The US Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear Oregon v. Guzek (docket 04-928), a death sentence case involving a convicted murderer's efforts to bring evidence into his sentencing hearing that would cast doubt on the conviction. A ruling here could clarify the Supreme Court's 1988 decision in Franklin v. Lynaugh ; it could also have [...]

Following yet another interruption because of his health problems, the war crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic resumed Monday at the International Court Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia . Milosevic stayed out of court late last week after doctors warned him that he was at risk of a heart attack as his blood [...]

The Legislative Commission of the National People's Congress of China has presented a draft interpretation of Hong Kong's Basic Law that would permit a new Hong Kong Chief Executive to be elected to the remainder of the original executive term of his predecessor if that is cut short. Opposition leaders in Hong Kong are alleging [...]

A UK newspaper has disclosed that the legal advice rendered to Prime Minister Tony Blair's government on the eve of the Iraq war included multiple caveats that were not included in a one-page summary supporting the conflict that was released to Parliament at the time. A copy of the full report by UK Attorney General [...]

The top UN investigator in Afghanistan, M. Cherif Bassiouni , has been released from his post following his issuance Thursday of a report to the UN Commission on Human Rights heavily critical of US-led military forces in Afghanistan, alleging that they had made unlawful detentions and had not allowed human rights inspectors into detention and [...]

The US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics reported Sunday that prison incarceration rates for 2003 – 2004 hit an all-time high, with nearly 2.3 percent of the population being jailed for some length of time. The study showed that while crime is decreasing, the incarceration rate is far outstripping the release rate of [...]

JURIST Special Guest Columnist William Lerach, senior partner of the Lerach Coughlin complex litigation firm headquartered in San Diego who has led the prosecution of hundreds of securities class and stockholder derivative actions recovering billions of dollars, says that the new federal class action legislation may deny justice to millions of Americans… President George W. [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Monday, April 25. The US Supreme Court hears oral arguments in two cases beginning at 10 AM ET today. In the first, Halbert v. Michigan , 03-10198, the Court will consider whether Michigan's practice of not appoint counsel to indigent [...]

Francois Roux, a French lawyer advising Aicha El Wafi, the mother of indicted US terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, the French citizen who earlier this week pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy stemming from the September 11th terrorist attacks, said Sunday he was disappointed about Moussaoui's plea but promised that the family would nonetheless "fight [...]

Senate majority leader Bill Frist, in a taped statement to be aired Sunday evening, urged conservatives to recognize that judges "deserve respect, not retaliation no matter how they rule," and defended his actions to stop Democrats from blocking conservative judicial nominations. FRC Action , the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council , and Focus [...]