In Tuesday's Congressional news, Senators handed a decisive defeat to S 1805, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which would have sharply limited liability to weapons manufacturers and distributors. As reported earlier today, the bill's support rapidly began to unravel following the passage of amendments that extended the 1994 ban on 19 semiautomatic weapons and required background checks for those purchasing handguns at gun shows. According to today's New York Times, National Rifle Association vice president Wayne LaPierre responded to the passage of the amendments by sending e-mail messages to the bill's mostly Republican supporters late this afternoon, urging them to reject the legislation that the organization only yesterday supported. They did, voting 8-90 against the bill. The amendments, initially hailed as a huge victory for gun control advocates, put lawmakers from both parties in conflicted positions. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle who had co-sponsored the gun liability bill but voted to support both amendments was accused by fellow co-sponsor Republican Senator Larry Craig of trying to sabotage the underlying legislation. On the other hand, President Bush, who had urged the Senate to pass clean legislation, dispatched Vice President Dick Cheney to the Senate in the event that he would be needed to cast tie-breaking votes against the amendments. The White House had previously supported the subject matter of both amendments. While the day's highly unusual events may at first glance have seemed to yield a substantial victory for gun control advocates, the result may reflect nothing more than a strategic refocusing by gun rights advocates. Following passage of today's amendments, the gun liability bill may have been impossible to rectify with a House version passed last April, but its defeat renews partisan battles over the controversial assault weapons ban, dubbed the "Clinton Gun Ban" by the NRA. The Washington Post has more.

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In international law news Tuesday, the UN Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) has released a new report [PDF - in Spanish] which says that Guatemala has failed to implement recommendations made by a commission set up to investigate the deaths and disappearances of more than 200,000 Guatemalans during the country's civil war. The three Guatemalan governments in power since the commission was established five years ago have all failed to address committee recommendations made in the areas of impunity, lack of recognition and compensation for victims, and refusal to search for clandestine cemeteries. Tom Koenings, head of MINUGUA, has called on the current government to develop an active policy that is supported by legislation to deal with human rights abuses committed during the civil war. Read the full story from the official UN News Service and more from UN Wire.... Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have signed a customs pact designed to harmonize external tariffs and boost trade. BBC News has more. The new deal comes four years after the countries began this latest attempt at regional integration by signing a treaty re-establishing the East African Community. BBC News has more.

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In Tuesday's federal courts roundup, the US Eight Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling which largely removes the Little Rock school system from federal desegregation monitoring. The only remaining area of oversight is federal monitoring of programs aimed at improving the academic performance of black students. AP has the full story. Read the opinion here [PDF].... The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a decision granting two Armenian men citizenship four years ago. The court ruled that Viken Yacoubian and Viken Hovsepian's involvement in a 1982 bomb plot should have been taken into account in measuring their moral character. AP has more on this story. Read the opinion here [PDF].... As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals struck down federal rules requiring telephone companies to share their networks. In addition to the earlier coverage, read this statement from Mike Jackman, executive director of the California ISP Association, and another statement from John D. Windhausen Jr, president of the Association for Local Telecommunications Services.... Also reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a challenge to the Child Online Protection Act (COPA).

In Tuesday's tax law news, the US Department of Justice Tax Division has barred National Resource Information Center, Inc. from promoting illegal "reparation black heritage" tax credits. Read the DOJ press release. The IRS lists the slavery reparation scam on its tax frauds website. The Birmingham News has more.... AP reports here that doctor prescribed weight-loss programs, pills, and surgery to correct obesity may be tax deductible according to an IRS publication. Publication 502 [PDF] lists obesity as a disease, and therefore it is included in already-deductible medical and dental expenses. The publication, however, expressly states that all expenses related to weight-loss are not deductible, such as reduced calorie food purchases.

Here is Tuesday's roundup of major legal stories from around the world. In China, parliament is considering important constitutional changes that could serve to rein in the powers of the Communist Party. Changes include constitutional protection of private property and human rights, but the laws have yet to be ratified by delegates to the National People's Congress. BBC has more.... In Scotland, mobile camera phones are being banned in all secondary and primary schools in the West Lothian area. The Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association supports the new policy, fearing that the images could be misused by pedophiles. BBC has more.... In South Korea, the National Assembly has passed a special act that will allow investigation into pro-Japanese activities during the Japanese colonial period. A fact-finding committee will be established in September to gather information on pro-Japanese and anti-national activities and write reports and compile historical records for three years. The Chosun Ilbo has more.

Here's Tuesday's legal news from the US Department of Justice. Solicitor General Theodore Olson argued today before the US Supreme Court in support of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) which would protect children from online pornography. AP reports that Olson asserted internet pornography is "persistent and unavoidable" and that the government has a strong interest in protecting young people from it. COPA has yet to take effect, as it has been struck down twice by federal appeals courts on constitutional grounds. The law criminalizes the intentional placement of material on the internet that would be harmful to children. The ACLU opposes COPA arguing that it is too broad and unrealistic. For more on the case, click here.... As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the indictment of former WorldCom CEO, Bernard Ebbers. Read the indictment here [PDF] and a related DOJ press release.... USA Today reports that concerned FBI agents have told AP reporters that the FBI has routinely failed to search their so-called "I-drive" computer files for documents that may have aided criminal defendants but were withheld. The FBI's deputy assistant director in charge of records management told AP that their official records are on paper and that at no time was anyone told to search the I-drives. The FBI is currently conducting an investigation into the number of files that did not make it into official case files. If a large number is found, they will be reviewed to determine whether they should have been turned over to defense attorneys.

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Leading Tuesday's law school news, the Daily Bruin reports today on an amicus brief recently filed by the UCLAW Veterans Society in support of the controversial Solomon Amendment. The organization's brief, co-authored by counterpart organizations at the College of William and Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law and the Washburn University School of Law, argues that the preservation of on-campus military recruiting is vital to both veteran students and the military. Oral arguments in the case for which the brief was filed will be heard by the Third Circuit Court of Appeal in May. Read Paper Chase's first report on the veterans' brief here.

In other law school news, Yale Law School announces today that Professor Bruce Ackerman has received the Insignia of Commander of the French Order of Merit from the Republic of France. The prestigious award, given at the discretion of the French President, honors Ackerman's prolific and preeminent scholarship in politics, history, and constitutional law. Yale's press release includes remarks [PDF] by Professor Ackerman upon his receipt of the award.

Finally, more from the moot court front. A team from Boston College Law School took first place at the J. Braxton Craven Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition on Saturday. In ripped-from-the-headlines fashion, the competition took as its topic the installment of a Ten Commandments display in a county courthouse. BC has more on its winning team here, and the Craven website offers briefs from all the participating teams here. Elsewhere this past weekend, a team from the Wake Forest University School of Law topped 23 others for top honors in the Domenick L. Gabrielli National Family Law Moot Court Competition [PDF]. Wake Forest has more on its winners here.

AP is reporting that Jason West, the mayor of New Paltz NY who performed 25 same-sex marriages last Friday (as previously reported in JURIST's Paper Chase), has been charged with 19 criminal counts of solemnizing a marriage without a licence, a state domestic relations law offense punishable by up to a year in jail. After Friday's marriages, the demand for additional ceremonies was so great that the village set up a waiting list on its website, which has now registered over 500 couples. Mayor West's statement on the marriages is here - according to the statement, the next marriages were to be performed Saturday, March 6, 2004 at 12 Noon. AP now has more.

KGW.com is reporting that US Senate Republicans have scuttled an election-year bill to immunize the gun industry from lawsuits after Democrats amended it to extend an assault weapons ban and close the so-called "gun show loophole" on background checks. For a blow-by-blow account of today's Senate debate on S. 1805, the Gun Liability Bill, see the More From the Floor log from Senator Patrick Leahy's office. With Republican support withdrawn, the bill was defeated by a final vote of 8-90. This morning the margin on the bill was expected to be so tight that Vice President Dick Cheney, who is also President of the Senate, came to the Hill prepared to cast his vote in the event of a tie; with the tide turning against the legislation, he departed again after 2 PM.

The US DC Circuit Court of Appeals this afternoon struck down federal rules requiring telephone companies to share their networks and delegating to states more authority to determine which companies may offer local phone service. Verizon Communications and other traditional local carriers had argued that the rules allowed competitors such as AT&T and MCI to use their networks at artificially low prices. Read the opinion here [PDF]. The FCC has issued this statement [PDF] on the ruling, indicating its disappointment at the result and giving notice that it will seek a stay and will appeal to the US Supreme Court. AP has more.

The securities fraud indictment filed against WorldCom founder Bernard Ebbers and former CFO Scott Sullivan (to which Sullivan pleaded guilty earlier today, as previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase) is now available from FindLaw here [PDF]. The formal charges against Ebbers were announced by Attorney General John Ashcroft at a news conference in New York this afternoon. C-SPAN has recorded video. AP has more.

In Tuesday's criminal law and punishment news, AP reports that the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has overturned the death sentence of Gary Cone. According to the Court, the judge's instructions to the jury were too vague to allow Cone's sentence to stand. The Court's opinion is available here [PDF].... The Supreme Court of South Carolina has upheld the death sentence of Richard Moore, according to WIStv.com. Moore had argued that his trial judge erred when he prevented Moore from talking to the jury about a possible death sentence during the guilt phase of the trial. The state's highest court disagreed. Read the court's opinion here [PDF - scroll to page 16].

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In Tuesday's family law news, the Minnesota legislature is considering bills that would change child support guidelines in the state. Both the House and Senate have legislation before them on this issue. One of the bills says child support payments would be based on the income of both parents instead of just the noncustodial parent, as the law currently provides. The House bill has a provision which would allow courts to order the parent receiving child support to keep records of how the money is spent if there is suspicion by the noncustodial parent that the money is being misspent. AP has more.

In Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, the CEO of Putnam Investments, the first large mutual fund company to be charged with securities fraud for improper trading, has announced that talks to settle the charges with Massachusetts regulators are ongoing and he is optimistic about reaching a settlement. Read the complaint by Massachusetts regulators here. Reuters has more.... As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers has been indicted on federal criminal charges related to the company's $11 billion accounting scandal. Ebbers resigned from WorldCom in April 2002 after the SEC began investigating the company's $400 million loan to the CEO. Ebbers is also expected to face charges in Oklahoma for an accounting fraud which cost state pension funds $64 million. AP has more. Also as previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, former WorldCom CFO Scott Sullivan has pleaded guilty to charges relating to the accounting scandal. Sullivan has agreed to cooperate with the SEC and will likely be a key witness against Ebbers. Read the SEC litigation release announcing the charges and deal here. Read the Department of Justice indictment against Sullivan here[PDF]. Reuters has more.... FleetBoston Financial Corp. has announced it has agreed to pay $59.4 million in restitution and penalties to settle charges brought by the SEC and the NYSE. The Boston Business Journal has more.... Electronic Data Systems Corp. [EDS] has supplied more information relating to its contract with the US Navy for the SEC's investigation of the company. Read the EDS news release relating to the SEC investigation here. AP has more.... In other Putnam Investment news, the company has fired four employees after discovering they failed to alert and reimburse a 401(k) client who lost $1.5 million in 2001 for failing to invest the money in a timely manner. AP has more.

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In Tuesday's civil rights news, the ACLU argued today in the US Supreme Court that the Child Online Protection Act censors valuable speech, but does not protect children from "potentially harmful material". This is the second time the US Supreme Court has considered the constitutionality of the law; in 2001 it sent it back to the Third Circuit for further review. The COPA legislation also represents Congress' second attempt to block non-obscene material from the internet. Read the ACLU press release here. The Electronic Privacy Information Center has more.... Television producer Dick Clark is being sued by 76 year old game show producer Ralph Andrews, who alleges Clark practiced age discrimination. Andrews claims Clark did not offer him a position with his production company because of his age, and then proceeded to call Andrews a "dinosaur". Andrews alleges Clark's actions violated the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. AP has more.

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AP is reporting that the US Senate has by a narrow margin passed a further ten-year ban on assault weapons. The measure, approved 52-47, will become part of a NRA-supported legislative package to deny crime victims the ability to sue gun manufacturers and dealers.

UPDATE: AP is now reporting that the Senate has passed an additional measure requiring government background checks on buyers at private gun shows, thereby closing the so-called "gun show loophole."

WNBC in New York is reporting that former WorldCom chief financial officer and Ebbers associate Scott Sullivan has pleaded guility to charges arising from a 2002 accounting scandal at the telecommunications concern, and has agreed to co-operate with prosecutors to mitigate what could be up to 25-year sentence for securities fraud. An indictment against Ebbers has ben filed and is expected to be formally announced by Attorney General John Ashcroft within the hour.

New Serbian Prime Minister (and former President of Serbia & Montenegro) Vojislav Kostunica said Tuesday during his presentation of his new Cabinet to Parliament that all indicted Serbian war criminals indicated by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yuglsoabia at The Hague should be returned to Serbia for trial. Kostunica has been a lukewarm supporter of the Hague proceedings, and his leadership of a minority government has made him even more sensitive to demands that Serbia stop sending indictees to the Netherlands for trial. by the international war crimes tribunal. Serbia's Beta news agency has more.

The US Supreme Court ruled 9-0 Tuesday that sole shareholders in a corporation qualify as plan "participants" under ERISA and can therefore enforce restrictions on the alienation of plan benefits. The opinion in Yates v. Hendon was written by Justice Ginsburg. Justices Scalia and Thomas concurred in the judgment.... The Court also ruled 8-1 in a habeas exhaustion case that a prisoner must cite the federal Constitution or a case deciding the federal claim to be said to have "fairly presented" a federal claim to a state court. The opinion in Baldwin v. Reese was written by Justice Breyer. Justice Stevens dissented.

Californians go to the polls today on "Super Tuesday" to vote not only on Presidential nominees (who are also competing in 9 other states) but also on several Propositions to change California state law. All relate to efforts to balance California's budget. The most structurally significant is Proposition 56, which would lower the legislative voting requirement for enacting budget-related bills from 66 to 55 percent, which is the long run might make tax increases easier. The Stanford Daily has more. The full text of the Propositions, along with voting returns as they come in tonight, are available from the California Secretary of State's office here. In related news, the US Justice Department says that it has sent Civil Rights Division personnel to seven California counties to monitor today's vote for compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act.

AP is reporting that WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers has been indicted on federal charges, according to a government official. The unspecified charges were expected to be filed today after reports of the pending indictment began circulating yesterday evening. Ebbers left WorldCom in April 2002 in the midst of an accounting scandal. Reuters has more. Attorney General John Ashcroft has a press conference scheduled in New York at 1 PM ET.

Defense council for Martha Stewart and stockbroker Peter Bacanovic resume closing arguments Tuesday morning after the lead prosecutor in the case yesterday described Stewart's story about why she sold her ImClone stock when she did as "a fabrication designed to fool investigators." The New York Law Journal has more. Stewart's defense website Marthatalks.com meanwhile promises that the text of her own counsel's closing argument will be posted online as soon as it becomes available.

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States will meet Tuesday to discuss pending interviews with former President Bill Cinton and former Vice-President Al Gore. The Commission is also pressing for public testimony from National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, and is considering giving her a subpoena if she insists on not appearing. She has already met with Commission members privately. President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have only agreed to hour-long interviews with the Commission co-chairs at dates which have not yet been set. AP has more.

The trial of 26 anti-globalization activists accused of rioting and looting at protests of the 2001 G8 summit of world leaders in Genoa, Italy, began Tuesday as about 200 demonstrators paraded outside the court. More than 70 policemen and officials are still under investigation for their role in the riots, which took the life of one protestor, but none have yet been charged. Reuters has more.

US officials made it clear Monday that the US would approve the draft Iraqi interim constitution agreed to by the Iraqi Governing Council (as reported previously on JURIST's Paper Chase) earlier that day after a marathon negotiating session. AP has more. The State Department's information service issued this news release with reaction from US Secretary of State Colin Powell. The interim constitution itself is not yet available online; it is scheduled to be released March 3.

In Tuesday's media and information law news, an Ohio appeals court has ruled that a radio news director was not protected from revealing her source under the state's shield laws because she was not acting as a reporter when she obtained the information, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reports. A reporter for the Toledo Blade, Sandra Svoboda, brought the suit after allegedly false reports that she was having an affair with the co-publisher of the newspaper were made on WVKS-FM's morning show. The station's news director, Tricia Tischler, was not acting as a reporter because she asked no investigative questions and made no records of the phone call in which she obtained the information, the court ruled. RCFP has more.... A Sudanese court closed a paper for three days and fined the editor $190 after it published information linking an official to the security service, AFP reports. The lawsuit was filed by National Press Council Secretary General Hashim al-Jaz after newspaper published a story by Reporters Without Borders that linked al-Jaz to security forces.

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A group of British lawyers announced Tuesday that they are bringing a legal action in the International Criminal Court against UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Defense Minister Geoffrey Hoon and UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, alleging war crimes relating to the UK's participation in the invasion of Iraq. The legal team, which represents the group Legal Action Against War includes leading criminal barrister Michael Mansfield QC, most recently prominent in the Bloody Sunday inquiry. The announcement comes as the government faces mounting pressure to publish the full legal advice it received from its Attorney General prior to entering the Iraq conflict. BBC News has more. Today's Guardian newspaper features a Q&A with several other UK lawyers on whether the Iraq war was legal.

In Tuesday's US law and business press, the Corporate Counsel presents its 2004 list of "Innovative GCs".... The ABA Journal reports on last week's US Supreme Court ruling in General Dynamics Land Systems Inc. v. Cline [PDF] that employees 40 years old and above cannot sue other older employees nearing retirement age for receiving special benefits and incentives.... The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that a subsidiary of InterDigital Communications Corp. is suing Lucent Technologies Inc. for patent infringement.... The New York Law Journal reports that a Manhattan Supreme Court justice has denied a mistrial motion in the Tyco International Ltd. corruption and grand larceny trial.... The American Lawyer reports on Philadelphia-based firm Duane Morris's lateral hiring tactics.... FindLaw's Writ features attorney/author Julie Hilden's commentary on whether Laci Peterson's mother should win her suit against Scott Peterson for profits from the sale of his story.

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Lord Mansfield (William Murray), Chief Justice of King's Bench and developer of English commercial law, was born in Scone, Scotland, on March 2, 1702. Learn more about Lord Mansfield from the Biddle Law Library, University of Pennsylvania Law School.