A judge in South Africa's Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled Friday that an earlier decision to prosecute politician Jacob Zuma on corruption charges was procedurally invalid because Zuma was not given the chance to respond to the allegations against him. In December 2007, South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority served an indictment on Zuma, charging him with [...]

The Virginia Supreme Court has struck down as unconstitutional a state law criminalizing the production of falsified, unsolicited bulk e-mail. The court on Friday vacated the conviction of prominent spammer Jeremy Jaynes, and held that the statute is substantially overbroad because it "prohibits the anonymous transmission of all unsolicited bulk e-mails including those containing political, [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist David Harris of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law says that in light of questions about the FBI's public identification of the late Dr. Bruce Ivins as “the only person responsible” for the 2001 anthrax attacks, Congress should demand an independent investigation to test the government’s evidence of its accusatory claim…. [...]

Muslim union workers at the JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado have filed grievances and wrongful termination claims stemming from alleged employment conflicts with their observance of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan . Initially there were attempts to work out a deal with Swift that would allow night shift workers to [...]

Benigno Fitial, governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) , filed a lawsuit Friday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent the US government from taking over the CNMI's immigration system. Fitial asserts that the provisions of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 allowing federal immigration [...]

The trial of former Polish leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski and seven other Communist-era officials charged in connection with the 1981 declaration of martial law resumed Friday in Warsaw. A 500-page indictment accuses Jaruzelski of "organizing crimes of a military nature" and deprivation of freedom through internment, among other offenses. Jaruzelski's lawyers argue that martial law [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Thursday heard oral arguments in a case brought against four employees of fraudulent job placement companies ISCS and Receiver . The Chicago-based companies had operated by charging applicants who sought to be placed through the company a $450 advance fee, but never actually providing them with [...]

Council of Europe (COE) Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg released his report on the status of human rights in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on Friday, praising ongoing efforts by the FYROM government to improve human rights, but also highlighting shortfalls in the judiciary, law enforcement, and the penitentiary system. Hammarberg wrote: [...]

US military prosecutors have brought war crimes charges against a detainee at Guantanamo Bay who they allege stored and concealed anti-tank mines in Afghanistan . The detainee, named Obaidullah, was charged Wednesday with conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism . For Obaidullah to stand trial, the charges must be approved by Susan Crawford, convening [...]

Voting-rights advocates and elections officials fear that a lawsuit brought by the Wisconsin Department of Justice will effectively disenfranchise thousands of voters by causing chaos at the polls in November. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen filed suit against the state's Government Accountability Board on Wednesday, seeking to force the elections agency to cross-check the [...]