[JURIST] Senator Arlen Specter [official website], the chair of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee charged with vetting judicial nominees, including Supreme Court candidates, announced Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with a form of cancer known as Hodgkin's Disease [American Cancer Society backgrounder] and will undergo chemotherapy treatment. Specter, 75, missed Senate business earlier this week (including the vote approving the nomination of Judge Michael Chertoff for Hoemland Security Secretary) while undergoing tests. His oncologist said Specter had an "excellent chance of recovery". Read Senator Specter's press release announcing his diagnosis. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, himself a doctor, said in his own statement that Specter would continue with his Senate duties while getting treatment at the University of Pennsylvania medical center over the next 6-8 months. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it would appeal a US District Court opinion [PDF text; additional case materials] that would prevent pursuit of $280 billion in damages from tobacco companies for charges of civil racketeering. The 3-judge panel decided the damages would be “disgorgement” and not sufficiently forward-thinking to be allowed. The DOJ filed a brief outlining the request to appeal earlier this month. Defendants will submit their response by the end of next week. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UN upheld its ban on its officials testifying in front of US Congress in a letter from Mark Malloch Brown, chief of staff for Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to Senate investigating subcommittee chair Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) [official website] that was released Wednesday. The letter is in response Coleman's congressional probe [hearing agenda] into the UN oil-for-food program. The Senate subcommittee had wanted diplomatic immunity lifted for key directors and access to various UN officials. The letter instead suggested the Senate create a briefing schedule [UN News report] that UN officials could attend. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Newly appointed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced Wednesday the reinstatement of a federal obscenity case against a California pornography company. Charges against the company were dismissed [ruling text, PDF] by US District Judge Gary Lancaster because prosecutors overstepped their bounds while trying to block the hard-core pornography from minors and unsuspecting adults. Gonzales said that while the Department of Justice is committed to the First Amendment, selling or distributing obscene materials does not fall within the protection of the Constitution. The Justice Department will appeal the case in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. Read the DOJ press release. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Senate voted Wednesday to continue the declassification of files that may reveal CIA agents who were hired despite their prior affiliation with the German Nazi party. The CIA reversed its objections last month concerning the disclosure of what former Nazis and Nazi SS officers did for the agency and its predecessor the Office of Strategic Services [CIA backgrounder]. The bill [THOMAS text] would extend the declassification period 2 years, thereby enabling a greater number of documents to be made public. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Israeli Knesset [official website] Wednesday narrowly approved a measure to compensate Jewish settlers evacuating from the Gaza Strip. The bill passed 59-40, reflecting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "unity" coalition and amid protests from Sharon’s own Likud party [political party website in Hebrew] and nationalist interests. This is seen as a major step in Sharon's plan to eventually cede Gaza Strip territory back to the Palestinians. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Lawyers for Deutsche Bank [corporate website] told US Bankruptcy Judge Letitia Clark Wednesday that Russian oil company Yukos' [corporate website; JURIST Hot Topic news archive] request for bankruptcy protection should be thrown out for lack of jurisdiction [JURIST report]. Yukos filed for US bankruptcy protection in December [JURIST report] in a failed effort to prevent the auction of Yuganskneftegaz, it's main production arm. The Russian government ignored Clarke's injunction blocking the auction [JURIST report] and sold the unit for $9.3 billion [JURIST report]. Deutsche lawyers told the court that Yukos manufactured jurisdiction "just to gain litigation advantage," but Yukos says the Texas-based bankruptcy court is a proper forum for it to bring bankruptcy and related suits because several bank accounts and the company's CFO are located in Houston. In a filing with the court, Yukos said that its creditors and shareholders have been harmed by "massive politically motivated, unlawful actions in the form of over $27.5 billion of illegal taxes," and that "A bankruptcy case is the only kind of legal proceedings that can deal with these kinds of problems." Yukos maintains a website for its Chapter 11 case, which includes its response to Deutsche's motion to dismiss [PDF text]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The corruption trial of former Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz began Wednesday, making Yilmaz the first head of government to be tried by Turkey's Supreme Court. Yilmaz and former Economics Minister Gunes Taner are accused of pre-determining the winner [JURIST report] of the planned privatization of Turkey's state bank and using a mafia leader to scare off unwanted bidders. Yilmaz denied the charges [AFP report] Wednesday, saying they were part of a "politically motivated conspiracy." Yilmaz and Taner each face up to 10 years in jail if convicted. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] is set to vote Thursday on the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 [bill summary], which will require multistate class action lawsuits to be brought in federal court. The measure, passed last week by the Senate [JURIST report], is expected to pass in the Republican-run House. Supporters of the bill say that shifting interstate class action suits to federal courts fulfills the original intent of the framers of the US court system, but critics say the measure is an attack on citizens' rights. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] National Hockey League [official website] Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Wednesday [NHL statement] that the 2004-2005 hockey season has been cancelled because the league and the NHL Players' Association [union website] could not reach a new collective bargaining agreement [text of expired agreement; additional background]. The lockout over the salary cap was announced last September [JURIST report] and continues despite last minute efforts by both sides to reach an agreement Tuesday night. Recorded video of Bettman's announcement is available; the Players' Association has scheduled a press conference for late Wednesday afternoon. AP has more.

[JURIST] The federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation [official website] Wednesday assigned all pending Vioxx product liability lawsuits [JPML transfer order, PDF] to Judge Eldon Fallon of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana [official website] in New Orleans. Judge Fallon will coordinate discovery and other pretrial proceedings in federal lawsuits that allege that Vioxx manufacturer Merck [corporate website] knew the painkiller increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes. In a statement announcing the suits' consolidated status [text], Merck says that it "acted responsibly every step of the way" and that it will "vigorously defend itself." AP has more.

[JURIST] FBI Director Robert Mueller told the US Senate Committee on Intelligence [official website] Wednesday that the FBI remains concerned about attacks by al-Qaida and related terrorist groups, particularly the threat of attack from covert operatives already inside the US, al-Qaida's intention to use chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-energy explosives in an attack, and the potential for al-Qaida' to leverage extremist groups with connections to the terror network and to exploit radical American converts and other indigenous extremists. Mueller also testified that a variety of domestic terrorists, including animal rights and environmental extremists, US-based black separatist groups, the right-wing Patriot movement, and anti-abortion extremists also pose a threat. Read Mueller's prepared testimony [text] in full. Additional testimony [statement list] from Wednesday's hearing on current and projected national terrorist threats to the US is also available. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, a former senior executive at Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. [corporate website] and two executives from American International Group Inc. (AIG) [corporate website] have pleaded guilty to fraud charges. The charges were brought as part of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's [official website] investigation of fraud in the insurance industry [Spitzer press release]. Spitzer has obtained nine guilty pleas from executives at AIG, Marsh, ACE Ltd. and Zurich Financial Services AG [corporate website] since starting the investigation last year. Read the Spitzer press release. USAToday has more.

In other news...

• Following up on a story JURIST's Paper Chase reported yesterday, sources indicate California insurance regulators and French bank Credit Lyonnais [corporate website] have reached a settlement of the state's lawsuit alleging the bank and several investors fraudulently obtained defunct insurer Executive Life. The settlement was reached after California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi [official website] and Sierra National Insurance Holding Co., a plaintiff in the case, agreed to the terms. Credit Lyonnais will reportedly pay $525 million to California and $75 million to Sierra. AP has more. From Paris, Le Monde has local coverage in French.
  
  
• ChoicePoint Inc. [corporate website], which sells consumer data to government agencies and a variety of companies, has warned thousands of Californians that the company's computer network was compromised and hackers may have stolen credit reports, Social Security numbers and other sensitive information. AP has more.
  
  
• Lawyers for former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers [Wikipedia profile] began its cross-examination of the government's star witness, former chief financial officer Scott Sullivan, today. Under cross-examination, Sullivan said he deliberately misled WorldCom's board in 2002 when he defended baseless accounting entries that covered up the company's expenses. Sullivan, who already pleaded guilty to fraud, is the prosecution's only witness to directly link Ebbers to the fraud. Read Ebbers' indictment [text, PDF] and the superseding indictment [text, PDF]. AP has more.
  
  
• Citigroup's [corporate website] Chief Executive Officer Chuck Prince [Citigroup biography] has sent an internal memo to the company outlining a five-point plan which emphasizes staff training and independent controls to combat the company's role in recent scandals. The memo is a response to the high-profile bond-trading disaster in Europe and the loss of its private banking license in Japan. Reuters has more.
  
  
• The European Court of Justice [official website] will hear a case over whether Greece should be the only EU country to be allowed to label its cheese feta. The Danish and German governments are challenging the European Commission [official website] ruling which gave Greece sole rights to use the name thereby effectively restricting the use of the feta name to producers there. BBC News has more.
  
  
• Russia's Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev [official biography] announced the detainment of the heads of two large Russian oil companies on suspicions they embezzled more than 1.5 billion rubles in state funds. AP has more.
  
  
• National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) [official website] has charged mutual fund underwriter and distributor American Funds Distributors [corporate website] for violations of NASD rules when American Funds directed $100 million to top sellers of their fund as reward money. Read the NASD press release. Reuters has more.
  
  
• Circuit City Stores Inc. [corporate website] announced its plan to close 19 stores and other facilities as part of an initiative to improve its financial condition. The move comes a day after the company received an unsolicited takeover bid. Read the Circuit City press release. AP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the US House has approved a dramatic increase in fines for indecent broadcast programming.

3:38 PM ET - The House passed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 [bill summary] by a vote of 389-38 [vote results]. The bill raises the maximum fine for indecent programming to $500,000 for both companies and individual entertainers. The current maximum penalty for companies is $32,500, and entertainers currently face an $11,000 maximum fine. The White House has said that it strongly supports the bill, which "will make broadcast television and radio more suitable for family viewing." Opponents of the bill say that increased penalties will stifle free speech. The Senate is currently considering a similar measure, and any differences in the two versions will have to be resolved before the bill can go to President Bush for his signature. The two houses were unable to reach a compromise on the issue last year. The FCC has background on broadcast decency standards. AP has more.

[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union [advocacy website] has asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile] to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations of abuse of detainees held at Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST Hot Topic archive], Guantanamo Bay [JURIST Hot Topic archive] and those transferred to foreign countries that engage in torture of prisoners. In the ACLU letter [text; ACLU press release], ACLU Exective Director Anthony Romero wrote:

An outside special counsel is the only way to ensure that any civilian who violated the War Crimes Act[1], 18 U.S.C. 2441, or who violated, or conspired to violate, the Anti-Torture Act[2], 18 U.S.C. 2340-2340A, or other federal laws against torture and abuse will be held accountable and responsible for criminal wrongdoing....

[P]articularly after new reports of the involvement of White House, Justice Department, and other high-ranking government officials in formulating or applying many of the policies that paved the way for the horrors of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, it is clear that the Justice Department under your leadership would have an unavoidable conflict of interest in fully investigating and prosecuting wrongdoing by civilians in this matter.

[JURIST] Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov [MosNews profile] said Wednesday that he will ask the Russian Constitutional Court [official website] to overturn portions of the country's controversial law canceling many welfare benefits [AP report] and replacing them with cash payments. The reform, which affects medical, housing and transportation benefits, has been met with widespread protests [JURIST report; additional JURIST report] by Russian citizens who are calling for a return to the Soviet system of state benefits. MosNews has more.

[JURIST] EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana [official website] said Wednesday that the European Union [official website] should recognize that the US will never accept the International Criminal Court [official website] and should seek a practical solution to the problem. Saying, "I don't think we're going to make any progress. The sentiments are very profound in the United States" Solana indicated that "Maybe it is better not to keep on trying but to try to establish a modus vivendi, knowing that this is not going to be a possibility for the United States, for any president of the United States to change the position." US opposition to the ICC [State Department fact sheet] focuses on the desire to avoid prosecution of US citizens, including US military serving abroad. The EU has maintained its strong support of the ICC [EU foreign policy overview] with a 2003 common position on the ICC [PDF text] and a follow-up action plan [PDF text]. US-EU disagreement on the ICC has most recently emerged in the debate over war crimes trials arising from the Darfur crisis in Sudan. The EU supports a UN proposal to try Sudanese war criminals at the ICC [JURIST report; UN proposal - PDF text], but the US has called for the creation of a special court [JURIST report] to handle the cases. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Patrick Kennedy [official profile] told a Senate committee Tuesday that US officials knew of problems in the Iraq Oil-for-Food Program [official website] but chose to remain silent. Kennedy said the officials were more concerned with maintaining some form of sanctions on Iraq than with ensuring that those sanctions were air-tight. At the same hearing, Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigation [official website] chairman Norm Coleman presented a document that he alleges shows active corruption on the part of former UN Oil-for-Food director Benon Sevan [official profile]. The Oil-for-Food scandal has plagued the UN in the last several months, with Sevan and several others already facing UN disciplinary charges, although no official finding of bribery or corruption has as yet been made. Read Ambassador Kennedy's official statement [PDF text]. View the webcast of Tuesday's Subcommittee hearing. AP has more.

[JURIST] New rules on passenger rights taking effect Thursday in the European Union [official website] will require airlines to compensate travellers for cancellations, delays, and denial of seats, even when the cause is an event normally considered outside the control of the airline, like bad weather conditions. The new legislation [official text], the strictest in the world, places the burden of proof on airlines if they wish to avoid payment. European air carriers have agreed to abide by the legislation, but are challenging certain portions in the European Court of Justice [official website], though a decision isn't expected there for several months. View the EU air passenger rights website. The International Herald Tribune has more.

[JURIST] The Court of Appeal in London Wednesday rejected a legal challenge from the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance arguing that the Hunting Act 2004 [official text] was invalid because the Parliament Act 1949 used to force it through the House of Lords last year was invalid. The ban on fox hunting with dogs has been the subject of much debate in the UK, with pro-hunting groups protesting the outlawing of a way of life, and animal rights groups arguing that fox hunting was cruel and should be left behind. The Court of Appeal also refused leave to send appeal to the House of Lords [official website], the highest appellate court in the UK. The Countryside Alliance has stated its intent to file an independent appeal to the House of Lords on the issue, but the rejection by the Appeal Court means that the hunting ban will take effect Friday. Read the Countryside Alliance press release on the ruling, which includes a note indicating that "Hunts will be meeting as normal to hunt within the law across England and Wales this Saturday 19th February", after the start of the ban. BBC News has local coverage.

[JURIST] Togolese Army General Seyi Memene has agreed to "return the country to constitutional order" following talks held Tuesday [JURIST report] between Togo [government website in French] and ECOWAS [official website] representatives. Nigerian Foreign Minister Aichatou Mindaoudou said the talks yielded a good response and were very encouraging. No official details were released, but anonymous sources have said that a presidential election may be held as soon as the next sixty days. It is unclear if current President Faure Gnassingbe [BBC profile], who was placed into the presidency by the military following the death of the former president, his father, will resign or will remain in office until the election. After Gnassingbe Eyadema's death, the country's constitution was changed to allow Faure to remain in office without an immediate election. ECOWAS and the African Union had both threatened sanctions [JURIST report] against Togo unless it restored the nation's constitution to its orginal form. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Togo. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] In a speech [prepared remarks] delivered to the National Press Club Tuesday, Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson [official website; profile] accused the federal judiciary of usurping legislative and executive power, called for the Senate leadership to force votes on President Bush's judicial nominations [JURIST report], and suggested that Democrats blocked those nominations at their electoral peril:

Even as we opposed tyranny abroad, we also oppose tyranny at home. In my view, the greatest cause of domestic political discord is the usurpation of legislative and executive power by non-elected judges who are not content adjudicating cases between litigants, but attempt to determine from the bench matters given by the Constitution to the elected Congress and the President....

People of faith feel outraged and helpless as they watch unelected judges methodically crafting a Constitution unknown to the founders which permits the virtual extirpation from the public square of our time-honored affirmation of faith, then gives by judicial fiat federal constitutional protection (beyond the reach of any elected body) to abortion on demand, homosexuality, homosexual marriage, and blatant Internet pornography.

People of faith want the Congress to take back the power given it under the Constitution to limit where necessary the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and follow clear constitutional guidelines for the confirmation of federal judges. The Senate Republicans have the votes to force up or down votes for the confirmation of the president's judicial appointments. Majority vote, not the filibuster, is the American way. The defeat of the former minority leader of the Senate should send a clear message that obstructionism, especially when it concerns the confirmation of Judges, does not sit well with American voters.

[JURIST] US officials have announced that six more Guantanamo Bay [JURIST Hot Topic archive] detainees will be released after military Combatant Status Review Tribunals [DOD backgrounder] determined that they are not "enemy combatants". The review panels, set up in response to last year's Supreme Court ruling that Gitmo prisoners had the right to challenge their indefinte detention, have now said that a total of 12 detainees should be released but that 410 other detainees were properly classified. 136 cases are still pending. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Kyoto Protocol [official website; BBC News Q&A] takes legal effect Wednesday, 90 days after Russia ratified the treaty [JURIST report], providing the necessary number of ratifications for the treaty to come into force. Before becoming effective, the protocol, which aims to slow global warming by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, required countries representing 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions to ratify the treaty. The US and Australia, citing economic reasons, are not parties to the treaty [JURIST report on US position], and several developing countries, including China and India, also have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. According to the UN's status of ratification [country list, PDF], 141 countries and regional economic integration organizations have deposited instruments of ratifications or approvals, and the total percentage of emissions by parties to the treaty now stands at 61.6%. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Wednesday, Feb. 16.

The US Senate [official website] convenes at 9:30 AM ET today, and it will consider S. 384, the Nazi War Crimes Working Group Extension Act. Watch a live webcast of proceedings. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee [official website] is holding a business meeting [Atlanta Journal-Constitution report, registration required] at 9:30 AM ET to consider S. 131, which would amend the Clean Air Act [text, PDF] to extend cap-and-trade programs to regulate air pollution. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee [official website] is holding a hearing at 10 AM ET on safety and security issues relating to drug importation. View a hearing agenda [text]. The Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights is holding a hearing on obscenity prosecution and the Constitution at 3 PM ET. Read the hearing agenda [text], and watch a live webcast.

The US House [official website] convenes today at 10 AM ET for regular business. Watch a live webcast of proceedings. The House Resources Committee [official website] is holding a hearing at 11 AM ET on the status of the Indian trust fund lawsuit, Cobell v. Norton [plaintiffs' website]. Read a hearing agenda [text], and listen to live audio from the hearing. The House Energy and Commerce Committee [official website] Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee will hold an 11 AM ET hearing on the Energy Policy Act of 2005 [text]. Watch a live webcast of the hearing.

The Kyoto Protocol [official website], the global treaty on climate change, takes legal effect today, with 128 countries participating in the framework. In connection with this, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas [official profile] will hold a press conference on the Protocol and its impact. Watch a live webcast of the press conference beginning at 11:30 AM local time [5:30 AM ET].

The UK Court of Appeal [UK Court Service] is expected to rule [Reuters report] today on whether a ban on using hunting dogs is valid. The Countryside Alliance [official website] has challenged the act, which is scheduled to take effect on Friday. A previous challenge [JURIST report] before the UK High Court failed.

At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the trial of Slobodan Milosevic [ICTY case backgrounder] continues today. A webcast begins at 9:30 AM local time [3:30 AM ET]. Also today, the trial of Fatmir Limaj and others [ICTY case backgrounder] continues, with a webcast beginning at 2:45 PM local time [8:45 AM ET].