[JURIST] US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] and other senior administration officials should be exempt from testifying about whether they shared classified national defense information with two American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) [advocacy website] lobbyists, lawyers argued at a closed-door court session Thursday. Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, indicted [PDF text; JURIST report] in 2005 under the 1917 Espionage Act [18 USC 793 text] for allegedly conspiring to receive and disclose classified US defense information over a five-year period dating back to 1999, say that AIPAC helped write US foreign policy in the Middle East with the tacit endorsement of US officials; they have subpoenaed Rice and other US intelligence officials to testify to this. Assistant US Attorney Kevin DiGregory denied that Rice ever shared national defense information with the lobbyists.

In April, US District Judge T.S. Ellis refused a request to close portions of the espionage proceeding [JURIST report] because doing so would violate the defendants' right to an open trial. In August 2006, Rosen and Weissman asked Ellis to dismiss the charges, arguing that the law is unconstitutionally vague and violates their right to free speech. Ellis, however, later upheld the constitutionality [JURIST report] of the Espionage Act. AP has more.

[JURIST] A preliminary hearing began Thursday at Camp Pendleton [official website], California, in proceedings against US Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich [advocacy website], commander of the platoon implicated in the killing and suspected cover-up of the death of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive] in November 2005. Wuterich faces several counts of unpremeditated murder, as well as charges of soliciting another to commit an offense and making a false official statement. During Wuterich's Article 32 hearing [JAG backgrounder], hearing officer Lt. Col. Paul Ware must evaluate whether Wuterich violated prescribed military rules of engagement. If convicted, Wuterich could be sentenced to life imprisonment and dishonorably discharged from the US Marine Corps [official website]. AP has more.

Last week, Ware recommended [JURIST report] that murder charges be dropped against Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum [advocacy profile] for his role in the Haditha incident. Ware argued there was insufficient evidence to support bringing Tatum to court-martial on charges of unpremeditated murder, negligent homicide and assault [USMC charge list]. A final decision has not yet been issued on whether Tatum will face court-martial.

8/31/07 - According to testimony from the first witness called during Wuterich's Article 32 hearing, Wuterich ordered several Marines to shoot unarmed Iraqis inside homes that were "hostile." Lance Cpl. Humberto Mendoza testified that Haditha killings took place after an attack on US military Humvee when some of the personnel who survived the attack began clearing nearby houses where shots were believed to have been fired. Mendoza said that he was ordered to help clear two homes, but said that there were no shots coming from those homes and that Wuterich told him to shoot whoever answered the door. Mendoza also testified that he never personally witnessed Wuterich shoot any of the 24 Iraqi civilians. San Diego's Union-Tribune has more.

[JURIST] The United States should not deport foreign detainees back to their home countries if there is reason to believe they will face torture [JURIST news archive], American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyers argued [press release] Thursday. Appearing before the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, lawyers representing Sameh Khouzam [ACLU materials], an Egyptian Christian who fled to the United States in 1998 to reportedly escape religious persecution, argued that the US government is not abiding by its obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture [text] by relying on assurances from the Egyptian government that Khouzam will not be tortured if he is returned to authorities in Egypt [JURIST news archive]. Khouzam originally came to the United States seeking asylum, but was detained by US authorities based on claims by Egyptian authorities that he is a murder suspect in his home country.

Khouzam's case marks the first time a US court may address whether the government can lawfully rely on assurances from foreign governments to deport detainees [JURIST news archive] to countries with a record of engaging in torture. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice has begun an internal inquiry to determine whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile; JURIST news archive] may have perjured himself [JURIST report] in testimony before Congress, DOJ Inspector General Glenn A. Fine [official profile] said Thursday. In a letter [PDF text] dated August 16, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) asked [JURIST report; press release] Fine to investigate potentially misleading or dishonest testimony given by Gonzales in hearings before the committee regarding the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive] and the Justice Department's handling of the firings of eight US Attorneys [JURIST news archive]. Fine responded to Leahy's concerns in a four-paragraph letter [PDF text] Thursday and said those concerns are being addressed. Fine did not specify how long the investigation will last, but said it could take months. AP has more.

Several US senators called for a special prosecutor last month to investigate the perjury allegations, while some members of the US House of Representatives pushed for an impeachment inquiry [JURIST reports]. Gonzales announced his resignation [letter, PDF; JURIST report] this week following months of controversy, saying he will step down from his position as attorney general September 17.

[JURIST] China's National People's Congress [official website, in Chinese] passed a new law [press release, in Chinese] Thursday to hold officials legally accountable for providing accurate and timely information on public emergencies. The law also allows the government to revoke the business licenses of media organizations that are found to hurt public safety by publishing false reports of emergencies. The Emergency Response Law uses the colors Blue, Yellow, Orange, and Red to describe increasing levels of danger in a given situation, and was designed to ensure accurate reports resulting from man-made hazards and natural disasters.

China was widely criticized in 2006 for an early draft of the law which required news agencies to receive local government authorization [JURIST report] before reporting on emergency situations. That law would have applied to both local and foreign news outlets [JURIST report]. In June, China loosened the proposed media restrictions by eliminating the government authorization requirement [JURIST report], a response to concerns that local governments would use the law to suppress negative disaster coverage to avoid embarrassment. Xinhua has more.

[JURIST] A federal judge Wednesday rejected several claims in a legal challenge [press release] to Arizona's voter ID law [JURIST news archive] filed by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) [advocacy website], including a claim that the ID law amounted to an unconstitutional poll tax. Judge Roslyn Silver ruled that the fees associated with procuring the documents required by the law did not amount to a fee to vote. Although a lawyer for MALDEF indicated that the group would appeal the ruling, the district court challenge will continue on two alternative claims. The first is that the ID law violates federal voter rights laws [DOJ backgrounder] by disproportionally discriminating against minorities, who would be less likely to have the required official documents. The second is that the law, which only applies to naturalized citizens, violates the equal protection clause [text; Wex backgrounder] of the US constitution by treating naturalized citizens and natural born citizens differently.

The law, which Arizonans approved in 2004 [JURIST report] as Proposition 200 [PDF], requires voters to show a government-issued ID [AZ Sec. of State materials] at the polls. Last year, the US Supreme Court ruled that Arizona could enforce the law at the polls for the November elections [opinion, PDF; JURIST report]. In April, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ruled that the law could be enforced while challenges were being pursued [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] in lower courts. Capitol Media Services has more.

[JURIST] The High Court of Australia [official website] on Thursday struck down [press release, PDF] an amendment to Australia's Commonwealth Electoral Act passed in 2006 that took voting rights away from all prisoners regardless of the length of their sentence, finding that the amendments stripped prisoners of a constitutional right in an arbitrary manner. The court found that the 2006 amendment violated Sections 7 and 24 of the Commonwealth Constitution [text], which establish the correct procedure for enacting legislation in the Senate and House of Representatives. According to the court's press release, the High Court did not find it necessary to consider substantive arguments raised by the petitioner, who had argued at trial that the 2006 amendment violates the freedom of political communication implied by the constitution. The court upheld the version of the Commonwealth Electoral Act that was in place prior to the 2006 amendment, so prisoners who are serving sentences of longer than three years are still prevented from voting.

The petitioner, who was convicted of negligent driving and sentenced to five years in prison, was ordered to pay half of the case costs, as she is still prevented by law from voting. Australia's Herald Sun has more.

[JURIST] The Chinese National People's Congress [official website, in Chinese] passed anti-monopoly legislation [press release, in Chinese] Thursday aimed at protecting China's economic security and easing the Chinese economy away from state-run monopolies. The new law establishes a series of national security checks for when a foreign company acquires or invests in a domestic company and the transaction involves a national security issue. A Chinese economist told AFP that the new law indicates a policy shift away from preferential treatment of foreign investors. The new law will take effect Aug. 1, 2008.

The European Chamber of Commerce in China applauded the anti-monopoly law [press release] as a move towards a free-market system in China, and requested further clarification on what the new law would require of foreign investors. AFP has more. Xinhua has local coverage.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday blocked the Attorney General of Louisiana from filing suit on behalf of nearly 35,000 Hurricane Katrina victims against the US Army Corps of Engineers [official website] under the Federal Tort Claims Act [text]. A district court judge had appointed Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti [official website] guardian ad litem for those hurricane victims who were otherwise unrepresented by counsel, but the Fifth Circuit granted the government's petition for writ of mandamus, ruling [PDF opinion] that "[w]hile we do not doubt the good intentions of the district court, the district court acted without authority." The Fifth Circuit's decision means that Hurricane Katrina victims who had not yet filed suit through a private attorney as of Wednesday will not have their claims heard by a court. AP has more.

Earlier in August, the Army Corps of Engineers argued [JURIST report] that the Flood Control Act of 1928 [text] grants immunity from negligence relating to building and maintaining a flood wall and levee that collapsed during Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive]. Wednesday, the two-year anniversary of the hurricane, was the last day for plaintiffs to file claims against the government arising out of hurricane damages.

In another Hurricane Katrina case, a Louisiana state appellate court held earlier this week that insurers can deny full coverage under a homeowners' policy that excludes certain perils such as flood waters if they carry their burden of proving that the excluded peril was the main cause of damage. The decision reversed a trial court that had ruled that homeowners are entitled to full recovery even if the insurer proved that uncovered perils caused some of the loss. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Hezbollah recklessly and sometimes intentionally fired rockets at civilian targets during the summer 2006 Lebanon conflict [JURIST news archive], according to a 128-page report [text; press release] released Wednesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW). Hezbollah was not legally justified in firing on civilians simply because Israel launched attacked Lebanese towns, HRW concluded, because the international rules of war prohibit indiscriminate targeting of civilians for any reason. A Hezbollah spokesperson immediately condemned the report as one-sided. HRW is scheduled to release a report chronicling Israel's alleged human rights violations on September 6. AP has more.

In July, Amnesty International (AI) condemned both Israel and Hezbollah for failing to investigate alleged war crimes [JURIST report; press release] that occurred during the conflict. AI also criticized the UN Security Council for its inaction and faulted the UN Human Rights Council [official website] for conducting a one-sided inquiry focusing only on alleged violations by Israel. In November, the UN rights body characterized the Israeli use of force in Lebanon as "excessive, indiscriminate, and disproportionate" [JURIST report] and in "flagrant violation" of international law.

[JURIST] Russian prosecutors have released two of the 10 suspects who were arrested [JURIST report] Monday in connection with last October's killing [JURIST report] of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive], and a third person is no longer under investigation. Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika [official website, in Russian] announced that five of the suspects were police officers and are thought to have followed Politkovskaya and reported on her whereabouts to her actual killers. The killers are thought to be members of a Chechen crime group located in Moscow. Earlier this week, a defense lawyer told the media that charges have been brought against at least four suspects [JURIST report].

Politkovskaya, who had covered the crisis in Chechnya [BBC Q&ampA] for Novaya Gazeta [media website, in Russian] since 1999, was shot in the head and in the chest after returning to her Moscow apartment building last year. Politkovskaya was a well known critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and authored two books on Chechnya. Immediately following Politkovskaya's death, Putin suggested that the murder was an outside plot to damage Putin's reputation. AP has more. RIA Novosti has local coverage.