UPDATE ~ CIA contractor found guilty of detainee abuse News
UPDATE ~ CIA contractor found guilty of detainee abuse

[JURIST] A federal jury sitting in Raleigh, North Carolina on Thursday found David Passaro [Raleigh News and Observer materials] guilty of abusing a detainee in Afghanistan [JURIST report]. The jury convicted Passaro on three misdemeanor counts of simple assault and one felony count of assault resulting in bodily injury, after prosecutors charged [indictment] him with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault resulting in a serious injury under the USA Patriot Act [JURIST news archive]. The jury reached a partial verdict [JURIST report] Wednesday, but the verdict was sealed until the jury came to a full consensus on all the charges.

Last year, US District Judge Terrence Boyle [official profile] ruled that prosecutors could charge Passaro under the Patriot Act, saying that the US can charge nationals with crimes committed at facilities used by the US government. Passaro was charged [JURIST report] with abusing Afghan detainee Abdul Wali [Wikipedia profile] in 2004, and is the first and only civilian to be tried in connection with detainee abuse in Iraq or Afghanistan. Passarro faces a maximum of 11.5 years in prison. AP has more. The Raleigh News & Observer has local coverage.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

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On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.