As anticipated in JURIST's Paper Chase, Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded not guilty Monday to conspiracy and wire fraud charges arising from a casino cruise line deal. Abramoff was indicted earlier this month along with business partner Adam Kidan for allegedly defrauding two lenders of $60 million to buy San Cruz Casinos. Abramoff, once a [...]

JURIST Contributing Editor William G. Ross, Professor of Law at Samford University's Cumberland School of Law in Alabama, says that in his upcoming Senate confirmation hearing US Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. may not reveal how he'll decide particular legal questions, but that doesn't mean that the questioning process itself won't be interesting [...]

Leading Monday's states brief, the Utah Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow on whether former lesbian Keri Lynn is legally entitled to a parental relationship with a child born to a former girlfriend, when the child's biological mother objects. Utah has previously allowed visitation by divorced stepparents, but US Supreme Court decisions have stressed [...]

A New Jersey judge Monday rejected a motion by drugmaker Merck to postpone its scheduled second trial in connection with its Vioxx painkiller, pulled off the market last year after it was found to increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes in some users. Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee said that a $253 million [...]

JURIST is looking for talented, public-service oriented law students from law schools in the US and abroad to join our team of real-time legal news editors this fall. From Los Angeles to London, from Chicago to Cairo – if you're a law student looking for intensive research, writing and editing experience and your own byline [...]

Attorneys for US citizen Ahmed Abu Ali were ordered Momday to produce expert reports to support his claim that he was abused while in Saudi custody. US District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee directed Ali's lawyers to file medical reports to corroborate his claim that he was physically mistreated after his 2003 arrest in Saudi Arabia [...]

Arguments over Kenya's draft constitution have intensified after former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi spoke out in opposition to the document over the weekend, saying it would cause "animosity and distrust" in the country. Religious groups have also opposed the proposals championed by current President Mwai Kibaki , arguing that the draft released early last [...]

China's Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) has ratified the international World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control , created earlier this year as the first international legal means to lessen tobacco-related deaths and diseases. The treaty creates a national regulation in China banning tobacco vending machines; prohibits radio, television, internet, [...]

The former chairman of Egypt's largest state-owned newspaper allegedly took millions of dollars in secret payments, according to a report by Cairo's El-Osboa newspaper . Ibrahim Nafie became chairman of the Al-Ahram press group in 1979 and allegedly gave himself $14,400 daily from the distribution and advertising budgets, and threw yearly birthday parties costing the [...]

The New Mexico Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a lawsuit filed by 2004 presidential candidates David Cobb and Michael Badnarik . Attorneys for Cobb and Badnarik argued that New Mexico election officials deliberately obstructed justice by giving counties permission to clear electronic voting machines while their demand for a recount of New Mexico's [...]