[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, a federal appeals court has upheld a lower court decision against Canadian Research in Motion Ltd. [corporate website], the company that produces the popular BlackBerry [product website] e-mail pagers. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held [opinion, PDF] that the trial court was correct in determining that Research in Motion violated patents held by NTP Inc. in making and selling the BlackBerry devices in the United States. The companies had agreed to a $450 million settlement [AP report], but NTP appears to be pushing for more money, arguing that their technology was used in other devices as well. Bloomberg has more.

In other corporations and securities law news...

• As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) [corporate website] has reached a settlement over its role in Enron's collapse [JURIST report]. In a press release, CIBC said the $2.4 billion settlement will end a lawsuit with Enron shareholders and awaits approval from the head plaintiff, the Board of Regents of the University of California. Though CIBC admitted no wrongdoing in the case, the bank has previously admitted to criminal conduct [US DOJ press release] by its employees in the Enron scandal. Reuters has more.
  
  
• The SEC [official website] has settled with - and banned - a former Prudential Securities [corporate website] broker. Chauncey Steele agreed to civil charges that will ban him from trading securities without admitting any wrongdoing in the alleged "painting the tape" scam. Steele was recently ordered by a federal court to pay $150,000 for his role in the scam, which involves making planned, small purchases of stock to make it appear to have greater value to unwary investors. The SEC suit alleged that Steele had orchestrated the scheme [SEC press release]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] New US UN ambassador John Bolton [official profile] met with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Tuesday to present his credentials and deliver his letter of appointment by President Bush [JURIST report]. Bolton is known for his blunt style, his entrenched opposition to the UN-supported International Criminal Court [JURIST report], and a 1994 speech during which he said there is "no such thing as the United Nations," calling it merely "an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world, and that is the United States." Annan said he was looking forward to working with Bolton but stressed that "an ambassador always has to remember that there are 190 others who will have to be convinced." Bolton joins the UN during the final six weeks leading up to a UN General Assembly summit [proposed agenda, PDF] when member states will seek agreements on issues such as the global fight against terrorism, reorganizing UN management, and expanding the Security Council. AP has more.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [US DOJ profile] marked the 40th anniversary [speech, text] of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 [US DOJ backgrounder] Tuesday by saying that the Bush administration is working to extend parts of the act which will expire in 2007 [JURIST report]. The Voting Rights Act was originally passed to give African-Americans the right to vote and includes provisions that mandate historically discriminating states to have any proposed changes in voting times, places or methods approved by the US Department of Justice [official website] before taking effect. Another section of the act which will expire in 2007 provides bilingual communicators in areas where English is a second language for many citizens. Gonzales did not specifically say which areas of the act are being extended, but US Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) [official website], chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said that Republicans are drafting a bill which would renew the act for another 25 years. Hearings on the proposed legislation are expected to take place this fall. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] President Bush Tuesday signed [White House press release] the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) [text] into law, making it the first official trade pact between the US and Central America. CAFTA will end tariffs against US products in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Honduras, and ensures those countries duty-free access to the US. Bush said the new law would help create jobs in the US by "leveling the playing field for our products," but CAFTA has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats, passing the US House of Representatives [JURIST report] last week by a two-vote margin of 217-215 [roll call] after obtaining Senate approval by 54-45 [roll call] last month. Opponents of the accord say it will force more American jobs overseas and continue the exploitation of Central American workers. El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have already ratified the agreement, which will go into effect as soon as a date is agreed upon. The remaining three countries have two years to approve the pact. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce [official website] on Tuesday agreed to a $2.4 billion settlement over a class-action lawsuit with investors in collapsed energy giant Enron Corp. The settlement is the largest yet, beating the $2.2 billion settlement with JP Morgan Chase [JURIST report] and the $2 billion paid by Citigroup to Enron investors [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's states brief, Alabama Governor Bob Riley signed legislation [Governor's press release] today that creates a mandatory sentence of at least 20 years to life for people convicted of certain sex crimes against children 12 and younger, and allows those offenders to be tracked by Global Positioning System technology for at least 10 years after serving their sentence. The law [text] also prohibits sex offenders from working or loitering near places where children gather and requires offenders to have a special mark identifying them as a sex offender on their driver's license or other identification card. The state legislature working on the bill [JURIST report] during a special session which ended on July 26. AP has more.

In other state legal news ...

• The Wisconsin 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled [text] Tuesday that a $225,000 punitive damage award given to a couple involved in an accident caused by a drunk driver was not unconstitutional under the state or US constitutions. The court rejected the drunk driver's arguments that the award had no rational or reasonable relationship to the compensatory damages or to the criminal penalties he faced, and instead found that the jury properly concluded a large punitive award supported the criminal and civil sanctions imposed by the Legislature for behavior that was reckless or indifferent to the safety of others. The jury awarded $2,000 in compensatory damages. AP has more.
  
  
• Oregon lawmakers have passed legislation [text] that would make the state the first in the nation to require a doctor's prescription for cold and allergy medicines that contain pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in manufacturing methamphetamine. Oregon currently requires customers to show identification and to sign a log when buying these products from pharmacies. Governor Ted Kulongoski is expected to sign [Governor's press release] the legislation this week, and the state Board of Pharmacy will have until July 2006 to implement the prescription requirement. View Senate's press release here. AP has more.
  
  
• A New Jersey appellate court has overturned [PDF text] a drunk driving conviction by finding that the police officer who pulled the driver over had "no objectively reasonable basis" for doing so. Judge Harvey Weissbard wrote for the majority, "If officers were permitted to stop vehicles where it is objectively determined that there is no legal basis for their action, the potential for abuse of traffic infractions as a pretext for effecting stops seems boundless and the cost to privacy rights excessive." The decision overturned a lower court ruling which found the officer acted in good faith and on articulable suspicion. The officer mistakenly thought the motorist was violating commercial vehicle laws. New Jersey's Star-Ledger has local coverage.

[JURIST] Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga [official website] asked Sri Lanka's Supreme Court [official website] on Tuesday to decide when the next presidential election should be, in an effort to counter increasingly strong opposition calls for a vote this year. The top political parties in Sri Lanka cannot meet a compromise on the timing of the next poll, with main opposition United National Party [Wikipedia backgrounder] leader Ranil Wickremesinghe [Wikipedia profile] pushing for an immediate contest. Kumaratunga was first elected in 1994 and claims her second six-year term should end in late 2006. But Wickremesinghe believes because she ran for her second term a year early, in 1999, her second term ends in 2005. Many diplomats and aid workers want to return the political attention to the the much needed tsunami reconstruction. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Hassan Moghaddas, an Iranian judge who tried a highly-publicized case involving dissident journalist Akbar Ganji [Wikipedia profile; advocacy website], was killed in Tehran on Tuesday by a gunman on a motorcycle. Moghaddas was shot and killed in his car after leaving his central Tehran office, according to Iranian judiciary spokesman Jamal Karimirad. It was not immediately clear if a connection exists between the killing and the case of Ganji, imprisoned five years ago for linking senior Iranian officials to the murders of prominent intellectuals. Ganji has been on a hunger strike for 53 days [AFP report] protesting his sentence, and is said by relatives to be close to death. AP has more.

[JURIST] After at least 36 people were killed in riots [JURIST report] Monday, violence continued in Khartoum, Sudan on Tuesday in response to the death of former rebel leader John Garang [Wikipedia profile, who helped broker a peace deal and became vice president. Garang was the highest ranking official in the Sudanese government to ever come from the southern province or claim to be Christian, and news of his death prompted anti-Muslim attacks. Southerners feel threatened by perceived discrimination from the north and worry that Garang's death will leave them weakened. Salva Kiir, Garang's deputy, is expected to succeed him. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Philippines government on Tuesday denied a witness's accusation that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo [Wikipedia profile] bribed election officials and threatened a lawsuit. Arroyo says people are being paid to testify against her as part of impeachment proceedings [JURIST report]. Michael Angelo Zuce, a former aide, says Arroyo paid officials [Scotsman report] during a meeting in January 2004. Zuce's former boss however denied the accusation and says that Zuce is suffering from financial troubles [ABS-CBN report] and needs money [ABS-CBN report]. Xinhua has more.

[JURIST] Leonard Clark, of the Arizona Army National Guard [official website], has been demoted from Specialist to Private First Class and fined $1,640 for disclosing classified information on his Iraq weblog [blog website]. Soldiers are allowed to maintain such sites but cannot post information related to their location, troop movements, or deaths of soldiers whose families have not yet been notified. The Army has not specified what Clark posted that violated the rules. AP has more.

[JURIST] Indonesia's Supreme Court has replaced two judges in the trial of Newmont Mining Corporation [corporate website] on charges that it polluted Buyat Bay, near its mine [JURIST report]. The high court ruled that the two were not qualified to hear environmental cases. Newmont is confident it will win the criminal case, saying no crime was committed though evidence conflicts as to levels of pollution in the bay; a civil suit against Newmont is also pending [JURIST report]. AFP has more.

[JURIST] A Maryland employee of the National Institutes of Health [official website] has been charged under the Terrorism Prevention Act [PDF text] with spreading false information and making a hoax for threatening a tax assessment board with anthrax. Michelle Ledgister, 43, lost a claim for relief with the Broward County Property Appraiser's Office for land she owns in Parkland, Florida. According to an arrest warrant executed Monday, she left a phone message at the office identifying herself as an NIH worker and said, "You guys now have anthrax spores once again, so do be careful." A hazmat team searched the building but found no dangerous material. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted. AP has more.

[JURIST] US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad [official profile] said Tuesday in Baghdad that protecting women's rights was "a fundamental requirement for Iraq's progress". Leaked drafts of the Iraqi constitution have reportedly contained provisions [JURIST report] that would apply strict Islamic law to such personal matters as marriage, divorce, and inheritance, significantly limiting women's rights. US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said late last month that adopting such provisions would be a "terrible mistake" [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Immigration and Customs Enforcement [official website] division of the US Department of Homeland Security has announced over 1,000 gang-related arrests [press release] so far this year, including 582 in just the past two weeks [AP report]. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff gave details of Operation Community Shield [transcript] at a press conference Monday. The program was designed to use immigration laws rather than criminal statutes as a way to target and deport gang members. Chertoff said over 900 of those arrested face deportation. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] Kyrgyz prosecutor Nurlan Jeenaliyev said Monday that Kyrgyzstan [JURIST news archive] will return 15 Uzbek refugees back to their home country over the objections of the UN and some rights groups. The announcement came after weeks of diplomacy about the status of hundreds of Uzbeks who sought asylum in neighboring Kyrgyzstan in May after Uzbek forces crushed an uprising in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan [JURIST report]. The UN sent 440 Uzbek refugees to Romania [JURIST report] last week, angering the Uzbek government [JURIST report], but Kyrgyzstan held back 15 asylum seekers it had arrested in the city of Osh. AP has more.

[JURIST] Ashjan Ahmad al-Bukhari, an Egyptian lawyer, has become the first woman to join Egypt's presidential race, which for the first time will allow multiple candidates [JURIST report] this year. However, doubts remain about the validity of her candidacy, since at least 250 elected officials need to approve a candidate for them to appear on the ballot. President Hosni Mubarak [Wikipedia profile] has announced his own intention to seek re-election [JURIST report], along with opposition party leader Ayman Nur. AKI has more.

[JURIST] Zimbabwe dropped a second treason charge against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai [Wikipedia profile] on Tuesday, clearing him of charges. Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was acquitted of plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe [JURIST report] in 2004. This second charge was for leading protests urging Zimbabweans to oust Mugabe [Mail & Guardian report]. AFP has more.

[JURIST] After strong Congressional opposition [JURIST report] to an $18.5 billion offer from the China National Offshore Oil Company Ltd. (CNOOC) [official website] and a $17.3 billion bid from Chevron, CNOOC has announced that it will drop its offer completely instead of raising it [AP report]. China's offer led Chevron to increase its offer and alarmed Congress, which feared Chinese control of such a large segment of the oil market. Chevron, if its bid is accepted, will acquire reserves equivalent to 1.75 billion barrels. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] Despite newly-uncovered e-mails [JURIST report] from former US military prosecutors that characterize the military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay as "rigged" and "a fraud", the Australian government is still backing a military trial for detained Australian David Hicks [JURIST news archive]. Australian Prime Minister John Howard [official website] said Tuesday that he was told that the e-mails had already been investigated by the Pentagon [JURIST report], and that Hicks could not be tried in Australia anyway because his alleged crimes do not fall under its criminal laws. Hicks, a native Australian, was captured in Afghanistan while allegedly fighting for the Taliban. The Australian government originally endorsed military tribunals after they were approved [JURIST report] by a US appeals court last month, but the Law Council of Australia [official website] and advocacy groups [Hicks advocacy website] have pushed for a civilian trial, especially after the e-mails came to light. Hicks' military lawyer and Australia's top military lawyer [Australian report] have also expressed grave reservations about the process. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Khalil Dulaimi, an Iraqi defense lawyer for Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive], said Tuesday that he is boycotting the former president's trial after a man allegedly grabbed Hussein by the arm at a hearing last Thursday and tried to attack him [JURIST report]. Dulaimi is refusing to rejoin the proceedings until the attacker, who Dulaimi believed to be a reserve judge, is caught and the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website] apologizes. Both the US and the tribunal have denied that any attack occurred. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] According to the Center for Constitutional Rights [advocacy website] (CCR), the US military is holding two ethnic Uighur Muslims [Wikipedia profile] at Guantanamo that have been found not to be enemy combatants. Lawyers for Abu Bakker Qassim and Adel Abdu al-Hakim went before a federal court on Monday to seek their release after learning Friday that the men had been cleared on March 26 2005. CCR claims a Guantanamo review panel ruled in March that Qassim and Hakim were not enemy combatants [CCR press release] subject to military tribunals. A Pentagon spokesman said the US makes it clear that it is unwilling to "return or extradite individuals to other countries where it believes that it is 'more likely than not' that they will be tortured or subject to persecution." China, which has requested their return, has recently renewed a campaign against Muslim separatists and the US is reportedly concerned the pair will be persecuted if sent back. CCR criticized the government for failing "to notify their attorneys, families or anyone else" and allowing them to remain at Guantanamo for an additional six months. District Judge James Robertson said he is considering an order moving them into a special facility for migrants [Boston Globe report] on a Navy base, where the US holds rafters from Cuba and Haiti seeking asylum. Robertson, in a decision that will likely take weeks, could become the first federal judge to order the military to discharge a detainee from Guantanamo . AFP has more.