A judge for the US District Court for the District of Maryland blocked the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) on Tuesday from prohibiting a planned October 7 vigil commemorating those killed in the Israel-Gaza War. A student organization, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), filed a lawsuit against UMCP after their request for the [...]

A US federal court on Wednesday partially blocked enforcement of an Alabama law criminalizing absentee ballot assistance. The court sided with a coalition of plaintiffs who argued the law would violate the rights of disabled, blind, and low-literacy voters. The judge enjoined several sections of Senate Bill 1 (SB1). The bills Submission Provision restricted an [...]

The University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law suspended tenured law professor Amy Wax on Tuesday for “flagrant unprofessional conduct.” The school’s board recommended several sanctions including a one-year suspension, half pay, and requiring Wax to disclaim any public statement as her own and not the view of the University. Students and staff accused Wax [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated on Wednesday that the simultaneous detonation of thousands of communication devices across Lebanon and Syria violated customary international law. Thousands of pagers exploded on Tuesday, killing 12 and injuring more than 2,000 people. Walkie-talkie explosions on Wednesday killed an additional 25 and injured at least 600. The devices were evidently [...]

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has highlighted the ongoing deterioration of human rights in Russia, in a report published on Tuesday. The report accused the Russian government of engaging in “systematic human rights abuses” as part of a “government strategy to control all spheres of life, both public and private, and to suppress dissent [...]

A judge in Missouri rejected on Thursday inmate Marcellus Williams’ attempt to overturn a murder conviction and death sentence on the basis of updated DNA evidence. Circuit Judge Bruce F. Hilton stated in his rejection of the bid that “none of this evidence is ‘new’ as it was available at trial.” Williams’ legal team filed [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Wednesday criticizing asylum and migrant protections in Latin America. The report outlined “poor regularization and integration policies” between Latin American countries that drive migrants to attempt dangerous passages into Central and North America. The report focused on Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. HRW stated that [...]

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said Tuesday that it dismissed its first deputy over their role in a whistleblower case. NABU issued the statement on its Telegram channel without naming the specific employee or case. However, the agency stated (in Ukrainian), that the dismissal was due to the deputy’s “actions and statements of [...]

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday rejected former President Donald Trump’s motion to move his New York hush money case to federal court, an attempt that could overturn Trump’s conviction or delay his sentencing until after the presidential election in November. Trump’s motion to move his case to federal [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Wednesday revived a libel lawsuit filed by the former governor of Alaska and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin against the New York Times (NYT). In 2022, US District Court Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the case during jury deliberations. He stated that after hearing all available [...]