[JURIST] The Obama administration on Friday petitioned [cert. petition, PDF] the US Supreme Court [official website] to overturn a district court order mandating disclosure of detainee abuse photos [JURIST news archive], alleging that this could lead to further violence in Iraq and Afghanistan that would endanger US civil and military personnel. According to the government, Exemption 7(F) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), [5 USC § 552(b)(7)(F)] is applicable under the current circumstances of the case reasoning that:

The court of appeals' view that Congress intended to require disclosure when a death or multiple deaths could reasonably be expected to result if the particular victims could not be sufficiently identified in advance disregards Exemption 7(F)'s fundamental concern with human life and safety and misapprehends the practical balance that Congress struck in that exemption.

[JURIST] A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] on Friday upheld [opinion, PDF] the death sentence handed down to DC-area sniper John Allen Muhammad [BBC profile]. In his appeal, Muhammad alleged "nondisclosure of exculpatory information by the prosecution, ineffective assistance of his trial counsel, improper exclusion of expert testimony during his sentencing phase, and improper time and page restrictions on his habeas petition." In an opinion written by Judge Roger Gregory, the court held, "[w]e are unable to find reversible error in the conclusions of the state and district courts, and we therefore affirm the district court's decision to deny habeas relief." Muhammad's counsel said he plans to petition the court to review [Washington Post report] Friday's decision en banc.

In 2007, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that a Maryland court did not err in finding Muhammad competent to stand trial in Maryland. Muhammad was sentenced in Maryland in June 2006 to six consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole following his conviction [JURIST reports] by a Maryland jury of six counts of murder. Maryland prosecutors did not seek the death penalty but wanted a second conviction in case his earlier Virginia conviction [JURIST reports] was overturned on appeal. Muhammad was convicted and sentenced to death in 2005 in Virginia for shootings there. Accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo [BBC profile], who pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to the Virginia charges and received a life sentence, testified [JURIST report] in the Maryland case that Muhammad pulled the trigger in five of the six killings there.

[JURIST] Sonia Sotomayor [WH Profile; JURIST news archive] was sworn in as the 111th justice in the history of the US Supreme Court [official website] Saturday. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath, in which Sotomayor swore to "administer justice without respect to persons and do equal right to the poor and to the rich" and to "faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon [her] as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States."



In joining the court, Sotomayor becomes its first Hispanic member and third female member. Sotomayor will hear her first case on September 9 when the court hears arguments in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission [Cornell LLI backgrounder; JURIST report], a case dealing with campaign financing and free speech.

The US Senate confirmed [JURIST report] Sotomayor on Thursday by a vote of 68-31. On Tuesday, the Senate began debate [JURIST report] on Sotomayor's confirmation. Her nomination was approved by the Judiciary Committee [JURIST report] last week by a 13-6 vote, mostly along party lines. Prior to that vote, Sotomayor faced questions from senators during late July confirmation hearings [JURIST report]. Earlier last month, the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary [association website] gave Sotomayor a unanimous "well-qualified" rating [JURIST report].

[JURIST] A Yemeni cleric and his assistant pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to provide financial support for Hamas and were sentenced to time served by the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York [official website]. After the plea deal, Sheikh Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad [advocacy website] and assistant Mohammed Zayed will be released and returned to Yemen. In October 2008, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] ordered [JURIST report] a new trial for the Yemeni cleric and his assistant after overturning their convictions based on errors in evidence that may have deprived the defendants of a fair trial.

Al-Moayad and Zayed had been convicted [JURIST report] in March 2005 on charges that they led a terror-funding network based in Brooklyn, NY. Al-Moayad was sentenced to 75 years in prison with a fine of $1.25 million and Zayed to 45 years. Al-Moayad and Zayed were arrested in Germany in 2003 after telling a federal agent posing as a US businessman that they would help him funnel money to militants. Al-Moayad was later extradited to the US where he was acquitted of actually funding al Qaeda, but was found guilty of providing material support and resources to Hamas.