UK Supreme Court rules ‘deport first, appeal later’ policy unlawful News
UK Supreme Court rules ‘deport first, appeal later’ policy unlawful

The UK Supreme Court [official website] ruled [judgment, PDF] Wednesday that the government’s policy of deporting foreign nationals who have committed crimes before their appeals are heard is unlawful. Section 3(5)(a) of the 1971 Act provides that a person who is not a British citizen is liable for deportation from the UK if the Home Secretary deems their deportation to be conducive to the public good. The “deport first, appeal later” policy allows the UK government to deport foreigners without giving them the right to launch an appeal against deportation while they are in the country.

UK immigration policies have been controversial. Last month an advisor to the EU Court of Justice concluded that the UK Home Office wrongly denied residency [JURIST report] to the Algerian husband of a dual British-Spanish citizen. In February the UK Supreme Court upheld [JURIST report] immigration rules that require British citizens have a certain level of income to bring their foreign spouses into Britain.

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.