Douglas Berman : "With the exception of a powerful opinion column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (discussed here), I have not seen much examination of racial disparities in all the debate over possible responses to Blakely and Booker.  Of course, much of the history of sentencing reform, both in the capital and non-capital arenas, has been [...]

Ellen S. Podgor, Georgia State University College of Law: "According to the Wall Street Journal, the first two witnesses testified in the trial of Bernie Ebbers, former CEO of WorldCom Inc. These two witnesses provided background information, something that is necessary when dealing with a complicated case that has charges of "conspiracy, fraud and making [...]

AP is reporting that overseas voting has started in the Iraqi elections. Polls opened to expatriate Iraqis in Australia at 7:00 AM local time on Friday, January 28. The Iraq Out-of Country Voting Program has more.

The UN committee charged with monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women released a report Thursday accusing Mexico of "grave and systemic violations" of women's rights. The Committee's criticisms of Mexico stem from hundreds of unsolved killings of women along the Mexico-US border and the fact [...]

David D'Amiano, a Democratic fund-raiser and acquaintance of former New Jersey Governor James McGreevey , was sentenced to two years in prison Thursday for his part in soliciting $40,000 in cash and political contributions in return for his help in a land deal. McGreevey was not charged in the case but this was one of [...]

Israel's Attorney General Menahem Mazuz has ruled that Israeli land parcels under the control of the Jewish National Fund and the Israel Lands Administration must be available for purchase by Arabs as well as Jews. Until now, the land was only sold to Jews. Mazuz announced the decision Wednesday in response to a petition submitted [...]

The International Mission for Iraqi Elections scheduled to monitor Sunday's elections in Iraq will not have any personnel at polling stations around Iraq itself due to security concerns. Instead, most IMIE observers will report on the election results from Amman, Jordan. Meanwhile the Iraqi electoral process is still very much in doubt as candidates have [...]

Leading Thursday's corporations and securities brief,The trial of two former Parmalat auditors, Maurizio Bianchi and Lorenzo Penca, who both worked for auditing firm Grant Thornton, began today in Milan, Italy. This is the first trial since the massive fraud scandal at the dairy giant came out. The two are charged with market rigging, providing false [...]

US Army Sgt. Javal S. Davis will plead guilty to reduced charges next week after reaching a deal with prosecutors, Davis' attorney Paul Bergrin said Thursday. Davis had been charged with maltreatment of detainees and other charges in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, but he will instead plead guilty to simple assault and making [...]

Reuters is reporting that Riggs Bank has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges and agreed to pay $16 million. The charges stem from the bank's handling of finances for diplomats and foreign officials, including former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The plea could jeopardize a takeover deal with PNC Financial Services Group . Riggs was implicated [...]