[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] on Tuesday launched a new initiative to combat income tax evasion. The National Tax Defier Initiative (TAXDEF) [press release] will investigate and prosecute those who actively "defy and deny" US tax laws, while also educating the public about the consequences of tax evasion. Assistant Attorney General Nathan J. Hochman [DOJ profile] said:

This initiative is aimed at stopping those tax defiers who do not meet their federal tax obligations and seek to transfer those obligations to their neighbor's back. The tax defier is not someone who has a legitimate or factual dispute about the amount of tax due. The tax defier is not someone who is merely exercising his or her First Amendment rights to challenge the tax policy choices that Congress has made. Instead, the tax defier is someone who rejects the legal foundation of the tax system, despite decades of legal precedent upholding the system's constitutional and statutory validity, and who takes specific and concrete action to violate the law.

[JURIST] The anesthetic dosage delivered under Ohio's lethal injection [DPIC backgrounder] protocol is sufficient to prevent the condemned inmate from suffering during an execution, according to Tuesday testimony from an anesthesiologist during a court hearing on the constitutionality of Ohio's death penalty procedure [JURIST news archive]. The testimony by Dr. Mark Dershwitz [professional profile] contradicts that given Monday by another anesthesiologist [JURIST report], who said that the state's execution method does not comport with the Eighth Amendment [text] of the US Constitution or with Ohio's requirement that executions be carried out "in a professional, humane, sensitive and dignified manner." Under 2001's HB No. 362 [text], lethal injection is the only death penalty option available in Ohio. AP has more.

Last year, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected a lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging Ohio's lethal injection practice on procedural grounds. Ohio lethal injections came under fire after a difficult May 2006 execution where staff struggled to find a vein to administer the lethal injection cocktail, and the one they did use collapsed before injection. A modified procedure was introduced in June 2006 and employed [JURIST reports] the following month. Last September, the American Bar Association death penalty assessment team called for a temporary halt on Ohio executions [ABA materials; JURIST report] on due process grounds. Several states have placed a moratorium on lethal injections pending US Supreme Court review in Baze v. Rees (07-5439) [docket; merit briefs], including Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Virginia, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida [JURIST reports].

[JURIST] The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled [PDF text] Tuesday that an insurance company was not required to pay for water damage caused when New Orleans levees breached after Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive]. Homeowner Joseph Sher sued Lafayette Insurance Company [corporate website] after the insurer refused to cover damage resulting from a four-foot water rise in his home after the 2005 hurricane; Sher's policy did not cover "flood" damage, but Sher argued that the term "flood" was ambiguous as to whether it referred to all water damage or just that caused by natural rather than man-made events. The Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeal [official website] last year ruled [PDF text] that the term was ambiguous, but the state Supreme Court Tuesday found that ordinary usage of the term rendered the policy exception clear and enforceable, even if "flood" has multiple definitions relating to its cause and character. The Court reduced Sher's award from $870,652 to $247,001, covering damage from wind as well as lost rent and other costs.

Insurance insiders say that the Louisiana decision is consistent with earlier federal court precedents across the country. Last November, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld language used in a homeowner insurance policy [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] by State Farm Fire and Casualty [corporate website], finding the policy's anti-concurrent causation clause unambiguous and enforceable. That decision followed precedent set forth in a case against Nationwide Insurance [corporate website] decided in August 2007, in which the circuit court ruled that policy language was not "ambiguous" [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] about whether damage caused by combinations of wind and water is covered under a policy that only lists one of the two. AP has more.

[JURIST] The War Crimes Chamber [HRW backgrounder] of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday issued a custody order [press release] for a former Bosnian Serb special police officer suspected of involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre [BBC timeline, JURIST news archive]. Vaso Todorovic is accused of genocide stemming from the detention and murder of 1,000 Muslim men within the UN-protected zone of Srebrenica; he is also alleged to have participated in the forced relocation of over 25,000 Muslim women and children. The court issued the custody order after finding that Todorovic is a flight risk and may "hinder the criminal proceedings by influencing witnesses, accessories, or accomplices." The order expires on May 7.

In February, new International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz reiterated his commitment [JURIST report] to arresting accused Srebrenica masterminds Ratko Mladic [BBC profile; ICTY indictment] and Radovan Karadzic [BBC profile; ICTY indictment]. The War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina [official website] was set up to alleviate the caseload of the ICTY, and will continue to hear cases as the ICTY winds down in 2010. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Indonesian Internet providers blocked access Tuesday to file-sharing websites including YouTube, Google Video, and MySpace [corporate websites], one week after a government order sought to prevent the transmission of a controversial anti-Islamic film [JURIST report] created by far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders [personal website, in Dutch]. Indonesia's secular government issued an order [Reuters report] to block the websites last Wednesday, citing fears of unrest between the nation's different religions. Wilders' 15-minute film, released March 27 and entitled "Fitna," shows images of the Quran contrasted with images of violence and was described by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as "offensively anti-Islamic" [JURIST report] last month.

In February, Pakistan blocked access to YouTube's website because it had posted a movie trailer for Wilders' film; access was restored [JURIST reports] several days later. On Monday, a district court in the Netherlands rejected [JURIST report] a bid by the Dutch Islamic Federation to block Wilders' anti-Quran statements, saying that his comments are protected by the right of free expression and do not constitute speech that incites hate or violence. AP has more.

[JURIST] Two rights groups have filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] in the US District Court for the District of Arizona challenging the constitutionality of Arizona's Proposition 100 [PDF text], which denies bail to illegal immigrants accused of committing serious felonies. In court papers filed Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund [advocacy websites] alleged that the law denies immigrants their due process right to individual hearings on whether they are flight risks or dangers to the community. The groups also contend that Proposition 100 allows the local Sheriff's Office to improperly use federal authority to check on the immigration status of detainees. AP has more. The Arizona Republic has local coverage.

The Arizona government approved [JURIST report] Proposition 100 in November 2006, along with three other measures directed at illegal immigration. In October 2007, the Arizona Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to the law [opinion, PDF; Capitol Media Services report], ruling that it did not violate illegal immigrants' due process rights.

[JURIST] JURIST [FAQ] was nominated Tuesday for a prestigious Webby Award [awards website] as the best Law website of 2008. Called the "Oscars of the Internet" by the New York Times and presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences [profession website], the "Webbys" are the leading international awards honoring excellence in interactive design, creativity, usability and functionality on the Internet.

As a Webby Award nominee, JURIST is also eligible to win a People's Voice Award. Voting on Webby nominees is open to the public from April 8th to May 1st. To vote for JURIST, go to the "People's Voice" voting site by clicking here. Register (you may need to scroll down), get the activation code that will be sent to your e-mail account, then log in to the People's Voice site, click on the "Website" grouping, scroll down to "Society" and vote in the Law category. The process takes just a couple of minutes. It's easy. The People's Voice site also lets you write and leave a review of JURIST for the information of other voters.

The 12th Annual Webby Awards competition received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 US states and over 60 countries worldwide. Also receiving finalist nominations in the Law category [nomination list] this year were Shearman & Sterling's 2007-2008 Recruiting Campaign, the ABA Journal, LawHelp, and OUT-LAW.com. Webby nominees in other categories this year include the New York Times, BBC News, PBS, National Geographic, and NPR. Winners will be announced in New York May 6.

Headquartered at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law [law school website], JURIST is powered by a team of some 45 law student reporters, editors and web developers [staff list] led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts [profile] who volunteer their time and talent to the project, working with leading legal experts from around the world to provide up-to-the minute legal news, primary source research and analysis as an educational service to the public and the legal community. In addition to its nomination in the Law category, JURIST was also recognized Tuesday as an Official Honoree in the Students category.

JURIST won the Webby People's Voice Award as the best Law website of 2006 and in 2007 was named an Official Honoree [JURIST reports].

[JURIST] A High Court judge in Harare agreed Tuesday to expedite a lawsuit seeking to compel the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC) to immediately release the results of the nation's March 29 presidential elections [JURIST reports], but continued to refrain from issuing an immediate ruling in the case. On Monday, the High Court ruled [JURIST report] it had jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit, brought by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) [party website]. The MDC has said that a request by current Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] and his Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) [party website] party for a vote recount [JURIST report] are a tactic to keep Mugabe in power. Mugabe has denied there is anything improper about his request.

The court Saturday postponed hearing the case [JURIST report] when lawyers for MDC were barred from entering the court. Earlier Tuesday, Zimbabwe police arrested at least five election officials [JURIST report] for allegedly under-counting around 5,000 votes for Mugabe. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The Switzerland Foreign Ministry [official website] has barred former ICTY chief prosecutor and current Swiss ambassador to Argentina Carla Del Ponte [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] from publicly promoting her new book "The Hunt: Me and War Criminals," according to Tuesday reports. The Swiss government has said that statements made in the book [Kosovo Compromise report] that condemn the actions of several politicians of the former Yugoslavia, including current Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci [official website, in Albanian; BBC profile], are inconsistent with her present role. Switzerland was one of the first countries to recognize Kosovo's February unilateral declaration of independence [JURIST report]. In the book Del Ponte also criticizes the United States for discouraging prosecution of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) members, currently in power in Rwanda, in connection with the 1994 genocide there. Del Ponte was initially also in charge of prosecutions before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Del Ponte, who served as chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website], alleges in her book that approximately 300 Serbs were killed for organ trafficking after being imprisoned by Albanian rebels in 1999. Last month, the Office of Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor [official website] said that it was investigating "informal statements" [JURIST report] received from ICTY investigators alleging illegal organ harvesting. The ICTY has not commented officially on the alleged organ trafficking. DPA has more. Itar-Tass has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The United Nations has a "moral duty to act on the lessons of Rwanda," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] said Monday in an address [text] to mark the fourteenth anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder; BBC backgrounder]. Ban said:

I am equally determined to work for human rights everywhere - to uphold them, protect them, defend them, ensure that they are a living reality. This year, to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations is pursuing a global awareness campaign to ensure that human rights are known, understood and enjoyed by everyone, everywhere. It is often those who most need their rights protected, who also need to be informed that the declaration exists - and that it exists for them.

In all these endeavours, each one of us has a role to play: Governments, the media, civil society and individuals. May the searing memory of the genocide in Rwanda always spur us on in our mission.

[JURIST] The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued five former San Diego city officials in federal court Monday, alleging they committed securities fraud by failing to disclose funding shortfalls in the city's pension and health care plans to potential buyers and sellers of San Diego's municipal bonds. The SEC press release [text] explains the basis for the charges:

...the five former officials knew that the city had been intentionally under-funding its pension obligations so that it could increase pension benefits but defer the costs. They were aware that the city would face severe difficulty funding its future pension and retiree health care obligations unless new revenues were obtained, pension and health care benefits were reduced, or city services were cut. They specifically knew that the city's unfunded liability to its pension plan was projected to dramatically increase, growing from $284 million at the beginning of fiscal year 2002 to an estimated $2 billion by 2009, and that the city's liability for retiree health care was another estimated $1.1 billion. But the officials failed to disclose these and other material facts to rating agencies or to investors in bond offering documents and continuing disclosures.

[JURIST] Zimbabwean police have arrested at least five election officials for allegedly under-counting votes for current Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] during the March 29 presidential election [JURIST report], police officials confirmed Monday. Independent observers say that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) [party website] candidate Morgan Tsvangirai [BBC profile] won more votes than Mugabe, but Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) [party website] are demanding a recount [JURIST report] and the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC) has not yet released the official results because of "errors and miscalculations" in their compilation. The MDC has characterized the recount request as a tactic to keep Mugabe in power, while Mugabe's administration has denied any improper delays in the vote count.

On Monday, a High Court judge in Harare ruled that the court has the jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit seeking a court order to compel the ZEC to immediately release the results [JURIST reports] of the elections, but refused to issue an immediate ruling in the case. On Saturday, the court postponed hearing the case [JURIST report] when lawyers for the MDC were barred by government security forces from entering the courts. Australia's ABC News has more. From Zimbabwe, the Herald has local coverage.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] on Monday reversed and vacated [PDF opinion] a jury award of $2.5 million in punitive damages awarded to a Mississippi couple who lost their home in Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] and later sued State Farm Insurance for rejecting their homeowner insurance claim. The presiding district judge, US District Judge L. T. Senter, had already remitted the jury award to $1 million [JURIST report], finding the award excessive at twelve times the amount of economic damages awarded, but the Fifth Circuit found that punitive damages were unwarranted.

The Fifth Circuit rejected the district court's decision to allow the jury to consider the plaintiff's claim that State Farm denied the insurance claim on a bad faith basis:

Although the Broussards have pointed to some facts which suggest that wind destroyed their home prior to the arrival of the tidal surge, State Farm had an arguable basis for denying their claim based on the observations of its adjuster regarding the position of the debris line and the condition of trees on and surrounding the property.

[JURIST] Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav [BBC profile] rejected a controversial plea agreement [JURIST report] Tuesday, opting instead to face rape charges [JURIST report] first brought against him in 2006. Under the terms of the plea agreement, which was upheld [JURIST report] by the Israeli Supreme Court in February, Katsav was permitted to plead guilty to lesser sex charges of indecent assault, sexual harassment, and obstruction of justice, in exchange for a suspended sentence and the dropping of the rape charges. Katsav may face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the more serious rape charges.

The deal was heavily criticized by women's and civil rights activists [JURIST report] last year when it was first made public. A victim and several rights organizations filed five separate petitions [Haaretz report] to overturn the agreement, arguing that it was contrary to public interest, had no legal reason, and injured the principal of equality before the law. Despite the criticism, Israeli Attorney General Menaham Mazuz defended the agreement as necessary to protect the office of the presidency from further injury and spare the country from embarrassment. AP has more.

[JURIST] A court in the Philippines on Tuesday sentenced nine military officers to prison for their participation in a failed 2003 coup [BBC report] against Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo [official website; BBC profile]. No shots were fired during the 2003 incident, in which 31 officers commandeered a Manila hotel, threatened to set off explosives, and held off police for 19 hours before surrendering. All nine officers changed their pleas to guilty last week, though no plea agreement had been struck with prosecutors. Two officers received 40 year sentences, while the other seven each received 12-year sentences .

The nine were among the dozen officers who walked out of court [JURIST report] in November 2007 and took over a Manila hotel, again demanding Arroyo's resignation. Those involved later apologized to the court [JURIST report] for the walkout after they were formally charged with rebellion [JURIST report]. In April 2007, a Philippine military tribunal sentenced 54 military officers [JURIST report] to seven years and six months in prison for their involvement in the 2003 coup attempt. Charges were later dismissed [JURIST report] in October against four additional military officers connected to the same mutiny. AP has more.