Fonseka is also fighting charges in the High Court of Sri Lanka for allegedly provoking violence and bringing disrepute to the government [JURIST report] in relation to statements made to the Sunday Leader [media website] newspaper. Fonseka suggested that the government of Rajapaksa ordered the killing of surrendering rebel leaders during the Sri Lankan civil war [JURIST news archive]. In April, Fonseka's trials were postponed [JURIST report] to allow the Court of Appeals of Sri Lanka [official website] to examine the legality of the court-martials.

Several state legislatures have acted recently to place restrictions on women's access to abortion. In June, Florida Governor Charlie Crist [official website] vetoed a bill [JURIST report] that would have required women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound or listen to a detailed description of the fetus before the procedure would be performed. In May, Oklahoma lawmakers approved a bill [JURIST report] requiring women seeking an abortion to complete a questionnaire containing information on marital status, reason for seeking the abortion and whether the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. In April, the Nebraska legislature approved a bill prohibiting abortions at or past 20 weeks [JURIST report] on the theory that a fetus can allegedly feel pain following that point. Advocacy groups have criticized the laws and indicated they will challenge them in court.

Rape and other forms of sexual abuse have been a recurring issue in the US prison system. Last year, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion text; 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 [text, PDF] 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 [text, PDF; JURIST report] on prison rape in accordance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 [DOJ backgrounder], but admitted that most incidents were probably never reported and that their numbers could not be reliably estimated. The NPREC was created pursuant to the Prison Rape Elimination Act, which called for the development of national standards for correctional facilities to eliminate prison rape.

Same-sex adoption has been an issue not only in the UK, but also in other countries. Earlier this week, the Mexican Supreme Court upheld a Mexico City law [JURIST report] allowing adoptions by same-sex couples. In April, an Arkansas judge ruled that a state law prohibiting all unmarried couples from adopting violated the state constitution [JURIST report] because it effectively prevented same-sex couples from adopting or fostering children. In February, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ordered [JURIST report] the state of Louisiana to place the names of two fathers on the birth certificate of a boy born in that state but adopted by a same-sex couple in New York. In November, a French court ruled that a law prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting children in France is discriminatory [JURIST report] and ordered that a single woman be allowed to adopt. In September, Uruguay's Senate approved a bill [JURIST report] legalizing same-sex adoption in that country. In November 2008, a Florida judge ruled that state's ban on same-sex adoption was unconstitutional [JURIST report].

Last October, the Federal Supreme Court of the UAE convicted Hamdan of engaging in terrorist activities [JURIST report] and sentenced him to 18 months in prison. Hamdan was released shortly after his conviction due to serving 14 months prior to his trial. He faced three separate charges of terrorism, including providing financial support for attacks against Israel and being connected to al Qaeda in Iraq. Although he confessed to engaging in terrorist activities, Hamdan consistently denied the charges, claiming his confessions were coerced through torture. The ACLU suspected the US government of pushing the case onto UAE officials because it did not have enough evidence to charge Hamdan. The ACLU asked for the US government to intervene [press release], but the request was denied in August 2009.

The issue of the wearing of religious face veils while in a courtroom has been addressed by several jurisdictions. In 2008, a US federal judge dissmissed a lawsuit filed by a Muslim woman [JURIST reports] against a judge who asked her to remove her niqab in court. In 2006, the UK Asylum and Immigration Board informed immigration judges [JURIST report] that they should allow Muslim lawyers to wear veils in their courtrooms unless it interferes with the "interests of justice", as long as their clients approve and all parties to the proceedings can hear the representatives speak. Also in 2006, a Pakistani judge stated that female lawyers were forbidden to wear religious veils [JURIST report] in his courtroom and that they should dress in the manner required by their profession.

In May, the ICTY appeals chamber affirmed the contempt conviction [JURIST report] of Seselj. Trial chamber II found Seselj guilty of contempt [JURIST report] last year for authoring a book revealing pertinent information about several key witnesses and sentenced him to 15 months in prison. The appeals chamber denied all eight of Seselj's grounds of appeal. Seselj's war crimes trial just resumed in January, after being delayed [JURIST reports] for nearly a year over fears that witnesses were being intimidated. He is currently being tried before trial chamber III on 14 counts of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. The ICTY had previously stripped Seselj of his right to defend himself after he failed to appear in court, despite an earlier appeals court ruling that he could represent himself [JURIST reports] provided he did not engage in courtroom behavior that "substantially obstruct[ed] the proper and expeditious proceedings in his case." Seselj is accused of establishing rogue paramilitary units affiliated with the SRS, which are believed to have massacred and otherwise persecuted Croats and other non-Serbs during the Balkan conflict.

[W]e conclude that the cross memorials would convey to a reasonable observer that the state of Utah is endorsing Christianity. ... [T]he fact that all of the fallen UHP troopers are memorialized with a Christian symbol conveys the message that there is some connection between the UHP and Christianity. This may lead the reasonable observer to fear that Christians are likely to receive preferential treatment from the UHP - both in their hiring practices and, more generally, in the treatment that people may expect to receive on Utah's highways.

In April, the US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [JURIST report] in Salazar v. Buono [Cornell LII backgrounder] that the lower courts were wrong to ban the government from transferring public land containing a religious symbol to a private entity. The dispute concerned a Latin cross on a rock outcropping in the Mojave National Preserve. The display of the cross on public property had already been found in violation of the Establishment Clause [Cornell LII backgrounder], so the government sought to transfer the portion of land on which the cross was located to a private entity. In March, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ruled that a teacher-led recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance [JURIST report] in public schools does not violate the Constitution's Establishment Clause. The court also upheld the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on currency. In November, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] ruled that a school district's policy prohibiting the performance of religious holiday songs [JURIST report] does not violate the Establishment Clause. Also that month, a judge for the US District Court for the District of South Carolina [official website] ruled that license plates [JURIST report] produced by the state bearing a picture of a cross in front of a stained glass window and the words "I Believe" violate the Constitution.