In its latest bi-monthly report on human rights in Iraq the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) Thursday detailed widespread and lengthy detentions of suspected Sunni insurgents, systematic use of torture during interrogations at police stations and other Ministry of the Interior premises, and condemned the Iraqi revival of the death penalty. Although the [...]

Lawyers representing stockholders of Walt Disney Co. are appealing a decision that held that Disney board members did not violate their fiduciary duties or waste company resources when they hired and fired former Hollywood agent Michael Ovitz . Disney shareholders had challenged the decision to give Ovitz a $140 million severance just 14 months after [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Thursday questioned the US administration's approach to detentions at Guantanamo Bay , where almost all detainees have been categorized by Combatant Status Review Tribunals as enemy combatants. During oral arguments, Judge A. Raymond Randolph suggested that the judiciary might have the legal authority to review the [...]

The Egyptian Presidential Election Commission late Thursday rejected a request by leading opposition candidate Ayman Nour to rerun Wednesday's presidential elections after reports of widespread fraud and procedural violations . An early count of votes gives Mubarak the lead in the polls. Reuters has more. The Egyptian Gazette has local coverage in English.

US v. National Associatioon of Realtors, US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Esatern Division, September 67, 2005 . Read the full text of the complaint. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

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. [...]