[JURIST] French National Assembly representative Andre Gerin [official websites, in French] said Friday that the country will formally oppose the wearing of burqas [JURIST news archive], but is unlikely to pursue legislation [press release, in French] to ban the garment. Gerin is the head of a special commission [materials, in French] created by the French government to evaluate a ban on wearing burqas and other full-face veils in public. He said that even though he strongly opposes burqas, experts that testified before the panel had argued that a ban on the burqa would be hard to enforce and would antagonize Muslims in the country. He also said that while the wearing of burqas poses security and rights concerns, a law banning them would also threaten certain rights. Gerin's remarks came one day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy [official website, in French; JURIST news archive] reiterated his opposition [AP report] to the use of burqas. It is not clear what steps, short of a ban, the government will take to discourage use of the veils.

The commission began its hearings in July after being established [JURIST report] a month earlier to address the issue. In December 2008, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] unanimously ruled [JURIST report] that there was no human rights violation when a French school expelled two students for refusing to remove their headscarves. Last July, a Muslim woman's citizenship application was denied [JURIST report] because she failed to assimilate to French culture, and she practiced a type of Islam found incompatible with French values. In 2004, France passed a law [JURIST report] banning students from conspicuous religious items, including Muslim headscarves, in schools.

[JURIST] Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction [official website] director Terry Collins announced [press release] Friday that the state would adopt a single-drug lethal injection protocol, replacing its current three-drug method. The state undertook a review of its lethal injection practices in September after the planed execution of inmate Romell Broom failed [JURIST reports] when a suitable vein for the drugs' administration could not be found. The new protocol will consist of the intravenous injection of a single anesthetic, and will provide for the intramuscular injection of two other drugs if an appropriate vein cannot be found. Commentators on the change have said that the new protocol may be more humane [Columbus Dispatch report], but that it has not yet been used on humans. Ohio is the first state to adopt such a method.

Earlier this month, the Ohio Supreme Court [official website] set dates [announcement, PDF; JURIST report] for the lethal injection executions of two other inmates. The state's current protocol had been used since June when the state added a requirement [JURIST report] that officials shake and call out to the prisoner after the administration of the first of the three drugs. A de facto national moratorium [JURIST report] on the death penalty ended last year when the US Supreme Court ruled in Baze v. Rees [JURIST report] that the three-drug lethal injection sequence [DPIC backgrounder] used in most states does not violate the Constitution.

[JURIST] The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [official website] announced Friday that the Obama administration will push for immigration reform [press release] legislation early next year. Speaking at the Center for American Progress (CAP) [advocacy website], DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano [official profile] announced that the proposed legislation would be a "three-legged stool" that combines effective and fair enforcement, an improved process for legal immigration, and a "firm but fair way" to deal with illegal immigrants who are already in the US. Napolitano stressed that such reform was needed to protect the jobs of American workers during difficult economic times, saying:

Like the Administration’s other priorities, when it comes to immigration, we are addressing a status quo that is simply unacceptable. Everybody recognizes that our current system isn't working and that our immigration laws need to change. America's businesses, workers, and faith-based organizations are calling for reform. Law enforcement and government at every level are asking for reform.

Americans value our identity as both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. Unfortunately, too many politicians and pundits have treated these values as contradictory. They are not, and we will pursue reforms that emphasize both.

[JURIST] Former US congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) [official profile] was sentenced [press release] Friday to 13 years in prison on 11 counts of bribery and corruption. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia [official website] found that Jefferson solicited bribes between 2000 and 2005 while serving in the US House of Representatives, ordering him to forfeit $470,000. In return for the bribes, the court found that Jefferson used his office to promote businesses, including telecommunications deals, oil concessions, and satellite transmission contracts with various African countries. Although prosecutors originally sought a 33-year sentence, Jefferson's sentence is still the longest term of incarceration [Roll Call report] ordered for a former member of Congress.

Jefferson was convicted [JURIST report] in August and has been free on bail despite concerns that he posed a flight risk. Last year, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dismissed [JURIST report] Jefferson's appeal seeking to have the bribery charges dropped. He argued the accusations were based on evidence protected by the US Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause [text; backgrounder], which makes certain information relating to legislative action privileged. In March, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it planned to pursue Jefferson's case despite an appeals court ruling [JURIST reports] that other evidence confiscated from his office during an FBI raid was protected by the Speech or Debate Clause. Jefferson pleaded not guilty to the charges [JURIST reports] against him in June 2007. In January of that year, former Jefferson aide Brett Pfeffer pleaded guilty [DOJ press release] for his involvement.