Peter Henning, Wayne State University Law School: "The former New England Regional Director of the Republican National Committee, James Tobin, was charged in a four-count indictment on Wednesday, Dec. 1, with conspiracy to make harassing telephone calls to the New Hampshire Democratic headquarters on election day in 2002.  According to the indictment, Tobin worked with [...]

Microsoft announced Thursday that it has filed seven lawsuits against senders of bulk e-mail for violating the federal Can-Spam Act . Microsoft alleges that the defendants violated the law's "brown paper wrapper" requirement by failing to label sexually explicit content. According to Microsoft's press release: The seven lawsuits allege violations of the CAN-SPAM federal law [...]

A Chilean court Thursday stripped former military ruler Augusto Pinochet (profile from BBC News) of his immunity, allowing an investigation into Pinochet's role in the killing of Gen. Carlos Prats to proceed. Thursday's decision is the second case where Pinochet has lost his immunity. As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, a Chilean court ruled [...]

Defense lawyer Joseph Bevilacqua Jr. has acknowledged that he leaked an FBI videotape to Providence, Rhode Island TV reporter Jim Taricani. Taricani was found guilty for criminal contempt for refusing to reveal the source of the tape and was scheduled to be sentenced next week to up to six months jail time. Bevilacqua has said [...]

The High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change appointed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan filed a report Wednesday containing over 100 suggestions for improving the role of the UN in preventing and managing global conflicts. Significantly, the report affirmed the right of nations to practice self-defence, including pre-emptive self-defense when an attack is imminent. [...]

Bank of America announced Thursday that it has asked the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina to dismiss a lawsuit filed against it by insolvent Italian dairy company Parmalat. Enrico Bondi, who was appointed by the Italian government to administer the company under bankruptcy protection, filed the suit in October seeking [...]

Sweden's Supreme Court Thursday reinstated the life sentence of the man convicted of murdering Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh in a Stockholm department store last year. Mijailo Mijailovic received the life sentence in March, but an appeals court later overturned the sentence, saying that Mijailovic should be transferred to a psychiatric facility instead. The Supreme [...]

US District Judge Joyce Hens Green heard arguments Wednesday on whether Guantanamo Bay detainees have the right to challenge their detention in federal court. Lawyers for the government told Judge Green that prisoners deemed "enemy combatants" have no constitutional right to be heard in court. Lawyers for the detainees argued that Judge Green should declare [...]

Legal maneuvers in the Ukraine electoral crisis multiplied late Wednesday and Thursday as the country awaited the Supreme Court's ruling over the opposition's appeal on electoral fraud in the recent Presidential poll, which opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko has said he expects later today. Wednesday's parliamentary vote of no-confidence in the government first appeared to put [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Thursday, December 2. The US House and Senate are in recess. The US House will reconvene on Monday, December 6 at 2 PM. The US Senate will reconvene on Tuesday, December 7 at 9:30 AM. The trial of Slobodan Milosevic [...]