A federal judge on Friday reduced a $1.5 million jury verdict against a Minnesota woman who was found to have willfully shared music files to $54,000. Chief Judge Michael Davis of the US District Court for the District of Minnesota described the court as “intimately familiar” with the case against Jammie Thomas-Rasset, as it has [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday ruled that two former Guantanamo detainees cannot continue to litigate their habeas corpus petitions and refused to order the Government to rescind their designations as “enemy combatants.” Nazul Gul and Adel Hamad were detained at Guantanamo Bay for several years, during which [...]
US President Barack Obama on Friday certified the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) , the controversial policy barring openly gay individuals from serving in the military. The repeal was also certified by newly sworn-in Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and delivered to Congress. Panetta called the change “essential [...]
Kristy Kade, Associate Director of Advocacy and Public Policy for Pathfinder International, argues that the recent Second Circuit ruling that the US cannot withhold HIV/AIDS funding to organizations based on their stance on prostitution corrects a policy that tied the hands of organizations working to stop the spread of HIV… I expect few Americans took [...]
The Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights Ghana (CEPEHRG) warned Friday that the nation is on the verge of an “anti-gay hate campaign,” following reports of government-endorsed anti-gay sentiments. A spokesperson for the CEPEHRG said that the nation’s largely underground LGBT community is in a panic over recent remarks by Western Region Minister Paul [...]
Dave Saldana, Communications Director for Free Press, argues that the recent News Corp. scandal will likely follow along the line of the company’s previous US legal troubles, in which it was able to avoid penalties through campaign donations and deft lobbying…
The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO) in conjunction with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report on Friday accusing soldiers in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) of committing mass rape in last summer’s conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) . [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday overturned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “proxy access” rule. The rule allowed certain shareholders to have their board nominees listed on company-mailed proxy ballots that also list the management’s preferred candidates. Otherwise, the shareholders would incur the costs of mailing out [...]
Following Mexican Attorney General Arturo Chavez’s resignation in April, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) charged 111 officials who served under him with corruption on Thursday. Sixty-seven were charged with fraud while others were charged with varying offenses including falsifying documents, theft, interfering with administration of justice, misusing public service, abuse of power, lying in court, [...]
A North Dakota judge on Thursday issued a temporary injunction against a state law that effectively bans non-surgical abortions . The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) filed a complaint challenging the North Dakota and seeking an injunction on Monday. The law restricts the use of mifepristone, misoprostol and other drugs approved by the Food and [...]
