http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/ JURIST's weblog of legal news and resources worth thinking about, by Professor Bernard Hibbitts and law students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00 en-US http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/11/federal-judge-orders-health-benefits.php [JURIST] A judge for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] on Thursday ordered [text, PDF] the director of the Administrative Office of the US Courts (AO) [official website] to provide health benefits to the same-sex spouse of a federal employee. Karen Golinski, the federal court employee who sued for the benefits, was married in California during the six-month period 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/11/done-after-5-month-delay-senate.php [JURIST] The US Senate [official website] on Thursday voted 59-39 [roll call vote] to confirm Judge David Hamilton to the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website], overcoming Republican opposition to secure President Barack Obama's first and longest-delayed judicial nominee. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website] said a Republican 2009-11-20T12:19:00-05:00 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/11/somalia-announces-intent-to-ratify-un.php [JURIST] The Somali Transitional Federal Government [official website] on Friday announced its intention to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) [official website], which, if successful, would make the US the only UN member state not to have done so. The UN International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) [official website] welcomed [Xinhua report] the announcement that 2009-11-20T10:15:00-05:00 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/11/ninth-circuit-upholds-ruling-to-block.php [JURIST] A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] on Thursday affirmed [opinion, PDF] a lower court's denial [JURIST report] of a conservative advocacy group's motion to intervene in a challenge to Proposition 8 [text, PDF], California's constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive]. The appeals court held that the district 2009-11-20T09:43:00-05:00 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/11/new-york-high-court-rules-same-sex.php [JURIST] The New York Court of Appeals [official website] on Thursday dismissed a challenge [opinion, PDF] to two policies that provide benefits to same-sex couples married outside of the state. The first policy was a 2006 decision by the Westchester County executive to extend benefits to same-sex spouses of county employees. The second policy was a 2006 decision [memorandum, PDF] by the 2009-11-20T08:21:00-05:00 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/11/uk-court-orders-release-of-details-of.php [JURIST] The UK High Court ruled [judgment text] Thursday that the details of the detention of Binyam Mohamed [JURIST news archive] in Pakistan in 2002 must be released. This most recent decision is the latest in a series of back and forth rulings on whether redacted materials regarding Mohamed's detention should be disclosed. An October interim ruling [JURIST report] by Lord Justice Thomas and 2009-11-19T14:38:00-05:00 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/11/federal-judge-finds-army-corps-of.php [JURIST] A judge in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana [official website] on Wednesday found [text, PDF] the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) [official website] negligent in its operation and maintenance of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MRGO) [USACE backgrounder]. Damages nearing $720,000 were awarded to five plaintiffs [case materials], who successfully 2009-11-19T10:35:00-05:00 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/11/ninth-circuit-orders-back-pay-for.php [JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ordered [text, PDF] the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California (FPD) [official website] on Wednesday to pay a monetary award to a man denied healthcare benefits for his same-sex spouse. Deputy federal public defender Brad Levenson brought the suit requesting the court to direct the FPD 2009-11-19T09:14:00-05:00 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/11/federal-judge-rules-against-military.php [JURIST] A federal judge on Wednesday ruled [opinion, PDF] that former Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Ahmed Ghailani [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive] does not have a right to be represented by his military defense lawyers in a civilian court. Military lawyers Colonel Jeffrey Colwell and Major Richard Reiter were reassigned by the Department of Defense [official 2009-11-19T08:10:00-05:00 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/11/cuba-continues-political-repression.php [JURIST] The Cuban government of Raul Castro [BBC profile] has continued to repress dissidents and violate fundamental civil liberties of Cubans, maintaining the mechanisms put in place by Fidel Castro [BBC profile], according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] report [text, PDF; press release] released on Wednesday. Specifically, HRW reported that 53 political dissidents imprisoned 2009-11-19T07:20:00-05:00 2009-11-20T13:03:00-05:00