Enforcement of civil rights law declines during Bush years, study says News
Enforcement of civil rights law declines during Bush years, study says

[JURIST] Federal enforcement of civil rights laws declined sharply during the Bush administration, according to a new study released by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a non-partisan research center housed at Syracuse University. According to the TRAC report, federal prosecutors filed charges for violations of civil rights laws against only 84 defendants in 2003, down from 159 in 1999. Complaints received by the Justice Department during the Bush administration have remained relatively constant. TRAC reports that charges against terrorism suspects, and charges on weapons violations and immigration violations all increased during the same time period. Cox News Service has more. As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, the US Commission on Civil Rights earlier this month failed to reach a consensus on whether to adopt its report [PDF] on the Bush administration's civil rights record. According to Commission's draft report, the Bush administration had not "defined a clear agenda nor made civil rights a priority."

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.