Two civil rights organizations filed a complaint Thursday against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in federal district court in San Francisco, alleging that DHS failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding department policies on questioning and searching travelers returning to the United States from overseas. The Asian Law Caucus [...]

Thai investigators formally asked state prosecutors Friday to bring new charges against former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojamarn Shinawatra for allegedly concealing assets. Pojamarn returned to Thailand from self-imposed exile last month to face corruption and fraud charges. She was arrested upon arriving in Thailand, and was released on bail after [...]

Two new judges, Sheikh Hakim Ali of the Lahore High Court and retired judge Mohammad Farrukh Mahmood, were sworn in to the reconstituted Supreme Court of Pakistan by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar Friday, bringing the regular membership of the court up to 16. They follow three other judges appointed to the high court in [...]

A Cambodian genocide survivor Friday testified against former Khmer Rouge official Nuon Chea at a pre-trial hearing before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) , marking the first time that a victim has ever taken the stand against a former Khmer Rouge official. Cambodian-American human rights activist and author Theary Seng testified [...]

French authorities questioned a second "rogue trader" Friday in their investigation into the massive financial losses of French Bank Societe Generale , Le Monde reported Friday. The French newspaper reported that French authorities questioned the undisclosed trader about `his relationship with Jerome Kerviel , who stands accused of "breach of trust," "falsifying and using falsified [...]

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by business groups challenging the Legal Arizona Workers Act , saying that the law does not overstep the federal government's authority to regulate immigration. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed the lawsuit in [...]

New Jersey pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck has agreed to pay $671 million to settle claims that it defrauded Medicaid and improperly marketed three of its drugs to doctors, federal prosecutors said Thursday. The settlement stems from two separate lawsuits filed in Philadelphia and New Orleans. The Philadelphia case alleged that Merck overcharged the federal Medicaid program [...]

Amnesty International Canada, et al., v. Chief of the Defence Staff for the Canadian Forces, et al., Federal Court of Canada, February 7, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Katherine Triantafillou : "Too bad the news piece on Parker v. Hurley misstated the holding of the case, but perhaps we shouldn't be surprised as those of us from Massachusetts are used to being misunderstood and denigrated for our progressive ways. Consider the criticism heaped on Horace Mann, a lawyer, the "father of public education" [...]

The French Senate and National Assembly Thursday approved the new EU reform treaty , properly known as the Treaty of Lisbon . The treaty now goes to French President Nicolas Sarkozy for signature. France's opposition Socialist Party had pushed for a national referendum regarding the ratification of the treaty, but the National Assembly Wednesday voted [...]