A Pentagon spokesperson has said that US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is authorized to override the new Department of Defense Directive released Tuesday requiring all interrogations of detainees to be conducted in a humane manner. The authority to override the directive comes from the text of the new rule, statingIntelligence interrogations will be conducted [...]

US Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana Jim Letten has announced that his office is conducting a criminal investigation into alleged corruption of individuals involved in the design, construction and maintenance of the flood barriers of the New Orleans levee system, which failed during Hurricane Katrina and led to extensive flooding of the city [...]

Representatives of the NAACP and the ACLU Voting Rights Project testified before the US House Judiciary Committee Wednesday as to how Congress should modify the Voting Rights Act when it comes up for renewal in 2007. The witnesses advocated that Congress modify the "retrogression" standard established in Section 5 of the Act because its current [...]

A federal grand jury has issued 31 new indictments against five former Enron executives, five months after their original case ended in acquittal and mistrial . Among those facing charges are Joseph Hirko, the former co-chief executive of Enron Broadband Services, and Rex Shelby, a technology executive, who face a total of 13 charges , [...]

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against a Michigan law that banned retailers from selling or renting violent video games to minors. US District Judge George Steeh ruled Wednesday that the statute could not be enforced until a lawsuit filed by the Entertainment Software Association on behalf of the gaming industry is resolved. [...]

Kevin Martin , the new chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission , is preparing to release a number of backlogged indecency fines in the coming weeks after months of inaction as agency officials work to speed up the investigation and penalty process. The Commission has been trying to balance First Amendment rights with laws [...]

The United States military has again denied several allegations that forces used white phosphorus against Iraqi civilians during a 2004 military assault on the insurgent-controlled city of Fallujah. The military did, however, confirm a report on Italian state television that coalition forces had used thirty MK 77 firebombs – a weapon with destructive characteristics similar [...]

An Iraqi government spokesman said Thursday that the Iraqi Special Tribunal can appoint new defense lawyers in the cases of former dictator Saddam Hussein and his aides if the current lawyers fail to appear for the next hearing. "Defence lawyers have said they will boycott the next court hearing scheduled for November 28. The High [...]

US v. Joseph Hirko and Rex Shelby, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, November 9, 2005 . Read the full text of the indictment here . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The United States has written the blueprints for a new constitution in Bosnia that aims to create a more centrally governed parliamentary democracy, the Guardian reported Thursday. The text is the result of seven months of secret negotiations between US officials and Bosnian politicians and is said to be fully backed by the US Department [...]