Transcript of witness testimony at the confirmation hearings for Judge John Roberts, Jr., nominated to be Chief Justice of the United States, US Senate Judiciary Committee, September 15, 2005. Read the prepared statements of the witnesses. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The UN on Friday evacuated 11 Uzbek refugees to London after they fled to Kyrgyzstan following deadly riots that erupted in Andijan last spring. The 11 refugees were accused of terrorism by the Uzbekistan government, but the UN plans to relocate them to Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. Human rights groups have said that as [...]

The New Jersey Republican Party has called on NJ Attorney General Peter Harvey to investigate widespread election irregularities it said it discovered in its own four-month probe. According to Republican State Committee Chairman Tom Wilson, more than 6,500 voters cast ballots in New Jersey and another state and 4,755 votes were cast by deceased people [...]

The Nepalese army has resorted to systematic torture to gain intelligence and confessions in its continuing fight against Maoist rebels in the country, the Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights said Friday. Special Rapporteur Manfred Nowak, who has been investigating claims of abuse for the past week in the country, said there [...]

A federal judge on Friday gave US Airways the green light to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy , a little more than a year after the beleaguered airline sought protection. The approval clears the way for the airline to complete its merger with America West by late this month or early October. The bankruptcy was [...]

In Friday's environmental law news, four states have sued the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for failing to impose effective controls against invasive wood-eating beetles. New York, California, Connecticut and Illinois filed a lawsuit which alleges that the USDA does not do enough to prevent the Asian long-horned beetle , emerald ash borer , and [...]

Educational institutions across the United States took up the subject of the US Constitution for a day Friday, each with their own twist. The nationwide history lesson for students in schools and universities marks the first Constitution Day held as required by an amendment added to a 2004 spending bill by Sen. Robert Byrd , [...]

SB 1, modifying laws relating to abortion, signed into law by Missouri Governor Matt Blunt September 15, 2005 . Read the full text of the law here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

A German state court in Stuttgart ruled Thursday that a federal prosecutor is not required to bring war crimes charges against US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in connection with abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 and 2004. Federal Prosecutor Kay Nehm dismissed the complaint in February on the grounds that law only [...]

Documents regarding the treatment of US-held detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, released to the public by the ACLU on September 15, 2005 pursuant to a FOIA request . Read the full text of the reports here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.