Defense arguments begin Wednesday in the military trial of Spc. Charles Graner , charged with multiple counts in connection with the highly-publicized abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib {JURIST Hot Topic] prison in Iraq. Defense attorney Guy Womack is expected to lead witnesses in support of his contention that Graner was simply following orders, [...]
Whitfield v. United States, Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, January 11, 2005 . Excerpt: As the Government points out, Congress has included an express overt-act requirement in at least 22 other current conspiracy statutes, clearly demonstrating that it knows how to impose such a requirement when it wishes to do [...]
British Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith provided new details in a speech Tuesday on the creation of a proposed UK crime-fighting agency similar to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. The new institution, to be called the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA), would combine the National Crime Squad, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, and Customs [...]
The Illinois General Assembly Tuesday passed a bill that would require state protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation. The House gave its approval on the last possible day by a vote of 65-51; the Senate had approved the bill 30-27 on Monday. The bill now goes to Governor Rod Blagojevich , a proponent of [...]
Echoing comments made last week by President Bush , Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Arlen Specter urged Congress Tuesday to put limits on asbestos liability lawsuits. Specter said asbestos lawsuits are causing companies to go bankrupt, leaving victims with little or no compensation. Proposed reforms include a multi-billion dollar compensation fund in exchange for a [...]
In Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, Thom Calandra, former chief commentator for CBS MarketWatch , will pay at least $540,000 in penalties to settle fraud charges with the SEC . The charges stem from allegations Calandra made over $400,000 in illegal profits by buying shares of certain companies and then writing favorable things about [...]
AP is reporting that voters challenging the presidential election results in the Ohio Supreme Court have asked to drop their lawsuit, saying the issue is now moot after last week's certification of the electoral vote and the upcoming inauguration.
The trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic resumed Tuesday at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague with testimony by a French nurse who worked in Croatia during the Bosnian war. Milosevic, who has chosen to defend himself against charges of genocide, questioned the witness whom he had called for [...]
Attorneys for Zacarias Moussaoui {JURIST Newsmaker] have filed a petition to the US Supreme Court seeking to overturn a lower court ruling that reinstated the US government's right to seek the death penalty against Moussaoui for his alleged involvement in the 9/11 terror attacks. In government custody since December 2001 on 6 charges of terrorism [...]
Sixty-one members of the European Parliament have presented a plan to eliminate the European Union's current legislative process related to IT patents. The proposed changes reflect the debate over current European law that prohibits software patents, and the Directive on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions . The directive, which places significant limits on the patentability [...]
