[JURIST] About 12 percent of youth held in US juvenile detention facilities reported being sexually abused in the past year, according to a report [text, PDF; press release] released Thursday the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) [official website]. According to the report, about 2.6 percent of youth reported an incident involving another inmate, while 10.3 percent reported an incident involving staff. The BJS identified 13 facilities as having a "high rate" of sexual abuse, where the rate was nearly one in three youth. In response to the report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged [press release] the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] "to swiftly issue national standards to end prison rape. The DOJ Office of Justice Programs Review Panel on Prison Rape will review and conduct hearings [press release] on the BJS report, as required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) [DOJ backgrounder].

In June, the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC) [official website] reported that prison rape continues to be a widespread problem across the US, in both adult and juvenile facilities. Also in June, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that a Massachusetts regulation prohibiting prisoners from receiving sexually explicit mail is constitutional. The Massachusetts prison commissioner defended the regulation on the grounds that it was designed to promote prison safety and security. The DOJ reported in 2006 that sexual violence in US prisons often goes unreported [JURIST report] because victims fear further abuse or do not trust prison staff. In 2005, the DOJ released its first report [JURIST report] on prison rape in accordance with the PREA, but admitted that most incidents were probably never reported and that their numbers could not be reliably estimated.

[JURIST] US security firm Blackwater [JURIST news archive] on Wednesday reached a settlement agreement in seven federal lawsuits filed by Iraqi citizens. The suits claimed that Blackwater, now known as Xe, created a reckless culture [AP report] that resulted in numerous deaths, including the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians [JURIST reports] in September 2007 and the 2006 killing of an Iraqi guard. The suits accused Blackwater founder Erik Prince of personal responsibility. The terms of the settlement have not been made public, but Xe said in a statement that it is "pleased" with the resolution.

The settlement comes just a week after after a US judge dismissed charges [JURIST reoprt] against five guards indicted for their involvement in the September 2007 killings. Judge Richardo Urbina of the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] dismissed [opinion, PDF] voluntary manslaughter and weapons charges against the five guards, finding that statements were obtained in violation of the Constitution. Earlier this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki [official website, in Arabic] said that Iraq will file lawsuits [JURIST report] in both US and Iraqi courts against the guards. The five defendants pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to manslaughter and weapons charges last January. The guards were indicted [JURIST report] in December 2008 on charges of voluntary manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter, and using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. A sixth guard pleaded guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter for his role in the same incident. The Blackwater incident caused domestic outrage in Iraq and has prompted legal controversy in the US.

[JURIST] The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] on Thursday proposed stricter smog standards [text, PDF] that would replace the Bush administration's broader 2008 national smog regulations [text], complying with scientific recommendations. The new smog restrictions would reduce the amount of smog emissions to between 0.060 and 0.070 parts per million (ppm) from the previous 0.075 ppm. The EPA estimates that these changes will help reduce the effects of climate change and improve public health, saving the US between $13 billion and $100 billion in health care costs. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson [official profile] defended [press release] the tighter restrictions:

EPA is stepping up to protect Americans from one of the most persistent and widespread pollutants we face. Smog in the air we breathe poses a very serious health threat, especially to children and individuals suffering from asthma and lung disease. It dirties our air, clouds our cities, and drives up our health care costs across the country. Using the best science to strengthen these standards is a long overdue action that will help millions of Americans breathe easier and live healthier.

[JURIST] An official from the US Department of Defense (DOD) [official website] said Wednesday that about one in five detainees freed from the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] have returned to terrorist activities, according to a new Pentagon report. The report, which remains classified, shows an increase from the 14 percent recidivism rate reported last spring. That number was up from 11 percent in December 2008. The report was completed in late December [ABC News report], and officials have not released the raw numbers on which the 20 percent figure is based. Many human rights groups dispute the numbers [LAT report], calling them inflated, and some reports have suggested that many Guantanamo detainees are innocent [JURIST report], never having engaged in terrorist activities in the first place.

News of the latest report comes just a day after the White House announced that it was suspending transfers of Guantanamo detainees to Yemen [JURIST news archive]. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs would not say [press briefing] Wednesday whether that decision was due to fears that detainees would return to terrorist activities. Last year, the DOD said that the US would not change its policy [JURIST report] on the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to Saudi Arabia, despite reports that two former prisoners had joined al Qaeda in Yemen after undergoing a Saudi rehabilitation program.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] has decided on a military prosecution for Afghan Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Obaidullah [DOD materials], according to court filings Wednesday. Obaidullah was initially charged [JURIST report] by the military in 2008 with hiding and storing anti-tank mines to be deployed against US forces in Afghanistan. He has been held at Guantanamo since 2002. The US government must now decide whether to formally try Obaidullah in a military commission [JURIST news archive].

Obaidullah is the sixth Guantanamo detainee to have his case referred for military trial since US president Barack Obama ordered the closing [JURIST report] of the facility and a review of all detainees' cases last January. In November, the DOJ designated five other cases for military trials, including that of Canadian detainee Omar Khadr [JURIST report]. Also in November, Holder announced [JURIST report] that five accused 9/11 [JURIST news archive] conspirators would be tried in US federal court.

[JURIST] New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg [official website] has requested federal assistance to pay more than $200 million annually for security for the upcoming trial of five 9/11 [JURIST news archive] suspects, according to a letter [text, PDF] made public Wednesday. Bloomberg sent the letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Tuesday, estimating that security would cost about $216 million for the first year and $206 million per year in subsequent years, with most of the funds covering the cost of personnel. Bloomberg wrote:

The City of New York's financial resources are in short supply, and we have been forced to reduce our Police Department's headcount. Thus, securing the trial will require us to pull existing personnel from crime prevention efforts around the City and require significant overtime expenses. As 9/11 was an attack on the entire nation, we need the federal government to shoulder the significant costs we will incur and ease this burden.

[JURIST] US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar [official profile] on Wednesday announced new rules [press release] for obtaining leases for oil and gas drilling on public lands. The new rules were designed to provide a greater public voice in deciding how the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) [official website] awards these leases. In a statement, Salazar said, "[w]e need a fresh look – from inside the federal government and from outside – at how we can better manage Americans' energy resources." The announced changes [fact sheet, PDF] are extensive and include a required comprehensive review of each site, "public participation, an interdisciplinary review of available information, confirmation of Resource Management Plan (RMP) conformance, and national, state, and local guidance." Additionally, the new guidelines will increase oversight over so-called categorical exclusions, implemented under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 [text, PDF], which permit projects on federal land without extensive environmental review. The implemented changes to leasing policy will take effect immediately.

The genesis of the new leasing policy occurred in February 2009, when Salazar voided leases [Washington Post report] on 77 parcels of federal land in Utah. In describing his motivation, Salazar said in a statement [text] that the need for energy dependence must be balanced with the need to protect our public lands. Also in February, Salazar announced plans [JURIST report] by the Obama administration to reverse offshore drilling policies established by former US president George W. Bush [JURIST news archive] at the end of his presidency. The new strategy involves extending the public comment period on the proposed five-year plan for oil and gas development on the Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) by 180 days, assembling a detailed report from Department of the Interior agencies on conventional and renewable offshore energy resources, holding four regional conferences to review these findings, and expediting renewable energy rulemaking for the OCS.

[JURIST] Honduran prosecutors on Wednesday filed charges against three military chiefs in connection with the ouster of former president Manuel Zelaya [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] in June. The attorney general's office filed abuse of power charges [El Heraldo report, in Spanish] in the Honduran Supreme Court [official website, in Spanish] against armed forces commander Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, air force commander Venancio Cervantes, and naval commander Luis Javier Prince. According to the charges, the three violated the Honduran Constitution [text, in Spanish] when they seized Zelaya and put him on a plane to Costa Rica because the constitution prohibits the forcible removal of a citizen. Zelaya has dismissed the charges as a political move [AFP report], claiming the prosecutors share as much responsibility as the military. The court has three days to decide whether to take up the case.

Zelaya remains in Honduras at the Brazilian embassy. Last month, the Honduran National Congress [official website, in Spanish] voted 111-14 not to reinstate [JURIST report] him. This followed a non-binding advisory opinion from the Supreme Court that Zelaya could not legally return to office [JURIST report]. Zelaya's return to power appears unlikely, as elections were held in November, and Porfirio Lobo is due to be sworn in as president later this month. Zelaya was ousted [JURIST report] in June, following a judicial order [press release, in Spanish] asserting that he had broken Honduran law by attempting to conduct a controversial referendum on constitutional reform [JURIST report], contrary to a Supreme Court ruling. Zelaya, along with the US, the UN, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the European Union, maintain that his removal was a coup, while the interim government of Roberto Micheletti asserts that it was a lawful transition of power.

[JURIST] The US Marshals Service [official website] will conduct an extensive review [AP report] of courthouse security nationwide, Assistant Director for Judicial Security Michael Prout [official profile] told the Associated Press on Wednesday. The announcement of a security review comes just two days after a courthouse official was killed and a deputy marshal was wounded in an attack on a Las Vegas courthouse [Las Vegas Review-Journal report]. In his comments, Prout noted that while the Las Vegas courthouse had modern security measures that aided in reducing the potential harm from the attack, that is not the case in many courthouses nationwide. No timetable was given for the the initiation of the review.

The attack on the Las Vegas courthouse occurred the same day that the US Department of Justice released a report [JURIST report] showing that the number of threats against judges and attorneys had more than doubled over the past six years. That report was critical of the US Marshals Service for not providing an appropriate response or coordinating with other law enforcement agencies. Courthouse security has become a significant issue as judges have increasingly become the targets of violence. In 2008, Brian Nichols was sentenced to seven life terms to be served consecutively for shooting and killing a federal judge [JURIST reports] and other personnel in an Atlanta courthouse in an attempted escape. In April 2008, Ohio resident David Tuason was indicted for allegedly threatening to blow up the US Supreme Court building [JURIST report] and attack black men, including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

[JURIST] A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the trial over the constitutionality of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage [JURIST news archives] in California, will be videotaped and broadcast on YouTube. Judge Vaughn Walker of the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website] ruled [San Francisco Chronicle report] that while the trial will not be broadcast live, it will be recorded and posted on the court's YouTube channel [website]. Walker's ruling came over the objection of Proposition 8 supporters, who argued [LAT report] that broadcasting the proceedings would result in an unfair trial because of witness intimidation. The broadcast is allowed under an experimental program approved by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] last month that allows cameras in civil, non-jury cases. The case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger [case materials], is set to go to trial on Monday.

Last month, the Ninth Circuit ruled [JURIST report] that same-sex marriage proponents cannot access Proposition 8 supporters' internal campaign communications. The court denied disclosure of the documents on First Amendment [text] grounds, reversing a decision by Walker. In November, the Ninth Circuit affirmed [JURIST report] Walker's denial of a motion to intervene in the suit by conservative advocacy group the Campaign for California Families. The lawsuit was filed [JURIST report] in May by former US solicitor general Ted Olson and prominent litigator David Boies [professional profiles], who were opposing counsel in Bush v. Gore [opinion], which decided the outcome of the contested 2000 US Presidential election [JURIST backgrounder]. Proposition 8 was approved [JURIST report] by California voters in November 2008.