Ukrainian Justice Minister Serhiy Holovaty said in a statement Thursday that the Ukrainian parliament's dismissal of the government earlier this week was illegal because the vote did not meet the necessary two-thirds majority. On Tuesday Holovaty warned that the country had been plunged into "legal chaos" by the move, although Thursday he appeared to back [...]
A court in Copenhagen Thursday found five Danish soldiers guilty on two of four counts of abuse against Iraqi prisoners, but refused to sentence the soldiers due to "extenuating circumstances". The judge noted that unclear procedural rules and outdated training mitigated the offenses. The five were charged in connection with an incident in 2004 , [...]
US Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller has invoked his right not to incriminate himself by refusing to answer questions in two courts-martial against soldiers accused of using dogs as an intimidation tactic at the US-operated Abu Ghraib prison facility in Iraq. Miller, who helped establish operations at Abu Ghraib, invoked his military Article 31 rights [...]
A federal bankruptcy judge ruled on Wednesday that several civil lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon alleging sexual abuse by priests should go to trial. The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2004 on the day that a suit asking for over $100 million in damages was scheduled to go to trial. The filing [...]
AP is reporting that Jose Padilla has pleaded not guilty in federal district court to 11 charges, including conspiracy to murder US nationals and providing material support to terrorists. Padilla was detained over three years ago on suspicion of planning to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the US but was indicted on the 11 [...]
Detroit Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, 75, became the first US Catholic bishop to publicly admit he was sexually abused by a priest after he met with Ohio lawmakers Wednesday in support of a state bill proposing the extension of time limits for victims to sue the church. Gumbleton said he had been abused by [...]
The US Department of Justice has indicated it may file a lawsuit against New York state for failing to modernize its voting procedures in accordance with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 . The state Board of Elections has received over $220 million in federal money to upgrade voting machines, train election workers, and [...]
An attempt by a special prosecutor to try former Mexican president Luis Echeverria on genocide charges for the massacre of hundreds of students during a 1968 demonstration was rejected by Wednesday by the Mexican Supreme Court . The high court refused to hear an appeal from a judge's decision not to issue an arrest warrant [...]
US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton and representatives from other UN member countries resumed negotiations Wednesday on the creation of a new UN rights watchdog to replace the Human Rights Commission . At the closed door meeting, Bolton presented several proposals and cautioned that allowing countries who commit human rights abuses to serve on [...]
Transcript of Day 3 of confirmation hearings for Judge Samuel Alito, Jr., nominated to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, US Senate Judiciary Committee, January 11, 2006. Read the full text transcript as provided to AP by CQ Transcriptions, LLC .
