http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/ JURIST's weblog of legal news and resources worth thinking about, by Professor Bernard Hibbitts and law students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. 2010-03-10T13:27:00-05:00 en-US http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/03/senate-committee-hears-testimony-on.php [JURIST] The US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] held a hearing [materials; video] Wednesday on the effects of the recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission [opinion, PDF], which eased restrictions [JURIST report] on political campaign spending by corporations. The hearing, entitled "We the People? Corporate Spending in American Elections after 2010-03-10T13:27:00-05:00 2010-03-10T13:27:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/03/un-rights-experts-urge-civilian-trials.php [JURIST] UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism Martin Scheinin [official website] on Tuesday urged the Obama administration to hold civilian trials for accused 9/11 conspirators, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed [JURIST news archives]. Scheinin called [Reuters report] the military commissions [JURIST news archive] system "fatally flawed" and said that reforming the system 2010-03-09T14:39:00-05:00 2010-03-10T13:27:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/03/utah-governor-signs-bill-criminalizing.php [JURIST] Utah Governor Gary Herbert (R) [official profile] signed a bill [press release] into law on Monday that would allow a woman to be charged with criminal homicide if she arranges for an illegal abortion. Bill HB 462 [text, PDF] defines abortion and states that "[t]he killing or attempted killing of a live unborn child in a manner that is not an abortion shall be punished as provided in 2010-03-09T10:31:00-05:00 2010-03-10T13:27:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/03/haiti-judge-orders-release-of-us.php [JURIST] A Haitian judge on Monday ordered the release of one of the last two US missionaries out of a group of 10 who were arrested on kidnapping charges [JURIST report] following the January 12 earthquake [JURIST news archive]. The judge announced last month that both missionaries would be released, following the release [JURIST reports] of the other eight members of the missionary group 2010-03-08T16:04:00-05:00 2010-03-10T13:27:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/03/supreme-court-to-rule-on-picketing.php [JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday granted certiorari [order list, PDF] in three cases. In Snyder v. Phelps [docket; cert. petition, PDF], the court will take up the controversial issue of picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in combat. Reverend Fred Phelps and members of the Westboro Baptist Church [church website; JURIST news archive] have been 2010-03-08T12:05:00-05:00 2010-03-10T13:27:00-05:00 http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/03/supreme-court-rules-pretrial-motion.php [JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday ruled [opinion, PDF] 7-2 in Bloate v. United States [Cornell LII backgrounder; JURIST report] that time granted to prepare pretrial motions is not automatically excludable under the Speedy Trial Act [18 USC § 3161(h)(1) text]. The court held that such time may be excluded only when a district court grants a 2010-03-08T11:16:00-05:00 2010-03-10T13:27:00-05:00