[JURIST] Making his own opening statement [NYT transcript] on the first day of his confirmation hearings [JURIST report], US Supreme Court [official website] Chief Justice nominee John Roberts [JURIST news archive] told the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] Monday:

a certain humility should characterize the judicial role. Judges and justices are servants of the law, not the other way around.

Judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules; they apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules. But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ballgame to see the umpire.

Judges have to have the humility to recognize that they operate within a system of precedent shaped by other judges equally striving to live up to the judicial oath. And judges have to have the modesty to be open to the considered views of their colleagues on the bench.

I come before the committee with no agenda. I have no platform. Judges are not politicians who can promise to do certain things in exchange for votes.

I have no agenda but I do have a commitment. If I am confirmed, I will confront every case with an open mind. I will fully and fairly analyze the legal arguments that are presented. I will be open to the considered views of my colleagues on the bench. And I will decide every case based on the record, according to the rule of law, without fear or favor, to the best of my ability.

And I'll remember that it's my job to call balls and strikes and not pitch or bat.

• Supreme Test: The Questioning of John Roberts
  William G. Ross, Cumberland School of Law, Samford University

[JURIST] Levar Haley Washington and Gregory Vernon Patterson, both pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges that they planned terrorist attacks in Los Angeles [JURIST report]. Washington said that he pled not guilty "[i]n the name of Allah." The two were held without bail after their pleas were heard. The intended targets in the LA area are said to include military facilities and the Israeli consulate. Hammad Riaz Samana and Kevin James, a prisoner in California, also face counts that include conspiracy to wage war against the US government through terrorism together with Washington and Patterson. The prosecution's theory of the case asserts that James, the founder of radical Islamist prison group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh [Los Angeles Times report], was the mastermind behind the plot and recruited the others to survey military sites, synagogues, the Israeli Consulate and El Al airlines in the LA area. All four men are American born. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leading Monday's corporations and securities law news, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) [official website] has announced that it has entered into a consent order with Freddie Mac [corporate website] over the company's multi-billion dollar accounting scandal [Forbes report]. The OFHEO, which maintains government oversight of Freddie Mac and Freddie Mae, announced the settlement in a press release and said that the settlement calls, in part, for Freddie Mac to assist the government in pursuing charges against former CEO Leland Brendsel and CFO Vaughn Clarke for their roles in the scandal. Freddie Mac agreed to a $125 million civil fine [Washington Post report] in 2003 for the accounting fraud, which took place from 2000-2002. Reuters has more.

In other corporations and securities law news...

• The chief accountant at the Securities and Exchange Commission [official website] announced he will leave the commission next month for the private sector. Donald Nicolaisen, who joined the SEC in 2003 [SEC press release], joins former SEC Chairman William Donaldson [JURIST report] and other high-ranking officials in the agency who have left the commission in recent months. Dow Jones has more.
  
  
• Citing a $10 million discrepancy in severance packages, the union representing Northwest's mechanics cut off talks to end the union's now 3-week-old strike [JURIST report]. In response, Northwest [corporate website] has announced its plans to hire permanent replacement mechanics. Despite allegations of serious mechanical problems [JURIST report] and Northwest's canceling its New York-Tokyo flights [Northwest press release], the airline insists that it is still operating its early fall schedule [press release] and that the replacement mechanics are safely preparing the aircraft. In a press release [PDF], the mechanics' union said that it was willing to work towards the now $203 billion in cuts the airline is asking for, but that the severance package offered by the airline for the 3181 employees who would be laid off was too short at 16 weeks. MarketWatch has more.
  
  
• The New York Times is reporting that Oracle CEO Lawrence Ellison [Wikipedia profile] has settled a shareholder lawsuit alleging he participated in insider trading. The derivative lawsuit accused Ellison of selling $900 million of shares in Oracle before news that the company would not meet its earning target. The unusual terms of the settlement call for Ellison to donate $100 million to charities of his choice over the next 5 years, as well as paying $22 million in legal fees for the shareholders' lawyers. The settlement must still be approved by the court and Oracle's board of directors. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] British businessman Hemant Lakhani [Wikipedia backgrounder], 69, was sentenced to 47 years in prison by a New Jersey federal court Monday for financially backing terrorist activities. Lakhani was convicted in April of illegal arms sales and attempting to provide material support to terrorists [JURIST report] after he reportedly sold a missile launcher to an informant who posed as a terrorist group member two years ago. US District Court Judge Katharine Hayden was not swayed by Lakhani's age and noted, "Mr. Lakhani is not entitled to leniency. He's entitled to fairness." Reuters has more.

[JURIST] In Monday's environmental law news, the US Senate could vote tonight on a proposal that would set aside the Environmental Protection Agency [official website] cap on mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants. The agency's rule [official website], which was finalized in March, sets a nationwide cap on mercury emissions and puts a ceiling on allowable pollution for each state beginning in 2010. Individual plants can buy pollution credits from plants that are under allowable levels through a cap-and-trade system, similar to those used with other air pollutants. The Senate proposal would call for a floor vote on the agency rules, allowed by a 1996 law that has been successfully used only once to repeal Clinton administration workplace ergonomics regulations in 2001. A majority of the Senate must to agree to hold a vote on the proposal, before a separate vote on the proposal can occur. Should it pass the Senate, it would go the House and onto the White House where the Administration has already threatened a veto. Marketwatch has more.

In other environmental law news...

• The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) [official website] has designated counties [press release] in California, Kansas, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas and Virginia as primary agricultural disaster areas. The designation allows certain farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers in the counties to be eligible for low-interest emergency loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) [official website]. The disaster is generally due to flooding in the west and north, and drought in the south. USDA has more on federal agriculture disaster assistance here.

[JURIST] Leading Monday's states brief, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled [PDF text] today that an illegal immigrant, suffering from severe pain and diagnosed with acute leukemia, was entitled to Medicaid because he suffered from an emergency medical condition. The court overturned a lower court decision upholding the denial of Medicaid benefits to the illegal immigrant by finding that "the hearing officer's determination that the Plaintiff did not suffer from an emergency medical condition is the result of an improperly narrow application of the law." The Connecticut Department of Social Services [official website] determined that the immigrant did not suffer from an emergency medical condition that would make him eligible for benefits because he would not have died immediately without treatment. The Supreme Court disagreed, saying an emergency medical condition must require immediate medical treatment without which the patient would be in jeopardy of serious physical harm. The attorney for the illegal immigrant said the decision will set precedent as federal law requires hospitals to treat illegal immigrants, but states will not always provide reimbursement. A spokesman for the Department of Social Services said the ruling "may only affect Medicaid cases that fall under similar fact patterns." AP has more.

In other state legal news ...

• The Colorado Supreme Court has dismissed the applications of two private companies to resell water they had brought up from the Arkansas River in Southeastern Colorado by finding the applications were too ambiguous. The decisions in High Plains A&M, LLC v. Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District [PDF text] and ISG, LLC v. Arkansas Valley Ditch Association [PDF text] upheld a 2004 decision which found the applications of High Plains A&M and The Independent Shareholders Group to sell the water for any of 50 purposes violated state anti-speculation law because they were so "expansive and nebulous" that other users could not determine if they would be injured. The court said state law requires that any change of water rights must be for beneficial use. The companies can file more specific applications in the future. AP has more.
  
  
• The Colorado Supreme Court ruled [PDF text] today that hundreds of romantic or sexually explicit e-mails written on county computers between a former Arapahoe County clerk and an employee are not public records and therefore do not have to be released to the public. The court found the e-mails exempt from state open records law because they dealt with the two's private lives and said, "The only discernible purpose of disclosing the content of these messages is to shed light on the extent of [Tracy] Baker and [Leesa] Sales' fluency with sexually explicit terminology and to satisfy the prurient interest of the press and public." The Rocky Mountain News [website] and Arapahoe County commissioners [Board of County Commissioners] sought the release of the e-mails. In 2004 voters recalled Baker and Sales resigned. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former Israeli army General Doron Almog said Monday that he had narrowly escaped arrest on war crimes charges after arriving Sunday at London's Heathrow airport for a planned UK vacation. Allegedly tipped off by British government contacts, Israel's ambassador to Britain boarded the plane on the tarmack and warned Almog that British officers were waiting to take him into custody with an arrest warrant, at which point Almog refused to disembark. It has since been confirmed that a warrant had been issued against Almog charging him with war crimes for his involvement with the Israeli army's demolition of dozens of Palestinian homes in a Gaza refugee camp in 2002 [Guardian news report]. Amnesty International has deplored [text] the failure of London police to board the plane themselves to capture Almog, calling that "a clear violation of the UK's obligations under both national and international law". The Jerusalem Post also responded to the incident Monday, publishing an article advising all Israeli Defense Forces generals not to visit England, Germany, Spain lest they be arrested and put on trial there for war crimes. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] As US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] confirmation hearings commenced Monday [JURIST report] for nominee John Roberts [JURIST news archive], Democrats and Republicans sparred over the appropriateness of questioning Roberts about controversial issues such as privacy rights and abortion. Roberts, who was nominated [JURIST report] by President Bush to serve as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States in the wake of the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist [JURIST news archive], was advised [prepared statement] by Senator John Cornyn, (R-TX) [official website] to "decline to answer any question you feel would compromise your ability to do your job." Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) [official website] countered [prepared statement] that the Senate must investigate whether Roberts "has demonstrated a commitment to the constitutional principles that have been so vital in advancing fairness, decency and equal opportunity in our society." Roberts answers to questions about divisive topics and his record as a young conservative lawyer in two Republican administrations could prove critical to the eventual confirmation vote in the full Senate, expected by the end of September, shortly before the Supreme Court's October term begins. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] has extended the reasonable search and seizure rights established under the Fourth Amendment to defendants awaiting trial on criminal charges. The 2-1 decision [PDF text] held that police may not conduct a search based on less than probable cause of a defendant released and awaiting trial, even if that defendant has signed a waiver authorizing the government to do so. The case involved the common practice of defendants "signing away" their Fourth Amendment rights in order to secure bail. The court ruled that evidence obtained during such searches may be excluded at trial if the search was not based on probable cause. Judge Alex Kozinski [profile] wrote that "[g]iving the government free rein to grant conditional benefits creates the risk that the government will abuse its power by attaching strings [and thus] eroding constitutional protections." Monday's Las Vegas Sun has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that FEMA Director Michael Brown [official profile] has resigned from the agency after being replaced last week [JURIST report] as the on-site head of federal Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] relief and recovery efforts.

5:15 PM ET - President Bush has named R. David Paulison [official profile], head of FEMA's emergency preparedness force, Administrator of the US Fire Administration [official website] and a career firefighter from Miami, to succeed Brown. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Office of the Inspector General [official website] of the Department of Justice [official website] released a report [PDF text; PDF appendices] Monday revealing that federal agents frequently violate the FBI's guidelines for dealing with confidential informants. After assessing 120 confidential informant files from FBI offices around the country, Inspector General Glenn A. Fine [official profile] said the investigation revealed that 87 percent of cases involved one or more violations. Failures included poor assessment of informants' suitability, lack of authorization for informant activity that otherwise would be deemed illegal, and not telling prosecutors when informants had committed serious crimes. The Attorney General's Investigative Guidelines [text] section on informants was rewritten in 2001, after incidents in the 1990s in which FBI agents aided members of the mafia in avoiding prosecution. AP has more.

[JURIST] US Pentagon officials are in the final stages of determining whether to implement a new weapons program that would mandate the production of a new era of landmines, dubbed "networked munitions", in the face of international opposition to such weapons. Doreen Chaplin, division chief for network munitions in the Army, said the new program, entitled "Spider", is a better alternative to persistent mines [US landmine policy] because the new mines are controlled by humans and either shut themselves off or their batteries expire after 30 days, leaving them inactive. Munitions used in the Spider program can also operate like a traditional minefield, without any human control, but officials have insisted that would not be its primary use. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] has voiced its opposition saying the mines' capability to detonate without operator control violates international consensus on such weapons. 143 countries have ratified the Ottawa treaty [text] which bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel mines, and requires that mined areas be cleared within 10 years. The US, China and Russia are among 51 countries that have refused to sign on to the treaty. A final decision on whether to start munitions production will be made in December 2005. AP has more.

[JURIST] International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website] Judge Alphons Orie has confirmed and unsealed indictments [ICTY press release] against Croatian journalists Josip Jovic and Marijan Krizic. Jovic and Krizic, charged with one count each of contempt of the tribunal under Rule 77 of the UN court's Rules of Procedure and Evidence [text] for allegedly revealing the identity of a protected ICTY witness in the Tihomir Blaskic case [ICTY case backgrounder]. The journalists are scheduled to make their initial appearance before the court on September 26, at which time they will enter their pleas. Croatian news agency HINA has more.

[JURIST] Kyrgyz Prime Minister Felix Kulov said Monday that Kyrgyzstan [JURIST news archive] will decide on the fate of 15 Uzbek refugees [JURIST report] trilaterally through the opinions of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees [official website] and the Kyrgyz and Uzbek General Prosecutor's Offices. The 15 refugees were detained after fleeing Uzbekistan following an uprising in the eastern city of Andijan [JURIST report] but have not been granted asylum because they are considered criminals by Uzbekistan. The Kyrgyz General Prosecutor's Office is examining the conclusions of each organization, Kulov said, and has been examining Uzbek law-enforcement documents accusing the detainees of acts of terrorism. Kyrgyz Chief Prosecutor Azimbek Beknazarov has suggested the return of the refugees, but if proven innocent, the 15 Uzbek citizens being held in a pre-trial detention center in Osh will be granted refugee status by the Kyrgyz General Prosecutor's Office. RIA Novosti has more.

[JURIST] Intensive talks directed at salvaging a consensus draft document for the 2005 United Nations World Summit [official website] broke down Monday over differences on human rights and management reform, according to a spokesman for the US UN mission [official website]. Rick Grenell said that Egypt, China, Russia, and Pakistan have objected to a US-supported requirement of a two-thirds majority vote of the UN General Assembly to select a member of the new human rights council. The four countries are instead lobbying for a simple majority vote, and also disagree with the council becoming a permanent aspect of the UN. The proposed reforms to the standing Human Rights Commission were prompted by allegations that that body is run by countries with a history of abuse and driven by political bargaining which does not allow effective action on human rights. Grenell said that management reforms were also a major point of difference, with the US supporting more management powers being shifted to the Secrtary-General's office, and away from the General Assembly. Secretary-General Kofi Annan himself invoked a sense of urgency over the state of the summit document Monday, and encouraged all parties involved to continue negotiations [UN news report] AFP has more.

[JURIST] The UN investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [Wikipedia profile] moved to Syria Monday, after Lebanon charged four pro-Syrian generals with planning Hariri's death [JURIST report] earlier this month. Chief UN investigator Detlev Mehlis held talks in Syria Monday to discuss procedural issues in interviewing eight Syrian officials [AP report] who were serving in Lebanon earlier this year when the Beirut explosion that killed Hariri and 20 others occurred. Political sources in Lebanon have said that Mehlis' evidence against the four men includes telephone records and statements from witnesses, and that further arrests regarding the financing and execution of the assassination are forthcoming. Mehlis is expected to reveal the evidence he has obtained to the UN Security Council [official website] in October. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Guy Mansfield QC [profile], chairman of the Bar Council of England and Wales [group website], told the Commonwealth Law Conference [conference website] Monday that suspected terrorists must not be denied their legal and human rights. Mansfield said [prepared remarks, DOC] that "Governments are moving to address internal dangers with greater enthusiasm for repressive measures," warning that "We must be careful our governments do not create a new category of defendant denied basic rights hitherto thought indispensable." Mansfield was referring to recent British government proposals to hold trials in secret, prohibit defendants from seeing some of the evidence against them, and appointing "special advocates" who have been vetted by MI5 security forces [official website], rather than traditional legal representation. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] A court in Jordan [JURIST news archive] sentenced 12 men Sunday to prison for plotting terrorist attacks against the US embassy [embassy website] and the Israeli embassy in Jordan. The men were also accused of planning attacks against a popular hotel in Irbid, the home of a cultural festival director, and an American troupe performing in Jordan. Upon learning of their sentences, which range from one and a half to three years, the defendants praised the September 11 attacks on the US and group mastermind Abed Shihadeh al-Tahawi said, "This verdict will not dissuade us from pursuing the path of jihad." Separately, the court upheld the 2004 conviction of a Jordanian al-Qaida terror cell leader Ahmad Mahmoud al-Riyati, who was sentenced to seven and a half years for plotting terror attacks [AP report] against unidentified US and Israeli interests. Aljazeera has more. The Jordan Times has local coverage.

[JURIST] The Texas Supreme Court [official website] has issued an order [text, PDF] allowing lawyers from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama displaced by Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] to practice law in Texas for 30 days. The temporary order will put a hold on normal state licensing requirements monitored by the Texas Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (UPLC) [official website]. Texas Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright described the decision by saying, "What we're doing is helping people who have been affected by an incredible disaster and at the same time keeping an eye on the integrity of the bar as well." But the 7,500 displaced attorneys do not expect to be able to return to their own states to resume practicing with the month, and representatives from the UPLC and the State Bar of Texas [official website] anticipate that the 30-day order will need to be reevaluated in coming weeks. President Bush also signed legislation last week that enables federal courts in New Orleans to operate outside their district boundaries [JURIST report]. Monday's National Law Journal has more.

Meanwhile, attorneys who were displaced to Georgia can continue to serve their clients for the time being, but those who want to remain permanently will have to take the state bar exam to obtain a license, since reciprocity agreements allowing displaced attorneys to forgo the bar exam do not exist between Georgia and Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. General counsel William P. Smith III of the State Bar of Georgia [official website] has said there are no current plans to allow the hurricane victims to be exempted from the exam. The National Law Journal has more.

[JURIST] A nine-judge panel in Rwanda charged Belgian Catholic priest Guy Theunis Sunday with inciting and planning the 1994 genocide that killed more than 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Theunis was the first foreigner to appear before community "gacaca" courts [official website], which were established to investigate more than 760,000 people believed to have been involved in the 100-day massacre [Wikipedia backgrounder]. The community court transferred the case to the more serious conventional court, where Theunis may face the death penalty if convicted. Theunis, who was arrested last week [Reuters report], is the former editor of Rwandan periodical Le Dialogue and is accused of inciting genocide by reprinting articles from Kangura, a newspaper that advocated the slaughter of Tutsis. Theunis maintains that he "never republished articles from Kangura, but just translated as part of a press review." AP has more.

[JURIST] Croatia has reopened the trial of eight former military policemen accused of torturing and killing Serb prisoners of war at the Lora military prison in 1992. In 2002, the former policemen were acquitted by a county court in Split, but allegations of bias, mishandling of evidence, and harassment of witnesses caused the Croatian Supreme Court [official website] to overturn the conviction and order a new trial [JURIST report]. The re-trial will be monitored and is being seen as a test for the country's judiciary as they seek membership in the European Union [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe [Wikipedia backgrounder] has approved amendments to the country's constitution [JURIST report; constitution text] that allow the government to nationalize white-owned farms and impose travel bans on those deemed anti-government. Critics say the land-law changes will prevent white farmers from being able to challenge any property seizure of their land while the travel bans function as a tool to suppress opposition to the President's rule. Mugabe has been in power for 25 years and Zimbabwe's economic crisis has been blamed on his reign. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change [Contemporary Africa Database profile] has called the amendments "a serious assault on citizens' basic rights and freedoms." Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Over 100 Massachusetts lawmakers plan to vote against a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in the state and create civil unions, according to an AP poll. The survey conducted between September 6-9 found 104 lawmakers who plan to vote against the proposed amendment, scheduled for a vote Wednesday. Same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] has been legal in Massachusetts since a 2004 Supreme Judicial Court ruling [opinion text], but the proposed amendment to overturn the decision was passed last year 105-92. To get on the 2006 ballot, the amendment must pass a second legislative vote with the support of 101 out of the 200 lawmakers. Some lawmakers who had voted for the amendment previously said they would vote against it the second time either out of support for same-sex marriage or opposition to civil unions. AP has more.

[JURIST] Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty [official profile] told the Canadian Press Sunday that he will not let his province use Shariah (Islamic law) [Wikipedia backgrounder] to settle family disputes involving Muslims, such as divorce and child custody issues. A 2004 Ontario government report [PDF text] discussed the possibility of applying Islamic law to the settlement of family disputes, and the proposal led to widespread protesting in Ontario and at European diplomatic sites [JURIST report] Thursday. McGuinty said he will move to ban religious arbitration in its entirety and that "[t]here will be one law for all Ontarians." Ontario has permitted both Catholic and Jewish faith-based tribunals to settle family law disputes since 1991. The Shariah report has brought this issue into the spotlight, however, and officials have made the choice to exclude all religious arbitration in family disputes. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] will begin its confirmation hearings Monday for John Roberts [JURIST news archive], nominated [JURIST report] by President Bush to serve as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States in the wake of the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist [JURIST news archive]. The hearings will mark the first US Supreme Court [official website] confirmation hearing in 11 years since former President Bill Clinton's successful nomination of Justice Stephen Breyer [Oyez backgrounder] in 1994. If the nomination is successful, Roberts will begin work when the Court's new term commences on October 3. Committee chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website; JURIST news archive] has said that Roberts should be prepared for questions on several hot topics, including his views on the precedential effects of Roe v. Wade [opinion], the 1973 decision that legalized abortion. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website], the panel's highest ranking Democrat, has joined calls for increased scrutiny [JURIST report] of the nomination, noting that the hearing "is the only opportunity for the American people to examine what kind of justice John Roberts will dispense if promoted to the Supreme Court." Reuters has more. Monday's hearing [witness list] begins at 12 Noon ET; the Judiciary Committee offers a live webcast.

[JURIST] Lawyers for former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] will argue that he has been denied due process of law when his trial begins next month [JURIST report] on charges stemming from the killings of 143 Shiite residents of the town of Dujail [JURIST report; NPR report]. London-based lawyer Abdel Haq Alani, part of Hussein's reformed defense team, said Hussein has been subject to legal bias and has not been told formally of the charges against him, charging that if the trial is held on the intended date of October 19 "the Americans will have a difficult time convincing anyone that this is a fair and just trial when no proper procedure has been followed. It would be a show trial." The accusations of lack of due process in Hussein's trial heightens the pressure to have an international trial, particularly in the face of widespread criticism that Iraqi leaders have already pronounced him guilty [JURIST report], possibly preventing Hussein from receiving a fair trial. Reuters has more.