Pitcairn men lose Supreme Court appeal News
Pitcairn men lose Supreme Court appeal

[JURIST] Six Pitcairn Island men, found guilty of multiple sexual abuse charges in October 2004 [JURIST report], have lost their appeal in the Pitcairn Supreme Court sitting in Auckland, New Zealand. The Court denied all of the defense's arguments, including a claim that British law did not apply to the descendants of the 18th-century Bounty mutineers who originally settled the island [Pitcairn Island official website]. Later this year, Britain's Judicial Committee of the Privy Council [official website], the highest appeals court for UK overseas colonies, will hear a challenge to British jurisdiction over the remote Pacific island. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on the trials. Reuters 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.