The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a case concerning whether a police officer’s “mistake of law” should invalidate the officer’s justification for a traffic stop. Heien v. North Carolina is a state court case that involves the arrest of an automobile passenger for cocaine possession after the driver of the automobile was [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled Monday that the Wisconsin voter ID law is constitutional. The ruling will allow the state to put the law into effect during the November 4 midterm elections. The ruling did not come as a surprise since the same three-judge panel reinstated the law last month, [...]
Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday set the closing arguments for the case against Jean-Pierre Bemba for the week of November 10. The closing statements were delayed so that the Chamber may hear the testimony of Witness P-169, who is being brought as per the defense’s request to testify about [...]
A Texas judge has filed a lawsuit in Dallas County in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals challenging the state’s voter ID law , claiming that it violates the Texas Constitution . The law, which requires the showing of a photo ID in order to vote in elections, attempts to prevent voter fraud, while Judge [...]
The British parliament next week will vote on whether the government should recognize the state of Palestine following its return from recess next Monday. Though the move is unlikely to influence official policy , it would result in increased attention towards the issue and could be favored by lawmakers should they decide that it would [...]
Oregon voters are set to vote this fall on Measure 91 , which would legalize recreational marijuana in the state. Under the proposed initiative, recreational sale of marijuana would be governed by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission , which would be granted the power to select licensees and develop regulations. The pro-measure 91 camp has [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday ordered the public release of 28 videos showing the forcible removal and forced feeding of Guantanamo Bay detainee Wa’el Dhiab. Dhiab, a Syrian citizen, has been held at Guantanamo since 2002 and has been on a long term hunger strike in [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an order last week asking authorities in Saudi Arabia to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir while he is on pilgrimage in Mecca currently. The order came in response to an urgent request from the ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on Wednesday asking for cooperation of Riyadh to apprehend al-Bashir. [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday denied seven pending appeals , rejecting calls for a nationwide ruling on same-sex marriage. The rebuff puts into effect three federal appeals decisions, legalizing same-sex marriage in Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Wisconsin and Indiana. Other states including Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina will likely follow [...]
The Ohio Farmers Union (OFU) is looking to modify H.B.No.490 bill , a water quality and agriculture-related bill that is currently pending in the state legislature. As stated in the Ohio Legislative Service Commission’s bill analysis , one of the main provisions of the bill will “Transfer, effective January 1, 2015, the administration of the [...]
