The effort by Democratic Senators John Kerry (D-MA) , Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and others to attempt a last-minute filibuster blocking the US Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito has been met with opposition from fellow Senate Democrats who fear the strategy might backfire and adversely affect Democratic candidates in the upcoming 2006 elections. Senate [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist David Kairys of Temple University School of Law says that the Senate should fully examine Judge Samuel Alito's views on race and gender discrimination – strangely shaped in the turmoil of the 1960s – before voting on cloture or confirmation… It can be baffling, even disturbing, to discover that the pivotal period [...]

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An act relating to the jurisdiction of the Washington human rights commission, Washington Senate, January 27, 2006 . Read the full text of the bill . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Memorandum for Record – Report of Violations of the Geneva Conventions and the International Laws of Land Warfare, US Department of Defense, June 10, 2004 . Read the full text of the memorandum . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Washington State Senate on Friday passed a landmark gay civil rights bill that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, lending and employment. The legislation was approved by the House last week, but was amended in the Senate and must go back to the House for final approval, which is expected later [...]

British police Friday charged Muhedin Ali, 27, in connection with the attempt to bomb the London subway and a bus on July 21, 2005. Ali was arrested January 17 and is charged with helping another bomber, Hussein Osman, evade arrest. Ali is the 17th person charged over the attacks that failed when the bombs did [...]

The Russian Justice Ministry has asked a court to close down the Russian Human Rights Research Center, a major human rights umbrella group, based on allegations that the center has not filed reports on its activities for over five years. Valentina Melnikova, a member of the center's board, claims that the government has no basis [...]

US military forces in Iraq have detained wives of suspected insurgents in an attempt to "leverage" their husbands' surrender on at least two occasions, according to documents released by the military to the ACLU under the rights group's ongoing FOIA requests . In a May 2004 incident a mother of three young children was detained [...]

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Friday that detainees at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay who have been in the camp up to four years should have their cases heard and decided. Speaking to Associated Press at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, McCain said: "All human beings, no matter how evil they are, have [...]