Cunningham v. California, US Supreme Court, January 22, 2006 . Read the Court's opinion per Justice Ginsburg, along with a dissent from Justice Kennedy and another dissent from Justice Alito. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

A twelve-person jury was selected Monday to sit in the CIA leak trial of former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby . Even though jury selection began last Tuesday and was supposed to conclude Thursday the process was extended as too many of the original 60 jurors were dismissed on the grounds that they [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Monday dismissed a challenge to the constitutionality of changes to copyright law made in the 1990s. The Court affirmed a lower court's dismissal of Kahle v. Gonzales , in which the plaintiffs argued that the move from an "opt-out" rather than an "opt-in" system of copyright [...]

President Bush Monday celebrated his administration's anti-abortion record in a telephone address to pro-life marchers demonstrating in Washington DC on the anniversary of the 1972 Roe v. Wade US Supreme Court ruling. Bush told the gathering that "we're making progress":We promoted adoption, support parental notification laws, ended federal funding for abortions overseas, and are funding [...]

A lawyer for Saddam-era Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan has filed an appeal with the Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT) arguing that the Tribunal's Appeals Chamber was not authorized to effectively direct its trial court to deliver a death penalty for Ramadan after originally according him a life sentence. Ramadan was convicted in November in [...]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) failed to respond promptly to allegedly improper e-mail correspondence between former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) and a former congressional page from Louisiana in July 2006, according to a report released Monday by US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Glenn Fine . Fine concluded that the email constituted sufficient [...]

The British government Monday released proposed money-laundering regulations that would broaden controls on businesses, politicians, and foreign officials with a view to controlling corruption, fighting crime and making financing of terrorism more difficult. The new rules would require financial institutions to investigate politicians and officials to confirm the legality of the wealth they acquire. The [...]

The office of the Russian Prosecutor General has suspended its investigation into an alleged coup plot by billionaire businessman Boris Berezovsky , a lawyer for Berezovsky said Monday. Berezovsky is currently living in London, and his lawyer said that the prosecutor's office has informed him that the investigation cannot be continued without Berezovsky's presence. Last [...]

The special court for organized crime in Serbia Monday began a trial for 35 members of the so-called "Bankruptcy Mafia" – including former Belgrade Commercial Court president Goran Kljajevic and other prominent businessmen, bankers, lawyers, and judges – accused of embezzling funds and used the government to secure financial gain. The defendants were indicted October [...]

The US Supreme Court handed down decisions in three cases Monday, including Cunningham v. California where the Court struck down as unconstitutional California sentencing rules that allow judges to exercise discretion to tack on additional years to prison sentences beyond that determined by a jury. The Court overturned a California Court of Appeal decision , [...]