The US Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Wednesday in Puckett v. United States that a defendant's claim that the prosecution breached a plea agreement must be raised at trial in order to be reviewable on appeal, according to the plain-error standard under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure . Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority: [...]

Timothy Spence : "North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is no stranger to ruthlessly muzzling press freedom at home to bury the truth about natural disasters, famine, economic despair and his regime's diplomatic tussles. But the apparent capture of two American journalists on March 17 by North Korean border guards may be more than just a [...]

A substantial increase in the number of immigrants detained by the US over the last decade and the length of their detentions "falls short of international human rights law," according to a report released Wednesday by Amnesty International (AI) . AI reported that the number of immigrants detained by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [...]

The US Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday to investigate "abusive credit card practices and bankruptcy" . The hearing, chaired by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) , was held in conjunction with the proposed Consumer Credit Fairness Act (CCFA) , which would disallow bankruptcy claims for consumer credit card debt bearing high interest rates. The [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Washington  Monday ordered the revision of a US government regulation  that singles out religious workers applying for permanent residency. Judge Robert Lasnik issued the order in a class action lawsuit brought by workers who argued that waiting for the approval of an employer petition, a requirement [...]

JURIST Guest Columnists Hitoshi Nasu and Donald Rothwell of the ANU College of Law, Australian National University, say that while Japan's proactive approach towards fighting maritime piracy marks a significant step in its rehabilitation as a global power capable of responsibly exercising limited military force, the initiative raises sensitive issues of international and Japanese law… [...]

A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Tuesday derided a report to the UN Human Rights Council that accused Israel of human rights violations during its recent military operations in Gaza . The report, authored by UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk , criticized Israel for failing to take adequate precautions to distinguish between civilians [...]

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya announced Monday that the government will conduct a poll to determine whether voters are receptive to a November referendum that would establish a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. Zelaya's proposed constitutional referendum has created wide controversy, even among members of his own Liberal Party of Honduras (PLH) . Zelaya's [...]

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a "Proposal for Endangerment Finding for Greenhouse Gases Under the Clean Air Act" to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) , setting the stage for the first ever federal regulation of greenhouse gases. The proposal, which was submitted [...]

Alex Luchenitser : "Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld an amendment to a Texas law that provides for a moment of silence in the public schools. The amendment changed the law by enumerating "pray" as one of the activities that students could engage in during the moment of silence. [...]