The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ruled that the US Navy did not have to disclose the locations and potential blast ranges of explosive artillery stored at a Puget Sound military base. On appeal from a district court's denial of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the court reasoned [...]

A bill aimed at banning workplace discrimination motivated by an employee’s sexual orientation or gender identification was introduced in the US Senate on Wednesday by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) . The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), if passed, would protect employees from discriminatory hiring and firing practices, and from segregation or classification on the basis of [...]

A specially-mandated Indian court on Thursday sentenced three convicted terrorists to death for their roles in the 2003 Mumbai bomb attack that killed 52 people. Late last month, Ashrat Ansari, Hanif Sayed, and Fehmida Sayed were found guilty of conspiracy, murder, and attempted murder, and their defense lawyers plan to appeal the decision. They have [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a district court ruling reinstating the Roadless Rule , which prohibited the building of roads or the use of roadless lands in National Parks for timber production. The Clinton administration measure was effectively overturned in 2005 by the State Petitions Rule , enacted [...]

Human rights advocates on Wednesday accused Italy of disregarding its obligations under past European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgments by deporting terror suspect Ali Ben Sassi Toumi to his native Tunisia. Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the deportation "the latest example of how flouts the absolute ban on such returns." Toumi's deportation was ordered [...]

Former Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) was found guilty on Wednesday of 11 counts of public corruption. Jefferson was convicted of using his position on the US House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee to promote the interests of companies involved in development projects in Africa, seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes for himself [...]

The Illinois Department of Finance and Professional Regulation (DFPR) on Wednesday granted doctors a 90-day grace period for enforcement of the state's parental notification requirement for minors obtaining abortions. The grace period came at the recommendation of the state Medical Disciplinary Board who voted unanimously to forgive "willful" failure to provide notice to a legal [...]

Authorities in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region on Tuesday announced charges of murder, intentional injury, arson, and robbery against 83 people accused of participating in violent demonstrations in the capital city of Urumqi in early July. Xinjiang Prosecutor Utiku'er Abudrehman said that 718 people, both Han Chinese and ethnic minority Uighur, are currently detained in [...]

People of the State of California Ex Rel. Bill Lockyer v. US Department of Agriculture, US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, August 5, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here.

War crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic on Wednesday sued the Serbian government for allegedly kidnapping him prior to announcing his arrest last year. The former Bosnian Serb leader claims that Serbian authorities officially reported his arrest three days after he was actually detained, delaying his appearance before a judge. Karadzic's capture came 13 years after being [...]