[JURIST] Israeli police Monday raided the offices of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert [official website] as part of an investigation into allegations that Olmert accepted bribes from an American businessman during his tenures as mayor of Jerusalem and as Israeli Minister of Industry Trade and Labor. The businessman, Morris Talansky, was questioned Monday, but denied wrongdoing [Haaretz report] during an interview on Israeli television. Olmert has also denied the accusations, but has said that he will resign if indicted. CNN has more.

This is not the first time Olmert has been investigated for questionable deals. In April 2007, Olmert was investigated for improperly favoring his supporters [JURIST report] in distributing business grants when he was trade minister in 2001. Olmert has also endured accusations that he promoted the interests of two business associates during the 2005 state sale of Bank Leumi [corporate website]. In January 2007, the Israeli Ministry of Justice announced plans to launch an investigation [JURIST report] into allegations surrounding Olmert's involvement with the sale of Bank Leumi. Throughout the scandals, Olmert has maintained that he has done nothing wrong.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] granted limited certiorari Monday in Bell v. Kelly (07-1223) [docket; cert. petition, PDF], where it will consider whether the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals erred when, in conflict with decisions of the Ninth and Tenth Circuits, it applied the deferential standard of 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d), reserved for claims "adjudicated on the merits" in state court, to evaluate a claim predicated on evidence of prejudice the state court refused to consider and that was properly received for the first time in a federal evidentiary hearing.

Edward Bell was convicted of the 1999 murder of a local Virginia police officer and was sentenced to death. Following a number of failed appeals, Bell sought a federal writ of habeas corpus, which was dismissed by the district court. The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed [PDF text] the decision, and Bell then sought certiorari. Bell contends that his counsel was ineffective during sentencing, an argument he was not able to fully develop because of the fact-finding rules imposed in the lower courts. His execution was delayed until the Supreme Court held [Duke Law case backgrounder; JURIST report] in Baze v. Rees in April that the lethal injection method is constitutional. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Iraqi Council of Ministers has amended the General Amnesty Law [text in English] to exclude prisoners who have committed certain types of serious crimes, an Iraqi government official said Sunday. The legislature passed the amnesty law [JURIST report] in February as part of the Maliki government's reconciliation effort. The bill was aimed at reducing the prison population by 5,000. Most of the detainees who have been released to date were low-ranking army officers or minor members of Saddam Hussein's defunct Baath Party [BBC backgrounder].

The amendment reportedly denies the possibility of amnesty to inmates charged with serious crimes, including committing terrorist activities against the state and membership in a terrorist organization. The pre-amendment amnesty law authorized the release of any prisoner who has not appeared before a judge within six years of the date of detention. VOI has more.

[JURIST] An internal military probe Monday cleared members of the Australian Defence Force [official website] of allegations that they mistreated four Taliban members detained following the death of an Australian soldier in Afghanistan last November. The investigation [JURIST report] also cleared soldiers of any wrongdoing in connection with civilian deaths during the November battle, but said that such deaths were "highly regrettable."

Australia currently has slightly over 1000 troops committed to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force [official website] under its Operation Slipper [official backgrounder]. Earlier this week the Melbourne Age reported other complaints by one-time Australian and Dutch detainees that they were beaten after being handed over to local Afghan security forces. In a May 2 statement, Stephen Smith, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, denounced torture and announced steps Australia is taking to accede to the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture [text], previously rejected by the government of Prime Minister John Howard. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] Monday affirmed [PDF text] a judgment by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on an anti-apartheid claims lawsuit on the rare grounds that it lacked a quorum due to four recusals. Am. Isuzu Motors, Inc., et al. v. Ntsebeza, Lungisile, et al involved a huge class of plaintiffs suing several dozen companies which did business in South Africa during apartheid, [JURIST news archive], seeking to hold them liable for alleged complicity in perpetuating the oppression of the black majority in that country. The Second Circuit held [PDF, text] that Torture Victims Protection Act [text] claims would be dismissed but Alien Tort Claims Act [text] actions could go forward to trial [JURIST report].

Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito and Breyer recused themselves because of stock holdings in several of the companies, and press reports speculated that Justice Kennedy's conflict stems from his son's position at one of the defendant companies. Lacking a quorum, the remaining justices were required by statute [text] to affirm the lower court ruling. Individual judicial recusals due to investment conflicts are to be expected [USA Today report], but Monday's ruling may raise concerns over the fairness of such measures.

[JURIST] Bolivian President Evo Morales [official website; BBC profile] signed a bill Monday authorizing a recall election to be held on August 10, in which Morales and Bolivia's nine governors must win both more votes and a larger share of total votes cast in the 2005 election in order to keep their seats. If Morales or the nine governors fail to beat their 2005 showings, they would be removed from office and the people would elect a replacement or replacements. The Bolivian National Congress [official website, in Spanish] approved the recall election [JURIST report] on Friday.

Morales, who actually proposed the idea of a recall election [JURIST report] last December in response to accusations that his process for rewriting the Bolivian constitution has been illegitimate, says he is not afraid of the popular vote and will persevere in August. Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, ran on a populist platform in 2005 to win a six-year term. He has proposed a new draft constitution that would give the president more power over natural resources, collapse Bolivia's legislature into one body, and allow the president to seek election to two consecutive five-year terms. The Bolivian Constitutional Assembly [official website, in Spanish] narrowly passed the draft constitution [JURIST report] in December 2007, but in March Bolivia's National Electoral Court [official website] blocked the scheduled national referendum on the draft constitution, saying it violated Bolivia's current constitution by falling outside the three-month time period running after the Assembly approved it. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) [party website], one of the two main parties in Pakistan's coalition government, is leaving the coalition [press release] after prolonged talks in London failed to produce an agreement on the reinstatement of judges ousted by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf last year, ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and PML-N party leader said Monday. The PML-N had pushed for the judges to be reinstated without condition, but the majority Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has insisted on restrictions on the judges' power. All PMN-L ministers will resign their posts on Tuesday, but Sharif said that the party will continue to support the PPP on an issue-by-issue basis and will not seek to actively undermine the government.

A panel convened last week pursuant to an initial deal struck by the leaders in Dubai completed a draft parliamentary resolution [JURIST report] to restore the judges, but disagreements on implementation among panel members meant that the resolution had to go the top leadership of the PPP and the PML-N for approval before being submitted to the Pakistani parliament. The parties were unable to reach agreement on the resolution in further negotiations in London, and talks ultimately collapsed despite last-minute intervention by a US envoy [JURIST reports]. Sharif had originally promised that the judges would be restored by May 12 [JURIST report], but that deadline passed Monday. BBC News has more. From Pakistan, the News has local coverage.

[JURIST] An estimated 200-300 detainees held by Afghan authorities at the Afghan-controlled men's prison in Kandahar who went on hunger strike [AP report] last week protesting the slow nature of the Afghanistan judicial system ended their action Monday after a visit by Afghan lawmakers who said their cases would be reviewed by new judges. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission [advocacy website] said previously that the prisoners were demanding speedy trials and the advice of counsel at court hearings. It is unclear how many Kandahar detainees, if any, have been tried before a court of law; rights groups have complained that many rulings are made on the basis of allegations by US authorities. AP quoted Afghanistan Justice Minister Sarwar Danesh as saying Sunday that "The prisoners have reason to criticize because the justice system is working a little slowly." He said that the country's top judge met Saturday with the provincial governor over the issue.

Most of the striking detainees are suspected of involvement with the Taliban; some have been held without trial for more than two years. An Afghan lawmaker quoted by AP said that some 47 of the protesting detainees had sewn up their own mouths during the action. The International Committee of the Red Cross visited detainees at the prison on Saturday and Sunday, providing medication [BBC report] to forty inmates. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim [JURIST news archive] called Monday for the prosecution of public officials involved in a judicial fixing scandal, one week after government officials ended their investigation into a video [YouTube video; JURIST report] allegedly showing prominent lawyer VK Lingam brokering the appointment of the former Chief Justice of Malaysia to the Supreme Court. The person on the other end of the phone was believed to be Malaysian Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim.

The video's release last year prompted 2,000 lawyers and activists to call for an official investigation [JURIST report; press release] in a mass protest. A Royal Commission began its sessions in January, when Lingam told the panel that he was intoxicated [JURIST report] when the video was filmed. Lingam also told the panel that Halim was not on the other end of the line [Bernama report] in the first video. In April, Ibrahim officially returned to Malaysian politics [JURIST report] as the leader of opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat, marking the expiration of his 10-year ban from public office arising from corruption and now-overturned sodomy convictions [JURIST reports]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] ruled Monday in Gonzalez v. United States [LII case backgrounder] that allowing a magistrate judge to oversee jury selection does not deprive a criminal defendant of the right to a jury trial and complies with the Federal Magistrates Act [text]. The holding affirmed a judgment [PDF text] of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that defendant's counsel may waive the right to have an Article III judge preside over voir dire, and that it was not error to proceed without first getting the defendant's personal consent. Justice Kennedy announced the judgment of the Court; his opinion [text] was joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Alito. Justice Scalia filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, and Justice Thomas wrote a dissent [text].

In affirming the Fifth Circuit ruling, Justice Kennedy wrote:

Numerous choices affecting conduct of the trial, including the objections to make, the witnesses to call, and the arguments to advance, depend not only upon what is permissible under the rules of evidence and procedure but also upon tactical considerations of the moment and the larger strategic plan for the trial. These matters can be difficult to explain to a layperson; and to require in all instances that they be approved by the client could risk compromising the efficiencies and fairness that the trial process is designed to promote.

I would not adopt the tactical-vs.-fundamental approach, which is vague and derives from nothing more substantial than this Court’s say-so.

Where, as here, a mistaken interpretation of a statute leaves the Court with no principled way to answer subsequent questions that arise under the statute, it seems to me that the better course is simply to acknowledge and correct the error.

[JURIST] Persons suspected of involvement in the 2005 Andijan uprising [JURIST news archive] that resulted in a massacre of unarmed civilians [JURIST report] are still being mistreated according to a new Human Rights Watch report [PDF text] released Monday. Uzbek President Islam Karimov [official profile; BBC profile] has been criticized for his treatment of anti-government elements since the 2005 crackdown. The physical abuse and social stigma extend to participants' families, as well. AP has more.

In May 2005, thousands of Uzbek demonstrators protesting the trial of 23 businessmen on religious extremism charges stormed an Andijan prison [JURIST report], allowing about 2,000 inmates including the businessmen to escape. In response, government troops killed as many as 500 demonstrators [JURIST report].

[JURIST] A court-martial was ordered Sunday for Alaa "Alex" Mohammad Ali, a dual Iraqi-Canadian citizen working as a translator in Iraq. Accused of having committed aggravated assault in February in connection with the stabbing death of another contractor, he is the first civilian charged [JURIST report] by the military since a 2006 amendment [S 2766 materials] to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) [text] granted the military jurisdiction over civilians accompanying US troops in a combat zone and the first civilian charged under military law since the Vietnam war. AP has more.

In 2007, Congress enacted the 2008 defense authorization bill [HR 1585 materials] as an additional measure [JURIST report] to bring all civilian contractors [Parameters backgrounder] in Iraq under the military's jurisdiction. Such prosecutions could not succeed previously [USAF guidance document] because of earlier court rulings [Grisham v. Hagan opinion text] that the military did not have jurisdiction over civilian contractors without a declaration of war by Congress.