German ruling on Iraq war crimes complaint [DE Generalbundesanwalt] News
German ruling on Iraq war crimes complaint [DE Generalbundesanwalt]

Ruling by the German Federal Prosecutor, February 10, 2005 [rejecting a complaint brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights and 4 former Iraqi detainees seeking prosecution under German law of US officials for war crimes in connection with actions of US military personnel at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad]. Read the press release on the ruling in German. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko died in police custody

On September 12, 1977, South African anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko died in police custody after having suffered a massive head injury during interrogation following his arrest. The story of journalist Donald Woods' investigation into the circumstances of Biko's death was the basis of the 1987 film Cry Freedom.

Read an address on Stephen Biko delivered by then-South African President Nelson Mandela on the 20th anniversary of Biko's death in 1997.

Supreme Court unanimously rejects state challenge Brown v. Board of Education

On September 12, 1958, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected a state government challenge to Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka Kansas, which had overturned segregation. In Cooper vs. Aaron, the State Government of Arkansas challenged the authority of the Court to implement desegregation. The Court responded by forcefully re-asserting its authority and the authority of the federal government over the states.