jurist
[JURIST] Rwandan Hutu Desire Munyaneza [Trial Watch profile] was convicted [judgment, DOC] by the Superior Court of Quebec [official website] Friday on seven counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes under Canada's new Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act [text, PDF]. Munyaneza is the first person to have been charged under the act, which Canada ratified in 2000 in order
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11:11
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Jurist
[JURIST] The South Korean Supreme Court [official website, in Korean] on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling allowing a brain-damaged patient the right to die [JURIST news archive]. The patient, a 76-year old woman on life-support at a Yonsei University medical center [hospital website], is brain-dead [Hankyora report] and unable to survive without the use of a respirator. Chief Justice Lee
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9:56
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Jurist
[JURIST] Former US soldier Steven Green [JURIST news archive] was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenage girl [JURIST news archive] and the murder of her family in Mahmudiya. A federal jury in the US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky [official website], which convicted [JURIST report] Green earlier this month, was instructed [proposed
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9:05
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Jurist
[JURIST] Spanish National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz Gomez [JURIST news archive] reinstated charges [indictment, PDF, in Spanish] Thursday against three US soldiers for their involvement in the death of Spanish cameraman Jose Couso [advocacy website, in Spanish], which occurred when the soldiers opened fire on a Baghdad hotel frequented by Western journalists in 2003, allegedly without
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7:49
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Bolivian Senate [official website, in Spanish] announced Thursday that an impeachment trial for Chief Justice Dr. Eddy Walter Fernandez Gutierrez [official profile, in Spanish] of the Bolivian Supreme Court [official website, in Spanish] will be held on June 3. The Chamber of Deputies [official website, in Spanish], Bolivia's lower congressional house, impeached Fernandez and
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7:06
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Jurist
[JURIST] Former US vice president Dick Cheney [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] on Thursday defended national security policies [speech transcript] of the Bush administration. Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) [organization website], Cheney criticized many of the security policies of President Barack Obama [official profile] and described how the 9/11 terrorist attacks affected
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5:18
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Jurist
[JURIST] A French Internet piracy law [text, in French; JURIST news archive] has been challenged on constitutional grounds by the opposition Socialist party [party website, in French] in front of the Constitutional Council [official website, in French]. The bill, introduced by cultural minister Christine Albanel and supported by President Nicholas Sarkozy [official websites, in French], is aimed
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4:26
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Jurist
[JURIST] Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] dismissed his defense lawyers Thursday and announced he would not call any witnesses in protest of what he sees as a politically motivated prosecution [Taipei Times report]. Chen, who was indicted [JURIST report] in December, faces possible life in prison on charges of embezzlement, receiving bribes, forgery,
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12:46
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Jurist
[JURIST] Authorities in Myanmar on Thursday closed the trial of pro-democracy advocate and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] after briefly opening it to 30 foreign diplomats [JURIST report] Wednesday. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon [official website] said Wednesday that he plans to visit Myanmar "as soon as possible" to urge the release of Suu Kyi and other
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11:58
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced [press release] Thursday that accused bomber and Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani [GlobalSecurity profile] will be prosecuted in a US federal court for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of US embassies [PBS backgrounder] in Kenya and Tanzania. The announcement follows the ordered
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10:33
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Jurist
[JURIST] US President Barack Obama [official profile] on Thursday reaffirmed [speech transcript] his commitment to closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility while upholding the rule of law by trying some detainees in federal courts and others in modified military commissions [JURIST news archives]. In a speech focusing on national security issues at the National Archives [official website],
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10:22
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Jurist
[JURIST] The New Hampshire House of Representatives [official website] on Wednesday rejected a same-sex marriage bill [text] after it was amended [text] at the request [JURIST report] of Governor John Lynch [official website]. The bill was defeated by a 186-188 vote [roll call vote] after a religious liberty protection clause was added to gain Lynch's approval. The amended bill, which specified
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8:52
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Jurist
[JURIST] An Italian judge ruled Wednesday that the trial of 26 Americans and seven Italians [JURIST news archive] involving the 2003 abduction of Egyptian cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr by the CIA will proceed despite excluded evidence. Judge Oscar Magi of the Fourth Chamber of the Court of Milan [official website, in Italian] determined that the case will continue despite a ruling [Reuters
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7:40
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Jurist
[JURIST] US President Barack Obama [official profile] on Wednesday signed into law [press release] the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act [S 386 materials], which aims at expanding the federal government's authority to prosecute acts of financial fraud. Obama said [press release] that the legislation would "ensure that the problems that led us into this [economic] crisis never happen again." The
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7:02
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Jurist
[JURIST] The Constitutional Court of Slovakia [official website] ruled [press release, PDF, in Slovak] Wednesday that the Special Court, established to try corruption and organized crime cases, violates the Slovak Constitution [text, PDF]. The Constitutional Court found that the ability of the National Security Authority (NBU) [official website] to revoke the security clearances of Special Court
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5:43
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Jurist
[JURIST] US President Barack Obama [official profile] on Wednesday directed [memorandum] heads of executive departments and agencies that a sufficient legal basis is required to preempt state laws and that any legitimate state prerogatives should be fully considered, marking a departure from Bush administration policy. The memo directs against the inclusion of preemption provisions in federal
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5:34
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Jurist
[JURIST] A Canadian man pleaded guilty [press release] Wednesday to one count of conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda [JURIST news archive] before a federal court. Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, a Canadian citizen of Somali descent, was charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support [18 USC § 2339B] to al Qaeda, one count of providing material support to al Qaeda, and
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5:06
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Jurist
[JURIST] FBI Director Robert Mueller [official profile; JURIST news archive] told the US House Judiciary Committee [hearing schedule] Wednesday that the transfer of Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archives] detainees to the US could pose a threat to national security, even if they remain in maximum security facilities. He said that they could either participate in terrorist activities [AP report]
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4:07
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Jurist
[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] on Wednesday voted 361-64 [roll call] to pass the Senate version of the Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights [text, PDF]. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) [official website] called the bill historic, and a stern rebuke to credit card companies that, "have unfairly profited at the expense of responsible, hardworking Americans who
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3:03
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Jurist
[JURIST] UN rights investigator Richard Goldman [appointment release; JURIST report] said Wednesday that his fact-finding mission into possible human rights violations during the recent Gaza Strip conflict [JURIST news archive] will continue despite objections by Israel. Goldman said that he plans to travel to the region in June and will hold public hearings to collect testimony about the alleged
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12:15
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Jurist
[JURIST] Authorities in Myanmar on Wednesday granted 39 foreign diplomats and journalists limited access to the trial of pro-democracy advocate and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. Suu Kyi met briefly with representatives of Thailand, the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); Russia, the current president of the UN Security Council [
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