Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Thursday, Feb. 3. The US Senate convenes at 9:00 AM ET today, and it is expected to vote on the nomination of Alberto Gonzales for attorney general. Watch a live webcast via C-SPAN 2. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for [...]

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ACLU, et al. v. Department of Defense, et al., United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, February 2, 2005 . Excerpt: I hold that defendant CIA has failed to satisfy the statutory prerequisites for invoking the operational files exemption, and hence may not avoid the requirements imposed [...]

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Little more than two weeks after telling the Washington Post that he would not press the Senate to pass a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, President Bush has publicly reversed course in tonight's State of the Union Address:Because marriage is a sacred institution and the foundation of society, it should not be re-defined by [...]

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The plaintiffs in a major lawsuit against former directors of WorldCom announced Wednesday that a proposed settlement under which the directors would have personally repaid company investors $18 million of a $54 million total has broken down. The collapse resulted from US District Judge Denise Cote's ruling earlier in the day that conflicted with a [...]

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The US House of Representatives passed a resolution Wednesday urging the federal government to appeal a recent 3rd Circuit opinion that struck down a law that prohibited colleges and universities to limit on-campus military recruiting because of its discrimination against homosexuals. The law, commonly known as the Solomon Act , permits the government to deny [...]

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Senator John McCain announced Wednesday that he was launching a new initiative to tighten campaign finance laws to curb big interest-group donations to congressional and presidential campaigns. McCain appears to have gained an ally in Senator Trent Lott , chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. Lott voted against campaign finance reform in 2002, but changed [...]

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Malaysian officials extended Malaysia's amnesty for illegal immigrants indefinitely Wednesday based on a request from Indonesia, according to Home Minister Azmi Khalid. Indonesia, whose citizens make up a majority of illegal immigrants in Malaysia, asked that the amnesty be extended in light of the recent tsunami disaster . AFP has more However, Deputy Prime Minister [...]

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Members of the Idaho Senate voted against a proposal to ban same-sex marriages Wednesday for the second consecutive year. The defeated measure would have amended the Idaho Constitution to read: SECTION 28. MARRIAGE. Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. This state [...]

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