JURIST Guest Columnist Kevin Govern of the Ave Maria School of Law says that determining the impact of the recently announced Strategic Partnership Agreement between the US and Afghanistan requires a look into the many interests vested in the region…

The US Supreme Court on Monday denied certiorari in Tenenbaum v. Song BMG Music, et al., an appeal by a student who was fined $675,000 by a jury for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs on the Internet. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Breyer abstained from the decision without explanation. The case now goes [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday ruled 6-3 in Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan, Ltd. that the cost of translating documents cannot be awarded to the winning party in federal court under 28 USC § 1920(6) . Although it had been common practice for 70 years for federal courts to include people who translate written [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday in Astrue v. Capato that children conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) after a parent’s death are not entitled to that parent’s social security benefits. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced the decision, which agreed with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that an IVF child conceived after death could [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday in Holder v. Gutierrez that an alien must individually satisfy the requirements of 8 USC § 1229b(a) rather than it being imputed on them by a parent. Justice Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the court, which was simply that the Board of Immigration Appeals had created a [...]

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell on Friday signed Virginia’s new voter ID legislation which will require voters to show one form of acceptable identification in order to cast a vote. In addition to signing the bill, the governor issued an executive order directing the state Board of Elections to send new voter ID cards to all [...]

The city of Buenos Aires passed a resolution Friday that will recognize same-sex marriages for non-citizens, making it the fourth district in Argentina to legalize such marriages. The new law allows tourists and other foreigners to exercise the same marriage rights afforded to citizens of Argentina. In a statement , the Federacion Argentina de Lesbianas, [...]

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley on Friday signed a bill designed to “simplify and clarify” the state’s tough immigration law . The move came one day after Bentley called a special legislative session to discuss changes to the bill. The new legislation clarifies what types of documents can be used as identification and eases measures against [...]

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Monday in Clapper v. Amnesty International USA to determine whether plaintiffs have standing to challenge a federal eavesdropping law. The plaintiffs, including attorneys, journalists and rights organizations, facially challenged Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) , which was added by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 [...]

Former Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka was freed from prison Monday after being pardoned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa . Fonseka, who is credited with bringing an end to the 26-year civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was arrested shortly after his defeat in the January 2009 presidential election in which [...]