[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] heard oral arguments [day call, PDF; merit briefs] Tuesday in three cases. In United States v. Stevens [oral arguments transcript, PDF; JURIST report], the Court heard arguments on whether a federal law [18 USC § 48 text] that bans depictions of animal cruelty, violates the First Amendment. The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held [opinion, PDF] that the law illegally restricts speech, overturning the conviction of Robert Stevens, who was prosecuted for selling videos depicting dog fights. At oral argument, counsel for the federal government argued that the law was narrowly tailored to target certain videos depicting small animals being crushed to death. Counsel for respondent Stevens argued that the law was overly broad, saying "I think at some level Congress has a job to write with a scalpel and not a buzz saw in the First Amendment area." The majority of justices appeared to agree that the law as written might be overly broad or too vague, implying a willingness to overturn it.

In Johnson v. United States [oral arguments transcript, PDF], the Court heard arguments on whether a conviction for battery involving possible touching of another person meets the physical force requirement of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) [19 USC § 924 text] to be considered a violent felony for sentencing enhancement purposes. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held [opinion, PDF] that such a battery does constitute a violent felony. Counsel for petitioner Darnell Johnson argued:

Mr. Johnson's conviction for battery in the State of Florida can be sustained by the slightest contact. Such a conviction does not qualify as a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act. A violent felony means one that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. Physical contact is not the same as physical force.

[JURIST] Former Hutu intelligence chief Idelphonse Nizeyimana [BBC profile; case materials], wanted for his role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder], has been arrested [ICTR press release] in Uganda, officials announced Tuesday. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website] indicted [text, PDF] Nizeyimana in 2000 for genocide and crimes against humanity, but the military leader had evaded authorities until his arrest [Daily Monitor report] Tuesday. Prosecutors claim that Nizeyimana ordered [NYT report] troops to kill Tutsi families and to kidnap and kill a ceremonial Tutsi queen. Officials said Nizeyimana is being transferred [BBC report] to Arusha where he will face the ICTR. Nizeyimana is one of four top accused sought by the ICTR in order to complete its mission.

In July, the UN Security Council [official website] extended the terms [JURIST report] for ICTR judges until December 31, 2010, or until they complete their cases. In March, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon pledged his ongoing support [JURIST report] for the ICTR and stressed that the international community must continue to combat genocide. The ICTR was established to try genocide suspects for crimes occurring during the 1994 Rwandan conflict between Hutus and Tutsis in which approximately 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, died.

[JURIST] A Russian court ruled Tuesday that Russian law defines marriage as between a man and a woman, affirming a registry office's refusal to recognize a marriage between two women. The couple, Irina Fedotova-Fet and Irina Shipitko, applied for a marriage license in March, but were refused by the registry. They appealed to the Tverskoi District Court in Moscow, arguing [RIA Novosti report] that nothing in the Russian Constitution [text] prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive]. The court, however, refused [Reuters report] to overturn the registry's decision. Fedotova-Fet and Shipitko plan on marrying in Canada later this month.

Gay rights have been a contentious issue worldwide with little global consensus. In August, Portugal's highest court [JURIST report] failed to find a right to same-sex marriage in the Portuguese Constitution. In June, Ireland passed a bill [JURIST report] giving same-sex partners certain rights. Sweden legalized [JURIST report] same-sex marriage in April. In November, the parliament of Burundi criminalized homosexuality, and the Supreme Court of Nepal approved same-sex marriages [JURIST reports]. In the US, same-sex marriages are now permitted in six US states, with New Hampshire passing same-sex marriage legislation [JURIST report] in June.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder [official profile] told federal prosecutors in a letter released Monday that the US government will not seek the death penalty for a former Guantanamo detainee now facing a civilian trial. Tanzanian national Ahmed Ghailani [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive] is accused of involvement in the 1998 bombing attacks against US embassies [PBS backgrounder; JURIST news archive] in Tanzania and Kenya that left hundreds dead including 12 Americans. There were no reasons given for the decision not to see the death penalty. The other defendants involved in the embassy bombings have already received life sentences because the US agreed not to seek the death penalty as a condition of extradition.

Ghailani is the first Guantanamo detainee to be brought to the US for prosecution. Having been held at the Guantanamo facility since 2006 following his 2004 arrest in Pakistan, Ghailani was transferred [JURIST report] to the US in June to face 286 separate counts including involvement in the bombings and conspiring with members of al Qaeda to kill Americans worldwide. He pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] at his initial appearance. In a rare move [JURIST op-ed] this June, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] tentatively granted [JURIST report] Ghailani's request that his military lawyers be allowed to represent him in civilian court. The announcement [JURIST report] that Ghailani would be tried in federal court came this past June following the ordered review of all Guantanamo detainees pursuant to plans to close the detention facility [JURIST news archive].

[JURIST] Ohio Governor Ted Strickland [official website] on Monday issued a temporary reprieve [press release] of two scheduled executions in order to give officials an opportunity to review the lethal injection procedures employed by the state. The reprieve comes after an unsuccessful lethal injection attempt last month resulted in corrections officials trying for two hours to find a vein in which to administer the injection to condemned murder Romell Broom. Strickland issued a temporary reprieve for Lawrence Reynolds, scheduled to be executed October 8, and for Darryl Durr, scheduled to be executed November 10. In the warrants of reprieve, Strickland explained:

The circumstances faced by the Department on September 15 were truly extraordinary, and Department personnel acted with dignity and professionalism in attempting to fulfill their legally mandated obligations. Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that the assigned Department personnel would ever face such a situation again. Nonetheless, and although not legally or constitutionally required to do so, since September 15, the Department has been working to establish a back-up or alternative lethal injection protocol that would be available should those responsible for carrying out executions for the State ever again be unable to access a sustainable vein at the time of an execution.

[JURIST] An Israeli cabinet minister canceled a trip to the UK out of concern that he would be arrested for war crimes allegedly committed during his tenure as the Israeli military's chief of staff, a foreign affairs spokesperson said Monday. Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon [official profile] decided to call off the scheduled trip to attend a fundraising event for the Jewish National Fund [advocacy website] after legal advisers from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) [official website] said that he may be arrested over his involvement in a 2002 airstrike that killed Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh and 14 civilians. Israeli officials are concerned about the possibility of being charged with war crimes in foreign countries based on the theory of universal jurisdiction [AI backgrounder], which allows a country to prosecute serious crimes against humanity no matter where the activity takes place. A spokesperson for Yaalon said he made the decision not to travel [Guardian report] in order to avoid going along with anti-Israeli propaganda.

Last week, Palestinian officials attempted [Jerusalem Post report] to have Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak [official profile, in Hebrew] arrested on charges of war crimes while he was in Britain for a meeting with UK government leaders. The Palestinians submitted a court petition seeking the arrest of Barak for his involvement in Operation Cast Lead [Global Security Backgrounder] in the Gaza strip earlier this year. A British court rejected the petition, saying Barak was a state guest and not subject to such proceedings. In 2006, the MFA warned [JURIST report] top Israeli military officials that inflammatory statements some made about the conflict with Lebanon, such as advocating the bombing of villages that housed Hezbollah rebels, could lead to war crimes prosecutions abroad, the Israeli Army Radio reported Monday. Several Israeli Defense Forces [official website] generals opted not to take trips to Europe because they feared being arrested on war crimes charges. Israeli officials have said that government officials should enjoy immunity from prosecution but there is concern that military leaders, especially retired officials, could be subject to prosecution.

[JURIST] The UK Supreme Court [official website] held its first session [press release, PDF] Monday, hearing an appeal by a group of four terrorism suspects whose assets were frozen by the government. The new Supreme Court, created by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 [text], replaces the judicial panel of the House of Lords [official website] as Britain's highest tribunal, with 12 Law Lords [official backgrounder] from the House of Lords serving as the first Supreme Court justices. The court accepted [AP report] its first case because it involves human rights and terrorism, particularly whether the government can freeze assets without due process when terrorism charges are involved. In its first ruling [Press Gazette report] issued Monday, the court held that the media should be able to identify at least one of the men in the group because they are accused of supporting terrorism.

The Supreme Court was created to emphasize the split between the judicial and legislative branches of government. The court has said that "it will transform the public's awareness of justice at the highest level" and a "fundamental aim is to be as transparent as possible." The court will be the first in the UK to record proceedings [JURIST report] and make them available to the media. In most cases, the court will stand as the final court of appeal for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Additionally, the justices of the Supreme Court will no longer be able to sit or vote with the House of Lords as they had done in their capacity as Law Lords. The Law Lords issued their final ruling [JURIST report] in July.