The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Wednesday affirmed the dismissal of a suit by victims of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) . The Madoff victims had argued that the SEC was liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FCTA) for failing to detect [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled Monday that a New Mexico school district acted constitutionally when it prohibited five students from distributing two-inch rubber fetus dolls with pro-life cards attached. Writing for the unanimous three-judge panel, the Honorable Scott Matheson, Jr. opined that the school’s restrictions on handing out the dolls [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called upon Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi Wednesday to do more to address violence between religious groups. Nadim Houry, deputy director for Middle East and North Africa at HRW, released the statement in response to violence between Muslims and Coptic Christians in the town of Khosus that resulted in the deaths of [...]

An appeals court in Guatemala City announced Tuesday that it has upheld a lower court decision which acquitted former President Alfonso Portillo of criminal charges that he had stolen over USD $15 million during his time as president. In 2011 the criminal charges of embezzlement against Portillo were thrown out by the lower court, which [...]

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley on Tuesday signed the Women’s Health and Safety Act , which imposes increases safety requirements on abortion clinics and practitioners within the state. The Act requires clinics that provide abortions to meet the same standards as ambulatory care centers, requires doctors who provide abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, [...]

Judge Lew Kaplan of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York announced on Tuesday that the trial of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, son-in-law of Osama Bin Laden , is scheduled for January 7, 2014. Kaplan said the start date would be delayed because of the US budget sequester forcing lawyers to be [...]

Amnesty International (AI) announced Wednesday that the use of the death penalty declined worldwide in 2012 despite some setbacks. In its annual review of death sentences and executions , AI concluded that at least 682 individuals were executed in 2012. Twenty-one countries carried out the death penalty in 2012, down from 28 in 2003. The [...]

Libya’s national assembly passed laws on Tuesday which criminalize torture and kidnapping. Those found guilty of violating the laws could face up to ten years of imprisonment. The law treats anyone who stands by and allows these acts to occur as complicit in the crime. Less than two years after the uprising that overthrew dictator [...]

Justice Jawwad Skawaja of the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled on Tuesday that the trial for former Pakistani president and military ruler Pervez Musharraf will be postponed until April 15. While the decision was designed to give Musharraf’s lawyers enough time to prepare a response to the allegations, the court rejected his plea to delay [...]

Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in as the fourth president of Kenya Tuesday. Kenyatta, who is the son of Kenya’s first president Jomo Kenyatta , was elected in a closely contested race with 50.07 percent of the vote. Kenyatta is currently facing International Criminal Court (ICC) charges of crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in [...]