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 Saturday, May 26, 2012
Patriot Act extended through 2015
On May 26, 2011, US President Barack Obama signed a four-year extension of the Patriot Act minutes before it was set to expire. The US Senate had passed the bill 72-23, and the US House of Representatives passed it shortly thereafter by a vote of 250-153. Controversial programs renewed included provisions allowing the government to use roving wiretaps on multiple carriers and electronic devices and gain access to certain records relevant to its investigations. The Patriot Act was also renewed in 2006 and 2010 after prolonged debate.
Read an overview of The Legacy of 9/11 in Features.
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Serbia arrested elusive war criminal Ratko Mladic
On May 26, 2011, Serbian authorities announced the capture of Ratko Mladic, the former general colonel and commander of the army of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The following day, a Serbian judge found Ratko Mladic fit for extradition to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for trial on charges of crimes against humanity, despite concerns about his age and health. Mladic appealed to the Serbian War Crimes Court challenging his extradition to the ICTY, but the appeal was denied and a court date was set for June 3, 2011. In April 2012, Mladic pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
Seal of the ICTY
Learn more about Ratko Mladic and the ICTY from the JURIST news archive.
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Friday, May 25, 2012
Federal judge ruled accused Arizona shooter not competent to stand trial
On May 25, 2011, the US District Court for the District of Arizona ruled that accused shooter Jared Lee Loughner was not competent to stand trial due to mental illness. The decision was based on reports that Loughner was schizophrenic. He was charged with the shooting death of Chief Judge John Roll of the US District Court for the District of Arizona and five other people, as well as wounding fourteen others including US Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Though Loughner invoked his right to remain silent and refused to talk to investigators, he was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 20, 2011. Additional charges were also filed against Loughner in March 2011.
Learn more about Jared Lee Loughner and gun control from the JURIST news archive.
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Rwanda genocide leader arrested in DRC
On May 25, 2011, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) announced that Rwandan genocide suspect and former Hutu militia leader Bernard Munyagishari had been arrested in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Munyagishari was wanted on charges of genocide and several crimes against humanity for allegedly leading a militia in the mass killings and rapes of Tutsi women. On June 15, 2011, Munyagishari was transferred from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to a UN detention facility in Tanzania. Though still pending, Munyagishiri's trial is part of a recent ICTR strategy to transfer its remaining genocide trials to Rwandan national courts.
Seal of the ICTR
Learn more about the ICTR and genocide from the JURIST news archive.
Also on This Day at Law:
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Thursday, May 24, 2012
Arizona filed lawsuit over state medical marijuana law
On May 24, 2011, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer announced that the state would file a federal lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment over the legality of the state's controversial medical marijuana law. This question arose out of a letter sent to the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) from the US Attorney's Office stating that marijuana remains illegal under federal law regardless of state law. The ADHS stated that the department would continue to distribute qualified patient and designated caregiver cards through its website. Arizona was the fifteenth US state to legalize medical marijuana.
Learn more about Arizona and medical marijuana from the JURIST news archive.
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EU announced plans to modernize, centralize intellectual property law
On May 24, 2011, the European Commission (EC) proposed reforms to modernize European Union (EU) intellectual property rights laws. The laws were intended to create more centralized regulation and help combat counterfeiting operations. The EC stated that counterfeiters were expanding their services beyond copying luxury goods to include fake health and hygiene products, car parts, and cosmetics. In February 2012, the EC began preparations through the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to ratify the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which has sparked controversy over fears that it will lead to censorship.
Flag of the European Union
Learn more about intellectual property and the laws governing counterfeiting from the JURIST news archive.
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Supreme Court upheld order to reduce California prison population
On May 23, 2011, the US Supreme Court upheld an order requiring California to release up to 46,000 prisoners in order to remedy the state's overcrowded prisons. The Court found that California's prison system, which was found to be operating at 200 percent of its intended capacity, violated inmates' Eighth Amendment rights. California's inability to construct additional facilities allegedly caused the inmates to receive inadequate medical care. In August 2011, the California Legislative Analyst's Office issued a report which stated that the state was unlikely to meet the two-year deadline set by the Court.
Learn more about prisoners' rights and the Eighth Amendment from the JURIST news archive.
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Netherlands court rejected bias claim in hate speech case
On May 23, 2011, an Amsterdam court rejected claims by Dutch politician Geert Wilders that hate speech charges against him should be dropped and ordered his suspended trial to continue. He was accused of calling Islam "fascist," drawing comparisons between the Quran and Mein Kampf and advocating for laws that would bar Muslims from immigrating to the Netherlands. Wilders maintained that his remarks were part of a legitimate political debate and protected by his right to free speech. Prosecutors had determined in October 2010 that Wilders' statements were directed at Islam and not Muslims individually, and also decided that his comments did not establish that he intended to incite violence.
Dutch coat of arms
Learn more about the Netherlands and hate speech from the JURIST news archive.
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Tuesday, May 22, 2012
DOD audit found Iraq contracts failed to meet anti-fraud guidelines
On May 22, 2008, the US Department of Defense Inspector General's Office reported that the US military had failed to ensure that over $8 billion in Iraq reconstruction contracts awarded between 2001 and 2006 complied with federal anti-fraud laws. In October 2007, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) had reported that the US State Department could not account for most of the $1.2 billion that it had paid to a private contractor hired to train Iraqi police forces. That announcement came just six months after the SIGIR told the US Senate Judiciary Committee that investigators would be employing stricter standards when dealing with companies performing contract work in Iraq that engage in war profiteering.
Read an overview of the Iraq War in Features.
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Bahrain court upheld 2 death sentences for police killings
On May 22, 2011, Bahrain's Appeal National Safety Court unanimously upheld death sentences for two men convicted of killing police officers during anti-government protests in March. The court also reduced the death sentences of two other men tried by the court, which was created by royal decree pursuant to the country's state of emergency during the Shiite-led protests in the country. The state of emergency came just days after a group of 22 Bahraini lawmakers, part of an independent pro-government bloc, called on King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to impose martial law. Recently, Bahrain's overall response to the protests have prompted international concern.
Flag of Bahrain
Learn more about Bahrain from the JURIST news archive.
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Monday, May 21, 2012
Obama created commission to investigate BP Gulf oil spill
On May 21, 2010, US President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing an independent commission to investigate offshore drilling and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The order came the same week as a suit filed in US district court by advocacy groups seeking an injunction to halt drilling at the BP Atlantis Facility until company engineers could provide the final "as built" technical drawings of the facility. The commission released its report in January 2011, outlining the causes of the spill and giving recommendations, including fees for off-shore drilling to fund a safety agency within the Department of the Interior for the regulation of off-shore wells.
US President Barack Obama
Learn more about BP and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill from the JURIST news archive.
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Spain judge reinstated charges against US soldiers for journalist death in Iraq
On May 21, 2010, Spanish National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz Gomez reinstated charges against three US soldiers for their involvement in the death of Spanish cameraman Jose Couso, when the men opened fire on a Baghdad hotel in 2003, allegedly without provocation. The charges against Sgt. Shawn Gibson, Capt. Philip Wolford and Lt. Col. Philip DeCamp had been dropped in 2007 due to lack of evidence. Judge Gomez had initiated investigations into the incident in June 2005 and ordered the soldiers' arrest that October. In July 2010, the Spanish Supreme Court ordered a lower court to reopen the investigations after the Spanish National Court dismissed the charges in November 2009.
Coat of arms of Spain
Learn more about Spain and military justice from the JURIST news archive.
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Sunday, May 20, 2012
House passed Senate version of credit card holders' 'bill of rights'
On May 20, 2009, the US House of Representatives voted 361-64 in favor the Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights, which makes illegal, among other prohibitions, arbitrarily raising interest rates, employing misleading terms and charging exorbitant fees to on-time payments. The version passed by the House had been previously passed by the Senate 90-5. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called the bill historic, but rebuked the Senate for "wasting time" by allowing Senator Tom Coburn's amendment to the bill allowing visitors to carry firearms into National Parks.
Learn more about financial reform from the JURIST news archive.
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Russia president Medvedev called for legal reforms, stronger judiciary
On May 20, 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for reforms to the country's legal system that would reinforce the rule of law. Some thought Medvedev's remarks concerning reform and his efforts to eradicate corruption were aimed at distancing him from Vladimir Putin, who ran against and defeated Medvedev in Russia's 2012 presidential election. Russians have protested democratic deficiencies in the Russian political system, including a St. Petersburg city ordinance banning the spreading of "homosexual propaganda" to minors.
Coat of arms of Russia
Learn more about Russia from the JURIST news archive.
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