BREAKING NEWS ~ Bush to name anti-ICC hardliner Bolton as UN ambassador News
BREAKING NEWS ~ Bush to name anti-ICC hardliner Bolton as UN ambassador

[JURIST] AP is reporting that President Bush has picked Under Secretary of State John Bolton [official profile] to be US ambassador to the United Nations [US Mission to the UN official website], according to a government official "knowledgeable about the move". Bolton, regarded as a conservative hardliner on foreign policy issues and a stauch opponent of the UN-sponsored International Criminal Court [JURIST report], indicated earlier this year that he would be leaving the State Department after incoming Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice chose US Trade Reprentative Robert Zoellick as her deputy. If nominated and confirmed, Bolton would succeed outgoing US ambassador to the UN John Danforth, who had attempted to strike a more conciliatory tone in his brief time in the position following the departure of John Negroponte, who left to become US ambassador to Iraq and is now poised to become the new Director of National Intelligence.

2:15 PM ET – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's remarks this afternoon announcing Bolton's nomination – together with Bolton's response – are now online from the State Department.

5:30 PM ET – UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has "warmly congratulated" Bolton on his appointment, and says he looks forward to working with him on UN reform and other issues. The UN News Center has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 signed into law

US President Millard Filmore signed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 on September 18 of that year, obliging law enforcement to arrest escaped slaves in all US states, including those where slavery was not legal. Free black men and women were endangered by the act's passage as they were at risk of being falsely identified as escaped slaves. The act heightened tensions between abolitionists in the North and slaveholders in the South, contributing to what would become the Civil War eleven years later. Learn more about the Fugitive Slave Act from the National Constitution Center.

Jurist Joseph Story born

On September 18, 1797, future US Supreme Court Justice, Harvard law professor, and legal author Joseph Story was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts. West Virginia University law professor James Elkins notes that Story was also a poet; learn more about Story and read a couple of his poems here.

Anti-Corn Law League created in UK

On September 18, 1838, the Anti-Corn Law League was created in the United Kingdom. As the name suggests, the purpose of the association was to press for the abolition of British Corn Laws, which were indeed repealed in 1846. After the repeal, the organization worked to oppose other protectionist measures in the UK. The weekly news publication, The Economist, was founded as part of the anti-corn law movement.

Jurist Joseph Story born

On September 18, 1797, future US Supreme Court Justice, Harvard law professor, and legal author Joseph Story was born at Marblehead, Massachusetts.

West Virginiia University law professor James Elkins notes that Story was also a poet - learn more about Story and read a couple of his poems here.