US President-elect Barack Obama on Friday announced his nominations for the top posts in the US intelligence community, designating Admiral Dennis Blair to be Director of National Intelligence and Leon Panetta to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) . Obama also announced that John Brennan will serve as Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy [...]

Matter of Enrique Salas Compean, Matter of Sylla Bangaly, Matter of J-E-C, et al., US Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General, January 7, 2009 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Thursday ruled that Congress acted beyond its authority when it enacted a law that allows indefinite federal civil commitment of "sexually dangerous" offenders beyond the end of their sentences. The indefinite civil commitment was authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 4248 , [...]

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Friday in four cases. In the consolidated cases of Republic of Iraq v. Beaty and Republic of Iraq v. Simon , the Court will consider whether Iraq has sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction of US courts in cases involving alleged misdeeds that occurred during the Saddam Hussein regime. The [...]

United States of America v. Graydon Earl Comstock, Jr., US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, January 08, 2009 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Haji Bismullah, Haji Mohammad Wali v. Robert M. Gates, US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, January 9, 2009 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday announced plans to end the country's use of magistrate-led investigations in criminal cases. Sarkozy made the announcement at the annual opening of the Court of Cassation , and said the changes would better administer justice to the accused, because judges would no longer face the potential conflict of acting [...]

US Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Wednesday ruled that aliens may no longer challenge deportation hearings based on ineffective assistance of counsel. Mukasey's opinion, which is binding on immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, holds that immigrants have no constitutional right to a new deportation hearing if their lawyers make mistakes. This ruling [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay Friday called for an independent investigation of possible war crimes and human rights violations in the ongoing conflict between Israel and combatants in the Gaza Strip. Pillay made the comments at a special session of the UN Human Rights Council , and reiterated her calls for Israel to [...]

A committee of the Illinois House of Representatives on Thursday voted unanimously to recommend the impeachment of Governor Rod Blagojevich . The committee was appointed last month to gather evidence and testimony regarding the charges against Blagojevich. US federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald asked the committee to limit its impeachment inquiry and avoid looking into the [...]