Federal appeals court reinstates $55M verdict against Salvadoran generals News
Federal appeals court reinstates $55M verdict against Salvadoran generals

[JURIST] The US Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] in Atlanta, Georgia has reinstated a $55 million verdict against two former Salvadoran generals for allowing torture and other human rights violations to occur during the El Salvadoran civil war. In March, the court tossed out [JURIST report] the jury award against Gens. Carlos Eugenion Vides Casanova and Jose Guillermo Garcia, finding that victims in the case failed to file the lawsuit before the 10-year statute of limitations outlined in the 1991 Torture Victim Protection Act [text] expired. In its decision [PDF; CJA case backgrounder], the court found that "extraordinary circumstances" did in fact exist that prevented the plaintiffs from filing suit. Attorneys for the generals said they will file an appeal. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase:

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.