[JURIST] Newly appointed World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz [official profile], the former US deputy defense secretary considered one of the most influential "neo-conservatives" in the Bush administration, said Wednesday in the run-up to the G8 summit [official website] that developed nations as well as developing countries in Africa have a responsibility to address widespread government corruption before the issue of debt relief and other aid initiatives can be fully addressed. African relief [G8 backgrounder] is to be a major focal point of the Gleneagles meeting, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair's initiative as summit host being magnified by major public campaigns led by coalitions of aid groups [Make Poverty History website] and rock stars [Live8 website]. In his speech in Edinburgh Wednesday to a meeting on African trade, Wolfowitz stated that

[t]he responsibility to deal with corruption is not just something for African governments and African people. The developed countries have a huge responsibility as well. They have a responsibility I think to help the poor countries in Africa recover some of the assets that have been taken from them and deposited in banks in developed countries... [E]very corrupt transaction has two parties to it... [and] we all have a responsibility to try to crack down on both ends of these transactions.

We expect there to be good governance on the continent of Africa. I don't know how we can look our taxpayers in the eye and say, this is a good deal to give money to countries that are corrupt.

[JURIST] In an anticipated move Wednesday, Germany, Japan, Brazil and India, also known as the G-4, submitted their UN Security Council [official website] restructuring plan to the UN General Assembly. The resolution proposes changing the current UN Security Council structure [UN profile] by adding six more permanent seats, and delaying the veto rights of new members for 15 additional years. Following a decision to delay submission of the resolution in order to get input from the US and Africa, the group announced its plan to seek a vote [JURIST report] on the matter last month. The African Union has announced plans [JURIST report] to submit a similar resolution, proposing six new permanent members and five new non-permanent members, with the goal of gaining more permanent seats on the council for African nations. Negotiations between the G-4 and AU are expected to take place at the G8 summit in Scotland this week. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Mediterranean island of Malta [government website in Maltese] became the latest nation to ratify the proposed EU constitution Wednesday. Despite initial opposition from the country's Labour Party [Wikipedia profile], the Maltese Parliament [official website, English version] approved the draft [text of resolution, in Maltese] with support from Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi [official website]. Last month, following “No” votes from France and the Netherlands, EU leaders decided to extend the ratification deadline [JURIST report] for the proposed constitution until at least 2007, rendering its political future uncertain. All 25 member nations must ratify the constitution for it to take effect. AP has more. Luxembourg is scheduled to vote on the charter in a high-stakes referendum [JURIST report] for that country's prime minister on July 10.

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's states brief, the New York Court of Appeals ruled [PDF text] today that the prior dismissed charges against four anti-war protesters are to be resealed and not used against the protesters in determining their sentences for later convictions. The state's highest court reversed a lower court decision that allowed the records to be unsealed by finding that the few exceptions created by the state legislature for allowing the opening of sealed records "strongly suggest" records are allowed to be unsealed for criminal investigations, but not to increase sentences. The four were convicted of disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration as a result of a 2003 demonstration. AP has more.

In other state legal news ...

• The Supreme Court of Texas heard oral arguments [audio] today on the constitutionality of the state's school funding system. The case is on appeal from a 2004 decision by District Judge John Dietz, who found the school funding system unconstitutional because it does not provide equal opportunity for education. State attorneys argued that it is the state legislature's responsibility to determine school funding policy and that the current system meets the minimal requirements of the Constitution [text], while attorneys for over 300 school districts argued that Texas does not spend enough money on schools to provide a "general diffusion of knowledge." Judge Dietz's imposed deadline of stopping school funding on October 1 if the violations are not corrected is on hold because of the appeal. The Texas House is currently debating a bill that would change the way the state finances education through taxes. View Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's press release. AP has more.
  
  
• The West Virginia Supreme Court has struck down [decision text] the state's personnel policy barring state employees who receive temporary total disability benefits through workers' compensation from earning time toward their seniority and annual leave while on disability. The court found the practice discriminates because it allows workers on sick leave to accrue such time. In addition, the ruling upheld the government's policy of barring workers on temporary total disability from accruing sick leave time and receiving holiday pay. The policies are promulgated by the West Virginia Division of Personnel [official website]. AP has more.
  
  
• A Michigan court of appeals has ruled [PDF text] that the Detroit Area Regional Transportation Authority [official website] was created illegally and is void. The court found that the leaders who created the authority in 2003, including Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick [official website], Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and Macomb County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Nancy White, did not have the power to make the deal. DARTA was designed to be a single authority to look at public transportation in the region. The Detroit Free Press has local coverage.

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, communications Nextel is being sued by a distributing affiliate, Nextel Partners, that claims it was not given input into Nextel's impending merger with Sprint [corporate announcement] and wants to go to arbitration. The Washington state-based distributor had previously declared its intention to force Sprint-Nextel to purchase Nextel Partners [JURIST coverage]. In an SEC filing Wednesday, Nextel said that it had received copies of the verified petition for arbitration and that Nextel believes it has acted appropriately towards Nextel Partners. A link to Nextel Partners' verified petition is available on their website. MarketWatch has more.

In other corporations and securities news...

• As reported earlier in JURIST's Paper Chase, the EU Wednesday soundly rejected a controversial bill to extend patent rights to software developers. In a press release, the European Parliament said that the 648 to 14 vote "means the end of the legislative procedure and the fall of the directive." The patent directive would have treated software advances the same way inventions are treated. The Legislative Observatory has a legislative history with links to the EU's official documents. BBC News has more.
  
  
• The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that GM has won a $345 million judgment against the US government. GM brought the lawsuit to recoup losses from what it said was the government's underfunding of pensions, and the award is said to be the first of its kind. Reuters has more.
  
  
• Hedgefund Jana Holdings [corporate website] has sued Sourcecorp [corporate website]. Jana owns 13% of Sourcecorp and is suing to have the outsourcing firm's new by-laws stricken. Jana alleges in part that the by-laws limit shareholder's control of the company and their ability to call meetings. The Dallas Business Journal has more.

[JURIST] New York-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] Wednesday issued a new report [text] calling for Afghan President Hamid Karzai [Wikipedia profile] to establish a Special Court to try high-level government officials and others [press release] accused of taking part in atrocities committed during Afghanistan's civil war from April 1992 to March 1993. The authors of the report recommended that

the court be comprised of both Afghan and international judges, with an international majority, and that the prosecutor’s office be led by an international prosecutor. If it proves impossible to establish the Special Court in Afghanistan, because of political opposition, lack of judicial independence or political impartiality, or problems related to security of witnesses or court personnel, we recommend that the court be physically located outside of the country.

We are aware of the domestic sensitivities to this second proposal and the legal and practical complexities of implementing it. Still, we believe there are several good arguments for this approach that weigh in its favor. A Special Court, ideally located in Afghanistan but elsewhere if necessary, would have the best chance of meeting recognized fair trial standards. Such a court would also be better placed than a domestic court in the current environment to handle the complexities, both technical and political, of major trials.

[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit [press release] against the US government Wednesday on behalf of a US citizen detained by US forces in Iraq since May 17. Cyrus Kar, a 44-year-old filmmaker [Los Angeles Times report], was in Iraq shooting a historical documentary when he was stopped at a checkpoint. According to the Pentagon, the taxi he was riding in was packed with a component of explosives, and he has been held in military custody since then. He has not been charged and an FBI agent told his family that his story checked out. Four other Americans are also being held for separate incidents [AP report]. The ACLU complaint [full text] alleges violations of constitutional rights, federal and international law, and US military regulations.

[JURIST] A federal judge has ordered New York Times reporter Judith Miller to jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA operative's identity. Bill Keller, executive editor of the Times, called the order a "draconian act." AP has more.

4:33 PM ET - Bloomberg has an updated report; a New York Times story is here. In April, Judith Miller spoke to the San Francisco Commonwealth Club on the subject of press freedom in the post-9/11 world. JURIST's Monitor provides recorded audio of that talk.

5:05 PM ET - National Press Club [profession site] President Rick Dunham has issued a statement saying

It is tragic that, in pursuit of offenses real or imagined, a federal prosecutor sees fit to imprison a journalist who is simply doing her job and adhering to the basic ethical principles of her profession. It is a sad perversion of justice to send Judith Miller to jail for protecting a confidential source in a case where no crime has yet been alleged and no story was ever written by Ms. Miller.

To fulfill the role envisioned by the framers of the First Amendment, the press simply cannot be viewed as agents of the government or investigative tools of government prosecutors. Sending Judith Miller to jail is excessive and unnecessary. It will serve no purpose other than to use the press as an easy scapegoat for the investigation's shortcomings.

[JURIST] Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) [official website] said Wednesday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is a "qualified" candidate for the vacancy created on the Supreme Court by the retirement [JURIST report] of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor [OYEZ profile]. Senator Reid also came to the aid of President Bush, who defended Gonzales from criticism by some social conservatives yesterday [JURIST report], saying, "I think it's too bad the President has to respond in Denmark about statements from the far right." However, Reid did state that Attorney General Gonzales might not have "an easy way through" the confirmation process. AP has more. The Supreme Court Nomination Blog has a six part analysis on Gonzales as a potential nominee.

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's international brief, in a ruling originally expected in June, the Santiago Appeals Court has held that former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet [Wikipedia profile; JURIST news archive] was not entitled to immunity from prosecution for alleged human rights abuses during Operation Colombo. An earlier ruling on Pinochet's immunity was delayed [JURIST report] due to an alleged minor stroke suffered by Pinochet. Many of the former leader's detractors have accused Pinochet of attempting to gain sympathy from courts by exaggerating his medical conditions. Pinochet lost his immunity [JURIST report] protecting his private financial records earlier in the year. Pinochet's lawyers have announced their intent to appeal the decision to the Chilean Supreme Court. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Augusto Pinochet [JURIST news archive]. BBC News has more.

In other international legal news ...

• Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [Wikipedia profile] has responded to questions concerning families made homeless by the mass evictions [JURIST report] under "Operation Restore Order" by denying the existence of any homeless persons. Mugabe called the UN estimation of over 200,000 people left homeless "nonsense" and argued that the government program had prepared for all contingencies and was arranging housing for those moved out of illegal shanty towns. The UN homeless estimate was made in the second week of a now two-month-long program and Zimbabwean rights groups have put the current figure at nearly a million persons left homeless. The UN Special Envoy to Zimbabwe Anna Tibaijuka [official profile] has decided to remain in the country until the end of the week instead of filing her report earlier [JURIST report], as was originally intended. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive]. ZimOnline has local coverage.
  
  
• A trial court in Osaka, Japan [official website] has handed down the first ruling in the numerous civil suits filed against the Japanese government [official website] by repatriated "war orphans" of Japanese descent. The Court ruled against the plaintiffs, finding that the government owed no financial compensation to the individuals, many of whom didn't begin returning to Japan until the early 1980s. The plaintiffs are children who were left behind in the rush to flee China for Japan in 1945. Japan began attempting to repatriate the individuals in the '80s, but many of the orphans claim that they should have started the process much sooner. Wednesday's ruling included 32 of the 111 orphans filing against the government, and denied them all of the nearly $300,000 (USD) they were requesting. Counsel for the plaintiffs announced their intention to appeal the decision. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Japan [JURIST news archive]. BBC News has more. Japan Today has local coverage.
  
  
• Two staffers in Uzbekistan [government website] for the Internews Network, a US-based, non-profit media organization, have been charged with "conspiracy to engage in productions of videos and publications of informational materials without the necessary licenses" as the first step in a nation-wide crackdown on international NGOs by Uzbek authorities. The criminal charges, which carry sentences of up to six months incarceration, are the latest in a long line of attacks and intimidation aimed at foreign journalists in Uzbekistan. Read the Internews Network press release. IRIN News has more.

[JURIST] Ukranian lawmakers engaged in a protracted fistfight in parliament [official website in Ukrainian] Wednesday as a debate over legislative reforms required for WTO accession grew ugly in Kiev. Communists sounded sirens as Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn attempted to call for order after both sides resorted to punches. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko [official website] remains confident that the legislative package will be passed so that accession to the World Trade Organization [official website] can move forward, a key goal for providing economic relief to the country as well as a test for the new pro-Western government. Communist lawmakers claim that the reforms, only one of which passed Wednesday out of a total of fourteen, would cost Ukraine its freedom from foreign influence. AP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that TIME magazine reporter Matthew Cooper has agreed to comply with government demands to testify before a grand jury [JURIST report] investigating the identity leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame [Wikipedia profile]. TIME previously turned over Cooper's notes [JURIST report]. Cooper told the judge presiding in his case Wednesday that he had received a direct communication from his source giving him permission to testify about the source's identity. AP has more.

2:57 PM ET - In a related development, AP is reporting that New York Times reporter Judith Miller has refused to reveal her source to the same grand jury.

[JURIST] A Spanish court Wednesday blocked the marriage of a Spanish man to his Indian partner because India bans same-sex unions. The ruling by a judge of the Supreme Court of Justice of Catalonia is the first snag on Spain's recently passed same-sex marriage law [JURIST report], only the third of its kind worldwide (Belgium and the Netherlands have similar laws, with legislation still pending in the Canadian parliament). The judge invoked an article of the civil code that held that foreign residents of Spain are for this purpose bound by the laws of their home countries. The interpretation would appear to limit Spaniards to entering same-sex unions only if their partner is Belgian, Dutch, or Spanish. Further appeal is still possible. AP has more.

[JURIST] President Bush Wednesday named former Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) [official profile] as an "informal adviser" to help guide his future Supreme Court nomination through the Senate. Thompson, perhaps better known for his acting career [Internet Movie Database entry], was elected to serve the remainder of Al Gore's term in 1994 and easily re-elected in 1996. He served on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and retired in 2002 to return to acting. Coincidentally, he now plays a district attorney on NBC's "Law & Order". In a press statement, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, also a Tennessee Republican, said Thompson has a "profound understanding" of judiciary business. AP has more.

[JURIST] L. Patrick Gray [Wikipedia profile; FBI profile], a Nixon loyalist and acting FBI director during the Watergate investigation who ended up resigning after he admitted destroying relevant documents, died Wednesday in Atlantic Beach, Florida, at 88. Gray said in a June television interview that he felt betrayed [Washington Post report] when former FBI deputy director W. Mark Felt was confirmed as "Deep Throat" [JURIST report]. Gray said he thought Felt wanted revenge for being passed over for the top position, and thus agreed to talk secretly to reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. AP has more.

[JURIST] Sudan's National Assembly on Wednesday unanimously approved a new constitution [May 5 draft version, PDF] that moves the country away from pure Islamic rule. It provides that Islamic law will not be applied in largely Christian areas, generally in the south of the country, and removes a requirement that president be a Muslim. The constitution comes [JURIST report] as a result of a January-ratified peace deal [JURIST report] between the government and southern rebels. A Christian rebel leader will be sworn in as vice president later this week. AP has more.

4:18 PM ET - In a statement late Wednesday, Amnesty International slammed the new Sudanese charter for providing broad immunity against prosecution to top Sudanese officials:

Article 60 of the Interim Constitution grants immunity from prosecution to the President and First Vice President of the Republic of the Sudan for all crimes except those of high treason, gross misconduct in relation to State affairs, and gross violations of the Constitution. In these cases, action against alleged perpetrators can only to be undertaken with the approval of three quarters of National Legislature members. Article 92 grants similar immunity for members of the National Legislature. No reference is made to international legal standards in limiting immunity in either article.

[JURIST] A federal court in Boston will hear arguments Friday in the case of twelve members of the armed forces [JURIST report] who are challenging the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy [Wikipedia backgrounder; SLDN timeline, PDF] that requires them to keep their sexual orientation a secret or face discharge. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network [advocacy website] plans to argue that the policy enacted in 1993 is a violation of their constitutional right to privacy, free speech, and equal protection under the law. Read the SLDN press release. The Bush Administration will ask the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the nature of the military requires policies that are not accepted in civilian society and the policy "rationally furthers the government's interest in maintaining unit cohesion, reducing sexual tensions and promoting personal privacy." AP has more.

[JURIST] Jordanian lawyer Ziad Khasawneh [Atlantic profile], the head of the Committee for Defending Saddam Hussein, announced Wednesday that he is quitting the group, turning full control of the former Iraqi president's defense over to a team led by maverick former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark [JURIST report; Wikipedia profile], who served in the administration of President Lyndon Johnson. Clark previously called the planned trial of Hussein before an Iraqi special court "unfair" [UPI report]. The Committee had been unable to meet with Hussein face-to-face and Khasawneh indicated it might be dissolved. UPI has more.

[JURIST] The trial of 24 people accused by Spanish authorities of aiding the 9/11 attack on the United States concluded Tuesday after 10 weeks of testimony and evidence. The defendants include Immad Yarkas [JURIST report], the alleged head of an al-Qaeda cell in Spain. Prosecutors are seeking [JURIST report] over 74,000 years in prison [JURIST report] for the top defendants. Yarkas called the charges against him "an invention" [AP report]. A verdict is expected in mid-September. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] The UN Security Council agreed Tuesday to turn over more documents to the Independent Inquiry Committee [official website] investigating the oil-for-food scandal [JURIST news archive]. The Council will turn over notes from a meeting about the program taken by a junior UN staffer . Secretary-General Kofi Annan originally announced the release last week, but Council members wanted approval from their home governments first [AP report]. None objected to the release, but some did raise questions about the accuracy of the notes. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Eleven militants in Indonesian custody have been declared terror suspects and police believe two of them may be involved in the September 2004 bombing of Australia's embassy in Jakarta [BBC report; JURIST report] which killed 11 people. The remaining nine will be tried for violations of Law No. 15 of 2003 [Jakarta Post report], a new anti-terrorism statute enacted after the October 2002 bombing in Bali [Wikipedia backgrounder]. Charges against the militants include withholding information about and financing terrorists, preparing explosives and committing acts of terrorism. Both attacks have been linked to Jemaah Islamiyah [Wikipedia backgrounder], an organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda. AFP has more.

[JURIST] President Bush on Wednesday said "litmus tests" on sensitive issues will not be a part of his search for a nominee to the Supreme Court, while still giving no names or timetable other than reinforcing his plan to have the vacancy filled by the Court's new term in October. Bush again defended from criticism [JURIST report] US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and potential nominee, saying, "I don't like it when a friend gets criticized." Both liberal and conservative groups have taken issue with some of Gonzales' positions. Bush, who turns 59 today [White House profile], addressed the media from Denmark, where he also thanked the Danes for sending troops to Iraq and made some extended comments defending the US detention facilty at Guantanamo:

The Prime Minister is concerned about what the situation on Guantanamo says about America and our view of liberty. Let me tell you what I told him. I said, first, the prisoners are well-treated in Guantanamo. There's total transparency. The International Red Cross can inspect any time, any day. And you're welcome to go. The press, of course, is welcome to go down to Guantanamo.

Secondly, we have sent many home. These people were picked up on the battlefield. They didn't wear uniforms, they weren't associated with a government, but they were on the battlefield. And so we put them in Guantanamo. We wanted to find out as much as we could about what they knew about this war on terror in order to protect our citizens. Many, it turned out, were sent home.

Thirdly, I assured the Prime Minister there's got to be a way forward for people held in Guantanamo, and there will be. The reason why you haven't seen any adjudication of individuals is because our court system is determining where best to try people, whether it be in a military tribunal where a person would have all -- lawyers and rights, or whether it be in the civilian courts. And once the judicial branch of our government makes its decision, then we'll proceed forward with giving people fair and open trials.

I just want you to remember we are in a war against these terrorists. My most solemn obligation is to protect the American people from further attack. These people are being treated humanely. There's very few prison systems around the world that have seen such scrutiny as this one. And for those of you here on the continent of Europe who have doubt, I'd suggest buying an airplane ticket and going down and look -- take a look for yourself.

[JURIST] The European Parliament [official website] voted 648-14 on Wednesday to toss a draft law [PDF proposal text] that would have protected inventions combining software and machinery. Opponents of the proposed law [EU FAQ] feared [JURIST report] that would have stifled small businesses and protected large ones by creating patent lawyer and litigation costs. European governments wanted the law passed to encourage investment in an industry largely dominated by the US. There are currently no plans for submitting a new proposal. Read an EP press release on the vote. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] A new US Department of Defense plan for defending the US from terrorist attacks, quietly approved last month [official press release], has raised questions about the level of involvement by the US military on its own soil. The plan, titled Strategy for Homeland Defense and Civil Support [PDF full text], does not provide or ask for new legal authority to act, but does spell out plans for military intelligence to work with civilian law enforcement, an expanded role for the National Guard, and reiterates the president's power to deploy troops domestically "to intercept and defeat threats." The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act [text], prohibits federal troops [Wikipedia backgrounder] from being deployed as law enforcement officers in the US without specific Congressional or constitutional authority. A Pentagon official said "nothing in our strategy...would move away from that historic principle", but a national security expert from the ACLU said limits seemed to conflict with duties and that the DOD "seems to be trying to have it both ways." The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] The forgery trial of Egyptian presidential candidate and prominent al-Ghad party opposition leader Ayman Nour [Wikipedia profile] was delayed Wednesday after a witness recanted his testimony in court. Ayman Hassan said security agents threatened to hurt his nieces if he didn't implicate Nour, who has maintained his innocence on charges of forging signatures[JURIST report] to get his opposition party registered last year. The trial has been postponed until September 25 and will likely conclude after Egypt's first multi-candidate presidential election [JURIST report], which is expected in the middle of that month. Nour stated that "despite all that is happening, I'm running in the upcoming elections, this is final irreversible decision." If convicted, he could face 15 years in prison and the loss of his right to run for office. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Moroccan court Tuesday sentenced two men, Taoufik Hanouichi and Mohcine Bouarfa, to death for "murder in connection with a terrorist group." The trial included 46 other defendants arrested as part of an effort to dismantle militant Islamic networks following a suicide bombing in Casablanca [BBC report] on May 16, 2003 which killed 45 people. Thirty-one defendants were sentenced from one to twenty years in prison and nine were acquitted. Four others were sentenced to life in prison under the anti-terrorism law for killing a policeman and Moroccan Jew in 1994. Hanouichi and Bouarfa are unlikely to be executed as Morocco has had a de facto moratorium on the death penalty since 1993. AP has more. The Morocco Times has local coverage.

[JURIST] Under a new, broader definition of terror attacks, the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) [executive order establishing NCTC] announced Tuesday there were 3,192 such attacks worldwide in 2004 resulting in 28,433 people killed, wounded or kidnapped. Under the old definition, the center had reported in April [press briefing transcript; NCTC report, PDF] that there 651 significant international attacks and 9,000 victims. The new figures include politically motivated violence carried out within a country, while previously a victim from another country was necessary. Another change removes the $10,000 damage or serious injury requirement to be classified as an attack. The new figures do not count attacks against US troops in Iraq, as they are considered combatants. A new public, searchable database went online Wednesday to track terrorism around the world [NCTC Worldwide Incidents Tracking System], but NCTC interim director John Brennan cautioned the database was not "black and white and perfect" and that terrorist acts must be classified on a case-by-case basis. AP has more.

[JURIST] In an effort to reduce growing criminal legal aid expenses, the UK government laid before Parliament Tuesday a new strategy [DCA policy paper, PDF] to require law firms to compete with each other on price for bulk contracts with the Legal Services Commission [official website] to represent defendants in magistrates' and crown courts. The reforms are expected to save £7 million from the nation's £1.2 billion criminal defense spending. Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor, said that bulk contracting would be more efficient, reducing costs in the most expensive murder and fraud cases, and preventing many different lawyers from traveling to courts for brief hearings. The UK Department for Constitutional Affairs has background materials. The Financial Times has more.