The US District Court for the Central District of California on Tuesday began the trial in a case challenging the constitutionality of the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy . Judge Virginia Phillips, trying the case without a jury, heard opening statements in the case, Log Cabin Republicans v. United States , in which the [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) indecency policy is unconstitutional. The court held that the FCC’s policy is a violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech because it is unconstitutionally vague and could have a “chilling effect” on speech. The case [...]
A federal judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss charges against former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Ghailani , ruling that his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial was not violated. Ghailani’s lawyers had sought a dismissal of charges, arguing that he was denied the right to a speedy trial while being detained for nearly five [...]
UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday announced the coalition government’s plans to reform the criminal justice system to include lesser prison sentences and more community punishment options. The Ministry of Justice on Tuesday published its Structural Reform Plan, which outlines reform goals for the next two years, including changing criminal sentencing and penalties to [...]
The French National Assembly on Tuesday voted 336-1 to approve a bill that would make it illegal to wear the Islamic burqa or other full face veils in public. Under the legislation, women who wear the veil can be required by police to show their face, and, if they refuse, they can be forced to [...]
Chinese Internet regulators have plans to drastically reduce internet anonymity by requiring users to use their real names when posting on certain Chinese websites, according to documents released Tuesday by New York-based human rights group Human Rights in China (HRIC) . The documents contain various versions of an April 29 speech to the Standing Committee [...]
US lawmakers are calling for an investigation into the role that oil company British Petroleum (BP) may have played in obtaining an early release for convicted Pan Am Flight 103 bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi . The lawmakers are asking that the Senate Judiciary Committee investigate whether BP played a role in lobbying for [...]
The US Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday delayed a vote on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan at the request of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) . The vote on whether to send the nomination for consideration by the full Senate is now scheduled for July 20 after Sessions, the ranking member on the [...]
US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a new six-month drilling moratorium on Tuesday, citing new evidence regarding safety concerns after the BP oil spill . Unlike the previously ordered moratorium, this one is not based on the depths at which drilling occurs. Instead, the moratorium affects drilling with specific technologies, although the applicable technologies are [...]
Italian police on Tuesday arrested more than 300 individuals and seized millions of euros worth of assets in a countrywide raid on the ‘Ndrangheta crime organization. The predawn operation, dubbed “Il crimine,” the largest such action in 15 years, involved more than 3000 police in numerous provinces, but most arrests were concentrated in the southern [...]
