Real-time comments on legal news by newsmakers, activists, legal experts and special guests. http://jurist.org/hotline JURISTremove_this@pitt.edu [Nick Nyhart, President and CEO of Public Campaign]: "With just four Republican Senators in play on the DISCLOSE Act its failure to reach closure Wednesday was no surprise. The original intent of the legislation was to blunt the impact of the disastrous Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Unfortunately, it became a political football for Republicans and Democrats alike. While the transparency and disclosure provisions included in the bill would let the American people know who is trying to buy our elections, Congress should have been bolder. The American electorate is not angry about a few bad apples--they want to throw out the whole moldy barrel. http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/07/senate-stalemate-indicates-larger-problems-in-campaign-finance-reform.php 2010-07-30T10:55:56-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/07/senate-stalemate-indicates-larger-problems-in-campaign-finance-reform.php Torrey Hullum [Serkan Yolcu, Uludag University Faculty of Law]: "On Wednesday July 7, 2010, the Turkish media was unexpectedly informed by the press office of Constitutional Court that the Court made its eagerly anticipated judgment on the constitutional amendment package that has been on the agenda for months. After 9.5 hours of debate in only one day, the eleven members of the Court decided to annul a few clauses of some articles of the package. The partially annulled articles rearrange the process of electing members to the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK). The Court annulled the provisions that would have prevented members of the high judiciary http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/07/more-constitutional-amendments-by-turkish-high-court-are-unwarranted-and-unjust-on-the-merits.php 2010-07-19T10:34:58-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/07/more-constitutional-amendments-by-turkish-high-court-are-unwarranted-and-unjust-on-the-merits.php Torrey Hullum [Katie Belanger, Fair Wisconsin]: "On Wednesday, June 30, 2010, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the 2006 state constitutional amendment banning marriage equality and civil unions in the McConkey v. J.B. Van Hollen et al. decision. In this case, William McConkey challenged the validity of the amendment, stating that it violates the single subject requirement for all constitutional amendments by addressing both marriage and civil unions. This decision was not about public policy, but rather about legal procedure. In the unanimous decision, liberal and conservative alike agreed that the amendment did not violate the single subject rule. Our highly politicized Supreme Court had the opportunity to use this case to make http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/07/wisconsin-same-sex-marriage-decision-sets-stage-for-change.php 2010-07-09T04:39:22-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/07/wisconsin-same-sex-marriage-decision-sets-stage-for-change.php Torrey Hullum Richard Aborn [President, Citizens Crime Commission]: "What is most important to the gun control movement is the ability to pass reasonable laws designed to break up the illegal gun markets. While I disagree with this decision, as I do with District of Columbia v. Heller, these rulings do not deter us from pursuing laws that would close the gun show loophole and address licensing and registration. These laws are all vital to public safety and do not violate either the Supreme Court decisions or the rights of legitimate gun owners. Presented with two opportunities to do so, the Court declined to indicate that reasonable regulations of guns - and in http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/06/court-decisions-stifle-reasonable-gun-control-measures.php 2010-06-30T02:28:47-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/06/court-decisions-stifle-reasonable-gun-control-measures.php Torrey Hullum Richard C. Dieter [Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center]: "Ronnie Lee Gardner [BBC Backgrounder] was executed in a hail of bullets as he sat strapped to a chair in a Utah prison a few nights ago. Gardner got the kind of execution he wanted--death by firing squad--and Utah finally got what it wanted--retribution for the murder Gardner had committed twenty-five years ago. We the people (and in this case, there was a worldwide audience) probably scratched our heads wondering what that was all about. Even though the U.S. is averaging one execution per week, no one pays much attention to such events because they are not news. They are not http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/06/Firing-squad-execution-underscores-inhumanity-of-death-penalty.php 2010-06-23T04:48:17-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/06/Firing-squad-execution-underscores-inhumanity-of-death-penalty.php Torrey Hullum Yifat Susskind [MADRE Policy and Communications Director]: "The report by Human Rights Watch on female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kurdistan reveals the troubling reality facing women and girls compelled to undergo the procedure. Human Rights Watch references specifically the failure of the Kurdistan Regional Government to take seriously the issue of FGM and to enact legislation to curb the practice. In investigating this issue, many have sought to demonstrate that Islam does not require this practice and that most Muslims practice their faith without FGM. Others have countered with the reverse, claiming that FGM forms an essential part of traditional culture. This debate about whether or not FGM is "cultural" http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/06/culture-alone-fails-to-account-for-female-genital-mutilation.php 2010-06-20T04:59:41-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/06/culture-alone-fails-to-account-for-female-genital-mutilation.php Torrey Hullum Nicole Nishimura [California Environmental Rights Alliance] "The California Environmental Rights Alliance is an environmental justice organization based in Southern California - home to the worst air quality in the United States. Our organization works with those hardest hit by the effects of pollution. Oftentimes the most polluted neighborhoods are in low-income communities and communities of color - those least equipped to deal with the consequences. We work with these communities on the policy level helping to implement regulations that are protective of community health. That said, naturally, we are strong advocates of compliance when it comes to environmental regulations. It is unfortunate that the UK has yet to comply with http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/06/international-compliance-with-new-clean-air-directives-imperative.php 2010-06-12T05:52:46-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/06/international-compliance-with-new-clean-air-directives-imperative.php Torrey Hullum Animesh Roul [Executive Director, Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict] "Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks has been sentenced to death by the court yesterday, May 6. Kasab was found guilty earlier this week and convicted for mindless murder and waging war against the country. The most surprising aspect of the trial was the acquittal of other two accused, Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed for lack of evidence. Both of them are Indian nationals and accused of having surveyed Mumbai and drawn maps of the targets at the behest of Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba. Though the death sentence was widely expected, http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/05/convicted-mumbai-terrorist-might-better-serve-indian-security-interests-if-kept-alive.php 2010-05-10T10:00:02-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/05/convicted-mumbai-terrorist-might-better-serve-indian-security-interests-if-kept-alive.php Mark Hamilton Christina Abraham [Civil Rights Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) -Illinois] "In a feat of apologetic acrobatics, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rendered a decision [PDF file] in Khatib v. County of Orange affirming a district court's dismissal of a complaint under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The decision uses faulty legal reasoning to arrive at a conclusion that dangerously undermines the well-established principle that the government may not unnecessarily infringe upon an individual's right to exercise his or her religion. Souhair Khatib sued the County of Orange after she had been held in the county court's holding facility from 9am to 4:30pm and was http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/05/in-a-feat-of-apologetic.php 2010-05-08T21:28:16-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/05/in-a-feat-of-apologetic.php Mark Hamilton Ken Gude [Director, International Rights and Responsibility Program, Center for American Progress] "Spain is leading the way among US allies in assisting the Obama administration in the critical counterterrorism mission to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. With domestic efforts stalled due to political opposition and opportunism, the Obama administration is forced to turn to allies like Spain to bring down the population at the prison. Spain's leadership is crucial to persuading other countries, and hopefully the United States Congress, to join in this effort to close Guantanamo and prevent our terrorist enemies from using that symbol to recruit new members into their ranks. Regardless of the improvements that http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/05/spain-leads-way-in-effort-to-resettle-guantanamo-detainees.php 2010-05-05T10:19:43-05:00 http://jurist.org/hotline/2010/05/spain-leads-way-in-effort-to-resettle-guantanamo-detainees.php Mark Hamilton