[JURIST] A federal judge Monday overturned a $1.52 billion jury decision [verdict form, PDF; JURIST report] against Microsoft awarded after the jury found that Microsoft violated two digital music patents held by Alcatel-Lucent [corporate website]. The patents govern technology that converts audio input into MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly known as MP3, which Microsoft has incorporated into several variants of its Windows Media Player [product website]. US District Judge Rudi Brewster ruled [PDF text] Monday that the "verdict was against the clear weight of the evidence" and that one of patents at the center of the litigation was not infringed.

A spokesperson for Alcatel-Lucent said Monday that the company will appeal the ruling. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] Iranian 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi [advocacy website, in Persian] requested the assistance of the UN Human Rights Council [official website] to end Iran's "arbitrary detention" of Iranian-American scholar Dr. Haleh Esfandiari [WWC profile] in a letter sent Monday to the UN body's Arbitrary Detention Working Group [official website]. Ebadi says that Esfandiari has been held in solitary confinement since her arrest [JURIST report] in May, and has been continuously denied visitation and other rights afforded to prisoners under Iranian law. The Iranian Judiciary [official website] has insisted that it has an ongoing investigation [JURIST report] against Esfandiari because of an alleged plot "against the sovereignty of the country" [JURIST report].

In June, Ebadi accused the Iranian government of interfering in judicial affairs to prevent Esfandiari's release [JURIST report]. Ebadi has also accused the Iranian government of denying lawyers access to Esfandiari [JURIST report]. Iran has also charged Iranian-American Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh [OSI press release] and Radio Farda correspondent Parnaz Azima for an alleged espionage conspiracy against the government [JURIST report]. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] heard arguments Monday in an appeal by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company [corporate website] against a lower court ruling [JURIST report] last August which declared unenforceable a provision in Nationwide's policy limiting a Hurricane Katrina's homeowner's recovery when damage to home is caused by both wind and water. Homeowners Paul and Julie Leonard sued Nationwide after receiving only $1,661 when damages to their home were estimated to be more than $130,000. Senior District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. ruled in their favor, but awarded the plaintiffs only an additional $1,228 for wind damage. The ruling was appealed by both the Leonards and National. The Leonards have since dropped their appeal, while National is seeking to reverse the judge's holding declaring the so-called "anticoncurrent causation" provision ambiguous and unenforceable.

In a separate case last week, the Fifth Circuit held [PDF text; JURIST report] that insurance policies owned by many victims of Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] did not cover flood damage caused by the storm. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Thai court Monday released on bail six leaders of the July 22 anti-coup protest with the condition that they would not engage in activities that may increase "strife within society" or instigate violence. The defendants, anti-coup academics and supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC profile], were arrested as part of an ongoing police investigation of protests that turned violent [AP report] after approximately 5,000 protesters were prevented from marching to the home of Prem Tinsulanonda [official website], a retired army general who was allegedly involved in planning last September's coup [JURIST report]. Thai police had sought to extend its detention of the protest leaders [JURIST report], but their request to keep them in custody for another 12 days was denied by the court.

The anti-coup protesters have also voiced their opposition to the interim-government's proposed draft constitution [JURIST report], which is scheduled for a general referendum on August 19. Interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont [official profile; BBC profile] has ordered government officials to promote support for the draft [Bangkok Post report]. If the draft constitution is rejected by popular referendum, military leaders are authorized under the interim constitution to revise an earlier constitution. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Moscow City Court has convicted former Yukos [corporate website; JURIST news archive] security chief Alexei Pichugin [Wikipedia profile] for his involvement in organizing a series of contract killings, sentencing Pichugin to life in prison Monday for organizing three murders and four attempted murders. Pichugin originally received a 24-year sentence [JURIST report], but the Russian Supreme Court overturned the sentence and ordered a retrial [JURIST report] in February after prosecutors appealed the sentence as being too lenient.

Pichugin has maintained that the charges against him were politically motivated as part of an effort to connect former Yukos executive Leonid Nevzlin [Forbes profile] to the deaths. Nevzlin, who is currently living in Israel to escape possible prosecution. AP has more.

[JURIST] Five Iraqi Cabinet ministers belonging to the secular and nonsectarian Iraqi National List announced a boycott of government meetings Monday, saying the coalition has decided to suspend its government participation because Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki [BBC profile] has not responded to their demands to end sectarian favoritism. Iraqi National List lawmaker Iyad Jamal-Aldin said that coalition's decision to suspend participation was not related to the resignation [JURIST report] of all six Iraqi Accordance Front [BBC backgrounder] Cabinet members last Wednesday. The boycott of the five ministers, consisting of two Shi'a, two Sunni and a Christian, effectively leaves no Sunni representation in al-Maliki's government.

On Sunday, al-Maliki said he refused to accept the resignations [JURIST report], and urged the Iraqi Accordance Front to return to the government. The Iraqi Accordance Front, which has 44 of 275 seats in the Iraqi Council of Representatives [official website, in Arabic], responded that it was committed to the resignations, citing al-Maliki's failure to respond to demands [JURIST report] made by the party last month, including pardons for uncharged security detainees, the participation of all government-represented groups in security-related issues, a commitment to human rights, and the disbanding of all private militias. The Iraqi National List has 25 seats. AP has more.

[JURIST] Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile] has signed off on the controversial Interception of Communications Bill [PDF text], which establishes a government communications surveillance agency and authorizes the government to intercept communications across the telephone, the Internet, and other electronic communication devices. The bill, which has been criticized by opposition lawmakers as an effort to consolidate power and crack down on dissent, will also allow the government to open conventional mail, requires communication services providers to facilitate the interception and storage of private communications at the government's request. The legislation was approved in June by both the Senate and House of Assembly [JURIST report].

Mugabe has been criticized for his handling of the economy of Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive] and his increasingly authoritarian rule. In July, Zimbabwean police reports indicated the arrest of at least 1300 shop owners and managers [JURIST report] who refused to comply with price controls that halved the prices of all goods and services [AP report]. Zimbabwe's inflation rate, which is reportedly exceeding 5000 percent, is largely attributed to Mugabe's controversial white-owned farm seizure program as previously productive farms have become barren under inexperienced new owners. In June, the International Commission of Jurists accused [JURIST report] the Zimbabwean government of "interfering with the proper functioning of the administration of justice, the role of lawyers and their independence". In May, Zimbabwean police refused to comply with a High Court ruling [JURIST report] requiring police officials to vacate a farm seized by police in March, and responded by ordering more police on to the property. In March, opposition leader and presidential hopeful Morgan Tsvangirai [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] was arrested and beaten [JURIST reports] while in police custody. Police officials have routinely ignored court orders and critics have alleged that Mugabe has given tacit approval to their actions. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] State legislatures across the United States have enacted at least 170 immigration-related bills in 2007 [press release] as a result of the "continued absence of a comprehensive federal reform of the United States' challenged immigration system," according to a report released Monday by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NSCL) [official website]. The report says that no fewer than 1404 pieces of legislation have been proposed and indicates that most enacted legislation came in the form of non-binding resolutions, followed by laws relating to state identification, driver's licenses and other licenses. Nineteen states also enacted laws focusing on employment eligibility verification. The number is roughly "two and half times more bills" than those passed up to the same point in 2006, and only nine states did not enact immigration related legislation in 2007. Texas Senator and NCSL President Leticia Van de Putte [official website] said "Congress' failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform has really forces the states' hands," adding that "since the federal ship has sunk, there have been 50 lifeboats in the water seeking a solution."

Local governments have taken different and often drastic approaches towards the issue of illegal immigration [JURIST news archive]. In July, a federal judge declared that two anti-illegal immigration laws passed by the city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania [official website; legal defense website] were unconstitutional [JURIST report]. In New Haven, Connecticut, municipal authorities have begun offering identification cards [JURIST report], which do not distinguish citizens from undocumented immigrants, that will allow access to municipal services and public libraries. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] The Sri Lankan government is responsible for a dramatic increase in unlawful killings, enforced disappearances and other serious human rights violations [press release] since the resumption of hostilities in 2006 with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) [CFR backgrounder], according to a report [PDF text] released Monday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website]. HRW Asia Director Brad Adams said that "the Sri Lankan government has apparently given its security forces a green light to use 'dirty war' tactics," adding that "abuses by the LTTE are no excuse for the government's campaign of killings, 'disappearances' and forced returns of the displaced."

According to the report:

The treatment of internally displaced persons remains a paramount concern. Some 315,000 people have had to flee their homes due to fighting since August 2006; 100,000 fled in March 2007 alone. This comes atop the 200,000-250,000 people made homeless by the December 2004 tsunami—many from the same areas as the recent fighting—and the approximately 315,000 displaced by the conflict prior to 2002. Since January 2006 more than 18,000 Sri Lankans have fled to India, often on rickety boats, as refugees.

Both the LTTE and the government have failed adequately to provide for the needs of the displaced. The LTTE has at times blocked civilians from leaving areas of conflict, while the government through its indiscriminate shelling and restrictions on humanitarian aid has compelled civilians to flee. The government has forcibly returned displaced persons after it deemed their home areas "cleared" of the LTTE, often without adequate security or humanitarian assistance in place. ...

Since the beginning of Sri Lanka's civil war more than two decades ago, successive governments have consistently failed to adequately investigate or prosecute those in the security forces responsible for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. In cases of enforced disappearances, torture, indiscriminate attacks, and targeted killings, successive Sri Lankan governments have consistently failed to hold accountable members of the police or military who commit serious crimes.

Some observers seeking to explain this culture of impunity point to weaknesses in the criminal justice system, which has proved unable to deliver justice for victims of common crimes, let alone victims of serious crimes involving the military or police. Sri Lankan lawyers report long delays in hearings, threats to witnesses and family members, and government officials working on behalf of the accused.

These structural obstacles seriously hinder the judicial process. But they are not as significant as the government's lack of political will to prosecute soldiers, police, and other government officials and agents implicated in wrongdoing. Even when there is overwhelming evidence of government forces responsibility for abuse, successive governments have rarely conducted an investigation resulting in a successful prosecution.

Then Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera highlighted the problem of impunity in the December 2006 letter he sent to President Rajapaksa: "Even when investigations are being carried out, the process of perpetrators being brought to justice is extremely slow," he wrote. "As a result, there is a perception that authorities are turning a blind eye to these matters. As such, the impression of a culture of impunity gains further credence."

[JURIST] President George W. Bush signed the Protect America Act 2007 [S 1927 materials] Sunday, giving the Executive Branch expanded surveillance authority for a period of six months [press release] while Congress works on long-term legislation to "modernize" the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text; JURIST news archive]. Bush thanked members of Congress for the bipartisan effort, but urged further cooperation when Congress returns from summer recess in September to "complete comprehensive reforms."

The Protect America Act, passed by the US Senate on Friday and the House of Representatives [JURIST reports] late Saturday, establishes guidelines on how the United States can conduct surveillance against foreign nationals "reasonably believed to be outside the United States," and requires the director of national intelligence and the attorney general's authorization before surveillance against a specific target can begin. The surveillance will be subject to review by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court [official backgrounder] within 120 days. AP has more.