A Washington DC Superior Court found 34 members of anti-war activism group Witness Against Torture guilty Thursday on misdemeanor charges of illegal protesting. Police arrested 71 group members at a protest in front of the US Supreme Court in January, where they were demonstrating for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison . They were [...]
German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries Thursday deflected the European Commission's criticism of proposed legislation that would preserve the power of the German state of Lower Saxony to block major business decisions at automaker Volkswagen AG . The law, known as the "VW law," is aimed at protecting Volkswagen from hostile takeovers; Lower Saxony is Volkswagen [...]
A Texas state appeals court Thursday overturned a jury verdict against pharmaceutical giant Merck concerning a death allegedly caused by painkiller Vioxx . The Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals reversed a verdict which had awarded $26 million to widow Carol Ernst, who alleged that her husband died after taking Vioxx for arthritis in 2001. The [...]
Elisa Mari, Pitt Law '10, files from Athens: A huge public outcry erupted in Greece in March when NATO expanded its membership, the reason being that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) wanted to join the alliance under the name of "Macedonia". For nearly all the existing NATO members this is not a big [...]
The former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay alleges that the US Department of Defense (DOD) retaliated against him for giving testimony at the pre-trial hearing of detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan which reflected poorly on the DOD. In an email released Wednesday, Air Force Col. Morris Davis wrote that Pentagon officials denied him a medal for [...]
The US Department of Defense (DOD) on Thursday dismissed the military judge presiding over the military commission trial of Canadian Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr . No explanation was given for the dismissal of Col. Peter Brownback , but Khadr's defense lawyers speculated that it was was related to Brownback's threat earlier this month to suspend [...]
A Turkish court Thursday ordered the closure of a prominent gay rights group, finding that the name of Lambda Istanbul Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transvestites Solidarity Association is contrary to Turkish morality because it includes words describing sexual identity. Lambda Istanbul has vowed to appeal the ban, taking the case to the European Court of [...]
The Balkan region, once plagued by a reputation for dangerous crime and political instability, is now one of the safest regions in Europe, according to a UN study released Thursday. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found that violent crimes, such as rape, assault and homicide, as well as property crimes, such [...]
Villas at Parkside Partners v. City of Farmers Branch, US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, May 28, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
Memorandum ordering New York state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages legal performed outside of New York, New York Governor's Office May 14, 2008. Read the full text of the memorandum . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
