[JURIST] The US Treasury Department [official website] Financial Crimes Enforcement Network [official website] Monday released [press release] the final draft [text] of rules requiring certain insurance companies to launch anti-money laundering campaigns to frustrate efforts of terrorist groups. The rules, which also define which insurers will be subject to the requirements, are mandated by the federal Bank Secrecy Act [text] as amended by the 2001 Patriot Act [text; JURIST news archive]. The rules call for companies to train employees in money laundering detection techniques, establish clear policies on identifying risks and effective precautions, and seek independent audits of their practices. The rules also specify that companies must report any suspicious activity to the government. Securities traders already abide by money laundering regulations and are not subject to the new rules; companies that sell group life insurance policies or group annuity contracts are also exempt. AP has more.

[JURIST] Yigal Amir [Wikipedia profile], who was convicted of assassinating former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin [Wikipedia profile] ten years ago this November, may demand a re-trial. According to his wife in an interview on Israeli Army Radio, Amir believes that though he did try to kill Rabin, the fatal shot was fired by a second shooter, and that he was the victim of a conspiracy by Israeli security agents. Commentators predict that Amir has little chance of seeing his appeal granted for his involvement in the killing of the famous Israeli leader who was awarded the 1994 Nobel peace prize [press release] for signing the 1993 Oslo accords with the Palestinians. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Three UN human rights experts who were invited [JURIST report] last Friday by the Pentagon to examine conditions at Guantanamo Bay prison [JURIST news archive] said [UN press release] Monday that they will refuse the invitation unless they are allowed to interview detainees. The Pentagon said Friday that the experts would not be speaking with the 505 detainees because such interviews were the responsibility of the International Committee of the Red Cross [official website]. The experts are part of a Special Procedures group overseen by the UN Commission on Human Rights [official website], and have been requesting access [UN press release] to Gitmo since 2002. The experts are also concerned that a one-day visit as offered by the Pentagon would not be enough to fully examine the prison. Human rights watchdogs have been increasingly concerned [JURIST report] with the situation at Gitmo since reports surfaced this fall that hunger-striking detainees were being forcibly fed by US personnel. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Monday ruled in Kane v. Espitia that California inmate Joe Garcia Espitia isn't entitled to a new trial because he was denied virtually all access to a jail law library while representing himself in court. In an unsigned opinion [PDF text], the Court reversed the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] finding that because there is no established right of access to a prison law library for defendants representing themselves, the state court conviction could not be justifiably overturned by a federal court's own circuit precedent. Espitia's lawyer on appeal argued that his denial of legal research materials denied him any "opportunity to make a meaningful defense." Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] Reaction from Capitol Hill Monday to President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito [JURIST report] of the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals to fill the US Supreme Court seat left vacant by retiring justice Sandra Day O'Connor has primarily focused on one issue: Alito's judicial views on abortion. In a statement Monday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid [official website], stated that the "[S]enate needs to find out if [Alito] is too radical for the American people". Echoing Reid's concern, ranking Senate Judiciary Committee Democrat Patrick Leahy [official website] suggested [press release] that "the person replacing [Justice O'Connor] has the potential to dramatically tilt the court's balance", and should be someone with the bipartisan support of the Senate and American people. Both statements allude to Alito's frequent comparison to conservative US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and his participation in a 1991 Third Circuit decision [US News report] in which he voted to uphold a Pennsylvania law that included a provision requiring women seeking abortions to notify their spouses. Alito's position on abortion is viewed by many to be potential tipping point within the court. Republican Senate Judiciary Chair Arlen Specter [official website], who will oversee the confirmation hearings, said Monday that Alito's views on abortion will be the "hot-button issue" of the hearings. AP has more.

[JURIST] At the urging of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, the Bahrain Embassy [official website] in Washington has formally demanded that the US government promptly investigate charges of torture, abuse and other inhumane tactics being used against Bahraini prisoner Juma Mohammed Abdul Latif Al Dossary. Held for months at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], al Dossary claims he is innocent and that he ended up in US custody only after being "sold" to the US military by Pakistani forces who detained him in Afghanistan. The US maintains that al Dossary is member al Qaeda who trained in Afghanistan in late 2001, before illegally crossing the border into Pakistan where he was detained by the Pakistani forces. A similar request [JURIST report] was made by Bahraini officials in 2004. Aljazeera has more

[JURIST] The civil trial of former El Salvadoran military officer and naturalized US citizen Nicolas Carranza [CJA profile] commenced in US District Court in Memphis Monday. Carranza was vice president of defense and director of the Salvadoran Treasury police during the nations' turbulent 12-year civil war [PBS backgrounder], and stands accused of violating various domestic and international laws, including the Torture Victim Protection Act [text], by facilitating a "deliberate reign of state terror" with the "widespread and systematic" use of torture and murder. The lawsuit [amended complaint, PDF], filed by family members of those killed during the war, alleges that Carranza "exercised command responsibility over subordinates in the Security Forces of El Salvador" who murdered their family members. The Salvadoran citizens filed the case in federal court in accordance with the Alien Tort Claims Act [HRW overview], which allows foreign victims of serious human rights abuse abroad to sue perpetrators in US court. AP has more.

[JURIST] According to a recent survey from ROMIR Monitoring [website], more than half of Russians think those in positions of power, ranging from the president and parliament to government and the courts, are dishonest and corrupt. Alexander Konovalov, the president of the Institute for Strategic Assessments said the results helped to explain the "colossal level of political apathy in [Russian] society." Not even one-third of the 1,600 people surveyed described Russian President Vladimir Putin [official website] as honest, while fewer than ten percent of people surveyed referred to the government and the State Duma as honest institutions. Transparency International [advocacy website], an anti-corruption organization, ranked Russia 126th on its list of least corrupt countries [JURIST report], in line with Sierra Leone, Niger and Albania. MosNews has more.

[JURIST] After what Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] has called a flawed trial [HRW report], a 14-year-old boy is facing execution in Saudi Arabia after his conviction for the murder of a young child. The three-year-old victim was found dead with numerous stab wounds in a park in the eastern city of Dammam last year. According to the HRW report, the young man believed to be responsible for her death had "no legal assistance or representation during interrogation, detention and trial. Press and police accounts also throws into question his psychological stability and his ability to participate in his own defence." In a letter [text] to Saudi King Abdullah, Human Rights Watch urged the leader to uphold the country’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) [text] to protect young offenders and due process by commuting the death sentence. According to Article 37 [text] of the CRC, states party to the treaty shall ensure that "Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age." The Mail and Guardian has more.

[JURIST] Britian's military court service announced Monday that the seven British soldiers facing court-martial over alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners will not stand trial until next year. The charges against the men relate to treatment of Iraqi prisoners being held in Basra between September 13-15, 2003. Among those that will stand trial are Queen's Lancashire Regiment [official website] commanding officer Col. Jorge Mendonca, who is charged with failing to ensure that Iraqi prisoners were being properly looked after, and corporal Donal Payne, who has been charged with the unlawful killing of detainee Baha Mousa [BBC report], the abuse of eight other detainees and for perverting the course of justice. The UK Press Association has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• UK soldiers facing court-martial for Iraqi war crimes
• Ex-UK defense chiefs argue against trying British soldiers for Iraq conduct
• British officer could face court martial for war crimes
• Court authorizes judicial inquiry into alleged killing of Iraqi civilian by UK troops

[JURIST] Lewis Libby [NYT profile], Vice President Dick Cheney's long-time chief of staff, will make his first court appearance on Thursday, after being indicted [JURIST report] Friday in the CIA leak investigation [JURIST news archive], a court official said Monday. Libby, who faces charges of obstructing justice, perjury and making false statements, is expected to enter a not guilty plea at his arraignment beginning 10:30 AM Thursday. Judge Reggie Walton, the federal judge chosen to hear Libby's case, could also set a schedule for the filing of motions and possibly a trial date. Reuters has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: The Devil in the Details: The CIA Leak Case | Text: Libby indictment | Audio: DOJ indictment press conference

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] granted certiorari Monday in four cases, including one where the Court will clarify the rights of illegal immigrants [AP report] upon reentering the United States after having been deported. In Fernandez-Vargas v. Gonzales , the Court will decide whether the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 [DOJ fact sheet], which limits opportunities for reentering illegal immigrants to become legal citizens, applies to people already present in the US when the law took effect. The Court has also agreed to hear Laboratory Corp. of America v. Metabolite Laboratories, where it will decide whether a medical test that predicts strokes, heart attacks and dementia is patentable. AP has more. The Court will also hear two cases [SCOTUSblog report] involving the admissibility of crime victim's "excited utterances." Among the cases the Court declined to hear Monday was an attempt to have class-action lawsuits against cellphone makers dismissed [AP report]. Consumers have filed lawsuits against the cellphone industry for failing to protect consumers from unsafe levels of radiation, and the companies had asked that the suits be dismissed, saying federal standards pre-empt state law claims. The Court also denied certiorari in a case involving legal fees for insurance companies [AP report] that were ordered to publicize their Holocaust-era records. Read the Court's full Order list [PDF].

[JURIST] A military tribunal began hearings Monday in the case of a US Army sergeant accused of killing two of his superior officers [JURIST report] in Iraq. The Article 32 hearing [JAG backgrounder; UCMJ text] will determine whether Staff Sergeant Alberto B. Martinez faces a court martial for the deaths of Capt. Philip Esposito and Lt. Louis E. Allen in a June bomb blast in Esposito's office in Tikrit. According to a witness, Martinez said that he hated Esposito and planned to kill him. This is the second known incident in which a US soldier has been accused of killing other soldiers during the war in Iraq. Sgt. Hasan Akbar of the 101st Airborne Division was convicted [JURIST report] and sentenced to death [JURIST report; Army News Service report] in April for killing two officers and wounding 14 other soldiers. Martinez's hearing is taking place in Camp Arifjan in Kuwait and could last until Wednesday. AP has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Richard M. Berman will consider the constitutionality of New York City's random search of bags and packages in the city's subway system, as trial begins Monday in the case [JURIST report]. The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [PDF complaint; press release] in August, saying the random searches are unreasonable searches and seizures. Lawyers for five subway riders [NYCLU plaintiff profiles] will argue that the search program "has no meaningful value in preventing the entry of explosive devices into the system by the terrorists the NYPD is attempting to thwart." The random searches began in July as a means to thwart terrorism and lawyers for the city will argue that an al Qaeda training manual which advises terrorists to avoid police checkpoints, justifies the random searches of those taking the subway. In an earlier protective order [Andrews Publications report], Berman ruled that NYC did not have to tell the NYCLU specific details about its random searches. The trial will likely last for three days. AP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution [JURIST report] under Chapter 7 [text] of the UN Charter calling on Syria to cooperate with a UN investigation [UN background materials] into the February assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive]. A draft version of the resolution put forth by the US, France and Britain included a threat of political and economic sanctions should Damascus not cooperate with the probe, but the three co-sponsors agreed to drop the direct threat of sanctions prior to the resolution's passing Monday morning, leaving only a reference to unspecified "further action" if Syria does not comply. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut [diocesan website] has agreed to pay $22 million to settle sexual abuse claims [JURIST news archive] against the diocese, a plaintiff's lawyer announced Monday. The settlement included 43 plaintiffs, who had accused 14 priests of sexual assault since the 1960's. Plaintiff's attorney Jason Tremont said, "By giving victims a voice, we can change the behavior of the church and finally force the archdiocese to acknowledge responsibility for the past." AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• California Catholic diocese to pay $56 million to settle abuse claims
• Kentucky diocese settles abuse claims for $120 million
• Cardinal says new pope will preserve bishops' right to discipline sex abusers
• Four Boston priests defrocked for abuse

[JURIST] Lawyers for David Hicks [BBC profile; advocacy website; JURIST news archive], an Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee, say that they have photographic evidence that Hicks was tortured by American soldiers, though they have declined to identify any witnesses at this point. Hicks' father told [interview transcript] Australian television program Four Corners Monday that his son was tortured and sexually abused while in American custody, claiming that he was temporarily moved to a location where UN conventions on prisoner treatment did not apply. Hicks' lawyers have uncovered records of helicopter flights where Hicks claims he was flown from a US warship to an undisclosed location, beaten and spat on. In July, a US military investigation, undertaken at the request of Australian authorities [JURIST report], concluded that there was no evidence to support allegations [JURIST report] that Hicks and Egyptian-born Australian Mamdouh Habib had been abused while in US custody. Hicks is set to face trial [JURIST report] on November 18 before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay on charges of conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy. Australia's ABC News has local coverage.

[JURIST] Australian Prime Minister John Howard [official website] asked parliament Monday to establish an independent inquiry into whether any Australian companies paid bribes to Iraqi officials involved in the now defunct UN oil-for-food program [official website, JURIST news archive]. Last week, a UN report [JURIST report; PDF text] issued by an independent panel headed by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker [official profile], found that officials under Saddam Hussein received more than $1.8 billion in kickbacks from more than 2,200 companies. The Australian Wheat Board (AWB) [corporate website] was named in the report for allegedly paying nearly $300 million to a Jordanian trucking company, which funneled the money to Hussein. However, the report also found insufficient evidence that AWB officials knew where the money was actually going. AWB has denied the company was involved in paying kickbacks [press release] and has promised to fully cooperate with the investigation. AFP has more. ABC Australia has local coverage.

[JURIST] Stuart Bowen, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction [official website], said that corruption continues to cost Iraq billions of dollars each year and has called for an American-Iraqi summit in the fight against corruption in Iraq, in a report to Congress [PDF text] released Sunday. Bowen said that it is crucial that the US support new anti-corruption agencies in Iraq, arguing that "[c]reating an effective anti-corruption structure within Iraq's government is essential to the long-term success of Iraq's fledgling democracy." The report was released shortly after the United Nations found that 2,200 companies made illicit payments totaling $1.8 billion [JURIST report] to Saddam Hussein's government under the now defunct UN oil-for-food program [JURIST news archive]. Bowen's report notes that investigators have garnered evidence in investigations involving fraud, bribery and kickbacks, however, no information on potential indictments has yet been released. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The trial of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali [JURIST news archive], an American citizen accused of plotting to kill President Bush, begins Monday in federal court in Virginia. Abu Ali has pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to a nine-count indictment [PDF] on charges of conspiring to kill the president [JURIST report] and providing resources and support to al Qaeda. Abu Ali was arrested in June 2003 and has made statements admitting to a plot against Bush and also to having ties to an al Qaeda cell. US District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee last week denied [PDF opinion; JURIST report] Abu Ali's motion to suppress the statements, which Abu Ali claimed were the result of torture [JURIST report] at the hands of Saudi Arabian domestic security police. In allowing Abu Ali's confession, Lee called into question Abu Ali's accusations of abuse, noting that "the court is left with lingering questions concerning the credibility of Mr Abu Ali and his claim that he was tortured." Earlier this month, the Saudi Arabian government denied Abu Ali's claims of torture [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Federal judge allows alleged torture confession in Bush assassination case
• Saudi Arabia denies torturing man accused of plotting Bush assassination
• Student accused in Bush assassination plot alleges Saudi torture led to confession
• Taped confession of Bush assassination plot suspect shown in federal court
• Federal judge orders al Qaeda suspect to produce evidence in Saudi torture claim
• Federal judge says Bush plot suspect can be examined for signs of torture

[JURIST] Thousands of people gathered Sunday under the dome of the Capitol Rotunda to view the closed casket of civil rights activist Rosa Parks [TIME profile], who died of natural causes at the age of 92 last week [JURIST report]. Parks is remembered most for her December 1, 1955 act of refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. At this time, such racial segregation was still legal, despite the 1954 decision in Brown v. Board [text; Brown Foundation website] banning the "inherently unequal" segregation of blacks and whites in schools. Parks' simple gesture led to the year-long boycott [Wikipedia backgrounder] of the Montgomery public transit system which ended only once racial segregation was deemed illegal in 1956 [Gayle v. Browder text; Stetson Law School backgrounder, PDF]. In 1999, Parks received the Congressional Gold Medal [US Mint website]. Parks is the first woman to lie in honor in the Rotunda and at a Capitol ceremony Sunday, attended by the President and members of Congress, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] noted that "without Ms. Parks, I probably would not be standing here today as Secretary of State." A memorial service at the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church in Washington is planned for Monday and Parks' funeral and burial is scheduled for Wednesday in Detroit. AP has more.

[JURIST] Wire services are reporting that President Bush will nominate Judge Samuel Alito [official profile; US News profile; SCOTUSblog review of notable opinions] of the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals to fill the US Supreme Court seat left vacant by retiring justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Alito would be Bush's second choice for the spot after his first nominee, Harriet Miers [JURIST news archive], withdrew her name from consideration last week.

6:39 AM ET - Republican sources say Bush will officially announce the nomination at 8 AM. AP now has more.

8:33 AM ET - Announcing the nomination, President Bush called Alito "one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America," and emphasizing Alito's longtime service on the bench said that Alito "now has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years." AP has more.

9:05 AM ET - Bush also highlighted Alito's experience as a Justice Department official and federal prosecutor in his announcement of the nomination:

As a Justice Department official, federal prosecutor and judge on the United States Court of Appeals, Sam Alito has shown a mastery of the law, a deep commitment of justice, and a -- and he is a man of enormous character. He's scholarly, fair-minded and principled, and these qualities will serve our nation well on the highest court of the land. ...

Judge Alito's reputation has only grown over the span of his service. He has participated in thousands of appeals and authored hundreds of opinions. This record reveals a thoughtful judge who considers the legal matter -- marriage carefully and applies the law in a principled fashion. He has a deep understanding of the proper role of judges in our society. He understands that judges are to interpret the laws, not to impose their preferences or priorities on the people.

The Supreme Court is an institution that I have long held in reverence. During my 29 years as a public servant, I've had the opportunity to view the Supreme Court from a variety of perspectives -- as an attorney in the Solicitor General's Office, arguing and briefing cases before the Supreme Court, as a federal prosecutor, and most recently for the last 15 years as a judge of the Court of Appeals. During all of that time, my appreciation of the vital role that the Supreme Court plays in our constitutional system has greatly deepened.

My most recent visit to the Supreme Court building was on a very different and a very sad occasion: It was on the occasion of the funeral of Chief Justice William Rehnquist. And as I approached the Supreme Court building with a group of other federal judges, I was struck by the same sense of awe that I had felt back in 1982, not because of the imposing and beautiful building in which the Supreme Court is housed, but because of what the building, and, more importantly, the institutions stand for -- our dedication as a free and open society to liberty and opportunity, and, as it says above the entrance to the Supreme Court, "equal justice under law."

Every time that I have entered the courtroom during the past 15 years, I have been mindful of the solemn responsibility that goes with service as a federal judge. Federal judges have the duty to interpret the Constitution and the laws faithfully and fairly, to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans, and to do these things with care and with restraint, always keeping in mind the limited role that the courts play in our constitutional system. And I pledge that if confirmed I will do everything within my power to fulfill that responsibility.