Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Wednesday, April 20. The US Supreme Court hears oral arguments in two cases beginning at 10 AM ET today. In the first, Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences I, Ltd. , 03-1237, the Court will consider whether patent law exceptions for [...]

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee remained stalled Tuesday afternoon on a confirmation vote for US ambassador to the UN nominee John R. Bolton . Republicans continued to move toward a vote on the nomination despite attempts by Democrats to delay the final decision. Republicans control the committee by a 10-8 margin, and voting appeared likely [...]

In Tuesday's environmental law news, US District Judge Emmet Sullivan has refused to block a Washington DC law that bans the shipment of hazardous materials on railroads through the city. He also held yesterday that CSX Transportation and the federal government had not provided evidence that the railroad or rail security would suffer irreparable harm [...]

Rwanda has condemned Burundi for moving a group of Hutu refugees farther from the countries' common border. The Rwandan government said the Hutus were fugitives and Burundi's actions amount to granting them asylum status. About 2,000 refugees have fled across the border recently from local "gacaca" courts set up to try those accused of involvement [...]

Miami-Dade County has agreed to a $6.25 million settlement that applies to thousands of women illegally strip-searched at county correctional facilities, one of the largest civil rights settlements in the county's history. The settlement was approved Monday by a US district court judge. The lawsuit was filed by three women who were strip searched after [...]

The Greek parliament on Tuesday ratified the European constitution , making it the fifth EU nation to sign off on the document. Approval was widely expected by Greece, with 268 lawmakers voting for the treaty and only 17 opposing it. Several opposition legislators called for a referendum on the treaty. Such a process is possible [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday refused to rehear a case in which it held two reporters in contempt for refusing to reveal confidential sources for an investigation into whether a Bush administration official leaked the name of a covert CIA operative. In the case, New York Times [...]

A New York man was arrested on Tuesday after threatening to kill a federal judge and bomb his courthouse. Wazir Khan, 20, was charged with threatening to kill an individual and destroy the Brooklyn federal courthouse, according to federal prosecutors. If convicted, Khan faces up to 10 years a fine of $250,000 on each of [...]

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Tuesday that a proposed Senate rule change to ban filibusters would only apply to the process of confirming judicial nominees , and would not extend into other legislative issues. Fifty votes are needed to approve a rules change that would end Democrats' ability to block President Bush's judicial nominees. [...]

The Delaware Supreme Court Tuesday cleared Oracle Corp.'s top two executives of allegations of insider trading. In a brief two-paragraph opinion , the three-judge Supreme Court panel affirmed without commentary a 2004 Court of Chancery ruling finding that CEO Lawrence J. Ellison and Chairman Jeffrey O. Henley did not breach their duty of loyalty to [...]