Washington-based Alliance for Justice has urged an investigation of Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) , chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, claiming he violated ethics rules by trying to influence an appeals court decision in Chicago. Nan Aron, president of Alliance for Justice, made the request in a letter dated Wednesday to the Chairman of the [...]

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) responded Thursday to documents US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts produced while working at the Justice Department and White House counsel's office during the Reagan administration, stating they "certainly raise some questions in my mind about his commitment" to civil rights. Specifically, Kennedy commented that Roberts has a "rather cramped view" [...]

Report to the Secretary-General of the Commission of Experts to Review the Prosecution of Serious Violations of Human Rights in Timor-Leste (then East Timor) in 1999, United Nations, released July 27, 2005 . Read the full text of the report here . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The American Bar Association (ABA) is revisiting the recommendation it gave for US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts when he was nominated for the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in 2001 to determine if it will suffice as a stricter Supreme Court recommendation. The ABA's process includes interviewing more that 1,000 individuals [...]

The UK-based Muslim Safety Forum (MSF) said Thursday that Muslim groups are reporting that attacks on religious minorities and Asians have grown over 500 percent since the London bombings on July 7 and July 21 . Over 230 religious crimes have been reported to London police since the bombings and an MSF spokesperson said the [...]

The leader of the Texas Minuteman Civil Defense Corps , the volunteer illegal immigration patrol, resigned Thursday after accusing members in the city of Goliad of being racist. Bill Parmley had been organizing a plan to uncover illegals in Houston and other Texas areas this October, but was also working to ensure that the Hispanic [...]

The committee drafting the Iraqi constitution has until Monday to request an extension if necessary and members will meet that day to decide the issue, according to a committee spokesman. The final constitution is actually not due until August 15, but the deadline of August 1 to request a six-month extension may prove material as [...]

Leading Thursday's corporations and securities law news, the US Senate Banking Committee has approved Rep. Christopher Cox 's nomination to head the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) . The nomination will now go before the full Senate for final approval. The approval followed days of questioning where Cox vowed to vigorously enforce SEC regulations . [...]

Leading Thursday's states brief, New Jersey Acting Governor Richard J. Codey has ordered the state's Attorney General to file suit against Delaware in the US Supreme Court over British Petroleum's plans to build a liquefied natural gas plant on New Jersey's side of the Delaware River. While the plant to be built on New Jersey's [...]

Republican lawmakers in the Senate on Thursday agreed to delay the Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005 , a bill limiting the rights of death row inmates to extend appeals in federal courts, because of strong Democratic opposition. The bill would limit the ability of prisoners on death row to have their cases reviewed by federal [...]