A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Friday upheld the death sentence handed down to DC-area sniper John Allen Muhammad . In his appeal, Muhammad alleged "nondisclosure of exculpatory information by the prosecution, ineffective assistance of his trial counsel, improper exclusion of expert testimony during his sentencing phase, [...]

Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as the 111th justice in the history of the US Supreme Court Saturday. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath, in which Sotomayor swore to "administer justice without respect to persons and do equal right to the poor and to the rich" and to "faithfully and impartially discharge and perform [...]

A Yemeni cleric and his assistant pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to provide financial support for Hamas and were sentenced to time served by the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York . After the plea deal, Sheikh Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad and assistant Mohammed Zayed will be released and returned to [...]

The Moscow Military District Court on Friday rejected a petition by prosecutors to allow further investigation into the 2006 shooting death of journalist Anna Politkovskaya . The retrial of three men acquitted of involvement in her death began earlier this week with the prosecution asking that the case against Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, Dzhabrail Makhmudov, and Ibragim [...]

A Canadian Catholic diocese on Friday reached a proposed settlement agreement in a class action suit alleging that diocesan priests sexually abused children. Under the terms of the agreement, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish would establish a CAD $12 million fund from which people who were abused by priests since 1950, or their estates, [...]

Voters in Niger overwhelmingly approved a referendum Friday establishing a new constitution that would allow President Mamadou Tandja to remain in office. Among the new constitution's changes is the abolition of a presidential two-term limit, allowing Tandja to remain in office for three more years and to run in any subsequent elections. Tandja argued that [...]

The German Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that children can be required to attend sex education classes, despite parents' religious objections. The suit was brought by Baptist parents who were fined €80 after keeping their two sons home from a school program on sexual abuse and another event celebrating Carnival. The court found that even though [...]

The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of the Interior announced Friday that the country will accept two Syrian Guantanamo Bay detainees in order to aid US efforts to close the facility. According to the statement, US special envoy Daniel Fried met with Portuguese officials in Lisbon and presented a specific request that Portugal [...]

US Department of Defense, et al. v. American Civil Liberties Union, et al., on petition for a writ of certiorari, US Department of Defense, August 7, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on detainee abuse photos.

Muhammad v. Kelly, US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, August 7, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on capital punishment.