Real-time comments on legal news by newsmakers, activists, legal experts and special guests. http://jurist.org/hotline JURISTremove_this@pitt.edu JURIST Guest Columnists Rodney R. Sweetland, III and Michael G. McManus, both of Duane Morris, discuss the recent ITC decision in the Apple-Motorola patent dispute...In a Section 337 case before the US International Trade Commission (ITC) with a tortuous history, the ITC has once again spared Apple from an exclusion order. Apple's record of success as a respondent at the ITC remains perfect, having succeeded in all nine cases it defended to conclusion. Background This case arose from Motorola's suit against Apple for direct and indirect infringement of method and apparatus claims of wireless communication systems technology. These included US Patent Nos. 6,272,333, 6,246,697, 5,636,223, 6,246,862, 5,359,317 and 7,751,826. Motorola http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/05/sweetland-mcmanus-ITC-clears-Apple.php 2013-05-10T12:30:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/05/sweetland-mcmanus-ITC-clears-Apple.php Michael Muha JURIST Guest Columnist Clare da Silva of Amnesty International argues that the new Arms Trade Treaty shows remarkable progress in the international regulation of arms transactions...On April 2, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a global treaty that applies international legal standards to govern transfers of conventional weapons across borders. Of 193 member states, only three voted to reject the treaty: North Korea, Syria, and Iran. Despite the huge margin, the adoption of an Arms Trade Treaty to regulate the international trade in conventional arms was far from a given. It took a series of shocking crises—including the wars in the Persian Gulf and in http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/05/clare-da-silva-arms-trade.php 2013-05-01T11:30:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/05/clare-da-silva-arms-trade.php Sean Gallagher JURIST Guest Columnist Samar Warsi of the Muslim Civil Liberties Union argues that the international drone policy sets the tone for domestic drone policy decisions...For laws to be effective, they must have ascertainable limits. Clear limits are determined by definitions contained within laws and the meanings we attribute to words within those definitions. If international law can be violated through manipulating key conflict definitions, constitutional parameters can be similarly manipulated to encroach on the civil liberties of Americans right here at home. To think that the drone policy overseas has no impact on local policies is misguided, as the "permanent 'war on terror' sets precedents that slowly find their way http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/04/samar-warsi-drone-policy.php 2013-04-15T13:45:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/04/samar-warsi-drone-policy.php John Paul Regan JURIST Guest Columnist Robert McNamara, an attorney for the Institute for Justice, argues that the standard of review that the US Supreme Court ultimately uses in deciding US v. Windsor should not be perceived as the determinative element in that case's eventual outcome...When the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments [PDF] on March 27, 2013, in US v. Windsor, a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a substantial amount of energy was devoted not to the complex question of DOMA's constitutionality, but to the simple issue of what standard of review the Court would use in evaluating DOMA. Arguing for the administration of US President Barack Obama, http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/04/robert-mcnamara-rational-basis-windsor.php 2013-04-02T14:20:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/04/robert-mcnamara-rational-basis-windsor.php Michael Muha JURIST Guest Columnist Eric Leonard, the Henkel Family Chair in International Affairs at Shenandoah University, argues that the ongoing pursuit of justice 19 years after the Rwandan genocide is a positive step for international criminal justice that should be praised, not dismissed...Around this time 19 years ago, two crucial events occurred in the tiny African nation-state of Rwanda. First, Human Rights Watch (HRW) posted a report [PDF] that detailed the continued arming of militias in Rwanda. This document, "Arming Rwanda," paints a clear picture of the situation on the ground and the possible consequences of illegally importing arms to Rwanda. Second, the UN general overseeing the peacekeeping operation in Rwanda, http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/eric-leonard-rwanda-justice.php 2013-03-28T10:30:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/eric-leonard-rwanda-justice.php Michael Muha JURIST Guest Columnist Alba Morales, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, argues that indigent defendants are not receiving proper instructions regarding their right to counsel, a problem leading to uneducated plea bargains...The day's business in the Midland County Court Court-at-Law #2 in Midland, Texas, begins promptly at 9 a.m. every day. Judge Marvin L. Moore addresses the crowded courtroom, as well as some defendants who are "attending" via videoconference from jail. He rattles off the defendants' rights at what seems like an auctioneer's pace ("You have the right to a trial, to be represented by an attorney at trial, to cross-examine witnesses..."), dispenses a few admonitions ("a DUI can cost http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/alba-morales-misdemeanor-defense.php 2013-03-22T13:30:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/alba-morales-misdemeanor-defense.php Stephanie Kogut JURIST Guest Columnist Shane Kadidal of the Center for Constitutional Rights argues that even if the government's petition for en banc review of al Bahlul v. US fails, it will nonetheless succeed in maintaining the political status quo of the Obama administration...There are, basically, only two ways to leave Guantanamo today: in a coffin, or by pleading guilty in a military commission and serving out your sentence. Since this gives most detainees a shared incentive with the military prosecutors to arrange for plea-bargained convictions, it might surprise readers to hear that hardly any cases are moving forward in the commissions today. That is largely because of two rulings from the http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/shane-kadidal-guantanamo-bahlul.php 2013-03-21T14:05:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/shane-kadidal-guantanamo-bahlul.php John Paul Regan JURIST Guest Columnist George Kegoro of the International Commission of Jurists argues that the results of the 2013 presidential election in Kenya are unavoidably marred by technological failures and the shortcomings of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commissions...Now that Kenya has completed the general elections for 2013, which ended with the declaration of Uhuru Kenyatta as the fourth president of Kenya, it is useful to reflect on the whole electoral process in perspective. The country must be relieved that large-scale violence — a hallmark of the elections in 2007 and about which there was much fear — did not materialize this time round. However, there was still serious violence, most http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/george-kegoro-kenya-election.php 2013-03-17T10:00:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/george-kegoro-kenya-election.php Clay Flaherty JURIST Guest Columnist Karla Swift of the Michigan State AFL-CIO argues that the "right to work" laws enacted by the Michigan Legislature in 2012 are unconstitutional and were enacted in violation of Michigan's Open Meeting Act...The Michigan State AFL-CIO is currently pursuing two separate litigation paths challenging the so-called "right to work" laws, which were rushed through the Michigan Legislature and hastily signed by Governor Rick Snyder in December 2012. We firmly believe that, one way or another, these unjust laws will be overturned. As JURIST previously reported, the Michigan State AFL-CIO, together with the Change to Win Coalition and the Michigan State Building and Construction Trades Council, filed a http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/karla-swift-michigan-right-to-work.php 2013-03-14T09:30:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/karla-swift-michigan-right-to-work.php Theresa Donovan JURIST Guest Columnists Chen Reis of the University of Denver and Lynn Lawry (pictured) of Brigham and Women's Hospital argue that unified action must be taken by parties other than the International Criminal Court in order to provide adequate and sustainable support for victims of sexual crimes during and post-conflict...The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been marked by reports of human rights violations against civilians. Particular attention has been paid by media, activists and policy makers to the use of sexual violence by armed forces in the DRC as a "tactic of conflict." This form of violence has been associated with the government as well as http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/reis-lawry-icc-sexual-violence.php 2013-03-07T13:00:00-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/03/reis-lawry-icc-sexual-violence.php Theresa Donovan