The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday morning in two cases: the first concerns tribal fishing rights, and the second asks whether certain costs are compensable losses under the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act. The first case, Washington v. US , concerns northwest Indian tribes’ rights to fishing as guaranteed in several treaties. The treaties [...]

Another federal lawsuit has been filed against the US Census Bureau regarding a controversial citizenship question added to the 2020 Census. The City of San Jose and Black Alliance for Just Immigration, a California non-profit corporation, filed a joint lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California San Jose Division Tuesday [...]

After a 10 day visit to Ghana, the UN Special Rapporteur for extreme poverty and human rights released a preliminary report Wednesday urging Ghana to address growing inequality and poverty. The full report will be forthcoming in June and focuses on the progress and promise in the West African nation. The report lauds Ghana for [...]

The Burundi government has “killed, beaten, and intimidated perceived opponents of a constitutional referendum … that would enable the president to extend his term in office,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tuesday. This referendum could allow President Pierre Nkurunziza to serve until 2034. According to HRW, there have been 19 confirmed cases of abuse since [...]

The UN Human Rights Committee issued two decisions Wednesday finding, in the cases of former MPs Rebeca Delgado Burgoa and Eduardo Maldonado Iporre , that Bolivia violated their human rights by denying access to mayoral elections. The Delgado and Maldonado contended that Circular 71/2014, issued by the Supreme Electoral Court of Bolivia , which barred [...]

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Tuesday that Poland broke EU law by logging in the Białowieża Forest , one of Europe’s last ancient forest, according to the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization World Heritage Convention (UNESCO) . Poland began logging in the Białowieża Forest in 2016. Since then, Polish authorities have drastically [...]

A class action lawsuit filed in a Georgia federal district court on Tuesday accuses CoreCivil , one of the country’s largest private prison contractors, of “maintain a deprivation scheme intended to force detained immigrants to work for nearly free” in order to maximize its profits, in violation of federal labor law and common law equity [...]

US Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) proposed a new bill Monday that would replace the 2001 and 2002 authorizations for use of military force (AUMF). The proposed legislation includes several new provisions including: the use of all necessary and appropriate forces against al Qaeda, the Taliban and Islamic State, along with any [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided Tuesday that because the Justice Department will not defend former Maricopa County Sheriff’s criminal contempt conviction, it would appoint a special prosecutor to defend the question. Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt in July. The court found Arpaio did not comply with a court order [...]

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday voted 139-56 to approve HB 2050 , which prohibits abortions if the fetus is diagnosed with or believed to have Down syndrome. In April the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU) referred to the bill as an unconstitutional restriction on reproductive rights, thereby making it unenforceable. Executive [...]