In the wake of Tuesday's election, which saw 11 states ban gay marriage, two Oklahoma lesbian couples have filed a federal lawsuit challenging both their state's ban and the federal Defense of Marriage act. The plaintiffs–one couple that has cohabited for eight years and another that was joined in a Vermont civil union in 2001–argue [...]

The Republican lawmaker expected to head the Senate Judiciary Committee early next year has issued a stern warning to President Bush against appointing Supreme Court justices who would seek to overturn abortion rights, or who are otherwise too conservative to sit on the high court. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), a moderate Republican who will likely [...]

Taiwan's High Court ended seven months of debate and controversy Thursday by refusing to nullify the country's March presidential election, rejecting opposition claims of fraud and complaints about a shooting that injured President Chen Shui-bian just one day before his narrow victory. The investigations associated with the challenge placed a substantial test before one of [...]

CBC News is reporting that, according to reports on Israeli television, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has died in Paris. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on the succession process detailed in the Palestinian Constitution. UPDATE: According to the latest updates from Haaertz, the spokesman from the French hospital where Arafat has received treatment has said that [...]

Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who is on trial for last year's hotel bombing in Bali, has called his trial a joke Thursday, saying that the US and Australia are masterminding his trial. Bashir, who is alleged to be the spiritual leader of militant Islamic network Jemaah Islamiah, faces multiple charges including conspiring, planning and [...]

Lawyers for convicted DC sniper John Allen Muhammad have told the Virginia Supreme Court that Muhammad cannot be sentenced to death because he did not pull the trigger in the 2002 killings. As reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, Muhammad received the death penalty after being convicted of two counts of capital murder. In arguments before [...]

Florida's Supreme Court is considering whether to restore a $145 billion class action verdict awarded to sick Florida smokers in their suit against the tobacco industry. After the two-year trial, Florida's 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled that its early certification of the case as a class action on behalf of 300,000 to 700,000 ill [...]

Elections officials will begin counting provisional ballots Thursday in Ohio and around the country. Due to John Kerry's concession speech Wednesday (reported here on JURIST's Paper Chase) and President Bush's acceptance speech (text from the White House), the ballots will not impact the presidential election, but could still affect the results of other races. AP [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Thursday, Nov. 4. C-SPAN's Washington Journal takes a look at how President Bush's election victory could shape the Supreme Court over his next term. Watch a live webcast beginning at 7:45 AM ET (via C-SPAN). The US House and Senate [...]

Proposition 69, State of California, November 2, 2004 . Read the full text of the Proposition here . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.