Ahmad Chalabi , currently lobbying to be Iraq's Prime Minister in the wake of the recent elections which gave his Shiite party grouping a majority of seats in the new National Assembly, has promised to bring former dictator Saddam Hussein to speedy justice. Chalabi, one of two politicians vying for the top leadership position, stated [...]

The US Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday approved S. 256, the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Prevention Act of 2005 , a measure that would make it tougher for consumers to erase debt in bankruptcy proceedings, but battle lines are being drawn on the Senate floor. Amendments will likely be introduced that further protect certain groups such [...]

Documents from US military investigators obtained by the ACLU under Freedom of Information Act provisions and released Friday suggest that US personnel engaged in widespread abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan, and that US soldiers attempted to cover up evidence of the abuses in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq last year. [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Friday, Feb. 18. On Capitol Hill, the US Senate convenes at 10 AM ET for the reading of President George Washington's farewell address from 1796. The reading is an annual tradition before the Senate recesses for President’s Day. Watch a [...]

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2005, passed by the US Senate, February 17, 2005 . Read the full text of the bill. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Iraqi prisoner who died while in US custody at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison and whose corpse was shown in photographs that emerged from the abuse scandal died in a position known as "Palestinian hanging" while under CIA interrogation, according to unspecified documents reviewed by the Associated Press and reported Thursday. Manadel al-Jamadi's death was [...]

Citing a need for additional protections in light of advances in understanding the human genetic code, the Senate on Thursday unanimously approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2005 aimed at preventing employers and health insurers from discriminating against people who have a genetic predisposition to disease. Employers will be barred from basing hiring and [...]

Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi Thursday warned the Shiite coalition victorious in last month's election against banning the Ba'ath Party formerly associated with Saddam Hussein from any involvement in government, saying that would cause even greater upheaval and unrest in the region. In an AP interview, Allawi appealed for national unity, and urged the [...]

Leading Thursday's corporations and securities law news, the SEC has concluded Bear Stearns Cos. , the sixth-largest US securities firm, violated federal laws which protect investors when it aided brokers in making illegal after-hours mutual-fund trades. The SEC may announce today that it has reached a settlement with Brean Murray & Co. , a New [...]

The US House of Representatives has approved the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 , a bill intended to curb class action lawsuits by transfering most large, multi-state class actions to federal courts. The bill now goes to President Bush for expected signature. AP has more. 2:20 PM ET – House Judiciary Committee chairman James [...]