In Thursday's immigration law news, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge today asked Mexico to shore up their patrols and security at the US border. In making his request, Ridge cited concerns about stopping terrorism and violence from person-smuggling along the border. Ridge is on a two day trip to Mexico to search for ways to enhance security while at the same time not impeding the flow of goods and authorized persons across the border.

click for previous Immigration Law news

In Thursday's federal courts roundup, the US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has orderd an Indianapolis judge to allow a class-action suit against International Truck and Engine Corporation alleging racial discrimination. AP reports that the court rejected the company's argument that its employees liked being referred to with racial slurs and laughed at cartoons depicting lynchings, stating that it "strained credibility".... The US Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to allow a disputed redistricting map to be used in Georgia legislative elections this year. The ruling means Republican state legislators will have input into redrawing the district lines in time for primary elections scheduled for July 20. AP has the full story.... As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to hear arguments March 2 on a motion by Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" in Roe v. Wade, to reconsider the landmark abortion ruling. Because Dallas County District Attorney Bill Hill may decide not to file a response, more than 20 Texas law school professors filed a brief asking to be allowed to argue the other side of the case. AP has the full story.

In Thursday's state courts news, the Minnesota Supreme Court has upheld a $52 million judgment against BASF Corp in a class action lawsuit filed by farmers who claim that BASF defrauded farmers by marketing its herbicide products at different prices for different crops, when each herbicide was essentially the same product. Lawyers for BASF plan to appeal to the US Supreme court, but Douglas Nill, lawyer for the plaintiffs, doubts the Supreme Court will take the case and predicts that several thousand farmers will qualify for a share of the judgment. Read the opinion here. AP has more.

click for previous state courts news

Here's Thursday's legal news from the Department of Justice. FBI Director Robert Mueller and senior Justice Department officials formally announced the indictment of ex-Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling (previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase) at a Noon press conference Thursday in Washington. Deputy Attorney General James Comey said:

This indictment marks an important milestone in the life of the President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force. The indictment alleges that Jeffrey Skilling and other Enron executives concocted a massive, complex scheme to give shareholders and the investing public the false appearance of financial strength and security at a time when Enron was, in fact, failing. Our investigators were able to cut through the maze of paperwork and financial trickery to get to the bottom of the scheme and charge Skilling, once the top executive at Enron, with fraud and other crimes that contributed to Enron’s collapse.

Read the full DOJ press release here.... As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, the FBI has launched a new anti-piracy program to fight digital copyright piracy with the introduction of a new anti-piracy warning label to be placed on CDs, DVDs, and software. The FBI's website offers a statement by FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Jana Monroe here and a related press release.

click for previous Department of Justice news

In international law news Thursday, Germany, France and Britain have drawn up proposals calling for renewed economic reforms in Europe. In a letter to the Irish EU Presidency, the three countries called for the appointment of a vice-president of the European Commission who would act as an economics minister for Europe. The Financial Times has the full story. According to a German government source, the creation of this new post is an attempt to make sure a European Commission made up of 25 or more member states is coherent. EUObserver.com has more.... According to a new report released by the United Nations University, existing international law protecting intellectual property rights needs to be revamped in order to protect the customs of indigenous peoples. Current rules fail to take into account the fact that in many indigenous cultures traditional knowledge is highly guarded. The study recommends that national governments and international organizations review their policies on traditional knowledge, that access to confidential databases on traditional knowledge be limited, and that companies should be required to demonstrate prior informed consent before using traditional knowledge for commercial purposes. The UN News Service has the full story.... Finally, as previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, the ICJ has decided to webcast its hearings on the legality of Israel's security fence. The hearings are scheduled to begin February 23.

click for previous international law news

Thursday's Washington Post reports that William R. Stewart, former chief counsel for the National Labor Relations Board passed away Monday at the age of 71. After graduation from the Indiana University School of Law and election to the Order of the Coif, Stewart worked at the NLRB for more than three decades. Upon his retirement, he received of the highest honor that the federal government gives a career civil servant, the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Service.

In Thursday's law school news, Northwestern University announces that Professor Robert Nelson has been named the newest director of the American Bar Foundation, a nonprofit institute for sociolegal and other interdisciplinary research. Nelson teaches in the sociology department at Northwestern but also has a courtesy appointment at the Northwestern University School of Law. Among his prolific scholarship he counts an award-winning book on gender discrimination and several publications on the changing nature of the legal profession.

Also out of Evanston today is a Daily Northwestern editorial applauding the law school's decision to permit military recruiters on campus. Under the controversial Solomon Amendment, the Secretary of Defense may deny federal funding to institutions that themselves deny access to military recruiters. A coalition of law schools sued the Department of Defense and other federal agencies last September, claiming the law to be unconstitutional.

In Thursday's criminal law and punishment news, the Washington Post reports that the Maryland Court of Appeals has overturned the gun convictions of a man who shot a priest whom he claimed molested him. The court did so because the trial judge permitted alternate jurors to attend the jury's deliberations. Read the Court's opinion here [PDF].... On Wednesday the US Army announced that it had charged a National Guardsman with attempting to spy for the terrorist group al-Qaida. If found guilty, the Guardsman could receive the death penalty. AP has more.... Lastly, a federal judge has ordered a new trial for death-row inmate Donald Miller, according to AP. Miller has spent almost 22 years on death-row, but will now receive a new trial because prosecutors withheld evidence that could have caused the jury to vote for life imprisonment instead of death.

click here for previous criminal law and punishment news

In environmental law news for Thursday, AP reports that a panel convened by the National Resource Council has concluded that the EPA should be allowed to test toxic pesticides on humans, but stipulated that testing should only be done under strict conditions and careful review. In order for testing to be conducted, the Council stated that the work must address important regulatory issues that cannot be answered by animal testing or other studies that do not involve human testing. Additionally, the Council, which serves as the operational department of the National Academy of Sciences, stated that possible benefits to society must outweigh any anticipated risks to participants. While the EPA has not made an official response to the report, the committee concluded that "improving the accuracy of the science employed in regulatory decisions ... constitutes a societal benefit that can justify the conduct of a human dosing study." The official study has not yet been made available online... As reported earlier today in JURIST's Paper Chase, the Union of Concerned Scientists has released a report criticizing the Bush administration for suppressing and manipulating scientific data related to some of its policies. One of the more notable items cited by the report is an EPA climate study that attributed some of the causes of global warming to human activity. AP has more.

click for previous environmental law news

In Thursday's civil rights news, the ACLU of Ohio has questioned Ohio's participation in a controversial government database that creates detailed profiles of American citizens. The Multi-state Anti-terrorism Information Exchange (MATRIX) has come under fire from the ACLU because the civil rights organization wants to know who is using the information, what information Ohio is supplying to the database, and if there are any procedures to ensure the information in the database is accurate. The ACLU has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Ohio's Attorney General's office. Read the ACLU's press release here.... Americans United for Separation of Church and State in Washington, DC is concerned that Florida is violating the US constitution by funding a faith-based prison. Lawtey Correctional Institution is the first prison of its kind, combining incarceration with Christianity. Rev. Barry W. Lynn says since states do not have the right to fund religious schools, they also do not have the right to fund religious prisons. Supporters of the faith-based prisons believe recidivism is less when inmates are given the opportunity to turn to God. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has more.

click for previous civil rights news

The US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has agreed to hear arguments March 2 on a motion by Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" in Roe v. Wade, to reconsider the landmark abortion ruling. McCorvey now actively opposes abortion (see her website) on the basis of what she considers to be new evidence of its harmful effects that did not exist in 1973 when the case was decided. Twenty Texas law school professors have filed a brief urging the court to allow them to argue against the motion. AP has more.

The FBI launched a new initiative to combat digital copyright piracy Thursday with a news conference in Los Angeles and the announcement of a new anti-piracy warning label to be used on digital music, movies and software that would caution users about the legal consequences of infringement. Read the FBI press release here. The FBI offers additional information on its homepage. CNET has more.

In Thursday's corporations and securities law news, the NASD has fined a division of mutual fund company State Street $1 million for failing to stop improper trading in some of its mutual funds and also ordered $500,000 worth of restitution to some investors. Read the NASD press release here. Read the State Street press release here. The Street.com has more.... As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling has been indicted on 42 counts, including insider trading and fraud. Skilling pleaded innocent to all the charges and his attorneys said he passed a lie detector test "with flying colors." Read the indictment against Skilling here [PDF]. Read the SEC complaint here. The Houston Chronicle has more on this story, including audio from Skilling's lawyers.... Former SEC chairman Richard Breeden, who oversees a special committee at Hollinger International Inc.'s which found $32 million in disputed payments to Conrad Black and several of his top deputies, testified Thursday in the trial that could determine the media company's future. Reuters has more.... Corporate governance experts report that CEO compensation is out of control who now get paid over 500 times that of an average worker. Reuters has more.... The SEC's inquiry into oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell relating to a 20% cut in its energy-reserve tally will proceed as a formal non-public investigation. Read the Shell press release announcing the investigation here. Dow Jones News has more

click for previous corporations and securities law news

The US State Department Thursday urged US citizens to depart Haiti as lawlessness and anti-government violence on the island appeared to spiral out of the control of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Read the State Department travel warning here. Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced that it is sending in a small team of US military personnel to assess the security situation at the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince. AP has more. Human rights groups have called upon Aristide to uphold the rule of law in the country - the New York-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch issued this statement on the situation on February 14.

UK Foreign Minister Jack Straw said Thursday that five of the nine Britons held by the US at Guantanamo Bay are to be returned within the next few weeks, according to an AP wire. Watch video of Straw's announcement here. BBC News has more. The Danish Foreign Minister has said that the US will also release a Dane. Again, the BBC has more. A Spanish national was extradited from Guantanamo to Spain last week, as previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that elections cannot be organized in Iraq before power is transferred to Iraqis on June 30, and that a caretaker government should be established until such time as elections can be held. The UN has more. The issue of direct elections has been a prime bone of contention between the United States and Iraqi Shiites, who are expected to protest the UN finding, which follows a weeklong visit to the country by a special UN team.

The International Court of Justice at The Hague announced Thursday that it will webcast live its hearings scheduled for February 23-25 on the legality of Israel's security fence. The Court's Information Department said:

The Court has decided to provide video coverage of its hearings on the Internet in response to the exceptional interest in this case shown by the general public, civil society and the media worldwide, and in view of the Court's very limited seating space for members of the public and journalists at the Peace Palace in The Hague. The Court intends to provide such webstreaming in the future for cases of a similar nature.

Read the full ICJ press release describing how to tune in. This will be the first time that proceedings of the ICJ will have been broadcast over the Internet. The Jerusalem Post has more.

A blue-ribbon group of 60 US scientists - including 12 Nobel laureates - has accused the Bush administration of pressuring and manipulating scientific advisory panels to generate results and recommendations that favor the administration's laissez-faire regulatory agenda in critical environmental areas such as climate change and clean air. Read their open letter here. The Union of Concerned Scientists, which sponsored the scientists' statement, has launched a campaign to draw attention to the problem, and has called for Congressional hearings. The White House has denied the allegations. Today's Washington Post has more.

A US soldier whose unit was ordered to Iraq in December has sought asylum in Canada as a "conscientious objector." Jeremy Hinzman, 25, a Quaker from North Carolina, joined the US Army 82nd Airborne Division in January 2001, but applied to be a "conscientious objector" in August 2002 after basic training. He was sent to Afghanistan, where he worked as a dishwasher while his objector application was pending. When it was turned down and his unit was ordered to Iraq, he fled to Canada. He is now considered AWOL in the US and would be prosecuted for desertion if he returned. He is thought to be the first US soldier ordered to Iraq who has filed for refugee status in Canada. The North Carolina Fayetteville Observer has more. Approximately 30,000 US citizens went north to Canada during the Vietnam era to avoid military service. Learn more about Vietnam-era US "draft dodgers" in Canada from the CBC Archives.

FOXNews is reporting that Ex-Enron CEO Jeff Skilling has been indicted on 42 counts, including fraud, insider trading, and giving false statements. In anticipation of the indictment, then still sealed, Skilling turned himself in to the FBI in Houston earlier this morning, as reported on JURIST's Paper Chase.

UPDATE: The US Department of Justice has scheduled a press conference on the Enron investigation for 12 Noon ET.

UPDATE 2: Skilling has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment. A copy of the SEC complaint against him is now available here [PDF].

UPDATE 3: The indictment against Skilling is now available from FindLaw here [PDF].

The US Federal Election Commission ruled Wednesday that outside political advocacy groups involved with elections that are required to register with the Commission - so-called "527 groups" that take their name from a governing provision of the Internal Revenue Code that makes them tax-exempt - must accept limits on how they use "soft money" contributions from corporate and union groups. AP has more.

The government of Hong Kong - now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China - launched a special website Thursday designed to focus debate on Hong Kong's constitutional development in the wake of the end of British rule and the region's partial incorporation into the PRC. A government press release said the website was set up "to enable members of the public to gain a better understanding of the work of the Constitutional Development Task Force and to give their views." Visit the site here.

A spokesman for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda said Thursday that the tribunal, facing pressure to finish its genocide investigations by the end of this year and complete its trials by 2008, is considering the option of handing some middle-level suspects back to Rwanda for trial. Reuters has more. The Rwanda government, now dominated by Tutsis, rather than the Hutus who instigated the genocide of the 1990s, has accused the ICTR of inefficiency and has set up a system of local "gacaca" community courts to try suspects already in its hands. The Government of Rwanda provides background information on the Rwandan genocide and the trial of suspects.

Iraqi Governing Council President Mohsen Abdul-Hamid said Thursday that no final decision had been made about the place of Islamic law in the new Iraqi draft constitution, emphasizing that in the current draft Islam was only "a primary source of legislation", not the primary source. His comments came two days after US Administrator Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, said he would veto any draft that made Islamic law the centerpiece of the new Iraqi legal system, to the detriment of civil liberties. AP has more.

Jeff Skilling, the former CEO of Enron Corporation, surrendered to the FBI in Houston this morning after he was reportedly named in a sealed indictment issued by the grand jury impaneled to investigate the circumstances surrounding the company's collapse. It is expected that he will be charged with fraud and/or conspiracy associated with earnings manipulation. The Houston Chronicle has more, and provides background coverage of the Enron collapse here.

A Superior Court judge in Sacramento County California Wednesday declined to issue a restraining order to prevent the use of electronic voting machines in the state's upcoming March 2 primary election, saying that 13 days before the vote he was not convinced by arguments that the machines were vulnerable to hackers. A group of computer programmers and voters had argued that the machines, manufactured by Diebold Election Systems and slated to be used in some 14 California counties (10 others have declined to use the machines), were insecure and could be manipulated to alter their results. AP has more. The California Secretary of State's Office offers this statement on security measures for touch-screen voting machines [PDF].

Saying that the disaster was not foreseeable, an Austrian judge Thursday acquitted all 16 defendants - resort workers, train operators and safety inspectors - of charges laid in connection with a ski cable car tunnel fire in Kaprun, Austraia, that killed 155 tourists in November 2000. Families of those killed were distraught after the ruling - a lawyer for one family said he would consider bringing a class action lawsuit in the US courts. Reuters has more. The Vienna newspaper Der Standard provides in-depth local coverage (in German).

In Thursday's US law and business press, the ABA Journal reports on new roles for group leaders in today's legal practice groups.... The Legal Times reports that the US Supreme Court may decide this week to consider whether the Virginia Military Institute's longstanding tradition of praying before dinner violates the First Amendment.... The Legal Times also offers attorneys advice on creating a "blog" to increase business.... The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that InfoSpace Inc. has settled a shareholders' class action securities suit against it for $34.3 million.... FindLaw's Writ features University of Washington law professor Anita Ramasastry's column on the constitutionality of mandatory videocameras in cybercafes, as well as attorney Noah Leavitt's guest commentary on how the federal government is increasing its power to investigate private lives.

click for the previous US law and business press review

Here are some of legal stories featured in Thursday's foreign press... Australia's The Age features a Civil Administrative Tribunal hearing over whether Islam is illegal under the law. A Christian group argues that, because the Koran preaches violence, it is an illegal religion while Christianity deserves special protection under the Australian Constitution.... Aljazeera reports Iran's conservative judiciary has ordered the closure of two newspapers. The papers violated a Supreme Council for National Security order to not publish a letter critical of the republic's supreme leader following the disqualification of reformists from upcoming upcoming elections.... Serbia's B92 features the trial of a gang leader's bodyguard for the murder Prime Minister Djindjic. The defendant is claiming he was coerced by the Anti-Organized Crime Bureau to connect several recent political assassinations.

click for the previous foreign press review

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order No. 9066, authorizing the wartime internment of Japanese Americans. Learn more about the internment of Japanese Americans from Vernillia Randall at the University of Dayton School of Law and read the first chapter of Free to Die for Their Country: The Story of the Japanese American Draft Resisters of World War II, by Eric Muller of the University of North Carolina Law School.