US Marine Corps Pfc. John J. Jodka pleaded guilty Thursday to assault and obstruction of justice charges in relation to the April 26 death of an Iraqi civilian in Hamdania . Jodka was one of eight military personnel originally charged with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, assault and housebreaking for his role in the death of Hashim [...]

President George W. Bush Thursday signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 authorizing 700 miles of fencing along the US-Mexico border. The legislation represents the second portion of a two-part plan to tackle illegal immigration in the US; the first half of the legislation creates a $34.8 billion fund for tackling immigration issues, including the [...]

Thailand Army Chief Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin , who seized power from former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless military coup in September, admitted Thursday that investigators are struggling to find evidence of corruption, the ostensible reason for Thaksin's overthrow. The investigative commission is finding little evidence to implicate Thaksin, a billionaire telecommunications tycoon, in [...]

A Danish court dismissed a lawsuit Thursday filed by Muslim organizations against the two editors of the Danish newspaper who published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad earlier this year. Worldwide protests among Muslims followed Jyllands-Posten publication of the cartoons, leading to multiple deaths , the burning of Danish embassy buildings , and boycotts of Danish [...]

JURIST Contributing Editor Michael A. Olivas of the University of Houston Law Center says that the Secure Fence Act signed into law by President Bush and authorizing the construction of a 700-mile barrier along part of the US border with Mexico is a shortsighted election-time absurdity that cannot work… I once had a friend who [...]

The US Defense Department said Wednesday that it is considering plans to increase the number of courtrooms at the US prison facility in Guantanamo Bay in order to begin trying suspected terrorists, a proposal that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. DOD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Detainee Affairs Charles "Cully" Stimson said the plans [...]

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has urged Serbians to vote in favor of the country's new constitution in this weekend's referendum, saying a rejection of the charter would have "grave and unforeseeable" consequences for Serbia's future. If approved, the new constitution will make Serbia an independent state for the first time since 1918 and also [...]

A federal judge in Indiana ruled Wednesday that Indiana correctly enforced its statute governing prerecorded messages when it chose to prohibit the Republican-backed Economic Freedom Fund (EFF) from conducting automated attack push polls in the state during the lead-up to the November elections. The Indiana statute prohibits such automated calls unless they are prearranged by [...]

The International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA) in West Hollywood, California, has announced that JURIST has won a W3 Gold Award for website excellence in the Law and Legal Services category for 2006. The W3 Awards – evoking the triple "w" in many addresses on the World Wide Web – honor outstanding websites, web [...]

Lewis v. Harris, Supreme Court of New Jersey, October 25, 2006 . Read the full text of the ruling . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.