The Council has considered how to react to the situation in Cote d'Ivoire. It has decided to adopt without delay targeted restrictive measures against those who are obstructing the process of peace and national reconciliation, and in particular who are jeopardising the proper outcome of the electoral process. Those measures will include a visa ban and an assets freeze. They will particularly target those leading figures who have refused to place themselves under the authority of the democratically elected President, of whom an initial list should be adopted rapidly.

In February, Gbagbo dissolved [JURIST report] the country's parliament and electoral commission based on allegations of voter fraud in the long delayed presidential elections. On disbanding the government, Gbagbo charged Prime Minister Guillaume Soro [BBC profile] with creation of new government and new election format. Gbagbo had accused Beugre Mambe, the head of the independent electoral commission, of fraud by attempting to register more than 400,000 whom Gbagbo considers to be foreigners. Opposition parties such as the Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDCI) [party website, in French] and Republican Gathering Party (RDR) [party website, in French] said that most of those voters are ethnic groups in the north of the country, who would likely have voted against Gbagbo. Gbagbo was elected president in 2000 to serve a five-year term, but he has managed to stay in office through delaying six successive elections.

A thorough survey of pertinent constitutional case law has yielded no reported decisions from any federal appellate courts extending the Commerce Clause or General Welfare Clause to encompass regulation of a person's decision not to purchase a product, notwithstanding its effect on interstate commerce or role in a global regulatory scheme. The unchecked expansion of congressional power to the limits suggested by the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers. At its core, this dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance—or crafting a scheme of universal health insurance coverage—it's about an individual's right to choose to participate.

Monday's ruling marks the first time a court has struck down part of the health care despite numerous legal challenges. Last week, a judge for the US District Court for the District of New Jersey [official website] granted a motion to dismiss [JURIST report] a lawsuit [case materials] brought by a physician organization challenging the law. Earlier in December, a judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Virginia [official website] dismissed [JURIST report] a health care challenge filed by Liberty University [academic website]. In October, a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida [official website] denied a motion to dismiss [JURIST report] a lawsuit brought by a group of attorneys general challenging the constitutionality of the health care law. The lawsuit [complaint, PDF], filed in March and joined by 20 states [JURIST reports] and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) [association website; JURIST report], seeks injunctive and declaratory relief against what it alleges are violations of Article I and the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, committed by levying a tax without regard to census data, property or profession, and for invading the sovereignty of the states. A week earlier, a federal judge in Michigan ruled [JURIST report] 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.

Last November, former outside accountant for Madoff, David Friehling [case materials], pleaded guilty [plea agreement, PDF; JURIST report] to fraud charges in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website]. Despite his guilty plea, Friehling did not admit knowledge of Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Friehling, who was charged [complaint, PDF; JURIST report] in March, pleaded guilty on nine counts, including securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website] and obstructing or impeding the enforcement of internal revenue laws. Friehling also agreed to forfeit $3,183,000 in addition to other property obtained through his services to Madoff and promised to cooperate in the government's investigation surrounding the Madoff scandal. Also last year, Madoff's former financial chief Frank DiPascali pleaded guilty [JURIST report] for his role in Madoff's scheme. In June 2009, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison [JURIST report]. Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 charges of fraud in March 2009 after agreeing to a partial judgment from the SEC [JURIST reports] for civil charges stemming from his role in defrauding investors.

Also Monday, the court ruled [order list, PDF] that federal courts lack jurisdiction to hear a challenge to the size of the US House of Representatives [official website]. The court vacated a ruling by the US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi [official website] and remanded with orders to dismiss the lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction.

Last month, the Federal Court of Malaysia [official website], the country's highest court, rejected a defamation suit [JURIST report] filed by Anwar against former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad [BBC profile]. Anwar filed suit in 2006 after Mahathir allegedly suggested at a human rights conference that Anwar was unfit for office because of his supposed homosexuality. In September, the Malaysian Court of Appeals [official website] dismissed Anwar's appeal of the Kuala Lumpur High Court's refusal to throw out the sodomy charges [JURIST reports] against him based on allegations that his accuser had an affair with the prosecutor. A three-man panel ruled that, under Section 3 of the Court of Judicature Act (CJA) [materials, text], the appeals court had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal because the High Court's ruling was not a final decision. Counsel for Anwar was to appeal to Malaysia's highest court, which will further delay his trial [JURIST report]. This was his second attempt to have the sodomy charge against him dismissed [JURIST report].

Allen's suit comes as several of the named defendants face unrelated litigation alleging misappropriation of intellectual property. Connecticut company XPRT Ventures LLC sued [JURIST report] eBay in July claiming the infringement of six patents for online auctions and payment systems. In April, a federal appeals court found that eBay is not required to actively monitor its website [JURIST report] for the sale of counterfeit goods. The ruling came shortly after a French court ordered [JURIST report] the company to pay LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) [official website] damages for paying search engines to direct consumers to counterfeit LVMH products. LVMH previously secured a $63 million judgment [JURIST report] in 2008 for failing to prevent the sale of counterfeit luxury goods that infringed on registered designs. Patent holding company NTP filed suit [JURIST report] in July against Apple and Google, among other smart phone makers, related to the use of e-mail systems utilizing technology patented by NTP. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) [official website] launched an investigation [JURIST report] in June into allegations by HTC Corp [corporate website] accusing Apple of patent infringement on certain portable electronic devices. In October 2009, Finnish telecommunications company Nokia [corporate website] filed suit [JURIST report] against Apple alleging that the company infringed 10 of its patents since the first iPhone was released in 2007. The patents cover wireless data transmission, speech coding and security/encryption.