A judge for the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled Thursday that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) definition of marriage as between a man and a woman is unconstitutional because it interferes with the states’ right to define marriage. Judge Joseph Tauro issued rulings in two separate cases challenging the [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday ordered the release of Guantanamo Bay detainee Hussein Salem Mohammed . The government had argued that Mohammed was a supporter of al Qaeda and narcotics dealer who had traveled from his native Yemen to Pakistan in September 2001, where he joined [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Thursday rejected a request from the Obama administration to stay a preliminary injunction lifting the government’s six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling . The three-judge panel ruled that US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar “failed to demonstrate a likelihood of irreparable injury if the stay is not [...]
Katie Belanger : “On Wednesday, June 30, 2010, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the 2006 state constitutional amendment banning marriage equality and civil unions in the McConkey v. J.B. Van Hollen et al. decision. In this case, William McConkey challenged the validity of the amendment, stating that it violates the single subject requirement for all [...]
UK Home Secretary Theresa May on Thursday announced interim stop-and-search guidelines for suspected terrorists in response to a January ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) , which found that searches performed by police without legitimate suspicion are illegal. Following the judgment, the government suspended Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 , [...]
The Cuban government on Thursday began the process of releasing political prisoners as part of an agreement with the Roman Catholic Church , which was brokered by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos . Under the agreement, five prisoners will be released within the next several days, while several others will be moved to prisons [...]
The EU Court of Justice (ECJ) on Thursday upheld a Swedish law restricting Internet gambling. The suit was brought by the publishers of two Swedish newspapers, Expressen and Aftonbladet, which both ran online gambling advertisements for several foreign agencies in 2004. The Swedish lottery law in question prohibits the promotion of Internet gambling by private [...]
Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday suspended the trial of accused Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo , stating that the trial could not proceed until the prosecution obeyed the judge’s orders to disclose specific information to the defense. The ICC indicated that Lubanga could not receive a fair trial [...]
The UK Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday convicted three British Muslims for attempting to blow up transatlantic planes leaving London’s Heathrow Airport in 2006. Ibrahim Savant, Arafat Waheed Khan and Waheed Zahman were part of a conspiracy to detonate liquid bombs hidden in soft drink bottles on airliners bound for the US and Canada. The [...]
The Council of Europe’s European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) reported Thursday that racist violence and rhetoric has risen in Europe during 2009, following the recent economic crisis . According to the report, the economic crisis has led to a rise in the unemployment rate and a decrease in social services in many countries, [...]
