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[JURIST] Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, lawyer for Canadian Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr [DOD materials; JURIST news archive], said on Monday that he has filed three separate motions to dismiss the case against his client due to alleged government misconduct. In the first motion, Kuebler alleged that government policy encouraged interrogators to destroy notes [JURIST report] that could have

[JURIST] US President George Bush on Monday signed [press release] into law the Libyan Claims Resolution Act [text], which allows the Secretary of State to settle remaining civil claims brought by US citizens against Libya for bombings allegedly carried out in the late 1980s. The bill is seen as an effort to improve relations between the two countries and would provide Libya immunity from civil

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit [official website] held [opinion, PDF] on Monday that federal courts must rule on an international petition for child repatriation unless a state court has already fully considered and ruled on the petition. The ruling came in a case involving a father's petition under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (ICARA) [text] seeking to

[JURIST] Florida House of Representatives [official website] Speaker Marco Rubio [official website] announced on Monday that the House will join the state of Florida in defending a challenge to a law [CS/CS/SB 1310 materials] requiring travel agencies booking flights to Cuba to post a bond ten times greater than that of other agencies. Proponents of the law state that it is in keeping with the

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled [opinion, PDF] Monday that a former Temple University [official website] sexual harassment policy was unconstitutionally broad and violated the freedom of expression of graduate student Christian DeJohn [case fact sheet, PDF]. DeJohn submitted his complaint [text, PDF] against the university in February 2006, alleging that the school's

[JURIST] JURIST and University of Pittsburgh School of Law Dean Mary Crossley invite JURIST readers in New York City to join us Friday, August 8 at 5 PM at The Paley Center (formerly the Museum of Television and Radio], 25 West 52nd St., for a reception held in conjunction with the American Bar Association's 2008 Annual Meeting. The event is free and open to the public. Hear and meet JURIST

[JURIST] US Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) [official websites] have introduced a bill [S. 3401 summary, PDF; press release] designed to establish a procedure for all habeas corpus petitions made by Guantanamo detainees. The Enemy Combatant Detention Review Act of 2008 responds to recently raised concerns by US Attorney General Michael Mukasey [official website; JURIST

[JURIST] US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher [official profile] Sunday called [statement text] on the government of Sri Lanka [JURIST news archive] to provide better human rights protections [2008 DOS human rights report] as it fights separatist rebels from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) [official website; CFR backgrounder]. Speaking at

[JURIST] The US-led Multi-National Force-Iraq [official website] announced Saturday that it has charged [press release] two US soldiers with premeditated murder, assault, making a false official statement and obstruction of justice in connection with the death of an Iraqi detainee. Staff Sgt. Hal M. Warner and First Lt. Michael C. Behenna, members of the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry stationed at

[JURIST] A judge in an Egyptian court Saturday convicted a prominent human rights activist and outspoken critic of President Hosni Mubarak in absentia of defaming Egypt and sentenced him to two years in prison. Saad Eddin Ibrahim [profile], a dual US and Egyptian citizen who is a professor of sociology at the American University in Cairo and who founded the Ibn Khaldoun Centre for Development

[JURIST] The US military said Saturday that it has released over 10,000 Iraqi detainees [JURIST news archive] this past year. Gen. David H. Petraeus [official profile] was quoted by AP as saying the releases are part of a program to prepare detainees for re-integration into society. Petraeus also said the recidivism rate for released detainees is less than 1 percent. The announcement comes after

[JURIST] Judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled [opinion, PDF] Friday that federal courts have jurisdiction over cases in which 100 or more plaintiffs bring related claims. The case involves 144 plaintiffs claiming injuries from chemicals released by the manufacturing practices of four companies. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that state courts should hear

[JURIST] A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Friday reversed a lower court's grant of summary judgment [opinion, PDF] against Cheryl Steele, a former economist at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) [official website] who had filed a lawsuit alleging a hostile work environment and unlawful retaliation against her in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights

[JURIST] Judges for California's Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Diego ruled [opinion, PDF; case materials] Thursday that challenged provisions of California's Medical Marijuana Program (MMP) [materials] are constitutional and do not violate the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) [text]. The counties of San Diego and San Bernardino had argued that certain provisions of the MMP were

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced Friday that it will pay former US Army germ-warfare researcher Dr. Steven Hatfill [WP profile] $2.8 million to settle his claim that the DOJ violated the US Privacy Act [text] by providing information about him to journalists during its investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks [GWU backgrounder], in which he was at one

[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Thursday obtained and made available a government handbook [PDF download; press release] issued to the lawyers defending the illegal immigrants arrested in May during the massive raid on an Agriprocessors Inc. [corporate website] meatpacking plant in Iowa. The document contains pre-printed forms with blanks for the defendants' names, along

[JURIST] The US Senate passed a bill [HR 4040 text, PDF; Senate amendments, PDF] late on Thursday designed to increase the safety of children's products by mandating new safety rules and restricting the kinds of materials which may be used. The legislation establishes a maximum level of lead, bans certain plastics, requires independent product testing and labeling, and strengthens the authority

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] on Thursday affirmed [decision; PDF] a decision to dismiss claims filed by fifteen current and former inmates alleging that various employees of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) [official website] violated their constitutional rights when they confiscated inmates' legal materials. After a DOC inmate filed

[JURIST] California Attorney General Jerry Brown [official website] formally notified [letter, PDF; press release] the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] Thursday that the state would file a lawsuit against the agency if it refused to issue rules regulating greenhouse gas emissions from ships, aircraft, industrial and agricultural machinery, and other vehicles. Brown said

[JURIST] Officials for United Airlines [corporate website] filed a lawsuit [press release] Wednesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking to ban pilots' union Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) [official website] and four pilots from causing flight cancellations. The suit alleges that ALPA and the pilots have organized sick-leave abuse movements in protest to