Earlier this month, Ibrahim Eissa, editor-in-chief and creator of the private daily paper Al-Dustour [official website, in Arabic], was fired [BBC report] after he published an op-ed piece by opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei. In 2008, Eissa was convicted for spreading "rumors" [JURIST report] about the health of Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak in an August 2007 report. Egypt's Abbaseyya Appeals Court upheld the conviction [JURIST report] in 2008. In September, it was reported that independent journalist Hamdi Qandeel is expected to go on trial [JURIST report] for allegedly libeling Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abult Gheit [official website]. In 2009, Egypt's Agouza Appeals Court overturned the editors' prison sentences [JURIST report] but upheld their fines. Prior to 2004, Egypt was limited to only state-run media but has since seen a rise in private media.

The production and use of methamphetamine has become one of the most significant public health issues in the US over the past 40 years. Originally a problem localized to the Western US, an epidemic of use has spread eastward [MSNBC report] over the past decade, bringing with it the associated dangers of production [EPA report, PDF]. As the popularity of methamphetamine has grown, Congress has sought to control proliferation with a number of pieces of legislation, including the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996, the Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000 [materials], and the Combat Methamphetamine Act of 2005. With the passage of the Combat Methamphetamine Act of 2005, pseudoephedrine-containing compounds, such as many cold medications, must be placed behind the counter, where customers cannot access the medications without assistance.

If Proposition 19 is approved by California voters on November 2, California would become the first state to legalize the possession and growth of marijuana. California had previously decriminalized possession of less than one ounce of marijuana under State Senate Bill 1449 [text]. Decriminalization is the process of reducing the punishment for possession of marijuana from a misdemeanor with the possibility of jail time to civil fines and/or mandatory drug education programs. In addition to California, Massachusetts, Oregon, and 10 other states [Boston Globe reports] have decriminalized possession, as has the city of Denver, Colorado.

This is the fourth time Berlusconi has faced allegations of fraud in relation to his Mediaset company. In January, Berlusconi, who was already facing two separate trials on charges of corruption and bribery, was accused of embezzlement and tax fraud [JURIST report]. In March, the Italian Senate [official website, in Italian] gave final approval to a bill [materials, in Italian] that would allow cabinet ministers, including Berlusconi, to postpone criminal proceedings against them on the grounds that they would interfere with official duties. The legislation, passed by a vote of 169-126 [JURIST report] with three members abstaining, allows officials to suspend trials against them for up to 18 months by claiming a "legitimate impediment" to appearing in court.

In June, Hellerstein approved a $712.5 million settlement agreement reached earlier that month [JURIST reports] between the city and rescue workers who brought health claims against the city. In 2007, Hellerstein ruled [JURIST report] that the class action lawsuit filed by cleanup workers against the city and the Port Authority could proceed. The lawsuit was filed [JURIST report] in 2004.

Since its enactment in 1993, approximately 13,000 servicemen and women have been discharged from the armed forces as a result of DADT. Last month, a federal judge for the US District for the Western District of Washington [official website] ordered [JURIST report] that a US Air Force officer be reinstated after being previous discharged under DADT. Also in September, the Senate [official website] rejected a cloture motion [JURIST report] on a defense appropriations bill that would have repealed the policy. In May, the House of Representatives [official website] and the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to repeal the policy after President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates agreed to a compromise [JURIST reports] that would prevent the repeal from taking effect until the completion of a review to determine what effects the repeal would have on military effectiveness, soldier retention and family readiness. In March, Gates announced changes to the enforcement [JURIST report] of the policy to make it more difficult to expel openly gay service members from the military.

In a ruling [ruling, PDF] released August 21, US military judge Army Colonel Patrick Parrish rejected [JURIST report] claims by Khadr that his confession was a byproduct of torture. Khadr's lawyers had argued [motion, PDF] that his statements were illegally obtained through threats of rape and death by interrogators. The military trial of Khadr was suspended on August 13 following the collapse of his lawyer during opening testimony. The lawyer, Lt.-Colonel Jon Jackson, was airlifted to mainland medical facilities following the collapse, which is attributed to complications from gall bladder surgery. Jackson is Khadr's only lawyer, and is the only member of his defense team authorized to address the court. The collapse occurred during the previous day's opening arguments, in which prosecutors argued that Khadr was a willing al Qaeda operative who had adopted their ideology as his own. Prosecutors introduced video allegedly depicting Khadr making an explosive in Afghanistan and argued that he had proudly confessed to being a member of al Qaeda and to killing a US soldier during his interrogation by US forces. Jackson countered that Khadr was a victim of his father, alleged al Qaeda financier Ahmed Said Khadr, who had taken his son with him to Afghanistan shortly after the US-led invasion. Jackson stated that Khadr's confession was not reliable because it came only after Khadr was told a story of an uncooperative detainee that was imprisoned and raped during incarceration. The trial was conducted with a seven member jury made up of US military officers.

A survey released by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation [advocacy website] earlier this month detailed a decline in the rule of law [JURIST report] and democratic rights amongst African nations. In November, Mexican President Felipe Calderon [official website, in Spanish] called for greater adherence to the rule of law, stressing [JURIST report] its importance for a flourishing economy and orderly social life. US Attorney General Eric Holder [official profile; JURIST news archive], in an October 2009 speech, reiterated [JURIST report] the need for authorities to abide by the rule of law when conducting investigations into potential terrorist activities as a means of "leading by example."

A federal judge in Michigan ruled [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] last week that the law is constitutional under the Commerce Clause as it addresses the economic effects of health care decisions, and that it does not represent an unconstitutional direct tax. In August, a federal judge allowed a similar lawsuit filed in Virginia to proceed on narrow grounds [opinion, PDF; JURIST report], addressing only subject matter jurisdiction [Cornell LII backgrounder] and the legal sufficiency of the complaint. Several days later, McCollum cited the ruling in his response [JURIST report] to the Obama administration's motion to dismiss [text, PDF] the Florida challenge, filed in June.