Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Monday announced a national referendum that seeks to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Australian Constitution . Currently, although Aborigines make up almost three percent of the Australian population, they are not mentioned in the Constitution. The referendum will be among Australia’s first steps in efforts to [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday unanimously ruled that lower federal courts may not issue writs of habeas corpus to state prisoners unless their confinement violates federal law. The court overturned a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Wilson v. Corcoran , which granted habeas relief to Joseph Corcoran, [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the first preliminary challenge to the recently enacted health care reform law . Former California lawmaker Steve Baldwin, along with the Pacific Justice Institute filed for a writ of certiorari in September, asking the court to review the split among district courts over who may or [...]

The Taiwan Supreme Prosecutors Office on Monday announced the indictment of 13 people, including three High Court judges, on charges of bribery, corruption and money laundering. The three judges are accused of accepting more than NT $5 million (USD $155,000) from former legislator Ho Chi-Hui in exchange for clearing him of charges related to a [...]

Prosecutors from the Taiwanese Special Investigation Panel (SIP) announced Sunday that they will appeal the recent acquittal of former president Chen Shui-bian . Chen was acquitted on Friday of charges of money laundering, breach of trust and insider trading after the Taipei District Court ruled there was insufficient evidence against the former president. SIP spokesperson [...]

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates called Sunday for Congress to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy before the inauguration of the 112th Congress in January. Following Tuesday’s midterm elections , in which Republicans made significant gains in both houses of Congress, it is considered to be less likely that the legislation will pass [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected a petition from Troy Anthony Davis on Friday for a certificate of appealability (COA), ruling that Davis must appeal his case directly to the US Supreme Court . Davis was seeking a COA to appeal the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia [...]

Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian and 21 co-defendants, including his wife and other relatives, were acquitted on Friday of charges of money laundering, breach of trust and insider trading. Taipei District Court Judge Chou Chan-chun cited lack of evidence in his ruling, noting that, under the Anti-Corruption Act, the president does not control bank mergers [...]

The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) on Friday filed a petition asking the US Supreme Court to rescind the stay preventing the suspension of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. The LCR are seeking to overturn the indefinite extension of a temporary stay issued by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [...]

A Peruvian judge on Saturday reinstated the parole of Lori Berenson , a US citizen held since 1995 for collaboration with a Marxist rebel organization. Berenson has served three-quarters of a 20-year sentence, making her eligible for parole . She must now remain in Peru until the end of her parole, though the government may [...]