The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) on Monday released summary findings concluding that the use of the death penalty in California and Louisiana violates human rights. The report concludes that the way the death penalty is used in California and Louisiana is arbitrary and discriminatory and that [...]

An anonymous source inside the US State Department said Monday that President Barack Obama is appointing attorney Clifford Sloan to be the new envoy in charge of closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay . Clifford, who has served in all three federal branches, is now a privately practicing attorney and an informal adviser to [...]

Outgoing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was summoned to a criminal court on Monday. Although the charges were not specified, this may be the continuation of a longstanding political battle between Ahmadinejad and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani , who recently filed a complaint against him. While Larijani, a conservative leader, has repeatedly criticized the president, Ahmadinejad [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Monday in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council that Arizona’s law requiring that proof of citizenship be provided in order to register to vote is preempted by federal law. The court found that Proposition 200 is preempted by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) , which requires states to use [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday in Maracich v. Spears that an attorney’s solicitation of clients is not a permissible purpose covered by the litigation exception to the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) . Under the DPPA, disclosure of personal information contained in the records of state motor vehicle departments (DMVs) is prohibited except [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday in Alleyne v. United States that any fact that increases the mandatory minimum sentence is an “element” that must be submitted to the jury, overruling its 2002 decision in Harris v. United States . Harris was a 5-4 splintered opinion that allowed a judge to be the fact-finder [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled 5-3 Monday in Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis that reverse payment settlements can sometimes violate antitrust laws. A reverse payment settlement, better known as a “pay to delay” settlement, is an agreement in which a patent holder pays a competitor to delay them from entering the market. The Federal Trade [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday in Salinas v. Texas that the petitioner’s Fifth Amendment claim fails because he did not expressly revoke the privilege against self-incrimination. Genovevo Salinas was suspected of being involved in a murder. He consented to a search of his home, where police found a shotgun, and consented to questioning [...]

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari in four cases Monday. In Mount Holly v. Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc. the court limited the grant to Question 1: “Are disparate impact claims cognizable under the Fair Housing Act?” The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful “o refuse to sell or rent after the making [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Zeray Yihdego of the University of Aberdeen Law School examines several legal issues arising from the dispute over the Blue Nile Dam between Egypt and Ethiopia…