The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday in Tarrant Regional Water District v. Herrmann that the Red River Compact does not preempt Oklahoma water laws. The Red River Compact regulates water rights from the Red River among the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Tarrant Regional Water District, a Texas agency, claimed that it [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday in American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. Los Angeles that federal law preempts certain provisions of an agreement that trucking companies must sign before they can transport cargo at the Port of Los Angeles. In an opinion by Justice Elena Kagan, the court held, “that the Federal Aviation Administration [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated. The court also found that synthetically created DNA known as complementary DNA (cDNA) is patent eligible because it [...]
Jordan’s Parliament approved a treaty with the UK Wednesday that will lead to the deportation and fair trial of radical cleric Abu Qatada . The new treaty passed with support from both houses of parliament, provides for mutual legal assistance between the two nations and can include any persons from each country. Last month Qatada [...]
JURIST Contributing Editor Marjorie Cohn of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law aruges that the Turkish government must stop the violence against its own people…
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday struck down a law banning protests and demonstrations in the plaza of the US Supreme Court. Enacted in 1949, the law served to protect the grounds from vandalism but also prohibited processions, parades and the display of banners supporting a particular [...]
The government of the Canadian province of Quebec introduced a bill Wednesday that would permit doctors to provide patients with medical aid to die. Quebec Social Services Minister Veronique Hivon introduced the bill before the National Assembly . The proposed law provides special rules on the administration and consent requirements regarding medical aid to die [...]
A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a Colorado law that would have required businesses to place marijuana related magazines behind counters. Judge Richard Matsch of the US District Court for the District of Colorado ordered a permanent injunction against Amendment 64 which would have treated marijuana related magazines similarly to pornographic material. The ruling [...]
The Russian State Duma on Tuesday approveda bill that would criminalize the dissemination of materials supporting “non-traditional sexual relations” by a vote of 436-0, with one abstention. There are 450 seats in the lower parliamentary house, and critics believe this is a move towards reinforcing a heteronormative society led by the Russian Orthodox Church . [...]
Thousands of Turkish lawyers on Wednesday joined the ongoing protests in Ankara and Istanbul by marching out of courthouses in black robes. This came as the result of incidents occurring during the protests on Tuesday, where a number of lawyers were handcuffed and dragged on the ground by police officers. Prosecutors in Istanbul had begun [...]
