http://jurist.org/paperchase/ JURIST's weblog of legal news and resources worth thinking about, by Professor Bernard Hibbitts and law students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. 2013-05-24T09:38:00-07:00 en-US http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/obama-addresses-us-drone-strikes-steps-to-close-guantanamo.php [JURIST] US President Barack Obama [official website] delivered a speech [text] Thursday on US counterterrorism policy and efforts, outlining plans to restrict the use of unmanned drone strikes and to renew efforts to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST backgrounder]. In Obama's first major speech on counterterrorism since his re-election, he addressed the war on terror: "Our systematic effort to dismantle terrorist organizations must continue, but this war, like all wars, must end. That's what history advises. That's... 2013-05-24T09:38:00-07:00 2013-05-24T09:38:00-07:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/guantanamo-lawyers-seek-end-to-invasive-search-policy.php [JURIST] Lawyers representing Guantanamo Bay [JURIST backgrounder] prisoners filed a complaint [text; case materials] Thursday alleging search policies restrict the detainees' access to counsel. According to a new policy [Al Jazeera report], detainees are subject to a genital pat-down whenever they wish to leave the detention camp, which they must do to meet with their lawyers. This caused representatives for more than a dozen detainees to file the complaint, saying:The new policies have no legitimate purpose, but are pretextual, imposed... 2013-05-24T08:43:00-07:00 2013-05-24T08:43:00-07:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/us-lawmakers-urge-media-shield-law.php [JURIST] A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the US House of Representative advocated Wednesday for a law that would shield the press from giving information to a federal entity unless certain conditions are met. The push for legislation [Politico report] comes in response to an incident in which the US Department of Justice (DOJ) obtained journalists' records. In a press conference, Representative Ted Poe (R-TX) called the DOJ's search [The Hill report] for the source of leaked information in April... 2013-05-23T09:56:00-07:00 2013-05-23T09:56:00-07:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/connecticut-gun-control-law-challenged-in-federal-court.php [JURIST] Several groups filed a lawsuit [complaint] Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of a new Connecticut gun control law [GA Bill 1160, PDF]. The new law expanded the firearms banned as "assault weapons" under existing state law. It also limits magazine capacity to 10 rounds. The complaint alleges these new requirement are overly vague which makes them too difficult to follow. The lawsuit is seeking an immediate injunction of enforcement of the law. The plaintiffs allege that the new restrictions unconstitutionally... 2013-05-23T08:30:00-07:00 2013-05-23T08:30:00-07:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/ninth-circuit-strikes-down-arizona-20-week-abortion-ban.php [JURIST] The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Tuesday that the Arizona law banning abortions at 20 weeks violates women's rights, making it "per se unconstitutional." The opinion, authored by Judge Marsha Berzon, focused on balancing fetal viability and a woman's right to medical autonomy. The state defended the statute [text, PDF] by arguing that it was not an outright ban because it permitted procedures in the event of a medical emergency. The court... 2013-05-22T09:47:00-07:00 2013-05-22T09:47:00-07:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/federal-appeals-court-rules-bin-laden-photos-may-remain-classified.php [JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official site] ruled Tuesday that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [official site] has no legal obligation to release photos [opinion, PDF] of Osama bin Laden [CFR profile; JURIST news archive] after his death. The decision was in response to a Freedom of Information Act [official website] request seeking to have more than 50 photographs released which show bin Laden's body after he was killed by US special forces... 2013-05-22T07:34:00-07:00 2013-05-22T07:34:00-07:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-alaskan-villages-greenhouse-gas-claim.php [JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] declined [order list, PDF] Monday to review an Alaskan village's claims that greenhouse gas producers should be held accountable to the village for pollution that threatens its vitality. Kivalina, a village of Inupiat Eskimo natives, filed suit [complaint PDF] against 22 corporations in 2009 for damages caused by greenhouse gases that reduced sea ice, increasing flooding, and sought damages so that it could relocate to a safer area. By refusing to hear the... 2013-05-21T08:41:00-07:00 2013-05-21T08:41:00-07:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/vermont-governor-signs-physician-assisted-suicide-bill.php [JURIST] Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed legislation [text, PDF; bill summary, PDF] Monday that legalizes physician-assisted suicide in the state. This bill makes Vermont the fourth state in the US to approve the practice. The Patient Choice and Control at End of Life Act (aka "Death with Dignity" bill), was passed [JURIST report] by the legislature earlier this month. Under the new law, mentally competent patients who have been diagnosed with six months to live will be permitted to request... 2013-05-21T07:18:00-07:00 2013-05-21T07:18:00-07:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/supreme-court-rules-on-scope-of-federal-agencies-jurisdiction.php [JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Monday in Arlington v. FCC [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] that courts must apply the Chevron [opinion] framework to an agency's interpretation of a statutory ambiguity that concerns the scope of the agency's jurisdiction. The provision at issue, 47 USC § 332(c)(7) [text] of the Federal Communications Act (FCA), states that "nothing in this chapter shall limit or affect the authority of a State or local government." However, § 332(c)(7)(B)(ii) requires states or... 2013-05-20T14:35:00-07:00 2013-05-20T14:35:00-07:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/supreme-court-rules-on-foreign-taxes.php [JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Monday in PPL Corp. v. Commissioner [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] that a UK "windfall tax" is creditable under US tax law. Internal Revenue Code §901(b)(1) [text] states that any "income, war profits, and excess profits taxes" paid overseas are creditable against US income taxes. In 1997, the UK imposed a one-time "windfall tax" on 32 UK companies privatized between 1984 and 1996. In an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, the court held... 2013-05-20T13:36:00-07:00 2013-05-20T13:36:00-07:00