The Federal Supreme Court of Brazil on Wednesday suspended impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff until the court can determine the constitutional validity of a secret ballot. The vote is to determine whether the congressional committee appointed to carry out the impeachment is stacked with members seeking to oust Rousseff. A decision is expected by [...]
Although hostilities have significantly declined in Ukraine, “serious human rights concerns persist,” the UN said Wednesday in a new report . The UN attributes this decrease in hostility to the August 26 ceasefire , as certain weapons were withdrawn. However, civilians are still reportedly at risk in the conflict. The UN outlined human rights concerns [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Jessica L. Waters of American University discusses the implications of the Supreme Court granting certiorari to hear consolidated ACA cases… In early November the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in a group of consolidated cases challenging the applicability of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive mandate. The challenges which come in [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in two cases. In Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission the court heard arguments on whether the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) violated the constitutional principle of “one person, one vote” when it redrew congressional district lines to overpopulate some areas and under populate, therefore giving votes [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist James Dwyer of the College of William & Mary School of Law discusses the controversy surrounding recent removal of a foster child from a same-sex couple… A November foster care review hearing in Utah captured national news attention because the foster parents are a lesbian couple, and, for that reason, the juvenile [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that a Maryland man’s congressional redistricting lawsuit should be heard by a special three-judge panel and may therefore proceed. In Shapiro v. McManus the court was presented with the question of whether a single-judge district court may determine that a complaint made under the Three-Judge Panel Act is [...]
Amnesty International (AI) said Tuesday that the Islamic State (IS) is in possession of a “large and lethal” arsenal due to decades of reckless arms trading and the poorly regulated international flow of weapons into Iraq. AI reports that the IS military campaign has relentlessly targeted civilians with small arms, artillery, huge numbers of improvised [...]
Prosecutor Col. Sita Sangare, Burkina Faso’s director of military justice, on Sunday announced charges filed last week against General Gilbert Diendere for complicity in the assassination of former president and revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara in 1987. Diendere, the leader of the September attempted military coup in Burkina Faso, was the commander of the presidential guard [...]
The Armenian Electoral Commission on Monday announced that Armenia’s constitution will be amended as a result of Sunday’s referendum. However, opposition MP’s and independent European observers have alleged serious irregularities in the voting process, stating that fraud was a possibility. MP’s from the Council of Europe said that the voting lists were inaccurate and that [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Robert Field of the Drexel University Kline School of Law discusses the controversy surrounding the latest challenges to the Affordable Care Act … The barrage of lawsuits challenging the Affordable Care Act (ACA) shows no signs of abating, even in the wake of two major US Supreme Court decisions upholding key aspects [...]
