An act to amend Section 8314 of, and to add Section 8314.5 to, theGovernment Code, relating to public agencies; passed by the California Senate, January 30, 2006 . Read the full text of the bill . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a stay on the execution of Florida inmate and convicted murderer Arthur Rutherford , who claims that the Florida execution procedure violates Eighth Amendment guarantees against cruel and unusual punishment. The Court will not lift the order until after it decides the case of another Florida death row [...]

The US Second Circuit and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals ruled in two separate decisions Tuesday that the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act is unconstitutional because it does not provide an exception for the health of the mother. The Ninth Circuit struck down the law 3-0 and issued an injunction against its enforcement, while the Second [...]

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report disclosed Tuesday that a set of documents now possessed by Iran is unequivocally intended for use in manufacturing nuclear weapons. The documents, which allegedly explain how "enriched, natural and depleted uranium" is processed "into hemispherical forms," were given to Iran by black market suppliers and [...]

A judge gave final approval Tuesday to a class action settlement jointly proposed by the Diocese of Covington, KY and 361 plaintiffs who alleged they were molested by priests across 75 counties in Kentucky over a 50-year period. The final settlement amount of $85 million was smaller than the estimated settlement of $120 million pre-approved [...]

Digital free speech group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has initiated a class-action lawsuit against AT&T on behalf of California plaintiffs alleging that the company violated their right to privacy as well as several federal statutes when it allowed the National Security Agency (NSA) to use its infrastructure to wiretap US citizens. A December Los Angeles [...]

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori was interrogated for four hours Tuesday as part of Chilean Supreme Court judge Orlando Alvarez's process to determine whether he will recommend his extradition to Peru. Fujimori, who fled to Japan in 2000 following allegations of human rights violations and corruption, was recently barred from running for office in Peru [...]

Members of the UK House of Commons Tuesday narrowly backed amendments to the government's controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill approved by the UK House of Lords last year meant to ensure freedom of speech and exclude simple insults and abuse from the list of punishable offenses. The government had urged MPs to reject the [...]

Tuesday's confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito as the 110th justice of the Supreme Court of the United States has predictably prompted mixed reactions. President Bush congratulated Alito in a statement, once again calling him "a brilliant and fair-minded judge who strictly interprets the Constitution and laws and does not legislate from the bench" and concluding [...]

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire on Tuesday signed into law the landmark gay civil rights act which expands the Washington Civil Rights Act to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in housing, lending and employment. Advocates of the bill, which was approved by the Washington House and Senate last Friday, have been pushing the legislation for [...]