Milosevic trial again delayed by bout with flu News
Milosevic trial again delayed by bout with flu

[JURIST] The trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic [ICTY case backgrounder; JURIST Newsmaker] was delayed again Tuesday after Milosevic contracted the flu, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website] reported. Presiding Judge Patrick Robinson is scheduled to decide the length of the latest delay later today after doctors report on Milosevic's condition. Milosevic's war crimes trial has been continually interrupted by the former leader's health problems, which include heart ailments and high blood pressure. The health issues were sufficient for the tribunal to appoint two lawyers last fall to represent Milosevic, who had been representing himself, but he won back his right to represent himself in November. Reuters has more.

11:40 AM ET – An ICTY press advisory is now available.

THIS DAY @ LAW

International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism

November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism [UNITED factsheet]. On November 9, 1924, American gay activist Henry Gerber and several associates formed the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society received a charter from the State of Illinois in December but was disbanded in July 1925 after a police raid which led to Gerber's arrest and trial (albeit not conviction). Pay a virtual visit to Henry Gerber House, now a registered Chicago landmark.

Supreme Court strikes down Massachusetts anti-draft law

On November 9, 1970, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Massachusetts v. Laird not to hear the case of the state's anti-draft law. Massachusetts had passed a law, which allowed its citizens to decline to fight in any undeclared war, even if the person was drafted. The law was passed in opposition to the draft and the war in Vietnam. The First Circuit found the war constitutional and thus struck down the law.