Syria appoints judicial committee to investigate Hariri killing News
Syria appoints judicial committee to investigate Hariri killing

[JURIST] Syrian President Bashar Assad [Wikipedia profile] on Saturday formed a special judicial committee to conduct a state investigation into Syrian involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive]. The committee will be led by Syria's prosecutor-general, and will also include the military prosecutor and a judge yet to be named by the justice minister. Syria vigorously disputes the findings of the UN report [text, PDF] that connects the Syrian government with the killings [JURIST report], but has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing UN investigation. Earlier in the week, UN investigator Detlev Mehlis called for Syria to conduct such an investigation to assist with the UN effort; on Wednesday, the US and France proposed a UN resolution [JURIST report] calling for ecomomic sanctions against Syria if they did not fully cooperate with the UN inquiry. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism

November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism [UNITED factsheet]. On November 9, 1924, American gay activist Henry Gerber and several associates formed the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society received a charter from the State of Illinois in December but was disbanded in July 1925 after a police raid which led to Gerber's arrest and trial (albeit not conviction). Pay a virtual visit to Henry Gerber House, now a registered Chicago landmark.

Supreme Court strikes down Massachusetts anti-draft law

On November 9, 1970, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Massachusetts v. Laird not to hear the case of the state's anti-draft law. Massachusetts had passed a law, which allowed its citizens to decline to fight in any undeclared war, even if the person was drafted. The law was passed in opposition to the draft and the war in Vietnam. The First Circuit found the war constitutional and thus struck down the law.