Katharine Giudice, St. John’s University School of Law Class of 2012, is the author of the seventh article in a ten part series from the staffers of the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development under the direction of Professor Leonard Baynes. She writes on the failure of the law to provide mechanisms through which [...]
The United Nations (UN) called on all parties to the Libyan revolution to maintain respect for human rights as the conflict winds down in Sirte . As the interim government forces push through the hometown of former Libyan leader Mummar Gaddafi , Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Ian Martin urged respect for the due process [...]
California Governor Jerry Brown Saturday vetoed a bill that would have allowed public colleges and universities to consider demographic factors such as race during the admissions process. The bill, introduced by Senator Ed Hernandez , would have effectively overturned ballot measure Proposition 209 , which banned the use of affirmative action for state hiring, contracting, [...]
An Obama administration legal memorandum from last year found that the killing of US citizen and senior al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki would only be legal if it were not feasible to take al-Awlaki alive. The memo last year followed months of legal debate regarding the decision to kill a US citizen without first having [...]
California Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Dream Act into law on Saturday, expanding financial aid to undocumented students. Under AB 131, high achieving students who are in the process of applying for citizenship are eligible to receive financial aid for college. The newly enacted law builds on AB 130, signed into law by Governor [...]
Two congressmen on Thursday introduced a joint resolution in each house of Congress to block a planned arms sale to Bahrain . Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) declared the bill as a reaction to a planned sale of $53 million worth of weapons to Bahrain, which was announced in mid-September . [...]
A federal judge on Thursday ruled against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding its process for granting permits used by coal companies for mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. The EPA unveiled stricter guidelines in 2009 to issue permits to companies who sought to dump fill material from the removal mining into streams. The National [...]
Three human rights groups on Friday called for the release of Nobel peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo , imprisoned on an 11-year sentence in China for “inciting subversion of state power” and dissidence. Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) released simultaneous press briefings urging freedom for Liu, and his [...]
The Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested three former governors of Nigerian states on Thursday for allegedly embezzling 101 billion naira (USD $615M). Officials arrested former Ogun state governor Gbenga Daniel, former Oyo state governor Adebayo Alao-Akala and former Nasarawa state governor Ali Akwe Doma for interrogation purposes. The arrests were in response [...]
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on Thursday declared that former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livini enjoys temporary diplomatic immunity during her visit to London, thereby sparing her from arrest. Livini risked arrest after an application was made on Tuesday to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) , seeking his consent to a private [...]
