[JURIST] The US Supreme Court Monday heard arguments in the case Miller-El v. Dretke (03-9659), reconsidering whether a black defendant was unfairly convicted and sentenced by a jury that included only 1 black juror). The Supreme Court ruled [PDF] 8-1 last year (Justice Thomas dissenting) that there was a strong suspicion of discrimination in the jury selection, and ordered the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider the conviction. The Circuit Court reaffirmed [PDF] the conviction of Thomas Miller-El for the murder of a 25 year old motel clerk in Dallas in 1985. The Supreme Court ruling is expected by July. AP has more.

[JURIST] Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell has certified the votes of the 2004 Presidential election. The official totals, including all absentee and provisional ballots are:

Bush - 2,858,727
Kerry - 2,739,952

This is a Bush victory of 118,775 votes, not close enough to trigger an automatic recount under Ohio law. The Democratic, Green and Libertarian parties have, however. all called for a recount, and are expected to file their petitions Tuesday morning. The groups have already raised the necessary $113,600 for the recount. AP has more.

[JURIST] President Bush has named Gerald Reynolds and Ashley Taylor to the US Commission on Civil Rights. Reynolds, formerly asssitant secretary of the office of civil rights in the Department of Education, is expected to replace Mary Frances Berry as chairman of the commission. Taylor, an attorney from Richmond Virginia, will replace Cruz Reynoso, although his position as vice-chairman will be taken by Abigail Thernstrom, already a commission member. Berry, who has been on the commission since her selection by President Carter in 1980, and Reynoso are disputing their immediate replacement arguing that their 6 year terms should run until January 21, 2005. The White House maintains their positions expired on December 5, 2004. AP has more.

[JURIST] In Monday's environmental law news, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) seeks comments on a proposed rule that would establish the Pine Island-Estero Bay Manatee Refuge in Lee County, Florida. The manatee is a protected species under both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The area had been protected by the State of Florida until a state circuit court judge ruled in Novemember 2002 that five of the state manatee protection zones in Florida were invalid since four of them did not meet state standards for manatee sightings and unduly interfered with the rights of Florida citizens. There have been at least 18 manatee deaths caused by boat in these areas ince 1999, including 4 since January. The FWS wants to create the federal manatee refuge because it believes there is imminent danger of additional manatee deaths in the area and do not anticipate state action that would prevent the deaths. There will be a public hearing held on January 12, 2005 in Fort Myers, Florida. Comments can be submitted until February 2, 2005 here.

In other news, Louisville Kentucky mayor Jerry Abramson has called on the US Department of Transportation to change some its policies regarding the railroads. In a letter, the mayor said that cars containing toxic chemicals should not be allowed to stay indefinitely in rail yards and by other industrial areas, and that he opposes efforts that would remove the placards designating hazardous materials from the railcars. AP has the full story.... Philippine president Arroyo has suspended logging permits throughout the country following 2 storms that have caused over a thousand deaths. The storms brought flooding, but more damage has been caused by multiple landslides believed to have been made worse due to widespread logging, legal and illegal, in the Sierra Madre mountain range. President Arroyo also called on the Congress to "amend existing environmental laws to promulgate stiffer penalties against illegal loggers and their cohorts." AFP has more.

[JURIST] Congressional negotiators have reached a deal with the chief Republican opponent of legislation which will revamp the country's intelligence agencies. The bill, which will go to a final vote, is meant to follow the recommendations of the 9/11 commission. President Bush has been pressing Congress for a swift resolution citing the importance of the bill to the security of the country. Representative Deborah Pryce, chairman of the House Republican Conference, said negotiators struck a deal with holdout House Armed Services chairman Duncan Hunter which removed his objections to the bill. House Speaker Dennis Hastert had refused to call for a vote on the legislation before Thanksgiving because of objections from Hunter and House Judiciary chairman James Sensenbrenner. Republicans will move forward with the bill even though Sensenbrenner remains opposed to it. Read the full 9/11 report here. AP has more.

[JURIST] Military judge Colonel James Pohl ruled today that statements by President Bush and top military leaders relating to the alleged abuses at Abu Ghraib prison were not specific enough to taint the jury pool for next month's trial of Spc. Charles Graner Jr., the reputed ringleader in the case. Pohl, however, did indicate that he may reconsider the issue if it becomes clear that jurors are being influenced to a degree that Graner's right to a fair trial has been jeopardized. Graner's attorney Guy Womack attempted to get the charges dropped by showing Bush and other military leaders are at the top of Graner's chain of command and therefore their statements would have an unlawful command influence over prospective jurors. Graner's trial is expected to begin on January 7. He is charged with conspiracy to maltreat detainees, assault, committing indecent acts, obstruction of justice and adultery. In a separate ruling, Pohl also denied a defense request to compel Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the former US commander in Iraq, to testify. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Democratic Party has launched a probe into reported voting problems in Ohio. Outgoing Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe indicated Monday that the party will pay for a panel to study complaints from Ohio voters about uncounted votes, long lines, shortages of ballots, understaffed polling stations and voting machine errors. McAuliffe is also asking the panel to look at the impact of the party affiliations of the secretaries of state. The Green and Libertarian parties are already raising money to pay for a full recount which is to be conducted after certification. Read the Democratic Party press release announcing the probe here. AP has more.

[JURIST] Eight soldiers have filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Army's stop-loss program which requires troops to serve longer than the terms in their enlistment contracts. Under the stop-loss program, the Pentagon may extend enlistments during war or national emergencies. The program, which was invoked in June, may keep thousands of soldiers past their expected departure. The soldiers argue in the lawsuit that the program is a breach of the service contract because it extends the length of service without a soldier's consent and that the contracts are misleading in that they make no reference to the policy. The soldiers are seeking an immediate release from service. Read the Army's personnel policies and procedures here. AP has more.

[JURIST] Ukraine's opposition and pro-government factions reached a compromise on Monday on changes to election law and constitutional amendments, allowing for a new election on December 26. The Ukraine parliament, which failed to pass an initially-proposed set of electoral reforms Saturday, will vote on the new legislative package Tuesday. AP has more.

[JURIST] Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed has officially ordered a manual second recount of the ballots in the Washington governor's race. Republican governor-elect Dino Rossi, who defeated Democrat Christine Gregoire by 42 votes after the machine recount, called the hand recount a "sad and desparate" attempt to change the election results. Democrats have spent $730,000 to pay for the hand recount. The manual recount of the 2.8 million ballots is hoped to be completed by December 23. KATU news in Portland has more.

Previously reported in Paper Chase:

[JURIST] Following up this story reported in Paper Chase yesterday, the US military on Monday took disciplinary action against 18 soldiers who refused to go on a mission in Iraq, believing it to be too dangerous. Although the military refused to release details of the sanctions, Article 15 of the U.S. military code of justice gives commanders discretion to order brief detention of up to a month, loss of up to a month's pay, extra duties and loss of rank. The soldiers, part of the 343rd Quartermaster Company, disobeyed orders to take their unarmored fuel tankers on a supply run from southeastern Iraq to Taji, just north of Baghdad, on Oct. 13. The commander of the company was relieved, and other soldiers carried out the mission. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected hearing an appeal by the Church of the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan challenging the constitutionality of New York Penal Law 240.35(4) that bans the wearing of masks at public gatherings. The decision lets stand a January appellate court ruling[PDF] which reversed a district court decision, and upheld the law as constitutional. The Second Circuit stated: "Since the robe and the hood alone clearly serve to identify the American Knights with the Klan, we conclude that the mask does not communicate any message that the robe and hood do not." Read today's Supreme Court order list [PDF].

[JURIST] Twelve homosexuals who were expelled from the US military because of their sexual orientation filed a lawsuit in Boston on Monday, challenging the constitutionality of the Pentagon's 11-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The complaint relies in part upon last year's Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, which overturned state laws criminalizing homosexual sex. Other courts have upheld the policy, but those decisions came before the 2003 Supreme Court ruling. AP has more. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) has information about the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

[JURIST] UK Foreign Minister Jack Straw said in an interview Monday that he believed recently-proposed changes to the UN Charter (reported by JURIST's Paper Chase here) would allow for easier intervention in situations of human rights abuses like those that were taking place in Sudan and Iraq. Straw said that Charter changes would allow the Security Council to act even against a veto from a permanent member, and to prevent crises instead of just reacting to them. The UK Independent has more on the interview.... A UN fact-finding mission began work Monday in Nepal, investigating the reports of disappearances that may exceed 9,000 individuals since the start of the 1996 Maoist revolution. Nepal's National Human Rights Commision reported that it has documented over 1,400 official cases of disappearance on both sides of the conflict. The Nepalese government has admitted to arresting and detaining people, but has said that most were released, and that the families of those still detained have been notified. BBC News has more.... The trial of Maxime Brunerie begins Monday in France, as Brunerie faces charges of attempting to murder French President Jacques Chirac in July, 2002. Brunerie attempted to shoot Chirac with a hunting rifle during an annual summer parade. Bystanders pushed the rifle into the air and police tackled the man. Brunerie attempted to shoot himself during the struggle and later was examined to determine mental competency to stand trial. Brunerie's defense team is expected to challenge the ruling that their client is mentally competent. Expatica has more.... Britain's Department for Constitutional Affairs Monday announced plans to reform procedures for taking the testimony of victims and witnesses in court, and to separate the nation's highest court, the House of Lords, from the body of the same name in Parliament. Lord Falconer said the changes relating to testimony include a plan to allow witnesses to testify\ from remote locations outside the courtroom, using closed circuit tv. The goal is to ensure that the process cares is as attentive to the traumatic burden of testifying that is placed on witnesses and victims as much as it cares for the constitutional rights of the defendants. The reforms also include a proposal to formalize the now traditional separation of the judicial House of Lords from the legislative House of Lords. Read the official report of the DCA Strategy for 2004 - 2009 here. The Telegraph has more.

[JURIST] The US Defense Department says that coalition forces have found evidence that mosques, hospitals and cemeteries were used by insurgents in Fallujah as battlegrounds from which to attack Iraqi and coalition forces, contrary to international law rules. At a press briefing Friday, Army Brig. Gen. David Rodriguez cited evidence that he said showed clear violations:

Today we would like to share with you some of the things the coalition found as they cleared Fallujah. We found evidence of an enemy who fully intended to fight the Iraqi and coalition forces and disrupt the process for a future free Iraq. They were heavily armed and dug in, and by that I mean there was food, water, ammunition, weapons stashed in the buildings they occupied, and they were prepared to fight.

The insurgency used several hospitals, cemeteries, and about 25 of the mosques as fighting positions, clearly in violation of international law. Coalition forces also found more than 350 weapons and ammunition cache sites, a number of torture sites, improvised explosive device factories, and videos of beheadings.

[JURIST] In Monday's corporations and securities law news, the SEC has released a final rule relating to the registration of hedge fund advisors with the agency by February 1. Critics charge that the SEC does not have the legal authority to regulate hedge funds. However, the SEC responds that they have a broad authority to insure hedge funds to do not commit fraud. There were two dissenting commissioners who disagreed with the majority saying more information is needed about hedge funds and other viable alternatives should have been considered. Read the final rule here [PDF]. CBSMarketWatch has more.

In other news, US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held the recent extension of the statute of limitations in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act [PDF] does not revive previously expired securities fraud claims. Read the opinion here [PDF].... Prosecutors said there is no reason to have the trials of former executives Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling moved outside of Texas as two Houston juries have already rendered fair verdicts in Enron-related cases. The memorandum came in response to a survey conducted by Skilling which showed one-third of Houston residents have a negative perception of him. Paper Chase has continuing coverage of the Enron collapse. The Houston Chronicle has more on this story and background of the Enron scandal.... The SEC has begun an informal inquiry into supermarket operator Ingles Markets Inc. over the company's accounting treatment given to a vendor contract in 2002. Read the Ingles press release announcing the inquiry here. AP has more.... The SEC is threatening a lawsuit against Christopher McGrath, a lawyer hired to help with a company's internal accounting probe. This would be the first-ever such lawsuit against an attorney. Bloomberg has more.... The Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association is proposing a new law which would put licensing restrictions on many Canadian internet pharmacies which supply Americans with cheap prescription drugs. The law is in response to a growing concern of Canadian doctors "co-signing" many prescriptions without ever seeing the patient. The Financial Times has more.... The CEO of Beijing-backed China Aviation Oil's (CAO) Singapore unit will return to Singapore this week to answer questions in the country's largest financial scandal in ten years. Read the CAO press release announcing the return here. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] In a per curiam decision handed down Monday, the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the City of San Diego's decision to terminate a police officer who made and sold sexually explicit videotapes of himself in uniform did not violate the officer's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to freedom of speech. In its decision, the court wrote:

A government employee does not relinquish all First Amendment rights otherwise enjoyed by citizens just by reason of his or her employment. See, e.g., Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of N. Y., 385 U. S. 589, 605–606 (1967). On the other hand, a governmental employer may impose certain restraints on the speech of its employees, restraints that would be unconstitutional if applied to the general public. The Court has recognized the right of employees to speak on matters of public concern, typically matters concerning government policies that are of interest to the public at large, a subject on which public employees are uniquely qualified to comment. See Connick, supra; Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty., 391 U. S. 563 (1968). Outside of this category, the Court has held that when government employees speak or write on their own time on topics unrelated to their employment, the speech can have First Amendment protection, absent some governmental justification "far stronger than mere speculation" in regulating it. United States v. Treasury Employees, 513 U. S. 454, 465, 475 (1995) (NTEU). We have little difficulty in concluding that the City was not barred from terminating Roe under either line of cases.

The speech in question was detrimental to the mission and functions of the employer. There is no basis for finding that it was of concern to the community as the Court's cases have understood that term in the context of restrictions by governmental entities on the speech of their employees.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court Monday refused to hear an appeal in a challenge to the government's strategy in holding military commissions for detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Lawyers for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former driver, had asked the Court to expedite the appeal, but the Court refused to hear the case before the DC Circuit can consider the appeal. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on the request. AP has more.

10:29 AM ET - The Supreme Court did not grant certiorari in any cases Monday. The Court's Order List is here [PDF].

[JURIST] Turkey's parliament has approved another law designed to pave the way for talks on Turkey's membership in the European Union. The new criminal procedure bill, which will take effect on April 1, 2005, is the second leg of a three-part criminal reform initiative, the first part of which was approved by the Turkish parliament earlier this year. The new law defines court procedures and the duties of judges and lawyers, and also deals with police searches and telephone tapping. Of the laws Turkey is required to enact before the EU will consider whether to open membership talks, only one more bill, designated the "Penal Execution Law", remains. A vote on that is expected before the EU Council meets on December 17. Reuters has more. Zaman has local coverage in English from Ankara.

[JURIST] In his first public reaction to Friday's Supreme Court decision (reported here on JURIST's Paper Chase), outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said Monday that he will honor the Court's call for a repeat presidential runoff election. Kuchma also said Monday that he will continue to work for constitutional changes that would weaken the presidency and give more power to the parliament. As reported in Paper Chase, the Ukrainian Parliament adjourned for ten days Saturday after opposition lawmakers refused to link reform of the Central Election Commission with constitutional changes to the presidency. AP has more. Paper Chase has ongoing coverage of the situation in Ukraine.

[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Monday, December 6.

The US Supreme Court will hear 10 AM ET oral arguments in Wilkinson v. Dotson (case summary from Duke Law School), where the court will decide whether a prisoner can bring a §1983 claim that his parole proceedings violate due process, even though success on the merits would result only in a new parole hearing and not necessarily guarantee earlier release from prison. The court will also ask if a federal court judgment ordering a new parole hearing does "necessarily imply the invalidity of" the decision at the previous parole hearing. The ABA provides merit briefs in the case. The Court will also hear arguments in Miller-El v. Dretke (case summary from Duke Law School), a case where the Supreme Court had previously ordered the Fifth Circuit to determine whether Miller-El can show clear and convincing evidence that a Texas court's finding of an absence of purposeful discrimination in the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges was unreasonable. On remand, the Fifth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision denying habeas relief to Miller-El, and the Supreme Court will now decide whether the Fifth Circuit so contravened the Supreme Court's earlier decision that an exercise of the Court's supervisory powers is required. The ABA provides merit briefs in the case.

On Capitol Hill, the US House will meet at 2 PM ET. Watch a live webcast (via C-SPAN). The US Senate will reconvene on Tuesday, December 7 at 9:30 AM.

The Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 Commission will hold a 10:30 AM news conference on the intelligence reform bill with US Representatives Christopher Shays and Carolyn Maloney. Watch a live webcast (via C-SPAN).... US Ambassador to the UN John Danforth will give a speech on Sudan, the United States and the United Nations. Watch a live webcast beginning at 12 PM ET (via C-SPAN).

The trial of Slobodan Milosevic continues Monday at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Watch a webcast of the trial beginning at 9:30 AM local time (3:30 AM ET); the webcast is on a 30-minute tape delay. The ICTY has background on the case.... Also Monday, the trial of Fatmir Limaj and his co-defendants continues at the ICTY. Watch a webcast beginning at 2:45 PM local time (8:45 AM ET); the webcast is on a 30-minute tape delay. The ICTY has case information.

The Wilson Center will host a panel presentation with three Iraqi Ministers on Iraq Before the January 2005 Elections. Watch a live webcast beginning at 1:30 PM ET.

The 12th Ministerial Council meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe begins Monday in Sofia.... The annual meeting of states party to the Biological Weapons Convention begins Monday in Geneva.... The 10th Session of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change begins Monday in Buenos Aires. Read background on the session and more from AFP.

This will be the last daily docket for 2004 as the University of Pittsburgh School of Law enters its exam period and semester break. Regular docket posts will resume in early January.