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 [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Wednesday upheld a lower court's ruling and dismissed a lawsuit brought by parents who were angered by a sex survey given to their students in a California school district. The three-judge panel rejected the parents' contention that they have the exclusive right to inform their children [...]

The European Commission said Thursday that it plans to investigate allegations that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is using a Soviet-era compound in eastern Europe as part of a secret prison system to hide and interrogate al Qaeda suspects. The allegations stem from a Washington Post report Wednesday which quoted former and current intelligence officers [...]

Azerbaijan officials have agreed to allow Soviet-era passports to be used as identification for upcoming elections in an attempt to avoid controversy over a headscarf ban for new ID photo cards. The government announced the change in policy after a group representing thousands of Muslim women said that many would not be able to vote [...]

US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has outlined plans to increase security along US borders by hiring more federal agents, constructing additional fences and ending policies that allow illegal immigrants to be released in the US. Chertoff announced the plans during a speech at a forum of business leaders on Wednesday in Houston. Chertoff warned [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Allen Rostron of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law says that new federal legislation immunizing gun makers from tort liability might protect them, but not the innocent people who are so often victims of gun crime… Americans have always cherished certain ideals about our justice system. You may win or [...]