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Attorneys general send letter of warning to file-sharing companies Chris Buell on 8/6/2004 02:15:56 PM Attorneys general for 45 states threatened seven file-sharing companies Friday that they could face legal consequences if they don't warn users of potential copyright infringement through sharing files. The letter was signed by attorneys general from every state except Alaska, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire and Wyoming. Some experts questioned what authority the state officials could use in legal action against the file-sharing companies. AP has more.  Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Former East German leaders convicted for Berlin Wall shootings Chris Buell on 8/6/2004 01:35:03 PM Two former East German leaders were found guilty Friday of allowing guards along the Berlin Wall to shoot people trying to cross the barrier, and the two were sentenced to a year of probation. Hans-Joachim Boehme and Siegfried Lorenz had been previously cleared in 2000, but that ruling was struck down and a retrial ordered. Both men were former members of the ruling Politburo, which had established the shoot-to-kill policy along the Berlin Wall. The trial could be the final high-profile case involving former East German leaders. Deutsche Welle has local coverage. AP has more. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Grand jury reviewing Columbine investigation subpoenas former sheriff Chris Buell on 8/6/2004 01:02:36 PM A grand jury reviewing the police investigation into the 1999 Columbine school shootings met for the first time Friday and subpoenaed former Jefferson County Sheriff John Stone and other officials. The grand jury is part of a larger investigation by Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar into whether the sheriff's department could have prevented the killings based on earlier complaints about the two shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. An earlier report by the attorney general on the investigation is available here [PDF]. AP has the full story. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Russian court strikes down government seizure of Yukos stock Chris Buell on 8/6/2004 12:41:54 PM A Moscow Arbitration Court ruled Friday that the government could not legally seize shares of a Yukos subsidiary to satisfy the billions in taxes the company is alleged to owe. Bailiffs seized shares of Yuganskneftegaz, a production company responsible for about 60 percent of Yukos oil. Yukos has warned that it would be forced into bankruptcy if the government seizes Yuganskneftegaz. See this previous Paper Chase report for more on the case against Yukos. Russia Journal has ongoing coverage of the case. AP has more. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 FBI raids home in Anthrax investigation; doctor charged with assault Chris Buell on 8/6/2004 11:40:12 AM The FBI has raided the Wellsville, NY, home of a doctor who applied for a patent of a system to identify biological attacks in the wake of the 2001 anthrax mailings. Dr. Kenneth M. Berry was charged with assault after allegedly fighting with family members at a hotel where he was staying. FBI agents investigating the mailings that resulted in five deaths and 17 other infections raided Berry's home and his parents' summer home, removing material from both. Berry's father said that Berry knew Dr. Steven Hatfill, a scientist that the government previously said was a person of interest in the case. AP has more. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 England defense seeks to call top US commander in Iraq Chris Buell on 8/6/2004 10:59:38 AM The defense lawyer representing Pfc. Lynndie England in her Article 32 hearing asked Friday whether he could call to the witness stand the top US commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, along with another officer who ran Abu Ghraib prison at the time of the alleged abuses. The military judge, Col. Denise Arn, said the issue would be resolved later. The hearing is being held to determine whether England should be court-martialed on counts of abusing detainees and sexually explicit photos. Court officials prepared to hear testimony Saturday if necessary. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of the hearings. AP has the full story. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Parmalat files suit against Swiss bank UBS Chris Buell on 8/6/2004 10:38:32 AM Parmalat announced Friday that it has filed a lawsuit against UBS seeking $350 million in damages in connection with the Italian dairy corporation's recent fraud scandal. Parmalat, which filed the suit in Parma, Italy, said the claim stemmed from loans granted by the financial services firm in July 2003. Parmalat filed suit last week against Citigroup, as the company sought to recover from third parties in the fallout of the corporate scandal. A Parmalat press release is available here [PDF]. AP has more. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Bahrain calls for investigation into alleged torture of Gitmo detainee Chris Buell on 8/6/2004 10:10:42 AM A Bahrain foreign ministry official said Friday that his government had formally requested that the US open an investigation into allegations that a Bahraini prisoner at Guantanamo Bay had been tortured. The Bahrain Embassy in the US had been instructed to file the request. A report by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights reported that Juma al-Dossary had been tortured, citing statements by three recently released British detainees that al-Dossary had been repeatedly beaten by guards. Six Bahrainis have been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002. The Bahrain Tribune has local coverage. Reuters has the full story. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Alabama executes 74-year-old man for 1977 murder Chris Buell on 8/6/2004 09:51:10 AM Alabama has executed a 74-year-old inmate after the US Supreme Court and the state governor refused to block the execution. James Hubbard, who was put to death Thursday night, is the oldest person to be executed in the US since 1941. Earlier Thursday, the Supreme Court refused to grant a stay [PDF] for Hubbard by a 5-4 vote. Hubbard was convicted for the 1977 murder of a woman who befriended him after he was released from prison for an earlier murder. See this Paper Chase report for background. AP has the full story. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Israel reopens border between Gaza and Egypt Chris Buell on 8/6/2004 09:34:23 AM Israel reopened the Gaza-Egypt border Friday, allowing about 1,500 Palestinians stranded during the three-week closure to return home. Israel shut down the border at Rafah on July 19, citing intelligence that militants had dug a tunnel underneath the station and were planning to place a bomb there. US pressure led in part to Israel's decision to reopen the border. Israel offered to open up alternative border crossings, but Palestinians refused to use them as it would have required them to travel through Israel before returning to Gaza. Haaretz has local coverage of the story. AP has more. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 UK terrorism suspect charged, faces extradition to US Chris Buell on 8/6/2004 09:13:20 AM Following up on a story reported Thursday on JURIST's Paper Chase, a British man arrested Thursday faces extradition to the US on terrorism charges connected to Chechnya and Afghanistan. The US also alleged that Babar Ahmad was in possession of a US Navy battle group plan dated from April 2001, which could have left the US ships vulnerable to attack. Ahmad was formally charged Friday, including allegations that he sought to solicit money in support of terrorist groups operating in Chechnya and Afghanistan. CNN has more. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Law in the major papers ~ Friday, August 6 Rebecca Wolford on 8/6/2004 09:01:38 AM Friday's New York Times notes that the Gitmo detainee hearings have begun, law enforcement officials Thursday arrested a man who they say was plotting to blow up a federal building with a truck bomb, and former finance employees at the Halliburton Company contend that high-level and systemic accounting fraud occurred. The Washington Post reports on a 74-year-old man executed in Alabama, updates on the arrests of two Mosque leaders in Albany, NY, and the Utah man accused of killing his pregnant wife. The Los Angeles Times highlights scrutiny of Florida touch-screen voting systems, the search of a doctor's home in connection with the 2001 Anthrax-tainted mailings, and pressure on the NIH to stop accepting money from the private drug industry. USA Today highlights a former top Enron executive's guilty plea to manipulating the energy markets during the California power crisis, and crime lab experts' claims that a technician misread a blood test in 1987 and caused a Texas man wrongly imprisoned on rape charges. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 US law and business press review ~ Friday, August 6 Maryam Shad on 8/6/2004 08:01:14 AM In Friday's US law and business press, the ABA Journal reports on the comparatively large number of decisions regarding presidential power issued by the US Supreme Court in its recently concluded term.... The Legal Intelligencer reports on a PA federal judge's refusal to grant a new trial in a libel suit brought by a Philadelphia pharmacy against The New York Times.... According to the Associated Press, a FL judge recently pretended to resign on live television in order to free an attorney taken hostage by a man who was unhappy with the outcome of a domestic violence case.... The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that Cox Communications Inc. is the target of nine lawsuits in response to the company's proposal to go private in an $8 billion buyout.... The Recorder reports on the CA Supreme Court's rejection of a bulk wine producer's attempt to market under the Napa name wines made from grapes grown in other regions of CA.... FindLaw's Writ has Hastings law professor Vikram David Amar's commentary on the Marriage Protection Act, recently passed by the US House of Representatives, as well as author Stanley Kutler's book review of G. Edward White's Alger Hiss's Looking-Glass Wars: The Covert Life Of A Soviet Spy. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Law in the foreign press ~ Friday, August 6 Zak Shusterman on 8/6/2004 12:05:07 AM Some legal stories featured in Friday's foreign press.... The Australian follows the conviction and sentencing of Fiji's Vice President for participating in a 2000 coup. The coup replaced Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister.... Israel's Haaretz features a Supreme Court decision requiring the Government Press Office to grant press credentials to Palestinian journalists. The credentials, required to cover official events and to access government buildings, were being denied to even those Palestinians who passed strict security checks.... In Pakistan, the Daily Times reviews proposed amendments to the 2002 Defamation Ordinance. Prime Minister Hussain has ruled out any changes that would target journalists specifically. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 August 6: This day at law ~ President Johnson signed Voting Rights Act into law Bernard Hibbitts on 8/6/2004 12:01:42 AM On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, guaranteeing voting rights for black citizens. Learn more about federal voting rights laws. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004
DOJ expands investigation into former Halliburton employees Chris Buell on 8/5/2004 09:44:01 PM A Department of Justice probe into alleged bribes taken by former Halliburton Co. employees has been expanded, according to papers filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The investigation originally focused on Jack Stanley, former executive of Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root Inc., and his involvement in a gas liquefication plant in Nigeria. According to the company, the investigation has been expanded to include other projects. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on the DOJ's investigation. The Washington Post has more. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 US soldier sentenced to three years in prison for killing Iraqi man Chris Buell on 8/5/2004 09:20:51 PM A US soldier was convicted Thursday of voluntary manslaughter for killing an unarmed Iraqi man, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin is reporting. Pfc. Edward Richmond, who is based out of Hawaii, was sentenced to three years in prison and dishonorable discharge by a panel of five officers and five enlisted soldiers after a two-day court-martial hearing. Richmond originally faced an unpremeditated murder charge, which carries a maximum life sentence. The Star-Bulletin has more on the court-martial proceedings. Aljazeera has the full story. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Former Enron executive enters plea agreement with government Chris Buell on 8/5/2004 08:13:37 PM Former Enron Corp. energy trader John Forney pleaded guilty Thursday to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and agreed to cooperate in the government investigation into Enron and other energy companies' actions during the California power crisis. Forney, who was charged with 11 counts originally, became the third executive to agree to a plea bargain in the government's ongoing investigation. View the original indictment here [PDF]. The US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced the plea bargain with a press release. The full plea agreement can be found here [PDF]. Reuters has the full story. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Appeals filed in case of Swedish Foreign Minister murder Jeannie Shawl on 8/5/2004 03:51:44 PM Mijailo Mijailovic, who was convicted of murdering Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, and Sweden's chief prosecutor have both filed appeals in the case. Mijailovic asked the country's Supreme Court to reverse the conviction, arguing that he had not meant to kill Lindh. Prosecutor General Fredrik Wersaell asked the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court decision changing Mijailovic's life prison sentence to psychiatric care. AFP has the full story. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 BREAKING NEWS ~ US terrorism suspect arrested in London Jeannie Shawl on 8/5/2004 03:28:12 PM AP is reporting that British police have arrested a man who is wanted on terrorism charges in the US. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Federal judge agrees to hear due process claim in Indian banishment case Jeannie Shawl on 8/5/2004 03:12:12 PM US District Judge Robert Coyle has agreed to hear the case of two American Indian women who were banished from the Tachi-Yokut Tribe to determine whether the tribe's decision to banish the women violated their due process rights. The tribe, as an independent government, has the power to decide who belongs and who doesn't, but under the Indian Civil Rights Act, a plaintiff can appeal to federal court on due process grounds when they have been unjustly imprisoned. Judge Coyle found that banishment restricts movement by forbidding the plaintiffs from visiting tribal lands and is akin to imprisonment. AP has the full story. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Israeli high court says qualified Palestinian journalists must be given accreditation Jeannie Shawl on 8/5/2004 01:59:56 PM Israel's Supreme Court ruled Thursday that government authorities must grant qualified Palestinian journalists accreditation to work in Israel, dismissing arguments by Israel's Government Press Office that some Palestinian journalists pose a security threat and that their coverage is biased against Israel. The Supreme Court upheld its earlier decision that Palestinian journalists who pass a security check and have permits to work in Israel must be granted accreditation, saying "there is no requirement of [government officials] to give a press card to every person. They are required to act reasonably, without discrimination, according to relevant considerations, while keeping in mind and noting the interests that are harmed as a result of their decisions." AP has the full story. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 BREAKING NEWS ~ Arrest made in plot to blow up federal courthouse Jeannie Shawl on 8/5/2004 01:44:32 PM AP is reporting that a Chicago man has been arrested on charges of plotting to use a fertilizer truck bomb to blow up Chicago's downtown federal courthouse. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Guantanamo abuse could be war crimes, ICRC says Jeannie Shawl on 8/5/2004 01:23:51 PM Reacting to a newly released report detailing allegations of abuse suffered by three British prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the International Committee of the Red Cross said that, if true, the abuses could amount to war crimes. According to an ICRC spokesman "some of the abuses alleged by the detainees would indeed constitute inhuman treatment," and "inhuman treatment constitutes a grave breach of the third Geneva Convention and these are often also described as war crimes." Thursday's Guardian has the full story. For more on the abuse allegations, see this previous report on JURIST's Paper Chase. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Media allowed access to Guantanamo tribunals Jeannie Shawl on 8/5/2004 12:08:59 PM Beginning Thursday, journalists will be allowed to watch Combatant Status Review Tribunals for terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay. Military officials are scheduled to release information on the first eight hearings Thursday afternoon. Since the hearings began last Friday, five of eight detainees have refused to appear before the three-member panel, which could reverse assessments that detainees should be deemed "enemy combatants," a classification that provides detainees fewer legal protections under international law. AP has the full story. Read the order [PDF] establishing Combatant Status Review Tribunals and a Defense Department fact sheet [PDF] on the tribunals. UPDATE: During Thursday's hearing, an Afghan detainee admitted to having a Taliban-issued rifle, but said it was forced upon him and that he never fought against Americans. The detainee also stated that he surrendered when he heard there would be a surrender agreement, saying "there should be a difference between someone who surrenders himself and someone who fights against Americans." AP has more. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Russian justice ministry recalls decision allowing Yukos access to bank accounts Jeannie Shawl on 8/5/2004 11:27:29 AM Russia's justice ministry said Thursday that, despite previous reports (see this report on JURIST's Paper Chase), it does not intend to allow Russian oil giant Yukos to have access to its current accounts to keep day-to-day operations running, which would enable Yukos to pay the balance of its $3.4 billion bill for back taxes. According to a statement, "the justice ministry bailiffs never reached a decision about allowing NK Yukos to make monthly payments or of keeping its current affairs operational." The justice ministry also said that it has received orders to seize Yukos property in 20 of Russia's 88 regions. The decision opening up access to Yukos' accounts was issued erroneously, and the justice ministry accused Yukos chiefs of trying to "pressure and blackmail the state" by making the statement public late Wednesday. AFP has the full story. The Russia Journal provides ongoing coverage of Yukos' legal difficulties. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Abu Ghraib prisoners ordered hidden from ICRC, court told Jeannie Shawl on 8/5/2004 10:50:01 AM Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Ward testified during Lynndie England's Article 32 hearing (see this previous report on JURIST's Paper Chase for more) that military intelligence officials at the Abu Ghraib prison ordered military police to keep several detainees hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross. Ward said that he was ordered to steer the ICRC away from certain detainees during at least three official visits. Ward's testimony is in line with the Army's Taguba report [PDF], which said that some detainees were being kept secretly in violation of international law. Thursday's Washington Post has the full story. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Law in the foreign press ~ Thursday, August 5 Zak Shusterman on 8/5/2004 10:30:00 AM A few of the legal stories featured in Thursday's foreign press.... Azerbaijan's Baku Today reports President Aliyev has approved new laws on Intelligence Services and National Security. The legislation defines and regulates aspects of intelligence gathering, counter intelligence activities, and parameters of national security.... In India, The Hindu covers violent protests calling for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The law gives extensive powers to Indian security forces combating the separatist movement in Manipur.... Israel's Jerusalem Post features a newly enacted law criminalizing the sale of tobacco products to minors. The legislation satisfies Israel's commitment to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which Israel ratified last year. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Suspected deserter meets with US military lawyer Jeannie Shawl on 8/5/2004 10:25:03 AM Accused Army deserter Charles Jenkins met with a US military lawyer Thursday to discuss his legal options, which include facing a court-martial or seeking a plea-bargain. Jenkins, who abandoned his South Korean post in 1965 and defected to North Korea, faces several possible charges, including desertion, aiding the enemy and encouraging other soldiers to desert their posts. AP has the full story. JURIST's Paper Chase has additional background. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 Danish officer charged for mistreating Iraqi prisoners Jeannie Shawl on 8/5/2004 10:00:32 AM Capt. Annemette Hommel, a Danish army intelligence officer, was charged Thursday with four counts of negligence arising from alleged mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners. Hommel allegedly denied food and water to detainees, forced them to sit in "painful positions" and verbally humiliated them. Hommel has denied the charges and said that her actions were well within the Geneva Conventions. AP has the full story. JURIST's Paper Chase has more on the Danish investigation into allegations of abuse. Read the latest legal news | link this post | e-mail this post | IM this post | go to JURIST Edited at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law | JURIST's Paper Chase © 2004 | ||
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