Haiti government removes high court judges after ballot ruling News
Haiti government removes high court judges after ballot ruling

[JURIST] The interim government of Haiti [JURIST news archive] has removed five of its ten Supreme Court judges in what it called an “administrative measure, to improve the efficiency of the court.” Many speculate that the forced retirement of the five is a political response to the presidential candidacy of Dumarsais Simeus [campaign website], a Haitian-born US millionaire. The Haitian constitution [text] does not allow dual citizenship, and the interim government fears that Simeus will cause a political crisis in the already fragile government. Two of the five judges retired Friday supported an earlier Supreme Court decision to allow Simeus to run for president because no one has proven that Simeus is a US citizen. The decision was announced in October [JURIST report] and upheld Thursday [Simeus campaign report]. In November, the Haitian Electoral Council defied the Supreme Court and ordered that Simeus be taken off of the ballot [JURIST report]. Michel Brunach, chief of staff for interim President Boniface Alexandre, disputed the charge that the retirement announcement was a political move, claiming the government decided to retire the judges long before the announcement on Friday. The December election marks the first since former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide [BBC backgrounder] was ousted in February 2004 [JURIST report]. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

First impeachment trial began in US Senate

On December 17, 1798, the US Senate began its first impeachment trial. Senator William Blount of Tennessee, a land speculator, was accused of plotting with England to wrest control of Florida from Spain. The Senate ultimately dismissed the charges for lack of jurisdiction—and, perhaps incidentally, lack of Blount, who had gone to Tennessee and had refused to return to the Senate for trial. Read more on the trial of William Blount.

Simon Bolivar dies

On December 17, 1830, South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar died in Colombia. During his lifetime, Bolivar led successful revolutions against Spanish colonial rule throughout South America. His efforts led to the independence of the modern-day nations of Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador and Bolivia, a nation named in his honor.