New Turkish President Abdullah Gul Wednesday proposed amending a law that makes it a crime to insult Turkish national identity. Gul said at a Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg that the law had hindered Turkey's attempts to join the EU, and that he expects the ruling AK Party will soon consider changing it. This [...]

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said Wednesday that reported Pakistani promises to drop pending corruption charges against her amount to "disinformation" and indicated that talks with President Pervez Musharraf on a possible power-sharing agreement have broken down. Pakistani officials said Tuesday they had agreed to drop charges against Bhutto, a move that would permit [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a certiorari petition Wednesday asking the US Supreme Court to hear a challenge of the government's domestic surveillance program that was rejected by the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in July. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include attorneys, advocacy groups, scholars, and journalists who said that they could [...]

The Constitutional Court of Indonesia Wednesday upheld marriage laws limiting polygamy , despite teachings in the predominantly Islamic country's largest religion allowing men to take up to four wives. Under Indonesian law , a man can only take a second wife if his first wife gives permission, or if his first wife is disabled or [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in New York Board of Elections v. Torres , 06-766, to consider whether the procedure by which the state of New York currently selects its trial judges violates the First Amendment rights of both candidates and voters. State election officials joined both the Democratic and Republican parties [...]

Michael V. Strong, as Assessor, etc., v. State Board of Equalization, Tom Kidwell, as Assessor, etc., Equality California, et al., Court of Appeal for the State of California Third Appellate Division, October 2, 2007 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

A California appeals court ruled Tuesday that domestic partners, like married couples, can inherit real estate from one another without an increase in property taxes. The Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento found that the California Legislature and the state Board of Equalization were within the bounds of the California Constitution when they made [...]

US Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) listed what he described as topics of "concern" to be addressed in the upcoming Senate confirmation hearings for former federal judge and US Attorney General nominee Michael B. Mukasey in a Tuesday letter to Mukasey. Leahy encouraged Mukasey to directly answer questions which have been avoided by the [...]

The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas ruled in favor of a class of Pennsylvania Wal-mart workers on Wednesday, awarding the employees an additional $62.3 million under a state law which demands that pay not be withheld for over 30 days. Last year, the class won a $78.47 million verdict against Wal-mart that awarded damages for [...]

Chinese lawyer Li Heping was captured and abused by unknown assailants for representing clients lodging complaints against the government of China , Li told AP Wednesday. Li said he was abducted by a group of men, forced into a car, and beaten with batons for hours in the basement of an unknown building. His attackers [...]