The New York Court of Appeals on Wednesday held that a non citizen charge with a crime that, if convicted, could mean deportation, is entitled to a jury trial under the Sixth Amendment. The defendant was charged with several felony crimes, but was able to plead down the charges to misdemeanors. As such, he was [...]

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic on Wednesday stressed the need for greater information and accountability to be provided to the families of missing persons and detainees. The report begins by noting that the Syrian government is still carrying out mass public arrests and detentions. These detentions have led [...]

The US Department of Justice said on Tuesday that it plans to appeal a decision by a federal judge in California blocking the Trump administration’s rule denying asylum to migrants illegally crossing the southern border of the US. In addition to its notice of appeal, the Justice Department asked the court to respond within one [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday that it has dismantled two international cybercriminal rings, while unsealing charges for eight defendants indicted in federal court. The 13-count indictment includes charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. United States Attorney Richard Donoghue, who is involved with the case stated that, These individuals [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Tuesday that Russian courts violated LGBT individuals’ freedom of assembly rights by consistently rejecting gay pride event applications. In its judgment, the ECHR stated that 14 applicants sought to gain approval to hold public LGBT events, such as PRIDE, but were systemically denied by local Russian authorities. These [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday ruled that Alaska’s law governing the aggregate amount of campaign contributions to candidates from nonresidents violated the First Amendment. The plaintiffs are three individuals and a subdivision of the Alaskan Republican party. Though four provisions of the law were at issue before the court, the provision struck [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in Tyson Timbs v. Indiana, a case that centers on the incorporation of the excessive fines clause to the states. Under the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed.” The Timbs case focuses on whether the excessive [...]

A Delaware Court of Chancery judge’s ruling on Tuesday will allow an lawsuit pertaining to state public education funding to proceed. The lawsuit, brought by two civil rights organizations, Delawareans for Educational Opportunity and the Delaware NAACP, argues that the way Delaware funds public schools has led to a disparity so great it is deemed [...]

UN experts on Wednesday called on select states to respect the human rights of migrants traveling in caravans from Central America towards Mexico and the US. In letters to the governments of Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the US, the experts voiced their concerns and urged the States to abide by international law. Since mid-October roughly 12,000 [...]

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Monday added the Vice President and First Lady of Nicaragua, Rosario Maria Murillo De Ortega, and top aide Nestor Moncada Lau to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. The moves comes in response to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump authorizing sanctions against [...]