An American Bar Association report has concluded that representation of indigent defendants in the United States is in a "state of crisis." The report illustrates examples of innocent defendants pleading guilty to serious crimes, most often because of incompetent lawyers and pressure to accept guilty pleas. The ABA has more information , including the full [...]

In Friday's international brief, Nigerian President and current African Union Chairman Olusegun Obasanjo expressed outrage Friday after a plane carrying a Nigerian advance party was diverted from the Togo capital city of Lome and denied permission to land. The Nigerian group was on its way to Lome to meet with Faure Gnassingbe , current President [...]

Lawmakers and interest groups reacted swiftly Thursday to US Senate passage of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 , Leading House Republicans hailed the Senate vote and welcomed the opportunity to take up the bill in the House next week. The US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform similarly praised the passage of [...]

Citing informants in China, a South Korean group has reported that North Korea has executed 70 refugees who were captured in China and subsequently returned to North Korea. The executions are believed to be an attempt to discourage further attempts by North Koreans to leave the country. The Commission to Help North Korean Refugees is [...]

Reaction to Thursday's jury conviction of civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart for assisting client Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman to communicate with his terrorist followers has been somewhat mixed. The National Lawyers Guild to which Stewart belongs quickly condemned the verdict and the message it sent to attorneys that represent unpopular clients, asserting that the "government is [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Friday, Feb. 11. The US Senate and House are not in session today. Both will resume business on Monday, Feb. 14. At the EU, a recorded webcast is available at 9:15 PM local time of a summit earlier Friday between [...]

It was announced Thursday in London that Prince Charles , heir to the British throne and former husband of the late Princess Diana , will marry longtime love Camilla Parker-Bowles . The private nuptials slated for April appear to have been made possible by a legal compromise struck by Charles and other British heads of [...]

In Thursday's international brief, West African regional organization ECOWAS has refused to recognize Faure Gnassingbe as the legitimate leader of Togo and threatened sanctions against the country unless it returned to its prior constitutional process. The Togo National Assembly changed the country's constitution on Sunday to permit Fuare Gnassingbe , son of former president Gnassingbe [...]

In what is to be New England's first execution in 45 years, a Connecticut judge has set a new May 11 execution date for convicted killer Michael Ross and appointed a special counsel to investigate claims by Ross' lawyer and family that Ross is incompetent to waive his remaining his appeals, thus expediting his execution. [...]

S 5, Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, passed by the US Senate February 10, 2005. Read the full text of the bill. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.