Russian state oil company Rosneft announced Thursday that it had bought 100% of Baikal Finance Group, the mysterious entity that last weekend purchased the production arm of Russian oil giant Yukos for over $9B despite temporary restraining order from a US bankruptcy court. The Rosneft purchase effectively expropriates the core of Yukos, from which the [...]

After hearing two days of oral argument on the constitutionality of California same-sex marriages, Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer asked Thursday for written arguments to be submitted to him by January 14. After submission, he will have up to 90 days to make a ruling in the case, which could take it into April and [...]

Ellen Podgor, Georgia State University College of Law: "AP wires report that Former Governor Rowland of Connecticut pled guilty to one count of conspiracy with the specific offense being a deprivation of honest services. The AP story notes that "he plea deal ends the two-year-long investigation into corruption in the administration of Rowland, who resigned [...]

AP is reporting that Democrat Christine Gregoire has won the Washington governor's race by 130 votes over Republican Dino Rossi, with all votes from King County counted per Wednesday's Washington state Supreme Court ruling. 7:45 PM ET – View the final recount results on the Washington Secretary of State's election website.

President Bush indicated Thursday he would re-nominate some 20 individuals for federal judgeships whose confirmations were directly or indirectly blocked by Democrats in the last Congress who considered them too right-wing on a range of legal and social issues. Read a full statement by White House press secretary Scott McClellan listing the Court of Appeals [...]

AP is reporting that former CT Gov. John G. Rowland has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of corruption. The Hartford Courant has more on the expected plea announcement (registration required). Previously on JURIST's Paper Chase…. Aide to former Connecticut governor John Rowland charged Grand jury reconvenes in former CT governor case; indictments expected Adviser [...]

The editor of the report on freedom and governance in Arab countries has accused the US of blocking the report's publication due to objections over sections on Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nader Fergani, the editor of the Arab Human Development Report, said the US had threatened to pull its funding from the UN Development [...]

Arguments in the San Francisco same-sex marriage case continue for a second day Thursday in front of San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer. The two sides sparred Wednesday, with gay rights advocates arguing that the state no longer had a legitimate reason for limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples, and a state attorney arguing that [...]

The British government has said that it will not oppose a citizens' group if it seeks an injunction of a hunting ban set to take effect in February. The Countryside Alliance has said it will challenge the ban in court, and if it loses, it will seek an injunction to delay the ban. Some called [...]

The US 1st Circuit Court of Appeals has refused a request to reconsider its ruling that the Puerto Rican Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the territory's disputed governor's election. The court refused Wednesday to rehear the case en banc or for the judges who originally decided the case to reconsider their ruling. Former Gov. Pedro [...]