United States v. Matthew M. Diaz, General Court-Martial before the Navy and Marine Corps Trial Judiciary – Central Judicial Circuit . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Case documents available : Affidavit of Mr. Michael Sweedo Defense motion to dismiss – Multiplicity and unreasonable multiplication of charges Defense motion for appropriate relief – Compel expert [...]

Zimbabwean police Tuesday broke up a rally of about 50 lawyers who had gathered to protest the the arrest and imprisonment of two human rights lawyers, assaulting some attendees with rubber batons, according to a witness. Alec Muchadehama and Andrew Makoni, who represent opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai , were arrested [...]

The Parliament of Pakistan Tuesday rejected a proposal to soften the country's strict blasphemy laws that impose death or life imprisonment for insults to the Prophet Mohammed. Minno Bhandara, a Christian lawmaker in the National Assembly, had introduced a motion to bring the law more into line with punishments prescribed for insulting other minority religions. [...]

The Pakistan Supreme Court Tuesday created a panel of judges to hear a legal challenge by suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to the proceedings against him for alleged misconduct. Pakistan's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) had been conducting an inquiry into Chaudhry's alleged misconduct, but Chaudhry appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the SJC lacked [...]

A New York appeals court Tuesday dismissed four of six claims against former New York Stock Exchange chairman Richard Grasso , finding they were not within the New York attorney general's authority to bring. Grasso was forced out of the stock exchange in 2003 following a public outcry over his $187.5 million compensation package. For [...]

A US Marine legal adviser charged with failure to properly report and investigate the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha appeared before a military panel Tuesday that will decide whether the charges should go to court-martial. Capt. Randy W. Stone, formerly of the 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, stands accused [...]

The US Senate Judiciary Committee Monday sent a letter to a former federal prosecutor, asking him to speak with investigators looking into the recent US Attorney firing scandal and a possible link to voter fraud prosecutions. The Committee seeks to question former US Attorney Bradley Schlozman , now with the Executive Office for United States [...]

A committee struck to reform Iraq's constitution said Tuesday it planned to have its recommendations ready to go before the Iraqi parliament next week. The 31-member committee, which includes Shiites, Sunni Arabs and ethnic Kurds, must complete its proposals by May 15, according to the Iraqi constitution . Parliament must approve any constitutional amendment by [...]

Human rights activist Umida Niyazova received a suspended sentence on Tuesday after reading a confession and expressing regret for "the crimes committed unintentionally." The Uzbek appeals court reduced the seven-year sentence she received last week after being convicted of illegal border crossing, smuggling, and distributing Islamic extremist propaganda. Niyazova worked for Human Rights Watch and [...]

Six Islamic militants have been arrested for allegedly planning an attack on New Jersey military base Fort Dix , the US Attorney for New Jersey said Tuesday. The men, who have been under surveillance for the past 16 months, have been charged with a conspiracy to kill US employees under 18 USC 1114 . The [...]