JURIST Guest Columnist William G. Ross of Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, says that when they go to the polls in November, American voters should carefully consider the candidates' positions and likely impact on the federal courts as the outcome of the 2008 election could profoundly influence the decisions of those courts, and especially [...]

US and Iraqi negotiators Wednesday agreed on a draft for a Status of Forces Agreement that gives Iraqi courts limited jurisdiction over American military personnel. According to Iraqi officials quoted by AP Wednesday, the draft agreement requires US troops to face trial before Iraqi courts for major crimes committed off base when the troops are [...]

Chile's Supreme Court Wednesday sentenced five former Chilean military officers for their role in the killing of five leftist political opponents as part of the so-called "Caravan of Death" in October 1973. General Sergio Arellano Stark was sentenced to six years in prison for his role leading a group that toured provincial cities in Chile [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in two cases, including Waddington v. Sarausad , 07-772, in which the Court will consider whether a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit correctly overturned the murder conviction of a driver in a 1994 Seattle drive-by shooting on the grounds of incorrect [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday upheld a district court order requiring Ohio's secretary of state to establish a system that allows county elections boards to confirm newly registered voters' eligibility. The court, sitting en banc, vacated a stay imposed by a Sixth Circuit panel last week. The temporary restraining [...]

A report issued Tuesday by Amnesty International (AI) links the large number of executions in Saudi Arabia to flaws in the Saudi judicial system. The report, titled Affront to Justice: Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia, noted a significant increase in executions from 2006 to 2007, when at least 158 death sentences were carried out, and [...]

Ohio Republican Party; Larry Wolpert, v. Jennifer Brunner, Secretary of State of Ohio, US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, October 14, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Two classified memos sent from the Bush administration to the CIA in 2003 and 2004 explicitly sanctioned the use of certain harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding , the Washington Post reported Wednesday. The documents were reportedly first requested by then-CIA director George Tenet in 2003 at a meeting with members of the National Security Council [...]

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday rejected an emergency request for provisional measures from the Georgian Republic to stop the alleged killing and mass displacement of citizens in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia , instead calling on both Georgia and Russia to meet their obligations under the International Convention on [...]

Turkish Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin apologized Tuesday on behalf of the Turkish government for the death of Engin Ceber, an anti-government protester who died after alleged torture while in police custody on Saturday. Sahin also announced that 19 prison officials were suspending pending an investigation into Cerber's death. The Guardian quoted Sahin as saying [...]