Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell ordered an investigation Friday into whether political commentator Armstrong Williams improperly failed to disclose that he was paid by the Bush administration to support the president's education plan. Williams was paid $240,000 as part of a commitment the Department of Education had with public relations firm Ketchum to promote [...]

Transcript of a conversation between Justices Scalia and Breyer on foreign law in American constitutional adjudication, Washington College of Law, American University, January 13, 2005. Read the full text of the transcript here.

Daniel Tokaji, Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University: "While some advocates are looking to Congress to fix some of the problems that emerged in the 2004 election, this report from electionline.org suggests that they may have better luck in the states. House and Senate staffers suggest that Congress isn't in much of a mood [...]

Following up a JURIST report from earlier today, US Central Command has now announced that Staff Sgt. Jonathan J. Alban-Cardenas has been convicted of one count of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder during a general court-martial at the 1st Cavalry Division courthouse in Camp Liberty, Baghdad. A military judge handed down [...]

In a unanimous ruling Friday, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a state law prohibiting consensual sex between unmarried people. Read the opinion . The justices based their decision on Lawrence v. Texas , the 2003 US Supreme Court case voiding a state anti-sodomy law. As in that case, the VA Supreme Court found the [...]

Army Spc. Charles Graner was found guilty late Friday afternoon of conspiracy, assault, maltreating prisoners, dereliction of duty and committing indecent acts, all charges that arose out of the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal. The military jury in Graner's court-martial deliberated less than five hours and Graner now faces up to 17 1/2 years jail time. [...]

FOX News is reporting that after hearing arguments in a case seeking to prevent a prayer at President Bush's upcoming inauguration, US District Judge John Bates has rejected the challenge of plaintiff Michael Newdow . Read the opinion here . 4:48 PM ET – FOX News now has a story here.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Chicago-based Sidley Austin Brown & Wood , for alleged discrimination against the firm's older lawyers. The suit, which could cost the firm millions of dollars, stems from a 1999 decision to demote 31 of the firm's lawyers from "partner" status, most of whom [...]

Following up on a JURIST report from earlier today, the Ukraine Supreme Court announced Friday that on Monday morning Kyiv time it would hear the appeal filed earlier today by former Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukoych in a final attempt to halt the inauguration of rival Viktor Yushchenko . Reuters has more.

Outgoing Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge , in an interview with BBC News airing Friday, said that the US does not condone the use of torture to extract information from terrorists, but added that "under an extreme set of circumstances," where it could prevent a major loss of life, torture "could happen." Ridge's comments [...]