[JURIST] Gregory Felos, attorney for Michael Schiavo, told reporters late Tuesday afternoon that he had electronically filed two more reply briefs with the US Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, but he did not know when the court would rule on the case. A three-judge panel is generally expected to hand down a decision late tonight or tomorrow on appeal from a ruling earlier today by US District Judge James Whittemore [JURIST report] in which he declined to issue an injunction that would authorize Terri Schiavo's feeding tune to be re-inserted. Meanwhile Schiavo's mother Mary Schindler pleaded with Florida lawmakers in Tallahassee, saying that the state Senate was just "one vote away" from passing another "Terri's Law" that could save her daughter. Other legislative observers are less sanguine about the chances of legislative action at this very late stage, given that state Senators have balked at earlier versions of the proposed legislation [SB 804 summary]. AP has more on the Florida legislative situation.

6:15 PM ET - NBC WXIZ-TV 11 in Atlanta has a late video report on the status of the Eleventh Circuit appeal.

[JURIST] The Justice Department and tobacco industry representatives have begun settlement negotiations in the government's racketeering case [DOJ case backgrounder] against the industry, an anonymous source involved with the case said Tuesday. The two sides have met at least once with a court-appointed mediator, but both are under court orders not to discuss the negotiations. The talks were prompted by US District Judge Gladys Kessler [official profile], the trial judge in the five-year-long case. The government has a greater incentive to settle its claims after an appeals court ruling last month that it could not seek $280 billion in past industry profits. Reuters has more.

Previously on JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Federal appeals court says DOJ can't seek $280 billion from tobacco industry
• Tobacco industry settlement with states doesn't bar federal suit, judge rules
• Appeal of $280 billion tobacco case will be allowed
• Federal judge orders document turnover in tobacco case
• Federal judge refuses to limit fines sought in tobacco case

[JURIST] In issuing new mercury emissions regulations [JURIST report] last week, the Environmental Protection Agency [official website] failed to include conflicting data from a study sponsored by the agency, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. EPA officials emphasized that the mercury regulations could not be more stringent because the costs to businesses already substantially outweighed health benefits. However, a Harvard University study funded by the EPA and co-authored by an EPA scientist found that the health benefits could far exceed the costs of the proposed regulation. The study found health benefits could save $5 billion annually, while the EPA concluded savings would only reach $50 million per year. An EPA staff member said that agency officials had ordered the study removed from consideration. EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics Director Al McGartland said the study was not considered because it had not been submitted in time, but documents showed the study was received by the Jan. 3 deadline. The EPA has more on the new mercury rule. The Washington Post has more [registration required].

[JURIST] AP is reporting that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that Syria will completely withdraw its military forces from Lebanon. Last week, Annan had demanded a withdraw [JURIST report] in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1559 [text]. AP has more.

[JURIST] A UK court on Tuesday granted Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official profile] more time to decide on a US request to extradite three British bankers indicted on fraud charges stemming from the Enron scandal. A court ruled last fall that the three, Gary Mulgrew, David Bermingham and Gile Darby, could be extradited [JURIST report], but the final decision rests with the home secretary. Tuesday's decision was the third delay, pushing the deadline back to May 24. The US has charged the three with defrauding their former employer, Natwest, of more than $7.3 million using an Enron off-the-books partnership. The three men have argued they can be tried in the UK and have sought judicial review of their case. View the indictment [text, PDF] against the men. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] The parents of Terri Schiavo have filed a full appeal with the US 11th Circuit Court of Appeals [official website], urging the court to act because Schiavo is "fading quickly." The parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, filed an emergency appeal Tuesday morning after a US district judge refused to order Terri Schiavo's feeding tube to be reconnected. AP has more.

3 PM ET - WXIA-TV in Atlanta is reporting that Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, has filed a request with the 11th Circuit, arguing that the feeding tube should not be reinserted, even temporarily. Schiavo argued there was sufficient time for the court to hear the appeal without reinserting the feeding tube.

For additional background and materials, see JURIST's Terri Schiavo news archive.

[JURIST] Embattled Russian oil company Yukos [official website; JURIST Hot Topic archive] reported Tuesday that it will drop its appeals for bankruptcy protection in US courts, and instead pursue other options in an attempt to keep the company from breaking up. A US district judge had refused [JURIST report] last week to maintain a stay that protected the company's assets while it appealed its bankruptcy case. The company said that it would pursue its case elsewhere, since it did not appear that it would succeed in the US. The company faces an overwhelming $27.5 billion in back taxes sought by the Russian government. Yukos has maintained the tax claims are politically motivated, and has filed a claim in the European Court of Human Rights against Russia. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed suit Tuesday against internet phone provider Vonage [official site], alleging that the service does not adequately warn customers about problems they have in trying to call 911. Vonage does not route 911 calls in the usual manner. Most calls wind up at the administrative offices of emergency call centers rather than with dispatchers. This can cause delays for callers. In February, a 17-year old girl was unable to get through to police [USA Today report] after dialing 911 on a Vonage phone after her parents were shot by intruders. Vonage contends that they provide ample information to consumers about their 911 service limitations. Issues regarding 911 services have been a major sticking point for the introduction of internet phone service, or VoIP, in the US. The FCC is grappling with VoIP regulations, while state public utility commissions are also attempting to regulate calls. This is the first time a state attorney general has brough an action against Vonage. Read the Texas Attorney General's press release announcing the lawsuit. CNET has more.

[JURIST] The US government filed a motion [PDF text] Tuesday asking the judge in the Zacarias Moussaoui case [JURIST Newsmaker news archive] to set a trial date in October. District Judge Leonie Brinkema had stayed legal proceedings pending the Supreme Court's consideration of a petition for certiorari regarding whether US prosecutors could seek the death penalty. Monday the Supreme Court denied certiorari [JURIST report], and the prosecution responded by requesting that jury selection begin on October 3, with opening statements to commence on October 31. Moussaoui has been charged with conspiring with al Qaeda in planning the September 11 attacks. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court ruled in three cases Tuesday, all on appeal from the Ninth Circuit. In Muehler v. Mena [case backgrounder from Duke Law School] the Court ruled unanimously that police did not violate the Fourth Amendment rights of a suspect when they detained her in handcuffs while searching a house for a wanted gang member. Overturning the appeals court, the high court held that the actions of the officers were consistent with the Court's 1961 ruling in Michigan v. Summers [FindLaw text] in which the Court held that officers executing a search warrant for contraband have the authority “to detain the occupants of the premises while a proper search is conducted.” Chief Justice Rehnquist, writing for the Court, stated that "this was no ordinary search. The governmental interests in not only detaining, but using handcuffs, are at their maximum when, as here, a warrant authorizes a search for weapons and a wanted gang member resides on the premises. In such inherently dangerous situations, the use of handcuffs minimizes the risk of harm to both officers and occupants." Review the syllabus, opinion, and two concurrences [Cornell LII].

In another case decided on Tuesday, the Court held that a ham radio operator may not collect certain damages and fees in a dispute he won regarding the construction of a wireless tower. In City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams [case backgrounder from Duke Law School], the Court unanimously reversed a Ninth Circuit ruling which had held that Abrams was able to collect attorney's fees and damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, since the Telecommunications Act did not provide a comprehensive remedial scheme. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the Court, stated that "the TCA–by providing a judicial remedy different from §1983 in §332(c)(7) itself–precluded resort to §1983." Review the syllabus, opinion, and two concurrences [Cornell LII].

In its third reversal of the Ninth Circuit Tuesday, the Court held that a jury which recommended a death sentence for a convicted killer properly considered evidence of his religious conversion. In Brown v. Payton [case backgrounder from Duke Law School], the Court in a 5-3 ruling reversed the Ninth Circuit's decision to order a new trial. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the Court, stated, "Testimony about a religious conversion spanning one year and nine months may well have been considered altogether insignificant in light of the brutality of the crimes, the prior offenses, and a proclivity for committing violent acts against women." In his dissent, Justice David H. Souter argued that Payton deserved a new trial due to the prosecutor's misstatements about the nature of mitigating factors. "The trial judge utterly failed to correct these repeated misstatements or in any other way to honor his duty to give the jury an accurate definition of legitimate mitigation," wrote Justice Souter. Review the syllabus, opinion, two concurrences and dissent [Cornell LII]. Chief Justice Rehnquist did not take part in the case, which was heard in November while he was being treated for thyroid cancer.

[JURIST] Democratic Republic of Congo [BBC News country profile] leaders on Tuesday announced that several senior militia leaders had been arrested, with other reports indicating that top leader Thomas Lubanga was among them. The leaders were arrested on Saturday, although no report was made until today. Efforts to halt militia violence has been stepped up in the past month after nine Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers were killed, leading to the arrest [JURIST report] of another prominent militia leader. Hema and Lendu militias have been vying for control of the northern Ituri province, with more than 50,000 people being killed in the conflict since 1999. The UN has given militia members until the end of the month to give up their arms, with 500 voluntarily agreeing [UN News Centre report] to do so. The UN Mission in the DRC has more on events in the region. BBC News has more.

[JURIST]Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, the Wall Street Journal is reporting [subscription req'd] American International Group Inc. (AIG) [corporate website] has fired CFO Howard I. Smith and a vice president Christian M. Milton after the executives indicated they would invoke the Fifth Amendment [text] with regulators over the probe AIG manipulated its books. Both Smith and Milton were allegedly involved in the transaction involving General Re Corp. [corporate website] which is under scrutiny by regulators. The probe by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer [official website], the SEC and federal prosecutors involves a complex reinsurance deal, which may have been used to manipulate AIG's books. In late 2000 and early 2001, AIG reportedly booked $500 million in premium revenue from General Re and followed by adding $500 million in reserves to its balance sheet. AP has more.

In other news...

• UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official website] was given more time by a court in London to consider a US request to extradite three former bankers of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc's Greenwich NatWest unit [corporate website] to stand trial on charges they used an Enron [corporate website; JURIST Hot Topic news archive] off- the-books partnership to defraud Royal Bank of $7.3 million. A UK court had ruled in October that the three bankers could be extradited but the bankers claim they should be tried in the UK, asking for a separate judicial review in their case. This is the third delay Secretary Clarke has received. Read the indictment against the three bankers [PDF]. Bloomberg has more and the Houston Chronicle has continuing coverage of the Enron trials.
  
  
• The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) [corporate website] announced it has fined Spear Leeds & Kellogg, recently acquired by Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing [corporate website], $1 million for concealing sales of IPOs from the Depository Trust Corp. Spear Leeds did not deny or admit any responsibility. Read the NASD press release. AFX has more.
  
  
• Delphi Corp. [corporate website], the world's largest auto supplier, announced it has completed an internal probe into accounting errors at the company. Delphi has stated that it overstated its cash flow by $200 million in 2000 and overstated its pretax income by $61 million in 2001. The full results of the probe will be reported when the company restates its earnings which will be done by June 30. Read the Delphi press release. AP has more.
  
  
• GE Capital unit announced it has withdrawn a $2 billion loan facility for General Motors (GM) [corporate website] and its suppliers. GM will now have to provide its own early payment service to its suppliers. Reuters has more.
  
  
• Oracle Corp. [corporate website] won its bid to buy retail software maker Retek Inc. [corporate website] for about $670 million. Oracle beat out German rival SAP AG [corporate website] for Retek. Read the Oracle press release and the Retek press release. AP has more.
  
  
• IBM [corporate website] and Compuware Corp. [corporate website] announced they have settled the lawsuit brought by Compuware which accused IBM of predatory pricing and antitrust violations. Under the settlement, IBM will license $140 million of Compuware software over the next four years and will offer to buy $260 million of Compuware services over the same period. Read the Compuware press release. Read the IBM press release. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] In Tuesday's international brief, a report submitted to the UN Human Rights Commission [official website] by UN Special Rapporteur Doudou Diene has called on Germany and the EU to increase efforts to ban political groups based on racist, xenophobic, or hate policies. Diene cited the recent increase in popular support in Germany for extremist political parties like the National Democratic Party [official website in German], which advocates racial supremacy. The EU had already been engaged in a debate on neo-Nazi paraphenalia and symbols but recently dropped a proposal for a ban on Nazi symbols after members states could not agree on the exact symbols to be banned [JURIST report]. Concern has been expressed that bans on symbols and political parties would represent infringments on rights to expression and association guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights [official text]. Deutsche-Welle has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• In a report released Monday, US-based NGO Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] said that Zimbabwe [government website] has failed to meet guidelines set to ensure free and fair elections in the nation's upcoming March 31 natioanl poll. HRW alleged that Zimbabwe has not met the guidelines set out by the South African Development Community [official electoral website] to ensure the validity of the upcoming elections, and challenged the regional organization to take notice of all the activity leading up to the vote, not just the government's presence in the week prior. HRW details specific instances of intimidation and persecution of opposition groups by the government and the ruling Zanu PF [official website] political party. HRW also alleged that the newly established Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was neither independent nor impartial. HRW concluded that the events that already occurred in Zimbabwe create a significant likelihood that the March 31 elections will not be free and fair. Read HRW's official report. ZimOnline has local coverage.
  
  
• The Royal Government of Nepal [official website] issued a diplomatic note to foreign missions in Nepal Monday, asking them to abide by the terms and limits of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations [official text]. The note, sent to all foreign missions in Nepal, including the American [embassy website] and Indian [embassy website] diplomatic missions, requested all foreign officials to follow the terms of the treaty, which requires that foreign diplomats inform the central government before meeting with any political party leader. The note is seen as an criticism of many nations' refusal to meet with officials from the Royal government, instead meeting with pro-democracy leaders. The note comes just a few days after the US and India jointly asked Pakistan and China to not respond to a call for military aid [Indian Express report] by Vice-chairman of the Council of Ministers Tulsi Giri. All military supplies to the country were cut off after the February 1 royal assumption of power [JURIST report]. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal [JURIST Country news archive]. Kantipur Online has local coverage.
  
  
• A report from the UN Board of Auditors [official website] released Monday detailed a $500,000 abuse of phone privileges by members of the UN peacekeeping force in Eritrea and Ethiopia [UN mission website] during 2003 and 2004. The report identified that over $500,000 (USD) was defrauded from the United Nations by the peacekeepers as they used stolen personal identity codes or abused a grace period to make personal telephone calls. Normally, UN peacekeepers have to pay for personal calls while on mission, the UN used to provide a one minute grace period to ensure that connections were made. Peacekeepers abused the grace period, with phone records showing as many as 100 consecutive phone calls, all under one minute in length. The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations [official website] decided that there would be too much expense in trying to track down the offenders, and has restricted the issuance of personal identity codes capable of making phone calls, and cut the grace period for personal calls to 30 seconds. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Jordan's State Security Court [government website] on Tuesday convicted three Iraqis for smuggling weapons into the country as part of a plan to attack US and Israeli targets. The three were charged with importing weapons including grenades, rockets and automatic rifles. They escaped a death sentence after the court concluded there was not enough evidence to convict them of conspiracy to carry out terrorist attacks in Jordan. Two of the men are in custody and were sentenced to seven-and-a-half years of hard labor. A third man was sentenced to 15 years in prison in absentia. Also Tuesday, a retrial of 10 militants accused of conspiring to attack Americans and Iraelis during millenium celebrations. AP has more.

[JURIST] A jury has delivered a $90 million verdict against Clear Channel Communications [corporate website] for interfering with another promoter's attempts to host motorcycle racing events in Chicago. The verdict, handed down Monday, rejected an antitrust claim against Clear Channel, but jurors found that Clear Channel interfered with JamSports' negotiations to hold an American Motorcycle Association race in 2001. Clear Channel eventually renewed its previous deal to promote the event. Clear Channel maintained that its actions were legal competition. The company is already the subject of two federal antitrust investigations, as well as an inquiry launched by NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The Chicago Sun-Times has more.

[JURIST] FBI agents at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST Hot Topic archive] concluded the military's aggressive interrogation policy yielded intelligence that was "suspect at best," according to a newly released FBI document [text, PDF]. The report on Gitmo interrogations comes from an internal FBI [JURIST Hot Topic archive] e-mail from May 10, 2004. The e-mail also reported that FBI officials had informed Defense Department officials in 2002 that it had been successful in obtaining confessions using less confrontational interrogation policies. MI Sen. Carl Levin [official website] released the documents Monday, after he received a more complete version after asking the Justice Department to reconsider its release. The memo did not describe what tactics were used in interrogations at Guantanamo Bay. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved the use of harsher interrogation practices in December 2002, but they were halted in January 2003 after their legality was questioned. FBI documents critical of the Defense Department's tactice in Gitmo were previously released [JURIST report] by the ACLU. Read a press release from Levin's office. AP has more.

[JURIST] Several Indonesian human rights groups have criticized the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz [official profile] for the World Bank [official website] presidency, citing his failure to oppose the Suharto dictatorship during his ambassadorship in Indonesia in the 1980s. The Indonesian National Human Rights Commission [advocacy website in Indonesian] and the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development [advocacy website] both spoke out against the nomination. According to the groups, Wolfowitz never publicly opposed the corruption in the Suharto government or its rights abuses while he served as ambassador from 1986 to 1989, which makes the strength of his support for human rights questionable. Human rights and corruption are some of the major issues confronted by the World Bank. Suharto's regime was blaimed for creating a major grafting culture in Indonesian government, with Suharto charged in 2000 with personally embezzling $600 million. Wolfowitz was also ambassador as many dissidents remained jailed from the 1965 US-backed coup and during conflict in East Timor. The charges were dropped when a judge ruled he was too ill to stand trial. Wolfowitz, who currently serves as deputy secretary of defense, was nominated [White House press release] by President Bush for the World Bank position. Read the INFID press release. AP has more.

[JURIST] Kyrgyzstan election officials certified parliamentary election results Tuesday, despite ongoing fierce protests and international criticism. The election commission published results for 69 of 75 parliamentary seats up for election in February, with President Askar Akayev's supporters overwhelmingly beating opposition candidates. Protests in the south have turned violent, with opposition forces taking over several cities, forcing Akayev to agree to consider negotiations and order an investigation [JURIST report] into fraud allegations. International observers, including UN Secretary-Genearl Kofi Annan [UN News Centre report] and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe [OSCE news release], have called for a dialogue between the two sides. The OSCE has more on events in Kyrgyzstan. Reuters has more.

11:15 AM ET - Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akayev has accused opposition forces of attempting a coup during protests over the parliamentary election results. In a statement to reporters, Akayev said the opposition forces were being directed and funded from abroad. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Egyptian prosecutors on Tuesday charged presidential candidate Ayman Nour with forging signatures to obtain recognition for his party, Al-Ghad. The charges come several months after Nour was arrested, a move that drew intense international criticism. Nour, an ardent supporter of multi-candidate elections in Egypt [JURIST Country news archive], was arrested in January, but then released on bail [AFP report] earlier this month. He claimed the arrest was aimed at eliminating him as a rival to President Hosni Mubarak [official profile]. Egypt is scheduled to hold [JURIST report] its first multi-party presidential elections this fall. No trial date was set for Nour. AP has more.

[JURIST] Britain's Constitutional Affairs Secretary and Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer [official profile] Monday unveiled a British government plan to strip the legal profession of its right to regulate itself, saying that the current system for handling complaints lacks transparency and gives the impression of self-interest. Falconer's proposals follow public consultations held by the UK Department for Constitutional Affairs [official website] in response to concerns that many of the legal professions' rules are unduly restrictive. Responding to public feelings of low confidence in a legal profession that is self-regulated with poor enforcement of rules, Falconer proposed the creation of a Legal Service Board [text of Falconer's speech] that will oversee the legal services sector and will set standards for the profession and check that they are met. The Board, which will have a lay chair and a lay majority, will be appointed based on merit by the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. Falconer also proposed reforms to the ownership of legal practices that would allow lawyers to create partnerships with non-legal professionals and would also permit external investment in law firms. The Times has more.

[JURIST] Reaction to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's In Larger Freedom report [official text; JURIST report] outlining his plans to reform the UN has been mixed. Annan is calling for an expanded Security Council membership, the establishment of a new Human Rights Council to replace the current Commission on Human Rights, clarification on the use of military force, a condemnation of all forms of terrorism, and several other management reforms. Countries including Canada, Britain, and France are praising the report, but the US, while pledging its cooperation, has criticized some elements of the plan. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the US is skeptical [State Department press briefing] of the report's call for a Security Council resolution on the use of force and preemptive action. Algeria has also expressed its doubts about the likelihood of enacting of the proposed reforms, predicting that reaching agreement on a definition of terrorism and the creation of a new human rights body will be very difficult. Reuters has more. Annan is planning to lobby world leaders for their support during the next six months so that the reform package can be approved at a September summit at UN headquarters. The UN News Service has more.

[JURIST] CBS WTSP-TV 10 in Tampa is reporting that US District Judge James Whittemore has refused to order the re-insertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, saying that the brain-damaged Florida woman's parents had not established a "substantial likelihood of success" at trial on the merits of their arguments.

7:40 AM ET - Read Judge Whittemore's 13-page order [PDF] refusing the temporary injunction requested in the Schindlers' complaint [PDF], courtesy Florida attorney Mark Conigliaro's Abstract Appeal weblog.

10:45 AM ET - Abstract Appeal has posted a convenient summary of Judge Whittemore's ruling. Terri Schiavo's parents have already filed an appeal [AP report] with the US Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] in Atlanta.

For additional background and materials, see JURIST's Terri Schiavo news archive.

[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Tuesday, March 22.

The US Supreme Court [official website] will hear oral arguments in two cases beginning at 10 AM ET today. In the first case, Tory v. Cochran [case backgrounder from Duke Law School], 03-1488, the Court will consider whether a permanent injunction in a defamation action preventing all future speech about a public figure violates the First Amendment. The ABA has merit briefs for the case. Following that, in Dodd v. US [case backgrounder from Duke Law School], 04-5286, the Court will resolve a circuit split over whether a statute of limitations period begins to run when the Court recognizes a new right or when it rules that the right may be applied retroactively. The ABA has merit briefs filed in the case.

The US Senate and US House [official websites] are in recess until April 4.

The European Council [official website] opens a two-day meeting today, with the session beginning at 5:30 PM local time [11:30 AM ET]. View the agenda [PDF] for the session, and watch a live webcast of proceedings.

The UN Security Council [official website] meets at 10 AM ET today, when it will hear a report by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the situation in Afghanistan. View the agenda, and watch a live webcast of the session.

The 61st session of the UN Commission on Human Rights [official website] continues in Geneva today. View the daily agenda [DOC].

At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the trial of Slobodan Milosevic [ICTY case backgrounder] continues today at 9:30 AM local time [3:30 AM ET]. Also today, the trial of Fatmir Limaj and others [ICTY case backgrounder] continues at 2:45 PM local time [8:45 AM ET]. A webcast of proceedings is available.