The US Supreme Court released two opinions in gerrymandering cases Monday—remanding a Wisconsin gerrymandering question for lack of standing, and affirming a Maryland district court decision to deny an injunction until the former issue was decided. Gill v. Whitford relates to the voting district map in Wisconsin where, according to the plaintiff, a particularly extreme [...]
In the days leading up to the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, a federal judge ordered him on Friday to be detained without bail awaiting trial, citing recent witness tampering charges . Judge Amy Berman Jackson in the US District Court for the District of Columbia said that there are no conditions [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a report Thursday that reviewed various actions by the FBI and former Director James Comey leading up to the 2016 election. The DOJ internal review organization found that Comey’s actions before the election were not within FBI norms, but they were not motivated by bias and did not [...]
In the days leading up to its July 29 election, experts at the UN Human Rights Council expressed concerns Friday over unclear media rules, calling on Cambodian authorities to ensure journalists’ freedom of opinion and expression. The National Election Committee of Cambodia issued a code of conduct that may be construed to have banned journalists [...]
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Thursday affirmed a decision to freeze assets of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s cousin, Rami Makhlouf. The ECJ referred to Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1836 of 12 October 2015 that amended Decision 2013/255/CFSP discussing restrictive measures against Syria. Relying heavily on Article 27 and 28, a travel ban and asset [...]
The New York attorney general filed a petition today against the Donald J. Trump Foundation and its directors Donald J. Trump, Donald J. Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump. The petition alleges “a pattern of persistent illegal conduct, occurring over more than a decade, that includes extensive unlawful political coordination with the Trump presidential [...]
A new lawsuit filed Wednesday challenges the laws pertaining to photo identification requirements for voters in the state of Missouri. The challenge was brought on behalf of Mildred Gutierrez, a 70-year-old Missouri resident who, in order to vote in the November 2017 election, was forced to sign a sworn statement under penalty of perjury because [...]
Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies approved a bill on Thursday to decriminalize abortion for the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. As of right now, abortion is only decriminalized in Argentina in cases of rape or risk to the health of the mother. The deputies proposed the decriminalization bill in March. The debate lasted for over 23 [...]
In a unanimous opinion delivered Thursday, the US Supreme Court ruled that US courts do not have to defer to a foreign government’s interpretation of its own law. The decision overturned the lower court opinion, which said that the US government was bound by the foreign interpretation, as long as the interpretation was reasonable. In [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called for an investigation Tuesday into potential human rights abuses committed in both the Indian-administrated and Pakistan-administrated sections of the Kashmir region. According to the first UN report on Kashmir, in the Indian-administrated section, soldiers use excessive force against civilians, which led to approximately 145 [...]
