Eugene O'Donnell : "One of the paradoxes of crime reporting is that statistics sometimes decline when there is little expectation that law enforcement will treat a crime report seriously. Thus, the reported crime rate in some of the nation's largest cities may well be higher than officially reported due to lack of public confidence in [...]

The US State Department (DOS) stated Tuesday that the US will not be signing the treaty to ban the use of anti-personnel landmines. The announcement comes a week before the Second Review Conference the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction is set to [...]

A US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that a school district's policy prohibiting the performance of religious holiday songs does not violate the First Amendment Establishment Clause . Plaintiff Michael Stratechuk argued that the policy of the School District of South Orange and Maplewood in New Jersey, which prohibits the [...]

Stratechuk v. Board of Education, US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, November 24, 2009 . – Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on First Amendment rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union, (ACLU), the Constitution Project (CP), and the Rutherford Institute filed amici curiae briefs Tuesday backing a challenge to a federal law that prohibits providing material support to terrorism. The groups supported a Humanitarian Law Project (HLP) argument that the law defines "material support" too broadly. In a press release that [...]

Argentina's Chamber of Deputies has passed a bill that would decriminalize defamation, bringing the government's policies more in line with the American Convention on Human Rights and garnering praise from international human rights groups. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner proposed the bill in September, but the Senate must pass the bill before it can [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague began proceedings on Tuesday for the trial of two Congolese nationals believed to be responsible for the killings of more than 200 men, women, and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2003. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui both pleaded not guilty to [...]

The Iraq Inquiry , charged with investigating UK involvement in Iraq, began its public proceedings in London on Tuesday. The committee is expected to assess the legality of the UK’s participation in the Iraq War, although several legal authorities have questioned its ability to thoroughly evaluate the issue, since none of the five members are [...]

The US Justice Department (DOJ) on Monday unsealed charging documents against eight defendants for recruiting for and providing financial support to the Somali terrorist organization al-Shabaab . The defendants are being charged with recruiting approximately 20 individuals in the Minneapolis area on behalf of al-Shabaab, providing financial support for travel and weapons, and conspiring to [...]

The chairwoman of Russia's Council for Promoting Civil and Human Rights on Monday called the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky a murder and a tragedy. Magnitsky, who was arrested on allegations of tax fraud and held for over a year without a trial after representing London-based hedge fund Hermitage Capital in a suit against [...]