The FBI announced Monday that over 7400 hate crime incidents were reported in 2003. The total, which includes 14 murders, is mostly made up of intimidation, vandalism, and property destruction. The nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center indicates these incidents range from spray-painting of swastikas and racial slurs on people's property to menacing with guns and [...]

Jim Maule, Villanova University School of Law: "Well, the Congress has itself in a fine mess of hot water this time around. Readers of this blog know that I'm no fan of how Congress does business nor of most of what it generates. According to reports proliferating throughout web and print press (CNN, New York [...]

Jack Chin, University of Arizona College of Law: "Citing a poll indicating that 70% of Texans believe innocent people have been executed, a Texas representative proposed a moratorium on executions pending study of the DNA and capital punishment system; attending the press conference was Kirk Bloodsworth, the first death row inmate exonerated by DNA.  Another [...]

The ruling Fatah faction of the Palestinian Authority has chosen Mahmoud Abbas as its candidate in the January 9 election to replace Yasser Arafat, whom Abbas, 69, served as for many years as deputy of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Abbas has already been named to lead the PLO. AP has more.

The health of Chief Justice William Rehnquist remains largely a mystery since the disclosure several weeks ago that the nation's top jurist has thyroid cancer, but several upcoming events may serve as an indicator of the status of Rehnquist's condition, chief among which is the January inauguration of President Bush's second term. If Rehnquist, who [...]

In Monday's corporations and securities law news, Nevada Power Company has filed a federal lawsuit against several investment banking firms, including Citigroup, JP Morgan Securities and Barclays Bank, claiming they conspired with Enron Corp. to manipulate power markets. Nevada Power claims it lost over $200 million from overcharging for electricity from Enron. Paper Chase has [...]

NASD's National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) on Monday permanently barred Frank Quattrone from working in the securities industry in any capacity for refusing to testify about his possible involvment in document destruction and obstruction of justice while at Credit Suisse First Boston. The decision overrules that of an earlier hearing panel, which had decided merely to [...]

The outcome of a pending lawsuit may decide the San Diego mayoral election. Incumbent Dick Murphy finished with 2,205 more votes than Councilwoman Donna Frye, according to the San Diego Registrar of Voters. However, the League of Women Voters has brought an action contending that thousands of voters wrote in Frye's name, but failed to [...]

The US Senate has passed a bill increasing penalties for certain violations of copyright. The provisions, included in legislation approved, Saturday set up to three years in prison for those who videotape movies while in the theater, and stiff penalties for those who leak music or movies before their official release date. Also of note [...]

Civil Rights Enforcement by the Bush Administration, Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University, released November 21, 2004 . Read the text of the report here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.