A spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday voiced concern over the continued use of the death penalty in Southeast Asia as punishment for drug-related crimes. Drug-related crimes are punishable by death in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The OHCHR reports that eight more people convicted [...]
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International on Wednesday criticized a vote by the Turkish Parliament downing a proposal to lift parliamentary immunity for four former ministers accused of corruption. The charges relate to a massive corruption and graft scandal that began in December 2013, accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and three other ministers. The press release warned [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday in Gelboim v. Bank of American Corp. to reverse the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The court’s ruling states, “The order dismissing case in its entirety removed Gelboim and Zacher from the consolidated proceeding, thereby triggering their right to appeal under § [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in two cases. In Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar the court must determine whether a rule of judicial professional conduct that prohibits candidates for judicial office from personally soliciting campaign funds violates the First Amendment . Lanell Williams-Yulee conducted a mass mailing seeking contributions for her judicial [...]
The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday urged renewed efforts to arrest militia leader and accused war criminal Joseph Kony . The statement came after the announcement of the ICC taking legal custody of former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander Dominic Ongwen this week. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said, “I … [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of North Dakota on Tuesday put on hold a case challenging North Dakota’s same-sex marriage ban , pending the US Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the issue. The lawsuit , initially filed in June by seven same-sex couples, challenges North Dakota’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex [...]
The US Supreme Court denied certiorari on Tuesday in three appeals filed by military contractor KBR, Inc. , seeking to end lawsuits over a soldier’s electrocution in Iraq, soldier exposure to open-air burn pits for waste disposal and soldier exposure to dangerous chemicals in wastewater treatment. KBR, the largest military defense contractor for the Pentagon [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Tuesday that appellate review of factual matters in a patent dispute must apply the clear error standard of review, not a de novo standard. In Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc. , the court held that the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was incorrect in [...]
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling and ordered further proceedings for Mark Christeson, a Missouri man convicted of killing a woman and her two children. The court determined that the 35-year-old may have received ineffective legal counsel, which led to his failure to meet a deadline to file papers. Because [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday in Holt v. Hobbs that an Arkansas prison policy that bans Muslim prisoners from growing half-inch beards for religious beliefs is unconstitutional. The court held that prohibiting the growth of a religious beard violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) . According to the court, [...]
