State of New Jersey v. John O'Hagen, Superior Court of New Jersey, Appeals Division, September 7, 2005 . Excerpt: The minimal intrusion resulting from the collection of a DNA sample is substantially outweighed by the state's need to deter and detect recidivist offenders and the public's interest in promptly identifying and accurately prosecuting the actual [...]

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Thursday night postponed the demolition of synagogues in the evacuated Gaza Strip despite an Israeli High Court decision earlier Thursday to permit the destruction of synagogues that could not be dismantled . Following Israeli disengagement , Gaza is now under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority . Sharon complied with [...]

Emergency Suspension of Prescription, Peremption and Other Legal Deadlines, Executive Order KBB 2005-32, Governor Kathleen Blanco, September 6, 2005. Excerpt: All deadlines in legal proceedings, including liberative prescriptive and peremptive periods in all courts, administrative agencies, and boards are hereby suspended until at least September 25, 2005, including, but not limited to, any such deadlines [...]

A US military spokesman said Thursday that a hunger strike of prisoners at the US terror-suspect detention camp at Guantanamo Bay has entered its second month. Some prisoners are now being force-fed via tubes and through medical assistance. The number of hunger strikers has risen to 87 – a week ago, before new hunger strikers [...]

In Thursday's environmental law news, California has joined 14 other states suing the US Department of Energy (DOE) , alleging that the agency is 6 to 13 years behind schedule in updating efficiency standards for some household and commercial appliance categories and has failed to issue any new efficiency standards at all since January 2001. [...]

On a visit to the stricken Gulf Coast region with Vice President Dick Cheney, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Thursday outlined priorities for a new Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force set up in the Justice Department to deter, investigate and prosecute disaster-related federal crimes like charity and insurance fraud, identity theft, and government benefit fraud. [...]

US Immigration Judge Kenneth Hurewitz has ruled that Basuyouy Mamdouh Ebaid should not be deported because he would likely be tortured in his native Egypt. Ebaid was found on a terrorist watch list for praising Osama bin Laden and suicide bombers after police arrested him for selling liquor to minors in his restaurant. Although Ebaid [...]

Swiss authorities have announced that they are investigating four people in connection with the now defunct UN Oil-for-Food program , all of whom are suspected of money laundering and bribery. The four suspects have not been identified, but are said to be non-Swiss citizens who have had their assets in Swiss bank accounts frozen. AP [...]

Leading Thursday's states brief, the Washington Supreme Court ruled today that lawmakers did not violate the state constitution or a teacher-pay initiative by eliminating state financing for one of three paid non-classroom "learning improvement days." The lawsuit, filed by the Washington Education Association and teachers and taxpayers from several districts, argued that the move violated [...]

The Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice on Thursday sued the National Association of Realtors , claiming the organization blocked competition by allowing real estate agents to withhold listings from brokers who utilized the Internet when providing customer service. Though the association announced a modified approach Thursday, the new steps failed to fend [...]