US Supreme Court rules drunk driving can’t lead to deportation News
US Supreme Court rules drunk driving can’t lead to deportation

[JURIST] In a decision handed down Tuesday morning, the US Supreme Court has ruled that a conviction for drunk driving that results in serious bodily injury is not a "crime of violence" that constitutes an "aggravated felony" under the Immigration and Nationality Act and therefore can't lead to the deportation of a permanent resident involved in accident. The case is Leocal v. Ashcroft (case backgrounder from Duke Law School). Chief Justice Rehnquist authored the unanimous opinion.

10:45 AM ET: Cornell's Legal Information Institute has now posted today's opinion per Chief Justice Rehnquist. The Court held that state DUI offenses which either do not have a mens rea component or require only a showing of negligence in the operation of a vehicle are not crimes of violence under the INA.

10:58 AM ET: AP has more on the ruling.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.