Michele Granda :"The New York State appeals court decision to recognize the valid legal marriage of Patricia Martinez and Lisa Ann Golden contrasts starkly with a recent decision of Rhode Island's Supreme Court on the same issue. Our Nation has faced marriage across state borders for over 200 years, and state-to-state marriage recognition questions are [...]

Natural Resources Defense Council v. Donald C. Winter, et al., United States District Court Central District of California, February 4, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Albert Snyder v. Fred W. Phelps, Sr., et al., US District Court for the District of Maryland, February 4, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Southeastern Federal Power Customers, Inc., v. Peter Green, Secretary of the United States Department of the Army, et al., US District Court for the District of Columbia, February 5, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Myanmar continues to arrest and detain human rights activists, denying them fair trials in accordance with international principles, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro said Tuesday. In a statement , Pinheiro also expressed concern about reports that some detainees were in failing health and urgent need of [...]

A federal court of appeals judge struck down a 2003 agreement between Georgia and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) allowing the state's use of a federal water reservoir. Judge Judith Rogers of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the agreement violates the Water Supply Act because [...]

Russian lawyer and government critic Boris Kuznetsov applied for political asylum in the US Tuesday. Kuznetsov fled Russia in July 2007 after a court approved a criminal investigation against him for allegedly divulging state wiretapping secrets by turning over evidence to the Russian Constitutional Court that his client, former parliamentarian Levon Chakhmakhchyan, had been wiretapped [...]

Retired Argentine General Cristino Nicolaides and five other former officers stood trial Tuesday for their alleged role in the abduction and torture of five political dissidents during the country's military dictatorship of the late 1970s and 80s. In December 2007, Nicolaides was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison for charges regarding another group [...]

The CIA has used waterboarding "on only three detainees" since September 11, 2001, CIA Director Michael Hayden told the US Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday. Stipulating that the interrogation technique has not been used by the CIA in five years, Hayden for the first time named the men waterboarded: accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed , [...]

US President George W. Bush will veto any terror surveillance legislation passed by Congress that does not include liability protection for telecom companies, a letter from Attorney General Michael Mukasey and National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell warned Congress Tuesday, according to AP. Last week, Bush signed a 15-day extension to the temporary Protect America Act [...]