JURIST Guest Columnist Darryll Jones, former criminal trial attorney for the US Army Judge Advocate General and now a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, says that the recent ruling of the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals on the validity of military commissions is not so much a victory or [...]

Following the deaths by gunfire of two prominent Sunnis involved in the constitution drafting process earlier this week, Sunni Arabs decided Thursday to continue boycotting the drafting committee, putting in jeopardy the August deadline set for the constitution's completion . Sunni committee member Kamal Hamdoun said the boycott would continue pending an international investigation into [...]

Bill C-38, An Act respecting certain aspects of legal capacity for marriage for civil purposes, signed into law July 20, 2005 . Read the full text of the law here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Jurors in the trial of 5 former Enron Corp. broadband executives Wednesday acquitted three on some charges, including insider trading, money laundering, conspiracy and security and wire fraud, but failed to reach a verdict on the remaining charges. Former CEO Joseph Hirko , strategist Scott Yeager, and software engineer Rex Shelby were charged with a [...]

Following up on a story reported this morning in JURIST’s Paper Chase, AP is reporting that in the absence of the Canadian Governor General, Canadian Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin has signed Bill C-38 into law, making Canada the fourth nation in the world to legalize gay marriage.

Two just-released Guantanamo Bay detainees told reporters Wednesday that more than 180 prisoners at the US detention facility in Cuba are 14 days or so into a hunger strike. Habir Russol and Moheb Ullah Borekzai, both from Afghanistan, indicated that the prisoners are not eating or drinking in protest of their detention and alleged mistreatment [...]

Retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has told reporters that while she approves of President Bush’s decision to nominate federal appeals court judge John Roberts to replace her on the US Supreme Court , she's somewhat disappointed that the nominee was not a woman. Justice O’Connor described Roberts as a "first rate" choice with an excellent [...]

Leading Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) will pay $125 million to settle with US regulators. The SEC and the state of New York accused CIBC of lending money to hedge funds that engaged in illegal market timing trades. In a press release, the SEC said that CIBC [...]

The US Federal Trade Commission announced Wesdnesday that five companies will pay a total of $1.16 million in fines to settle civil charges that they violated FTC anti-spam rules . The companies were targeted for sending unsolicited emails advertising pornography that didn't include the phrase "sexually explicit" in the subject line to facilitate users blocking [...]

Leading Wednesday's states brief, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed legislation today that increases school funding by $148.4 million for the upcoming school year and prohibits any state court handling a lawsuit over school funding from enforcing any order that would close schools or prevent the distribution of funds for public education . The legislation is [...]