The Court of Appeal of England and Wales on Tuesday rejected a heterosexual couple’s legal challenge to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 , ruling 2-1 that only same-sex couples may enter into civil partnerships. The court’s decision gave the government more time to review the law, which currently prohibits opposite-sex couples from taking advantage of [...]
A Portuguese court ordered the extradition of former US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative Sabrina de Sousa to Italy Tuesday for a four-year prison sentence. De Sousa had been convicted in absentia along with 26 other Americans for the kidnapping of Soama Moustafa Hassan Nasr from Milan in 2003. The abduction took place as part [...]
A Tel Aviv military court on Tuesday issued an 18-month prison sentence to an Israeli soldier who stirred Middle Eastern tensions after executing a Palestinian last year. Contrary to military guidelines, Sgt. Elor Azaria, an army medic, shot the unarmed and wounded Palestinian after the man had stabbed a soldier in the city of Hebron. [...]
Lawyers and legal experts expressed concern on Sunday that the UK’s consideration of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) after the settlement of Brexit could result in a deterioration of human rights. The letter was signed by more than 50 prominent members of the legal field. The criticism rested heavily on statements made [...]
The 2014 trial of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi failed to meet international fair trial standards, according to a UN report published Tuesday. The UN “closely monitored” the proceedings and conducted individual investigations with integral parties. The report recognized efforts made by the government to elevate standards, one being the decision to live broadcast the trial. However, [...]
The Florida Supreme Court ruled Monday that prosecutors can seek the death penalty during an ongoing case despite constitutional concerns with Florida’s death penalty law. Last October the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the state’s new death penalty law was unconstitutional. The US Supreme Court had ruled in January of last year that the state’s [...]
An Iowa union filed a lawsuit Monday challenging a new Iowa law that eliminates most collective bargaining rights for public workers. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 61 argues that the law violates language in the Iowa Constitution ensuring equality to citizens and should be blocked. The union stated that [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin G. Davis of University of Toledo College of Law discusses President Trump’s affection for torture… President Trump likes torture. He has said that Secretary of Defense Mattis convinced him not to use it and he would defer to Mattis. CIA Director Pompeo in his written responses before his confirmation showed himself [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin G. Davis of University of Toledo College of Law discusses the use of fear as a mechanism for social control… Fear is deployed in the United States as a means of social control. The ICE raids are one kind of way of making people fear by the sudden disappearance in deportation [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Kathryn L. Tucker Executive Director of End of Life Liberty Project (ELLP) discusses the End of Life Option Act adopted by California… California adopted the End of Life Option Act (EOLOA) in October 2015, establishing statutory permission for aid in dying (AID), the medical practice in which a physician provides a mentally [...]
