[JURIST] The US government will consider on a case-by-case basis allowing Haitian illegal immigrants who were victims of Tropical Storm Jeanne to stay in the US, so long as they are not violent criminals. Bill Strassberger, from the US Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, stated that the bureau will consider immigrants who entered the country illegally and those who overstayed their visas. This type of temporary protection has been granted before, for example, to victims of Hurricane Mitch (1998) in Honduras and Nicaragua. Additionally, Roger Noriega, US assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, and Gov. Jeb Bush met with Haiti interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue Friday in Florida. Latortue requested that the US temporarily halt all deportations of Haitians illegally in the US. AP has more.

[JURIST] Citing sovereign immunity, the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday threw out a lawsuit filed by one of 212 women who claimed that drinking contaminated tap water from Chesapeake city caused miscarriages or birth defects. Chesapeake Circuit Court Judge Norman Olitksy had earlier rejected the sovereign immunity defense, which traditionally shields government from lawsuits. Helen Cunningham, whose case was thrown out today, and the other plaintiffs alleged that city officials misled them about contamination in the city's drinking water, specifically for the levels of Trihalomethanes, or THM, which have been linked to birth defects in some studies. During a period of time around 1998, the city was exempt from THM regulation during an upgrade of the water plant. The city did, however, issue various warnings about high THM levels. AP has more. Read the opinion here [PDF].

[JURIST] Two of the largest textbook publishers - Holt, Rinehart and Winston and Glencoe/McGraw-Hill - have agreed to change health-related textbooks in Texas to depict marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The Texas Board of Education approved the new textbooks Friday with a 10-4 vote. A board member argued that the previous books, using terms such as "married partners," violated Texas law, which does not recognize gay civil unions. The books will now clearly state terms such as "husbands and wives" and "when a man and a woman marry." Last year, Texas lawmakers passed a law that prohibits the state from recognizing same-sex civil unions. The state already had a ban on gay marriage. AP has more. In the 2004 election, all eleven states considering the issue passed state constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage and, in some states, civil unions as well.

[JURIST] The Chilean army has formally accepted responsibility for human rights violations from 1973-1990 under General Augusto Pinochet's rule. Chilean President Ricardo Lagos called it a "historic step" towards national unity. Current Army Commander General Juan Emilio Chyre offered no excuses and said that the army accepted full responsibility for these previous rights abuses. Under Gen Pinochet's rule, which began in 1973 after a coupthat ousted elected socialist President Salvador Allende, more than 30,000 Chilean leftists were tortured, assassinated or simply disappeared--at least 3,000 are accepted to have died. A government commission report, to be released next week, is expected to expose the torture under Gen Pinochet's rule. Gen Pinochet faces prosecution for alleged human rights abuses in the Chilean courts, however, the cases have not gone forward, most recently due to concerns over Pinochet's health. BBC News has a timeline of the Pinochet case. JURIST's Paper Chasehas recent coverage of the case. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Ralph Tyson released a ruling Friday indicating he will not overturn the conviction of ex-Governor Edwin Edwards. After serving four terms as Louisiana's Governor from 1972-96, Edwards was convicted in 2000 for extorting payoffs from businessmen seeking riverboat casino licenses. The rejected defense motion claimed a political bias on the part of the trial judge and additionally contended that he was impaired by painkillers as he presided over the trial. Tyson ruled that the defense "failed to point to any facts that raise a bona fide doubt as to the mental or physical competency of the trial judge." Edwards, now 76 years old, is currently serving ten years for his conviction. AP has more.

[JURIST] Attendance at a number of Arizona public schools has dropped dramatically in the past few days in what Hispanic community leaders are calling a parental response to Proposition 200 [PDF], approved by state voters on Tuesday. The new law requires a person to show proof of citizenship when seeking publicly funded benefits. It also mandates that government employees report suspected illegal immigrants who seek benefits. Many are worried that the new law will have the same effect as California's similar Proposition 187 which, after its passing in 1994, resulted in undocumented immigrants withholding their children from schools and doctor visits. That law was later held unconstitutional by a federal judge. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is expected to seek a court injunction against Proposition 200 after the 30-day certification period passes. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled Friday against a recent government decision to allow newlyweds in the province of Punjab to serve food to wedding guests. The court held that the original ban against food service, imposed by the provincial government in 1997, should remain in force to discourage public displays of wealth. The three-judge bench, heading by Chief Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, stated that the ban reinforces the Islamic emphasis on living a simple life and takes pressure off lower income groups. The court also deplored the practice of dowry and the lively customs of South Asian weddings as "social evils." BBC News has more.

[JURIST] The Department of Justice has announced that a federal judge has ordered a freeze of $500 million in assets held by San Diego tax-planning company Xelan and its subsidiaries. The company has sold tax-reduction plans to about 4000 doctors and dentists worth at least $420 million in the past several years, prompting the DOJ to clamp down. The IRS and FBI searched Xelan's San Diego offices Thursday and audited returns from those purchasing tax reductions from the company. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan of the US District Court for the Southern District of California issued the order Tuesday. Read the DOJ press release announcing the action. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] The US military has provided Associated Press details of eight cases of abuse of detainees at Guantanamo Bay in response to a written inquiry by the news organization. The response provided details of eight cases of abuse mentioned by James R. Schlesinger, who led a committee investigation into abuses in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo culminating with this report [PDF]. According to the military, the incidents included a detainee being forced to stand and kneel so many times that his knees were bruised, a female interrogator running her hands through a detainee's hair and sitting on his lap, and a barber giving detainees reverse mohawks. The military said that all personnel involved were reprimanded or demoted. It was reported last month that abuses at the prison had been widespread. JURIST's Paper Chase has ongoing coverage of events at Guantanamo. AP has more.

[JURIST] Members of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have harshly criticized a proposal by Russian officials to detain relatives of terrorists to discourage hostage-taking. Such a proposal would violate international law, according to UN human rights experts Leila Zerrougui and Stephen Toope. The plan was put forth by Russian Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov, who said that existing laws were not effective in fighting terrorism. Ustinov said detentions of family members would be effective in hostage negotiations. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Washington state Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence, ruling that the jury may have been prejudiced by the sight of ankle shackles on the defendant, Cecil E. Davis. Davis was convicted of murdering a 65-year-old neighbor, but the court ruled in an 8-1 decision that the jury may have had a negative view of the defendant due to the sight of his shackled ankles. The court remanded the case for a new sentencing hearing. The decision was the second death sentence the court has overturned this year and the seventh since 2000. Read the majority opinion, as well as a concurrence and a dissent. The Seattle Times has more.

[JURIST] A military lawyer has recommended that a Navy SEAL accused of abusing prisoners in Iraq should not be court-martialed, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday. The lawyer instead recommended a nonjudicial punishment for the SEAL. The decision on whether to prosecute rests with the commander of the unit at Coronado. If convicted, the SEAL, who has not been identified, could face up to 11 years in prison. The SEAL is one several accused of abuse, and a fellow SEAL testified at the preliminary hearing Monday that both men punched an Iraqi detainee suspected in a bombing, who was found dead hours later. No one has been charged in the death. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on the charges. The Union-Tribune has more.

[JURIST] A Saskatchewan judge has ruled that a Canadian federal law on marriage is unconsitutional, making it the seventh jurisdiction in the country to approve same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to rule on proposed legislation legalizing same-sex marriages throughout the country. CBC News has more.

[JURIST] The Japanese Ministry of Justice has warned in a report Friday that the country's prison system is overwhelmed, with some prisons unable to accommodate any more prisoners. The system is at about 117 percent capacity, which is the highest since the Justice Ministry began keeping records in 1972. The increase has been attributed to higher violent crime rates and longer sentences. Despite the overcrowding, Japan has one of the lowest rates of incarceration in the industrial world, with only 48 of every 100,000 people incarcerated, while the US stands at 686. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] A website for Canada's Citizenship and Immigration agency was flooded with US visitors following the news of Tuesday's elections results. Officials said American traffic on the site was six times higher than normal, and the previous record for hits in a day was doubled to 179,000. The Canadian Press has more.

[JURIST] Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Kyoto Protocol Friday, completing Russia's ratification of the treaty and giving the global warming accord enough signatures to come into force as early as next year. The treaty now has the backing of 126 countries, with the necessary 55 industrialized countries accounting for 55 percent of the world's greenhouse gases signing on. The treaty comes into effect 90 days after Russia submits its ratification to the UN. Read the full text [PDF] of the Kyoto Protocol. Complete ratification status is available here [PDF]. More on the treaty is available from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. CBC News has more.

Previously on JURIST's Paper Chase....

• Russia approves Kyoto climate change treaty
• Russia likely to ratify Kyoto climate change treaty, report says
• UN hopeful Russia will ratify Kyoto protocol

[JURIST] Incoming European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has finalized a new team of commissioners that appeared to put the power transition of the European Union back on track. Most notably, Barroso replaced controversial Justice portfolio nominee Rocco Buttiglione with Franco Frattini, now the Italian Foreign Minister. The new administration was supposed to take office last Monday, but the original line-up was stalled after objections to Buttiglione. The new slate is expected to be presented for parliamentary approval soon. A full list of the incoming commissioners and comments from Barroso are available here [PDF]. BBC News has more.

Previously on JURIST's Paper Chase....

• Buttiglione withdraws as EU Justice Commissioner nominee
• EU head says multiple changes to commissioner slate possible
• EU head withdraws commissioners slate after dispute over Justice nominee

[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Friday, Nov. 5.

The Cato Institute is holding a briefing on Congressional legislation of computer spyware, featuring Orson Swindle of the Federal Trade Commission. Audio from the briefing is available beginning at 12 PM ET.

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

The UN is holding an 11 AM ET press conference on its role in the Iraqi electoral process. Watch a live webcast.

At the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the trial of Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura continues, while the Momcilo Krajisnik trial has been canceled. Proceedings begin at 3 AM ET (9 AM local time).