This is Lang Johnston with an update on today's immigration law news. As reported earlier in JURIST's Paper Chase, immigration officers today arrested hundreds of immigrants who had been working illegally at Wal-Mart stores. According to a Reuters story, law enforcement personnel believe that some Wal-Mart executives had knowledge of the immigration violations and acted with "reckless disregard" toward immigration laws. Those executives have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury, and federal officials also gathered evidence by executing a search warrant at Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters. Penalties for knowingly using illegal labor can include fines of up to $10,000 per worker as well as potential criminal charges. The immigrants will go before immigration judges and may face deportation.

This is Ryan DeMotte with Thursday's US Supreme Court roundup. In a speech today, Justice Antonin Scalia criticized the Court's recent ruling in Lawrence v. Texas legalizing gay sex, apparently mocking his colleagues for transforming a criminal offense into a constitutional right. AP has more.... AP also reports that Martin Marks, a Republican candidate for the New Jersey legislature, has asked the Supreme Court to prevent the Democratic party from replacing Sen. Joseph Siluga on the Nov. 4 ballot. The Democratic party is attempting to replace Siluga, who dropped out of the race, with Nicholas P. Scutari, a Linden County Prosecutor. Justice David Souter will handle the request.... Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg were honored today by the Philadelphia Bar Association, receiving "lifetime commendations" for their pioneering legal work. The South Jersey Courier-Post has more.

This is Winston Collier with the latest in election law. AP reports that Judicial Watch, an organization often critical of fundraising efforts by former president Bill Clinton, today filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against President Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. The complaint, filed on behalf of convicted felon and dot-com entrepreneur Peter F. Paul, alleges improper reporting of campaign contributions. The Federal Election Commission refused to act on a previous complaint filed by Judicial Watch against the Clintons.... Arkansas Republican Party Chairman Marty Ryall has resigned and four GOP employees have been fired amid an FEC investigation of party finances. According to party officials, the moves are intended to allow the party to repay several outstanding debts. The FEC, which fined the state party $45,000 in 1998, is reportedly considering an additional fine based on an audit of the party’s 2000 finances. ArkansasNBC.com has more.

This is Melanie Galaradi with the latest family law news. Same-sex couples in Massachusetts are waiting for the state's Supreme Judicial Court to render its much-anticipated decision on legalization of same-sex marriage. The case has been argued and a ruling is expected soon. The decision could effect a proposed state constitutional amendment that would define a marriage as a union between a man and a woman which is to be considered at a special joint sitting of the Massachusetts Legislature on November 12. The General Court's Joint Judiciary Committee held hearings today on proposed legislation legalizing gay marriage and civil unions, including a bill that would grant same-sex couples the same rights currently afforded to heterosexual married couples such as the right to receive benefits. WCBV-TV Boston has more.

This is Tim Lyon with the latest death penalty developments. AP reports that the American Bar Association (ABA) has launched a campaign to improve capital defense techniques nationwide. The ABA hopes these techniques will help prevent wrongful convictions and sentences as well as decrease the number of capital defendants represented by ineffective attorneys.... AP also reports that death-row inmates have given a $10,000 scholarship to Brandon Briggs, a college student whose father was murdered. The inmates raised the money through donations and subscriptions to Compassion, a bimonthly newsletter written by death-row inmates and sponsored by the Peace and Justice Committee.

From the anchor desk... The Seventh Circuit issued its opinion today in Tango Music v. DeadQuick Music, Inc. [PDF], a minor case which raises a novel question: Does the presence of citizens of the same foreign nation on both sides of a case destroy diversity, and thus federal jurisdiction? Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, the esteemed Richard Posner answered in the negative. Posner reached the result by strictly interpreting 28 U.S.C. Section 1332, familiar to students in first-year Civil Procedure courses, and then squared the result with the bias-reduction rationale behind the statute.

This is Joe Devine with what's new in environmental law. The Associated Press reports that studies by a Rockefeller Family Fund project and Council of State Governments have concluded that new EPA regulations will allow for 1.4 million tons more air pollution in 12 states. The source of the debate centers on a change in the EPA's "new source review" program under the Clean Air Act, which will make it easier for industrial plants to make improvements without having to install additional pollution controls. In the past few months, Congressional investigators have alleged that the basis for EPA action hinged on "anecdotes from industries." In response to these developments, US Senator Joseph Lieberman and two other senators have called for an official investigation as to whether the EPA misled Congress about the impact of the rule changes.

From the anchor desk... White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales gave the keynote address today at the American Bar Association's national conference on Opening the Pipeline between minorities and the legal profession. C-SPAN carries video of the address here [RealOne format]. More on the conference from the ABA newsroom here.

This is Jeannie Shawl reporting on what's new in international law. Chile's Senate approved a free trade agreement with the United States Wednesday, paving the way for the accord to become effective Jan. 1. The accord will eliminate customs fees for much of the two countries $6.3 billion annual exchange. The Bush administration sees the treaty as a key step toward the US-proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). The US Trade Representative website charts the progress of FTAA negotiations. ABCNEWS.com has more.... The text of the UN resolution condemning Israel's construction of its security barrier has been published in the Palestine Chronicle. Israel has vowed to continue with construction of the barrier despite the UN resolution. Read JURIST's earlier report.

From the anchor desk... CNN reports that prosecutors in the case of (John) Lee Boyd Malvo have asked to delay the trial until mid-December. They aim to secure more time for their mental health expert to evaluate the mental state of the teenage DC sniper suspect, whose attorneys will mount an insanity defense at trial. The Virginia Fairfax County Court provides an image of the prosecution's motion to continue here [PDF].

This is Melissa Schneider reporting on law school news. In continuing coverage of the recent equal protection suits filed against the US Department of Defense, today's Yale Daily News reports that forty-six members of the Harvard Law School faculty sent a letter yesterday to the University President urging Harvard to initiate or join litigation already underway against military on-campus recruiting policies. Read more here... The University of Arkansas School of Law has secured a major $100,000 alumni gift that will be used for the construction of a new practice trial classroom.

From the anchor desk... AP reports that the US Senate has voted today to bar the use of government money to enforce four-decade-old restrictions on American travel to Cuba. The House passed a similar measure last month, leaving the fate of this policy change to the President. President Bush, however, has already affirmed his administration's commitment to travel restrictions and has pledged to veto the larger spending bill if it denies the usual money for enforcement. In a Rose Garden speech two weeks ago, he said: "US law forbids Americans to travel to Cuba for pleasure. That law is on the books and it must be enforced." The ACLU, meanwhile, questions the constitutionality of the restrictions, identifying a penumbral right to travel drawn from the Fifth and First Amendments.

This is Jen Pierson reporting with the latest in national security law. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair says that he soon expects an end to his government's dispute with the US over British detainees at Guantanamo Bay, according to a story in today's Financial Times. Nine Britons have been held at the Cuba military installation for 18 months. While Blair expressed understanding of the United State's position toward the detainees, he wants some assurances about the procedures involved with military tribunals. Blair is not the only foreign leader concerned about the conditions and treatment of prisoners at the detention center. As reported previously in JURIST's Paper Chase, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has criticized the detention of a Danish national since February without any form of trial. The condition of the 660 detainees at the facility is also the subject of an editorial in tomorrow's Bangkok Post. The United States is currently investigating security concerns at the facility.

This is Adam Henry taking over from Tim Lyon at the JURIST anchor desk. The US Senate today approved a cost-of-living raise of 2.2% for itself, increasing its members' salaries to about $158,000 a year. Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens takes issue with the label of "pay raise," preferring to characterize it as a routine, annual legislative adjustment. His colleague Russ Feingold sees otherwise, criticizing it as an "automatic, stealth, pay raise" in a press release. Raise or not, the action steers clear of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment's prohibition on mid-term pay raises. John Dean of FindLaw narrates the long history of that amendment, which idled for over two centuries between its proposal in 1789 and its ratification in 1992.

This is Jen Nolan reporting on what's new in civil rights law. The Oregonian reports that the City Council of a suburb of Portland, Oregon, has voted to prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation in the workplace, public accommodations and housing. The city of Lake Oswego is not alone in their protection of gay and lesbian groups - Portland, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Multnomah and Benton counties all have similar ordinances.... AP reports that two Democratic lawmakers from South Carolina, Rep. James Clyburn and Sen. Fritz Hollings, are asking for four civil rights activitists to receive Congressional Medals of Honor for their roles in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. The four are Rev. J.A. DeLaine, who was effectively banished from the state after Brown went to court, Harry and Eliza Briggs, who together lent their name to the historic Briggs v. Elliott desegregation case, and Levi Pearson, who filed the desegregation suit that preceded Briggs.

From the anchor desk... AP reports that the German Federal Administrative Court has held that claims submitted by a Jewish group trying to regain property taken by the Nazis in former East Germany will be valid if they can be supported by official documents. Welcoming the ruling, the Jewish Claims Conference said the court's decision was in keeping with Germany's post World War II restitution laws. Essentially, the ruling allows Germany to apply laws set up by the Allied powers in former West Germany to the states of East Germany. An outline of the German court system can be found here.

From the anchor desk... AP reports that McDonald's has settled a lawsuit filed by Joseph Connor, a 420-pound man who alleged that the company did not hire him because of his weight. In the lawsuit, Connor claimed that McDonald's violated the Americans with Disability Act. He sought $300,000 for financial loss and emotional trauma as well as a job with the company. The terms of the settlement were not released. The District Court ruling denying McDonald's motion to dismiss can be found here[PDF].

From the anchor desk... AP reports that a Spanish judge has released terror suspect and Al Jazeera reporter Yayssir Alouni from jail today on $7,000 bail. Alouni was arrested last month and charged with being a member of the terror group Al-Qaida. His lawyers petitioned the Spanish judge to release their client on bail because he suffered from a heart condition. The judge agreed to their request.

From the anchor desk.... AP reports that early Thursday morning federal officials from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office arrested over 300 workers at Wal-Mart stores nationwide. The workers were all cleaning crew members residing in the country illegally. Wal-Mart maintains that the arrestees are not Wal-Mart employees but individuals employed by outside contractors. The arrests stem from a 1998 investigation done in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.

This is Tim Lyon at the JURIST anchor desk. The EUObserver.com reports that the European Court of First Instance has ruled that Unilever violated EU competition laws by providing free freezers to stores in Ireland in exchange for a promise that those stores stock only Unilever products. Mars Inc. originally filed a complaint to the European Commission against a Unilever subsidiary in 1991. The European Commission ruled against Unilever in 1998, but the corporation appealed to the European Court of First Instance. That appeal led to today's ruling.

This is Amit Patel with the latest news in corporations law. The Washington Post reports that former Freddie Mac President David Glenn has agreed to pay a $125,000 civil penalty and cooperate with a federal investigation into the company's questionable accounting practices.... The Boston Globe reports that the NYSE will reimburse investors who may have lost money because of trading violations by members. The alleged improper trading may have cost investors more than $150 million.... The Billings Gazette reports former Enron Corp. Chairman Ken Lay asked a judge to force federal regulators to either live without 870 pages of documents he has or accept them on Lay's terms. Asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Lay has for months refused to release some records to the Securities and Exchange Commission.... The New York Times reports that former Waste Management Inc. executives Rodney Proto and Earl DeFrates have agreed to pay a total of $4.2 million to settle insider-trading and other charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Read the SEC's litigation release here.

From the anchor desk... The Massachusetts House of Representatives has voted to extend the state's workplace smoking ban to all restaurants, night clubs and bars, making a move to become the sixth state in the nation to ban cigarettes from virtually all public venues. The state Senate has yet to vote on the measure, but endorsed a similar ban in May. Read the full story from The Boston Globe.

This is Matt Jacobs with the latest news in cyberspace law. A new study published Wednesday finds that only 22 percent of federal websites meet the accessibility standards under section 508 the Rehabilitation Act of 1998, as amended. The study was commissioned by the Benton Foundation and the New York State Forum of the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Federal Computer Week has more. The report addresses the concerns of Americans with low literacy levels, blindness, or non-fluency in English.... The National Governors Association is has urging Congress to extend the existing moratorium on Internet access taxes, while cautioning against broadening its scope. Governors are concerned that the proposed legislation would extend the ban to include other related income and property. A recent study by the Multistate Tax Commission[PDF] predicted that states would lose $4 billion to $9 billion in tax revenue by 2006.... Also, read JURIST anchor Jeannie Shawl's report on the Senate's passage of the Can Spam Act, the first federal legislation aimed at regulating unwanted e-mail.

From the anchor desk... The US Senate has approved the "Can Spam" bill by a 97-0 vote. The legislation imposes tough new limits against sending unwanted commercial e-mails and authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to establish a do-not-email list. The Direct Marketing Association supports the bill but argues that a list will "punish law-abiding small- and mid-sized companies, who are trying to break into the marketplace, while doing absolutely nothing to stop the most egregious perpetuators of spam." AP has more.

This is Jeannie Shawl taking over at the anchor desk... The NAACP is joining a lawsuit initiated by the Southern Center for Human Rights that contends that poor defendants in a four-county area in Georgia do not receive proper representation. Georgia's judicial branch is conducting a study on the status of indigent defense in Georgia. Read the amended complaint [PDF] and the full story from AP.

From the anchor desk... AP reports that a father and daughter have been convicted and await sentencing in a tax fraud case in which they claimed a $500,000 refund for slavery reparations, which was mistakenly paid out. In 2002 the Internal Revenue Service reported that it had seen a significant surge in these false filings - in 2001, the agency received nearly 80,000 returns claiming more than $2.7 billion in false reparation refunds. It noted, however, that

There is no provision in the tax law that allows African-Americans to get tax credits or refunds related to slavery reparations. Unscrupulous promoters are deceiving people into paying money for advice on how to file these false claims, in which they generally seek $40,000 to $80,000.

Yale Law School's Peter Schuck wrote a JURIST Forum column last year on the general reparations movement, calling it "misguided."

From JURIST's anchor desk... An extensive report on conditions faced by political prisoners in internment camps in North Korea was released yesterday by the US Committee on Human Rights in North Korea, and is now available online. Among the report's key findings:

In political penal-labor colonies known as kwan-li-so, tens of thousands of political prisoners are banished and work as slaves in mining, logging and farming enterprises. Along with the political prisoners, up to three generations of their families also are banished without trial—usually for lifetime sentences.... The DPRK currently operates an estimated six kwan-li-so, each a sprawling encampment 20 or more miles long and ten miles wide. In these colonies, presumed political offenders are imprisoned in an area separate from their extended families and they are allowed no contact with them.

Perhaps the report’s most shocking finding is that repatriated pregnant women imprisoned in the jip-kyul-so are subjected to forced abortion. In the cases of advanced pregnancy, babies were killed immediately after birth. The goal of the regime is to eliminate children that may have been fathered by Han Chinese men.

Prisoners in all facilities are routinely beaten and kicked, made to sit motionless for long periods and denied food. For extra punishment, inmates are placed in small cells where it is impossible to lie down or stand up. Former prisoners interviewed for this report were subjected to water torture, deprived of sleep, and compelled to perform stand-up and sit-down repetitive motions. The penalty for attempting to escape is generally death by hanging or firing squad.

Read the full report here.

This is Maryam Shad with legal stories in Thursday's US law and business press. CA's The Recorder reports on the blistering questions the Senate Judiciary Committee asked DC Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Janice Rogers Brown yesterday.... The PA Legal Intelligencer notes a Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the First Amendment does not protect the speech of a police officer who circumvents the chain of command and talks about police corruption issues.... The Boston Business Journal reports that Amersham PLC, the maker of laboratory equipment being purchased by General Electric, is suing rival PerkinElmer for patent infringement.... GA's Fulton County Daily Report reports that a national airport retailer is suing its insurer for refusing to pay for financial losses caused by the closure of airports on Sept. 11, 2001.... According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, the OH Supreme Court has ruled that a school district could not fire a teacher on temporary total disability solely because of her disability.... FindLaw's Writ has commentary by Cardozo law professor Marci Hamilton on the rule of law and ways in which some Americans resist that idea, as well as a guest column by Laura Hodes on why the First Amendment does not protect use of a bulldozer's logo in a new Disney movie.

This is Zak Shusterman with legal stories running in Thursday's foreign press. The Financial Times reports proposed rules that would empower employees of companies involved in cross-border mergers within the European Union has business leaders lobbying in opposition. The rules are the latest measure in the effort to harmonize European company law despite fears that multinational companies will be encouraged to relocate to jurisdictions with more lenient requirements.... The Taipei Times covers draft amendments to Taiwan's Immigration Law that expand eligibility to foreigners with professional specialties other than high-technology and those with minimum amounts invested in Taiwan.... The Sydney Morning Herald reports an Australian Supreme Court justice has ruled that a pair of adoptive parents should be allowed to change their adopted child's name. However, he warned that prospective parents may not be afforded the same right under new New South Wales Adoption Act. The change will affect children born in countries which have not signed the Hague convention on intercountry adoptions, under which adoptions and name changes are finalized in overseas courts.

On October 23, 1987, the US Senate rejected the Supreme Court nomination of Robert H. Bork by a vote of 58-42.