US Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Monday called for a South Africa-style truth commission to investigate controversial actions by the George W. Bush administration, including justifications for the Iraq war, the treatment of military detainees, and the warrantless wiretapping program. Speaking at Georgetown University, Leahy said there was a need to find balance [...]
A special panel of federal judges tentatively ruled on Monday that California must reduce its prison population in order to relieve overcrowding. Based on the evidence presented, the panel concluded that overcrowding has resulted in the state's failure to deliver constitutionally-adequate mental and physical health care to inmates. The panel found that a release order [...]
An Albania Supreme Court judge was shot four times outside his home in the capital Tirana, according to local police Monday. Ardian Nuni , a former law professor nominated to the high court in 2007, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries to his shoulder and leg. The attack, which took place over the weekend, was described [...]
The Mexican government published a law Monday that will create a database of mobile phone users in the country, including vital information and fingerprints, once it takes effect in April. The law, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation , amends certain provisions of the Federal Telecommunications Act, and was passed into law by [...]
JURIST Contributing Editor Marjorie Cohn of Thomas Jefferson School of Law says that instead of leaving the door open for the CIA to continue to engage in the rendition of terrorism suspects to other countries so long as the process is somehow handled "humanely", the Obama administration should end renditions altogether and prosecute those who [...]
Wu Shu-Chen, the wife of former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian , pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of money-laundering and forgery, but denied charges that she embezzled from the presidential state affairs fund. Wu claims the money was a political donation , and was not for personal use or bribery. Tuesday marked Wu's first appearance since [...]
US financier Bernard Madoff consented to a partial judgment with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday over civil charges brought by the SEC to obtain a preliminary injunction and asset freeze against him. According to the SEC, the agreement will continue the previously imposed preliminary injunction, but in consenting to the agreement, Madoff [...]
The Chinese delegation to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) defended China's human rights record Monday while presenting a report in compliance with the UNHRC's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. Ambassador Li Baodong said that China has been taking steps to improve its legal system , promote democracy, and encourage non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The report [...]
US Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday ordered a review of all government claims invoking the state secrets privilege . A spokesperson for the Department of Justice (DOJ) said that each state secrets claim will be reviewed to make sure the privilege was invoked only in lawful situations. Holder's announcement came on the same day [...]
Eluana Englaro , an Italian woman at the center of a right-to-die controversy in the country, died Monday, shortly after the Italian Senate began debate on legislation that would make it a crime to remove a feeding tube from a comatose patient. Englaro's father removed her feeding tube on Friday, following the refusal of Italian [...]
