Australia court convicts Pakistan immigrant under new anti-terror laws News
Australia court convicts Pakistan immigrant under new anti-terror laws

[JURIST] Faheem Khalid Lodhi, a Pakistani-born Australian immigrant, was convicted Monday of plotting a terrorist attack [JURIST report] in Australia, marking one of the first convictions under new Australian anti-terrorism laws [summary and text] passed in the wake of 9/11. A New South Wales Supreme Court [official website] jury found Lodhi not guilty of downloading aerial maps for the purpose of terrorism after five days of deliberation. Lodhi, who could face life imprisonment, will begin his sentencing trial on June 29. Prosecutors argued that an October 2003 search of Lodhi's home produced a terrorist manual that indicated the defendant's plans to bomb either an electrical supply system or defense installations in Sydney. AP has more. The Sydney Morning Herald has local coverage.

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.