[JURIST] Leading Thursday's states brief, the Florida Supreme Court ruled [PDF text] today that gun makers, sued by cities and counties seeking to recover the costs of providing services for gun-related violence, are not covered by their commercial liability insurance policies. The court found the gun makers' insurance policies excluded property damage and injuries occurring away from the gun makers' premises and resulting from a product not in their physical control. Taurus International Holdings and Taurus International Manufacturing Inc. [corporate website] sought to have their insurers defend several suits filed against them by cities across the nation. AP has more.

In other state legal news...

• New Mexico State Treasurer Robert Vigil announced Thursday that he will temporarily step down while federal charges [JURIST report] for an illegal kickback scheme are resolved. Governor Bill Richardson [Governor's press release, PDF] and Attorney General Patricia Madrid filed a petition with the state supreme court asking for Vigil to receive pay during the period and for Richardson to appoint an acting treasurer.  A joint-statement released by the two stated "New Mexicans should remember that under the law State Treasurer Robert Vigil [official website] is entitled to due process and the treasurer is presumed innocent unless proven guilty." New Mexico's Albuquerque Tribune has local coverage
  
  
• Several groups have filed a brief with the Florida Supreme Court challenging a proposed constitutional amendment, currently under the required consideration of the court, that would ban same-sex marriages. The Florida ACLU [ACLU press release], a government employees union, Equality Florida and 6 same-sex couples argue in the brief that the proposal violates the single subject requirement of the state constitution, and that it misleads voters. John Stemberger, chairman of Florida4Marriage.org [advocacy website], said the proposal clearly deals with one issue. The organization currently has 82,407 of the required 611,009 signatures needed to place the amendment on the November 2006 ballot. Florida's St. Petersburg Times has local coverage
  
  
• An Oregon appeals court has ruled [text] that a father's visitation rights can be restricted to accommodate the custodial parent's religion. The court moved the father's alternate weekend visitation from beginning on Friday evening to Saturday evening, because the child and her mother observe Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Applying the child's best interest standard, the court found, "The infringement on the father's opportunity to develop what he has termed a traditional family relationship with child must yield to the stability and continuity afforded to child by mother's position." The ruling overturned a lower court decision. AP has more

[JURIST] A Moscow court Thursday rejected the appeal of jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky [JURIST news archive; defense website] against his conviction [JURIST report] on fraud and tax evasion charges, but reduced his nine-year sentence [JURIST report] to eight years. The decision, which followed several postponements of the proceedings [JURIST report], came after just one day of arguments from the prosecution and defense. Khodorkovsky's lawyers have said that their client did not get a fair appeal and likened the proceedings to a Soviet-era hearing. This would appear to end Khodorkovsky's intended parliamentary run [JURIST report]. Russia's Central Election Commission [official website] has indicated that Khodorkovsky is only eligible to run while his case is under appeal or if his conviction is overturned. AP has more. MosNews has local coverage.

[JURIST] Scotland Yard [official website] said Thursday that bombing suspect Hamdi Issac [Wikipedia profile], also known as Hussain Osman, has been charged with attempted murder over the failed 21 July London bomb attacks [JURIST report]. Issac was apprehended in Rome [JURIST report] days after the failed attacks on the London subway and his case is seen by many as a test case for the new European Arrest Warrant [EU backgrounder], which was implemented to speed up extradition in terror and other extraordinary cases. After being flown back to London Thursday, Issac will appear Friday before magistrates sitting at Belmarsh jail, where three other suspected bombers - Ibrahim Muktar Said, Yassin Hassan Omar, and Ramzi Mohamed - are currently being detained. BBC News has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Italy to extradite suspect in failed London bomb attacks
• London bombing suspect appeals extradition
• Italy will extradite London bombing suspect within 35 days
• Extradition hearing set for bombing suspect arrested in Italy

[JURIST] An Indonesian court on Thursday sentenced the last of six Muslim militants accused in the 2004 suicide bombing at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta [BBC report; Wikipedia backgrounder] to 10 years in prison for aiding those who carried out the attack. Syaiful Bahri was found guilty of violating anti-terrorism laws by "providing assistance" in the suicide bombing that killed 12 and left 100 people wounded in the crowded business district of Jakarta. Bahri's courtroom supporters shouted "God is great!" after the verdict was read. Last week Iwan Dharmawan, believed to be a mastermind of the plot, was sentenced to death [JURIST report] for his role in the bombing. The Jakarta Post has local coverage. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Securities and Exchange Commission [official website] voted 5-0 at a public meeting Wednesday to give small public companies an additional extra year to comply with requirements to file reports on the strength of their internal financial controls under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 [PDF text]. As with last year's extension for small businesses [JURIST report], the SEC decision was driven by complaints from smaller companies that they lack the resources to easily undergo the expensive reviews. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox [official biography], recently chosen by President Bush to lead the agency, stressed that the additional reprieve "in no way reflects any desire to back away" from the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley law. Thursday's Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] The office of the New Jersey Attorney General [official website] has announced that the state will oversee a county-by-county probe into allegations of election irregularities [JURIST report] brought by Republicans. NJ Attorney General Peter Harvey [official profile] said the state would have some involvement in the investigation and report its findings but added that county officials would lead the probe because that is where official voter registration records are retained. According to Republican leaders, more than 6,500 voters cast ballots in New Jersey and another state in last November's election, nearly 5,000 ballots were cast by deceased voters, and thousands more cast votes in multiple counties. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nomination of Judge John Roberts [JURIST news archive] as Chief Justice of the United States by a vote of 13-5 with all Republican members voting for and five Democrats voting against. Earlier this week, Roberts received an endorsement [JURIST report] from Sen. Arlen Specter, chair of the Judiciary Committee, and also received support [JURIST report] from Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the committee. Roberts' nomination will now go before the entire US Senate for a final confirmation vote.

8:45 PM ET - The five committee Democrats voting against the recommendation were Senators Joe Biden [committee statement], Richard Durbin, Dianne Feinstein [committee statement], Ted Kennedy [committee statement], and Charles Schumer [committee statement]. Kennedy said:

We examined the only written record before us and saw John Roberts, aggressive activist in the Reagan Administration, eager to narrow hard-won rights and liberties, especially voting rights, women's rights, civil rights, and disability rights. As Congressman John Lewis eloquently stated in our hearings, 25 years ago John Roberts was on the wrong side of the nation's struggle to achieve genuine equality of opportunity for all Americans. And, despite many invitations to do so, Roberts never distanced himself from the aggressively narrow views of that young lawyer in the Reagan Administration....

Based on the record available, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that Judge Roberts's view of the rule of law would include as paramount the protection of basic rights. The values and perspectives displayed over and over again in his record cast doubt on his view of voting rights, women's rights, civil rights, and disability rights.

In fact, for all the hoopla and razzle-dazzle in four days of hearings, there is precious little in the record to suggest that a Chief Justice John Roberts would espouse anything less that the narrow and cramped view that staff attorney John Roberts so strongly advocated in the 1980s.

[JURIST] More prisoners are on California's death row for murdering whites than for killing people of any other race, despite the fact that were more black and Hispanic murder victims during the same time period, according to a new study to be published in the Santa Clara Law Review [official website]. The study, which has not yet been released, focused on over 260 death sentences in California during the 1990s and determined that murder suspects who killed whites were three times more likely to be sentenced to death than those who killed blacks and nearly four times more likely to be on death row than those who killed Hispanics. The study also looked at whether a defendant's race had an impact on whether juries recommended a death sentence or prosecutors sought the death penalty, but concluded that race did not contribute significantly to these decisions. In McCleskey v. Kemp [opinion], the US Supreme Court ruled in 1987 that studies such as this one are not grounds to reverse death penalties, unless a defendant can prove there was racial bias against him individually. AP has more.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] said Thursday that it will combine the cases of nine Bosnian Serb military officers [ICTY press release; PDF decision] accused of participating in the Srebrenica massacre [Wikipedia backgrounder] that resulted in the murders of nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys. The massacre, which the UN-backed war crimes tribunal has ruled a genocide, was committed ten years ago during the Bosnian war by Bosnian Serb officers under the rule of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic [Wikipedia profile; JURIST news archive], who is currently on trial at the ICTY for multiple charges, including the Srebrenica massacre. The charges against the nine accused men include genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Eight of the nine men are currently in custody while the last has said he will surrender himself to the court. The joint trial, expected to begin in 2006, will be the largest tried before the ICTY to date. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Two US Army soldiers have been charged with prisoner abuse in an ongoing investigation into the deaths of two Afghan prisoners while in US custody, which has already led to charges being filed against 14 soldiers, the military said Wednesday. Both Sgt. Alan J. Driver and Spc. Nathan Adam Jones have been charged with assault and maltreatment, while Jones also faces allegations that he made a falsified official statement. The two Afghan prisoners, known as Habibullah and Dilawar [Wikipedia profiles], were taken into US custody in December 2002 and died shortly after their arrests at the Bagram Airfield [Global Security profile] detention facility in Afghanistan. Of the 14 soldiers charged in the investigation into the abuse, three soldiers were charged last week, one has been convicted, four have pleaded guilty, two have been acquitted of charges, and another has announced his intention to enter a guilty plea. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Second soldier acquitted in Afghan detainee death
• Army reservist acquitted of Afghanistan abuse charges
• US soldier sentenced in Afghan abuse case, Karzai criticizes leniency
• Military interrogator pleads guilty to Afghan detainee assault
• Army reports indicate abuse caused Afghan prisoner deaths in 2002

[JURIST] A appeals hearing for Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky [JURIST news archive; defense website] was delayed again Thursday after his lawyer asked for more time to prepare, saying he had been unable to meet with Khodorkovsky in prison before Thursday's hearing. Hearings in Khodorkovsky's appeal of his conviction for fraud and tax evasion had previously been rescheduled [JURIST report] because his main lawyer Genrikh Padva was too sick to appear and three other lawyers on Khodorkovsky's defense team declined to defend him. Prosecutors have accused Khodorkovsky of intentionally delaying the appeals process in order to ensure his eligibility for a planned bid for parliament [JURIST report] in the upcoming December election. Khodorkovsky is only eligible to run while his case is under appeal or if his conviction is overturned. Meanwhile, his attorneys have said the court is trying to stop Khodorkovsky from registering for the election. BBC News has more. From Moscow, MosNews has local coverage.

[JURIST] France, Germany and Great Britain, the EU's three major powers, have decided to drop their support for a US-backed draft resolution calling on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website] to report Iran's nuclear program to the UN Security Council [official website], according to statements from diplomats Thursday. The countries opted to discontinue their support after resistance from almost a dozen of the 35 IAEA members, including Russia and China. Eliminating the demand from the draft resolution being considered by the IAEA board should result in a unanimous vote on the resolution. The revised document will declare Iran in "non-compliance" with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) [PDF text; JURIST news archive], but will allow the IAEA to refrain from its normal procedure of reporting such non-compliance to the Security Council. Iran has continued to insist that its nuclear program is peaceful and says it has no plans to leave the nuclear treaty [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] After months of absolute rule by King Gyanendra [official profile; BBC News profile], Nepal [JURIST news archive] will move forward with local elections by April 2006 and national elections within two years, Nepalese Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey told the UN General Assembly [official website] on Wednesday. The announcement was the first clear signal by Nepal's government as to when it plans to hold elections that it has promised for months in the face of continuing pro-democracy protests [JURIST report]. In his address, Pandey said, "the King's commitment to multiparty democracy is unflinching and total." The elections announcement comes shortly after Maoist rebels announced a unilateral cease-fire that suggested peace talks could follow. Years of conflict involving the rebels led Gyanendra to sack the elected government and seize power in February [JURIST report]. A UN human rights investigator recently condemned the human rights record [JURIST report] of Nepal, citing rampant violations by both the government and rebel forces. The UN has Pandey's complete statement [PDF text] before the General Assembly. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Mexican judge on Wednesday refused to issue an arrest warrant for former President Luis Echeverria [Wikipedia profile] and seven other officials for a 1968 massacre of student protesters, ending a second attempt by prosecutors [JURIST report] to bring the former leaders to trial. Judge Ranulfo Castillo held that the statute of limitations for genocide had run with respect to most of the officials and that the 1968 killings did not qualify as genocide. Prosecutors had filed charges against Echeverria and the others earlier this week for the 1968 incident, in which dozens of protesters were killed by police and military officers. Special prosecutor Ignacio Carillo had also charged Echeverria with illegally detaining a student activist while he served as interior minister in 1968. Prosecutors previously tried to charge Echeverria [JURIST report] for another student massacre in 1971, but the Mexican Supreme Court dismissed the charges [JURIST report]. La Cronica de Hoy has local coverage [in Spanish]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Christian leaders in Iraq have warned officials that the draft constitution [English translation; JURIST news archive] "opens the door widely" to discrimination of religious minorities in the country. Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly of the Chaldeans [Wikipedia backgrounder] met with the Iraqi president and prime minister earlier this week and said that certain parts of the draft constitution were contradictory. In particular, Delly pointed to Articles 2.1(b) and 2.2 of the text, which promise religious rights and freedom, compared to Article 2.1(a), which forbids laws that are inconsistent with the rules of Islam. Christian leaders have warned that the latter provision could allow the passage of discriminatory laws and urged an amendment to the draft. Minorities have previously expressed concern [JURIST report] with the draft. A referendum on the constitution is planned for Oct. 15. Zenit.org has more.

In a related story, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari [Wikipedia profile] told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the government expected insurgents to attempt to disrupt the Oct. 15 referendum and that the coming months could be determinative for the country's democratic future. He urged the UN to take a larger role in the constitutional referendum and December elections, through increased funding and security efforts. Echoing UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's calls for a more transparent constitutional process [JURIST report], UN Special Envoy to Iraq Ashraf Qazi told the Council that restoring an inclusive, participatory political process remains a challenge. Qazi also said the UN is encouraging the Iraqi government "to step up its efforts to promote and protect human rights." The UN has a news release on the meeting. AP has more.

[JURIST] In the wake of Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive], local law enforcement and federal agents have expressed increasing concern over the damage the storm wreaked on the New Orleans justice system and how quickly it can recover. Among the larger problems faced by the city is the possible loss of evidence in some 3,000 criminal cases that were pending in the court system [Orleans Parish Criminal Court website] due to the toxic floodwaters in the city. Many of the witnesses and victims in those cases have fled the region for other areas of the country with no way to track them. The 1,700-strong New Orleans Police Department [official website] has struggled to regain footing, after one third of its officers went missing or left the area during the storm and much of its equipment was destroyed or damaged in the rising waters. Prisons in the city have been similarly affected, with prisoners having to be transferred to state and local jails in other areas. Some local and federal officials said it might take years for the city to be able to maintain order on its own again. USA Today has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase:

• Emergency legislation allows federal courts in New Orleans to relocate
• Law and order returning to New Orleans, but justice system still shaky
• Louisiana legal system devastated by Hurricane Katrina

[JURIST] Expressing concern over the condition of Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees participating in a hunger strike, attorneys for some of the detainees have told District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that the detainees are in worse condition than the military has admitted and asked the judge to oversee the military's management [New York Times report] of the hunger strike. Attorneys Tom Wilner and Kristine Huskey said Wednesday that they had visited five of their clients who were participating in the hunger strike [JURIST report], and that at least two of them were being force fed. The detainees, many of whom were arrested by US forces in 2002 in Afghanistan, are protesting their continued imprisonment without charge or trial, and the five visited by Wilner and Huskey said they would starve themselves to death unless they were released or charged. The military has reported that the number participating in the strike has dropped to 36 from a high of 131, and that all of them were in stable condition. Attorneys said, however, that two detainees who were being force fed, Fawzi al Odah [Project Kuwaiti Freedom profile] and Abdullah al Kandari [Cageprisoners profile], could barely sit up or talk. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Lawyers for Gitmo detainees on hunger strike request medical records
• Military, detainee lawyers clash on number of Gitmo hunger strikers
• Gitmo hunger strike unsettling senior US commanders
• More detainees join Guantanamo Bay hunger strike