[JURIST] The chief of Iran's Judiciary said Monday that Iran objected to the "insignificant and petty" indictment on which former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein will be tried beginning October 19. The Iraqi government confirmed Sunday [JURIST report] that Hussein and several of his lieutenants would go on trial that day for the slaughter of Shiite residents of the Iraqi town of Dujail in 1982 after a failed assassination attempt. Iran fought a bloody eight-year war against Saddam's Iraq between 1980 and 1988 that cost the lives of up to a million people and had previously demanded [JURIST report] that Hussein face charges relating to that conflict. Iranian official news agency IRNA quoted Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi as saying that Iran would now prepare its own indictment: "What is important for the judiciary are the rights that were lost by Iranian citizens during the eight-year sacred defence war, those who lost their loved ones and the many war veterans who were wounded by chemical weapons." AFP has more.


Do you think Iraq is right to undertake its first prosecution of Hussein on a "lesser charge"? E-mail us at JURIST@law.pitt.edu.

[JURIST] A Republican source said Monday that Senate leaders have agreed to postpone the start of the confirmation hearings for US Supreme Court nominee and now Chief Justice nominee [JURIST report] John G. Roberts from Tuesday until at least Thursday, and perhaps to as late as Monday. No formal announcement of a revised schedule has yet been made pending further discussions. Reuters has more.


How do you expect the Roberts hearings to proceed now that he's been nominated to the position of Chief Justice? How, if at all, should Senators change their strategy in questioning him? E-mail us at JURIST@law.pitt.edu.

[JURIST] A prosecutor argued at the opening of a much-anticipated [JURIST report] British court-martial [Wikipedia backgrounder] Monday that seven British paratroopers patrolling in southern Iraq in 2003 killed an Iraqi civilian and abused others after stopping a truck carrying them three weeks after hostilities had officially ended. Nadhem Abdullah was said to have beaten at the scene by the British soldiers "using their fists, their feet, their helmets and their rifles" and later died of his injuries on the way to hospital. The soldiers were never threatened or in any danger, said Michael Heslop, QC:

This is not a case of soldiers responding to an attack nor being required to defend themselves in an operational engagement. This was I am afraid to say nothing more than gratuitous violence meted out to a number of innocent and unarmed Iraqi civilians... These assaults were unjustified and wholly unprovoked.

[JURIST] Leading Monday's states brief, opponents of a recently approved Georgia voter identification law are expected to announce the filing of a federal lawsuit this week. The bill [PDF text] calls for voters to have photo identification and was recently been approved by the US Department of Justice [JURIST report]. The Coalition for the People's Agenda, the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials [advocacy website], the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference [advocacy website] are plaintiffs in the suit. A news conference is set for tomorrow. AP has more.

In other state legal news ...

• The Colorado Supreme Court [official website] has scheduled arguments on whether videotapes and diaries made by the Columbine High School gunmen can be released to the public. The court will balance homeowners' privacy rights against state open-record laws. The gunmen's parents argue that the videotapes and diaries are privately owned and not subject to the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers [official website] believes that the records could be made public if a judge determines their release would not be contrary to the public interest. Last year the court of appeals said there was no reason to seal the documents, but they could be withheld from release if "contrary to public interest." AP has more.
  
  
• North Carolina Governor Mike Easley has signed [Governor's press release] legislation establishing a state lottery. Officials expect the law [PDF text] to raise approximately $400 million annually which will be used for school construction, class-size reduction, college scholarships and preschool programs. J.D. Evans, chairman of the Wayne County commissioners, said the lottery funding should not replace current state funding and that it will be important to define a proper use for the generated revenues. Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue [official website] served as the tie-breaking vote in the Senate after the Senate deadlocked 24-24 last week. The Goldsboro News-Argus has local coverage.

[JURIST] British Prime Minister Tony Blair suggested Monday that a change may have to be made [JURIST report] to Britain's Human Rights Act [text] in order to allow the deportation of foreign Islamic extremists in the UK to home countries where they may face torture or inhumane treatment. Currently, Britain seeks "memorandums of understanding" with such countries to assure that deportees will be treated humanely [JURIST report], but so far no deportations have taken place. In an interview with a local television station, Conservative Party shadow home secretary David Davis [official profile] stated that the wording of planned legislation [statement of proposed anti-terror measures] would have to be revised in order to overcome difficulties in the courts. The Guardian has local coverage.


What are your views on the British government's new policy on deportation of foreign Islamic extremists? Should the Human Rights Act be amended as now suggested? E-mail us at JURIST@law.pitt.edu.

[JURIST] Kenya will hold its first-ever national referendum November 21 when voters decide on the country's new constitution [text, PDF; JURIST report], Kenyan officials announced Monday. The draft of the new charter has divided the country [JURIST report] over issues including presidential power controls, separation of church and state, and distribution of government powers. Protests against the constitution killed at least one person in July and some fear the referendum will raise tensions and spark additional violence. Electoral Commission of Kenya [official website] chairperson Samuel Kivuitu urged voters to "respect each other" and appealed to government leaders "to desist from making sweet promises to voters on condition that they vote one way or threatening reprisals against voters if they do not vote in a particular way." The Mail & Guardian has more.

Do you support or oppose the draft Kenyan constitution? How will you be voting in the referendum? E-mail us at JURIST@law.pitt.edu.

[JURIST] The Federal Court in Australia ruled [decision text] Monday that internet music filing sharing service Kazaa [file-sharing website] violates artists' copyrights by allowing its more than 100 million users to swap pirated digital music files over the internet. While the decision did not shut down Sharman Networks [corporate website], the developers of Kazaa, it mandated changes to the peer-to-peer network. The original lawsuit [JURIST report], brought by five record labels -- Universal [corporate website], EMI [corporate website], Sony BMG [corporate website], Warner [corporate website] and Festival Mushroom [corporate website], argued that Sharman Network licensed users to access a network it was aware was being used for piracy, thus authorizing copyright infringement and costing them millions of dollars in lost sales. Sharman Networks maintains that they have no control over how their network is used. Australian Federal Court Judge Murray Wilcox said the site "encourage[ed] visitors to think it cool to defy the record companies by ignoring copyright constraints." The judge ordered Sharman to pay 90% of the legal costs and damages will be awarded in a separate proceeding. The Times of London has more. From Melbourne, the Age provides local coverage.


Are you a Kazaa user? What do you think are the consequences of this ruling for the prospects of P2P sharing networks in Australia and beyond? E-mail us at JURIST@law.pitt.edu.

[JURIST] New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin [City Mayors profile] Sunday slammed what he called "goofy laws" for slowing down federal and state response to the disaster that unfolded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast last week and flooded the the city, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents. Interviewed on CBS 60 Minutes, he said many had died because of:

[l]ack of coordination and some goofy laws that basically say there's not a clear distinction of when the federal government stops and when the state government starts. And if you have federal - if the federal government takes over, then you're giving up some powers. Or if the governor don't ask the president and the president don't ask the governor, and it was just b.s.

• Mayor Nagin has a right to be annoyed and disgusted by the wrangling between the State of Louisiana and the Federal Government...I think the world has been appalled at the ineptitude of all concerned, especially given the fact that while the extent of the damage might not have been forseen, the fact that a major force 4 hurricane was headed straight for that section of the Gulf Coast and the evacuation order was issued 24 hours in advance, so many people were unable to leave, even if they wanted to. Instead of asking where the buses were after the event, perhaps Mayor Nagin should have lined them up beforehand to evacuate the poor and the homeless who had no transportation out of the city. The damage to property would not have been mitigated in any way, but the human cost would have been significantly lessened.
  
  C. Anne Crocker
  Law Librarian
  Gerard V. La Forest Law Library
  University of New Brunswick, CANADA
  
  
• Here’s one I’ve heard: the governor and other local authorities didn’t properly ask the federal government for help. That’s a farce. If the federal official waiting for that request in the face of what was going on wasn’t on the phone to the governor telling her he’s sending the help and expects x, y, and z from her immediately because that’s what the law requires for that help to be sent, then he wasn’t doing his job.
  
  Peter Friedman
  Case School of Law
  Cleveland, OH

[JURIST] President Bush has said he is nominating US Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. [JURIST news archive] as the next Chief Justice of the United States, succeeding the late Chief Justice Rehnquist. He announced the nomination this morning before flying back to the Gulf Coast region hit by Hurricane Katrina. The President met with Roberts Sunday evening at the White House and offered him the position early Monday. Naming Roberts as Chief Justice allows the President to capitalize on the current nomination process which was already scheduled to shift into high gear with Senate confirmation hearings beginning tomorrow. If Roberts is confirmed, the move would ensure a full bench in time for the opening of the Supreme Court term in October. Roberts served as a law clerk to Rehnquist in 1980-81 when Rehnquist was still an Associate Justice on the court. AP has more.

8:45 AM ET - The President said:

The passing of Chief Justice William Rehnquist leaves the center chair empty just four weeks left before the Supreme Court reconvenes. It is in the interest of the Court and the country to have a chief justice on the bench on the first full day of the fall term. The Senate is well along in the process of considering Judge Roberts' qualifications. They know his record and his fidelity to the law. I'm confident that the Senate can complete hearings and confirm him as chief justice within a month. As a result of my decision to nominate Judge Roberts to be chief justice, I also have the responsibility to submit a new nominee to follow Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. I will do so in a timely manner.

Twenty-five years ago, John Roberts came to Washington as a clerk to Justice William Rehnquist. In his boss, the young law clerk found a role model, a professional mentor, and a friend for life. I'm certain that Chief Justice Rehnquist was hoping to welcome John Roberts as a colleague, and we're all sorry that day didn't come. Yet it's fitting that a great chief justice be followed in office by a person who shared his deep reverence for the Constitution, his profound respect for the Supreme Court, and his complete devotion to the cause of justice.