Australia top court upholds control order against terror suspect News
Australia top court upholds control order against terror suspect

[JURIST] The High Court of Australia [official website] upheld an interim control order against Joseph Terrence Thomas [advocacy website] Thursday, accepting the government's argument [JURIST report] and ruling that the control order provision of a controversial anti-terror law [ANS backgrounder] is constitutional because it is supported by the government's "defense power" [judgment]. Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock [official website] welcomed the ruling, saying on ABC Radio [media website] that the ruling puts the anti-terror laws "beyond doubt."

Thomas, who was detained in Pakistan in 2003, was initially convicted [JURIST report] of receiving funds from an al Qaeda associate, but successfully appealed [JURIST report; judgment] the conviction in August 2006 because authorities interviewed Thomas against his will and denied him access to a lawyer. The Australian government then imposed a control order [JURIST report], which Thomas appealed [JURIST report] last October. Section 51(vi) [text] of the Australian constitution gives the parliament the authority to enact laws for the "control of forces to execute and maintain the laws of the Commonwealth." AAP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism

November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism [UNITED factsheet]. On November 9, 1924, American gay activist Henry Gerber and several associates formed the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society received a charter from the State of Illinois in December but was disbanded in July 1925 after a police raid which led to Gerber's arrest and trial (albeit not conviction). Pay a virtual visit to Henry Gerber House, now a registered Chicago landmark.

Supreme Court strikes down Massachusetts anti-draft law

On November 9, 1970, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Massachusetts v. Laird not to hear the case of the state's anti-draft law. Massachusetts had passed a law, which allowed its citizens to decline to fight in any undeclared war, even if the person was drafted. The law was passed in opposition to the draft and the war in Vietnam. The First Circuit found the war constitutional and thus struck down the law.