In 2010, the Federal Constitutional Court had ruled [JURIST report] that a portion of the tax code requiring gay couples to pay a larger inheritance tax than partners in heterosexual marriages is unconstitutional. Before the ruling the German tax code required gay couples to pay between 17 and 50 percent for an inheritance tax upon the death of a partner, while heterosexual married partners are required to pay between 7 and 30 percent for the tax. In June of the same year, an administrative court in Berlin held [JURIST report] that a same-sex marriage performed abroad must be recognized in a registered partnership in Germany. A year earlier the country's constitutional court ruled [JURIST report] that surviving partners in a registered civil partnership have a right to collect under the occupational pension scheme for civil service employees

Blackwater and its employees have faced legal controversy in recent years for as a result of the company's prior business practices. In January the company reached a confidential settlement agreement with survivors and families of victims in a 2007 shooting incident [JURIST reports] in the Nisour Square area of Baghdad that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead. Two ex-Blackwater contractors were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced [JURIST reports] to two-and-a-half years in prison last year for their role in the shooting deaths of two Afghan nationals and the wounding of a third. In April a federal grand jury indicted five former Blackwater executives [JURIST report] on charges of weapons violations and lying to investigators. In 2010 the Iraqi government ordered 250 former Blackwater employees to leave Iraq in reaction to the dismissal of criminal charges [JURIST reports] against the guards involved in the 2007 shooting incident. The same month, the DOJ also opened an investigation [JURIST report] into whether Blackwater bribed the Iraqi government to be permitted to continue operating in Iraq following the 2007 shootings. Blackwater ceased operations in Baghdad [JURIST report] in May 2009 when its security contracts expired and were not renewed.

The bill was passed [JURIST report] by the Ukrainian parliament earlier in July despite protests and heavy opposition. The legislation would allow Russian in courts, education and other government institutions [AP report] in Russian-speaking regions of the country. The bill went through the parliament a month after it passed [JURIST report] the first reading of a controversial bill. In April 2010 Ukrainian prosecutors considered filing criminal charges after a Parliament session in which lawmakers hurled eggs and smoke bombs and engaged in physical violence in an attempt to prevent a vote [JURIST report] on a Russian treaty. The chaos erupted as lawmakers voted to approved a treaty that extended Russia's lease on a naval base in the Ukrainian Sevastopol port on the Black Sea until 2042 in exchange for discounted Russian gas. The agreement was strongly opposed by pro-Western lawmakers who see Russian influence as reminiscent of Soviet occupation. The treaty came soon after the election [JURIST report] of Yanukovych, who took office in February of that year. Yanukovych replaced Viktor Yushchenko [JURIST news archive], who had sought to cut ties with Russia and strengthen relationships with Western Europe. Yushchenko opposed the extension of Russia's Black Sea lease.

Police abuse is a subject of international concern. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported [JURIST report] in May that China's chengguan, a para-police organization charged with enforcing non-criminal administrative regulations, is abusing its power. In April HRW alleged that Bahrain's police officers regularly abuse minor detainees [JURIST report] before transporting them to police stations. Last October the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported that prisoners in some Afghan-run detention facilities had been beaten and tortured [JURIST report]. In June 2011 HRW reported that Iraqi police forces had been beating and illegally detaining protesters [JURIST report].

This law put an unconstitutional limit on some citizens' ability to engage in political activities based solely on their age. Our laws should encourage everyone regardless of age—and especially young people—to participate in the political process. Instead, this law took away speech and political participation rights to young citizens.

Florida election laws and policies have faced numerous federal challenges recently. Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced last month that the federal government will allow Florida access [JURIST report] to a US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration database to challenge individuals' voting rights if the state suspects them of not being US citizens. In June a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida denied a request [JURIST report] by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue a temporary injunction barring Florida from continuing the practice of purging its voter rolls. The DOJ alleged that Florida's policy violates the Voting Rights Act (VRA) [text] as well as the National Voter Registration Act [text], which requires all voter roll maintenance to cease 90 days before the primary election, meaning all purging in Florida should have stopped by May 16. Florida also faces challenges to its purging policy from the ACLU-FL and a coalition of rights groups [JURIST reports] on behalf of several Florida citizens. Earlier in June, amidst calls to end its purging practices, Florida filed suit [JURIST report] seeking access to the DHS immigration database. Earlier that month, a spokesperson for Governor Rick Scott said that the state would continue to search for ineligible voters, even after receiving a letter from the DOJ ordering them to stop the practice [JURIST report].

Texas courts had previously stayed an execution of a mentally ill defendant. In July the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals [court website] ordered [JURIST report] a stay of execution [order, PDF] for convicted killer Marcus Druery who had been scheduled for execution on August 1. He had been diagnosed as schizophrenic by both prison and private doctors. In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] in the case of Bobby v. Bies [Cornell LII backgrounder] that a post-conviction hearing to determine the mental competency of a capital defendant convicted before the Court's 2002 ruling in Atkins does not violate the Double Jeopardy [Cornell LII backgrounder] clause. Despite the ruling in Atkins, in 29 states, including Texas, Tennessee and New Jersey [JURIST reports], the defendant still carries the burden of proving mental retardation in death-penalty [JURIST news archive] cases to receive a lesser sentence.

In light of the complex, ever-evolving nature of this litigation, and considering the significant infringement on individual liberties that would occur if the Executive Branch were to disregard congressionally-mandated procedures for obtaining judicial authorization of international wiretaps, the charge of "game-playing" lobbed by the government is as careless as it is inaccurate.

Al-Haramain filed a motion [JURIST report] for partial summary judgment in July 2009. In February of that year the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling [JURIST reports] denying a government appeal to keep the NSA call log secret, despite its accidental release to Al-Haramain in 2004. The call log had been deemed a state secret [JURIST report], but the decision required the government to allow the foundation to view the document. JURIST contributor Victor Comras said that Walker had done a "truly remarkable job" balancing national security and due process [JURIST comment] in the case. Walker had previously dismissed the suit [JURIST report], finding that Al-Haramain lacked a cause of action because the state secrets privilege trumped procedural requirements under FISA.

Overcrowding of prisons has been a problem around the world. Earlier this month the Colombia Ministry of Justice [official website] announced [JURIST report] a new measure to address the problem of overcrowding in the nation's prisons involving a transfer of 800 inmates from "La Modelo" prisons in Bogota and Cali to less crowded detention centers elsewhere in the country. In June UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang [official profile] urged [JURIST report] the government of Malawi to improve its human rights conditions and promote accountability by addressing the problem of overcrowding of prisons and the slow process of justice in the country. During the same month Burundi announced [JURIST report] that the government will release prisoners in order to address the overcrowding in national prisons. In April South Africa announced [JURIST report] that it would issue pardons to 35,000 offenders in order to ease prison overcrowding. Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] in February urged Latin American countries to improve their prison conditions and called [JURIST report] for a reduction of prison population after a fire killed more than 300 inmates of a prison in Honduras. Last August Venezuela announced [JURIST report] its plan to reduce its prison population by 40 percent. The prisons in the US are facing the same problem. In May 2011 the US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [JURIST report] in Brown v. Plata [Cornell LII backgrounder; JURIST report] to uphold an order requiring California to release up to 46,000 prisoners to address the problem of prison overcrowding.

On Monday the government announced that it will petition the high court to review its decision nullifying [JURIST reports] the Contempt of Court Bill 2012 which was passed to shield the country's new prime minister from contempt charges. The bill was passed by the upper [AFP report] and lower houses of the national parliament and signed [JURIST reports] by Zardari last month. The legislature and the president approved the law in order to protect the new PM from possible contempt of court proceedings for failure to reopen the investigation against Zardari. The court had ordered [JURIST report] the new prime minister in late June to investigate the corruption allegations against the president. Ashraf, like his predecessor, has argued that the president is immune from prosecution under the country's constitution. The court in response claimed that no one is above the law and thus, the investigation against the president should proceed. During the same month, a Pakistani court ordered [JURIST report] the arrest of Makhdoom Shahabuddin [BBC profile], a former health minister from Punjab Province and the nominee for the country's then-vacant prime minister position for allegations that he was involved in irregularities in the amount of the controlled drug Ephedrine circulating within the country during his tenure as health minister. The arrest order was issued the same day the president nominated Shahabuddin to fill the position of former prime minister Gilani.

Opposition leaders and other groups have shown skepticism about the validity of Khodorkovsky's sentence. In December the Russia Presidential Council on Civil Society and Human Rights under President Dmitry Medvedev called for the prosecutor general to petition to annul the conviction [JURIST report]. Describing the verdict as fictitious, council member and former Constitutional Court judge, Tamara Morshchakova, noted the council found neither evidence nor substance to the charges brought against Khodorkovsky in the second trial. The council's decisions are non-binding and have seldom elicited action from Russian authorities. In July, the council urged amnesty for economic crimes in a meeting with Medvedev that would include amnesty for the crimes of Khodorkovsky. Last year former Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov testified [JURIST report] that former president and current prime minister Vladimir Putin ordered Khodorkovsky's arrest for political reasons, indicating that Khodorkovsky had funded the Communist Party without first getting approval to do so from the president.

Loughner was formally charged [JURIST report] with the Tucson shootings in January 2011. Significant charges included one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the federal government and two counts of attempting to kill federal employees. Loughner originally invoked his right to remain silent [ABC News report] before the debate regarding his competence stalled legal proceedings for more than a year. Given the circumstances, President Barack Obama [official website] directed that the investigation into the shooting [press releases] be conducted by the FBI.