[JURIST] Hundreds of thousands of US immigrants boycotted work and participated in protests across the country Monday as part of the "Day Without Immigrants" [advocacy website], a nationwide, day-long effort to influence the ongoing immigration reform [JURIST news archive] debate in Congress. Those boycotting work mostly consisted of Hispanic immigrants, both legal and illegal, and succeeded in shutting down numerous businesses, markets, farms and other establishments across the country. An estimated 300,000 marched [Chicago Tribune report] through the business district of Chicago, while numerous other rallies took place in other cities.

The nationwide boycott [Immigration Solidarity news release] was organized to protest proposals that would criminalize illegal immigration and increase border patrols and fencing along the US-Mexico border. Although the US House has approved a border-security bill [JURIST report], the Senate is stalled [JURIST report] on the issue. AP has more.

[JURIST] The retrial of two Enron [JURIST news archive] broadband executives on conspiracy and fraud charges is set to begin Tuesday, nearly a year after a jury acquitted five former executives [JURIST report] on some charges and failed to reach a verdict on several others. Lawyers for former accountant Michael Krautz and former CFO Kevin Howard [Houston Chronicle profiles] argued that it would be impossible to impanel a fair jury due to coverage of the criminal trial of Enron founder Kenneth Lay and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling next door at the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas [official website], but District Judge Vanessa Gilmore ordered jury selection to go ahead as scheduled on Tuesday.

Both men are charged [PDF indictment] with one count of conspiracy and falsifying records and three counts of wire fraud. They were reindicted in November [JURIST report] on fewer charges stemming from allegations that they illegally put millions in profits on the books of the company in late 2000 and early 2001. Retrials for three other former executives are scheduled to begin later this year. AP has more.

[JURIST] South Africa [JURIST news archive] is considering how to handle the recent declassification [Sunday Independent report] of a 1992 report made by a top general to former South Africa President FW de Klerk [Nobel profile] detailing involvement by the South African military in unofficial violence during the final years of apartheid [Wikipedia backgrounder]. According to the Steyn report, named after General Pierre Steyn who compiled it, South African military forces were strongly linked to the so-called "Third State," a group of paramilitary groups that used violence against blacks and desegregation supporters. The report names various military officials reportedly a part of the actions. The National Prosecuting Authority [official website], which handles prosecutions for the state, has reportedly expressed interest in the report, although NPA chief Vusi Pikoli said any prosecution would have to be brought by police first. National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi said he would consider the report.

The Steyn report was obtained and made public by the South African History Archives [official website]. According to a spokesman for de Klerk, the report was initially forwarded to South Africa's attorney general, but it became difficult to conduct further investigation after participants became aware of the report. Aljazeera has more. South Africa's Mail & Guardian provides additional local coverage.

[JURIST] The Istanbul Bar Association [official website, in Turkish] has urged the Turkish government to withdraw proposed anti-terror legislation, warning that the bill could harm freedom, while adding nothing to the previously adopted Turkish Penal Code [JURIST report]. The Bar Association, in a written statement made Friday, argued that the anti-terror bill could result in stiff punishments for the media and for crimes like writing graffiti. The Bar Association also said that the bill should not extend the opportunity for amnesty to top-level terrorist group leaders.

The legislation was proposed [New Anatolian op-ed] after security forces argued that they needed additional legal means to fight terror groups like the Kurdistan Workers' Party [FAS backgrounder]. The anti-terror bill could become a factor as Turkey [JURIST news archive] pursues its bid for EU membership [JURIST report]. From Turkey, the New Anatolian has more.

[JURIST] Over 1,000 protesters gathered in Minsk Monday to call for the release of opposition politicians in Belarus [JURIST news archive], including Alexander Milinkevich [official website; Wikipedia profile], who was jailed [JURIST report] last week for attending an illegal demonstration. Milinkevich and several other opposition politicians were detained [JURIST report] after a rally to mark the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Milinkevich told the 7,000 protesters that opposition parties planned to use civil disobedience to oust Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko [official website; BBC profile] from office.

Milinkevich opposed Lukashenko in March's presidential election, which Lukashenko won amid widespread reports of fraud and irregularities [JURIST report]. Lukashenko and other officials face a travel ban [JURIST report] in the EU over the elections, and have long been criticized [JURIST report] for their human rights record. Since the election, over 1,000 opposition members have been arrested, generally for attending unauthorized demonstrations. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] ruled Monday in Marshall v. Marshall [Duke Law case backgrounder; JURIST report], 04-1544, that federal courts can in some cases decide disputes which involve state probate laws. In overturning a decision [PDF text] from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Court handed a victory to model Anna Nicole Smith (Vickie Lynn Marshall) in her attempt to gain half of the estate left by her late husband J. Howard Marshall II [profile], an oil magnate many years older than she was who had been an assistant dean at Yale Law School in the early 1930s. In a continuing dispute between Smith and the adult son of her late husband in the wake of a 2001 Texas probate ruling [text] which awarded Smith nothing, Smith won a favorable judgment from a federal bankruptcy court for $475 million, but the son challenged that decision, arguing that the federal court lacked jurisdiction to decide the case because the dispute involved state probate issues.

Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Ginsburg said that:

the probate exception reserves to state probate courts the probate or annulment of a will and the administration of a decedent's estate; it also precludes federal courts from endeavoring to dispose of property that is in the custody of a state probate court. But it does not bar federal courts from adjudicating matters outside those confines and otherwise within federal jurisdiction.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] ruled Monday in three cases, including Holmes v. South Carolina [Duke Law case backgrounder; JURIST report], 04-1327, where the Court struck down a South Carolina rule which prevented Holmes from introducing evidence that a third party committed the crimes for which he was on trial. The South Carolina Supreme Court upheld [opinion] a trial court ruling that Holmes could not introduce evidence of third-party guilt when the prosecution introduced strong forensic evidence indicating the defendant's guilt, because the third-party evidence would be insufficient to create a reasonable inference of the defendant's innocence. In Justice Alito's first opinion on the bench, the Court overturned the decision, holding that the rule was arbitrary and violates the defendant's constitutional right to have "a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense." Read the Court's unanimous opinion [text]. AP has more.

In Arkansas Department of Human Services v. Ahlborn [Duke Law case backgrounder], 04-1506, the Court held that federal laws governing Medicaid [HHS materials] do not authorize a state agency to assert a lien on a Medicaid recipient's personal injury settlement in an amount equal to the amount of benefits paid on the recipient's behalf when a lesser amount has been designated as compensation for medical care. Under an Arkansas law requiring Medicaid recipients to assign to the Arkansas Department of Human Services their "right to any settlement, judgment, or award" they receive from third parties "to the full extent of any amount which may be paid by Medicaid for the benefit of the applicant," the ADHS attempted to recover the full $216,000 it paid on Ahlborn's behalf from a $550,000 settlement Ahlborn received to cover medical expenses, loss of earnings, and pain and suffering. The Court affirmed the Eighth Circuit decision [PDF text] in the case, holding that the federal anti-lien statute prohibits the ADHS from asserting a lien on the portion of the settlement not meant to cover medical expenses. Read the Court's unanimous opinion [text], per Justice Stevens.

In the third case decided Monday - the Anna Nicole Smith case - the Court held that federal courts can in some cases decide disputes which involve state probate laws [JURIST report]. Also Monday, the Court agreed to hear Ornaski v. Belmontes, where it will clarify the constitutionality of a California jury instruction in death penalty cases. SCOTUSblog has more. Read the Court's full Order List [PDF text].

[JURIST] A federal judge has sentenced former University of South Florida computer science professor Sami Al-Arian [advocacy website; JURIST report] to another 18 months in prison before being deported after Al-Arian pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in the terrorism case last month. US District Judge James S. Moody formally imposed the maximum penalty of 57 months, but credited Al-Arian with time already served since his 2003 arrest. Under his plea agreement [PDF text], Al-Arian pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad [CDI backgrounder] in violation of US law and agreed to be deported after serving his sentence, though it is not clear where Al-Arian will be sent.

Federal jurors acquitted Al-Arian [JURIST report] late last year of eight of the 17 terrorism-related charges with which he had been accused and could not reach a unanimous verdict on the rest. Al-Arian stood trial on 17 charges [charge sheet; JURIST report] relating to his alleged financing of terrorist activities in Israel. The outcome was a substantial blow to the federal government [JURIST report], which had heralded the trial as a win for the Patriot Act. AP has more.

[JURIST] Shiite leaders in Iraq have indicated that they are willing to give up control of the Iraqi Interior Ministry, beleaguered in recent months by allegations of prisoner abuse [JURIST report] and death squads [JURIST report]. During negotiations on the formation of a new Iraqi government, Shiite representatives offered to give up control of the ministry, which controls police and special forces, in exchange for retaining control over the defense ministry and the armed forces. The Shiite-controlled interior ministry has been a source of contention with Iraq's Sunni population, especially after 170 Sunni detainees were found by Americans [JURIST report] at a secret police prison in Baghdad late last year.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that Iraq's detention practices may violate international law [JURIST report]. Amnesty International has expressed concern that the country's arbitrary detention practices facilitate prisoner abuse [JURIST report] and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq has reported that rights violations in Iraq are on the rise [JURIST report]. The Los Angeles Times has more.

[JURIST] The Constitutional Court of Thailand [official website] agreed Monday to consider a petition to void the country's April 2 general election [BBC report] after Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej [official profile] called on the court last week to take a more active role [JURIST report] in resolving the country's ongoing election crisis [JURIST report]. Court Secretary-General Paiboon Varahapaitoon said the 14-judge panel will rule soon on the case brought by a civic group and law lecturers who claim that the elections were fraudulent. The country's Election Commission [official website] will be granted three days to offer its defense to the allegations that it committed irregularities in the voting process.

Last Friday, the Administrative Court of Thailand [official website] called off by-elections [JURIST report] scheduled for the weekend to wait for the Constitutional Court's opinion. That decision [press release, in Thai] has been appealed [Xinhua report] by the Election Commission, with the EC relying on a 2003 Constitutional Court ruling that the commission has absolute authority to manage elections. The April 2 election was called by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [official profile] three years earlier than originally scheduled in an attempt to show support against protestors who accused him of corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin's plan backfired, however, as his Thai Rak Thai [party website, in Thai] party failed to win as many votes as they had in the February 2005 election, leaving many seats empty in the Thai Parliament [official website]. Under the Thai constitution [text], parliament cannot convene until all seats are filled. Thaksin said he would step down as prime minister when parliament did meet, but his deputy prime minister said Sunday that Thaksin would not have to adhere to his comments if the court annulled the election results. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official profile; JURIST news archive] headed to Darfur [JURIST news archive] Monday as she continued a five-day visit to Sudan to press the government to end the violence and address rights abuses in the region. UN spokesman Jose Diaz says reports indicate that the situation there has remained the same or even worsened in some cases since Arbour visited the troubled area a year and a half ago. Read a UNHCHR background press release on Arbour's visit.

Early last month, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland [official profile] attempted to visit Darfur, but was denied entry [IRIN report] to Sudan despite having a valid visa. Egeland said he believes his visit was blocked by officials who did not want him to see the extent of the devastation in the area. Diaz said that no restrictions were made on Arbour's entry into Sudan. VOA has more.

[JURIST] Former US Senator John Danforth [profile] has called [speech transcript] a Republican-sponsored constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] "silly," saying the Republican party's stance calls for them to interpret the constitution narrowly rather than expansively. Speaking over the weekend to the Log Cabin Republicans [group website], a group which supports gay rights, Danforth cited prohibition as a previous attempt to use a constitutional amendment to regulate human behavior and noted its failure. Danforth, who also served as the US ambassador to the UN until January 2005, called the proposed amendment another example of how the agenda of evangelical Christians is harming the Republican party.

The US Senate [official website] will vote [JURIST report] this June on the proposed Marriage Protection Amendment [PDF text], which supporters hope will precede any federal court decision allowing same-sex couples to wed. The amendment would need to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both the US House of Representatives [official website] and Senate, and then be ratified by 38 states. AP has more.

[JURIST] Jury selection will begin Monday in the second trial [JURIST report] of John Allen Muhammad [BBC profile], who was convicted of one sniper shooting in Virginia but now faces six murder charges for killings in Maryland that occurred during the three-week shooting spree [BBC backgrounder] in the Washington, DC area in 2002. The trial is taking place in Montgomery County, Maryland, where most of the sniper shootings occurred, and a pool of 300 jurors will be questioned by prosecutors and Muhammad, who is representing himself [JURIST report]. The potential jurors are expected to answer questions on the extent of their knowledge of the sniper shootings and also their views on Islam, since Muhammad is a Muslim convert.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty [JURIST report] in the case, but Muhammad was already sentenced to death [JURIST report] for his Virginia conviction. His accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo [BBC profile], is serving a life sentence [JURIST report] for his conviction in the Virginia shooting and will also face trial later this year for the six Maryland killings. AP has more.