[JURIST] Attorney Johnnie Cochran [official profile] died Tuesday at the age of 67 from a brain tumor. Cochran was known for his colorful personality, as well as for his skill as a courtroom orator. Cochran was best known for successfully defending O.J. Simpson against double murder charges. During his career, he also represented football great Jim Brown, actor Todd Bridges, rapper Tupac Shakur and rapper Snoog Dogg. Cochran's law firm has a tribute on its website. NBC-TV in Los Angeles has more.

[JURIST] Following up on a JURIST report from earlier today, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has ruled out resigning after a new interim report by the Independent Inquiry Committee into the UN Oil-for-Food Program [official website] faulted him but cleared him of any wrongdoing. Asked if he would quit over the report's findings, Annan said "Hell, no." The report found that Annan did not know of a conflict of interest caused by his son's employment by a firm that was awarded a contract under the Iraq oil program. The report was, however, critical of Annan's efforts to investigate the matter after the fact. Read the interim report [text, PDF] by the committee and a UN press release. AP has more.

[JURIST] More than three dozen Pakistanis transferred to their home country from detention at Guantanamo Bay remain imprisoned, most without charge, Pakistani government officials have said. The prisoners include 32 transferred by the US in September 2004 and another seven released in the past six weeks. According to the government sources, the prisoners protested their continued detention with a hunger strike and shouting at jail guards at Adiala jail. Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema, a Pakistani Interior Ministry official said the prisoners were being "debriefed," but would not say how long they would remain in prison. Hundreds of Pakistanis went to fight against the US during its military operations in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002. AP has more.

[JURIST] Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor have appealed death sentences they received in Libya [JURIST news archive] for infecting hundreds of children with HIV. The appeals court hearing the case said it would rule on May 31. The six medics have been imprisoned since 1999 on charges they deliberately gave 426 children tainted blood transfusions as part of an experiment. The health workers have maintained their innocence, however, claiming the children were already infected prior to being treated. The death sentences have been vigorously opposed by the Bulgarian government [official website] and have become a source of international tension. However, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has refused to issue a pardon. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, the Wall Street Journal is reporting [subscription req'd] that regulators have called Warren Buffett [Wikipedia profile] to answer questions next month about his involvement in the insurance transaction between General Re Corp. [corporate website], a unit of his company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. [corporate website], and American International Group Inc (AIG). At issue is a complex reinsurance deal between General Re Corp. and AIG which may have been used to manipulate AIG's books. Regulators are expected to ask Buffett about documents and witnesses which indicate he was involved in discussions about the deal. Berkshire issued a statement [text, PDF] saying Buffett had no knowledge of any illegal transactions with AIG. Reuters has more.

In other news...

• A second special Enron [corporate website; JURIST Hot Topic news archive] grand jury, which will be in session for 18 months, has been seated in federal court. The move allows the Enron Task Force prosecutors more time to investigate people and avenues they might not have had time for before the five-year time limit to file charges expired. In other news, prosecutors told US District Court Judge Sim Lake that they may reindict Ken Lay [Wikipedia profile], Jeff Skilling [Wikipedia profile], and Rick Causey sometime before September. Prosecutors said they will not add any defendants to avoid postponement of the January 2006 trial date. Read the current indictment [PDF] against Lay, Skilling, and Causey. The Houston Chronicle has more and continuing coverage of the Enron trials.
  
  
• An administrative law judge at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) [official website] has granted an Enron motion to postpone a hearing date in a case brought by Nevada Power Co [corporate website]. Enron wanted more time to review taped conversations [Transcripts and audio of Enron tapes] between Enron traders and alleged co-conspirators strategizing how to influence power markets, thereby increasing Enron's profits and driving up the costs of utilities like Nevada Power. The new hearing date will be no later than August 6. The Las Vegas Sun has more.
  
  
• The SEC filed a lawsuit against Pension Fund of America LC of Coral Gables, Florida and two of its top executives over allegations the company defrauded thousands of investors in Central and South America of millions of dollars. The firm's assets have been frozen pending a trial. AP has more.
  
  
• American International Group Inc. (AIG) [corporate website] chairman Maurice "Hank" Greenberg [Wikipedia profile] announced he is retiring, just two weeks after board members ousted him as chief executive. The move comes during an expanding probe by the SEC and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer [official website] into the company's past financial transactions. Read the AIG press release. AP has more.
  
  
• The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) [official website] has referred the rival bid approaches of Deutsche Boerse AG [corporate website] and Euronext [corporate website] to buy the London Stock Exchange [corporate website] to the UK's Competition Commission [official website]. OFT has been investigating whether Europe's largest stock exchanges are becoming monopolies and is recommending the Commission determine whether potential takeovers in the financial services market would dampen competition. Read the OFT press release. BBC News has more.
  
  
• A US court ordered Sony [corporate website] stop sales of its two game consoles and to pay $90.7 million in patent infringement damages to Immersion Corp. [corporate website], a California-based company. The judge immediately stayed the ruling, allowing Sony to continue to sell its consoles pending an appeal or settlement. Read the Immersion press release. AFP has more.
  
  
• MCI Inc. [corporate website] announced it has accepted the takeover offer of $7.6 billion from Verizon Communications Inc. [corporate website], and in the process rejecting Qwest Communications International Inc.'s [corporate website] $8.45 billion bid. MCI cited to Verizon's growth potential. Qwest can still bypass MCI's management and take its offer the company's shareholders. It is unclear what Qwest will do. Read the MCI press release. Read the Verizon press release. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Ousted Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev [BBC News profile] said Tuesday that he would be willing to resign if given "relevant" legal protections. Akayev made the statement in an interview with a Russian television station while he is staying outside Moscow. The statement conflicted with an earlier message from Akayev that he remained the legitimate leader of Kyrgyzstan and would not resign his post. Akayev was forced to flee the country after protesters stormed the government headquarters last week following disputed parliamentary elections. Akayev may have been swayed to back down on his comments after the former and newly elected parliaments agreed over the past two days to recognize the new legislators. AP has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina [official profile] on Tuesday approved a $16 million plea agreement between the Justice Department and Riggs Bank [corporate website] over Riggs' maintenance of secret accounts for South American dictators, including former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Urbina originally questioned whether the plea deal was not severe enough for Riggs, which he called a "henchman of dictators." Riggs pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to charges of money laundering over an eight-year period during which it maintained the accounts. A US Senate subcommittee investigation originally discovered the accounts [JURIST report] maintained by Riggs. Read a Riggs press release on the plea deal. The case against Riggs had thrown its purchase by PNC Financial Group into question until the deal was revised. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] After resting their case, Russian prosecutors Tuesday asked a Russian trial court to convict ex-Yukos [Wikipedia entry] CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky [JURIST news archive] of tax and fraud charges, and asked that he receive the maximum 10 year sentence. Khodorkovsky has been the target of a lengthy court process stemming from the acquisition of shares in a fertilizer-component maker in 1994. However, the court ruled that the statute of limitations on the fertilizer case had expired and the only charges on which the he could be sentenced were tax evasion and document fraud. Khodorkovsky has maintained that he is not guilty of any charges, contending that under the law of the time, the deals were not illegal. Defense lawyers say that they expect a court ruling in May. AP has more.

[JURIST] Four suspected Islamic radicals began trial Tuesday in Paris for allegedly conspiring to kill Afghan resistance leader Ahmad Shah Masood [Wikipedia entry]. French prosecutors believe the four men helped two Tunisians travelling with fake Belgian passports. Posing as journalists, the Tunisians detonated a bomb hidden in a camera on September 9, 2001, killing Masood. Masood was nicknamed "Lion of the Panjshir" for his armed efforts in leading the Northern Alliance [Wikipedia entry] against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The four primary suspects in the Paris case are Youssef el-Aouni, 31, and Adel Tebourski, 41, both French nationals; Abderahmane Ameroud, a 27-year-old Algerian; and Mehrez Azouz, 37, who has dual French and Algerian nationality. If convicted, the suspects face a maximum of 10 years in prison for aiding a terrorist enterprise. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Michael Schiavo attorney George Felos says that an autopsy will be performed on Terri Schiavo [JURIST news archive] after she dies to show the extent of her brain damage. The chief medical examiner for Pinellas County, Dr. John Thogmartin, has agreed to perform the procedure. Felos said that Michael Schiavo wants definitive proof showing the extent of brain damage to quel rumors and controversy. David Gibbs III, attorney for Schiavo's parents, has indicated that Schiavo's family too wants an autopsy. "We would certainly support and encourage an autopsy to be done, with all the unanswered questions," Gibbs said. As Schiavo draws closer to death, extra police officers have blocked the road in front of the Florida hospice, and an elementary school next door was closed so students could avoid the crowd. Hundreds of protestors have been congregating around the hospice, and eight protestors were arrested while trying to bring water into the hospice. AP has more.

3:37 PM ET - The Rev. Jesse Jackson met with the Schindlers in Tampa Tuesday and in a brief press conference outside the hospice said he had been in touch with several Florida state legislators in an effort to get them to change their minds on legislation that would allow Terri Schiavo's feeding tube to be reconnected. ABC WTSP-TV has local coverage.

[JURIST] In Tuesday's international brief, the upper house of the Kyrgyzstan [DC Embassy website] pre-election parliament has agreed to dissolve itself in order to allow government officials and OSCE experts a chance to resolve the nation's current constitutional crisis before violence returns to the tiny Central Asian nation, while ousted President Askar Akayev [official profile] revealed his presence in Moscow. The parliament's announcement comes one day after the lower house agreed to suspend all governmental operations [JURIST report] until a legitimate parliament is selected. Interim President Kurmanbek Bakiev praised the decision as one that would allow calm to return to the nation. Meanwhile, Akayev contested the Bakiev's promise of new national elections, saying from Moscow that he had not resigned and was still the legitimate leader of Kyrgyz. Electionworld.org has a backgrounder on Kyrgyzstan. Radio Free Europe has more on parliament's dissolution. MosNews has more on Akayev's announcement.

In other international legal news ...

• Lord Paddy Ashdown [official profile], the EU High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina [official website] announced Tuesday that he was dismissing one of the three joint presidents for the Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation [government website]. Ashdown announced that Croat President Dragan Covic [official profile] was being removed under Ashdown's powers granted as implementer of the Dayton Accords [text] after charges were filed by prosecutors on counts of customs evasion, corruption, and abuse of power. Ashdown had called for Covic to step down voluntarily with both EU and US support, but Covic refused, alleging that Ashdown was favoring other groups of Bosnia-Herzegovina above Croats. Covic has said he will not step down unless he is found guilty at trial. Read the official transcript of the press briefing announcing Covic's removal. BBC News has more.
  
  
• The Federation of Nepalese Journalists [official website] celebrated its golden jubilee Tuesday by holding a 500-member protest in the streets of Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. The members of the journalistic organization were joined by teachers and human rights activists as they marched through city streets, demaning a return to the pre-February 1 status of Nepal, and calling on the King to return the right of free press and democratic institutions that have been suspended under the declaration of a state of emergency [JURIST report]. Journalists are continuing to operate in Nepal, but have to do so under strict guidelines imposed by the state. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal [JURIST Country news archive]. Kantipur Online has local coverage.
  
  
• The only major opposition party in Zimbabwe [government website], the Movement for Democratic Change [official website], announced Tuesday that the police have refused to investigate the murder of an MDC activist last Thursday that allegedly was committed by ruling party Zanu PF [official website] militants. MDC and several international rights organizations have pointed to the Zimbabwe government's continuing oppression and persecution of opposition party members [JURIST report] as evidence that Zimbabwe's elections scheduled for Thursday are already unfair. Official election observers from South Africa announced at the same time that they had observed no indicators that Thursday's election would be anything but "free and fair" and that all was peaceful in Zimbabwe. The activists, Givemore Sunday, is scheduled to be buried late Tuesday. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Zimbabwe [JURIST Country news archive]. Zim Online has local coverage.

[JURIST] A Yemeni businessman was captured in Egypt and was secretly held by US authorities for over a year before being sent to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, according to a report Tuesday from Human Rights Watch [advocacy website]. The human rights watchdog group released details [report text] of the previously unreported case of 'Abd al-Salam 'Ali al-Hila, a Yemeni terror suspect initially detained in Cairo by Egyptian authorities in 2002 and currently held at Guantanamo. It says the al-Hila case is new evidence of the practice of foreign authorities picking up non-combatant suspects and handing them over to US authorities, with no protections afforded to the individuals involved. "Al-Hila was essentially kidnapped on the streets of Cairo and then 'disappeared' in US custody," said John Sifton, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. As further evidence of this "reverse renditon" pattern, Human Rights Watch said that six Algerians held in Bosnia were transferred to US officials in January 2002 (despite a Bosnian high court order to release them) and were sent to Guantanamo. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday morning in MGM Studios v. Grokster [case backgrounder from Duke Law School], 04-480, a case questioning when technology providers can be held secondarily liable for copyright infringement. During the one-hour hearing, the justices appeared critical of both the entertainment industry's proposed liability rule and the file-swapping companies' business model. In criticizing P2P software companies such as Grokster, Justice Antonin Scalia said, "What you are suggesting is unlawful expropriation of property as a kind of start-up capital. From an economic standpoint and legal standpoint, that sounds wrong." Justice David Souter expressed concerns about shutting down innovation, and discussed the potential plight of "the guy in the garage," as Souter put it. The high visibility of the case drew scores of protesters to the Court for Tuesday's arguments. Supporters of file sharing carried signs proclaiming "Save Betamax" and "RIAA keep your hands off my iPod." Meanwhile, a group singer-songwriters from Nashville carried guitars and signs reading "Feed a musician. Download legally." CNET has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the Independent Inquiry Committee into the UN Oil-for-Food Program [official website] has cleared UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan of wrongdoing in the scandal, although it remained critical of his actions. The committee was looking into the employment of Annan's son Kojo by a Swiss company that was awarded a contract in the oil-for-food program in Iraq. Annan had been accused of ignoring the conflict of interest with his son’s company, Cotecna [corporate website], but the report cleared him of any wrongdoing. The interim report is expected to be officially released at Noon ET today, with a press conference on the report scheduled for 3:30 PM ET at the UN. Watch a live webcast of the briefing. JURIST will have additional coverage as more information becomes available. The UN has a press release on the report release. AP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the Supreme Court has ruled that the Title IX gender equity law protects whistleblowers who claim discrimination by academic institutions.

10:45 AM ET - In Jackson v. Birmingham Bd. of Ed., 02-1672, the Court extended whistleblower protection to those alleging discrimination at academic institutions. Justice O'Connor delivered the opinion for a five-person majority. O'Connor wrote:

The regulations implementing Title IX clearly prohibit retaliation and have been on the books for nearly 30 years. More importantly, the Courts of Appeals that had considered the question at the time of the conduct at issue in this case all had already interpreted Title IX to cover retaliation. The Board could not have realistically supposed that, given this context, it remained free to retaliate against those who reported sex discrimination. A reasonable school board would realize that institutions covered by Title IX cannot cover up violations of that law by means of discriminatory retaliation.

[JURIST] Iraqi lawmakers Tuesday failed to nominate a parliament speaker in a raucous second session of the country's National Assembly, as the role of Sunni Arabs in the new Iraq [JURIST news archive] government remained a question. Assembly members had promised an agreement on a Sunni candidate for the position during the session, but negotiations quickly broke down after a delayed start. Shiite and Kurdish leaders had been pushing for the nomination to go to interim President Ghazi al-Yawer [Wikipedia profile], but he turned down the post, claiming it wouldn't help Sunni attempts to gain negotiating power in the assembly despite their small numbers. A member of the Shiite party United Iraqi Alliance said the party was considering nominating Sheik Fawaz al-Jarba, a Sunni Arab from the party for the speaker position. Although the positions of president and prime minister appear set, lawmakers have struggled to get the National Assembly organized almost two months after elections. The Assembly is scheduled to complete drafting of the constitution by mid-August. Also Tuesday, the Assembly was expected to finalize regulations for the body. AP has more.

[JURIST] Fifty-nine former US diplomats have sent a letter to US Senate Foreign Relations Committee [official website] chairman Richard Lugar, calling on the Senate to reject the nomination of John Bolton for US ambassador to the United Nations [US Mission to the UN official website]. Saying Bolton "is the wrong man for the position," the former diplomats who signed Tuesday's letter cited Bolton's "exceptional record" of opposing US efforts to improve national security through arms control and Bolton's "insistence that the UN is valuable only when it directly serves the United States." Bolton's nomination [JURIST report; State Department press release] earlier this month was met with surprise [JURIST report] by Senators on both sides of the aisle. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing [meeting notice] on Bolton's nomination on April 7. AP has more.

[JURIST] Ljubomir Borovcanin [ICTY backgrounder], the Bosnian Serb former police chief charged with complicity in genocide in connection with the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, will surrender to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website], Bosnian media reported Tuesday. According to his initial indictment [text], Borovcanin will face charges of complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Borovcanin will be the sixth suspect to surrender in recent weeks, but there's no word yet on when his surrender to Serbian authorities in Belgrade will take place. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] UN member countries pledged Monday to contribute over $38 million dollars [UN press release] to finance a tribunal to try surviving Khmer Rouge leaders [BBC News backgrounder] with war crimes. Pledges fell short of the $70 million requested by Cambodian officials [JURIST report], but UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who has estimated the UN-backed court's three-year budget [UN News report] to be about $56 million, said that Monday's pledges moved the UN and Cambodia an important step closer to starting the court. The war crimes tribunal was approved by the Cambodian parliament last October [JURIST report; additional JURIST report]. Thus far, only two Khmer Rouge defendants are in custody [JURIST report]. AFP has more. Yale's Cambodian Genocide Program [academic website] has background on the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Tuesday, March 29.

The US Supreme Court [official website] hears oral argument in two cases today. At 10 AM ET, the Court will hear arguments in MGM Studios v. Grokster [case backgrounder from Duke Law School], 04-480, in which it will decide [CNET News report] whether file-sharing services are liable for copyright infringements committed by users of the companies' software when infringement constitutes a large majority of the use. The ABA has merit briefs in the case. Following that, the Court will hear arguments in the consolidated cases of National Telecommunications Association v. Brand X Internet Services and FCC v. Brand X Internet Services, 04-277 and 04-281. In those cases, the Court will consider whether cable modem service constitutes an information service or telecommunication service under the Communications Act [text, PDF]. The ABA has merit briefs filed in the case.

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

The Securities and Exchange Commission [official website] is holding a commission meeting at 10 AM ET today. Read the agenda, and watch a live webcast of the meeting.

The National Press Club is holding a forum on the new European Constitution [EU backgrounder] with British MP Mark Hendrick at 3 PM ET. Watch a live webcast via C-SPAN 2.

The American Constitution Society is holding a forum on medical malpractice reform with Paul Barringer [official profile], chief counsel for Common Good. Watch a live webcast via C-SPAN 3 beginning at 2 PM ET.

The UN General Assembly [official website] meets at 10 AM ET today, when it will conduct a comprehensive review of peacekeeping operations in all aspects, including a report by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee. Watch a live webcast of the session.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and UN Chef de Cabinet Malloch Brown will hold a press conference at 3:30 PM ET today on the latest interim report by the Volcker Oil-for-Food program inquiry. Watch a live webcast of the briefing.