[JURIST] US Army Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins is scheduled to face court-martial Monday on one charge of desertion, two counts of soliciting other service members to desert, one of aiding the enemy and two of encouraging disloyalty. Rumors of a plea bargain have been circulating, with the terms being proposed as no jail time in exchange for a guilty plea. The US military rarely invokes imprisonment for peacetime desertions, and the last execution for a wartime desertion was carried out in January of 1945. Jenkins' case is unusual in that there is no settled military law on whether the US was still at war when he deserted from his post along the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea in 1965. The cessation of hostilities in Korea in 1953 was never enforced with an official peace treaty, leaving the question up in the air. Army Judge Advocate General officals have said that the decision lies with the Commanding Authority, Col. Denise Vowell. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on Jenkins' arrest. NC Wire has more.

[JURIST] Rocco Buttiglione (BBC profile here), European Commission President-designate Jose Manuel Barroso's controversial nominee as Commissioner for Justice, Freedom, and Security in the new European Commission, announced his withdrawal from consideration Saturday. The EU Parliament has the right to reject proposed candidates, but only by rejecting the list as a whole. MEPs had threatened to reject the entire list unless Buttiglione's name was removed, and Barroso had pulled his slate of Commissioners from an EU vote earlier this week when it became clear that the slate would be rejected. Buttiglione received harsh criticism after making conservative statements about homosexuality and marriage. There is speculation that Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini will replace Buttiglione as Barroso's nominee to the Commission. JURIST's Paper Chase has background. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] The Duma (official site in Russian), Russia's lower house of parliament, has passed first reading of legislation allowing the Russian Federation President to appoint regional governors subject to the approval of the region's legislative assembly. The governors were formerly chosen by direct election, so the new arrangement constitutes a significant political power shift towards the central government. The candidate must be submitted by the President 35 days prior to the incumbent's scheduled date for leaving office and the local legislative assembly has 14 days to review. If the selected official is rejected, the President has another 7 days to submit a second name for consideration. The law allows the President to disband the assembly if it rejects the second option. The bill would affect almost 90 different regions in Russia. The legislation is subject to two more readings, both anticipated to be no challenge, as the United Russia party, which is pro-government, holds a two-thirds majority in the Duma. If approved by the Duma, the bill would go to the Federation Council, and ultimately to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the proposer of the bill, for signing. JURIST's Paper Chase has background. Itar-Tass has more.

[JURIST] The IRS Friday notified the NAACP, the nation's oldest and largest civil rights group, that an investigation will be launched into comments made by NAACP Chairman Julian Bond at the July national convention in Philadelphia. Bond criticized policies of the Bush administration and the IRS is investigating whether these statements rise to the level of supporting or opposing a political entity. The NAACP is incorporated under 501(c)(3) protections as a non-profit organization and can lose the tax-exempt status that comes along with the classification for "intervening on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office." The NAACP said that it was acting well within its rights to criticize a political party without becoming involved in the political process. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] The upper house of the German Parliament, the Bundesrat, passed legislation Friday that greatly expands the rights of same-sex couples. The bill will create the equivalent of spousal privilege between same-sex partners, allows for the adoption of a partner's child (although general adoption is still prohibited), creates a financial obligation between partnerrs that could result in alimony following a split of the couple, and allows access to assets following the death of a partner. The legislation is set to take effect in January 2005. The law still must pass through the lower house, the Bundestag, but opponents only have enough votes to slow it, not block it. Following Bundestag approval, the law must be signed by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Deutsche Welle has more.

[JURIST] A federal judge in Minnesota on Friday overturned certain voter registration restrictions including one that opponents say could keep American Indians from the polls. The ruling declared that tribal identification cards were an adequate form of identification for voter registration in non-reservation venues where previously they have only been valid on reservations. The ruling came after the ACLU of Minnesota and various American Indian groups filed a petition claiming that the requirements were overly restrictive. AP has more... Florida state elections officials yesterday released new guidelines for handling voter challenges. The guidelines clarify that a provisional ballot must be given to a voter who has been successfully challenged and reaffirms that inclusion on a state felon list alone is not sufficient for a successful challenge. The St. Petersburg Times has more.