DeLay trial expected to begin early next year

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DeLay trial expected to begin early next year

December 6, 2005 03:00:00 pm

[JURIST] The Texas trial of US Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) [official website; JURIST news archive] on money laundering charges [JURIST report] is expected to begin early next year after Judge Pat Priest [profile] on Monday dismissed a conspiracy charge [JURIST report] against DeLay but refused to throw out the money laundering allegations. Priest's decision can be appealed by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle [official website] within 15 days, although he has not yet announced plans to do so. Priest will wait until after the appeals period to rule on DeLay's motion to move the trial out of Austin, a liberal, Democratic-leaning city. DeLay's attorneys allege that Earle used forum shopping [JURIST report] to select a favorable jury. The money laundering charges against DeLay stem from allegations of improper campaign contributions in the 2002 elections for the Texas legislature. AP has more.

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.

UN Drug Trafficking Convention signed

On December 20, 1988, the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was signed in Vienna, Austria. The treaty provides mechanisms for international coordination in preventing the manufacture and distribution of drugs worldwide. Over 170 countries have signed the treaty to date.