[JURIST] General Motors [corporate website] on Wednesday said that records relating to its pension program had been subpoenaed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission [official website] as part of an investigation into its accounting practices. GM said the subpoena related to reporting of pension and post-employment benefits, as well as its dealings with parts supplier Delphi [corporate website]. GM said SEC and federal grand jury subpoenas had also been served on its finance branch, General Motors Acceptance Corp. [corporate website], in which GM said last week it was considering selling its majority stake. GM, which has posted about $3.8 billion in losses thus far this year, has said that it is cooperating with the investigation. Reuters has more.
[JURIST] Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman [official profile] and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy [defense website], along with two others, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges if a "widespread racketeering conspiracy" that included bribery for official acts in the state. According to the indictment, Siegelman and former chief of staff Paul Hamrick took bribes and used extortion during his term as governor from 1999 to 2003, with Scrushy allegedly paying $500,000 for an appointment to the state hospital regulatory board. Also charged was former Transportation Director Gary Mack Roberts, who Siegelman allegedly used to help influence state agency actions. Siegelman has maintained [Birmingham News report] that the investigation is a partisan attempt to derail his campaign to regain the governorship. Siegelman was indicted last year [JURIST report] for health care fraud, although the charges were ultimately dropped [JURIST report] after prosecutors could not prove the case. The Montgomery Advertiser has more.
[JURIST] The US House Committee on Resources [official website] on Wednesday approved a budget package [PDF text] that includes provisions to relax a ban on oil and gas drilling along the nation's coast and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [official website]. The Committee voted 24-15 to approve the bill, which would allow states to opt out of a federal moratorium on coastal drilling and will offer leases in the wildlife refuge to oil companies within 22 months. The issue of drilling on the coast and in the Alaskan wilderness has remained a controversial one [JURIST report], with supporters unable to overcome a filibuster in the Senate last spring. However, the current measure in the House and a similar one proposed in the Senate are placed in budget packages not subject to the filibuster, making it more likely that the measures will succeed. Supporters have cited Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] as evidence that the country needs to develop alternative sites for energy production, but some have warned that drilling will have adverse effects on the proposed areas. The Committee has a news release on the approval. AP has more.
[JURIST] A six-person jury on Wednesday found the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey [official website] negligent in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center [Wikipedia backgrounder] by Islamic radicals that killed six and injured 1,000. According to the jury, the Port Authority, which owned the World Trade Center, did not properly maintain the building's garage, where terrorists detonated an explosives-laden van. The plaintiffs argued that the Authority knew of the possibility of an attack on the building, but did nothing to increase security. The verdict, which the jury reached after one day of deliberation and after less than a month of trial [JURIST report], comes nearly 12 years after the case was first filed. Several trials will now be held in the case to determine damages. The verdict could also open up the Port Authority to similar lawsuits filed by those hurt in the attack. AP has more.
[JURIST] Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees on a hunger strike [JURIST report] must be notified by the Defense Department before their clients may be force fed against their will, US District Judge Gladys Kessler [official profile] ruled Wednesday. Kessler also ruled that the government must provide detainee medical records from before the hunger strike to their attorneys, although she denied access to telephones for the detainees due to security concerns. About two dozen detainees continue with a hunger strike that began Aug. 8 to protest their continued detention without charge. The US has force fed some of the hunger strikers to prevent them from dying, but some detainees have alleged harsh treatment such as inserting feeding tubes without anesthesia and reusing feeding tubes without sanitization. Dr. John Edmondson, commander of the US Navy hospital at the prison, denied the charges in a filing with the court. AP has more.
[JURIST] The federal grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA operative’s identity [JURIST news archive] adjourned on Wednesday after meeting for three hours with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald [official profile; investigation website] and his deputies. The grand jury's term, which is set to expire in three days, can be extended by Chief US District Judge Thomas Hogan [official profile] at Fitzgerald's request. Though Fitzgerald met with Hogan [AP report] Wednesday prompting speculation that there will be an extension, White House lawyers expect Fitzgerald to decide this week whether to charge chief presidential adviser Karl Rove [Washington Post profile] and Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [official profile]. The two-year investigation began when the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame [Wikipedia profile] was revealed days after her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, criticized the Bush administration's pre-Iraq war intelligence. AP has more.
[JURIST] The Bush administration announced Wednesday that on November 8 it plans to reinstate rules that ensure workers on federal Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] projects receive fair wages that are close to the amount of local wages on similar projects. In the days following Hurricane Katrina, the President signed an executive order suspending provisions [JURIST report] of the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act [Dept. of Labor backgrounder; text], which protects federal contract workers from being underpaid, to reduce rebuilding costs and allow minority-owned companies to bid on projects. Representative Peter King (R-NY) [official website], a critic of the move, contended that its continued application would “antagonize organized labor” and result in lower pay for federal workers. AP has more.
[JURIST] The British government's proposed Terrorism Bill [PDF text; Home Office overview] passed its first test in the House of Commons [official website] Wednesday, despite a 16 MP-strong rebellion [Reuters report] of Labour Party backbenchers against the government and continued disagreement from opposition parties over controversial detention provisions. The bill, championed by Prime Minister Tony Blair [official website], passed with the support of most Conservatives. The bill outlaws "glorifying" terrorism and taking steps to prepare a terrorist act. A major point of dispute remains the period during which UK police may hold terror suspects without charge. The time set by the government in the bill is 90 days, up from two weeks, but bar leaders, rights groups and some opposition politicians have objected to the extension. UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official profile] Wednesday led off the Commons debate [Guardian report] on second reading by saying that the bill's critics would have the government fight terrorism with "one legal hand tied behind our back." BBC News has more.
[JURIST] Uzbek prosecutors in the trial of 15 men accused of plotting a rebellion in Andijan on Wednesday sought prison sentences of between nine and 20 years for the suspects. Prosecutors urged the court to issue a 20-year sentence for five men, an 18-year sentence for three, and 17 years in jail for four, as well as 15-, 16- and nine-year sentences for three others. All of the 15 men pleaded guilty to various charges of terrorism, murder and attempted coup d'etat last month, but human rights groups and the UN have questioned the fairness of the trial [JURIST report] and the validity of the confessions from the 15 [JURIST report]. Observers said the rebellion alleged by Uzbek government officials actually entailed government troops firing on and killing as many as 500 protesters in Andijan, but Uzbekistan [official website; JURIST news archive] has resisted calls for an independent investigation into the event and denied charges of using torture [JURIST report] to extract the confessions. All 15 of those arrested have testified that they trained in Kyrgyzstan and received foreign support for a plan to overthrow the Uzbek government. The government has since cracked down on foreign media in the country, leading the BBC to close its office in the country [Reuters report] on Wednesday. Reuters has more.
[JURIST] US Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website; JURIST news archive] previewed a range of confirmation questions for controversial US Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers [JURIST archive] Wednesday. In a letter [AP text], he told Miers she should expect inquiries about the war on terror and whether she would give "special deference" to President Bush. Specter also said he wanted to know Miers' views on constitutional issues such as whether the president should be allowed to militarize troops without a declaration of war from Congress and whether there are limits for how long prisoners can be detained at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. Specter's letter follows repeated Senate requests for more information from Miers and the White House about her qualifications and record. AP has more.
[JURIST] Lebanese prosecutors have charged two men in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive], sources reported Wednesday. The two men, brothers Ahmad and Mahmoud Abdel-Al, were both named last week by a report [text; JURIST report] by a UN commission investigating the killing as being allegedly involved in the bomb plot. Ahmad Abdel-Al is a member of the pro-Syrian Ahbash group [Wikipedia backgrounder], whose spokesman strongly denied the charges. According to the UN report, Mahmoud Abdel-Al reportedly called the cell phone of Lebanon President Emile Lahoud [official website] shortly before the bombing in Beirut. The additional charges bring to 11 the number of people charged by prosecutors in connection with Hariri's murder. Top Syrian officials and pro-Syrian officials in Lebanon have been named in the UN report as well. Aljazeera has more.
[JURIST] A German court on Wednesday found four Middle Eastern men guilty of links to al Qaeda and of plotting to attack Jewish targets in Germany, and the four were sentenced to between five and eight years in prison. The four men, arrested in 2002 for alleged plots against two Jewish-owned discos in Dusseldorf and a Berlin community center, included two from Jordan and one each from Palestine and Algeria. According to the judge in the case, all four were found to have taken orders from Iraqi insurgent leader Abu Musad al-Zarqawi [BBC profile]. German leaders, including Interior Minister Otto Schily, praised the outcome as evidence of the country continued efforts to fight terrorism [JURIST report]. Three of the men were convicted of belonging to a terror cell and having forged documents allowing them to remain in the country, while the fourth was convicted of aiding the others and of weapons law violations. From Germany, Deutsche Welle has local coverage. The New York Times has more [registration required].
[JURIST] The British Cabinet included a plan to ban smoking [JURIST report] in enclosed public places as part of its Health Improvement Bill Wednesday, exempting from the prohibition pubs and bars that don't serve food. The Department of Health [official website] initiated research [JURIST report] in June for the ban, resulting in plans [BBC report] by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt to ban smoking in all public places except sealed smoking rooms in pubs. The final proposal accepted by the Cabinet, described by the British Medical Association as an "utter disappointment" [BBC report] and a "wasted opportunity," is less restrictive than the full bans adopted in the rest of the UK [BBC report] and those proposed by Hewitt [JURIST report], but does include a commitment to review the plan in 3 years. Hewitt stated that any additional proposals would be welcomed Thursday, when the bill will be introduced to the House of Commons. Last year, the Scottish Executive approved a ban [JURIST report] on smoking in enclosed public places. BBC News has more.
[JURIST] French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy [official profile; BBC profile] presented the country's anti-terrorism bill to the Cabinet Wednesday, rejecting claims that the provisions of the bill would infringe on civil rights and create a police state. The bill, proposed in response to the London bombings [JURIST news archive], is intended to fill gaps in France's earlier anti-terror laws by making flight passenger lists and identification information accessible to counterterrorism officials, placing cameras in train stations, subways and airports, and increasing the prison sentences for "criminal association with a terrorist enterprise" from 20 to 30 years. The bill will also require telephone operators to keep extensive records and allow greater government access to e-communications [JURIST report]. In the private sector, it will allow increased surveillance by facilities and individuals that could be targets of terrorism and will require internet cafes to retain detailed information about their clientele. The government intends to have the bill pass through parliament by the end of the year. AP has more. From Paris, Le Monde has local coverage and an overview of the proposed legislation (in French).
[JURIST] Amnesty International [advocacy website] condemned Spain and Morocco for human rights violations against all migrants and asylum-seekers of sub-Saharan origin Wednesday. Immigrants attempting to use Morocco as a conduit to Europe have recently met increased security forces along the Spanish border, resulting in violent clashes and claims of excessive use of force. Following a 10-day trip to the region, Amnesty declared [press release] the human rights violations in the area were "substantial" and "repeated" and urged the countries to immediately stop expelling the migrants, to implement a protocol for the use of force for border control, and to thoroughly investigate a recent series of border assaults [BBC report] that the organization claims resulted in 11 deaths and hundreds of injuries to sub-Saharan migrants. Both Spain [JURIST report] and Morocco [JURIST report] responded to the border rushes by expelling illegal immigrants. Deutsche Press Agentur has more.
[JURIST] Defense lawyers representing Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] have announced that they will boycott the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website], following through on a threat to boycott [JURIST report] made after one of the defense lawyers for a Hussein co-defendant was kidnapped and murdered [JURIST report] last week. Lead counsel Khalil al-Dulaimi said that Hussein's defense team would boycott until demands for better security [JURIST report] are met, and called for an additional delay in the proceedings. After the Saddam trial [JURIST news archive] opened in Baghdad earlier this month, proceedings were adjourned until November 28 [JURIST report]. AFP has more.
[JURIST] A federal judge Tuesday upheld the conviction [JURIST report] of civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart [defense website] for conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists (18 USC 2339A), denying a post-trial motion for acquittal. Stewart was convicted [JURIST video] in February for helping imprisoned Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman [Wikipedia profile] communicate with his terrorist followers. Stewart had argued that Abdel-Rahman was engaging in protected speech when he expressed opinions about an Egyptian ceasefire which Stewart passed along in a press release, but Judge John G. Koeltl said that "The First Amendment lends no protection to participation in a conspiracy, even if such participation is through speech." Stewart was also convicted of defrauding the government for violating rules that had been put in place to prevent Abdel-Rahman from communicating with the outside world following his 1995 conviction of seditious conspiracy for plotting to blow up several New York city landmarks. Koeltl ruled that there was sufficient evidence to support those charges and also rejected Stewart's request for a new trial. Stewart has said she will appeal. Stewart's defense website provides legal documents in the case. AP has more.
[JURIST] Australian Prime Minister John Howard [official website] has said that he is willing to change controversial shoot-to-kill provisions [JURIST report] in proposed anti-terror legislation [PDF text]. Howard also said that the legislation need not be introduced next week, but said that new proposals should be passed by the end of the year. Howard's comments follow an announcement that he will send his top legal advisers to address concerns [JURIST report] by state governments about the constitutionality of the proposals. Queensland Premier Peter Beattie [official website] has said that he has contacted other states in order to arrange a discussion by lawyers on potential constitutional issues raised by the draft law. Australian Treasurer Peter Costello [official website] warned, however, that it will take a High Court ruling, not a consensus of opinion, to determine whether the legislation is unconstitutional. Australia's ABC News has more.
[JURIST] Serbia [JURIST news archive] has arrested nine policemen in the 1999 murder of 48 Kosovo Albanians, a Serbian court official announced Wednesday. The arrests are the first to be linked to a mass grave discovered in 2001 outside of Belgrade, where the 48 bodies were buried along with the remains of over 800 victims of the 1998-99 Kosovo war. According to a spokesman for Serbia's war crimes prosecutor, six of the nine policemen were on active duty when arrested. Earlier this week, the UN Security Council announced that it will organize discussions on whether Kosovo should remain a province of Serbia [JURIST report] or become independent. It is thought that the latest arrests were timed to demonstrate that Serbia is dealing with war crimes ahead of the Kosovo talks. Reuters has more.
[JURIST] US Senate and House negotiators are preparing to discuss conflicting versions of the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005 [bill summary], including a provision in the House version [PDF text] that would allow federal prosecutors multiple attempts at securing the death penalty. Under current law, if a capital jury cannot decide unanimously whether to impose the death penalty, the convicted defendant automatically receives a life sentence. Rep. John Carter (R-TX) [official website] successfully introduced amending legislation [press release] that would instead allow a prosecutor to empanel a new sentencing jury if at least one juror voted for the death penalty. Carter says the proposal is a "common-sense clarification to the federal death penalty," though critics of the provision say that it will only add to the advantages that prosecutors have in obtaining the death penalty. Several states, including California, already allow prosecutors to seek new capital sentencing hearings. An agreement between the Senate and House must be reached before key provisions of the Patriot Act [text] expire at the end of this year. Wednesday's New York Times has more.
[JURIST] The United States and France circulated a draft UN resolution Tuesday that demands that Syria fully cooperate with a UN investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive] and threatens economic sanctions should Damascus not cooperate. The UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC), authorized [UN SC resolution; JURIST report] by the UN Security Council to investigate the murder after Lebanon's investigation was found to be "seriously flawed," submitted its interim report [text; JURIST report] last week. The report implicates both Syrian and Lebanese security officials in the assassination. The new draft Security Council resolution would call on Syria to detain possible suspects and make them available to UN investigators. In anticipation of international pressure, Syrian President Bashar Assad sent a letter to the US, Britain and France Sunday promising that "any Syrian who could be proved by concrete evidence to have had connection with this crime" will be brought to trial [Washington Post report]. Assad's letter also denied that Syria had any involvement in the Hariri killing, an assertion repeated [JURIST report] Tuesday by Syria's ambassador to the UN. UNIIIC head Detlev Mehlis told the Security Council [UN press release] Tuesday that Syrian authorities were cooperating to a limited degree with the commission, but that several people interviewed provided false or inaccurate statements and that a letter to the UNIIIC from Syria's foreign minister contained false information. Mehlis also said that several credible threats have been made against the UNIIIC [UN News report] and called for safety and security of the commission's members be made a top priority as the UNIIIC finishes its work. Reuters has more.
[JURIST] Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald [official website] could bring charges in the CIA leak case [JURIST news archive] Wednesday, wrapping up a two-year investigation into the leak of undercover operative Valerie Plame's identity. Sources close to the case say that FBI agents recently interviewed Plame's neighbors who said they had been surprised to learn that Plame worked for the CIA, suggesting that Fitzgerald is trying to establish that Plame's status was covert and that there damage caused by the news that Plame worked for the CIA. If Fitzgerald brings charges against Bush administration officials for illegally disclosing Plame's identity, under the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act [50 USC s. 421 text], Fitzgerald must show that the person disclosing a covert agent's identity knew of the status. There is also speculation that Fitzgerald could bring charges [JURIST report] against Lewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, and top Bush political advisor Karl Rove for making false statements, obstruction of justice and disclosing classified information. The grand jury term expires Friday and a session is scheduled Wednesday. Before any indictments are issued, the federal grand jury [Dayton Law backgrounder] must agree unanimously that there is probable cause to bring charges. The Washington Post has more.
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Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.
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Legal news from Wednesday, October 26, 2005
