The Australian Senate on Thursday hurriedly passed an amendment to the country's current counter-terrorism legislation the day after Prime Minister John Howard warned of a credible terror attack. Responding to the threat, Howard proposed an amendment to allow prosecution without identifying a specific terrorist act , instead of having to wait until investigators have specific [...]

The Austin American-Statesman is reporting that Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle has requested that Administrative Judge B.B. Schraub be replaced in the Tom DeLay case. Schraub had been tasked with naming a replacement for Judge Bob Perkins after retired Texas Judge C.W. Duncan, appointed by Schraub to hear the Republican Congressman's recusal motion , [...]

The Nigerian Federal High Court has ruled that two Nigerians who were tortured and mutilated in Sierra Leone can challenge Nigeria's decision to grant asylum to former Liberian President Charles Taylor . Taylor was granted asylum in Nigeria in 2003 following his indictment by the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone on charges of crimes against [...]

Denver voters have approved a measure that makes it the first large American city to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The measure, which passed with 54 percent of the vote , allows adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana without penalty. A handful of other cities, including [...]

The US House of Representatives voted Wednesday not to exempt online political expression – blogs, emails, and other forms of Internet communication – from campaign finance laws . Lawmakers had warned that the Internet may have opened up a new loophole for election spending. The House voted 225-182 for House Resolution 1606 , which would [...]

James Fields et. al v. Palmdale School District, US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Judge Stephen Reinhart, November 2, 2005 . Excerpt: We… hold that there is no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children, either independent of their right to direct the [...]

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby pleaded not guilty Thursday morning in federal court to charges of obstructing justice, perjury and making false statements. The former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney was indicted last week in the ongoing CIA leak investigation . Libby's defense lawyer has suggested that Libby will rely on a poor [...]

A New Jersey jury on Thursday found that pharmaceutical company Merck properly warned consumers about the risks associated with its painkiller Vioxx . In the first case to go to trial, a Texas jury in August found Merck liable for $253 million for the wrongful death of a man who suffered cardiac arrest after using [...]

A federal appeals panel has indicated that it might require the government to allow libraries, major corporations and other groups to challenge FBI demands for records under the USA Patriot Act . The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Wednesday heard arguments in two cases concerning the federal government's secrecy requirements. In [...]

The Bush administration and an international human rights watchdog group have both challenged the Uzbekistan government in the case of Sanjar Umarov , leader of the country's new opposition movement, the Sunshine Uzbekistan Coalition . Umarov, who has been critical of authoritarian President Islam Kamirov , was found naked and incoherent in his jail cell [...]