Jeffrey Barham et al. v. Charles H. Ramsay, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, January 13, 2006 . Read the full text of the ruling. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

A source close to Rizgar Amin , the chief judge of the Iraqi High Criminal Court presiding at the Saddam Hussein trial , said Friday that Amin would "withdraw" from his position, announcing his reasons at the end of the next trial sitting scheduled for January 24. Amin is said to have found the proceeding [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to grant immunity Friday to two police officials named in a lawsuit filed on behalf of 386 people who were roped off at Pershing Park and arrested during protests at the World Bank-International Monetary Fund annual meeting in 2002. Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief [...]

The US Supreme Court on Friday granted certiorari in the case of Dixon v. United States, where the Court will clarify how criminal defendants can use evidence of domestic battery at their trials. Cherie Ashford Dixon contends that her constitutional right to a fair trial on weapons charges was violated because the judge would not [...]

US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) announced Friday that he will vote to confirm US Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito , while most, if not all, of the eight Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are expected to vote against Alito. Alito appears on his way to confirmation, but Democrats are seeking to [...]

Turkey's Minister of Justice Cemil Cicek said Friday that Mehmet Ali Agca , the Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, may have mistakenly been released from prison eleven months early for the murder of Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci . Agca shot the Pope after escaping from a Turkish military prison in [...]

US President George Bush on Friday defended the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay , calling it "a necessary part of protecting the American people". Bush's comments came during a White House press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel , who urged Bush to shut down the facility. Bush said that there were "misperceptions" about Guantanamo [...]

A US Department of Justice spokesperson on Friday confirmed that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the NSA domestic surveillance program at the request of committee chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) . Gonzales, who served as White House counsel when Bush authorized the spying program, will discuss the administration's [...]

New Jersey Gov. Richard J. Codey on Thursday signed several bills, including one which creates a special commission on the death penalty and places a moratorium on capital punishment until at least 60 days after the task force releases its findings. The New Jersey Legislature passed the bill , which makes New Jersey the first [...]

Canada has deported Samir Ait Mohamed, an Algerian terror suspect accused of plotting to blow up the largely Jewish Montreal neighborhood of Outremont, to an undisclosed location Wednesday. Canadian authorities detained Mohamed when he attempted to enter the US in 2001, three weeks after "Millennium bomber" Ahmed Ressam testified that they conspired in a plot [...]