Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman (D) was sentenced to over seven years in prison for bribery and obstruction of justice Thursday. Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy were convicted in June 2006 on federal bribery and fraud charges . Siegelman was convicted on 10 counts, including bribery, conspiracy, and mail fraud. Scrushy was found [...]

A Quebec court Wednesday sentenced former Canadian advertising executive Jean LaFleur to 42 months in prison for his role in the Canadian federal sponsorship scandal . Lafleur pleaded guilty in April to billing the Canadian federal government for work which was never done, and ultimately bilking the government of almost $1.6 million in contracts his [...]

The Japanese Sapporo High Court Thursday upheld a 2004 lower court decision rejecting a lawsuit brought by Chinese plaintiffs who say they were forced to work as slave laborers in mines and factories during World War II. The lawsuit, originally filed in 1999, sought nearly seven million dollars in compensation from the Chinese government and [...]

A Democratic Republic of Congo military court Thursday acquitted three former employees of Australian Anvil Mining Ltd. who were charged with complicity in war crimes committed when government soldiers killed more than 100 people in the border town of Kilwa in response to a brief rebel uprising in 2004. A court document obtained by Reuters [...]

Both the prosecution and the defense requested additional delays Thursday in the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor . Lawyers say they need more time to prepare for the first witness, who is currently scheduled to testify on Tuesday. Taylor's trial at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) has suffered [...]

Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, US Supreme Court, June 28, 2007 . Read the Court's opinion per Chief Justice Roberts, along with a concurrence from Justice Thomas, a second concurrence from Justice Kennedy, a dissent from Justice Stevens, and a second dissent from Justice Breyer. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Yes on Prop 200, et al. v. Janet Napolitano et al., Arizona Court of Appeals, June 28, 2007 . Read the full text of the decision . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Israeli President Moshe Katsav signed a plea agreement with prosecutors Thursday, under which he will admit to charges of indecent assault, sexual harassment, and obstruction of justice, and will resign from the presidency, in exchange for a suspended sentence and the dropping of rape charges brought by a former employee. The plea agreement, announced by [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously upheld a federal restriction on tobacco advertisements Thursday, finding it did not violate the free expression rights of tobacco companies. The suit was brought by the JTI-Macdonald, Rothmans, and Imperial Tobacco Canada , which challenged Canada's 1997 Tobacco Act , a statute which heavily limits tobacco advertisements in the [...]

Saifullah Paracha , a Guantanamo Bay detainee who blocked the US military from performing a cardiac catheterization on him last November, is increasing ill and suffering from frequent fainting and chest pains, his lawyers said Wednesday. Paracha, a Pakistani detainee who suffered two heart attacks while in US custody in Afghanistan, has refused the diagnostic [...]