Staff Sgt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick will plead guilty next week to four offenses related to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, according to a statement made by his lawyer Friday. He is the second soldier to plead guilty in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal (timeline of events), and is the highest-ranking member of the 372nd Military Police Company charged. He will plead guilty to assault, maltreating a detainee, committing an indecent act and dereliction of duty at a US military court in Baghdad next week; witnesses will participate by phone and video teleconference to determine the sentence. The combined maximum penalty for the original 12 counts against Frederick is 18 years in prison, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, reduction to the rank of private and a dishonorable discharge. However, eight of the 12 counts have been dropped. AP has more.

Brazil's first "shoot-down" law will take effect Sunday, 90 days after its enactment. The law allows Brazil's air force to shoot down small planes suspected of carrying drugs. Colombia is the only other South American country to have such a statute. Peru had a similar law but retracted it after a notorious incident involving the downing of a plane carrying US missionaries. AP has more.

Ralph Nader, the independent presidential candidate, filed a 64-page brief Friday asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to restore his name to the state's November presidential ballot. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court invalidated his nominating petition Wednesday; read the opinion and order here [PDF]. In Friday's brief Nader argued that the Commonwealth Court erred in its decision by ruling that petition signatories needed to be registered voters rather than qualified electors. Nader has also requested that the Department of State refrain from certifying the presidential ballot until the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules on his challenge, which should be early next week. AP has more.

In a 3-0 opinion filed Friday by Judge Richard A. Posner, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed an Illinois federal court's dismissal of claims by working mothers who contended that voting in person is a hardship and that the US Constitution requires Illinois to allow them to vote via absentee ballots. Posner wrote: "...the constitutional question is whether the restriction and resulting exclusion are reasonable given interest the restriction serves." The Court concluded that allowing absentee ballots in this instance would increase voter fraud and tallying miscalculations, and that those factors outweighed the hardships of voting in person. Read the opinion [PDF].

A Chilean court Friday announced that a court-appointed physician has diagnosed 88-year-old former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet with "moderate dementia." The diagnosis confirms the findings of two doctors who previously examined Pinochet on behalf of the prosecution and defense in a case revolving around the deaths of 19 Chileans in connection with Operation Condor during the mid-1970s, making it unlikely Pinochet's trial will begin in the near future. Pinochet has not, however, been declared unfit for trial; the lawyers in the case have five days to review the medical documents and raise objections. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on Pinochet's medical examinations here. EFE News has more.

The High Court in London Friday ordered UK Internet service providers to release the names and addresses of 28 alleged "major file-sharers" of pirated music on the Internet. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) had pushed for Justice William Blackburne's favorable judgment in their recent effort to curb the illegal downloading of copyrighted music. Last week, as previously reported in JURIST's Paper Chase, the international recording alliance IFPI, acting in conjunction with BPI, announced 459 new lawsuits filed in Britain, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy and Austria. The IFPI's efforts are still dwarfed by the 5500 legal actions brought by Recording Industry Association of America. Read the RIAA's reaction to the IPFI's endeavors here. AP has more.

AP is reporting that a bankruptcy judge has granted US Airways the authority to immediately cut the pay of union employees by 21 percent as part of its effort to restructure its assets and save the troubled airline from going out of business. Reuters has a background story on US Airways' application for the cut here.

UPDATE: AP now has a story on today's ruling here, quoting US Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Mitchell as saying "Basically what we have here is a ticking fiscal time bomb." The text of Mitchell's order is not yet available online. The airline had sought a 23% reduction, which union officials had argued would have restored 1982-level pay rates.

UPDATE-2: US Airways has issued this statement on the decision.

As the November 2 presidential election approaches, accusations of fraud and unfairness by both political parties have increased, prompting questions about the electoral process in many states. In Nevada, a Republican-hired group registering voters has been accused by a former employee of systematically destroying Democratic registration applications. The company, Sproul & Associates, has also been registering voters in other states, including West Virginia, Minnesota and Oregon, where the Secretary of State announced a probe into improper registration practices. In Milwaukee, county officials have disputed how many ballots should be printed. The city mayor, a member of the Kerry campaign, called for nearly a million ballots due to increased registration for this election, while the country executive, who is part of the Bush campaign, said only about 700,000 would be needed, with extra ballots presenting a risk for fraud. The Wisconsin governor ultimately ordered an investigation into the issue. USA Today has more.

The General Accounting Office has released a report that concludes that the Department of Justice is not sufficiently prepared for an influx of reports of voting rights violations following the election, the Washington Post reported Friday. Read the report here [PDF]. The New York Times meanwhile reports that a federal judge in Ohio has ruled that the Ohio secretary of state must count provisional ballots filed in the wrong precinct, overturning a directive by the secretary. Read the court's opinion here [PDF].

Two international elections groups are already observing US election systems to ensure compliance with international standards. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and San Francisco human rights group Global Exchange both have teams monitoring voting preparations. More on their observations are available here (OSCE) and here (Global Exchange).

Twelve Presidents have made more than 285 intrasession recess appointments of persons to offices that ordinarily require consent of the Senate. So, given the words of the Constitution and the history, we are unpersuaded by the argument that the recess appointment power may only be used in an intersession recess, but not an intrasession recess. Furthermore, what we understand to be the main purpose of the Recess Appointments Clause -- to enable the President to fill vacancies to assure the proper functioning of our government -- supports reading both intrasession recesses and intersession recesses as within the correct scope of the Clause. That an intersession recess might be shorter than an intrasession recess is entirely possible. The purpose of the Clause is no less satisfied during an intrasession recess than during a recess of potentially even shorter duration that comes as an intersession break.

In Friday's corporations and securities law news, the SEC's inquiry into Fannie Mae's accounting practices has become a formal investigation. Commissioners have given the agency power to subpoena documents and testimony from witnesses. The Washington Post has more.

In other news, as previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, a UK court has ruled that three British bankers at NatWest implicated in a multi-million pound fraud involving Enron officials should be tried in the United States. Read the indictment here [PDF]. JURIST's Paper Chase has ongoing coverage of the Enron scandal. CNN has more.... SEC Chairman William Donaldson said the SEC will soon vote on new governance and disclosure rules for America's stock markets. Donaldson said the commission is "waging an uphill fight" against corporate wrongdoing. Read Donaldson's remarks here. Reuters has more.... SunTrust Banks Inc. announced the SEC has begun an informal probe into the bank's decision to restate financial results from the beginning of this year. Read the SunTrust press release here. Reuters has more.... US Bankruptcy Court Judge Stephen Mitchell ruled Thursday that US Airways could use the approximately $745 million in cash currently pledged as collateral to its lenders. The airline need a court's approval to use the money because the company has been unable to find new funding after it declared bankruptcy earlier this year. The Pittsburgh Business Times has more.... The US government has announced an inquiry into the no-bid contracts in Iraq given to Halliburton. The International Advisory and Monitoring Board announced the inquiry here. BBC has more.

A German court Friday ordered the release of an 86-year-old man on trial for Nazi crimes committed in Slovakia after a key witness admitted to no longer clearly remembering events. Charges remain against Ladislav Niznansky, a former captain in a Slovak section of Nazi forces, and the trial is expected to continue, but the judge in the case concluded that "urgent suspicion" was no longer present. Niznansky is alleged to have headed the Nazi unit named Edelweiss that pursued resistance fighters and Jews in Slovakia, and he is charged with personally shooting 20 people in 1945. Niznansky was convicted in absentia by communist Czechoslovakia and sentenced to death. He claimed to have played a subordinate role in the unit. AP has background on the trial. Deutsche Welle has local coverage. AP has more.

BBC News is reporting the Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri will be charged in the UK under the Terrorism Act of 2000. Abu Hamza was arrested early this summer in London, and the US had sought his extradition to face terror charges. BBC News has more.

Previously on JURIST's Paper Chase....

• Radical cleric sought to be extradited by US may be charged in UK
• Abu Hamza arrested in UK under Terrorism Act
• Terror suspect arrested in London; US seeks extradition

AP is reporting that a federal judge has struck down a ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The National Park Service has more on winter use of the parks.

UPDATE: An AP story is now available.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has urged state attorney generals to aggressively prosecute any reported cases of price gouging connected with the flu vaccine. Vaccine supplies were halved after UK manufacturer Chiron was blocked from supplying its vaccine by regulators. In a letter to the attorneys general sent Thursday, Thompson wrote:

I am encouraging the attorney general of each state to thoroughly investigate reports of price gouging and prosecute those engaging in this immoral and illegal activity to the full extent of the law. The Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is collecting reports on price gouging and sharing it with the National Association of Attorneys General and state prosecutors.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a Public Health Advisory Friday with new labeling requirements aimed at warning the public about increased risks of suicidal thoughts and behavior in children treated with antidepressants. Under the new rules, drugmakers will be required to include a "black box" warning on antidepressants to alert healthcare providers and users of the risks to children and approved uses. Prozac is the only antidepressant approved for use by children, but many physicians have prescribed others. The rules also require doctors to provide patients a medication guide with more information on risks and uses of the drugs. Read the FDA press release. The agency has more information on antidepressants.

UPDATE: An AP story is now available.

The Italian high court Friday upheld the dismissal of charges against former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti by a lower court, bringing to a close an 11-year judicial struggle. The high court ruled that all charges stemming from the 1980s were barred by a statute of limitations, but the ruling leaves some doubt hanging over Andreotti's career. Known as "Mr. Italy" abroad due to his longevity in Italian politics, Andreotti had been previously cleared in two trials held in Palermo, Sicily. He had been charged with protecting the mafia's interest during his tenure in power and meeting with some of the organization's top leaders. Reuters has more.

The European Parliament Friday called on all the members of the EU to hold referendums on the new EU Constitution (text here [PDF]) by May of next year. The constitution, which was approved by the 25 EU leaders in June, must be approved by either a referendum or a majority in each member state's legislature. Spain has already made plans to hold its referendum on February 20, 2005, but many other countries have made no plans. EU representatives from Britain have expressed indignation that the European Parliament would try and force the hands of the national governments on when the referendum must be held. BBC News has more.... As previously noted in JURIST's Paper Chase, Morgan Tsvangirai, President of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was aquitted Friday of charges alleging that he had attempted to assassinate Zimbabwe's current ruler, Robert Mugabe, and sieze control of the government. The case was being closely watched by those in Zimbabwe as Tsvangirai is the only real threat to Mugabe's 24-year rule of the country. Various human rights organizations had called the trial nothing more than a farce, and had condemned Mugabe for using the courts to dispose of his political rivals. The biggest breakthrough in the case came when Tsvangirai's defense attorney, George Bizos, managed to get a prosecution witness to admit that the government had paid him $200,000 (USD) to testify against Tsvangirai. BBC News has a profile of Tsvangirai here. Zimbabwe's Daily Times has more.... Two individuals charged with involvement in the terrorist attack that blew up a train in the western Indian state of Gujarat were released Friday in compliance with a court order issued Wednesday. Judge Sonia Gokani, appointed to the POTA court in Ahmedabad, ruled that none of the witnesses gathered for testimony had been able to place Yusuf Patel or Imran Gani at the scene or link them in any way to the bombings. The Indian police Special Investigating Team (SIT) had requested their release, admitting that none of the evidence tied the two to the 2002 attack on the train that killed over 59 Hindus and sparked riots in Gujarat that left more than 1000 dead. Ninety-nine other individuals have been charged with some form of involvement in the bombing, but none of the trials have started. The Hindustan Times has more.... UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan requested more assistance in the role of peacekeeping from EU nations Thursday. At a National Forum for Europe meeting held in Ireland, Annan pointed out that less than 10 percent of all peacekeeping forces come from EU countries, and in Africa the ratio falls to less than 5 percent; he added that forces were desperately needed for UN peacekeeping, where demand is rapidly outstripping supply. The UN News Centre has more. Read the transcript of Annan's speech here.

An official report submitted to the Bosnian Serb government Friday shows that more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed by government forces at Srebrenica in 1995. Although the killings have been called genocide by the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague and others, it was the first official figure provided by the government, which only admitted to the massacre in June. The killings took place after government forces stormed a UN safe area in the town. The two Bosnian Serb officials in charge at the time, political leader Radovan Karadzic and military leader Ratko Mladic, remain at large after being indicted by the UN tribunal. BBC News has background on Srebrenica and more.

Indonesia Friday filed charges against Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir for his alleged involvement in a 2003 bombing at a Jakarta hotel that killed 14. Bashir is expected to be tried in about two weeks and, if convicted, could face the death penalty under the country's anti-terror laws. Bashir is alleged to be the spiritual leader of the militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, a group linked to al-Qaida and the deadly 2002 bombings at Bali. The cleric previously served a six-month prison term on treason charges. The charges against Bashir were widely anticipated after he was arrested by authorities last April. The Jakarta Post has background on the charges. AFP has more.

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Friday, October 15.

Boston University School of Law hosts a two-day conference marking the 100th anniversary of Lochner v. New York. Read the conference schedule and papers to be presented during the event.

The US House and Senate are in recess until Tuesday, November 16.

At the United Nations, the General Assembly will meet at 10 AM ET for the election of five non-permanent members of the Security Council. Watch a live webcast.... The Security Council will hold closed consultations at 3 PM ET on the situation in the Middle East.

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been acquitted of treason charges for allegedly plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe ahead of the country's 2002 election. Tsvangirai faces a second treason trial next month for calling for protests to oust Mugabe last year. BBC News has more.