State courts group urges Congress to fund security improvements News
State courts group urges Congress to fund security improvements

[JURIST] The National Center for State Courts [official NCSC website] has asked Congress to earmark 1-3 percent of new homeland security grants to states for use in improving security at courthouses. The request comes in the wake of recent incidents at several courthouses, including last month's murder of Judge Rowland Barnes in Atlanta [JURIST report]. The US Department of Homeland Security [official website] favors allowing states to decide how to spend allocated funds. NCSC has released a ten point plan for improving courthouse security [background info, official release]. AP has more.

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.