[JURIST] US Senators approved a provision Tuesday which permits US military bases to continue holding Boy Scouts [official website] events. The 98-0 vote [roll call] was a tag-on to a larger bill outlining the Defense Department's policy for 2005. The provision was sponsored by former Boy Scout Senator Bill Frist [official website] who said its support was necessary [press release] in order to diffuse lawsuits over the past few years attempting to hinder the group's activities on government-owned property. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois [advocacy website] filed a suit in 1999 claiming a First Amendment violation by the Pentagon for allowing scout events on government property because the group prohibits openly gay leaders and the Boy Scout oath includes a "duty to God" reference. A federal judge ruled in the ACLU's favor in June, precluding the Pentagon from spending millions of dollars to sponsor Boy Scout activities. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Senate floor debate began Tuesday to discuss a proposed Gun Liability Law [text] that would prevent lawsuits against gun manufacturers, dealers and trade associations when crimes or accidents involving firearms occur. Republican Senator Jeff Sessions [official website] said the legislation would stop "unjust lawsuits" intended to "drive gun manufacturers out of business." Democrats have voiced their opposition to the law, including Senator Jack Reed [official website] who said the number of suits against gun manufacturers is "miniscule" [press release] and stressed the need to examine areas related to gun use such as child safety locks and improving the criminal background check system. AFP has more.

[JURIST] US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts [JURIST report] wrote an opinion [PDF] Tuesday, dismissing a class-action suit brought by firefighters and federal law enforcement officers who sought increased disability benefits upon retirement. The retirees were hoping to gain higher benefits before meeting the threshold requirements of reaching the retirement age of 50 and serving for over 20 years. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] indicated that Congress gave the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) [official website] the authority to handle these types of claims, so federal courts do not have jurisdiction over them. Judge Roberts wrote, "Congress has prescribed a route other than suit." The OPM had offered retroactive benefits to those retiring before turning 50 if they served 20 years, which Roberts said "fell within the OPM's discretionary powers." AP has more.

[JURIST] A Mexican court Tuesday refused to issue a warrant for the arrest of former Mexican president Luis Echeverria [Wikipedia profile] for his alleged involvement in the 1971 "Corpus Christi massacre," leading to the deaths of nearly a dozen student protesters. The current president of Mexico, Vicente Fox [BBC profile], had called for an investigation into the massacre and other political crimes, and the case has centered on whether the deaths may be considered genocide and whether Echeverria hired hit men to carry out the murders. Mexico's Supreme Court determined in June that the 30-year statute of limitations on the claim had not elapsed [JURIST report] because it did not start running until Echeverria's final term ended in 1976. A lower court was given the authority to determine if Echeverria should be tried. AP has more.

[JURIST] A US immigration judge has denied a request to set bail and free former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles [Wikipedia profile], who is wanted in Venezuela [JURIST report] for his involvement in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban plane. Posada is currently being held for illegally entering the US [JURIST report] and his attorney asked for his release during Posada's pursuit of asylum to the US. After rejecting the request Monday, the judge requested legal briefs to determine whether Posada's role in the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba [Wikipedia backgrounder] to overthrow Fidel Castro [Wikipedia profile] was a terrorist act, saying the outcome will help determine if asylum should be granted. Posada has admitted to being involved in the CIA-backed Bay of Pigs operation, but says he was not at the actual invasion. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Republican senators Tuesday urged Democrats to commit to a timeframe for US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' confirmation vote, voicing their preference to have him sworn in as a justice prior to the court reconvening on October 3. Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website] said if he does not receive agreement on a vote before September 29, he may begin hearings for Roberts during the final week of August, cutting short the Senate's customary one-month vacation. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) [official website] says he sees no need to rush, urging the Judiciary Committee to follow "ordinary process." The White House has released some documents [JURIST report] related to Roberts' work as a Justice Department special assistant from 1981-82, which included his involvement in Sandra Day O'Connor's confirmation as a US Supreme Court justice. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said 75,000 pages of Roberts' work in the Reagan administration will be released but documents from his tenure during George H. W. Bush's administration will be kept private under the attorney-client privilege [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, President Bush's nominee to head the SEC, Rep. Christopher Cox [congressional profile], told the Senate Banking Committee [official website] Tuesday that he would vigorously enforce securities laws. Cox also pledged to enforce the controversial Financial Accounting Standards Board [official website] (FASB) rule requiring companies to count stock options given to employees as a business expense. As a congressman, Cox had introduced a bill intended to limit the SEC's power to force companies to comply with the rule. Reuters has more.

In other corporations and securities law news...

• Circuit board producer Merix [corporate website] says that an employee is being sued by the SEC for insider trading. The company said that the company is not being sued by the SEC and that Merix has cooperated with the SEC's investigation. AP has more.
  
  
• A federal judge has said he is considering leniency in sentencing former Cendant [corporate website] vice chairman E. Kirk Shelton. The prosecutors in the case recommended that Shelton, who was convicted in January of 13 fraud-related counts [DOJ press release], face 12-15 years in prison for fraudulently overstating revenue for Cendant's predecessor CUC International. US District Judge Alvin Thompson said he is considering sentencing Shelton to between 10 and 13 years in jail. AP has more.
  
  
• WorldCom's ex-CFO Scott Sullivan and two other executives have reached civil settlements over their roles in WorldCom's disastrous accounting fraud [JURIST news archive] that bankrupted the company. Sullivan--who famously testified against recently-convicted WorldCom founder Bernard Ebbers [Wikipedia profile]--and the other executives plead guilty to criminal charges and await sentencing next month. CNN has more.
  
  
• Former SEC operations chief Peter Derby is being investigated and sued for his involvement with a hedge fund. Derby reportedly made $186,000 from his investments with Sterling Watters [CNN report]. The New York Post has more [registration required].
  

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's states brief, the ACLU filed a lawsuit [ACLU news] today against North Carolina asking the court to rule that a "holy scripture" suitable for oath administration includes the religious texts of Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and other non-Christian faiths as well as the Christian Bible. Last month, two state judges in Guilford County ruled that an oath on the Koran was not a legal oath under a state law which allows a witness to take their oaths either by laying a hand over a "holy scripture" or by saying "so help me God" without a religious book. The ACLU of North Carolina [website] alleges that denying the use of religious texts other than the Christian Bible violates the US Constitution by favoring Christianity. AP has more.

In other state legal news ...

• A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Tuesday struck down [decision PDF text] a state law limiting liability in civil cases because the measure was unconstitutionally attached to legislation requiring sex-offenders to submit DNA. Senior Judge James R. Kelly wrote that under the state constitution [PDF text] both parts of the bill "need to relate to one single overarching subject." The law [text] stated that defendants found to be less than 60% liable would not have to pay the full award unless they acted intentionally. Until further legislative action, the decision reinstates the rule that if two or more parties are found negligent in a civil lawsuit, one party may have to pay the entire award. AP has more.
  
  
• The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that a company can fire a pregnant woman for taking more medical leave than the company provides as long as the medical-leave policy is applied evenly to men and women. The court's opinion [PDF text] found the firing was not discriminatory because Hilton Casino's medical-leave policy is "gender neutral" and applied evenly to men and women. In dissent, Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz stated that the apparent neutral policy has a "disparate impact on women" and is discriminatory. The plaintiff, a former employee of the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort [website], was fired after using the maximum 26 weeks of medical-leave provided by the casino for a pregnancy that was accompanied by illness. New Jersey's Star Ledger has local coverage.
  
  
• The North Dakota Supreme Court has ruled [text] that state law requires sex offenders to notify police when they change jobs, even if their residence does not change. Justice Carol Ronning Kapsner wrote for the majority that a reasonable interpretation of the statute [N.D.C.C. Section 12.1-32-15(7) PDF text], whose purpose is to inform law enforcement of the whereabouts of sex offenders, "is that either a change in residence address, or a change in employment address, triggers the statute's requirement (that) the offender must notify law enforcement of the change." The ruling reversed a lower-court decision that law enforcement notification was not necessary when only a job change occurred. AP has more.

[JURIST] A witness testified at a military Article 32 hearing [JAG backgrounder] Tuesday that dogs handled by two American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archives] bit and injured two Iraqi detainees. Pvt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick II, who in November was convicted of abusing Abu Ghraib detainees [JURIST report], alleged that the soldiers, Sgts. Santos A. Cardona and Michael J. Smith, were competing to see who could frighten the most Iraqi detainees with their dogs when the animals bit the two prisoners. Both soldiers face a multitude of charges for various counts of detainee abuse and prison sentences of up to 16 1/2 years for Cardona and 29 1/2 years for Smith. AP has more.

[JURIST] An Indonesian court Tuesday sentenced a man to a four year jail term for his role in the 2004 Jakarta suicide car bombing [BBC report, JURIST report] outside the Australian embassy. Agus Ahmad is the second man convicted by the South Jakarta district court for taking part in the bombing and one of eleven militants on trial [JURIST report]. The three-judge panel said that Ahmad aided senior members of militant Islamist organization Jemaah Islamiah [Wikipedia profile], a group linked to al-Qaeda, in the transportation of explosive materials. Ahmad has announced his intentions to appeal the verdict. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The UN Security Council [official website] Tuesday unanimously adopted a resoluton to closely scrutinize and keep track of all countries and rebel organizations that abuse children in any way or recruit children as soldiers [UN press release]. Resolution 1612 allows the UN to monitor the governments and rebel organizations in Burundi, Ivory Coast, Congo Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Sudan beginning this year and extending the monitoring in 2006 to Colombia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Uganda. The vote on the resolution has been delayed since February when the UN prepared a report [PDF] on the topic of children and armed conflict [JURIST report] in 12 countries across the world. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The European Commission [official website] announced a proposal [press release; PDF proposal text] Tuesday that would require all customers making money transfers within the EU to register their name, address, and account number with the bank in an effort to stop the funding of terrorism. The information would be required regardless of the transfer amount [UPI report] and banks would ultimately reject any transfer lacking the required information though a simpler version of the system will apply to money transfers within the EU, so as not to hinder the Union’s efforts to build a single market for payments. The Financial Times has more.

[JURIST] Two Republican senators proposed legislation Monday dealing with the detention of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo [JURIST news archive]. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) [official website] introduced an amendment to a pending defense bill that would officially authorize the government to hold prisoners at Guantanamo. Graham expressed concern about federal courts [Washington Times report] interfering with the process, although the most recent Guantanamo ruling upheld military tribunals [JURIST report] for those detained. John McCain (R-AZ) [official website] proposed an amendment that would address treatment of prisoners and interrogation practices. Vice President Dick Cheney is leading a White House effort to block the amendments [New York Times report], objecting to any Congressional involvement. AP has more.

[JURIST] British politicians on Tuesday questioned a proposal that would allow the government to hold terrorism suspects for up to three months without charge [JURIST report]. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) [official website] has asked that the period be extended [press release] from the current maximum of 14 days to 90 days as part of new initiatives to fight terrorism. Members of both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties expressed doubts about the proposed extension, with Conservative leader Michael Howard telling reporters that he felt three months was "a long time to hold someone without charge, and possibly just release them after that." The opposition leaders also said that they were willing to work out differences and reaffirmed their solidarity in combatting terrorism. CBC News has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge for the District of Nebraska Laurie Smith Camp [official profile] ruled Monday that Union Pacific Railroad [official website] discriminated against women by covering a range of preventive drugs, but not contraception, in its health care plan. Planned Parenthood [advocacy website] supported the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, alleging that the failure to cover contraception violated the federal Civil Rights Act [Title VII text] regarding employers of more than 15 people making decision based upon pregnancy or gender. Camp found the plan discriminatory "because it treats medical care women need to prevent pregnancy less favorably than it treats medical care needed to prevent other medical conditions that are no greater threat to employees' health than is pregnancy." Mark Davis, spokesman for Union Pacific, said the railroad would appeal the decision on several grounds, noting that the exclusion of contraceptives from the health plan was negotiated with the company's unions. AP has more.

[JURIST] A draft chapter of the new Iraq constitution obtained by the Associated Press has raised concerns similar to those raised [JURIST report] last week after another leaked draft obtained by the New York Times story prompted questions about the future of women's rights in the country. Both drafts make gender equality subject to Islamic law and appear to limit women's rights in marriage, divorce, and inheritance. US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld called provisions in the previous draft a "terrible mistake" [JURIST report]. The White House has not taken a position since none of the drafts have been confirmed as final. AP has more.

[JURIST] According to Bhakta Bahadur Koirala, chairman of the anti-graft commission in Nepal [JURIST news archive], ex-prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba [Wikipedia profile] and former public works minister Prakash Man Singh have been sentenced to two years in jail and fined $1.26 million each for their roles in a scandal involving the $464 million Melamchi Water Project [official website]. The contractor, engineer, former secretary, and director of the project have also been sentenced and fined. Koirala stated, "They had given a contract to the private company which had insufficient working capital which did not pass the pre-qualification test as well." Deuba and Singh refused to recognize the commission, set up by King Gyanendra [Wikipedia profile] following his February takeover of Nepal's government, when charged with misappropriating funds [JURIST report] in May. Both men were found not guilty on those charges [JURIST report], but remained in custody over alleged involvement in the water project. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The Bush adminstration said Monday that it will release documents related to Judge John Roberts [JURIST report] and his time in the White House counsel office and earlier position at the Attorney General's office, but not documents from his tenure as principal deputy solicitor general. The release fulfills a request by Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA), but falls short of what Democrats had called for [JURIST report]. The White House declined to make public [JURIST report] all of his documents, saying that extensive requests by Democrats for legal writings would be rejected [JURIST report]. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney [official website] vetoed a bill on Monday that would have expanded access to emergency contraceptives [full text]. The move was symbolic since the bill passed the Massachusetts House and Senate with enough votes to override [AP report] a veto, leading some political observers to call the move posturing for a possible 2008 presidential bid by Romney. In 2002, Romney said he supported expanding access to emergency contraceptives, but as the bill got through the legislature he said he wanted to consult with experts on its impact. The bill would require emergency room doctors to offer the pill to rape victims, and allow it to be sold without a prescription. Romney called his decision consistent with his pledge "not change our abortion laws either to restrict abortion or to facilitate it." AP has more.

[JURIST] California Attorney General Bill Lockyer [official website] released a title and summary for the proposed California Marriage Amendment [text] Monday, opening the door for supporters of the document to begin gathering the hundreds of thousands of signatures needed to include the measure on the June 2006 ballot. Lockyer's analysis stresses that the proposal affects more than gay marriage, emphasized by his title change from the proposed "The Voters' Right to Protect Marriage Act," to "Marriage. Elimination of Domestic Partnership Rights." The summary says that the proposed amendment would not only "provide that only marriage between one man and one woman is valid or recognized in California," as supported by California voters five years ago, but also "voids and restricts registered domestic partner rights and obligations" with respect to adoption and hospital visitation, among other things. Randy Thomasson [profile] of the Campaign for Children and Families [advocacy website], former Assemblyman Larry Bowler and activist Ed Hernandez, the official sponsors of the bill, can ask a court to invalidate or amend the proposed summary if they feel it does not accurately represent their intent. VoteYesMarriage.com [advocacy website] has already announced its intent to challenge [PDF] what it called "Lockyer's biased title and summary." KTVU has more.

[JURIST] Muslim extremist Mohammed Bouyeri [Wikipedia profile], who confessed to the November 2004 murder [JURIST report] of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh [Wikipedia profile], was sentenced to life in prison, the harshest possible sentence, on Tuesday in Amsterdam. Bouyeri said he killed Van Gough in response to his film, "Submission" [synopsis and film clip], which criticized the treatment of women under Islam. The murder sparked retaliatory attacks [JURIST report] and changes in anti-terrorism legislation in the Netherlands. AP has more.

[JURIST] Japan, Brazil, Germany and India, known collectively as the G-4 nations, and the African Union reached an agreement Monday to present a single resolution for the UN Security Council expansion [JURIST report]. According to Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura [official profile] the G-4 nations will support the African Union plan to add five nonpermanent members, instead of four as originally sought by the G-4. Kyodo News has more.

[JURIST] US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence [official website] Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) [official website], speaking [PDF text] before the conservative Heritage Foundation [advocacy website] on Monday, called for a "comprehensive law" to punish those who leak sensitive government information. Hoekstra said that the committee will hold hearings later this year on ways to prevent leaks, adding that intentional leaks of classified information have "probably done more damage to the intelligence community" than espionage. Democrats have been calling for stepped-up investigations into leaks after a newspaper column revealed the name of Valerie Plame, a CIA operative [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] A video released Monday obtained by AP shows the Iraqi Special Tribunal [JURIST news archive] questioning former officials of Saddam Hussein's regime, including Ali Hassan al-Majid [Wikipedia profile], known as "Chemical Ali" for his alleged role in gassing the Kurdish village of Halabja, about the killing of Shiites, Kurds, and followers of rival political parties. Others interviewed in the video include former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan [Wikipedia profile], in charge of implementing the UN oil-for-food program in Iraq and weapons inspectors, and Saddam's half brothers Barzan Ibrahim al-Hassan [Trial Watch profile], former head of the intelligence department and Watban Ibrahim al-Hassan [Trial Watch profile], former ambassador to Egypt Samir Abdul-Aziz al-Najim. The tape shows the men stating their names and describing their duties during the rule of the Baath Party [Wikipedia profile] from 1963 to 2003. AP has more.

[JURIST] The head of the Arab League [official website] on Monday endorsed a definition of terrorism slated for inclusion in a long-stalled UN treaty [JURIST report] that many Arab states oppose. The proposal would define terrorism as "the targeting and deliberate killing of civilians and noncombatants" [JURIST report] though this definition has caused some controversy over how to classify Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli military actions in the West Bank and Gaza. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said this definition "could serve as the basis for consensus" and was one "we can agree on." Reuters has more.

[JURIST] With the Senate stalled on a vote [JURIST report] for the controversial nomination of John Bolton [JURIST report] as the US Ambassador to the United Nations, President Bush may install him via recess appointment [CRS backgrounder, PDF] before the end of the week. The appointment would allow Bolton to step in as an ambassador without Senate approval, but only until January 2007. On Monday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined to say if Bolton would receive a recess appointment after Congress begins a month-long recess at the end of the week. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] According to a statement made by his defense team Monday, Saddam Hussein has requested a meeting with former US attorney general Ramsey Clark [Wikipedia profile]. The request, not yet answered by the Iraqi Special Tribunal [JURIST news archive], expresses concern that Saddam does not have full access to his counsel and comes less than one week after a video was released showing Saddam questioning a tribunal judge [JURIST report] about limited contact with his lawyers. Clark, who developed a relationship with Saddam when visiting Iraq during the 13-year UN sanctions [UN text] and wars against the county, joined Hussein's defense team [JURIST report] in December and is said to have taken charge of it [JURIST report] after Jordanian lawyer Ziad Khasawneh stepped down. Aljazeera has more.

[JURIST] US military judge Lieutenant Colonel Richard Anderson sentenced National Guard soldier Dustin Berg to 18 months in prison late Monday after he pleaded guilty to negligent homicide [JURIST report] in the deadly shooting of an Iraqi police officer. Berg initially said the Iraqi police officer had pointed an gun at him to prevent Berg from reporting insurgent activity before changing his story multiple times and eventually admitting to the killing. Berg, a soldier with the Indiana National Guard [official website], also admitted to purposely shooting himself and lying to cover up the killing. Along with his sentence Berg also received a bad-conduct discharge from the military. AFP has more.