The Illinois House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriage . The bill , known as the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act Illinois, passed the state senate in February . Although the bill allows same-sex couples to marry, it allows religious organizations to refuse to celebrate or solemnize marriages if they so [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Ruthann Robson of the CUNY School of Law argues that allowing seemingly sectarian corporations to use religious beliefs as grounds for denying employees benefits mandated under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could create many problems …
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in three cases. In Bond v. United States the court heard arguments on whether there are limits to Congress’ authority to intrude on local and state programs with a valid international treaty. Carol Anne Bond attempted to poison her husband’s lover by applying two toxic chemicals to [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in Burt v. Titlow that the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit did not apply an appropriate standard of review when it ruled that counsel was ineffective. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the opinion, explaining that, in the context of a prisoner asking a federal court to set [...]
A Bangladeshi court sentenced 152 former members of a paramilitary border security force, the 13th Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Battalion, to death on Tuesday in connection with their participation in a February 2009 mutiny in which 74 people died, including 57 top political officers. The court also acquitted 271 people. Prosecutors in the case initially brought [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of shareholders’ lawsuit against Freddie Mac alleging the company misled investors by understating its sub-prime mortgage exposure and overstating its capital strength. The US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the lawsuit brought by the shareholders for [...]
Turkey was ordered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to pay €20,000 (USD $27,000) in damages to Mesut Deniz for his torture at the hands of police in a judgment released Tuesday. Deniz, a 38-year-old Turkish National, was arrested in October 1999 and is currently being detained in Sincan Prison, Ankara Province. Medical [...]
Amnesty International (AI) called on Spanish authorities Tuesday to address the legacy of Franco era disappearances , calling the failure to do so a “betrayal of justice.” AI submitted a report to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, claiming that the proposed reforms to Spain’s criminal code do not meet the requirements set by international [...]
A lawsuit filed on Monday in the second judicial district court of Minnesota alleges that Secretary of State Mark Ritchie acted beyond his authority with the establishment of an online voter registration system in September. The petition was filed by a pair of conservative advocacy groups, Minnesota Majority and Minnesota Voters Alliance , and four [...]
Right to Life of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit in the US District Court in the Western District of Michigan on Monday over provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that require insurance companies to provide sterilization, contraceptives and morning after pills. Right to Life has 33 employees, and has been offering [...]
