BREAKING NEWS ~ Judge denies government bid to set Moussaoui trial date News
BREAKING NEWS ~ Judge denies government bid to set Moussaoui trial date

[JURIST] US District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema Thursday denied a US government motion to set a trial date in its case against Zacarias Moussaoui. Brinkema stated in her decision [PDF] that her original order [PDF] entered on November 5, 2003 staying the case will remain in effect. Moussaoui, a French citizen, is charged with conspiring with al-Qaida terrorists to carry out the 9/11 attacks; his lawyers had opposed bringing the case to trial while they attempt to appeal pretrial issues to the US Supreme Court. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia provides materials on the Moussaoui proceedings online. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on the Moussaoui case here.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.