[JURIST] Royal Dutch/Shell Group [corporate website] has said that it will appeal a decision which allows a class action lawsuit for stock fraud to continue against the company. A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the suit, questioning whether Shell's statements on its reserves [JURIST report] purposely misrepresented important facts, adequately showed reason for further investigation into the shareholder plaintiffs' allegations. The US Department of Justice [official website] has also launched a criminal investigation, according to US District Judge John W. Bissell's opinion. This differs from the Department's June 29 statement that the criminal investigation was officially ended [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff [Wikipedia profile], who faces federal bank fraud charges [JURIST report] related to a casino deal, expressed his willingness Tuesday to speak with investigators about the death of Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis. Abramoff is charged [DOJ press release] with conspiracy and wire fraud in the September 2000 purchase of SunCruz Casinos [Corporate website] from Boulis, who was shot to death a few months following the sale. Abramoff is also under investigation by a federal grand jury and by the US Senate Indian Affairs Committee [official website] for excessive charges associated with lobbying efforts on behalf of six Indian tribes. Abramoff will return to court on August 29 to enter his plea; he is currently free on bail. AP has more.

[JURIST] A US Department of Defense analyst and two former officials of the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) [advocacy website] pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defense information. Analyst Lawrence Franklin, who worked on the Pentagon's Iran desk at the time of the allegations, has been charged [JURIST report] with giving former AIPAC officials, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, top secret information about potential attacks on US forces in Iraq and with disclosing classified information to a diplomat in order to advance his personal agenda. Under the same indictment [PDF], Rosen and Weissman are charged [JURIST report] with disclosing the information to the media and several foreign government officials. The trial is set for January 3, 2006. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's states brief, the US Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit ruled [PDF opinion] today that North Dakota may not use federal water pollution laws to challenge the Army Corps of Engineers' [official website] management of the Missouri River nor may the state's Attorney General force the Army Corps to stop drawing its Missouri River water releases from the bottom of Lake Sakakawea. In the 2003 lawsuit, North Dakota alleged the Army Corps was violating state water pollution laws by drawing too much cold water from Lake Sakakawea, but the court's decision said that North Dakota could not demand compliance with state water-quality standards. The court stated that "If we allowed North Dakota to enforce its water-quality standards on this basis, there is no discernible limit to the new structures, and new operational plans, that states with...(Missouri River) reservoirs could demand to force the corps to comply with their own water-quality standards." The court also found federal law mostly exempts the Army Corps from following the Clean Water Act [text] when its authority to manage Missouri River navigation is affected. AP has more.

In other state legal news ...

• Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has declared a state of emergency [declaration text, PDF] along Arizona's border with Mexico, freeing up $1.5 million in disaster funds [Governor's press release, PDF] which will be given to the state's four border counties. In explaining the decision, Napolitano criticized the federal government saying, "I've just come to the conclusion (that) we've got to do what we can at the state level until the federal government picks up the pace." The money will help border counties combat illegal immigration and drug smuggling by providing state money for a wide range of costs, from repairing border fences to paying local law enforcement workers overtime. Napolitano's announcement came three days after New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson declared a state of emergency [Governor's press release] along his state's border with Mexico and stated that the border "has been devastated by the ravages and terror of human smuggling, drug smuggling, kidnapping, murder, destruction of property and death of livestock..." The Arizona Republic has local coverage.
  
  
• The California 2nd District Court of Appeals has dismissed [PDF opinion] a lawsuit filed against the California State University System [official website], alleging that the university discriminated against Hispanics by considering SAT scores as an admissions factor and that the university discriminated against minorities by giving admissions preference to students who live near California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. The plaintiff argued that a 2001 state law [text] prohibiting programs run or funded by the state from discriminating or denying equal access prohibited the university's policies, but the appeals court found a conflicting law which bars new regulations governing state agencies from applying to the Cal State system unless it is explicitly included. The 2001 state law made no specific mention of the Cal State system. AP has more.
  
  
• The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld [PDF opinion] the use of roving driving under the influence stops by finding that the stops are not constitutionally unreasonable. The defendant, in appealing his conviction, claimed that the roving stops constitute unreasonable searches and that they undermine the validity of pre-announced roadblocks because the roving stops detect a higher percentage of violators per stop than checkpoints. In addition to finding the roving stops constitutional, the court found that the roving stops did not undermine the validity of checkpoints as the defendant "failed to show that the DUI roadblocks are so ineffective that they must be declared constitutionally unreasonable." One way that roving DUI patrols differ from checkpoints is that they rely in part on an officer's suspicion that the driver is under the influence. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, JP Morgan Chase [corporate website] has settled with Enron for the bank's role in the accounting fraud that lead to Enron's bankruptcy [JURIST news archive]. In a Tuesday press release [text], JP Morgan said that the bank will pay Enron $350 million in return for Enron not pursuing its claims against JP Morgan. The bankruptcy court handling the case must still approve the settlement. Reuters has more.

In other corporations and securities news...

• Goodyear [corporate website] announced Tuesday that the company received a Wells Notice from the SEC, which informs a company that an SEC panel has recommended the agency file civil charges against the company. In a press release [text], Goodyear said the notice relates to alleged accounting violations that lead to the company restating its 2003 reports. Reuters has more.
  
  
• The Federal Trade Commission [official website] has settled with Experian [corporate website] for deceptively marketing credit reports. Experian subsidiary Consumerinfo.com lead customers to its www.consumerinfo.com and www.freecreditreport.com websites with promises of free credit reports. But in a Tuesday press release [text], the FTC says the company actually required customers to provide their credit card information and would charge the card $79.99 if the customers did not cancel their registration for the "free" credit report. AP has more.

[JURIST] Kurdish leaders insisted Tuesday that they do not plan to secede from Iraq even though they want the new Iraqi constitution [JURIST news archive] to provide the group the right to self-determination in order to protect themselves from potential future problems. The issues of self-determination, the role of Islam, federalism and the use of oil and other natural resources are among the unresolved issues [JURIST report] that prevented Iraq's constitutional committee [official website] from reaching an agreement before the August 15 deadline and the subsequent one-week extension [JURIST report] of the deadline. If an agreement on the constitution is reached by August 22, Iraqis will vote in mid-October to accept or reject the charter; this will lead to December elections for the first fully constitutional government since regime of Saddam Hussein [JURIST new archive] was overthrown in 2003. AP has more.

[JURIST] Indicted former Rwandan government official Michel Bagaragaza surrendered himself to officials from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda [official website; JURIST news archive] on Tuesday. Bagaragaza has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit genocide, genocide and complicity in genocide and is alleged to have ordered his own subordinates and others to kill hundreds of Tutsi civilian refugees seeking shelter in a tea factory he supervised. He also faces charges of training, supporting, financing, and arming the Hutu Interahamwes [Wikipedia profile], armed militia groups that attacked Tutsi civilians. ICTR Prosecutor Hassan Bubacar Jallow welcomed the surrender as one of the final outstanding indictments against Akazu, a select group of governmental and business leaders that exercised great power in the events leading up to the 1994 genocide. Read the ICTR official press release.

[JURIST] The Russian government approved a resolution Tuesday that authorized its formal withdrawal from the Russian-Estonian border agreements, the next-to-last phase that Russia must complete in order to satisfy international legal standards on the withdrawal from a treaty. The Russian-Estonian border treaties, agreed to in May 2005 [JURIST report], became a source of contention between the two nations following statements by Estonian officials during initial stages of the ratification process that negatively criticized Russian society [Russian MFA press release]. As a result, the Russian Foreign Ministry [official website] decided to exercise its rights under the Vienna Convention on the Law on Treaties (1969) [official text] to divest itself of its obligations [JURIST report] under the treaties, and withdraw as a signatory member. The only steps remaining for Russian officials to take are the submission of the proposal to Russian President Vladimir Putin [official website], who originally signed the treaties, and formal notification to Estonia of Russia's intent to not be a signatory member. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Russia [JURIST news archive]. Itar-Tass has local coverage.

[JURIST] South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun [official profile] said Tuesday that he intends to push for the elimination of a statute of limitations for future human rights violations in South Korea, but said that he isn't seeking to introduce retroactive punishment for acts already outside the statute of limitations, which bars prosecution of government officials after a certain period of years. Introducing retroactive punishment is prohibited by the South Korean Constitution [text], and Roh's initial call for an end to the statute of limitations made during a speech marking the end of Japanese rule in Korea sparked fears that retroactive punishment would be sought. Roh did state that several of his legal advisors had demonstrated to his satisfaction that certain, rare cases of human rights abuses, like internationally defined war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and human experimentation, may be open to retroactive punishment under strict exceptions. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of South Korea [JURIST news archive]. Chosun Ilbo has local coverage.

[JURIST] A Lusaka magistrate court has held that the Zambian Director of Public Prosecutions has sufficient evidence to proceed with a trial against Patriotic Front President Michael Sata [party profile] on espionage charges. Sata's trial will be held before the Zambian High Court, and will focus on his alleged incitement of explosions caused by workers at the Konkola Copper Mines in the recent employment strikes occurring there. Sata has been a high ranking political figure in Zambia for decades, starting off in the one-party government and then breaking away in the early 1990s with the reform movement. He created the Patriotic Front [party website] in October 2001, and has been one of the main opposition leaders challenging current Zambian President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa [Wikipedia profile]. The Times of Zambia has local coverage.

[JURIST] Angolan Supreme Court Justice Caetano de Sousa has been elected by the Angolan Parliament [official website in Portuguese] to serve as the head of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) tasked with supervising preparations for elections scheduled for the first half of 2006. Angola [government website] has been in a constant state of civil war for the past 30 years and both the government and the main opposition party, UNITA, view national elections as vital for maintaining a fragile peace. Concerns still exist that the elections may be delayed due to a request by Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos [official profile] that the Supreme Court review the new election laws [JURIST report] to ensure they comply with the Angolan Constitution [official text]. UNITA, while generally satisfied with de Sousa's experience, warned that he must be extra vigilant against bias, since he was nominated for the CNE post by dos Santos. Angola Press has local coverage.

[JURIST] A special session of the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals meeting at the University of Utah [official website] Wednesday will hear arguments about a Utah state law that prohibits the desecration of the US flag [official text]. Several different individuals are challenging the law's constitutionality, alleging that Salt Lake County officials acted against the US Supreme Court ruling in Texas v. Johnson [text] which held that a similar law was unconstitutional. Salt Lake County Attorney David Yocom has alleged that the plaintiffs challenging the law lack standing, as one man was never prosecuted, and the charge against the other was dropped. AP has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has ordered government lawyers to restore redacted portions of their brief [PDF text] concerning the release of further photographs and video of Abu Ghraib Prison [JURIST news archive] after a closed session review [JURIST report] of the relevant information. Hellerstein said Monday after the review that he "generally ruled in favor of public disclosure" and that the decision on this case balanced right for public disclosure against heavy issues of national security. Hellerstein has scheduled the argument concerning the images' release for August 30, saying he wanted a speedy decision, but wanted to give US Attorney David Kelley time to appeal the redaction ruling. AP has more.

[JURIST] Israeli police officer Yuval Avargil testified Monday in the ongoing trial [JURIST report] against Sami Al-Arian [advocacy website], a former University of South Florida professor that has been charged [official charge sheet], along with three other men, with raising money for and supporting Palestinian Islamic Jihad [MIPT backgrounder] in conducting suicide bombings in Israel. Avargil gave graphic testimony concerning the after-effects of one of the suicide bombings that Al-Arian allegedly helped finance and plan. Al-Arian has maintained his innocence and claims that he is a victim of persecution because he espouses ideas unpopular with the US government. AP has more.

[JURIST] National Guard acting adjutant general Brigadier Gen. John R. Alexander [official profile] has said that a confidential report released Monday proves that the National Guard unit known as the Information Synchronization, Knowledge Management and Intelligence Fusion program was not spying on civilians, as ACLU activists and California state Sen. Joseph Dunn [official profile] previously alleged [JURIST report]. Alexander says that the report, conducted by the Army's inspector general, supports statements made earlier that the unit's purpose is simply to monitor the status and assess threats against domestic infrastructure. Protests were raised against the unit after newspaper reports revealed that the guardsmen had "monitored" a protest [AP report] by mothers of fallen military personnel on Mother's Day, 2005. The National Guard unit claims that this "monitoring" amounted to watching news footage of the protests. AP has more.

[JURIST] Public commentary on the proposed revisions to Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (1990) [official text] began Tuesday, as the government opened up communication for medical professionals and the general public to provide commentary on proposed changes to the fertility legislation. The HFEA 1990 created the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority [official website], which decided that as part of its recommendations to the UK Parliament, that it would solicit public opinion on some of the more controversial issues up for review in the Act's revision. Among these is the question of whether research should be allowed into fields that would permit early detection of "lower penetrance" genetic problems resulting in different kinds of cancer. The proposed revisions to the Act also include tightening up internet-based sales of genetic material, addressing ethical concerns about techniques such as picking gender, and other legal issues surrounding in vitro fertilization. Read the HFEA's backgrounder on proposed amendments the HFEA 1990. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] The Inter-American Court of Human Rights [official website], part of the judicial branch of the Organization of American States [official website] regional body, has ordered the Suriname government [official website in Dutch] to pay $13,000 (USD) to each of the 130 survivors of a 1986 massacre of the N'djuka Maroon village of Moiwana by Suriname military forces. The massacre occurred during a guerrilla war against former military dictator Desi Bouterse [Wikipedia profile], who denied reports of soldiers slaughtering innocent villagers, but acknowledged that the military had been looking for "rebel fighters and sympathizers" in the area. In an opinion issued Monday, the Court also ordered the Suriname government to establish a $1.2 million (USD) development fund for health, housing and educational programs for Moiwana residents and is requiring the government to investigate and prosecute any individuals found to have participated in or ordered the massacre. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Despite initial optimism, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen [official profile] has warned the international community that Cambodia [government website], one of Asia's poorest nations, cannot afford its share of the projected costs for an international criminal tribunal targeting Khmer Rouge leaders. Hun Sen said that Cambodia can only afford $1.5 million (USD) of the $13 million (USD) it originally planned to contribute. The United Nations [UN in Cambodia official website], footing the majority of the projected costs of the tribunal, has already raised the $43 million it was scheduled to provide. Hun Sen warned that unless the international community is willing to provide the remaining $11.5 million (USD), Cambodia will not be able to go forward with the tribunal. There is concern among proponents of the tribunal that the individuals likely to be targeted for criminal prosecution may die before the tribunal gets underway. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Cambodia [JURIST news archive]. BBC News has more.

Previously on JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Cambodia accepts Japanese offer to help fund Khmer Rouge trials
• Japan pledges gap money for Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal
• Cambodian PM opposes private funds for Khmer Rouge genocide trial
• Cambodian opposition calls for public contributions to Khmer Rouge trials fundCambodia appeals to UN for war crimes court funding

[JURIST] A series of almost simultaneous attacks and riots in seven of Guatemala's prisons Monday has left 31 inmates dead and many more injured. Guatemalan Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann [official website] said the gun and knife attacks at prisons around Southern Guatemala show the power that gangs have to spread terror. Vielmann says the inmates were able to plan the attacks by cellular phones, messages and guns passed by visitors to imprisoned gang members. Vielmann also pointed to the constant communication between gang members, saying that the Internet helps them coordinate actions not only within Guatemala, but also with El Salvador, Honduras and the US. AP has more. From Guatemala City, El Periodico has local coverage [in Spanish]

[JURIST] In a Tuesday ruling, the Supreme Court of Israel [official website in English] temporarily halted government plans to demolish 30 synagogues and eight Torah academies in the Gaza Strip. The decision was in response to a petition from Elei Sinai rabbi Yishai Brohan requesting the buildings be moved to Israel proper. While the pullout officially began Monday [JURIST report], the ruling gave the state 48 hours to assess the possibility of dismantling and moving the facilities, with the state agreeing not to dismantle or destroy the buildings during that time. Israel's Chief Rabbis Yonah Metzger [official profile] and Shlomo Amar [official profile] met Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Tuesday, resulting in an agreement to set up a joint committee to determine a procedure for dismantling the synagogues. Haaretz has local coverage.

Meanwhile, Israeli security forces continued to evacuate the Gaza Strip Tuesday, clashing with hundreds of opponents, arresting dozens of people and detaining 50 Israelis for resisting police and soldiers. According to Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz [official profile], who expects half of Gaza's residents to have vacated by midnight, "We will make every effort, the army and the police, to have law and order in this process and anyone who acts illegally will be treated according to the law." While Jewish settlers have vowed to peacefully resist eviction, officials anticipated violence [JURIST report] from the estimated 5,000 Jewish extremists who have infiltrated the settlements. According to a police spokesman, security forces arrested approximately 500 people who were in Gaza illegally Monday night, and prevented dozens more from entering. Protesters refused security forces entry into Neve Dealim Tuesday, pelting police with plastic water bottles, Bedolah residents sets cars on fire and vowed to burn down their homes, and residents in Netzarim spent the first night of the pull-out in communal celebration, refusing to leave. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles [official website] has decided to pardon Lena Baker [African American Registry profile], a black maid, 60 years after she was executed for killing a white man, board spokeswoman Scheree Lipscomb said Monday. Baker, found guilty by an all-white, all-male jury in Georgia, claimed she shot E.B. Knight, a man she had been hired to care for, in self defense. The board did not find Baker innocent of the crime, but decided her denial of clemency in 1945 "was a grievous error." Baker is one of 20 women to be executed in Georgia, and the only one to be executed by electrocution. Baker will be officially pardoned at a meeting later this month. AP has more.

[JURIST] Italy has arrested 141 people in an ongoing security sweep [JURIST report], begun expulsion procedures against 701 people, and questioned almost 33,000 people since last month's terrorist attacks in London and Egypt, Italy's Ministry of the Interior [official website, in Italian] announced Monday. According to the Ministry's press release [in Italian], the country has received several internet threats allegedly from Islamic militant groups, and the ministry stated evaluations "confirm an ongoing high risk of a terrorist attack on our country." Parliament eased the government's powers to combat terrorism last month by passing legislation [Reuters report] easing deportation, increasing penalties for terror-related crimes, and approving greater surveillance of internet and telephone communications. While civil libertarians criticize the extension of state power as infringing on civil rights, members of the center-right coalition claim Italy is not prepared to respond in the event of an actual attack. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Iraqi leaders confirmed Tuesday that key unresolved issues in drafting the Iraqi constitution [JURIST news archive] lead to Monday's one-week deadline extension [JURIST report]. According to Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite, the primary issues of contention are distribution of oil wealth and federalism; Shiite lawmakers are also saying that the unresolved issues include women's rights, the role of Islam, and the right of Kurds to eventually secede. Kurdish politicians defended their push for self-determination Tuesday as necessary for their protection "in case troubles erupt in Iraq in the future." Shiites support federalism and want an autonomous region in the south as Kurds have in the north. Sunni Arabs oppose federalism, and fear it will split the country. AP has more.

Reacting to the deadline extension, President Bush praised the efforts [White House statement] of lawmakers in Iraq, stating "Their efforts are a tribute to democracy and an example that difficult problems can be solved peacefully through debate, negotiation and compromise." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that she remains confident [press conference transcript] that the seven-day extension will be sufficient for the Iraqi drafting committee to resolve any remaining issues. Rice also praised lawmakers for their dedication to the constitutional process, describing it as "Democracy at work." Reuters has more. The view from Iraq is not quite as optimistic, as some Iraqi citizens said Tuesday that extended talks on the constitution would cause more problems for the Iraqi people and that the negotiations should end as soon as possible. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] In a 1985 memo to White House counsel Fred Fielding released Monday, US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts [JURIST news archive] stated that the Court's ruling in Wallace v. Jaffree [text], striking down an Alabama law mandating a one-minute period of silence for prayer or meditation as unconstitutional, "seems indefensible" and urged the White House to support a constitutional amendment supporting silent prayer in public schools. In several other memos to Fielding, written while Roberts worked as associate counsel for the Reagan administration, the nominee criticized judges and legislators who supported the "radical redistributive concept" of "comparable worth," [Encyclopedia Britannica entry] which he said "mandates nothing less than central planning of the economy by judges." The 5,393 pages released by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library [official website] Monday also included Roberts' opinions regarding vetting administration nominees, judicial activism and the Court's caseload. AP has more. The Washington Post maintains a listing of key documents authored by Roberts.

[JURIST] The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York has failed to turn over videotapes [OIG report to Congress] showing interviews of aliens held on immigration charges during the investigation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, US Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine [official website] said Monday. The facility was required to turn over the tapes as part of a 2003 investigation into alleged abuse of detainees [final report; supplemental report] but the tapes were not discovered by the Bureau of Prisons [official website] until February of this year. The tapes contain recordings of detainees' conversations with their lawyers, and a lawsuit is now pending against officers at the facility for taping conversations that were assured to be confidential. The BOP incorporated evidence from the tapes into their review of the staff's treatment of detainees, and both the OIG and the BOP sustained the original finding that there was some abuse by some employees at the facility. In March, the OIG released a report [PDF text] which found, in part, that no MDC officials had yet been disciplined [JURIST report] in connection with the abuse of detainees. Fine stated his office will continue to look into MDC's failure to produce the tapes. AP has more.