In Wednesday's federal courts roundup, Judge Jeremy Fogel of the US District Court for the District of Northern California ruled that federal officials cannot prosecute or raid members of a medical marijuana group. Fogel ruled that a 1970 federal law is "an unconstitutional exercise" of federal intervention as applied in the case. AP has more on this story.... Senior Judge Alan Bloch of the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled that Daniel Zehr, an Amish Canadian, cannot stay in the US while his case is heard in his challenge to a US law that requires photo identification for people entering the country. Zehr argues that the law infringes his religious freedom because his beliefs prohibit him from having his photograph taken. AP has the full story.... Late yesterday, Judge Richard C. Casey of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York found the New York-Presbyterian Hospital in contempt of court for not turning over records of patient abortions. The records are being sought in a challenge to the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The hospital immediately appealed the ruling. AP has the full story.... Also yesterday, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of Ernest Avants, a reputed member of the Ku Klux Klan. Avants was convicted last year for his part in the killing of Ben Chester White. Avants was acquitted of a state murder charge in 1967, but federal charges were filed years later when investigators realized the murder took place on federal lands. AP has the full story.... The US Supreme Court heard arguments in a case presenting a technical question about rules for agencies that are following presidential orders. At issue is whether American roads must be opened up to Mexican trucks, as ordered by President Bush in 2002. AP has more on today's arguments.

In international law news Wednesday, Russia has exercised its power to veto UN Security Council resolutions for the first time since 1994 by vetoing a draft resolution that would have terminated the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus and replaced it with the UN Settlement Force in Cyprus. Russia's ambassador to the UN indicated the resolution had been vetoed because it should have been subject to more extensive discussion. The UN News Service has more.... The Russian, Ukrainian, and Kazakh parliaments have ratified a treaty which will establish a Single Economic Space (SES) that will coordinate regulation of their economies and abolish trade tariffs to ensure the free movement of goods, services, labor and capital. Belarus is also expected to join the SES. RFE/RL has the full story.... The UN Commission on Human Rights has adopted a resolution, submitted by the EU, that calls for governments to declare a moratorium on the death penalty as the first step to eliminating its use. AP has the full story.... Serbia and Montenegro wrapped up three days of preliminary arguments at the International Court of Justice in the case against eight NATO countries for the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia. Belgrade's lawyers responded to arguments made earlier this week that the court lacks jurisdiction because Serbia and Montenegro was not yet admitted as a UN member state when the claims were filed. AFP has more.

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Legislators in Japan Wednesday submitted a proposed amendment to the bill creating lay judges, which would reduce the potential penalties for such judges who commit wrongdoing. The bill, which is expected to pass the House of Representatives on Friday, and be enacted in May, would establish a system where ordinary citizens would work with judges in trying murder cases, in order to better reflect public opinion. Currently, Japanese courts do not use a jury system. The amendments provide for a reduction in jail time, and fines, if the lay judges leak confidential information. Read more from the Daily Yomiuri. JURIST has an overview of the Japanese legal system here.

In environmental law news for Wednesday, KRT notes that a report [PDF] issued by the US Commission on Ocean Policy urges President Bush to implement pollution controls, limits on coastal development and reform of fishing management to preserve entire eco-systems. Essentially validating claims made by several environmental groups in the past, the report calls for a concerted effort to combat mismanagement and pollution of the oceans. The commissioners said they feared continued degradation could jeopardize fishing, recreation, the quality of beaches and tourism along the coastlines. Democratic presedential candidate John Kerry has taken advantage of the study to slam the Bush administration on its tretament of environmental matters... In other news, The New York Times reports that a federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction to prevent the US Navy from creating a new landing field for training pilots which would be located five miles away from a large migratory bird refuge located in rural Plymouth, North Carolina. The decision hinged on the possibility that the Navy may have failed to take into account the environmental effects of the air field. Environmental groups such as the Audubon Society and the Southern Environmental Law Center, focused their arguments on harm to the birds' habitat and the high risk of bird strikes against the aircraft. Such strikes are a hazard for all aircraft but would be compounded by a location near the Atlantic flyway, which draws hundreds of thousands of migratory birds... The EPA has announced plans to downgrade the water quality rating of Boston's Charles River after a decade-long campaign to make the river clean enough for swimming next summer. AP has more... Reuters reports that EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt has expressed interest in rejoining the global warming debate in spite of the rejection of the Kyoto Protocol by the US in 2001. Although stating that the US wants to be "full participants in matters relating to the environment," Leavitt reiterated that the Bush administration was maintaining its stance against mandatory rules to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases.

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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned two death sentences Wednesday. The court reduced the sentence of Willie Mack Modden to life in prison, on a finding that Modden is mentally retarded. Modden won a stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2002, just hours before his sentence was to be carried out, in light of the Court's finding in Atkins v. Virginia that the execution of mentally retarded individuals violates the Eighth Amendment. The Texas court also ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support a jury finding that Kenneth Vodochodsky aided in the murders two sheriff's deputies. Vodochodsky's case has been remanded back to trial court. AP has the story here.

In Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, Computer Associates International Inc., chairman and chief executive Sanjay Kumar resigned today amid the accounting scandal hounding the company. The SEC's investigation focuses on the misrepresentation of the timing of contracts in order to meet Wall Street expectations. Director Lewis Ranieri will take over as chairman while the search for an interim CEO proceeds. Read the Computer Associates press release announcing the move here. Read the Computer Associates press release announcing the investigation here. AP has more.

The SEC is holding public hearings on the modernization of Wall Street's rules and regulations. Read the agenda of the meeting here. Read the proposed rules here. Reuters has more.... Axel Weber, an economics professor at the University of Cologne, was named the next Bundesbank head succeeding Ernst Welteke who resigned after an ethics scandal involving a hotel bill paid by a top commercial bank. Reuters has more.... The attorney for broker Frank Quattrone is accusing Judge Richard Owen of jeopardizing the trial by repeatedly puffing out his cheeks and interrupting cross-examinations which could influence the jury decision. Read the indictment against Quattrone here[PDF]. BBC has more.

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked the National Football League on Wednesday to respond to a request by college star Maurice Clarett, who wants the league to stay a recent decision that denies him eligibility for the NFL draft this weekend. Ginsburg gave no indication whether the Court will itself entertain an emergency appeal filed Tuesday by Clarett's attorney. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued the decision in question on Monday, freezing the Southern District of New York's ruling in Clarett v. NFL [PDF] that an NFL rule requiring players to wait three years after high school graduation to gain draft eligibility violates antitrust law. AP has the full story.

One day after British Prime Minister Tony Blair resolved to "let the people have the final say" on a new constitution for the European Union (see Paper Chase's initial report), French President Jacques Chirac remains uncommitted to the idea of a comparable referendum for French citizens. A government spokersperson said Wednesday that the constitution of France permits ratification by either plebiscite and parliamentary approval, and the government will decide between the two "at the right moment." AFP has more on the matter here.

Speaking Wednesday in Baghdad, the newly-appointed "director-general" of the special tribunal set up by the Iraqi Governing Council to try Saddam Husssein and other former Iraqi officials accused of crimes against the Iraqi people said that the names of the other seven judges and five prosecutors named to the court yesterday would not be disclosed for the time being due to "security concerns." Chalabi himself indicated that he had already received death threats from Hussein supporters. Although no trial date has been set, Chalabi indicated that the trial of Saddam would be open to the public, even if it "may not be televised live." Reuters has more.

Senators from both sides of the aisle united Wednesday to introduce legislation that would permit the importation of less expensive prescription drugs from Canada and eventually Europe. According to an AP report, the bill would address ongoing safety concerns by requiring domestic importers to register with the Food and Drug Administration and requiring the FDA to inspect foreign exporters. Additionally, it would limit importable drugs to those already approved by the FDA. The Kaiser Daily Health Report comments on the bill and covers a conference Tuesday where participants generally concluded that importation from Canada would not substantially reduce domestic drug prices.

In Wednesday's family law news, a California Assembly Committee approved a bill yesterday that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. The bill would amend the state family code to define marriage as a union between "two persons" instead of one man and one woman. Opponents of the bill argue that it contradicts Proposition 22 which was approved by voters in 2000 and said the state would only accept marriages between a man and a woman. Assemblyman Mark Leno, the bill's author, believes it does not contradict Proposition 22 because it dealt with marriages performed in other states, while his bill deals with marriages performed in California. The bill now moves to the Appropriations Committee and after that must be passed by the full Assembly before going to the Senate. AP has more.

The Environmental Protection Agency has promised timely consideration on requests from California, New York and other states for a temporary waiver of rules that require refiners to use ethanol in fuel so that states may lower gas pump prices. EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt has said that "we're considering their applications, but as a matter of policy we won't do anything that will compromise clean air or public health." In testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce earlier this month, US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham suggested that it might be possible to ease the smog-fighting rules. Bloomberg has the full story.

The European Parliament has voted to ask the European Court of Justice to rule on the legality of an agreement to share data about passengers flying to the US and has called on European governments to "refrain from concluding" data sharing agreements with the US until the Court can make its ruling. Critics of the EU-US data sharing agreement, negotiated last December, have said that the agreement is "illegal under member state and EU privacy laws." AP has more.

In a decision handed down this morning, the US Supreme Court has held that the Federal Reserve Board reasonably interpreted the Truth in Lending Act by issuing a regulation that classifies fees imposed by credit card lenders when a consumer exceeds the credit limit as "other charges which may be imposed" under the account rather than "finance charges." The case is Household Credit Services, Inc. v. Pfennig (case backgrounder from Duke Law School's Program in Public Law). Cornell's Legal Information Institute has posted today's unanimous opinion per Justice Thomas. Reuters has more.

Mordechai Vanunu has been released from Israeli prison after serving an 18-year prison sentence for leaking Israel's atomic weapons secrets. Israel's Ministry of Justice published this 1993 memorandum detailing the case against Vanunu. Upon his release, Vanunu said he had suffered "very cruel and barbaric treatment" during his imprisonment. BBC News has excerpts of Vanunu's statement here. As part of the terms of his release, Vanunu's travel outside of Israel has been restricted. An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman has said that "we have to strike the correct balance between safeguarding his personal liberty and looking after Israel's national security." Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has more on the restrictions placed on Vanunu. BBC News has the full story.

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts has filed a petition with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court asking for a delay of same-sex marriages until a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage can be voted on. The earliest date for a statewide vote on the amendment would be November 2006. The New York Times has more.

In Wednesday's media and information law, the International Federation of Journalists says that US forces who fired on several journalists in Iraq Monday, killing two and injuring a third, may have acted negligently, the Inter Press Service reports. The IFJ said its investigation into the deaths was not complete, but indications point toward some negligence on the part of the soldiers. The killings on Monday of the al-Iraqiya journalists brought to 40 the number of journalists killed in Iraq since the beginning of the war. US officials said an investigation was being conducted to determine what happened. According to the officials, the journalists were fired on after driving toward a military base and failing to heed warnings from the US forces there. Inter Press Service has more....In related news, a Spanish judge requested documents from Spain, Greece and the United States as part of an investigation into the death of a Spanish journalist last April while covering the Iraq war, AP reports. The journalist, Jose Couso, was killed after a US tank fired on the Hotel Palestine where several journalists were staying. The Pentagon previously cleared the soldiers of responsibility in a report that was questioned by Reporters Without Borders. AP has more.

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Today (Wednesday) is the last day of law school classes here at JURIST's host institution, the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Beginning tomorrow, our law student anchors and reporters will be taking some necessary time off from Paper Chase to study for their final exams. Paper Chase will therefore adopt a reduced publishing schedule over the next ten days, focusing on top stories and breaking news.

Please join me in thanking all the Pitt law students who have helped to bring you Paper Chase since September:

Tamsen Barrett Chris Buell Joanne Charles Winston Collier Kirk Conway Ryan DeMotte Joseph Devine Anna Facco Melanie Gelardi Dana Goldfarb Adam Henry Thomas Hockman Matthew Jacobs Sumit Jain Lang Johnston Jeremiah Lee Scott Levine Jeremey Lundergan Timothy Lyon

Jen Nolan Amit Patel Jennifer Pierson Hany Rizkalla Candice Roth Melissa Schneider Matthew Sebastian Maryam Shad Chirag Shah Matthew Shames Jeannie Shawl Zak Shusterman Brandon Smith Anjali Soi Justine Stefanelli Francie Stewart Nicole Wright Cynthia Yializis

Paper Chase's "summer" service will start in the first week of May with a reinvigorated editorial team of veterans and some new recruits. Stay tuned!

In Wednesday's US law and business press, the New York Law Journal reports on a NY appellate court ruling that a federal ban on unsolicited advertising faxes is constitutional.... The Recorder reports on a CA Supreme Court ruling that attorneys may be sued for malicious prosecution if they pursue a case after learning it is not supported by probable cause.... The Miami Daily Business Review reports that south FL Holocaust survivors want their attorney to get paid despite a NY federal judge's ruling that he had little or nothing to do with obtaining settlements for his clients.... The Houston Business Journal reports that Service Corp. International, the world's largest funeral and cemetery company, has agreed to settle a securities class action lawsuit for $65 million.... FindLaw's Writ has Rutgers law professor Sherry F. Colb's column on why the FDA is hesitant to link antidepressants and suicide risk.

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On April 21, 1649, the Maryland Assembly passed the Maryland Toleration Act, providing for freedom of worship for all Christians. The key section of act read:

And whereas the inforceing of the conscience in matters of Religion hath frequently fallen out to be of dangerous Consequence in those commonwealthes where it hath been practised, And for the more quiett and peaceable governement of this Province, and the better to preserve mutuall Love and amity amongst the Inhabitants thereof, Be it Therefore also by the Lord Proprietary with the advise and consent of this Assembly Ordeyned and enacted (except as in this present Act is before Declared and sett forth) that noe person or persons whatsoever within this Province, or the Islands, Ports, Harbors, Creekes, or havens thereunto belonging professing to beleive in Jesus Christ, shall from henceforth bee any waies troubled, Molested or discountenanced for or in respect of his or her religion nor in the free exercise thereof within this Province or the Islands thereunto belonging nor any way compelled to the beleife or exercise of any other Religion against his or her consent, soe as they be not unfaithfull to the Lord Proprietary, or molest or conspire against the civill Governement established or to bee established in this Province under him or his heires.

Learn more about the Maryland Toleration Act.