The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Friday against the state of Indiana challenging the state’s ban on same-sex marriages and its refusal to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states. The lawsuit, one of three filed this month in attempts to overturn Indiana’s ban on gay marriage, was filed on behalf [...]
A class action lawsuit was filed in federal court in Texas on Friday against General Motors (GM) claiming that customers’ vehicles have lost value due to ignition problems blamed for a series of fatal crashes. The complaint alleges that GM knew about the problem since 2004 but failed to fix it, creating unreasonably dangerous conditions [...]
Residents of the Crimea region on Sunday began voting in a referendum to secede from Ukraine and seek annexation by Russia. The referendum has been condemned as illegal by the US and other European countries. On Saturday, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council motion declaring the Crimea referendum invalid. The UN resolution was backed by [...]
In her first visit to Nigeria, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay , on Friday praised the country for the significant development in protecting human rights, while urging further protection against conflict, poverty and corruption. Calling the issues of the country the “most daunting set of challenges for decades,” Pillay stressed the [...]
A Paris court on Friday convicted former Rwandan intelligence chief Pascal Simbikangwa of genocide and crimes against humanity for his participation in the 1994 Rwandan genocide . After a six-week trial , in which Simbikangwa maintained his innocence, the court delivered a sentence of 25 years in prison. Simbikangwa was charged with arming and directing [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas ruled on Friday that a state law banning most abortions after 12 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy is unconstitutional. Judge Susan Webber Wright temporarily blocked Act 301 last year, and allowed a challenge against the law to proceed. On Friday, Wright struck [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee ruled Friday that Tennessee must recognize the out-of-state marriages of three same-sex couples while they pursue a lawsuit attempting to overturn the state’s ban. Article XI Section 18 of Tennessee’s constitution , also known as the Anti-Recognition Law, prohibits the state from [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Zachary L. Heiden, Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, says that the Portland, Maine ordinance banning anyone from standing, sitting or loitering in any median strip is a content-based restriction that fails to comply with the First Amendment…
The Syrian parliament on Thursday passed a law that bans any candidate from the presidential elections if he or she has not lived in Syria for the past ten years or holds any other nationality. The residency requirement of the law effectively bars many members of Syrian opposition groups, many of whom are living in [...]
A Pakistani court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for former president Pervez Musharraf in the event that he fails to attend the next court hearing on March 31. The court also directed the government to ensure Musharraf’s safety when he travels to court. Musharraf has been charged with treason related to his suspension of [...]
