The US Sentencing Commission (USSC) released new guidelines Tuesday that will reduce the federal minimum sentencing guidelines for those convicted on charges related to crack cocaine. They also published a 645-page report assessing the impact of statutory minimum sentences on federal sentencing , specifically targeting those that the commission finds to be too severe and [...]

The UN agencies dealing with fighting crime and aiding refugees signed a joint agreement on Tuesday to work more closely to combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking . The memorandum, signed by Yury Fedotov, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees [...]

Pirates off the Somalia coast have increased their area of operation and use of violence despite unprecedented efforts to reduce piracy, a UN official said Monday. Assistant Secretary-General for Political AffairsTaye-Brook Zerihoun told the UN Security Council that in order to successfully combat piracy, member states must increase security and legal action against pirates and [...]

The Ugandan government is unlawfully infringing on its citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, according to an Amnesty International (AI) report released Tuesday. The report focuses on Uganda’s increasing restrictions against freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of assembly and the use of force against citizens and journalists who participate [...]

Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) announced on Monday that they will soon ratify a law that bans anyone found guilty of corruption from participating in politics. Egypt’s deputy prime minister for political development Ali al-Selmi said that the law would apply to officials who are found guilty of financial crimes and abuse [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit on Monday in the US District Court for the District of South Carolina to challenge the state’s newly adopted immigration law . The complaint claims that the new legislation, which allows police officers to check a suspect’s immigration status during a lawful stop, seizure, detention or arrest, [...]

Advocacy groups on Friday filed suit in the US District Court for the District of Arizona asking a federal judge to block enforcement of the portion of the state’s controversial immigration law that bans blocking traffic to acquire or offer day labor services. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and other opponents of [...]

The Egypt activist group No Military Trials for for Civilians on Sunday condemned the arrest and imprisonment of Egyptian activist and blogger Alaa Abd el Fattah by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) . The blogger is accused of inciting violence during the Bloody Sunday Maspero protests last month. At the incident, 27 [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in two cases regarding ineffective assistance of counsel . In both cases , the court is being asked to determine how poor legal advice from attorneys to clients regarding plea bargaining should impact subsequent guilty verdicts. In Lafler v. Cooper , respondent Anthony Cooper was convicted of [...]

Militia from the Libyan city of Misrata are torturing and terrorizing the displaced supporters of deceased former leader Muammar Gaddafi , according to a report released Sunday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) . Most of the victims are either unarmed civilians or detainees. HRW interviewed about 61 Tawerghans across the country including 26 people in [...]