The Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill on Thursday that would require a woman seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound before the procedure. The bill was passed by the Virginia Senate , and is a scaled-back version of a similar bill that was voted on earlier this month. The current version of the [...]

Guatemalan Judge Miguel Angel Galvez denied former dictator Efrain Rois Montt’s amnesty claim Thursday. Rios Montt is being charged for crimes committed throughout the country’s 36-year civil war , which officially ended in 1996. The case involves at least 1,771 deaths and 1,400 human rights violations . The ruling means the trial against Rios Montt [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday heard arguments in a challenge to illegal immigration legislation recently passed in Alabama and Georgia, but the three-judge panel chose to defer its ruling until after the US Supreme Court rules on a pending challenge to the controversial Arizona immigration law . The American [...]

Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for Sudanese Defense Minister Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein. He is charged with 41 counts of crimes committed in Darfur , including 20 counts of crimes against humanity (including persecution, murder, forcible transfer, rape, inhumane acts, imprisonment or severe deprivation of [...]

A German court on Friday dismissed suits by Apple and Samsung against each other over smartphone technology. Samsung alleged that Apple violated its patents for 3G technology while Apple argued that Samsung violated its patents on slide-to-unlock technology. Samsung officials stated that they were pleased with the ruling and that their Galaxy line of products [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled Wednesday that a warrantless search of a suspect’s cell phone to collect its phone number does not constitute a violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. A three-judge panel unanimously rejected the defendant’s challenge to the prosecution’s use of evidence obtained through [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Wednesday that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is immune from suit under the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 (TVPA) while he is in office. Rajapaksa is accused of human rights violations in connection with the country’s civil war against the [...]

Maryland joined the seven states that allow same-sex marriage when Governor Martin O’Malley (D) signed the Civil Marriage Protection Act on Thursday. With signing the bill the governor released the following statement: For a free and diverse people, … for a people of many faiths, … for a people committed to the principle of religious [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ruled that the state of Washington did not violate the constitutional rights of certain legal immigrants when it discontinued their food stamp benefits to save approximately $7 million in state funds. In reversing an injunction by the US District Court for the Western District [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of California on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the US Attorney’s authority to prosecute medical marijuana providers in the state. The suit was filed by the El Camino Wellness Center Collective , a Sacramento dispensary and a medical marijuana user. The plaintiffs relied on [...]