The US Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in eight cases, consolidating two for oral arguments. In Filarsky v. Delia , the court will consider whether a lawyer retained to work with government employees in conducting an internal affairs investigation is precluded from asserting qualified immunity solely because of his status as a “private” lawyer [...]
Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced on Tuesday that officials will carry out DNA tests on the thousands of bodies recently uncovered in unmarked graves in the country’s northern region. Abdullah called for families of missing persons to provide DNA samples for testing. The announcement comes after Amnesty International (AI) called on leaders in the [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida on Monday began reviewing the lawsuit challenging a Florida state law requiring drug testing before welfare applicants can receive benefits. Judge Mary Scriven heard arguments Monday on both the constitutionality of the drug testing law and whether plaintiff, Luis Lebron, could represent [...]
A judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Monday indefinitely delayed the sentencing of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich . Blagojevich was scheduled to be sentenced on October 6 after he was convicted in June on multiple counts of corruption. US District Court Judge James Zagel gave no reason [...]
The Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education voted on Monday to grant in-state college tuition rates at Rhode Island state institutions to children whose parents immigrated to the US illegally. The decision is seen by some as a stepping stone in the broader context of the contentious immigration debate with proponents arguing that [...]
The Obama administration on Monday declined to seek en banc review by the full US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit of its August decision striking down the individual mandate provision of the health care reform law , clearing the path for an appeal to the US Supreme Court . The decision could mean [...]
Amnesty International (AI) urged Thailand on Tuesday to stop the insurgents’ deliberate targeting of civilians in Southern Thailand. The pressure on Thailand comes after AI released a report detailing the deliberate attacks against civilians which they claim amount to war crimes. During the past eight years of insurgency aggression, nearly 5,000 civilians have been killed [...]
Libyan transitional justice minister Mohammed al-Alagi said Monday that he plans to abolish the nation’s security prosecution and court and the state security appeals court. The state security court system had been used to jail thousands of dissidents and people who opposed the regime of Muammar Gaddafi . Speaking at a news conference, al-Alagi said [...]
The trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was suspended Monday until next month amid bias claims. Lawyers for the families of the anti-Mubarak protesters who were killed argued to the Cairo Appeals Court that Judge Ahmed Refaat was overseeing the case in an arbitrary manner . Refaat suspended the trial until October 30, but [...]
The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia approved a restitution law that provides for compensation or the return of property confiscated by communist authorities following World War II. The bill, passed by an overwhelming majority , is part of a larger property rights reform package that is key to Serbia’s bid to join the [...]
