[P]rivately financed candidates are faced with a choice: spend their campaign funds over a set limit to get out their political message, thereby generating matching government funds for their publicly financed opponent or refrain from spending over a set amount to prevent the government from providing matching funds to their opponent. The US Supreme Court ... determined that "Arizona's matching funds scheme substantially burdens protected political speech without serving a compelling state interest and therefore violates the First Amendment."

Campaign finance laws have been a contentious issue recently. Last week the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit [official website], sitting en banc, ruled [JURIST report] that Minnesota's disclosure requirement law for political contributions is unconstitutional. In June the US Supreme Court struck down a Montana campaign finance law that restricted the amount of money corporations can spend on campaigns, holding that Citizens United [JURIST reports] invalidated the Montana law. That decision, American Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Bullock [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] reversed a decision by the Montana Supreme Court upholding the law [JURIST report]. Also in June the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit cited Citizens United and ruled [JURIST report] that a district court erred in holding that corporations can contribute directly to political campaigns. In February the Supreme Court blocked enforcement [JURIST report] of the Montana Supreme Court ruling.

Birkenfeld's information lead to significant actions in US efforts to put an end to tax-evasion through the use of overseas accounts. July 2010 the Swiss Federal Administrative Court [official website, in German] ruled that an agreement [text, PDF] with the US, allowing UBS to disclose client account information, is binding [JURIST report]. In November 2009, the DOJ and IRS announced that more than 14,700 Americans had reported to the IRS [JURIST report] previously hidden overseas bank accounts in response to a temporary forgiveness program [official website] allowing delinquent taxpayers to avoid criminal prosecution for tax evasion by paying all overdue taxes and penalties. In September of that year, the US and Switzerland signed a treaty [JURIST report] that would increase the amount of information shared between the two nations on would-be tax evaders. Earlier in 2009 the US reached a preliminary agreement with Switzerland over the identification of anonymous accounts [JURIST report] in Swiss banks, which would aid US officials in identifying those who seek to evade taxes.

The unrest in the eastern part of the DRC has been a focus of the international community. In August the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website; JURIST backgrounder] received requests [JURIST report] to investigate Rwandan President Paul Kagame for allegedly backing armed rebels in the DRC. The calls for an ICC investigation followed the release of a UN report in July detailing investigations since late 2011 that revealed substantial evidence [JURIST report] that the Rwandan government helped create the rebel groups and supplied them with weapons, armor and recruits, including children. In June Rwanda was urged to stop [JURIST report] assisting accused DRC war criminal General Bosco Ntaganda [case materials], who is wanted by the ICC. During the same month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] expressed concern [JURIST report] about the safety of the civilians in the region. In May former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo sought [JURIST report] the immediate arrest of Ntaganda along with Sylvestre Mudacumura [ICC fact sheet, PDF], a foreign militia leader in the DRC.

Shafiq is one of the many former politicians under Mubarak's regime who are facing corruption charges. Last week former culture minister Farouq Hosni was accused of illegally obtaining 27 million Egyptian pounds (USD $4.5 million) during his term as culture minister. In August the former secretary for Mubarak's political party, Safwat El-Sherif, was referred to a criminal court [JURIST report] on corruption charges. He was accused of having abused his office by obtaining real estate at discounted prices and illegally obtaining $49.2 million. In July an Egyptian court rejected pleas to release [JURIST report] Mubarak's two sons while they await trial. Their lawyer argued that his clients are detained unlawfully because they were arrested for a misdemeanor and not for a felony which would allow authorities to detain an individual only up to six months, a term that the Mubaraks already served. Gamal and Alaa Mubarak, along with seven others, were charged [JURIST report] with stock market fraud and using unfair trading practices and illegally manipulating the market. Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life [JURIST report] after an Egyptian court found him guilty of complicity to kill protesters during the Arab Spring protests [JURIST news archive]. During the protests that resulted in the overturning of Mubarak's 30-year regime, Mubarak ordered government officials to use gunfire and other violent measures to subdue protesters, causing more than 850 deaths [JURIST report]. Mubarak's trial ended in February with the chief prosecutor asking the court in his closing remarks to issue a death sentence [JURIST reports] against the former ruler.

Latif was on a hunger strike [JURIST news archive] earlier this year. He was originally ordered to be released in 2010, but that order was overturned [JURIST reports] by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] in October. Latif, who had been in custody for over 10 years, contended that he was in Pakistan for medical treatment when he was arrested and turned over to US forces.

Pena Nieto's electoral victory was confirmed [JURIST report] in July, and subsequent legal challenges to his victory proved unsuccessful. Last month, Mexico's Electoral Tribunal upheld [JURIST report] the results after finding that there was no evidence that Pena Nieto violated election regulations. Pena Nieto faced legal challenges [JURIST report] brought by his opponent Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the left wing Democratic Revolution Party. He claimed to have evidence showing that Pena Nieto bought votes by distributing 1.8 million gift cards that amounted to billions of pesos.

We are filing this based on principle. As the Governor of Alabama, I have a duty to uphold and defend Alabama law. Federal courts should not restrain state governments in a way that is contrary to the US Constitution. We must protect the State of Alabama from the federal government interfering with our ability to enforce our laws. We owe it to the people of this state to defend the U.S. Constitution and the right of our legislature to make constitutional policy choices.

Earlier this month a judge for the US District Court for the District of Arizona [official website] upheld [JURIST report] a controversial provision of Arizona's immigration law [SB 1070, PDF] that requires law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of persons they stop or arrest if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is in the US illegally. In August the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] again heard arguments [JURIST report] on two anti-illegal immigrant laws enacted in 2006 by the city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, which deny permits to businesses that employ illegal immigrants and fine landlords who extend housing to them. In July a judge for the US District Court for the District of South Carolina [official website] declined to lift an injunction [JURIST report] against South Carolina's controversial immigration law [SB 20 materials], despite the recent Supreme Court ruling in Arizona v. United States [JURIST report]. Last May the ACLU and the National Immigration Law Center filed a class action lawsuit challenging Utah's immigration law, the same month that the ACLU filed a class action [JURIST reports] in the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana [official website] challenging that state's immigration law.

In March a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois [official website] struck down [JURIST report] two recently-enacted parts of the Illinois Election Code [text] designed to cap campaign contributions. Judge Marvin Aspen issued an injunction [order, PDF] against the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE) [official website] from enforcing § 5/9-8.5(d) prohibiting any political action committee (PAC) from accepting individual contributions over $10,000 and § 5/9-2(d) prohibiting any person from maintaining or establishing more than one PAC. Illinois campaign contribution restrictions were passed in 2009 as part of election reform efforts following the indictment of former governor Rod Blagojevich [personal website; JURIST news archive], who was arrested [JURIST report] in December 2008 on corruption charges including allegations that he conspired to sell the Senate seat left vacant by US President Barack Obama.

Before the Ending the Long-gun Registry Act was passed in April, the Canadian Firearms registry required the registration and subsequent title transfers of any restricted firearms in Canada. This included rifles and shotguns, which many argued were discriminatory against hunters. In February the Ontario Superior Court [official website] refused to impose a mandatory minimum sentence [JURIST report] established by the Canadian federal government for firearm possession, declaring the guideline unconstitutional.

In July it was reported that the US would retain control of about 50 non-Afghan detainees [JURIST report] at Parwan Detention Center at Bagram. At that time the US again had to defend its position by asserting that its agreement with Afghanistan did not cover foreign nationals. The detainees have allegedly been held without access to legal assistance, prompting some human rights activists to question the deal's legitimacy and expand upon the criticism that the Bagram facility has been "the other Guantanamo" since its opening [JURIST report] in 2009. The plan for Afghanistan [JURIST report] to take over the US military's Parwan Detention Center was crafted in January with a goal of transferring all responsibilities to the Afghan government within six months.