The US Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia Circuit on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a former Guantanamo detainee against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld . According to the original complaint the plaintiff, Sami Abdulaziz Allaithi, was an Egyptian professor working in Kabul teaching English. When the US started its bombing campaign, [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday that creating a searchable book database and giving full digital copies of books to disabled people constitutes fair use. The Authors Guild sued HathiTrust , Cornell University and the presidents of four other universities over a claim that the defendants were infringing their copyright [...]
A Chinese court on Tuesday denied bail to prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, who is likely to be indicted in the country’s attempt to deter growing legal activism. The lawyer was detained last month for “causing a disturbance” after he attended a weekend meeting that urged an investigation into the 1989 crackdown of pro-democracy [...]
The US Department of Justice on Tuesday announced support for a proposal that could reduce the sentences of nonviolent drug offenders in federal prisons. Attorney General Eric Holder requested that the proposed law be applied retroactively to felons who lacked significant criminal histories and whose offenses did not include aggravating factors. However, this reduction would [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Texas released a report Tuesday exposing the results of a multi-year investigation into conditions at five Criminal Alien Requirement (CAR) prisons in Texas. There are 13 CAR prisons in the US—privately run prisons that house only non-citizens, most of whom have only been convicted of [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay delivered her final address to the UN Human Rights Council as High Commissioner for Human Rights Tuesday. Pillay, a South African national, took up the post of High Commissioner in 2008, two years after the formation of the UN Humans Right Council. In her remarks the commissioner [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday rejected Wells Fargo & Co’s contention that the bank’s participation, along with other national banks, in a $25 billion settlement with the US government over foreclosure abuses should bar claims bring in a separate civil case. In an unsigned opinion, a unanimous [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Tuesday that challenges Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of April Aaron-Brush and Ginger Aaron Brush, a same-sex couple who were legally married in Massachusetts in June 2012. The lawsuit specifically challenges Section 36.03 of the Alabama Constitution and Ala. Code § [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday confirmed charges against Congolese war crimes suspect Bosco Ntaganda . The charges consist of 18 counts of war crimes including murder, rape, sexual slavery and using child soldiers, as well as crimes against humanity charges. The ICC held a confirmation of charges hearing in February, reviewing approximately 69,000 [...]
Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a bill on Monday allowing undocumented students living in Florida to receive in-state college tuition rates. HB 851 will go into effect on July 1. Florida’s House of Representatives approved the bill by a vote of 84-32 in May. Upon signing, Scott issued a statement: Making sure all Floridians have [...]
