tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-206958072010-03-08T21:26:03.451-05:00JURIST - HotlineLegal scholars offer real-time takes on legal news...Bernard Hibbittsnoreply@blogger.comBlogger700125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-40363669413112781402010-03-08T21:08:00.003-05:002010-03-08T21:26:03.458-05:00Iceland's free speech initiative improves upon US First Amendment exceptionalismKyu Ho Youm [Jonathan Marshall First Amendment Chair, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon]: "The Icelandic Modern Media Initiative is a welcome development in the ongoing global movement for press freedom. It deserves serious attention from those who want to expand freedom of the press as a universal human right.The Initiative should serve as a worthy benchmark on what Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-55946026025169937512010-03-06T10:02:00.004-05:002010-03-06T10:14:46.188-05:00General Casey's recent testimony on Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy is problematicLawrence Korb [Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress]: "In recent congressional testimony, Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey Jr., argued that the Pentagon should not impose a moratorium on the discharge of military people who have come out or been outed as gay. This is both good news and bad news for those who support repealing the counterproductive and discriminatory Don't Ask, Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-72699693559535415372010-03-05T17:24:00.006-05:002010-03-05T18:20:44.830-05:00McDonald v. City of Chicago ruling may prove a hollow victory for gun lobbyDennis A. Henigan [Vice President for Law and Policy, Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence]: "I was in the courtroom on Tuesday for the Supreme Court argument [PDF file] in McDonald v. City of Chicago, in which the Court is considering whether the new Second Amendment right, created two years ago in District of Columbia v. Heller, is incorporated under the Fourteenth Amendment as a constraint on Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-51538830748059779412010-03-03T15:06:00.007-05:002010-03-03T16:36:03.612-05:00US death penalty stance increasingly at odds with international communityRichard Dieter [Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center]: "The United States is often rightly seen as a world leader in human rights. But we have become increasingly isolated from the international community in one respect - our persistent use of the death penalty. The worldwide trend is clearly away from capital punishment. The United Nations, a recent World Congress in Geneva, Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-68455148550805380692010-03-03T00:03:00.004-05:002010-03-03T00:32:20.469-05:00Sentences in Australian domestic terror case inappropriate without proof of conspiracyStephen Blanks and Corinne Reichert [New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties]: "In February 2010, the NSW Supreme Court sentenced five Australian citizens who were found guilty of conspiracy to do acts in preparation for a terrorist act or acts to terms of imprisonment ranging from 23-28 years. The offenders had been arrested in 2005, and their trial lasted almost 11 months during 2009.The Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-31557176509839729932010-03-02T16:09:00.003-05:002010-03-02T16:21:47.572-05:00Shatzer decision permits coercive "catch and release" police questioningNathaniel Burney [Associate, Quadrino Schwartz]: "If you are under arrest, and the police are interrogating you, they have to stop questioning when you ask to speak with a lawyer. So long as you remain in custody, they can't keep asking you to waive your right to have a lawyer present. That's coercive. Like the other Miranda rules, this rule helps ensure that the government doesn't extract a Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-5937076914198850942010-03-02T12:46:00.003-05:002010-03-02T12:51:41.735-05:00UK assisted suicide guidelines move towards a more humane aid in dying policyBarbara Coombs Lee [President, Compassion and Choices]: "The prosecutorial guidelines provide a bit of comfort and security for those citizens of the UK who would like to accompany a loved one to Switzerland if they chose to die at a clinic there. These family members embody the criteria making prosecution less likely - they are family, their role is supportive, not coercive, and accompaniment Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-22574516005204672752010-03-01T13:36:00.005-05:002010-03-01T18:33:02.429-05:00Federal criminal trials for terror suspects a clear advantage over military commissionsJoshua L. Dratel [Senior Fellow for Legal Research, Center on Law and Security, NYU Law School]: "The advantages of federal criminal trials over military commissions for terrorist prosecutions are certainly too numerous to list in a few short paragraphs. However, seeking to avoid redundancy, there are three that merit mention, not only because of their importance, but also because they either areAndrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-80453484095743859632010-03-01T13:11:00.002-05:002010-03-01T13:39:30.037-05:00UN Human Rights Council's UPR process promotes fundamental freedomsClaire Kaplun [Public Information Officer, UN Human Rights Council]: "The Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council is an innovative mechanism under which each of the United Nations 192 Member States is periodically (once every four years) reviewed. At this occasion, the fulfillment of the concerned country's obligations and commitments in the field of human rights is considered. All Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-65963932735676471602010-02-26T11:32:00.004-05:002010-02-26T11:39:34.272-05:00Citizens United ruling a victory for First Amendment free speech rightsPaul Sherman [Staff attorney, Institute for Justice]: "March 24, 2009, was a defining moment in the history of the First Amendment. On that day, during oral argument in Citizens United v. FEC, Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart told the members of the Supreme Court that, under the Court's 1990 decision in Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the government had the power to ban politicalAndrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-14897460185351409742010-02-26T00:03:00.001-05:002010-02-26T00:04:46.588-05:00US can restore legitimacy with federal trials of terror suspects at Guantanamo BayEric Montalvo [Partner, Puckett and Faraj, PC]: "The careless approach to the issues surrounding all things Guantanamo Bay is an affront to the Constitution and the credibility of our legal institutions. As the most recent "flip flop" by Attorney General Holder regarding the prosecution of Khalid Sheik Mohammed (KSM) demonstrates, the original quick and forceful end of Guantanamo has not, by Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-87336425814094943262010-02-25T15:32:00.004-05:002010-02-25T15:58:37.161-05:00Prosecutors can't depend on "positive identification" in Maguindanao massacre caseDanilo Reyes [Staff member, Asian Human Rights Commission]: "The decision of the Department of Justice (DoJ) that 197 people can be prosecuted for multiple murders in the deaths of 57 people in the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre, based largely on "positive identification" could be a concern. In order for the case to have the possibility of securing a conviction in trial, it cannot afford to Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-35560609103450188862010-02-25T10:04:00.006-05:002010-02-25T10:22:12.957-05:00Convention on Cluster Munitions sets new international humanitarian law standardThomas Nash [Coordinator, Cluster Munition Coalition]: "Future generations will remember 2010 as the year cluster bombs became illegal around the world. Following its swift ratification by 30 states, the Convention on Cluster Munitions - the most significant disarmament and humanitarian treaty in more than a decade - enters into force on August 1, establishing a new international legal standard Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-62378743505106376682010-02-24T09:35:00.008-05:002010-02-24T13:53:49.372-05:00Google's "Buzz" should have required consent for secondary use of private informationKurt Opsahl [Senior Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation]: "Over the past few weeks, Google's new social networking service, Buzz has upset a lot of people over inadvertent disclosures of personal information. The underlying privacy issue is that many users inadvertently published the list of the people they email and chat with most frequently using the Gmail and Gchat services that Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-73605573275028922032010-02-22T12:40:00.003-05:002010-02-22T12:48:13.262-05:00Google's new "Buzz" service launched a variety of privacy concernsBrock N. Meeks [Director of Communications, Center for Democracy & Technology]: "Recently, tens of millions of Google Gmail users woke up to find the company had automatically placed them in a membership queue for its new social networking tool called "Buzz." No one had a say in whether or not to turn Buzz on because Google had already "turned it on" for every Gmail user on the planet. Big Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-42908058384030746162010-02-22T12:25:00.004-05:002010-02-22T12:32:53.166-05:00Iceland's example on press freedom worthy of global emulationDavid Dadge [Director, International Press Institute]: "The International Press Institute (IPI), as an organisation that has campaigned for almost 60 years for press freedom, wholeheartedly welcomes the proposals made in the Icelandic parliament. By selecting the best elements from existing laws overseas and combining them in these new proposals, Iceland hopes to become a shining beacon of pressAndrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-68312354260409600952010-02-21T01:10:00.007-05:002010-02-21T13:43:45.400-05:00Burma's political prosecution of dissidents undermines legitimacy of planned electionsMin Myat Kyaw [Member, Asian Human Rights Commission]: "The sentencing of four supporters of democracy party leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to two years' imprisonment last week is the latest instance of how courts in Burma (Myanmar) operate under the military regime there to defeat civil and political rights, without regard to the terms of the very laws that they purport to uphold. The imprisonmentAndrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-25143853237393072242010-02-18T21:49:00.007-05:002010-02-18T22:54:22.800-05:00Canada should consider burka ban as consistent with a free societyFarzana Hassan [Member, Muslim Canadian Congress]: "The French parliament is currently debating the legality of a proposed ban on the burka, the full veil worn by some conservative Muslim women. In a statement endorsing the recommendations of the parliament, President Sarkozy mentioned equality and liberty as the reasons for the proposed legislation. Not surprisingly, this controversial move Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-38076926762230032982010-02-17T14:57:00.008-05:002010-02-17T17:20:37.562-05:00Bull v. San Francisco ruling permits overly broad policy of strip searching jail detaineesDavid Shapiro [Staff Attorney, ACLU National Prison Project]: "In an unfortunate decision, the Ninth Circuit last week reversed its own precedent and rolled back protections against strip searching jail detainees in Bull v. San Francisco [PDF file]. The en banc ruling weighed in on the question - which has divided the circuits - of whether the Fourth Amendment lets jail officials strip search Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-16095711132004229522010-02-14T11:18:00.004-05:002010-02-14T11:44:41.058-05:00US federal judgment against Charles Taylor, Jr. brings measure of justice to victimsPiper Hendricks [International Justice Project Director, World Organization for Human Rights USA]: "Last Friday, February 5, 2010, while preparing for what has been called the "snowpocalypse" here in Washington, DC, we at Human Rights USA learned that the Court in our civil case against Charles Taylor, Jr. ("Taylor Jr.") had awarded a total of $22.4 million in damages to our five clients for the Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-56928611643370790822010-02-12T11:38:00.009-05:002010-02-12T13:06:06.358-05:00Obama administration's approach to ICC reflects fear of political prosecutionsElizabeth Samson [Visiting Fellow, Hudson Institute]: "From the time that US President Barack Obama came into office there has been talk of the United States joining the International Criminal Court, but those efforts may be laid to rest for the time being. It appears as though this administration has not come much further in being convinced that participation in the ICC is either beneficial to Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-21501428216617155112010-02-09T12:07:00.010-05:002010-02-09T21:42:07.638-05:00Attorney General is correct to insist on civilian trial for AbdulmutallabBilly Corriher [Attorney and researcher, Bill of Rights Defense Committee]: "Attorney General Eric Holder is standing firm on the decision to try Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the attempted Christmas Day bomber, in a criminal trial. Some senators critical of the decision not to use military tribunals have gone so far as to introduce legislation to block funding for civilian trials for terrorism Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-11669042686210224252010-02-07T14:21:00.015-05:002010-02-08T17:12:27.719-05:00Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger promotes competition in primary ticket sales marketJohn C. Rodney [Partner, Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP]: "When I first heard about the proposed Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger, in early 2009, my initial reaction was "you have to be kidding." How could the nation's leading concert promoter team up with the nation's leading ticket seller without that foreclosing competition in the live music industry in many geographic markets? Surely the newly Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-81586688868651924212010-02-06T14:16:00.011-05:002010-02-07T12:14:29.658-05:00Denying Arar opportunity for redress undermines US justice systemAndrea Prasow [Senior Counterterrorism Counsel, Human Rights Watch]: "On February 1, 2010, Maher Arar asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that he cannot sue federal officials for damages even though they allegedly conspired with Syrian officials to subject him to torture in Syria. A powerful dissent [PDF file] by Judge Guido Calabresi in the Second Circuit's en banc Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20695807.post-34048234540870046832010-02-06T12:07:00.009-05:002010-02-06T15:57:51.147-05:00Haiti's reconstruction must proceed with respect for the population's rightsLisa Haugaard [Executive Director, Latin America Working Group]: "The United States and the international community's response to the Haitian earthquake must not only be generous, long-term and sustainable. It must also respect and promote rights. To "rebuild with rights," a starting place might be considering these principles.Recovery should be Haitian-led. It should be designed and Andrew Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12522683856977385787noreply@blogger.com0