The US Supreme Court issued two opinions Monday. The Court ruled 5-4 in Corley v. United States that federal statutory and case law require suppression of a confession given more than six hours after arrest but before the defendant is presented to a judge if law enforcement authorities unreasonably delay presentment. The US Court of [...]

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Monday that a law which severely limits the rights of married Shi’ite women in Afghanistan would not be enforced until the country's Ministry of Justice has complete reviewing the law. A spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the law had been placed on hold and submitted for review. [...]

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Monday in Perdue v. Kenny A. , in which the Court will consider whether an attorney’s fee award under a federal fee-shifting statute can be enhanced based on quality of performance and results obtained when these factors already are included in the lodestar calculation. The lodestar calculation is used [...]

Belgium urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Monday to compel Senegal either to begin proceedings against former Chadian president Hissene Habre for crimes against humanity or to extradite him to Belgium for trial under the country's universal jurisdiction . Lawyers for Belgium said that Senegal has violated international law, including Article 7 of the [...]

The US Navy on Friday reassigned Lieutenant Commander William Kuebler , a military lawyer who had been in charge of defending Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr , after Kuebler filed a formal complaint against a military official overseeing the case. Kuebler had worked on the case for two years before he was fired after alleging  that the military's chief Guantanamo defense [...]

US House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) has released a final version of a report reiterating his allegations that the Bush administration engaged in numerous abuses during the "war on terror" and calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to determine whether any criminal laws were violated. The report, [...]

The National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa (NPA) announced Monday that it is dropping all corruption charges against African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma . The acting director of the NPA, Mokotedi Mpshe, issued a statement that called into question the timing of the prosecution's original indictment in December 2007. The indictment occurred just [...]

Defense lawyers for former Liberian president Charles Taylor on Monday filed a Rule 98 motion for acquittal following the close of the prosecution's case at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) . The defense admits that atrocities were committed in Sierra Leone but maintains that the prosecution failed to provide evidence linking Taylor to [...]

George Lenard : "In the academic world, this case will be a law professor's pleasure and a law student's nightmare. It presents interesting conflicting precedents and policies. Justice Thomas's majority opinion seems to make sense on first reading, but then so do the dissents – typical disagreements from the Supremes. At least there are no [...]

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday that he has ordered the review of a law which severely limits the rights of married Shi'ite women in the country. The Shi'ite Personal Status Law was enacted last month and has not yet been published, but opponents say the law requires a woman to seek her husband's permission [...]