Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report Wednesday calling on Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen to join in a global moratorium on the death penalty for juveniles. The report states that the five countries are the last in the world known to engage in the practice, with a combined 32 executions of juvenile [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Monday reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment and dismissal to Michigan's Region VII Area Agency on Aging (Region VII) , instead ruling that an unlawful termination suit filed by former employee Denise Hughes can continue. Hughes argues that the agency fired her because [...]

United States of America v. James Ford Seale, US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, September 9, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The US District Court for Connecticut has blocked enforcement of a new provision of the US Bankruptcy Code against attorneys seeking to advise clients about taking on additional debt. District Judge Christopher Droney issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday, ruling that the statute was so broad as to unconstitutionally restrict attorneys' First Amendment rights. The provision [...]

A three-judge panel of the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reinstated a class-action lawsuit Tuesday against drug maker Merck & Co. over claims relating to its prescription painkiller Vioxx . The lawsuit had been dismissed by the US District Court of New Jersey in April 2007. In its ruling, the three-judge [...]

A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday vacated the conviction of former Ku Klux Klan (KKK) member James Ford Seale for his involvement in the 1964 deaths of two 19-year-old black teens. Seale was sentenced to three life terms in August 2007, two months after his conviction [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on Monday rejected claims that federal and state drug laws violate the constitutional and statutory rights of a priest in the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church (EZCC) , which embraces the sacramental use of marijuana. The St. Louis-based court affirmed a decision by the US District Court [...]

Safiya Ghori-Ahmad : "For many American Muslims, the case of Sami Al-Arian has become the most prominent illustration of the Bush administration's post-9/11 political prosecutions. Sami Al-Arian, a former University of Florida professor, was arrested in 2003 on charges of funding terrorism. In December 2005, the jury acquitted him of 8 of the 17charges brought [...]

The government of the Netherlands on Tuesday detailed its plans to ban the burqa in and around all primary schools, including Muslim institutions. In a letter to parliament , Education Minister Ronald Plasterk predicted that a bill to prohibit the head-to-foot garment would be presented to lawmakers next year and could be enacted by 2010. [...]

The Taipei District Court on Tuesday cleared former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian of defamation charges stemming from Taiwan's 1991 purchase of six frigates from France. Six retired Taiwanese admirals filed suit against Chen following his 2005 televised comments suggesting that the group received $20 million in improper kickbacks from the deal. The court held that [...]