In a second opinion handed down Tuesday morning, the US Supreme Court held that federal law governs maritime contracts when the dispute is not inherently local, that a broadly written clause limiting liability in a bill of lading can be extended to cover multiple forms of transportation, and that when an intermediary contracts with a [...]

In a decision handed down Tuesday morning, the US Supreme Court has ruled that a conviction for drunk driving that results in serious bodily injury is not a "crime of violence" that constitutes an "aggravated felony" under the Immigration and Nationality Act and therefore can't lead to the deportation of a permanent resident involved in [...]

An Irish judge ruled Tuesday that a lesbian couple who were married in Canada last year can seek state recognition of their marriage. The couple is seeking to force Ireland's tax-collection agency to allow them to file as a married couple. High Court Justice Liam McKechnie ruled that the case merited a full hearing and [...]

A UN-appointed commission of inquiry has begun its work to determine whether acts of genocide have occurred in Sudan's Darfur region. The five-member commission was established by Secretary-General Kofi Annan under Security Council Resolution 1564 to "investigate reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Darfur by all parties, to determine [...]

Conservative Republicans are calling for Republicans on the US Senate Judiciary Committee to block Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's bid to become chairman of the committee. Specter sparked controversy last week by warning President Bush against appointing Supreme Court justices who would seek to overturn abortion rights (see this report on JURIST's Paper Chase). Although no [...]

The US Justice Department has responded to yesterday's district court ruling that the Guantanamo military commission proceedings are unlawful (reported here on JURIST's Paper Chase) by saying it will seek an emergency stay of the ruling and will immediately appeal. US District Judge James Robertson ruled Monday that the military commission proceedings against Salim Ahmed [...]

Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins, the two lawyers appointed to defend former Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic in his war crimes trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, asked the court Tuesday to be dismissed as Milosevic's standby defense counsel. As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, the ICTY appeals chamber ruled last [...]

SEC Commissioners will vote Tuesday on whether to publish for public comment several proposed rules on the governance, ownership structure and required disclosures for national securities exchanges and registered securities associations that are self-regulating. The proposed rules were formulated following allegations of widespread violations by trading firms at the New York Stock Exchange and government [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Tuesday, Nov. 9. The US Supreme Court will hear 10 AM ET oral arguments in the consolidated case of Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma v. Thompson and Thompson v. Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (case summary from Duke Law School). In that [...]

Salim Ahmed Hamden v. Donald H. Rumsfeld, United States District Court of the District of Columbia, Judge James Robertson, November 8, 2004. Excerpt: Salim Ahmed Hamdan petitions for a writ of habeas corpus, challenging the lawfulness of the Secretary of Defense's plan to try him for alleged war crimes before a military commission convened under [...]