The Israeli High Court of Justice on Tuesday ordered the government to fund non-Orthodox conversion institutions. The decision, handed down by a three-judge panel, breaks the monopoly that Orthodox conversion institutions hold over public conversion funding. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism applauded the decision , with Associate Director Mark Pelavin saying is, "ends [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin Davis of the University of Toledo College of Law says that the US Supreme Court's ruling in Ashcroft v. Iqbal suggests that the Court may be trying to set up a system wherein lower level officials can be held criminally liable for carrying out orders administered to them by higher ranking [...]

The US Senate on Tuesday voted 90-5 to pass the Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights . Among the provisions included in the bill are restrictions on retroactive interest rate increases, a mandatory 45-day notice for all proposed interest rate increases, and a requirement that credit card companies mail a billing statement to the consumer [...]

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced plans for national fuel efficiency requirements. The policy is aimed at increasing fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and is projected to conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil and reduce emissions by an approximate 900 million metric tons. The estimated effect of the emissions reduction is equivalent [...]

United States of America v. Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza Al Darbi, US Military Judge Col. James Pohl, May 19, 2009 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Bolivian Supreme Court of Justice on Monday opened the trial of former president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada in connection with the deaths of 63 anti-government protesters in October 2003. Sanchez de Lozada and 17 other former government officials face genocide charges related to incident, for which he faces 30 years in prison if convicted. [...]

New Jersey Peace Action, et al. v. Barack Obama, US District Court for the District of New Jersey, May 19, 2009 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled Tuesday that the White House Office of Administration (OA) is not required to release Bush administration e-mails under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) . A three-judge panel found that since OA is not an "agency" within the meaning of FOIA, it is not [...]

A Turkish court ruled on Monday that President Abdullah Gul should face trial for corruption allegations stemming from a previous misappropriation of treasury funds. The Sincan High Criminal Court in Ankara held that Gul should face trial despite his immunity as president and the previous dismissal of proceedings by the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office. Former [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in Black v. United States , appealing the fraud conviction of Canadian-born former media mogul Conrad Black . The Court will determine whether the "honest services" clause of 18 USC § 1346 applies in cases where there is no finding that the defendant or defendants "reasonably contemplated [...]