[JURIST] A federal judge in Miami Friday postponed until next week a scheduled plea and bail hearing for now-indicted "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla [JURIST news archive], a US citizen originally arrested in 2002 for allegedly plotting to detonate a "dirty bomb" but later charged with unrelated offenses. Magistrate Judge Barry Garber set a new hearing for January 12. Padilla's lawyers have said he will plead not guilty. On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court set the stage for the proceeding by ordering that Padilla be transfered from military to civilian custody [JURIST report], leading to his departure from the North Carolina military brig where he has been held for the last 3 and one-half years. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Friday granted certiorari in six cases, including one involving the ability of police to enter a home without a search warrant. In Brigham County v. Stewart, the court is expected to clarify the type of emergency situation required to justify a warrantless entry. In that case, police entered a home when they observed a violent situation unfolding between household members through a window. AP has more. The Court also agreed to hear five other cases which deal with expert witness reimbursements [AP report] under the Americans with Disabilities Act, jurisdiction under the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act, contract interpretation suits involving the government in federal courts, and the consequences of a judge's refusal to grant a defendant counsel of his choosing. SCOTUSBlog has more.

[JURIST] A Tyco International [corporate website] spokesperson has said that Tyco was the defrauded "Company A" referred to in court documents released Tuesday as part of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff's guilty plea to fraud and conspiracy charges [JURIST report; plea agreement]. The criminal information [JURIST document] which prompted Abramoff's plea alleges that while working for law firm Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff failed to tell the firm or his client, now revealed as Tyco, that he owned a public relations company that he was pretending to negotiate with in order to save costs while personally pocketing $1.6 of the $1.8 million dollars Tyco paid the company for public relations services. Both Tyco [JURIST news archive] and Abramoff [JURIST news archive] have become symbols of corporate and political corruption through high-profile court cases. Abramoff has pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges [JURIST report] as required by his plea bargain, which will reduce his sentence if he provides information assisting the US Department of Justice in bringing future corruption charges against members of Congress Abramoff is alleged to have bribed. In 2005, two prominent former Tyco executives were sentenced [JURIST report] to between 8 1/2 and 25 years after being convicted [JURIST report] of grand larceny, conspiracy, and falsifying business records after stealing $150 million in illegal bonuses, forgiving huge loans made to themselves from company money, and manipulating stock prices, though both plan to appeal. AP has more.

[JURIST] The EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights [official website], a legal panel appointed by the European Commission, has warned [BBC report] that a agreement [draft text in Slovak, DOC], drawn up in 2003, between the Vatican and Slovakia that allows Catholic hospitals in Slovakia to refuse to perform controversial treatments such as abortions may be in violation of its obligations as a European Union [official website] member nation. Lawyers for the EU Network said that the agreement, known as a concordat [background materials], creates "a risk that the recognition of a right to exercise objection of conscience in the field of reproductive healthcare will make it in practice impossible or very difficult for women to receive advice or treatment ... especially in rural areas." The Vatican [official website] has signed anti-abortion concordats of a more limited nature with Italy, Latvia and Portugal. The Guardian has more.

[JURIST] An Afghanistan prison is undergoing improvements to accommodate about 100 Afghan Guantanamo Bay detainees [JURIST news archive] who are expected to be transferred to Afghanistan in the near future, according to Afghan officials. Construction, being paid for by the US, is underway on Afghanistan's largest prison to enhance security and living conditions. The US reached an agreement [JURIST report] with Afghanistan in August to gradually transfer the detainees back to their home jurisdiction. Following calls from President Jimmy Carter and Sen. Joseph Biden demanding that the facility be shut down [JURIST report], President Bush, in an interview [text] last summer, said the government was "exploring all options" regarding Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Inspector General [official website], the internal watchdog of the US Department of Justice [official website], concluded [DOJ report, PDF] on Friday that the FBI did not misuse the Patriot Act [JURIST news archive] but instead blamed the FBI for "sloppy work" when it wrongly linked an Oregon lawyer to the 2004 Madrid train bombings [BBC backgrounder]. Brandon Mayfield [JURIST news archive] was arrested [JURIST report] in May 2004 after the FBI established that his fingerprints matched [JURIST report] those found on a bag containing detonators used in the bombings. After the FBI admitted its mistake and released [JURIST report] Mayfield, he blamed the FBI of singling him out because of his Muslim faith. The Inspector General did conclude in its investigation [JURIST report] that FBI fingerprint experts were more resistant to re-examining their results of a fingerprint match due to Mayfield's religion but that did not mean his arrest was based on abuses of the Patriot Act. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner [official profile] said Friday that the report should end accusations of Patriot Act misuse [press release] in the case and offered his firm support for the permanent renewal [JURIST report] of the Act. Mayfield is suing [JURIST report] the government over his wrongful arrest. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• US lawyer wrongly accused in Madrid bombings alleges privacy violations
• Mistaken Madrid bombings arrest of Portland lawyer goes to trial
• Patriot Act used against attorney in Madrid bombing case
• Oregon lawyer arrested in Madrid bombings sues government

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Friday upheld the 2004 conviction [JURIST report] of Martha Stewart [JURIST news archive] for lying to federal investigators in connection with her sale of ImClone stock. Stewart filed an appeal [JURIST report] after being sentenced to five months in prison and five months of house arrest, both of which she has completed [JURIST report]. In the Court's opinion [PDF text], per Judge Peter Hall, the court held that none of the numerous grounds upon which the appeal was filed [appellate brief, PDF] provides a basis to disturb the verdict. In reference to her claim that the use of co-defendant Peter Bacanovic's testimony statements violated the confrontation clause, the court said:

when the object of a conspiracy is to obstruct justice, mislead law enforcement officers, or commit similar offenses by making false statements to investigating officers, truthful statements made to such officers designed to lend credence to the false statements and hence advance the conspiracy are not rendered inadmissible by the Confrontation Clause. A contrary reading of the rule would result in obvious and unacceptable impediments to prosecuting cases like this one, in which the very object of the charged conspiracy is for the defendants to mislead investigators by responding falsely to the investigators' questions in a structured setting, fully aware that their responses might be used in future judicial proceedings.

[JURIST] The Public Prosecutor's office in the Netherlands filed an appeal on Friday against the acquittal of Dutch businessman Frans Van Anraat [BBC profile] on charges of complicity in genocide by Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive]. In December, the court sentenced Van Anraat to the maximum term of 15 years [JURIST report] in prison for complicity in war crimes for selling chemicals used to produce poison gas to Hussein's government. While the court acquitted Van Anraat of the genocide charges [JURIST report], the prosecutor's office wants the appeals court to decide if Van Anraat was an accomplice to genocide by providing the chemicals used to manufacture gas used by Hussein's forces in Iraq and Iran. The trial court found that the prosecution failed to prove that Van Anraat knew of Hussein's purpose in using the chemicals. The gas was used by Saddam's military in Iraq's 1980-1988 war against Iran and its own Kurdish population, specifically during the 1988 attack on Halabja [JURIST report]. Anraat is also appealing his conviction and sentence. Expatica has more.

[JURIST] Japan has declined to join fellow G-4 nations Brazil, Germany and India in their proposal [AP report] to expand membership in the UN Security Council [official website] from 15 to 25 member nations, adding six permanent members and six non-permanent members, and will instead develop a different proposal with US advice [AP report]. Japan joined Brazil's 2004 bid to expand Security Council membership, which was substantially similar to the one submitted by Brazil. Japan, however, expressed concern that Brazil's current proposal would not win the required two-thirds general assembly vote. Although Japan has not yet formally offered a resolution, it is considering proposing expanding membership to 21. A Japanese official said Friday that the country will still consult with G-4 allies on the bid. Japan, the world's second-largest economy and the second-largest UN financial contributor, has argued that Security Council membership has not adapted to the changing international geopolitical power structure. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• UN Security Council expansion plans likely dead
• Bolton says Security Council expansion unlikely
• Japan to propose new resolution for Security Council bid
• G4 bid to expand UN Council likely crippled by separate AU plan
• African Union rejects G4 proposal for UN Security Council reform
• China, US agree to block Security Council expansion
• African Union seeking agreement on Security Council expansion plan

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: Expanding the UN Security Council: Much Ado | Video: UN Security Council expansion debate | Topic: UN Reform

[JURIST] A Chilean judge said Friday that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori [personal website, JURIST news archive] should be held indefinitely until Chile evaluates an extradition request from Peru, rejecting a defense request to free Fujimori on bail. The former leader had been living in exile in Japan until he arrived and was arrested in Chile [JURIST report] two months ago. He returned to South America with hopes of competing in Peru's presidential election, despite having been banned from holding public office [JURIST report] until 2010, but was arrested by Chilean authorities complying with an Interpol warrant. If extradited to Peru, Fujimori faces 12 charges [JURIST report] including authorizing an illegal death squad, abuse of power, and corruption. EFE has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Peru asks Chile to extradite Fujimori on rights, corruption charges
• Peru approves charges against Fujimori ahead of extradition bid
• Chile high court affirms Fujimori detention pending extradition
• Ex-Peruvian president Fujimori loses challenge to Chile detention
• Peru protests Japan refusal to extradite Fujimori by pulling ambassador
• Former Peru president Fujimori to stay in Chile jail pending extradition
• Former Peru president arrested in Chile

[JURIST] US District Judge Sim Lake on Thursday sentenced former Dynegy [corporate website] executive Gene Shannon Foster to 15 months in jail, and former accountant Helen Sharkey received a 30-day sentence for helping co-defendant James Olis defraud investors of over $500 million. Olis, another former executive, received an unprecedented 24-year sentence [JURIST report] which was rejected [PDF opinion] by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Lake was also expected to resentence Olis Thursday, but instead said that he would wait until hearing testimony from prosecution and defense witnesses on whether Olis should be deemed to be responsible for any investor loss. Lake hinted that Olis will likely receive a minimum term of six years when resentenced. The three were indicted on conspiracy charges for attempting to disguise debt as incoming cash flow in statements to investors; Olis was the highest-ranked defendant and the only defendant to plead not guilty. AP has more. The Houston Chronicle has local coverage.

[JURIST] Democrats on the US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] have said they plan to call witnesses to question the integrity of US Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito [official profile; JURIST news archive] during confirmation hearings. The witness list includes experts on constitutional law and civil rights, but will also include John Flym, who argued a 2002 case before the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit involving mutual fund managers with which Alito had accounts. Alito has been criticized for failing to recuse himself [JURIST report]; Alito was not required to recuse himself, but had promised to do so during his confirmation hearings as an appellate judge. Democrats also plan to call a journalist who had reported Alito's association with the now-defunct interest group Concerned Alumni of Princeton, that had criticized Princeton's affirmative action policies and encouraged more legacy admissions. Judiciary Committee member Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) [official website], called the group "anti-black" and "anti-women," but another member of the committee Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) [official website] said the witnesses show that Democrats are desperate for critical fodder. The New York Times has more.

In related news, over 500 law professors have signed a letter [PDF text] opposing Alito's nomination, arguing that Alito will slant the court to the right:

Analyses show that in close cases – the kinds of cases the Supreme Court reviews – Judge Alito consistently takes positions that devalue individual rights and protections. And despite the president’s pledge to nominate someone who embraces the principle of judicial restraint, Judge Alito often reaches his conclusions by overturning or weakening federal statutes, diminishing constitutional safeguards, and hollowing out precedent.

[JURIST] US Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) [official website], a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website], has said that while Democrats on the committee are considering delaying a vote on Samuel Alito's confirmation [JURIST report] to the US Supreme Court, a final decision has not yet been made. Senate leadership aides said Thursday that Democrats would invoke their right to delay the committee's vote to approve the nomination. The Judiciary Committee is set to begin confirmation hearings [JURIST report] Monday, and committee chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) had hoped to hold the committee vote on January 17. A vote in the full Senate would then follow on January 20. Schumer said that Democrats will wait to see how the confirmation hearing goes before deciding whether to allow Republicans to accelerate the vote. AP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: Samuel Alito | Op-ed: Blind Ambition? Civil Rights and Supreme Court Nominees