Federal appeals court hears challenge to Canadian cattle ban News
Federal appeals court hears challenge to Canadian cattle ban

[JURIST] The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] heard oral arguments Wednesday in a challenge to Montana District Court Judge Richard Cebull's March ruling [JURIST report] barring the resumed importation of Canadian cattle to the US. US attorney Mark Stern represented the US Department of Agriculture, and urged the court to lift the temporary injunction that bars the shipment of live Canadian cattle under 30 months of age. Stern challenged respondents Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund [advocacy website] experts who contend that Canadian herds are often infected with BSE, also known as Mad Cow Disease [USDA fact sheet], and current border screening measures are insufficient to prevent the spread of the disease to livestock in the US. Canadian Press has more on Wednesday's arguments.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Dreyfus convicted of treason

On December 22, 1894, Jewish French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial trial that prompted worldwide allegations of anti-Semitism. Dreyfus was later cleared. Learn more about the case of Alfred Dreyfus and read an English translation of the famous public letter J'Accuse...! by novelist and Dreyfus partisan Emile Zola.

US passed Embargo Act, banning foreign trade

On December 22, 1807, the Embargo Act was passed at the urging of US President Thomas Jefferson. The act barred trade with any foreign nations in an effort to avoid American entry into the Napoleonic Wars of Europe. However, the act proved unenforceable and was replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act, which barred trade with France and Great Britain. Learn more about the Embargo Act of 1807 from Monticello.org