The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday in Peugh v. United States that there is an ex post facto violation when a defendant is sentenced under US Sentencing Guidelines promulgated after he committed his criminal acts and the new version provides a higher applicable Guidelines sentencing range than the version in place at the time [...]

Several US lawmakers called Sunday for a review of the government’s surveillance activity in light of recent reports revealing phone and Internet monitoring. Lawmakers have also called for a criminal investigation into the activities of Edward Snowden, who came forward on Sunday as the whistleblower in the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance scandal. Snowden is [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter that an arbitrator did not exceed his powers under §10(a)(4) of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) when he found that the parties’ contract provided for class arbitration. Respondent John Sutter, a pediatrician, entered into a contract with petitioner Oxford Health Plans, [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday in Horne v. Department of Agriculture that the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction to review petitioners’ takings claim. The Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (AMAA) and the California Raisin Marketing Order require raisin growers to turn over a percentage of their crop [...]

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai demanded Saturday that all prisoners of war held by UK forces at Bagram Airfield be released into Afghan custody. The estimated number of detainees is more than 80. Karzai’s spokesperson, Aimal Faizi, confirmed that Karzai instructed National Security Advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta to ask the British Embassy in Kabul to hand [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in BG Group PLC v. Republic of Argentina to decide whether a court or the arbitrator determines if a precondition to arbitration has been satisfied in disputes involving a multi-staged dispute resolution process. The case involves a Bilateral Investment Treaty between the UK and Argentina, signed into [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Ruthann Robson of the CUNY School of Law argues that requiring manufacturers to label clothing as “sweat-free” is feasible under the First Amendment…

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Friday that the US Trade Representative (USTR) can legally withhold classified documents regarding free trade negotiations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) . US District Court Judge Richard Roberts ruled last year that the document should be released to the Center for [...]

A Chinese court in Huairou on Sunday sentenced Liu Hui, brother-in-law of the Nobel Peace Prize winner and democracy activist Liu Xiaobo , to 11 years in prison on charges of fraud. The verdict is seen by many as severe and is widely believed to be an act of political persecution and retaliation for allegedly [...]

Mohamed Kamel Al-Rashidi, the presiding judge for the retrial of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on Friday barred lawyers representing victims’ families from participating in the hearings. This ruling was based on the decision to separate Mubarak’s criminal trial from a civil case for damages, which means that lawyers of victims’ families will not be [...]