A suspect in the assassination attempt against East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta turned himself in late Saturday, several weeks after the February 11 attempt on Horta's life outside his home. The suspect, Amaro da Costa, was described as an ex-police officer and is the only suspect in custody to date, though police have issued [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond School of Law says that although all the Republican presidential candidates have recited the GOP litany regarding appointments demanded of every serious contender, John McCain's judicial selection record warrants more evaluation… On Tuesday, Republicans in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont will vote in the [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld a lower court decision rejecting the Bush administration's attempt to exempt the US Navy from environmental laws so that the Navy could continue using sonar in its anti-submarine warfare training off the coast of southern California. In a ruling Friday, the appeals court affirmed [...]

Algerian Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz on Sunday confirmed that officials from the country had visited the US base at Guantanamo Bay to identify Algerian detainees, and said that although the country would accept repatriation of the 17 still held there, some may face criminal charges upon their return. US Assistant Secretary of State David Welch [...]

US Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), chairman of the House Select Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that the House of Representatives could vote on compromise surveillance legislation as early as next week. In an appearance on CNN's Late Edition, Reyes said that a compromise bill to replace the now-defunct Protect America Act would come to a vote [...]

A spokesperson for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has criticized the Iraqi Presidency Council for refusing to approve the executions of two defendants sentenced to death last year by the Iraqi High Tribunal for their roles in the slaughter of tens of thousands of Kurds during the Anfal campaign of 1988. The Presidency Council, consisting [...]

The US District Court for the Northern District Illinois has refused to dissolve an injunction barring the enforcement of Illinois' Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995 , which would require physicians to notify the parents of minors seeking abortions at least 48 hours before performing the procedure. The court has repeatedly prevented the law [...]

The US Department of Defense has said that two charges have been referred against Saudi Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi for his alleged connections to al Qaeda. Al-Darbi is the brother-in-law of Khalid al Mihdhar, one of the Sept. 11 hijackers who crashed a jet into the Pentagon. According to the Defense [...]

Howard A. Learner : "Sixteen environmental and Alaskan conservation organizations, represented by public interest attorneys from the Environmental Law & Policy Center, filed an amicus curiae brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Exxon (Valdez) Shipping case focused on the important issue of whether the federal Clean Water Act should be held to preempt [...]

Joe Stork : "New arrests of Muslim Brotherhood members have brought the total number arrested in the first two months of 2008 to more than 600. Egyptian officials say the grounds for arrest consist of membership in an illegal organization. The authorities indeed have banned the Muslim Brotherhood, but this is a decree that violates [...]