A military jury acquitted US Army Sgt. Darin Broady Thursday of charges of alleged abuse, making Broady the second reservist cleared in the death of an Afghan detainee in 2002 at Bagram Air Base. Broady faced charges of aggravated assault, maltreatment and making false statements. Sgt. Keri Patterson, who witnessed the alleged events and testified [...]

Leading Friday's states brief, former Miami Herald columnist Jim DeFede will not be prosecuted for secretly taping phone conversations with Miami city commissioner Arthur T. Teele Jr. just before Teele killed himself. Assistant State Attorney Joseph Centorino said Friday that the actions could have been a violation of state law, but "it is a crime [...]

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to veto a bill approved by the state senate on Thursday that would create a driver's license for illegal immigrants in the state. California originally stopped issuing such licenses 12 years ago, but in 2003 former Governor Gray Davis signed a law to revive the program. That law was repealed [...]

Jose Padila v. C.T. Hanft, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, September 9, 2005 . Excerpt: The exceedingly important question before us is whether the President of the United States possesses the authority to detain militarily a citizen of this country who is closely associated with al Qaeda, an entity with which [...]

Lawyers close to the investigation into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity say the 20-month probe may be reaching an end in the coming weeks. New York Times reporter Judith Miller has been jailed since July 6 for refusing to testify before the grand jury investigating the leak. Her time at the Alexandria [...]

Sandy Berger , who served as President Clinton's National Security Adviser from 1997 to 2001, was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and surrender his security clearance for three years on Thursday after pleading guilty to taking and destroying classified documents from the National Archives. He was also sentenced to two years of probation and [...]

AP is reporting that the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the habeas appeal of Jose Padilla , ruling that the "dirty bomb" suspect can be detained without charges indefinitely. Padilla's attorneys had challenged his designation as an enemy combatant. Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase… Lawyer argues that Padilla should not be held [...]

The US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio upheld on Thursday a state law that requires minors to get parental consent for an abortion and for all women to meet with a doctor 24 hours before the procedure. The court ruled that the requirements were not "undue burdens" on the right to an [...]

With Washington reeling from criticism about its response to Hurricane Katrina , lawmakers are again considering relaxation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 , which generally prohibits federal soldiers or National Guard troops under federal control from operating in a law enforcement capacity on US soil. Approximately 19,000 active-duty soldiers and 45,000 National Guard [...]

New Orleans police are preparing to carry out Mayor Ray Nagin's forced removal order Friday as the last voluntary evacuees left the city Thursday. Earlier this week, Nagin authorized the forced removal of anyone not engaged in the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. The legal basis for Nagin's order comes from §727 of the Louisiana Homeland [...]