The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday asked federal judge Roger Vinson to clarify his ruling to require states to enact the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act during the pendency of the government’s appeal. In the motion, the government focused on the substantial uncertainty that would be faced by people who currently enjoy [...]
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at a congressional hearing Thursday that Guantanamo Bay is unlikely to be closed because of security concerns. Responding to a question from the Senate Armed Forces Committee , Gates said that the odds of closing the detention facility are “very, very low,” particularly because of congressional opposition, the difficulty [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of South Carolina on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by convicted terrorist Jose Padilla , ruling that he has no right to sue for constitutional violations. Padilla alleged he was isolated and tortured while being detained on a Navy military brig in Charleston, South Carolina. [...]
former financier Allen Stanford , accused of defrauding investors out of $7 billion in a Ponzi scheme, filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing federal agents of violating his constitutional rights. The suit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas , names 12 defendants, including members of the FBI, the Securities and [...]
The US House of Representatives on Thursday voted 279-143 to extend three surveillance provisions of the USA Patriot Act through May 27. The measures were set to expire on February 28. The provisions extended include roving wiretaps, “lone wolf” terrorism suspects and the government’s ability to seize “any tangible items” in the course of surveillance. [...]
UN Special Representative to Kosovo Lamberto Zannier on Wednesday requested that the UN Security Council open an independent investigation into alleged incidents of organ trafficking , inhuman treatment and other crimes by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war . The request follows shortly after the Council of Europe (COE) called for [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled Tuesday that former Somali prime minister and defense minister Mohamed Ali Samantar is not entitled to legal immunity from civil lawsuits. Samantar, who has lived in the greater Washington, DC, area for more than 15 years, was sued in 2004 by [...]
Amnesty International (AI) on Thursday released a report asserting new evidence that the the Supreme Military Council of Egypt has been torturing protester-detainees. Through various detainee accounts, AI stated that individuals were tortured “to intimidate protesters and to obtain information about plans for the protests.” In addition, protesters contend that they were told to confess [...]
The Supreme Court of California announced Wednesday that it will decide a critical procedural issue to determine whether a pending federal appeal of the invalidation of Proposition 8 , California’s same-sex marriage ban, can continue. In January, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on whether [...]
Hawaii’s Senate voted 18-5 on Wednesday to give final approval to a bill that will allow civil unions for same-sex couples. Governor Neil Abercrombie (D) must now sign the bill into law within 10 days, and the law could come into effect in January 2012. In a statement , Abercrombie said the bill “represents equal [...]
