The DOJ lawsuit is strikingly similar to a class action lawsuit [JURIST report] filed in August in the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website]. The lawsuit claims that Apple's conduct constitutes violations of federal and state antitrust laws, including the Sherman Act, the Cartwright Act and the Unfair Competition Act [texts]. The European Commission for Competition [official website] announced in December that it will investigate Apple for anti-competitive practices [JURIST report] in connection with its dealings with several publishers.

France has faced criticism for racial inequality and discrimination in the past. In August 2010, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination [official website] concluded its review [JURIST report] of France's compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) [text], holding that while France has a laudable action plan for eradicating racial discrimination, it must increase efforts to make the plan a reality. In July of that year, French President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered measures [JURIST report] against illegal Roma communities in France and announced new legislation aimed at making their deportation easier. Earlier that month, the French National Assembly [official website, in French] approved a bill [JURIST report] that would make it illegal to wear the Islamic burqa [JURIST news archive] or other full face veils in public. Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] criticized the law [press release] saying it "would violate the rights to freedom of expression and religion" of women who choose to wear veils.

This ruling comes as the US seeks to put an end to tax-evasion through the use of overseas accounts. In January 2010, the FAC ruled [JURIST report] that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) [official website, in German] violated the law in February 2009 when it ordered UBS [corporate website] to disclose information to the US on more than 250 of the bank's clients. In November 2009, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] and the IRS announced [JURIST report] that more than 14,700 Americans have reported to the IRS previously hidden overseas bank accounts in response to a temporary forgiveness program [official website], allowing delinquent taxpayers to avoid criminal prosecution for tax evasion by paying all overdue taxes and penalties. In September 2009, the US and Switzerland signed a treaty [JURIST report] that would increase the amount of information shared between the two nations on would-be tax evaders. The agreement, constructed in accordance with Article 26 of the Model Tax Convention [text, PDF], came one month after a Swiss banker and lawyer were indicted in US federal court [JURIST report] for helping clients hide assets. Earlier in August of that same year, the US reached a preliminary agreement with Switzerland over the identification of anonymous accounts [JURIST report] in Swiss banks, which would aid US officials in identifying those who seek to evade taxes.

Last week, the Department of Defense (DOD) [official website] referred charges [JURIST report] to Pohl against the five accused 9/11 plotters. The DOD announced last May that it had sworn charges against the five men [JURIST report] for the 9/11 attacks. Last April, US Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] announced that Mohammed and the four others would be tried by a military commission [JURIST report] after the Obama administration abandoned attempts to have the 9/11 suspects tried in civilian courts. Holder had wanted the accused be tried before a federal civilian court [JURIST report] but referred the cases to the DOD after Congress imposed a series of restrictions [JURIST report] barring the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the US.

Humala has faced human rights charges in the past. A Peruvian judge indicted [JURIST report] Humala in September 2006 for murder, torture and kidnapping stemming from his army service. Earlier that month, prosecutors filed informal charges [JURIST report] against Humala and sent the case to judge Miluska Cano to decide whether prosecutors presented enough evidence to open a criminal case. Prosecutors charged Humala on the basis of testimony from witnesses that claim soldiers under Humala's command dragged a married couple from their home in 1992, and later found the husband shot in the head but never found the body of the wife. Humala narrowly lost the 2006 Peruvian presidential election [BBC report] to incumbent Alan Garcia in June of that year.

Ensuring the security, fairness and openness of our elections are cornerstones of a strong democracy. For people to have faith in their government, they must have faith in their elections. This legislation passed by the General Assembly attempts to increase the security of our elections by lessening the risk of voter fraud. The legislation adds five forms of identification to the list of acceptable forms of ID and strengthens the protections when someone votes without presenting an ID. In reviewing this legislation, I want to preserve this goal of preventing illegal voting while promoting voter participation, and making sure we do not stand in the way of legitimate voting.

There are now 32 US states [NCSL backgrounder] that require voters to present some form of ID at the polls, but the issue remains controversial. Last month, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett [official website] signed [press release, PDF] a bill [HB 943 materials] requiring voters to present photo identification [JURIST report] in the upcoming November election. Also in March, a Wisconsin judge ruled unconstitutional [JURIST report] the state's voter ID law requiring a voter to display photo ID when entering a polling place to vote. In February, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson filed suit against the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] over its ruling that barred South Carolina [JURIST reports] from enforcing its voter ID law. In November, Mississippi voters approved a ballot measure [JURIST report] to implement a voter ID law. In June, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon [official website] vetoed [JURIST report] a law requiring persons to present photo ID at voting booths. In March 2011, the Georgia Supreme Court [official website] upheld [JURIST report] a law requiring voters to present one of six government-issued photo IDs in order to vote. In contrast, a three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] struck down [JURIST report] a portion of an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration in October 2010.

In March, the anti-graft court ordered the arrest of Jose Miguel Arroyo [JURIST report] on bribery charges relating to the ZTE contract. In February, former president Arroyo pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to electoral fraud charges. She and her husband tried to leave the country after the Philippines Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order [JURIST report] allowing the travel outside of the country after which the Philippine authorities formally charged [JURIST report] the former president. In December, after the initial criminal complaint for charges of corruption and electoral fraud, Philippine authorities filed a second one [JURIST report] alleging bribery in the approval of multi-million deal with ZTE.

If Congress meant to expand the scope of criminal liability to everyone who uses a computer in violation of computer use restrictions; which may well include everyone who uses a computer; we would expect it to use language better suited to that purpose. Under the presumption that Congress acts interstitially, we construe a statute as displacing a substantial portion of the common law only where Congress has clearly indicated its intent to do so.

The CFAA was enacted in 1986 to protect against federal computer hacking. Since then, the law has been used numerous times. In 2006, AT&T filed suit [JURIST report] against 25 people claiming they committed fraud by posing as potential customers to obtain information about other customers to be used in legal disputes. Courts have also attempted to use the law in cyber bullying cases. In 2009, a California appeals court overturned the conviction [case materials] of Lori Drew who had been convicted of setting up a fake Myspace account for a 13 year old girl, who eventually committed suicide.

The State's marriage ban discriminates against each Plaintiff on the basis of sex both facially and as applied, barring each Plaintiff from marriage and relegating him or her to registered domestic partnership solely because he or she wishes to marry a life partner of the same sex.

While Nevada is among the states that ban same-sex marriage, several states have recently passed legislation recognizing the marriages. In March, Maryland became the eighth state to allow same-sex marriage [JURIST report] when Governor Martin O'Malley signed the Civil Marriage Protection Act [SB241, PDF]. In February, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed legislation [JURIST report] legalizing same-sex marriage. New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia [JURIST reports] have also approved same-sex marriage. New Jersey has been struggling to pass a same-sex marriage bill, but had a setback in February when Governor Chris Christie conditionally vetoed the bill [JURIST report] and called for a voter referendum to decide the issue, rather than the state legislature.

Many states have recently passed laws restricting abortion. In March, Utah passed a law [JURIST report] requiring a woman seeking an abortion to wait 72 hours prior to obtaining the procedure. Also last month, the Idaho State Senate approved a bill [JURIST report] requiring a woman who is seeking an abortion to first receive an ultrasound. Also, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell [official website] signed a similar ultrasound bill into law [JURIST report]. Earlier in March, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a ban on abortions after five months into a pregnancy [JURIST report]. In February, the US District Court for the Western District of Texas [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that Texas can enforce a state law requiring women to receive a sonogram before obtaining an abortion. In July, the North Carolina state legislature overrode a governor's veto [JURIST report] to pass a law requiring a 24-hour waiting period for a woman seeking an abortion.

In March, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled [JURIST report] that the graphic cigarette label warnings were constitutional, holding that the warnings provide undisputed factual information about the health risks of using tobacco products. US President Barack Obama [official website] signed [JURIST report] the FSPTCA into law in 2009, granting the FDA certain authority to regulate manufactured tobacco products. The legislation heightens warning-label requirements, prohibits marketing "light cigarettes" as a healthier alternative and allows for the regulation of cigarette ingredients. The proposed implementation of new tobacco warning labels has also drawn criticism abroad. In Australia, Philip Morris has filed a complaint [JURIST report] to block new graphic warning label requirements [AUS Health Dept. backgrounder] recently enacted in that country.