MGM Studios v. Grokster, United States Supreme Court, June 27, 2005 . Excerpt from the opinion, by Justice Souter: We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting [...]

McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky, Supreme Court of the United States, June 27, 2005 . Excerpt from the opinion, by Justice Souter: We hold that the counties' manifest objective may be dispositive of the constitutional enquiry, and that the development of the presentation should be considered when determining its purpose. Read the full text [...]

World Prison Population List, King's College International Centre for Prison Studies, June 27, 2005. Excerpt: Over 9 million people are held in penal institutions throughout the world, mostly as pre-trial detainees (remand prisoners) or having been convicted and sentenced. Almost half of these are in the United States (2.09m), China (1.55m plus pretrial detainees and [...]

After spending the weekend at Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay, US Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ben Nelson (D-NE) told reporters Monday that while closing the military detention center is not necessary, establishing a precise legal status for prisoners and clarifying the rules governing them is. In a statement posted on his website, Nelson noted [...]

New United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres Monday urged countries to grant asylum to refugees rather than seal borders because of fears of terrorism. His call came at the end of a three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan by assistant high commissioner Kamel Morjane, and one week after that nation announced plans to deport a [...]

US Department of Defense officials Monday released a new policy on responsibilities of military healthcare providers to detainees. The memorandum , circulated internally last week , reaffirms standards similar to those used in US federal prisons, indicating that military healthcare personnel have a duty to protect the physical and mental health of detainees, and establishes [...]

Leading Monday's corporations and securities law news, the SEC is investigating IBM , the company announced today. In a press release, IBM said that it received a request to voluntarily comply with the SEC's informal investigation. The inquiry is related to IBM's first-quarter report and how it disclosed methods of expensing employee equity compensation. AP [...]

Six Pakistanis formerly held at Guantanamo Bay told reporters Monday after their release from subsequent detention in a Pakistani prison in Lahore that US personnel at the camp had abused the Koran in their presence. After being greeted by their families the men alleged that American interrogators threw, tore, and otherwise desecrated the holy book [...]

Leading Monday's states brief, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled today that allowing jurors to submit questions to witnesses is not a per se violation of a defendant's right to a fair trial in criminal cases. One defendant's attorney argued that the threat of unfair questions from the jurors should be reason to bar the practice [...]

Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdulmahdi told local leaders in the southern Iraqi province of Nassriya on Monday that some countries are pressing for a delay in the trial of Saddam Hussein. He did not specific which countries, but Iraq's justice minister has previously accused the US of stalling the trial because it has "secrets" to [...]