Martha Stewart agreed on Wednesday to a three-week extension of her home confinement as part of her sentence for lying about a stock sale . Neither Stewart's lawyers or government officials gave a reason for the extension. The New York Post reported Sunday that she had been seen riding in an off-road vehicle on her [...]

Leading Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, Christopher Cox was sworn in as the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission . Cox, who became the 28th chairman of the SEC, took the oath of office from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. The SEC said in a press release that Cox's duties will officially begin [...]

Torture and Secret Detention: Testimony of the "Disappeared" in the "War on Terror," Amnesty International, August 3, 2005 . Excerpt: On 20 June 2005, Amnesty International delegates visited two Yemeni detainees said to have recently been transferred from the US detention facility at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. However, their accounts described another US detention regime [...]

Doe and Rabago v. Kamehameha Schools, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, August 2, 2005 . Excerpt: e agree with Doe and find that the Schools' admissions policy, which operates in practice as an absolute bar to admission for those of the non-preferred race, constitutes unlawful race discrimination in violation of § [...]

US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' responses to questions from the US Senate Judiciary Committee, published by the NY Times on August 2, 2005. Read part 1 and part 2 of the response. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday that two men currently held in a Yemeni prison seem to have been kept in clandestine US detention facilities in solitary confinement for almost two years. The group claims that details of interviews with Salah Nasser Salim 'Ali and Muhammad Faraj Ahmed Bashmilah indicated they were victims of [...]

Leading Wednesday's states brief, North Carolina lawmakers and law enforcement officers today urged the state's General Assembly to pass legislation unveiled seven months ago to combat gang member violence in the state. The bill would create additional felonies and stiffer penalties for gang members, and seek $20 million for gang prevention initiatives and $150,000 for [...]

With new anti-terrorism measures being introduced across Europe in the wake of the London bombings, Sweden's Justice Minister Thomas Bodstrom has said he plans to introduce a bill that would strengthen the military's role in the event of an attack, and give authorities the preventative power to listen in on conversations. His comments were reported [...]

The UK Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority says families and victims of the London bombings will be eligible for the basic benefit of £11,000 ($19,543 USD)with a maximum payout total of £500,000 ($888,542 USD). Howard Webber of the CICA said the payouts should be considered "a token of public sympathy," but other groups have complained that [...]

Iraq legislators accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi oil during a televised debate on Tuesday, the 15th anniversary of the Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. The debate , which did not have any Kuwaiti representatives, also touched on minor border disputes which arose between the two states after the 1991 Gulf War and 1993 boundary drawing [...]