The Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) has denied recent reports that the trial of Saddam Hussein is imminent, perhaps getting underway in the next two months with the first of 12 specific cases against him . The Tribunal stressed its independence from any political timetable possibly relating to the country's constitution-drafting process, stating "Any appointment to [...]

A New York state housing group claimed in a report released Monday that nearly half of the real estate agencies in New York City's northern suburbs treated blacks and Hispanics unfairly, according to recent tests. The federal Fair Housing Act passed in 1968 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, [...]

New York-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch Tuesday accused the Uzbekistan government of attempting to cover up May a "massacre" in the city of Andijan by blocking an inquiry into the killing of protestors last month by government troops . The group released a report that said many questions about the killings remain unanswered, including [...]

Alaska v. US, United States Supreme Court, June 6, 2005 . Excerpt from the Opinion by Justice Kennedy: In sum we agree with the United States that the proviso is best read, in light of our prior interpretation of it in Alaska (Arctic Coast), as expressing an independent and general rule uncoupled from the initial [...]

Borders, et al. versus King County, et al., oral decision by Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges, June 6, 2005 . Read the full transcribed text of the decision . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Spector et al. v. Norwegian Cruise Lines Ltd., United States Supreme Court, June 6, 2005 . Excerpt from the Opinion by Justice Kennedy: Our cases hold that a clear statement of congressional intent is necessary before a general statutory requirement can interfere with matters that concern a foreign-flag vessel's internal affairs and operations, as contrasted [...]

Gonzales v. Raich, United States Supreme Court, June 6, 2005 . Excerpt from the Opinion by Justice Stevens: Given the enforcement difficulties that attend distinguishing between marijuana cultivated locally and marijuana grown elsewhere, 21 U. S. C. §801(5), and concerns about diversion into illicit channels, we have no difficulty concluding that Congress had a rational [...]

Following up a story reported this morning in JURIST's Paper Chase, states have already begun responding to the US Supreme Court's decision to grant Congress the power to criminalize the growth and use of marijuana for personal medical reasons. In Oregon, officials have stopped issuing medical marijuana cards to qualified citizens. Authorized under the Oregon [...]

A jury in the US District Court of Central California found Monday that computer giant Microsoft , infringed on a 1994 patent owned by Guatamalan inventor Carlos Amado, and ordered the company to pay $9.9 in damages. The jury found that Microsoft added an application that mimicked Amado’s software to its 1995 version of Excel [...]

Lea Fastow, wife of former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow, was released from prison Monday after serving a one year sentence. Fastow, a former assistant treasurer at the Texas corporation, pleaded guilty last June to filing a false federal tax return related to money she and her husband received from Enron financial dealings. Fastow [...]