The US Supreme Court hear oral arguments in two cases Wednesday. In Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama the court heard arguments on Alabama’s redistricting plans. The question before the court is “Whether Alabama’s legislative redistricting plans unconstitutionally classify black voters by race by intentionally packing them in districts designed to maintain supermajority percentages produced [...]
A judge for the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Wednesday urged that the newly approved plan to resolve Detroit’s bankruptcy be implemented as soon as possible. The plan, which was approved on Friday by US Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, will cut seven of the city’s 18 billion dollars of debt. [...]
Vojislav Seselj returned home to Serbia on Wednesday, following his temporary release from prison. The Serbian far-right ultranationalist leader has been in custody at The Hague since 2003, after he was accused of war crimes and recruiting paramilitary forces during the 1990s Balkan conflicts. UN prosecutors also claim that Seselj’s speeches at rallies served to [...]
Chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) , Fatou Bensouda, on Tuesday warned that increasing violence and political instability in Libya are impeding measures to end impunity. In a briefing to the UN Security Council , Bensouda encouraged the government of Libya to cooperate with the ICC, in particular encouraging them to surrender Saif [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of South Carolina ordered state officials on Wednesday to stop enforcing South Carolina’s same-sex marriage ban. Judge Richard Mark Gergel based this decision on a recent US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit opinion on Virginia, which held that the due process clause of [...]
Judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday ordered former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba and four members of his legal team to stand trial on charges of interfering with the administration of justice. Bemba and his team pleaded not guilty to allegations of bribing witnesses to provide false testimonies and of providing false [...]
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ruled Tuesday that President Mahinda Rajapaksa can stand for a third six-year term and declared snap presidential polls four years into his term in office. The Supreme Court ruled that there were no constitutional or legal barriers impeding him from seeking a third term. Its reported that 38 petitions [...]
A group of California gun dealers filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday challenging a state law that limits their right to advertise. According to California Penal Code section 26820 it is unlawful for a gun dealer to display an advertisement outside of its store windows. The gun dealers argue that they have not only [...]
Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic called Tuesday for a strict international law to end the use of incendiary weapons. The report was published in response to evidence of repeated incendiary weapon use in Ukraine and Syria. According to the report, the events in Ukraine and Syria over the past [...]
The People’s Court of Kashgar in China’s western region of Xinjiang sentenced 22 people to prison terms for illegal religious activities and other crimes. The Xinhua News Agency stated it is the latest sign of unease over Muslim extremism in the region. Prison sentences ranged from five to 16 years for crimes including illegal religious [...]
