Pakistan lawyers boycott courts to protest chief justice suspension News
Pakistan lawyers boycott courts to protest chief justice suspension

[JURIST] Hundreds of Pakistani lawyers boycotted courts Saturday to protest Friday's suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry [JURIST report] for unspecified misconduct. An estimated 200 lawyers burned images of President Pervez Musharraf [official website; BBC profile] in Karachi. Amir Rana, a nephew of Chaudhry, told AP that the chief justice refused a request by Musharraf to resign and that Chaudhry's "movement has been restricted." Musharraf has directed the Supreme Judicial Council [governing constitutional provisions], the oversight body of Pakistan's judiciary, to investigate the allegations against Chaudhry. The council is expected to hear the case against Chaudhry on Tuesday.

Musharraf suspended Chaudhry Friday "after receiving numerous complaints and serious allegations for misconduct, misuse of authority and actions prejudicial to the dignity of the office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan." The reasons behind the allegations remain uncertain, although various private media outlets have recently accuse Chaudhry of nepotism. Chaudhry assumed the position of chief justice in 2005, and has developed a reputation for being willing to investigate alleged government abuses involving the illegal detention of political activists. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US Supreme Court ruled Indians not US citizens

On November 3, 1884, the US Supreme Court ruled in Elk v. Wilkins that John Elk, an American Indian who had tried to vote in a federal election in Omaha, Nebraska, was not a US citizen entitled to the protection of the 14th and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution. Native Americans became eligible for citizenship in 1887 under the Dawes Act, but only in 1924, under the Indian Citizenship Act, were all Native Americans born in the US made citizens.

Last public execution at Tyburn Gallows in London

On November 3, 1783, the last public execution took place at Tyburn Gallows in London, when John Austin was hanged for highway robbery. From the hanging of William Fitz Osburn in 1196 until Austin's execution, Tyburn served as London's primary location for public executions.

Learn more about the trial of John Austin.