A trial court judge in Ohio ruled Wednesday that the state's new constitutional amendment banning gay marriage prevents domestic violence charges from being filed against unmarried people. Ohio's domestic violence law was not limited to married people. The public defender of the accused, however, argued Ohio's constitution prohibits any state or local law which "creates [...]

Schiavo v. Schiavo, emergency petition for stay pending filing and disposition of a writ of certiorari, Supreme Court of the United States, March 23, 2005 . Excerpt: On Sunday, March 20, 2005, the House and Senate convened in anextraordinary, and unprecedented, Sunday session to pass a bill that expressly provides that there will be a [...]

The British government persisted Thursday in refusing to disclose the full legal advice it received from Attorney General Lord Goldsmith on the Iraq war despite disclosure of a previously blanked-out text in the 2003 resignation letter of a Foreign Office legal advisor that said he had changed his mind over the legality of the conflict. [...]

Lawyers for the parents of brain-damaged Florida woman Terri Schiavo filed a final appeal with the US Supreme Court Wednesday night after the US Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals refused an en banc rehearing of their case . The emergency petition for stay pending hearing of a petition for certiorari appears to have been put [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Thursday, March 24. The US Senate and US House are in recess until April 4. American University Washington College of Law will hold a forum on the Geneva Conventions today. Sessions will run from 9 AM to 6 PM ET. [...]

In re Schiavo v. Schindler, Petition/Motion for Intervention, Florida Department of Children and Families, Circuit Court for Pinellas County, March 23, 2005 . Read the full text of the DCF petition here . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The government of Florida and a Florida judge engaged in a last-minute legal tussle late Wednesday as the state made what could be its final bid to restore Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. At a press conference held while the Florida Senate was still debating legislation that might have authorized tube reconnection , Governor Jeb Bush [...]

Yuen, et al. v. Gemstar TV Guide International, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Circuit Judge Trott, March 22, 2005 . Excerpt: We conclude that the district court was correct in its understanding of the meaning of "extraordinary payments" and in the application of that flexible standard to the facts and circumstances [...]

United States v. Sczubelek, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, March 21, 2005 . Excerpt: ven if collecting DNA samples were beyond the probation office's supervisory function — and we do not believe that it is — it does not necessarily follow that there is a separation of powers violation. There would [...]

France and the United States locked diplomatic horns behind closed doors in the UN Security Council Wednesday over which court should try war criminals from the long-troubled Darfur region of Sudan. France, along with eight of the other 15 Security Council members, favors the new International Criminal Court in The Hague; the US, which has [...]