The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Wednesday heard oral arguments over a challenge to the individual mandate of the health care reform law . The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) is representing plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate which requires that all citizens purchase health insurance. The court divided the [...]

An Iraqi-Canadian civilian on Wednesday appealed his conviction by a US military court. Alaa “Alex” Mohammad Ali , a military contractor who was convicted by a US military court in Iraq in 2008, argued that his conviction was unconstitutional . The case was the first in which a civilian was charged and convicted by the [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLUFL) filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging an executive order that mandates state government agencies provide pre-employment drug screening for all prospective employees and provide for random drug testing of all current agency employees regardless of classification. Governor Rick Scott issued Executive Order 11-58 in March and directed the [...]

Rwandan gacaca courts have carried out flawed trials for crimes committed during the country’s 1994 genocide , according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) . The gacaca courts were established by the Rwandan government in 2001 to reduce the caseload in the country’s traditional justice system. The accused are taken to [...]

A three-person commission for the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) appointed to investigate violence in Libya published a report Wednesday saying that government forces have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes under orders from Libyan leader Mummar Gaddafi and other high-ranking officials. The commission’s 92-page report said Libyan authorities have committed crimes against humanity [...]

A trial date for former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was set on Wednesday for August 3 at the Cairo Criminal Court . Mubarak, his two sons and possibly his wife will go on trial for charges released last week , including murder, attempted killing of protesters and other charges related to a general abuse of [...]

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) prosecutor Serge Brammertz said Wednesday that Ratko Mladic will appear before the tribunal Friday to face allegations of war crimes during the Bosnian civil war . Serbian authorities captured Mladic last week, ending a 16-year manhunt for the former general colonel and commander of the army of [...]

US Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday testified before the US Sentencing Commission (USSC) calling for the retroactive application of a new law bringing the sentences for crack cocaine more in line for those of powder cocaine. The USSC is considering retroactively applying the Fair Sentencing Act signed into law by President Barack Obama last year. [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California Tuesday approved a settlement agreement in a privacy lawsuit against Google over its Buzz social networking application, awarding damages to privacy groups previously left out of the original proposed settlement. Judge James Ware approved the revised settlement awarding $500,000 to the Electronic [...]

Iran’s Parliament voted on Wednesday to take President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to court for “illegally” declaring himself oil minister. Last month, Ahmadinejad fired minister of oil Masoud Mirkazemi in an effort to streamline his cabinets and took control of the ministry as a “caretaker.” The parliament voted 165-1 with 13 abstentions to try Ahmadinejad in the [...]