In Wednesday's federal courts roundup, the US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an 11-year-old's murder confession was illegally obtained and inadmissible. In ordering either a new trial or the expunging of the boy's record, the court found that a detective pressured the boy into making his statement. AP has the full story.... The US Third Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to rehear a dispute between US Airways and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers over subcontracting of airplane maintenance work. In refusing to review a ruling by a three judge panel last month, the court directed the parties to resolve the dispute through arbitration. The Pittsburgh Business Times has more information on this story.... Judge Samuel R. Cummings of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas has ruled that the Lubbock, Texas school district could prohibit on-campus meetings of a student group comprised of gay high school students. Cummings ruled that "the local school officials and parents are in the best position to determine what subject matter is reasonable". AP has the story. Read the opinion here [PDF].

In Wednesday's immigration law news, the city of Los Angeles has created an Office of Immigrant Affairs. The office was created to put Los Angeles residents - an estimated 40% of the county - in contact with community services and support organizations. The measure creating the office was passed by a unanimous vote in the LA City Council.

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In Wednesday's Congressional News, the House today passed two pieces of legislation relating to the processing of patents and copyrights, according to AP. The "United States Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2003" (HR 1561) would increase the fees for filing and maintaining patents, but would use fees for the Patent and Trademark Office instead of putting them in the general Treasury fund. The second bill, known as the "Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act" (HR 1417), was passed unanimously and seeks to simplify copyright laws. One key provision would replace the current arbitration panels that evaluate royalty and distribution rates with judges appointed by the Library of Congress.... The Senate Judiciary Committee today convened a hearing to debate the merit of a constitutional amendment to limit marriage to opposite sex couples. Speaking in favor of such an amendment, Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning noted that states such as Nebraska that already have constitutional provisions against same sex marriages may encounter difficulty maintaining this position, as federal courts may compel those states to recognize marriages from states that permit gay marriages. Noting that the US Supreme Court already has appeared to allude to such unions in Lawrence v. Texas, Bruning pointed out that the Court's 1996 decision in Romer v. Evans specifically struck down a Colorado constitutional amendment denying equal protection to homosexuals in that state. Opposing the creation of such an amendment, Yale Law School professor Lea Brilmayer suggested that an amendment would alter the balance of power between the federal and state governments, shifting control of family law away from the localities where its impact is most directly felt. Brilmayer cited a litany of case law demonstrating that the Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause has not been construed to compel states to adopt positions that are contrary to their own public policy on issues relating to marriage. Meanwhile, CNN reports that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist today urged passage of an amendment in a Capitol Hill rally where he echoed President Bush's concerns over recent actions by "activist judges." AP has more.

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In international law news Wednesday, the UN Security Council is set to debate the revitalization of its Counter-Terrorism Committee and a draft resolution that would establish, under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, a permanent counter-terrorism body within the UN to monitor state implementation of counter-terrorist measures. Human rights groups have called for the proposed body, the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, to contain a strong human rights component. Read a letter sent by Human Rights Watch to the Security Council and the full story from the UN Observer. The Security Council's Thursday debate will be webcast live here at 10 AM ET.... EU environment ministers have decided to push Russia to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, despite objections by Italy. Russia's ratification would bring the treaty into force after the US withdrew in 2000. Reuters has more.... UN trained monitors have begun a three-month study to document crimes of sexual violence during Liberia's 14-year civil war. The goal of the project, which is being sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme, is to advocate for the country's many victims of sexual violence. Results will be given to Liberia's proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The UN News Service has the full story. More information on UNDP involvement in Liberia is here. BBC News has more.

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Here's Wednesday's legal news from the US Department of Justice. The FBI has formally revealed a new procedure by which agents can catch online child pornographers, according to CNN. The new method consists of allowing agents to obtain "John Doe" arrest warrants and releasing each suspect's pornographic materials to the public on television and the internet. The FBI's new program has already led to the arrest of two men after their pictures were aired on television's "America's Most Wanted". Read the FBI's press release here.... The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to dismiss a case challenging the Pentagon's use of an anthrax vaccination, according to AP. The lawsuit was brought by six members of the military who claim that the vaccine is experimental and being improperly used. The Justice Department claims that the case lacks merit because the vaccine has been approved by the FDA. Read the FDA's statement regarding the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

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AP is reporting that the Walt Disney board has split the company's chairman and chief executive positions, naming former US Senator George Mitchell the new company chairman, and Michael Eisner the CEO. The move follows a shareholder vote this afternoon (previously reported in JURIST's Paper Chase) that saw over 40% of the shareholders withhold their support from Michael Eisner's re-election bid for the formerly combined position. The possibility of splitting the two posts had been mooted in press reports earlier in the day as a way of perhaps assuaging discontented Disney investors, although it was a reversal of an earlier board positon. An op-ed by Senator Mitchell in yesterday's Wall Street Journal had said the board wanted to delay the split until 2006.

UPDATE: The Walt Disney press release on the shuffle is now online. It reads in part:

While making this change in governance, the Board remains unanimous in its support of the Company's management team and of Michael Eisner, who will continue to serve as chief executive officer. Following recent detailed reviews of each major business and with an ongoing, in-depth knowledge of our operations, the Board has confidence in the strategic direction of the company. Our belief in the Company's strategy, financial results over the last several quarters, and the level of earnings and improved returns we expect going forward make us confident that results will validate our judgment on the quality of our management team.

While there appear to have been a number of different forces at work in the shareholder vote, a significant message conveyed in the vote was in the area of governance, as evidenced by governance-driven withhold recommendations by two influential proxy recommendation groups and the public and private statements by a number of other shareholders. In particular, there was substantial focus on the question of whether the Chair and CEO functions at the Company should be split.

That is not to say that we view the vote as limited to governance issues alone. We are aware that some voted for an immediate change in management and in the board. However, taking all of these factors into account, we believe the action we have taken today is in the best long-term interest of the shareholders of the company.

Read the full Disney press release here

In Wednesday's civil rights news, a Pittsburgh judge has ordered "aggressive changes" to the local jury pool selection process. Judge Joseph R. James of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas says the number of African-Americans available for jury duty in Allegheny County is too low, and in an effort to combat this more jury questionnaires will be sent out to communities with an African-American voting population of 10.8% or more. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has more.... Civil rights organizations located in and around Riverdale, Georgia, are concerned about the repercussions suffered by a African-American Riverdale police officer who talked to the US Department of Justice regarding racism within the police force. The Clayton NAACP, Rainbow/PUSH, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Clayton County Black Minister's Fellowship, and Concerned Black Citizens of Clayton County held a news conference on the issue this evening, and brought in other African-American officers who also allege racism in the police force. The Riverdale Police Force said they have conducted an investigation into the allegations and found the claims was "unfounded". The Atlanta-Journal Constitution has more.

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The US Department of Agriculture's Inspector General said Wednesday that the USDA has opened a criminal probe of whether records relating to the country's only reported case of mad cow disease might have been falsified. Phyllis Fong was testifying to a House subcommittee. She said the animal had initially been called a so-called "downer" deemed to be at higher risk of brain-wasting spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, but that did not fit with subsequent descriptions. Read Fong's prepared testimony before the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Agriculture here. AP has more. The USDA provides background information on mad cow disease here.

The US Defense Department Wednesday issued the draft of an administrative process for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in anticipation of yearly reviews of their detentions. In an accompanying press release the Pentagon stated:

In this process, each enemy combatant would have an opportunity to explain before an administrative review board of three military officers why he should no longer be detained. Specifically, he would be permitted to explain why he is no longer a threat to the United States and its allies in the ongoing war against on terrorism. The enemy combatant would be assigned a military officer to assist him in presenting this information to the review board. The detainee’s government and his family would also be permitted to provide information regarding the detainee under review.

The draft procedures - which the Pentagon emphasized "are not final" - notably fall short of providing formal legal representation for detainees. The full text of the DOD procedures memorandum is here. Reuters has more.

The United Kingdom's Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, has savaged the Blair government's proposal to replace the judicial panel of the House of Lords with a new UK Supreme Court, saying that the change would create a "second class instituton." In a speech Wednesday at Cambridge University's law faculty, he also said that government plans to limit the appeal rights of persons seeking asylum in the UK were contrary to the rule of law and would result in a public push for a written constitution. BBC News has more.

In a preliminary ballot Wednesday, 43% of Walt Disney Company shareholders opted to withhold their vote instead of supporting current Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner for re-election. Eisner has been battling opposition from Walt Disney nephew Roy Disney and associate Stanley Gold over his recent running of the company, which he has led for some 20 years. Disney and Gold have issued a press release on their SaveDisney.com website hailing what they called the "resounding 'No Confidence' vote" in Eisner. While the fate of Eisner's job is still uncertain - technically, he was running for re-election unopposed - today's vote likely portends sweeping changes ahead for Disney leadership. ABC News has more. Disney has provided recorded audio of today's shareholders meeting here.

As briefly noted by Amit Patel earlier today on JURIST's Paper Chase, former WorldCom Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges of fraud, conspiracy and making false statements in connection with a massive accounting scandal that sent the corporation into bankruptcy. Trial has been set for November 9. Until then, Ebbers is free after posting a $10 million bond. Reuters has more.

The Federal Election Commission announced Wednesday that it, the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) have reached an agreement resolving alleged violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act. The FEC says Fannie Mae violated campaign finance laws by donating money to the Republican National Committee that was not earmarked for "building funds". As part of the settlement, the RNC, NRSC and Fannie Mae will have to pay a total of $132,000 in civil penalties. Read the FEC press release here.

In Wednesday's family law news, the Colorado House has passed a bill [PDF] that would give men 18 years to refute their paternity of a child. The bill would allow fathers to negate paternity through a DNA test in order to terminate child support. The current law gives men five years to refute paternity. Opponents of the bill feel that 18 years is too long, while proponents argue this extra time is necessary for a man to determine whether or not the child resembles him and therefore have reason to question paternity. The bill now moves to the Senate. The Colorado Daily Sentinel has more.

The legal opinion on gay marriage in Oregon by the County Attorney for Multonomah County is now online here [PDF].

In cyberspace law news Wednesday, Go Daddy Software has announced plans to give $100,000 to ICANN to fund their legal battle against VeriSign. Go Daddy, one of the largest domain name registrars, has also sent a letter [PDF] to the US Department of Commerce and members of Congress, urging them to combat VeriSign's lawsuit against ICANN. The pending anti-trust lawsuit centers around VeriSign's plans to introduce its wait-listing service (WLS). A group of registars collectively asserts that VeriSign's plan will end up costing people four times more to register domain names. VeriSign claims that ICANN illegally delayed the launch of the WLS system. Go Daddy has also set up a website, RecallVeriSign.com, that outlines its opinions.... The SCO, in its continuing battle against Linux, has filed suit against DaimlerChrysler and AutoZone. SCO, the holder of the copyright to UNIX, alleges that AutoZone and others infringed their copyrights by running the Linux operating system.... US regulators in Washington are looking at a new program from Audible Magic, which claims that it can halt unauthorized file-sharing of copyrighted music. The RIAA has backed the new technology, adding to its credibility as an anti-piracy tool. Critics argue that the tools could be used to censor free speech and invade privacy in cyberspace.

As indicated this morning on JURIST's Paper Chase, officials in Multnomah County, Oregon have now begun issuing same-sex marriage licenses. AP has more. KATU-TV Portland provides recorded video of a 1 PM ET (9 AM local) press conference by Multnomah County Commissioners and the County Attorney announcing the legal opinion under which their licenses would be issued.

AP reports today that the European Union will soon order software giant Microsoft to offer a European version of its Windows operating system without multimedia programs like Media Player bundled together with it. The EU has already ruled preliminarily that this bundling practice violates EU competition law, and a draft decision reportedly orders the change in order to relieve the operating system's legal infirmities. Microsoft is expected to appeal any such order, extending an antitrust case that was filed more than four years ago. AP has the full story here.

Amnesty International cautioned Wednesday that two convicted or indicted human rights violators are currently leading rebel forces in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, and that at least eight others remain at large in the country. The organization is urging that these violators be excluded from any positions of authority in any new governing structures. Read their report here, and read more about Amnesty International's larger Haitian campaign here. AI's report today echoes an earlier report from Human Rights Watch, which dubs the human rights records of rebel leaders "dubious," and indicts the US for its flaccid defense of human rights following its 1994 intervention. Yesterday, HRW also argued that the return of Haitian asylum seekers by the United States violates international law. Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has expressed hope for a "long haul and not a quick turn-around" from international involvement in this island country. More from the UN here.

In Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, Michael Eisner, Disney chairman and chief executive, faces a tough battle to serve another term on the board of the company as one in three shareholders are likely to withhold support for Eisner. Additionally, Comcast which proposed a takeover of Disney, announced the company will also vote against Eisner. Two ex-board members, Stanley Gold and Roy E. Disney, are leading the fight to replace Eisner. Disney is also facing pressure from corporate governance groups to split the role of chairman and chief executive. Click to listen to the Walt Disney shareholders meeting here. Read Roy Disney's protest website here. AP has more....

In other corporations and securities news, Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Cos. chairman Sir Philip Watts has resigned in the wake of a SEC investigation into the company's overstatement of proved reserves. Read the Shell press release announcing the resignation here. AP has more.... As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, former CEO of WorldCom Bernard Ebbers turned himself in to the FBI and later pleaded innocent to federal charges that he conspired with his CFO, Scott Sullivan, to commit the largest corporate fraud in American history. Read the indictment against Ebbers and Sullivan here[PDF]. AP has more.... As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, the defense in the Martha Stewart trial conducted closing arguments and the jury began deliberating the case after lengthy instructions from the judge. Read the indictment against Stewart here[PDF]. AP has more.... Mutual fund company Franklin Resources Inc., which last month announced an SEC investigation into improper trading at the company, said today that the SEC will no longer recommend civil action against the company's president Gregory Johnson. Reuters has more.... SCO Group, the owner of the UNIX operating system, is filing a lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler for an alleged violation of a software agreement. Read the SCO press release announcing the charges here. Reuters has more

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The office of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has just posted online his legal opinion on same-sex marriages in New York. Read the opinion here [PDF]. An accompanying press release summarizes the opinion's principal findings as follows:

• The language of the New York State Domestic Relations Law - which includes references to "bride and groom" and "husband and wife" - does not authorize the issuance of licenses to same sex couples in New York;
• Therefore, the opinion recommends that local officials in New York should not issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, and officiants should not solemnize same sex wedding ceremonies;
• New York's marriage laws raise important constitutional questions involving the equal protection of the laws. Any uncertainty arising from those questions must and will be decided by the courts; and
• Under state court precedent, same sex marriages and civil unions lawfully entered in other jurisdictions outside the state should be recognized in New York.

Read the full press release here.

In a move ostensibly motivated by changing consumer tastes, McDonald's has announced that by year's end it will fully phase out its famous "Supersize" portions of French fries and soft drinks. Read the McDonald's press release here. But concerns about product liability may also have factored into the decision. Last year, the fast food giant found itself a defendant in two lawsuits claiming that it hid the health risks posed by its products. Both lawsuits were tossed by federal court judges in New York (read the text of one dismissal here [PDF]), but the company remains, in AP's words, a " lightning rod for public criticism - and legal action - when it comes to obesity and other health worries." Read the full AP report here.

New York Newsday is reporting that in a legal opinion to be announced later this afternoon at a news conference, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer says that New York State's marriage law does not authorize officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The opinion further states that civic officials who perform gay marriages - such as New Paltz mayor Jason West - leave themselves open to criminal charges.

As previewed in a morning report for JURIST's Paper Chase, jurors have now begun deliberating the fate of Martha Stewart in the stock fraud case against her. Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum sent off jurors with a set of jury instructions germane to the case and urged them to consider the case "with complete fairness and impartiality." If convicted, Stewart must resign from the management of her company and will face up to 20 years in prison. AP has the full story here.

Finland's former Prime Minister Anneli Jaeaetteenmaeki has pled not guilty Wednesday in Helsinki to charges that she provoked a former presidential aide, Martti Manninen, to breach Finnish secrecy laws. Jaeaetteenmaeki is accused of soliciting information about a meeting between her predecessor and US President George W. Bush which she used during an election debate. During the debate Jaeaetteenmaeki said that former Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen had given Bush the impression that Finland supported US war plans in Iraq, which most voters opposed. Jaeaetteenmaeki's attorney has said that "My client has not persuaded Manninen to leak the information, nor connived and has not asked for the documents." Jaeaetteenmaeki was forced to resign as Prime Minister in June 2003 after she was accused of lying to the Finnish parliament about her use of leaked documents. Bloomberg has the full story.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist called on Congress Wednesday to embrace a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Frist said "we will not let activist judges redefine - I would say radically redefine - what marriage is, and that is a union between a man and a woman." Texas Senator John Cornyn meanwhile rejected arguments that an amendment would be discriminatory, saying that "the institution of marriage was not created to discriminate or oppress, it was established to protect and nurture children." AP has the full story. As reported last week on JURIST's Paper Chase, President Bush has called for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Widespread protests and rioting that left two people dead and dozens injured broke out in Venezuela late Tuesday after the country's National Electoral Council ruled that the opposition lacked enough valid signatures to force a recall referendum against President Hugo Chavez. Chavez opponents said that they submitted more than 3.4 million signatures in support of a recall vote, but the Council said that only 1.83 million of those signatures were valid. About 2.4 million signatures are needed to force a recall vote. The Council's decision is available here [in Spanish]. AP has more. Reuters has more on the protests and rioting. The Organization of American States, which has been monitoring the referendum process with The Carter Center, has issued this press release on the elections council decision.

Jason West, mayor of New Paltz, NY, has vowed to go ahead with as many as two dozen same-sex weddings this weekend, despite being charged yesterday with 19 criminal counts of solemnizing a marriage without a license (see this previous report on JURIST's Paper Chase). West said this morning that New York's Health Department is breaking the law by refusing to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples because "our state constitution required equal protection for all New Yorkers." John Shields, mayor of Nyack, NY, has said that he too will begin officiating at weddings of same-sex couples, possibly as early as this weekend. AP has the full story. Also as previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, Oregon's Multnomah County will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples today.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Ohio has ruled that an attorney may not invoke attorney-client privilege when the spouse of a deceased client has waived that privilege. Attorney Beth Lewis tried to invoke the privilege in refusing to say if her deceased client knew anything about the disappearance of a 9-year-old girl. In its opinion, the court said that "the attorney-client privilege belongs solely to the client not the attorney." AP has more.

Multnomah County, Oregon's most populated and most liberal county which includes the city of Portland, will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Wednesday, following the lead of San Francisco and the village of New Paltz New York. The decision to issue the licenses was made after County officials received a favorable legal opinion Tuesday, the text of which has not yet been released. Oregon state law defines marriage as a “civil contract entered into, in person, by males at least 17 years of age and females at least 17 years of age.” Standing instructions on how to obtain a marriage license in Multomah County are here. Area TV stations report that licenses will be issued from 10 AM local time Wednesday, following a scheduled 9 AM press conference. The Salem Oregon Statesman Journal has more. KATU-TV in Portland offers a video report. Meanwhile. in a related development which may reflect some backtracking, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on the Jay Leno show Tuesday night that he would have no objection to same-sex marriages in California if the courts or voters approved them.

WorldCom founder and former CEO Bernard Ebbers turned himself in to the FBI in New York Wednesday morning a day after US Attorney General John Ashcroft announced a federal indictment [PDF] against him in connection with what has been described by analysts as the largest accounting fraud in US history. Reuters has more.

The French Constitutional Court has criticized elements of a new crime law [in French] that last month precipitated a strike by French lawyers (previously reported in JURIST's Paper Chase). While upholding the legislation overall, it expressed concern about the law's broad definition of "organized crime" and its indulgence of closed proceedings for US-style plea bargains. The Court's ruling and associated materials are here [in French]. BBC News has more.

The Iraqi Governing Council said Wednesday that it was postponing today's scheduled signing of the Iraqi interim constitution - the "Transitional Administrative Law" - in the wake of attacks Tuesday on Shia worshippers at two Iraqi shrines that killed over 170 people. The Council has declared a three day period of national mourning for the victims of the attacks. A press release from US Administrator Paul Bremer on the Coalition Provisional Authority website says "This week, after an appropriate period of mourning, the Iraqi Governing Council will sign the Transitional Administrative Law." Reuters has more.

UPDATE: A late AP report says that the interim constitution will be signed Friday, according to Iraqi Governing Council President Mohammed Bahr al-Ulloum.

The transcript of the closing argument of the defence in the Martha Stewart stock trading trial, made Tuesday in New York, is now available [PDF] from the defence website Marthatalks.com. The case now goes to the jury, with deliberations expected to begin today.

The US Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned on Tuesday a controversial lower court ruling by a Vermont federal judge that the federal death penalty was unconstitutional. US District Judge William K. Sessions III had held the Federal Death Penalty Act invalid because it denied defendants the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses. The appeals court said that the Act did not prevent a sentencing court from considering a wide range of information about the defendant beyond the evidence that might strictly be admissible at trial. Read the appeals court opinion here [PDF]; the original Sessions judgment is here [PDF]. AP has more.

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court held part of that country's eavesdropping law unconstitutional Wednesday, saying it infringed constitutional privacy guarantees and noting that it had not achieved significant results. The law, passed during the Chancellorship of former German leader Helmut Kohl, had proved highly controversial in light of Germany's Nazi past and the aggresive eavedropping tactics of the Stasi, the former East German secret police. From this point government eavesdropping on conversations in private homes is only permitted on suspicion of a serious offense that could result in a prison sentence of more than 5 years. AP has more.

California primary voters Tuesday approved two Propositions on a borrowing plan that would help the state pay off its budget deficit, but rejected by 64 to 36 a third measure - Proposition 56 - that would have reduced the legislative majority needed to pass a budgetary law from the current 2/3s to 55%, which critics (see the No on 56 campaign website) said might have facilitated tax increases. The Sacramento Bee has more.

In Wednesday's US law and business press, the ABA Journal reports that the OH State Medical Association is now financing motions for sanctions when it believes member physicians have been frivolously added as defendants in medical malpractice cases.... The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that Christopher A. Lewis, partner with Philadelphia law firm Blank Rome LLP, has been named chairman of the PA Judicial Conduct Board.... The Recorder reports on a CA Supreme Court ruling that the best interests of a child may prevail over a father's biological ties in determining fatherhood.... The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reports that former CA governor Gray Davis's former policy director has been charged with 12 felony counts for allegedly altering documents relating to a contract the state signed with Oracle Corp.... The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that video-on-demand company Concurrent Computer Corp. has won a defamation suit filed against SeaChange International.... FindLaw's Writ has Columbia law professor Michael C. Dorf's column on whether the Supreme Court's interpretation of the federal age discrimination law excludes the young.

click for the previous US law and business press review

Some of the legal stories running in Wednesday's foreign press... Nairobi's East African Standard reports that the presidents of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have signed the East African Community Customs Union. The protocol, establishing a single market and investment area, requires the removal of non-trade barriers within five years.... ABC Australia features attempts to restore avoluntary euthanasia law in the Northern Territory. The local law was overturned by a Commonwealth legislation in 1997.... In the Philippines, the Mindanao Times covers the reaction to the resignation of a Regional Trial Court judge. Judge Adoracion Avisado presided over a special illegal drugs court. Attorneys fear her absence will burden an already congested case load and encourage anti-drug vigilantism.

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On March 3, 1879, Belva Lockwood became the first woman admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Learn more about women at the Supreme Court bar from the Supreme Court Historical Society.