Ecuador high court justices selected to fill vacanies left by mass dismissal News
Ecuador high court justices selected to fill vacanies left by mass dismissal

[JURIST] Ecuador's new Supreme Court [official website in Spanish] justices are set to be sworn in during a ceremony in front of the international monitors that oversaw their selection. The 31-justice court has been without permanent members since last December, when then-President Lucio Gutierrez [BBC profile] disbanded the Court [JURIST report] amidst allegations of it being biased against him. Gutierrez later had the Ecuadorian Congress [official website] appoint provisional justices to the court, but soon thereafter attempted to dismiss the court [JURIST report] again. The current court members were chosen by a selection committee put together under the supervision of international observers. The swearing-in ceremony will take place Wednesday. Ecuador's Hoy Online has local coverage in Spanish. BBC News 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.