Rep. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) , chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee , introduced new legislation Thursday to split the US Ninth Ciruit that would create a new US Twelfth Circuit Court of Appeals covering Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Under the Federal Judgeship and Administrative Efficiency Act of 2005 (HR [...]

The US Sentencing Commission has authorized emergency rules increasing penalties for persons convicted of swapping as-yet-unreleased films over peer-to-peer file sharing networks such as Kazaa and Morpheus. The emergency regulations, which supplement the current guidelines , allow judges to base sentences on the volume of copyrighted works shared, and expand the definition of infringement to [...]

Robert Amsterdam , international defense counsel for jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky , says that Western governments are turning a blind eye to the deteriorating rule of law in Russia exemplified by his client's prosecution and recent conviction. In a JURIST op-ed published Thursday, Amsterdam argued that instead of insisting that Russia respect fundamental [...]

The government of Saudi Arabia on Thursday denied accusations that Saudi officials tortured Ahmed Omar Abu Ali while he was detained by the Saudi government in 2003. Abu Ali, an American citizen arrested in Saudi Arabia, testified in US federal district court on Wednesday that Saudi officials denied his requests to contact the US embassy [...]

In a 7-4 decision issued on Thursday, a full panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the Seattle school district's use of race in its high school admissions policy. The policy allows high school students to choose their preferred school. If there is insufficient space at one of the schools, [...]

Ecuador's high court on Thursday rejected an attempt by President Alfredo Palacio to seek a referendum on his political reforms. Palacio, a political independent in office for only seven months, has no support in the Ecuador Congress and has faced substantial opposition to his efforts to rewrite the country's constitution. Palacio assumed the presidency after [...]

A German appeals court on Thursday heard an appeal brought by federal prosecutors challenging last year's acquittal of Deutsche Bank CEO Joseph Ackermann . The appeal comes from a July 2004 court ruling that cleared Ackermann and five other former Mannesmann executives of corruption charges. At oral argument, a federal prosecutor told the court that [...]

Sky News is reporting that Saadoun Janabi, a member of the legal defense team for Saddam Hussein , has been kidnapped in Baghdad. 4:07 PM ET – Reuters is now reporting the kidnapping victim, also identified by police as Saadoun Dulaimi, is actually a defense lawyer for former Iraqi judge Awad al-Bander, who is one [...]

The US Department of Justice is adopting a zero tolerance policy for anyone attempting to fraudulently acquire aid money appropriated to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Thursday. Speaking to about 100 investigators from the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force, Gonzales promised that every dollar directed to hurricane relief would be [...]

Motorola has filed a lawsuit against the incoming CEO of Nortel Networks , claiming the Canadian telecommunication equipment company's move to hire its former chief operating officer will inevitably result in the use and disclosure of Motorola's trade secrets. Nortel hired Mike Zafirovski as its president and CEO, effective November 15, after he resigned from [...]