The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to fast-track the state's appeal of a lower court ruling striking down a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. Oral arguments are scheduled for June 27. Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) said earlier this month that Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker would seek expedited review of [...]

An appeals court in Uzbekistan on Tuesday upheld an eight-year prison term for human rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva , even though prosecutors had recommended a more lenient sentence. Tojiboyeva, a prominent critic of Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov and head of the group Ardent Hearts, was detained in October as she prepared to leave for an [...]

Ireland broke European law by asking the United Nations to arbitrate its claim against the United Kingdom in respect of the Sellafield nuclear power plant , an EU court ruled Tuesday. Ireland sought arbitration from a UN tribunal in 2001, claiming that the UK violated the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea by [...]

AP is reporting that a jury in Rockville, Md. has convicted Washington, D.C.-area sniper John Allen Muhammad of six counts of murder. The jurors heard four weeks of testimony in the trial, in which Muhammad represented himself . Muhammad has already been convicted and sentenced to death in Virginia for shootings there. Maryland prosecutors are [...]

The criminal justice system in Kosovo is failing, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tuesday in a report focusing on the criminal justice response to renewed violence between Serbs and ethnic Albanians that broke out in March 2004 in the UN-administered territory still nominally part of Serbia. Despite almost seven years under international administration, HRW concluded [...]

Thailand's Cabinet on Tuesday approved October 15 as the date for new elections just three weeks after the country's Constitutional Court annulled last month's parliamentary elections , finding that the Election Commission unconstitutionally organized the vote too soon after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dismissed parliament, leaving new candidates little time to prepare. Earlier this month, [...]

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday granted certiorari in Philip Morris USA v. Williams , 05-1256, a case involving the damages awarded in a wrongful death action against Philip Morris brought by the relatives of a longtime smoker. Earlier this year, the Oregon Supreme Court upheld a jury award of $80 million in punitive damages [...]

A group that opposes South Dakota's abortion ban announced Tuesday that it has gathered more than enough signatures to prevent the July 1 enactment of the law and place it on the ballot in November. The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families said its volunteers had gathered more than 37,000 signatures and planned to present [...]

US Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) , chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee , said Tuesday that he intends to draft legislation that would shield congressional documents and materials from being seized in searches similar to the FBI raid on the congressional office of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) earlier this month. Speaking during the committee's [...]

Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said Tuesday that he is willing to revise Australia's new sedition laws , particularly the use of the word "sedition," after the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) released a discussion paper Monday arguing that "sedition" implies a threat to free speech . He indicated, however, that he will not act on [...]