In a JURIST Forum special, JURIST Contributing Editor William G. Ross, Professor of Law at Samford University's Cumberland School of Law in Alabama, reviews the second day of the Senate confirmation hearings for US Chief Justice nominee John Roberts, and suggests that the eleven hours of testimony were as remarkable for the key questions Senators [...]

Capt. Christopher M. Beiring, an army officer from the 377th Military Police Company, was charged Tuesday with dereliction of duty and making a false official statement in connection with an ongoing investigation into prisoner abuse at the Bagram Air Base detention facility in Afghanistan . Two other soldiers from Beiring's unit, Staff Sgt. Brian L. [...]

A Russian court began hearing the appeal Wednesday of former Yukos oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky , who is in jail for tax evasion, fraud and embezzlement. In May, Khodorkovsky was found guilty on seven charges , and received a nine-year sentence . Last month, Khodorkovsky announced his intention to run for the Russian parliament ; [...]

Jane Doe I et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Superior Court of California, September 13, 2005 . Read the full text of the complaint . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, Washington Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzalez ruled that former Microsoft executive Kai-Fu Lee can work for Google . The ruling allows Dr. Lee to work for Google China so long as he does not recruit from Microsoft or use knowledge he gained while working there. The ruling lifts [...]

Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti announced Tuesday that he had filed 34 charges of negligent homicide against the husband and wife co-owners of a nursing home in St. Bernard Parish near New Orleans where 34 people drowned in flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina . Foti said St. Rita's Nursing Home had an evacuation plan that [...]

Workers in six countries filed a class action lawsuit in California Tuesday against retail giant Wal-Mart , alleging illegal sweatshop conditions in the company's toy and clothing factories. The non-US claims cite that the workers were paid below minimum wage, forced to work unpaid overtime and had to endure beatings by supervisors. The complaint also [...]

The UN General Assembly ended its session Tuesday by approving a draft agreement for the UN's 2005 World Summit , scheduled to begin Wednesday in New York. The watered-down agreement reflects consensus on several issues , including a pledge to establish a new human rights council, the obligation to intervene when civilians become the victims [...]

Following up on earlier questions about abortion , members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday pressed Chief Justice nominee John Roberts for his views on civil rights, torture, and the use of foreign law as precedent. Challenged by Senator Edward Kennedy on his allegedly lukewarm views of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Roberts said [...]

B'nai Brith Canada officials said Tuesday that they are considering a constitutional challenge to the Ontario ban on rabbinical courts imposed by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty , arguing that the ban may limit freedom of religion. The premier ordered the ban on all faith-based arbitration Sunday following his rejection of a government report that has [...]