US wants military trial for Australian Gitmo detainee News
US wants military trial for Australian Gitmo detainee

[JURIST] Court documents released Thursday revealed that the US government is arguing that Australian citizen David Hicks [Wikipedia profile; advocacy website] should face a military commission trial following an appellate court ruling from a three judge panel that included US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts [JURIST news archive]. In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld [PDF opinion], the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit held that the military commission system was legally authorized to try individuals captured in the United States' war on terror. The Pentagon has used the ruling to push for a trial for Hicks on charges of conspiracy, attempted murder and aiding the enemy. There is no word on when a ruling about whether Hicks may be tried by the commission system is expected. AP has more.

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THIS DAY @ LAW

Georgia became first US state to ban lynching

On December 20, 1893, Georgia became the first state in the Union to pass a law against lynching, making the act punishable by four years in prison. The statute was not particularly effective—read the text of the 1899 pamphlet Lynch Law in Georgia by anti-lynching activist Ida Wells-Barnett.