[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Monday, April 25.

The US Supreme Court [official website] hears oral arguments in two cases beginning at 10 AM ET today. In the first, Halbert v. Michigan [Duke Law School case backgrounder], 03-10198, the Court will consider whether Michigan's practice of not appoint counsel to indigent defendants who plead guilty violates the Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. The ABA has merit briefs in the case. In the second case, Gonzales v. Crosby [Duke Law School case backgrounder], 04-6432, the Court will decide whether a court of appeals wrongly held that every Rule 60(b) motion is a prohibited "second or successive" petition as a matter of law. The ABA has merit briefs in the case.

The US Senate [official website] convenes at 9:30 AM ET today, when it resume consideration of H.R. 3 [bill summary], the Highway bill. Watch a live webcast of the session. The Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] Intellectual Property Subcommittee is holding a hearing at 1:30 PM ET today on the patent system. Watch a live webcast of the hearing.

The US House [official website] convenes at Noon ET today for a pro forma session. Watch a live webcast of the session.

The Center for American Progress [advocacy website] is holding a forum in support of retaining the filibuster in the Senate at 9:30 AM ET today, with WV Sen. Robert C. Byrd [official website] to speak. Watch a live webcast of the event via C-SPAN 2.

The Cato Institute [official website] is holding a forum titled "In Defense of an Independent Judiciary" at Noon ET today. Watch a live webcast of the event.

At the European Union [official website], Bulgaria and Romania will sign the accession treaty to the EU at 5 PM local time [11 AM ET], with speeches by ministers from each party. A press conference will follow the signing. Watch a live webcast of the ceremony.

The Second European Conference of Judges [official website], which will cover justice and the media, begins today in Cracow, Poland. View the agenda [PDF text] of the conference.

The UN Security Council [official website] convenes at 10 AM ET today, when it will be briefed on counter-terrorism issues. Watch a live webcast of the session.

At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the trial of Slobodan Milosevic [ICTY case backgrounder] continues at 9:30 AM local time [3:30 AM ET] today. A pre-trial conference will be held for Beqa Beqaj [indictment] at 2:45 PM local time [8:45 AM ET] followed by the start of the trial. Watch a webcast of proceedings.

Today is the last docket for the semester as the University of Pittsburgh School of Law begins its exam period and summer break. Regular docket posts will resume when the school returns for the fall semester at the end of August. During the summer, up-to-date information on live webcasts will be available from the Live Webcast section of JURIST's Home Page.