California lawmakers approve drone trespassing bills News
California lawmakers approve drone trespassing bills

[JURIST] California lawmakers on Monday approved two bills intended to regulate drones. The Assembly voted 43-11 in favor of a bill [SB 142] that would make it a crime to fly a drone over private property without permission. The Senate voted 40-0 to approve a bill [AB 856] targeted a paparazzi that would make it a crime to use a drone to take pictures or video on private property. Both bills return to the other chamber for a final vote.

Drone use [JURIST backgrounder] has been a controversial issue both in terms of small domestic drones and larger drones being used abroad by the US military. Last September California Governor Jerry Brown [official website] vetoed a bill [ JURIST report] that would have required law enforcement agencies to acquire a warrant before using drones for surveillance. In March 2014 the UN General Assembly called upon nations [JURIST report] to ensure military drones are used in accordance with international law, passing a resolution on the matter. In October 2013 UN experts urged the international community to have greater accountability [JURIST report] and transparency when it comes to the use of drones. A week earlier the UN released a report showing that the US had killed more people [JURIST report] using drone strikes than it publicly claimed to have killed.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.