A special panel of federal judges on Tuesday ordered [opinion, PDF; opinion summary, PDF] California to reduce its prison population by nearly 43,000 inmates, finding that the prisons are overcrowded. Two inmates had brought a challenge against the state´s prison system, alleging that the overcrowding had resulted in a failure to provide [Los Angeles Times report] adequate physical and mental health care, depriving them of their constitutional rights. The panel agreed, concluding:
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website] filed fraud charges [complaint, PDF] Tuesday against General Electric Co. (GE) [corporate website], resulting in GE agreeing to pay a $50 million settlement [press release]. The SEC accused GE of misleading investors in 2003 and 2003 by reporting false and misleading information in its financial statements. GE accounting executives allegedly approved accounting that did not comply with generally accepted accounting principles on four separate occasions. GE did not admit or deny the SEC´s allegations, but agreed to pay $50 million and refrain from violating federal securities law. In a statement [text], GE said:
President Barack Obama is still searching for the right person to lead the fight against an epidemic of cybercrime, the White House said on Tuesday as it came under fire following the resignation of a top cybersecurity adviser.
Niger held a referendum Tuesday on a proposed constitution that would allow President Mamadou Tandja [BBC profile] to remain in office. Tandja had previously promised to step down when his second five-year term expires in December, but if the new constitution is approved, he will be allowed to remain in office for three more years [AFP report] and could then run for re-election as many times as he wants.
The UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights [official website] released a report [text] Tuesday calling for an independent inquiry into allegations regarding government complicity in the torture of UK terrorism suspects in Pakistan and elsewhere. Maintaining that complicity in torture is a violation of international human rights obligations, the committee examined how complicity can be defined and reported a large number of "credible allegations" of such conduct.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website] on Monday charged Bank of America [corporate website] with misleading investors [complaint, PDF] regarding billions of dollars paid to Merrill Lynch [corporate website] executives during the acquisition of the firm. The complaint alleges that, during the merger of the companies, the agreement for BOA to allow Merrill Lynch to pay discretionary bonuses was located in a separate document that was not disclosed prior to the shareholders´ vote on the merger.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il [BBC profile] on Tuesday pardoned US journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee [BBC profile] during a visit from former US president Bill Clinton [official profile], according to a state media report. The journalists were arrested [JURIST report] in March for allegedly crossing into North Korea while reporting on North Korean defectors for Current TV [media website] and were subsequently charged with unspecified "hostile acts." They were sentenced [JURIST report] in June in North Korea´s Pyongyang Central Court to 12 years in labor camps [KCNA report, in Korean]. The journalists are expected to fly back to the US with Clinton soon, and there are hopes that this will pave the way for renewed disarmament talks [Los Angeles Times report] between the two countries.
The chief executive of Google today resigned from the board of Apple amid concerns the search engine giant is now a direct competitor to the iPod manufacturer. Eric Schmidt´s exit from the company was described by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs as a mutual decision.
A 17-year-old from Michigan has filed a lawsuit against e-commerce powerhouse Amazon after it deleted a book he had purchased for his Kindle device. The high school student, Justin D. Gawronski, filed suit in a Seattle court along with California resident Antoine J. Bruguier, and they are seeking class action status.
The Constitutional Tribunal of Portugal [official website, in Portuguese] ruled [press release, in Portuguese] 3-2 Friday that same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] is not a right guaranteed by the Portuguese Constitution [text], denying an appeal by a lesbian couple claiming sexual orientation discrimination. For the tribunal, the issue was not whether the constitution allows a framework for same=sex marriage, but rather whether the constitution requires the recognition of unions between members of the same sex as marriages.
The Iraqi government [official website, in Arabic] announced on Friday the drafting of a law that proposes a framework to safeguard Iraqi journalists. The proposed law [AFP report] would offer greater protection to staff journalists than to freelancers and would criminalize attacks against a journalist on the job. The bill details compensation that journalists would receive for injuries sustained on duty and that journalists´ families would be entitled to if the journalist were killed on the job.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] on Friday declared [judgment, PDF] that former president Pervez Musharraf [official profile; JURIST news archive] violated the Constitution of Pakistan [text] when he declared emergency rule [proclamation, PDF] in November 2007. The court found that Musharraf´s removal [JURIST report] of many members of the country´s judiciary, including current Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry [official profile; JURIST news archive], and subsequent appointment of Abdul Hameed Dogar [JURIST news archive] as chief justice was unconstitutional and, as a result, judges appointed in consultation with Dogar were removed from office.
Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega [official profile, in Spanish] on Thursday proposed legislation [press release, in Spanish] to limit the media´s freedom of expression in certain circumstances, citing the importance of national security. Under the proposed law, journalists could face up to four years in prison for "threatening the social peace, security and independence of the nation, public order, stability of state institutions, mental health, and public morals and for generating a climate of impunity or insecurity.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] on Friday reversed [opinion, PDF] a lower court ruling that had dismissed a discrimination lawsuit filed by more than 200 African-American members of the Capitol Police [official website] in 2001. The issue involved whether the officers had adequately pursued mediation through the Office of Compliance [official website] before taking legal action, as required by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) [text].
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] on Thursday ordered [text, PDF] that Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed Jawad [ACLU materials; JURIST news archive] be released prior to August 24. Largely adopting a proposed order [text, PDF] filed by the government on Wednesday, Judge Ellen Huvelle granted Jawad´s habeas corpus petition, giving the government seven days to submit a report to Congress detailing any risk to national security presented by the release and providing a 15-day congressional notice period, as required by the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009 (SAA) [text]. Jonathon Hafetz, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] National Security Project representing Jawad, welcomed the decision, saying:
The US House Judiciary Committee [official website] voted 16-9 Wednesday to approve [press release] a bill [HR 3245 materials] that would eliminate sentencing disparities for powder and crack cocaine offenses.
A Dutch court has ruled in favor of antipiracy foundation BREIN, giving three of The Pirate Bay´s co-founders 10 days to block traffic to and from the Netherlands, effectively revoking access to its residents.
Australian rock band Men at Work suffered a blow in a copyright battle over their hit song “Down Under,” a favorite in pubs and clubs across the world.
Hedge fund manager Mark Bloom pleaded guilty to U.S. charges that he stole at least $20 million from clients and lied to them, and that he helped sell illegal tax shelters while working earlier at BDO Seidman LLP.
Families who help terminally ill relatives to end their lives will be free from the risk of prosecution after a landmark ruling yesterday. The Director of Public Prosecutions is to rush out urgent guidance to clarify the law after Debbie Purdy, a multiple sclerosis sufferer, won an historic judgment from the House of Lords.
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