The French Justice Ministry on Thursday denied a request from former Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega to be treated as a prisoner of war (POW). Noriega currently awaits trial in France on money laundering charges. Justice Ministry spokesperson Guillaume Didier said that Noriega will not be treated as a POW because the charges are based [...]
Former Pennsylvania judge Michael Conahan pleaded guilty Thursday on charges of accepting more than $2.6 million in kickbacks for sentencing teenagers to two private juvenile detention facilities in which he had a financial interest. The former president judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, which [...]
The Hawaii House of Representatives voted 31-20 Thursday to approve legislation allowing same-sex civil unions . The act would confer upon homosexual and heterosexual couples rights and benefits equal to those afforded married couples in the state. The bill was approved by the Senate in January, but the House vote was postponed indefinitely . The [...]
A judge in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against a Michigan judge who ordered a Muslim woman to remove her headscarf in court. The suit was filed in August by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on behalf of Raneen Albaghdady against Judge William Callahan [...]
The Hawaii House of Representatives voted 31-20 Thursday to approve legislation allowing same-sex civil unions . The act would confer upon homosexual and heterosexual couples rights and benefits equal to those afforded married couples in the state. The bill was approved by the Senate in January, but the House vote was postponed indefinitely . The [...]
Two lawsuits were filed Tuesday challenging Arizona's new immigration law, which makes it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant and requires police to question anyone whose immigration status appears suspect. Arizona police officer Martin Escobar filed suit in the US District Court for the District of Arizona , alleging that SB 1070 is unconstitutional [...]
Two lawsuits were filed Tuesday challenging Arizona's new immigration law, which makes it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant and requires police to question anyone whose immigration status appears suspect. Arizona police officer Martin Escobar filed suit in the US District Court for the District of Arizona , alleging that SB 1070 is unconstitutional [...]
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi , filed suit Thursday in Myanmar's Supreme Court to stop the dissolution of her opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) under a controversial election law . Suu Kyi is asking the court to annul the part of the election law that bars political prisoners from participating in elections, and [...]
A group of Senate Democrats on Thursday introduced legislation aimed at curbing foreign and corporate influence in elections after a recent Supreme Court decision eased restrictions on campaign spending . In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission , the Supreme Court struck down Section 203 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) , which prohibited [...]
The Belgian House of Representatives on Thursday voted 136-0 to approve a bill that would ban the Islamic burqa and other full face veils in public. The proposed legislation applies to areas "accessible to the public" or areas meant for "public use or to provide public services." Violators could face a penalty of up to [...]
