Justice Antonin Scalia has said the Supreme Court's recent trend towards accepting cases on morally-charged political questions such as abortion and the death penalty is linked to increasing bitterness in judicial confirmations and that the Court would do better by leaving such issues to elected legislatures.

Scalia was speaking Monday to an audience at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington DC. AP has more.

Public defender Mike Mitchell said Tuesday that a mental health expert has found his client, Louisiana serial killings suspect Derrick Todd Lee, to be mentally retarded. In an apparent attempt to spare his client from the death penalty, Mitchell made the announcement as jury selection continued for Lee's first-degree murder trial in the beating and stabbing death of a 22-year old woman in May 2002.

Prosecutors claim that DNA evidence links Lee to the murders of seven women in Louisiana between April 1998 and March 2003. Lee was sentenced to life in prison last month after being convicted of one of the deaths. AP has the full story. Court TV's Crime Library has background on the Lee case. KLFY-TV has more on the jury selection in the case.

Even after being reduced to $100 million from its original $3 billion total by a trial judge, a California appeals court ruled Tuesday that an individual smoker's punitive damages award against Philip Morris USA was still excessive and must be halved to $50 million. Both sides plan to appeal the ruling, with Philip Morris representatives continuing to claim that the ruling is excessive, while the estate of smoker Richard Boeken states that the $50 million amount is less than four days' profit for the tobacco maker, and will not be sufficient as punishment or as a deterrent.

The suit stems from claims made by Boeken for personal injury stemming from his smoking habit, which he was unable to quit before developing terminal lung cancer. Reuters has more. Read the opinion [PDF] issued by the California Second District Court of Appeal.

In Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, the SEC is planning to sue American International Group Inc. (AIG), the world's largest insurer, for improperly hiding bad loans and inflating PNC Financial Services Group's profit by $155 million in 2001. Just last year, PNC agreed to pay $115 million to settle US Justice Department criminal charges. Read the AIG press release relating to the action here. Bloomberg has more.

In other news...

• As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, a federal judge has lifted the stay on Martha Stewart's sentence and ordered her to surrender for federal prison by October 8. AP has more.
  
  
• Also as previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, jury selection was completed and opening arguments began Tuesday morning in the first criminal trial in the fallout of the Enron scandal. The full indictment of the six can be viewed here [PDF]. The Houston Chronicle has an overview of the trial and AP has more.
  
  
• Kraft Foods Inc. has announced the SEC will not seek an action against the food and beverage maker in connection with the government's investigation of bankrupt food distributor Fleming Cos. Read Kraft's press release announcing that the SEC will take no action here. AP has more.
  
  
• In a follow-up to a story I reported on last week on JURIST's Paper Chase, the SEC announced Tuesday that TD Waterhouse Investor Services will pay a $2 million civil fine to settle charges it made undisclosed payments to three investment adviser firms to lure their clients' business. AP has more.
  
  
• Italian Labor Minister Roberto Maroni has announced that his government may introduce unemployment benefits for thousands of workers laid off from national carrier Alitalia. AP has more.
  
  
• Telecommunications equipment maker Lucent Technologies Inc. is reducing benefits promised to thousands of its retirees for the second time this year in an effort to stem losses from an industry-wide slump. AP has more.
  
  
• Finally, the Federal Reserve boosted short-term interest rates from 1.50 percent to 1.75 percent. Read the Federal Reserve press release here. AP has more.

The US House of Representatives Tuesday approved legislation making it a crime to secretly photograph or videotape people. The bill would prohibit videotaping or photographing the naked or underwear-covered private parts of a person without consent when the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and would be punishable by a fine of $100,000 or imprisonment for up to one year.

Representative James Sensenbrenner said the issue had become "a huge privacy concern" with the miniaturization of technology and advancement of cell phone cameras. The Senate unanimously passed a similar bill in June 2003. The bill is S. 1301. AP has more.

In an effort to appease growing international pressure, Syria began moving more than 1,000 of its 20,000 troops stationed in Lebanon on Tuesday. A divided UN Security Council earlier this month approved a US and France-backed resolution demanding foreign forces leave Lebanon. The resolution also stipulated that new elections be held. As a result, pro-Syrian lawmakers in the Lebanese government amended their constitution to keep President Emile Lahoud in office.

Lahoud maintains redeployment is a matter between Lebanon and Syria. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will update the Security Council on the situation in Lebanon in two weeks. Syria has said in the past that it will remove its troops from Lebanon after Israel relinquinshes all Arab lands. Read UN Security Council Resolution 1559 here[PDF]. AP has more.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will order domestic airlines to turn over personal information about passengers in order to test a system, called Secure Flight, that will compare their names to those on terrorist watch lists. A previous plan which checked passenger names against commercial databases and assigned a risk level to each was abandoned sue to privacy concerns. The airlines will have 30 days to comment on the proposed order. Air carriers will then have 10 days to turn over passenger name records that it gathered in June.

The amount of data in passenger name records will typically include name, flight origin, flight destination, flight time, duration of flight and form of payment. It may also include credit card numbers, address, telephone number and meal requests, which can indicate a person's ethnicity. Read the press release from the TSA announcing Secure Flight testing here. Read the documents published in the Federal Register here. AP has more.

Members of the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi insurgent group in Iraq have beheaded a second American in as many days according to a report on an Islamist website. US officials have informed the family of Jack Hensley about the reports but the government is unable to confirm if he was killed. The beheading came a day after the kidnappers gave the US an additional 24-hours - beyond an original 48 - to release all Muslim women being held in US-controlled prisons in Iraq. US officials continue to maintain they are not holding any Iraqi women in the two prisons identified by the kidnappers.

However, two female "high-value detainees" who were former members of Saddam Hussein's regime are being held at a secret high-security camp. The two, Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash ("Mrs. Anthrax") and Dr. Rihab Rashid Taha ("Dr. Germ") are accused of working on Saddam Hussein's weapons programs. CNN has more.

Following up on a report Monday on JURIST's Paper Chase, the landmark genocide trial of Catholic priest Athanase Seromba was suspended for a day Tuesday after a mass boycott by detainees at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda [ICTR]. 44 of the 56 people detained at the ICTR, which sits in Tanzania, are protesting a proposed move to Rwanda after the tribunal's mandate expires.

The detainees believe that fair trials would be impossible in Rwanda and that they would most likely die in the country's overcrowded prisons. Lawyers representing Seromba also walked out of court saying Seromba does not want representation during the boycott. Read case materials for Seromba from the ICTR. AFP has more.

AP is reporting that a federal judge has lifted the stay on Martha Stewart's sentence and ordered her to surrender for federal prison by October 8.

UPDATE: AP coverage is now available online.

Following up on a report Monday on JURIST's Paper Chase, jury selection was completed and opening arguments began Tuesday morning in the first criminal trial in the fallout of the Enron Corp. scandal. On trial are six defendants, two former executives from Enron itself and four from Merrill Lynch, facing charges of fraud and conspiracy.

The case involves the allegedly fake transfer of valueless barges from Enron to Merrill Lynch, which then returned the assets after profits reports were made. The trial is expected to be a test of prosecutors' ability to flesh out for a jury the complicated accounting tactics involved in the charges. The full indictment of the six can be viewed here [PDF]. The Houston Chronicle has an overview of the trial and more.

The judge presiding over the second trial of convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad has recused himself from the trial after claims that his inquiry into whether the trial had unfairly been delayed was improper, it was announced Tuesday. Judge Jonathan C. Thacher, of the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia, said he did not feel his actions were improper, but that he would step down to keep the focus on the trial itself.

Muhammad's trial had already been pushed back until January 2005, but Thacher's recusal could further delay proceedings. Prosecutors in the case filed a motion to recuse [PDF] after Thacher conducted his own probe into whether Muhammad's right to a speedy trial had been violated. Background and related documents in the case are available here. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase....

• Prosecutors in sniper case file motion to remove judge
• Trial of convicted sniper delayed until 2005

In his address to the UN General Assembly Tuesday, President Bush stressed America's dedication to human rights and human dignity around the world. Here is an extended excerpt of his remarks:

The United Nations and my country share the deepest commitments. Both the American Declaration of Independence and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaim the equal value and dignity of every human life. That dignity is honored by the rule of law, limits on the power of the state, respect for women, protection of private property, free speech, equal justice, and religious tolerance. That dignity is dishonored by oppression, corruption, tyranny, bigotry, terrorism and all violence against the innocent. And both of our founding documents affirm that this bright line between justice and injustice -- between right and wrong -- is the same in every age, and every culture, and every nation...

In this young century, our world needs a new definition of security. Our security is not merely found in spheres of influence, or some balance of power. The security of our world is found in the advancing rights of mankind.

These rights are advancing across the world -- and across the world, the enemies of human rights are responding with violence. Terrorists and their allies believe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Bill of Rights, and every charter of liberty ever written, are lies, to be burned and destroyed and forgotten. They believe that dictators should control every mind and tongue in the Middle East and beyond. They believe that suicide and torture and murder are fully justified to serve any goal they declare. And they act on their beliefs...

We're determined to destroy terror networks wherever they operate, and the United States is grateful to every nation that is helping to seize terrorist assets, track down their operatives, and disrupt their plans. We're determined to end the state sponsorship of terror -- and my nation is grateful to all that participated in the liberation of Afghanistan. We're determined to prevent proliferation, and to enforce the demands of the world -- and my nation is grateful to the soldiers of many nations who have helped to deliver the Iraqi people from an outlaw dictator.

The dictator agreed in 1991, as a condition of a cease-fire, to fully comply with all Security Council resolutions -- then ignored more than a decade of those resolutions. Finally, the Security Council promised serious consequences for his defiance. And the commitments we make must have meaning. When we say "serious consequences," for the sake of peace, there must be serious consequences. And so a coalition of nations enforced the just demands of the world.

Defending our ideals is vital, but it is not enough. Our broader mission as U.N. members is to apply these ideals to the great issues of our time. Our wider goal is to promote hope and progress as the alternatives to hatred and violence. Our great purpose is to build a better world beyond the war on terror...

Because we believe in human dignity, America and many nations have joined together to confront the evil of trafficking in human beings. We're supporting organizations that rescue the victims, passing stronger anti-trafficking laws, and warning travelers that they will be held to account for supporting this modern form of slavery. Women and children should never be exploited for pleasure or greed, anywhere on Earth.

Because we believe in human dignity, we should take seriously the protection of life from exploitation under any pretext. In this session, the U.N. will consider a resolution sponsored by Costa Rica calling for a comprehensive ban on human cloning. I support that resolution and urge all governments to affirm a basic ethical principle: No human life should ever be produced or destroyed for the benefit of another....

At this hour, the world is witnessing terrible suffering and horrible crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan, crimes my government has concluded are genocide. The United States played a key role in efforts to broker a cease-fire, and we're providing humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people. Rwanda and Nigeria have deployed forces in Sudan to help improve security so aid can be delivered. The Security Council adopted a new resolution that supports an expanded African Union force to help prevent further bloodshed, and urges the government of Sudan to stop flights by military aircraft in Darfur. We congratulate the members of the Council on this timely and necessary action. I call on the government of Sudan to honor the cease-fire it signed, and to stop the killing in Darfur.

Because we believe in human dignity, peaceful nations must stand for the advance of democracy. No other system of government has done more to protect minorities, to secure the rights of labor, to raise the status of women, or to channel human energy to the pursuits of peace. We've witnessed the rise of democratic governments in predominantly Hindu and Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish and Christian cultures. Democratic institutions have taken root in modern societies, and in traditional societies. When it comes to the desire for liberty and justice, there is no clash of civilizations. People everywhere are capable of freedom, and worthy of freedom.

Not long ago, outlaw regimes in Baghdad and Kabul threatened the peace and sponsored terrorists. These regimes destabilized one of the world's most vital -- and most volatile -- regions. They brutalized their peoples, in defiance of all civilized norms. Today, the Iraqi and Afghan people are on the path to democracy and freedom. The governments that are rising will pose no threat to others. Instead of harboring terrorists, they're fighting terrorist groups. And this progress is good for the long-term security of us all.

The Afghan people are showing extraordinary courage under difficult conditions. They're fighting to defend their nation from Taliban holdouts, and helping to strike against the terrorists killers. They're reviving their economy. They've adopted a constitution that protects the rights of all, while honoring their nation's most cherished traditions. More than 10 million Afghan citizens -- over 4 million of them women -- are now registered to vote in next month's presidential election. To any who still would question whether Muslim societies can be democratic societies, the Afghan people are giving their answer.

Since the last meeting of this General Assembly, the people of Iraq have regained sovereignty. Today, in this hall, the Prime Minister of Iraq and his delegation represent a country that has rejoined the community of nations. The government of Prime Minister Allawi has earned the support of every nation that believes in self-determination and desires peace. And under Security Council resolutions 1511 and 1546, the world is providing that support. The U.N., and its member nations, must respond to Prime Minister Allawi's request, and do more to help build an Iraq that is secure, democratic, federal, and free....

Because I believe the advance of liberty is the path to both a safer and better world, today I propose establishing a Democracy Fund within the United Nations. This is a great calling for this great organization. The fund would help countries lay the foundations of democracy by instituting the rule of law and independent courts, a free press, political parties and trade unions. Money from the fund would also help set up voter precincts and polling places, and support the work of election monitors. To show our commitment to the new Democracy Fund, the United States will make an initial contribution. I urge other nations to contribute, as well.

Today, I've outlined a broad agenda to advance human dignity, and enhance the security of all of us. The defeat of terror, the protection of human rights, the spread of prosperity, the advance of democracy -- these causes, these ideals, call us to great work in the world. Each of us alone can only do so much. Together, we can accomplish so much more.

In papers filed with the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, the Justice Department has refused to confirm or deny whether federal regulations exist requiring people to show ID before boarding an airplane, saying that air-travel security initiatives are a matter of national security and should not be available for public inspection.

The DOJ court filing comes in John Gilmore's appeal of a district court dismissal of his lawsuit, which argues that the ID requirement violates his right to freely assemble. AP has more. Gilmore has set up a website which provides background and case materials.

Addressing the UN General Assembly Tuesday at the outset of its 59th Session, UN Secretary-General said in his annual report to the body that the rule of law was at risk around the world and fundamental international laws were being "shamelessly disregarded." Citing Iraq and Darfur among the more "flagrant" examples of international lawlessness, he called on world leaders to "foster the rule of law at home and abroad" by signing international treaties on the protection of civilians. Here is an extended excerpt of Annan's remarks:

[W]e have reached a fork in the road. If you, the political leaders of the world's nations, cannot reach agreement on the way forward, history will take the decisions for you, and the interests of your peoples may go by default.

Today I will not seek to pre-judge those decisions, but to remind you of the all-important framework in which they should be taken - namely, the rule of law, in each country and in the world.

The vision of "a government of laws and not of men" is almost as old as civilization itself. In a hallway not far from this podium is a replica of the code of laws promulgated by Hammurabi more than three thousand years ago, in the land we now call Iraq....

Yet today the rule of law is at risk around the world. Again and again, we see fundamental laws shamelessly disregarded - those that ordain respect for innocent life, for civilians, for the vulnerable - especially children.

To mention only a few flagrant and topical examples: In Iraq, we see civilians massacred in cold blood, while relief workers, journalists and other non-combatants are taken hostage and put to death in the most barbarous fashion. At the same time, we have seen Iraqi prisoners disgracefully abused.

In Darfur, we see whole populations displaced, and their homes destroyed, while rape is used as a deliberate strategy.

In northern Uganda, we see children mutilated, and forced to take part in acts of unspeakable cruelty.

In Beslan, we have seen children taken hostage and brutally massacred.

In Israel we see civilians, including children, deliberately targeted by Palestinian suicide bombers. And in Palestine we see homes destroyed, lands seized, and needless civilian casualties caused by Israel's excessive use of force.

And all over the world we see people being prepared for further such acts, through hate propaganda directed against Jews, against Muslims, against anyone who can be identified as different from one's own group....

No cause, no grievance, however legitimate in itself, can begin to justify such acts. They put all of us to shame. Their prevalence reflects our collective failure to uphold the law, and to instill respect for it in our fellow men and women. We all have a duty to do whatever we can to restore that respect.

To do so, we must start from the principle that no one is above the law, and no one should be denied its protection. Every nation that proclaims the rule of law at home must respect it abroad; and every nation that insists on it abroad must enforce it at home.

Yes, the rule of law starts at home. But in too many places it remains elusive. Hatred, corruption, violence and exclusion go without redress. The vulnerable lack effective recourse, while the powerful manipulate laws to retain power and accumulate wealth. At times even the necessary fight against terrorism is allowed to encroach unnecessarily on civil liberties.

At the international level, all states - strong and weak, big and small - need a framework of fair rules, which each can be confident that others will obey. Fortunately, such a framework exists. From trade to terrorism, from the law of the sea to weapons of mass destruction, States have created an impressive body of norms and laws. This is one of our Organization’s proudest achievements.

And yet this framework is riddled with gaps and weaknesses. Too often it is applied selectively, and enforced arbitrarily. It lacks the teeth that turn a body of laws into an effective legal system.

Where enforcement capacity does exist, as in the Security Council, many feel it is not always used fairly or effectively. Where rule of law is most earnestly invoked, as in the Commission on Human Rights, those invoking it do not always practice what they preach.

Those who seek to bestow legitimacy must themselves embody it; and those who invoke international law must themselves submit to it.

Just as, within a country, respect for the law depends on the sense that all have a say in making and implementing it, so it is in our global community. No nation must feel excluded. All must feel that international law belongs to them, and protects their legitimate interests.

Rule of law as a mere concept is not enough. Laws must be put into practice, and permeate the fabric of our lives.

It is by strengthening and implementing disarmament treaties, including their verification provisions, that we can best defend ourselves against the proliferation - and potential use - of weapons of mass destruction.

It is by applying the law that we can deny financial resources and safe havens to terrorists - an essential element in any strategy for defeating terrorism.

It is by reintroducing the rule of law, and confidence in its impartial application, that we can hope to resuscitate societies shattered by conflict.

It is the law, including Security Council resolutions, which offers the best foundation for resolving prolonged conflicts - in the Middle East, in Iraq, and around the world.

And it is by rigorously upholding international law that we can, and must, fulfill our responsibility to protect innocent civilians from genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. As I warned this Assembly five years ago, history will judge us very harshly if we let ourselves be deflected in this task, or think we are excused from it, by invocations of national sovereignty.

The Security Council has just requested that I appoint an international commission to investigate reports of human rights violations in Darfur and determine whether acts of genocide have been committed. I shall do so with all speed. But let no one treat this as a respite, during which events in that devastated region continue to take their course. Regardless of their legal definition, things are happening there which must shock the conscience of every human being.

The African Union has nobly taken the lead and the responsibility in providing monitors and a protective force in Darfur - as well as seeking a political settlement, which alone can bring lasting security. But we all know the present limitations of this new-born Union. We must give it every possible support. Let no one imagine that this affair concerns Africans only. The victims are human beings, whose human rights must be sacred to us all. We all have a duty to do whatever we can to rescue them, and do it now....

Last month, I promised the Security Council that I would make the Organization's work to strengthen the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies a priority for the remainder of my tenure.

By the same token, I urge you all to do more to foster the rule of law at home and abroad. I ask all of you here today to take advantage of the arrangements we have made for you to sign treaties on the protection of civilians - treaties that you yourselves have negotiated - and then, go back home, to implement them fully and in good faith. And I implore you to give your full support to the measures I shall bring before you, during this session, to improve the security of United Nations staff. Those non-combatants, who voluntarily put themselves in harm's way to assist their fellow men and women, surely deserve your protection, as well as your respect.

Throughout the world, Excellencies, the victims of violence and injustice are waiting; waiting for us to keep our word. They notice when we use words to mask inaction. They notice when laws that should protect them are not applied.

I believe we can restore and extend the rule of law throughout the world. But ultimately, that will depend on the hold that the law has on our consciences. This Organization was founded in the ashes of a war that brought untold sorrow to mankind. Today we must look again into our collective conscience, and ask ourselves whether we are doing enough....

Each generation has its part to play in the age-long struggle to strengthen the rule of law for all - which alone can guarantee freedom for all.

Let our generation not be found wanting.

US District Judge Joyce Hens Green has ordered the Defense Department to justify its continued detention of Guantanamo Bay detainees for nearly three years without charges. Judge Green set an October 18 deadline for the Defense Department to provide the charge or factual basis for detaining each of the 60 detainees who have sued the government and set a separate October 4 deadline for the government to file written arguments on why the detainees should not be released. Tuesday's Washington Post has more.

Last week the US District Court for the District of Columbia decided that Judge Green would coordinate and manage all proceedings in the Guantanamo Bay cases, with the expectation that up to 400 cases could be filed with the court. Read the Court's resolution [PDF].

The UN General Assembly will begin its 59th session Tuesday morning at 10 AM ET. The debate begins with opening statements by General Assembly President Jean Ping and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to be followed by remarks by several heads of state, including President Bush. Afghan President Hamid Karzai opens the 3 PM ET afternoon session.

The UN offers a live webcast of both sessions. Read the schedule of speakers.

Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has reportedly decided to run for the Iraqi presidency, hoping to regain his office and palaces through the democratic process. Hussein's lawyer, Giovanni di Stefano, has told a Danish newspaper that Hussein expressed the intention to him during one of the planning meetings preparing for his upcoming trial before the Iraqi Special Tribunal. Di Stefano stated that there was no possibility of the trial occurring prior to the election, and the nothing in international law prohibited Hussein from running. There is also something of a precedent: Slobodan Milosevic won a seat in the Serbian parliament in Decemeber 2003 while on trial for war crimes at The Hague. JURIST's Paper Chase has more on the Hussein trial here. From Turkey, Zaman has more.

In other international law news...

• The UN Secretary-General's special committee to consider Security Council reform says that it will be recommending the addition of about 9 new members to the Security Council. The new seats will include the so-called G4 of India, Japan, Brazil (official site in Spanish), and Germany, all of whom are pushing for something approaching permanent representation on the Council, as well as five other slots that are based on regional considertions. There have been calls for Council reform for the past 15 years, but Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told his committee that he wants specific proposals ready for presentation by December. The Times of India has more.
  
  
• The main opposition party in Turkey, the Republican People's Party, has called for an emergency session of the Turkish Parliament (official site in Turkish) to ensure that the proposed Penal Reforms are enacted before the European Commission files its report on Turkey's bid to enter the EU. The Parliament went into automatic recess last week and is not scheduled to begin again until October 1. The Commission report is scheduled to be released on October 6, too soon after the return of the Parliament to guarantee that the reform proposals are approved before the report release. JURIST's Paper Chase has background here. BBC has more.
  
  
• At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugloslavia at The Hague, two more judges were sworn in today as ad litem members of the tribunal. Judges Hans Henrik Brydensholt (Denmark) and Albin Eser (Germany) will serve on upcoming trials. Read the official press release here.
  
  
• Brazil has become the first country ever to request for an extension of its continental platform under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Earlier today, representatives of the Brazilian government met with UN officials to discuss the proposal. A country's continental platform is the area of ocean off its coasts that is within the exclusive jurisdiction of that country. Brazil (official site in Spanish) seeks to extend its platform out, opening up new possibilities for exploitation of the region's mineral wealth. The Brazilian government is optomistic about its chances for receiving the extension. Brazzil.com has more.

Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party, has announced that it will recall parliament from its summer recess, saying "we mustn't weaken Turkey's hand with the EU through this indecision over the penal code." As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, the EU said Monday that accession talks with Turkey cannot begin until a new penal code is adopted.

Although the RPP has enough seats in parliament to recall the assembly, support from the governing party will be necessary in order to reopen debate on amendments to the Turkish penal code. Reports on CNN Turk television say that the governing party probably won't support the move. Bloomberg has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• EU says new penal code necessary for Turkish accession talks
• Turkish parliament recesses without passing reform bill or adultery ban
• Turkey still considering anti-adultery law, local media reports
• Turkey reverses bid to ban adultery after pressure from EU
• EU disapproves of Turkish adultery law

The trial phase of the US government's $280 billion civil racketeering suit against eight of the largest tobacco companies begins in Washington, DC Tuesday. The Justice Department says the tobacco industry violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by conspiring to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking and the addictive nature of nicotine.

Lawyers for the tobacco industry argue that although tobacco executives may have expressed doubts about public health concerns, that doesn't amount to fraud under RICO. Read the DOJ's 2001 amended complaint [PDF] and other case documents. AP has more. Tuesday's Legal Times has an analysis of the perceived absence of public comment from Attorney General John Ashcroft and other high-ranking DOJ officials on the tobacco case.

Tuesday's New York Times includes articles on a federal judge ordering the Federal Election Commission to enact tougher restrictions on how money is spent on campaigns, saying that its rules have undermined the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law; the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson becoming the second United States diocese to seek bankruptcy protection because of the cost of clerical sexual abuse cases; criticism of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit for basing a decision on nuclear waste storing methods on an incomplete reading of federal standards, and Chicago's new video surveillance system.

The Washington Post notes that a military judge denied a motion to dismiss spy charges against a Syrian-American airman Monday despite defense arguments the government had failed to make a case, town-gown tensions have grown as a result of a trial over a fatal stabbing of a Cambridge man by a Harvard graduate student, and major cigarette makers go on trial today in the US government's $280 billion racketeering case that charges the tobacco industry with deliberately deceiving the public about the risks of smoking since the 1950s.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered Ralph Nader back on Pennsylvania's ballot, reversing a Commonwealth Court decision that removed Nader from the ballot on the grounds that, as a member of the Reform Party in Michigan, Nader didn't meet Pennsylvania's definition of independent. In its order [PDF], the court directed the lower court to conduct hearings on whether Nader's nominating petitions were marred by fraud. The Philadelphia Inquirer has more.

In Arkansas, a judge has said that Nader should be removed from the state's ballot, ruling in favor of a Democratic party challenge that over 300 signatures could not be matched in a state voter database. AP has more.

In New Mexico, after the first judge recused herself from the case, a second state district judge ruled that Nader cannot run as an independent candidate in New Mexico because he is affiliated with parties elsewhere. Nader's supporters plan to appeal the decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court Tuesday. The Albuquerque Journal has more.

The three decisions follow an earlier Maryland Court of Appeals decision to allow Nader on the ballot, as reported on JURIST's Paper Chase. The Nader campaign has reaction to the Maryland and Pennsylvania decisions and an overview of Nader's legal efforts to gain access to state ballots.

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Tuesday, September 21st.

On Capitol Hill, the US Senate will convene at 9:45 AM ET and will begin consideration of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill for 2005 (S 2666).... The US Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will meet at 10 AM ET for markup of the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. Watch a live webcast.... At 2 PM ET, the US Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship will hold a hearing on "Refugees: Seeking Solutions to a Global Concern." Watch a live webcast.... At 2:30 PM ET, the US Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on the Wireless 411 Privacy Act (S 1963). Watch a live webcast.... At 3 PM ET, the US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe will hold a forum to examine Defense Department efforts to enforce policies against trafficking in persons.... The US House Rules Committee will meet at 5 PM ET to discuss the Pledge Protection Act (HR 2028).

At the United Nations, the General Assembly will begin its 59th session at 10 AM ET. The debate begins with opening statements by General Assembly President Jean Ping and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to be followed by remarks by several heads of state, including President Bush. Afghan President Hamid Karzai opens the 3 PM ET afternoon session. Read the schedule of speakers and watch a live webcast of both sessions.

Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party will hold its annual meeting and will discuss legislative amendments to strengthen civil and women's rights and other economic and land reform issues. VOA has more.

AP is reporting that Mohammad Khatami said Tuesday that Iran will continue programs to develop "peaceful nuclear technology." These statements come just five days after the International Atomic Energy Agency adopted a resolution [PDF] implementing safeguards regarding the nuclear program. JURIST's Paper Chase has more.

UPDATE: A full AP story is now available.

In Tuesday's US law and business press, the New York Law Journal reports that a NY federal judge has ordered two Bahamian corporations to pay the FTC almost $18 million for false billings and making false or deceptive statements to telephone subscribers.... Los Angeles Business reports that Boeing Corp. has countersued Lockheed Martin Corp., seeking damages in an alleged espionage case.... Law.com features an Associated Press report that the ABA will overhaul rules regarding gifts to judges.... The New Jersey Law Journal reports on a NJ attorney's candid comments about discovery in nursing home litigation cases.... FindLaw's Writ has Hofstra law professors Joanna Grossman and Linda McClain's commentary on the "girlie men" slur and the persistence of sex role stereotypes.

Click for the previous US law and business press review