Josue Leocal, Petitioner v. John D. Ashcroft, Attorney General, et. al., United States Supreme Court, Chief Justice Rehnquist, November 9, 2004 [ruling that a conviction for drunk driving that results in serious bodily injury is not a "crime of violence"...

The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused on Tuesday to reconsider a decision it made last year that the music group Beastie Boys could use short samples of others' music in its own songs. The practice of "sampling"...

In Tuesday's environmental law news, San Francisco CA officials announced a plan that would close the Hunters Point power plant (owned by Pacific Gas and Electric) by 2006 and the Potrero power plant (owned by Mirant Co.) by 2007....

The UK High Court Tuesday referred a steelworkers' case against the government over lost pensions to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The former workers at Allied Steel and Wire claim the government should have protected their pensions...

AP is reporting that Attorney General John Ashcroft has resigned from the Bush cabinet, along with Commerce Secretary Don Evans. Ashcroft's resignation had been expected by some observers, albeit perhaps not until January. Possible successors include Senator Orrin Hatch,...

On the last day it could file an appeal, the US Department of Justice has asked the US Supreme Court to block the Oregon Death With Dignity Act which allows doctors to help terminally ill patients die more quickly....

Belgium's highest court - Hof van Cassatie in Dutch/Flemish, Cour de cassation in French (official website here) - ruled Tuesday that the Flemish far-right Vlaams Blok party is racist. The ruling, which is final and cannot be appealed, in...

The US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has thrown out a deportation order against a Syrian family which claimed its father would be tortured if returned to Syria. The family, which has lived in the Seattle...

Gay-rights supporters in Georgia have filed a lawsuit over the ban on same-sex marriage voted into the Georgia constitution in last Tuesday's election. The constitutional amendment at issue, which only asked if voters wanted to define marriage as between...

The Sudanese government and Darfur rebels have reached an agreement in principle which will stop hostilities and will guarantee aid groups' access to 1.6 million civilians uprooted by war in the troubled western Sudan region of Darfur. The government...