Bahrain is convicting hundreds of opposition activists in unfair and politically motivated trials, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Tuesday. The 94-page report details alleged due process violations in both civilian and military courts. The report is based on information obtained from interviews with more than 50 defendants, lawyers and witnesses to the proceedings. It also [...]
The Georgia House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation banning late-term abortions . The bill, passed in a vote of 102-65, would prohibit most abortions performed beyond five months of pregnancy except in situations where continued pregnancy would affect the life or health of the mother. The legislation is premised on the controversial notion that [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Wednesday that a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation requiring cigarette packaging and advertisements to display more prominent graphic health warning labels is unconstitutional, issuing a permanent injunction. The regulation mandating nine new warning signs, initially set to take effect in September [...]
The US District Court for the District of Arizona on Wednesday blocked Arizona from enforcing a section of the state’s 2010 immigration enforcement law that bans drivers from blocking traffic to acquire or offer day labor services. The plaintiffs contend that the contested portions of the legislation violate the First Amendment right to commercial free [...]
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) voted Thursday to pass a non-binding resolution condemning Syrian authorities for continued bloodshed and violations of human rights. The resolution calls for the Syrian government to immediately end attacks on civilians . The measure was affirmed with 37 nations voting for the proposal while three voted against and three [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in Armour v. Indianapolis on tax equality under the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution. In Indianapolis, a tax scheme was changed mid-project, and several residents were forgiven the remainder of their balances on that tax. The petitioners, a group of citizens who paid their taxes [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Brandon Garrett of the University of Virginia School of Law says that enlarging DNA databanks with samples taken from all individuals arrested for felonies may increase the risk of wrongful convictions, while diverting attention away from more fruitful routes for improving the criminal justice system…
The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in Kurns v. Railroad Friction Products Corp. that the federal Locomotive Inspection Act (LIA) preempts state-law design-defect and failure-to-warn claims because these claims fall within the field of locomotive equipment regulation preempted by the act. The petitioner, George Corson, contracted mesothelioma and passed away after working as a welder [...]
The US House of Representatives approved legislation on Tuesday restricting the ability of states to take control over private property for public use under eminent domain . The Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2012 would effectively overturn the 2005 US Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London , authored by retired [...]
Former al Qaeda military commander Saif al-Adel was arrested at an airport in Cairo on Tuesday, according to the Egyptian media. Egyptian security officials detained al-Adel upon his arrival after noticing that his name appeared on the passenger list on a flight from Pakistan. Before he was taken away for questioning, however, al-Adel contended that [...]
