US President George W. Bush said in Monday evening's State of Union address that he would issue an executive order Tuesday directing the federal government to ignore any future earmarks included in legislation that are not explicitly voted on by Congress, and that if Congress does not reduce the level of earmarks by 50 percent [...]

State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush, January 28, 2008. Read the full text of the address. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Alleged French "rogue trader" Jerome Kerviel was released on bail Monday after French judges filed preliminary charges of "breach of trust," "falsifying and using falsified documents," and "breaching IT access codes" against him relating to $73 billion worth of unauthorized trades he made while working for French bank Societe Generale . The judges refused a [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed a motion for a preliminary injunction Monday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to prevent Cuyahoga County, Ohio from conducting any election using a paper balloting system. The motion comes in a lawsuit filed earlier this month against Secretary of State of [...]

Arizona Life Coalition, Inc., v. Stacey Stanton, et. al., United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, January 28, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

US District Judge Andrew Hanen of the US Southern District of Texas Monday released a Friday order directing 10 property owners in Cameron County, Texas to provide the federal government access to their land for 180 days so it can begin surveying for a 670-mile fence along the US-Mexico border . The federal government had [...]

A three-judge panel of the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled Monday that Arizona residents should be able to purchase specialty license plates bearing the slogan "Choose Life." The Ninth Circuit held that the Arizona License Plate Commission violated the First Amendment free speech rights of the Arizona Life Coalition when it refused [...]

Judge Royce Lamberth of the US District Court for the District of Columbia sentenced Colombian rebel Ricardo Palmera to 60 years in prison Monday for his role in a hostage-taking conspiracy involving three American citizens in Colombia . Palmera, aka Simon Trinidad, is a senior member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) , [...]

UN Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa Monday opened a week-long UN anti-corruption conference in Bali with a plea that nations take serious steps to enforce the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) . Costa warned that efforts to recover stolen national assets are being hindered in many countries by politicians [...]

A French bill aimed at reducing violent crimes committed by repeat offenders violates international fair trial standards , Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday. The proposed law, sponsored by the administration of French President Nicolas Sarkozy , would allow three judges to decide whether a convicted violent offender is still dangerous. After a multi-disciplinary panel, [...]