[JURIST] The Senate Foreign Relations Committee [official website] remained stalled Tuesday afternoon on a confirmation vote for US ambassador to the UN nominee John R. Bolton [official profile]. Republicans continued to move toward a vote on the nomination despite attempts by Democrats to delay the final decision. Republicans control the committee by a 10-8 margin, and voting appeared likely to proceed along party lines. Bolton has been heavily criticized by Democrats on the committee for his management style and alleged harassment of lower-level officials. However, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday [press briefing transcript] that President Bush has had no second thoughts [AP report] about Bolton's nomination. Bloomberg has more.

5:32 PM ET - A final committee vote on Bolton's nomination was postponed [AP report] late Tuesday, as committee members agreed to take a closer look at certain allegations against him.

[JURIST] In Tuesday's environmental law news, US District Judge Emmet Sullivan has refused [order text, PDF] to block a Washington DC law [text, DOC] that bans the shipment of hazardous materials on railroads through the city. He also held yesterday that CSX Transportation [company website] and the federal government had not provided evidence that the railroad or rail security would suffer irreparable harm if the company were forced to route trains around DC. CSX has announced [CSX press release] it will appeal the decision. The DC Office of the Attorney General has background legal documents [documents, PDF] in the case. The Washington Post has more.

Earlier JURIST Paper Chase coverage:

• Railroad, feds decline to settle with DC officials over hazmat transportation ban
  
• DOT board rules against DC hazmat ban
  
• DC council votes down ban on hazmat train loads
  

[JURIST] Rwanda [JURIST news archive] has condemned Burundi for moving a group of Hutu refugees farther from the countries' common border. The Rwandan government said the Hutus were fugitives and Burundi's actions amount to granting them asylum status. About 2,000 refugees have fled across the border recently from local "gacaca" courts set up to try those accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide [BBC News backgrounder]. Many feared the local tribunals would be unfair. Trials in the local courts opened last month, and they are based on the traditional system in which a victim confronts their attacker before other villagers. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Miami-Dade County [official website] has agreed to a $6.25 million settlement that applies to thousands of women illegally strip-searched at county correctional facilities, one of the largest civil rights settlements in the county's history. The settlement was approved Monday by a US district court judge. The lawsuit was filed by three women who were strip searched after being arrested while protesting the 2003 Free Trade Area of the Americas Conference. Under Florida law, only those charged with felonies may be strip searched, while those arrested for a misdemeanor may only be strip searched with probable cause. The settlement covers those who were searched from March 5, 2000 to Feb. 28, 2005. The county officially changed its policy in August 2004. The Miami Herald has more [registration required].

[JURIST] The Greek parliament [official website] on Tuesday ratified the European constitution [official website; JURIST news archive], making it the fifth EU nation to sign off on the document. Approval was widely expected by Greece, with 268 lawmakers voting for the treaty and only 17 opposing it. Several opposition legislators called for a referendum on the treaty. Such a process is possible until today's parliamentary vote is published by the government, which often takes several weeks, but a successful referendum vote remains unlikely. The future of the historic European constitution remains in doubt, however, as French citizens appear ready to reject [JURIST report] the document in a referendum next month. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] on Tuesday refused to rehear a case in which it held two reporters in contempt [JURIST report] for refusing to reveal confidential sources for an investigation into whether a Bush administration official leaked the name of a covert CIA operative. In the case, New York Times reporter Judith Miller [Wikipedia article] and Time reporter Matthew Cooper were both held in contempt for witholding their sources, and both face jail time. The case stems from a grand jury investigation into whether an administration official outed CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in the media to retaliate against her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson. Read the court's opinion [PDF text]. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press [advocacy website] has more on reporter shield laws. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A New York man was arrested on Tuesday after threatening to kill a federal judge and bomb his courthouse. Wazir Khan, 20, was charged with threatening to kill an individual and destroy the Brooklyn federal courthouse, according to federal prosecutors. If convicted, Khan faces up to 10 years a fine of $250,000 on each of the two counts. Khan's arrest adds to the growing concern about the safety of judges in the US. The past two months have seen the murders of the parents of US District Judge Joan Lefkow [JURIST report] in Chicago, and the Atlanta shooting deaths [JURIST report] of Judge Rowland Barnes in a state courtroom. Khan claimed in threatening letters to have smuggled a gun into the courthouse with which he planned to massacre its judges, according to the complaint. He said that he knew where US District Judge Raymond Dearie lived and threatened to murder him "by the end of the month." Khan added that he planned to carry out the murders "just like Atlanta." Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist [official website] said Tuesday that a proposed Senate rule change to ban filibusters [JURIST report] would only apply to the process of confirming judicial nominees [JURIST news archive], and would not extend into other legislative issues. Fifty votes are needed to approve a rules change that would end Democrats' ability to block President Bush's judicial nominees. Last term, 10 nominees were blocked through filibuster threats, and 34 nominees were confirmed. Bush has reappointed 7 of the 10 who were blocked. While only 50 votes are needed to change the rules, it requires 60 senators to end a filibuster. Several Republican-leaning groups such as Gun Owners of America and the National Right to Work Committee oppose a ban on legislative filibusters, as Republicans have used legislative filibuster threats to stop antigun and pro-union legislation. AP has more.

In a related story, over 1,000 law students, law professors, legal scholars have banded together to oppose the elimination of the filibuster [press release]. Members of the legal community will present letters of opposition to Sen. Richard Durbin this Thursday, April 21, at a national event at Georgetown University Law School.

[JURIST] The Delaware Supreme Court [official site] Tuesday cleared Oracle Corp.'s [corporate site] top two executives of allegations of insider trading. In a brief two-paragraph opinion [PDF text], the three-judge Supreme Court panel affirmed without commentary a 2004 Court of Chancery ruling finding that CEO Lawrence J. Ellison [Oracle profile] and Chairman Jeffrey O. Henley [Oracle profile] did not breach their duty of loyalty to the company by selling stock in early 2001 in advance of disappointing earnings news. The Court of Chancery's 94-page opinion [PDF text] relied upon the absence of "any rational motive" that would have led the executives to sell stock on the belief that Oracle's performance was declining. Ellison must still face charges in California under a state statute. AP has more.

[JURIST] [JURIST] Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, the Wall Street Journal is reporting [subscription req'd] Cablevision Systems Corp. [corporate website] has raised its bid for Adelphia Communications Inc. [corporate website] to $17.1 billion. The move may threaten the $18 billion competing offer from Time Warner Inc. [corporate website] and Comcast Corp [corporate website]. It is not clear how seriously Adelphia or the creditor's committee will take the offer. Also today, Time Warner's bid is reportedly being held up in bankruptcy court because of the break-up fee of $500 million that Adelphia would pay Time Warner if they fail to consummate a sale. Reuters has more.

In other news...

• Outsourcing solutions provider Bisys Group Inc. [corporate website] said it believes an SEC [official website] investigation into the company relates to the company's agreements with certain mutual funds under which it agreed to pay for expenses related to the marketing and distribution of the fund shares, as well as payments to advisers and other expenses. The company is conducting its own investigation and may have to delay its announcement of its third-quarter results if the investigation is not finished. Read the Bisys press release. AP has more.
  
  
• MSC Software Corp. [corporate website], the leading global provider of virtual product development products, announced [MSC Software press release] the SEC has started an investigation into the company related to a disclosed independent review directed by the company's audit committee. MSC.Software will cooperate with the probe.
  
  
• The Wall Street Journal is reporting [subscription req'd] Saks Inc. [corporate website] is making plans to sell its midprice chains in two geographic clusters of north and south. The move could lead to the sale of its Saks Fifth Avenue luxury division [retail website]. The sale could be hampered by an expanding internal and SEC investigation into the company's payment and accounting practices. Just last week Saks indicated that its internal investigation had been broadened from payments from vendors to include related financial and accounting issues. As a result of the investigation, Saks has not completed its financial statements [Saks press release] for fiscal 2004. AP has more.
  
  
• ABB Ltd. [corporate website], the Swiss-Swedish electrical engineering giant, said it has notified the US Justice Department [official website] and the SEC of $560,000 in suspect payments by former employees at its American software unit ABB network management. The suspected payments to intermediaries in Latin America and in the Middle East were discovered during an internal investigation following the dismissal of two managers from the company in 2004. AP has more.
  
  
• As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, a unanimous Supreme Court [official website] refused to make it easier for investors to sue companies and seek damages in certain securities fraud cases. In Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo [Duke Law School case backgrounder], 03-932 [Supreme Court docket], the Court overturned a Ninth Circuit decision that plaintiffs could simply prove the stock price was inflated due to misrepresentations. Read the opinion [PDF]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Army investigative documents released Monday disclosed the existence of "wish lists" of harsh interrogation techniques that intelligence officials hoped to use on Iraqi detainees. The techniques, cited in various e-mails in August 2003 between interrogators and army officials, included low-voltage electrocution, blows with phone books and using dogs and snakes. The correspondence was used in part to develop interrogation rules approved by Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez [JURIST report], then commander of US troops in Iraq. The documents suggest that these tactics were subsequently used on two detainees. One died in November 2003 after being stuffed into a sleeping bag, and another was badly beaten with a police baton in September 2003. The documents further indicate that there was confusion over what tactics were legal in Iraq, and whether Geneva Convention protections [UN database] applied to detainees. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] Following what appeared to be a puff of white smoke coming from the Sistine Chapel a few minutes ago, bells are now ringing at the Vatican indicating that Roman Catholic cardinals have elected a new pope, as yet unidentified. Observers had suggested that an election in the first days of balloting in the conclave could mean the elevation of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger [Vatican profile] of Germany, an early favorite of conservatives and Dean of the College of Cardinals. An announcement is pending from the Vatican. For the very latest developments, listen to Vatican Radio live [in Italian].

12:43 PM ET - In the traditional "Habemus Papam" proclamation from a balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square, the new Pope has just been named as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, taking the name of Benedict XVI. EWTN-TV, the US-based Catholic television network, is providing live video.

[JURIST] A former Argentine naval officer was convicted Tuesday of crimes against humanity by a Spanish court and sentenced to 640 years in prison. Adolfo Scilingo [Time magazine profile] was found guilty of being aboard planes from which 30 people were thrown to their deaths during Argentina's military rule from 1976 to 1983. The trial [BBC News report] was the first in Spain under a new law that allows the country to prosecute for crimes committed in other countries. Scilingo agreed to go to Spain in 1997 to testify about atrocities that were committed under the military regimes in Argentina and Chile, known as the "Dirty War" [Wikipedia article]. He admitted to being aboard two flights from which prisoners were thrown into the ocean, testimony he later retracted [JURIST report] after being charged [JURIST report]. A three-judge National Court found him guilty and issued the sentence, which is limited to 30 years under Spanish law regardless of the initial sentence. The American Society of International Law has background on the case. La Nacion has local coverage [in Spanish] from Argentina. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Seventeen Afghan men held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] arrived in Afghanistan Tuesday and were being turned over to local officials, the Defense Department announced [DOD news release]. The 17 Afghans and one detainee from Turkey all had their enemy combatant status lifted by Combatant Status Review Tribunals [DOD backgrounder] which concluded they had been improperly classified. A senior Afghan official said that the 17 former detainees were being handed over to the Afghan National Security Council, but it was not clear whether any would be charged with any crimes. The US released 81 Afghans held at military bases in the country in January, and Afghan Supreme Court Chief Justice Fazl Hadi Shinwari said that the government was pressuring the US to release other Afghans held by the US. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Tuesday ruled that plaintiffs bringing securities fraud claims cannot establish economic loss necessary for such claims by showing that stock prices were inflated at the time of purchase. In Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo [Duke Law School case backgrounder], 03-932, the Court overturned a Ninth Circuit decision that plaintiffs could simply prove the stock price was inflated due to misrepresentations. In the class action case, the plaintiffs had claimed securities fraud by Dura Pharmaceuticals, which they alleged misrepresented pending FDA approval of an asthmatic spray device. Read the Court's unanimous opinion [PDF text], per Justice Breyer. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's international brief, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan [official profile] has flagged and implicitly condemned threats from several high-ranking Sudanese officials warning that international personnel in the country may be at greater risk if the International Criminal Court [official website] acts against any government officials included on a UN list Annan handed over to the ICC [JURIST report]. Annan presented his monthly report to the Security Council Monday on the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan [government website], saying generally that violence was continuing in the region at an unacceptable rate and pointing to a rise in attacks on international personnel in the area. Annan said that UN members must not let up pressure on Sudan simply because the Security Council had created a peacekeeping force for the region [JURIST report]. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Sudan [JURIST news archive]. The UN News Centre has more. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• A crowd of protestors gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa to celebrate 25 years of formal independence for Zimbabwe [government website] and at the same time call for reforms from Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Led by Brian Kagoro of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition [advocacy website], the crowd protested repressive laws, specifically challenging the need for land reform, the continued government oppression of women and organized labor, and the youth national service training programme which human rights agencies and religious organizations say turns teens and young adults into killers of opposition leaders. Kagoro compared Mugabe to a black Ian Smith [Wikipedia profile], who used the cloak of government legislation to repress his nation and dole out rewards to his supporters. Zimbabwe gained formal independence from Britain in 1980 following carefully monitored elections where Mugabe was elected president. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive]. ZimOnline has local coverage.
  
  
• The Royal Commission on Corruption Control in Nepal [government website] has called former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to appear before its investigatory panel. Deuba headed the elected portion of the government that was removed from office by King Gyanendra [official profile] by the royal declaration of a state of emergency [JURIST report] on February 1. Deuba was incarcerated following that declaration until March 11, when he was released [JURIST report] for no apparent reason. The RCCC, created by the royal government [JURIST report], called Deuba to testify concerning financial decisions made while he was in office. The RCCC is currently facing a contempt of court hearing [JURIST report] for proceeding with the investigation when it is also currently before the Nepalese Supreme Court [official website]. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal [JURIST news archive]. Kantipur Online has local coverage.
  
  
• The legislature of China [government website], the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress [backgrounder], announced Monday that it will accede to a request [JURIST report] to interpret Hong Kong's Basic Law [official text] in reference to the current constitutional dispute over the office of Leader of the Hong Kong province. Hong Kong [government website] has been in turmoil over whether Acting Chief Executive Donald Tsang [official profile] should serve the remainder the term of former executive Tung Chee-hwa [archived profile], who resigned in early March [JURIST report], or the full presidential term as spelled out in the Basic Law. Legal experts in Hong Kong warn that allowing the NPC to be the ultimate interpreter of Hong Kong's constitutional Basic Law would be ceding too much power to the mainland. China maintains that part of the 1997 integration of Hong Kong was the assumption of the role of constitutional interpretation of Hong Kong law. The NPC is expected to consider the issue during its 15th session of the 10th NPC Standing Committee, scheduled for April 24 - 27. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Hong Kong [JURIST news archive]. China Daily has local coverage.

[JURIST] The Tokyo High Court [Japanese court website in English] on Tuesday refused to award compensation to Chinese victims of atrocities during Japan's occupation of the country, as relations between the two countries grew increasingly tense. Ten survivors and relatives of victims of the Nanjing massacre and of Japanese military germ experiments sought about $1 million in compensation and an apology. The court struck down the claim, holding that compensation for past wrongdoing was awarded to states rather than individuals, which is consistent with previous rulings. The ruling comes during a period of heightened tensions between the neighboring countries became bitter following anti-Japanese protests in China and Japan's approval of a school textbook [Daily Yomiuri report] downplaying atrocities such as the Nanjing massacre. During the massacre, more than 100,000 civilians were killed during a week of rape and murder by Japanese troops occupying the city. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Flaws and inadequate computer security at the Internal Revenue Service [official website] has left the personal information of millions of taxpayers open to potential theft and illegal access, according to a Government Accountability Office [official website] report issued Monday. The report also found that the IRS would be unable to tell if its information databases on tax returns had been breached because the agency does not police its computer systems for unauthorized use. The news comes on the heels of recent announcements [JURIST report] of ID theft in the private sector. The IRS has struggled to address computer security issues. The GAO report found that only 32 of 53 problems identified in a 2002 report had been solved, and an additional 39 security issues were found. One example of such a problem is that money-laundering reports and tax returns are jointly stored, meaning a police officer accessing the money-laundering reports could also view tax returns. View the GAO's full report [PDF text] and an abstract [text]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST news archive] has notified the government that he will plead guilty to his alleged role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks if a judge finds him mentally competent, the Washington Post reported Tuesday [Post report, registration required]. Moussaoui, a French citizen and the only person charged in the US in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, indicated his intent to plead guilty over his attorney's objections, but his mental competence remains a question. He tried to plead guilty to the same charges in 2002, but rescinded the plea a week later. He is expected to meet with US District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema later this week to determine his mental condition. The plea suggestion comes as the long-delayed trial against Moussaoui appeared to be moving forward [JURIST report]. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has more on the case against Moussaoui [docket]. AP has more.

[JURIST] A jury on Monday found no wrongdoing by investment firm Alliance Capital [corporate website] when it invested Florida state employee pension funds in plunging Enron stock, ultimately losing $280 million. The jury found against the Florida State Board of Administration [official website] in its breach-of-contract claims [JURIST report] against Alliance that accused the company of continuing to buy up Enron stock even as the company began to falter in 2001. Alliance argued there was no way that it could have known about Enron's accounting fraud used to hide major financial problems at the oil giant. The jury found for Alliance on its $1.1 million counterclaim against the state for the remainder of its contract. The state had also alleged conflict of interest, arguing that Alliance board member Frank Savage also served on Enron's board. Although Florida lost the most of any state on the Enron scandal, the losses amount to less than one percent of the state's $100 billion employee pension fund. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Ecuadorian Congress [official website] will debate Tuesday whether to begin impeachment proceedings against embattled President Lucio Gutierrez [Wikipedia profile]. Gutierrez has come under fire for dissolving the Ecuador Supreme Court last December [JURIST report] and stacking the court with his supporters and then again attempting to dismiss the Supreme Court last week [JURIST report]. Over the weekend, Ecuador's congress voted to dismiss the court [JURIST report] and now will consider whether to start the impeachment process against Gutierrez. A simple majority is needed to begin impeachment proceedings; a two-thirds majority would be needed to oust the president. Some opposition leaders have indicated that they would like to finish the process of reforming the Ecuador Supreme Court [official website] before beginning the process of impeachment. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Pushing for Serbian membership in the European Union by 2010, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus [BBC profile] said Monday that Serbia has issued arrest warrants for suspects indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website] and will extradite suspects it captures to the UN tribunal in The Hague. EU officials have urged closer co-operation with the Hague court as a condition for Serbian accession to the regional group. Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic [ICTY case backgrounder; indictment] and military commander Ratko Mladic [ICTY case backgrounder; indictment] remain at large and are believed to be hiding in Serbia. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Moscow Arbitration Court has frozen the main assets of Russian oil company Yukos [official website; JURIST news archive] as part of an $11 billion lawsuit against Yukos [JURIST report, scroll down] brought by Rosneft [official website], the state oil company that now owns former Yukos subsidiary Yuganskneftegaz. Rosneft is seeking to recover $6 billion for losses that Yukos caused Yugansk by buying oil at below-market prices and is demanding that Yukos pay $5.1 billion in tax claims. The Moscow court's decision, which was issued April 5 but not acknowledged by Yukos until Tuesday, bars Yukos from disposing of shares in its major remaining subsidiaries, including two oil production units and a refinery. The court will consider Rosneft's claim for damages next month. AP has more. MosNews has local coverage.

[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Tuesday, April 18.

The US Supreme Court [official website] hears oral arguments in two cases beginning at 10 AM ET today. In the first, Bradshaw v. Stumpf [Duke Law School case backgrounder], 04-637, the Court consider whether an explanation by defense counsel of the elements of a crime sufficient to establish the voluntariness of a guilty plea and whether the state's use of inconsistent evidence at a later trial violates the due process right of an earlier defendant who pleaded guilty. The ABA has merit briefs in the case. In the second, Mayle v. Felix [Duke Law School case backgrounder], 04-563, the Court will whether an amendment to a habeas petition that adds a new claim relates back to the filing of the petition for purposes of the one-year statute of limitations. The ABA has merit briefs in the case.

The US Senate [official website] convenes at 9:30 AM ET today, when it will consider H.R. 1268 [bill summary], the Iraq/Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations bill. Watch a live webcast of the session. The Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee is holding a hearing to examine the SBC/AT&T and Verizon/MCI mergers and their effect on the telecommunications industry at 2:30 PM ET today. Watch a live webcast of the hearing. The Senate Intelligence Committee [official website] is holding a hearing to review the USA PATRIOT Act at 2:30 PM ET today.

The US House [official website] convenes at 12:30 PM ET today. Watch a live webcast of the session. The House International Relations Committee [official website] Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations Subcommittee is holding a hearing on the UN Commission on Human Rights at 2 PM ET today. Watch a live webcast of the hearing. The House Judiciary Committee [official website] Committee Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee is holding an oversight hearing on the USA PATRIOT Act at 3 PM ET today. Watch a live webcast of the hearing.

The Eleventh UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice [official website] continues today in Bangkok, Thailand. View the agenda for the session.

At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the trial of Slobodan Milosevic [ICTY case backgrounder] continues at 9:30 AM local time [3:30 AM ET] today. Watch a webcast of proceedings.