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By Ellen Goodman, Patricia O'Brien $18.85
By Robert Scheer
$20
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 AP/Evan Vucci
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Pleading guilty to fraud and facing as many as five years in prison, former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. tearfully acknowledged Wednesday that he was losing one of the rights for which his father fought.
Posted on Feb 20, 2013
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 Flickr/Scott*
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Despite the Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling that it is unconstitutional to put someone who is mentally handicapped to death, the state of Georgia is planning to execute a man with an IQ of 70 on Tuesday evening.
Posted on Feb 19, 2013
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 Flickr/Ralph Nader
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By Thomas Hedges, Center for Study of Responsive Law —
Nader is suing the Federal Election Commission for not investigating the law firms that allegedly worked on behalf of the Democratic National Committee in a coordinated effort to obstruct his bid for the presidency in 2004.
Posted on Jan 19, 2013
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 Flickr/SalFalko
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A California appeals court has decided that an 18-year-old woman technically wasn’t raped by a man who had sex with her while she was asleep because he was pretending to be her boyfriend. But if the woman had been married and the man had been impersonating her husband? The court acknowledged the outcome would have been different.
Posted on Jan 4, 2013
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 Flickr / 7bikeframesweldedtogether
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Credit card companies are increasingly turning to the legal system in their rush to collect money that is owed to them. But, there now exists a very big problem in this litigious-happy practice—nearly all these lawsuits may be flawed.
Posted on Aug 13, 2012
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 ABCNews.com
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James Holmes, the man suspected of going on a deadly shooting rampage inside a Colorado movie theater at a midnight showing of the new Batman film, faced a judge for the first time on Monday.
Posted on Jul 23, 2012
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 Scott Ableman (CC-BY)
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You already knew it was happening, but The New York Times points to internal documents to confirm that police departments across the country are using cellphone-tracking technology aggressively in all kinds of investigations, often without a court order or judicial oversight.
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 Eflon (CC-BY)
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A federal judge will not accept the SEC’s settlement with Citigroup for defrauding its customers of more than $700 million in just one of the firm’s lousy investment opportunities. (more)
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 AP / Reed Saxon
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By Bill Blum — Meet the woman who spent 22 years working alone and without pay to set free a convicted serial killer who, in all likelihood, is innocent.
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 Ken Mayer (CC-BY)
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A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Court of Appeals in Virginia ruled in favor of the health care reform law Thursday, dismissing two suits. (more)
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 Flickr / RamyRaoof (CC-BY)
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The criminal trial of Hosni Mubarak, televised for all the Arab world to see, began Wednesday with the once-powerful, longtime autocratic ruler of Egypt denying all formal charges against him of corruption and of complicity in the killing of protesters. (more)
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 AP / Louis Lanzano
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A state Supreme Court justice in Manhattan officially released Dominique Strauss-Kahn from house arrest Friday after hearing that prosecutors have serious issues with the hotel housekeeper whose credibility has been, until now, the cornerstone of their case. (more)
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — As if our political system was not having enough trouble already, we now confront the possibility that a highly partisan judiciary will undo a modest health care reform that is a first step toward resolving a slew of other difficulties.
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 Flickr / FreeTheHikers
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Trial has begun in Tehran for two of three American hikers accused of espionage after blundering across the border into Iran. The third hiker, Sarah Shourd, was freed on bail last September and is back in the United States.
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 AP / Rodridgo Abd
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Justice is coming to Guatemala, as former President Alfonso Portillo has gone on trial in Guatemala City, accused of embezzling a cool $15 million.
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 altoarizona.com
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The anti-immigration SB 1070 will soon have its day in court. Arizona’s toxic new law is on the docket of a federal appeals court in San Francisco for Monday. The justices are expected to consider what exactly is the role of state and local authorities in immigration issues.
Posted on Oct 30, 2010
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 Flickr / Ranoush (CC-BY-SA)
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France’s highest court has upheld a law banning facial veils in public, with supporters claiming it will protect women’s rights while critics say it abridges religious freedom.
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 Flickr / Philippe Put (CC-BY-ND)
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You know how financial institutions have a way of wielding fine print like a weapon? Well it turns out that when it comes to foreclosures, many of the nation’s lenders are either willfully ignoring procedure or are woefully incompetent at paperwork. Take your pick.
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 Flickr / Norbert Blech (CC-BY)
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A Florida appeals court has struck down that state’s draconian ban on gay adoption, the only explicit prohibition against adoptive gay parents in the country. The court really had no choice, since there’s nothing wrong with gay parents and they appear to raise superior children.
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 Flickr / notsogoodphotography (CC-BY)
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Twenty-eight-year-old German singer Nadja Benaissa faces prison time for allegedly having unprotected sex with multiple partners without informing them that she has the virus that causes AIDS.
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 Flickr / ThreadedThoughts (CC-BY-ND)
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U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton decided Wednesday that SB 1070’s most controversial bits, such as requiring immigrants to carry papers wherever they go, will have to wait until the courts can sort out the mess. As written, the law, which was set to take effect Thursday, would restrict the liberty of “lawfully-present aliens,” the judge said.
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 youtube.com
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The Los Angeles jury hearing the case of the BART cop who killed an unarmed Oakland man on New Year’s Day 2009 went with the least serious of three possible charges, convicting the former officer of involuntary manslaughter. He faces two to four years in prison.
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 Flickr / CarbonNYC (CC-BY)
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A U.S. district judge in Massachusetts decided in two separate cases that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act signed into law by Bill Clinton encroaches on the states’ right to regulate marriage and violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
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 Flickr / Tim PopUp (CC-BY-SA)
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Federal prosecutors claimed Thursday that one of the alleged Russian spies confessed to working for the Russian foreign intelligence service. Uncle Sam is trying to keep the accused in custody, fearing they might otherwise try to flee, armed no doubt with bullet pens, microdots and perhaps even a briefcase jetpack.
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 Collage based on photo by Flickr user bgilliard (CC-BY-SA)
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Citing the specter of terrorism, an appeals court overturned a decision that would have forced New York City to turn over documents detailing the surveillance of demonstrators, street performers and other ne’er-do-wells who may have threatened the 2004 Republican convention ... and our national security, of course.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — Brace yourself for several months of occasionally biting but essentially meaningless political theater over the nomination of Solicitor General Kagan to the Supreme Court.
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 White House / Chuck Kennedy
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By Ruth Marcus — The first woman to be dean of Harvard Law School. The first woman to be solicitor general. But: the fourth woman, if Elena Kagan is confirmed, on the Supreme Court.
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The Danish cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad inspired more than death threats. A Dutch cartoon mocking the Holocaust was published in response and the group responsible was taken to court for being offensive. (continued)
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By Joe Conason — A serious debate on “constitutional issues” might reveal our fundamental differences: Republican extremists would use the Supreme Court to prohibit every social and political advance since before the Civil War.
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By Ruth Marcus — Bullying should be taken seriously—by teachers, administrators, parents and, yes, fellow students. I’m doubtful, though, that criminal prosecution is the best way to punish or prevent it.
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 Flickr / HeatedGroundPhotography
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Lagging a few years behind the liberal media, public opinion and common sense, the justice system has come to the conclusion that President George W. Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program broke the rules. (continued)
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 Flickr user k.a.i.
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Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court has rejected cuts to the welfare state, ruling that all citizens, even the poor, have a right to a “minimum level of participation in social, cultural, and political life.” That’s a much higher standard than providing for food and other basic needs.
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By Amy Goodman — An unusual trial begins in Israel this week, and people around the world will be watching closely. It involves the tragic death of a 23-year-old American student named Rachel Corrie. On March 16, 2003, she was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer.
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 Flickr
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In a referendum in which 70 percent voted “no,” the people of Switzerland have decided against a proposed law that would have assigned lawyers to defend animals in court. In its defense, Switzerland already has comprehensive animal rights laws, though many feel the vote was a cat-astrophe.
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By Joe Conason — Before Najibullah Zazi is finally dispatched to a secure cellblock for good, it is important to remember how the taxi-driver-turned-terrorist was brought to justice—and why the critics who jeered his civilian prosecution were dead wrong.
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 AP / Laura Rauch
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By Max Blumenthal —
Business is booming in Arizona, thanks to a disturbing federal immigration program that transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to a private prison company, parasitic attorneys and other opportunists.
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By Ruth Marcus — No one would question an African-American judge’s capacity to preside over a race discrimination lawsuit or a female jurist’s handling of a sexual harassment case. Does it matter if the judge hearing the lawsuit challenging California’s ban on same-sex marriage is gay?
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 AP / Hadi Mizban
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Vice President Joe Biden expressed his personal regrets to Iraqi leaders and promised that the U.S. will appeal the dismissal of manslaughter charges against five Blackwater security contractors over a bloody Baghdad shooting in 2007 that killed 17 people.
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 AP / J. Scott Applewhite
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Many fear that a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court may be an omen on how the court might rule if the legal battle over Proposition 8 arrives in Washington. The 5-4 decision ruled that Internet streaming of the Prop. 8 trial in San Francisco would cause a hostile public climate toward anti-gay marriage advocates.
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 AP / Kent Gilbert
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While Manuel Zelaya, Honduras’ ousted president, remains at the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, prosecutors have charged three military chiefs with abuse of power in connection with the country’s coup d’état last year.
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 Wikimedia Commons / Agência Brasil
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Italy’s colorful prime minister is in a heap of legal trouble now that the country’s high court has stripped him of immunity. Despite facing charges of corruption, bribery, tax evasion and fraud, Silvio Berlusconi stayed in character, saying, “The trials against me are a farce. Viva Italia and Viva Berlusconi!”
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By Amy Goodman — A battle is raging over the future of books in the digital age that could grant a practical monopoly on recorded human knowledge to global Internet search giant Google.
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 Flickr / Shahram Sharif
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Six people are on trial in Iran for allegedly stirring up trouble and “undermining the Islamic government system” after the country’s controversial presidential elections in June. Some critics are calling the legal actions “show trials,” according to the BBC.
Posted on Sep 14, 2009
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 management-mentor.com
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Twitter, the superstar microblogging service that media outlets like CNN are flocking to as they struggle for Web credibility, has hit a roadblock in its steady march to global popularity. A company attempt to trademark the word tweet, describing an individual blog post, has been rejected by the U.S. patent office.
Posted on Aug 22, 2009
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 AP photo / Sucheta Das
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Homosexual relations between consenting adults are no longer considered criminal in India, thanks to a court ruling that overturned a long-standing federal law. The BBC rounded up some reactions from Indian citizens after news of the judgment broke around the country.
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By Marie Cocco — The appearance of extreme political impropriety is sometimes just too extreme, according to the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in a case that shines a brutal light on the spiral of campaign contributions that threaten to compromise too many state courts.
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By Amy Goodman — Ken Saro-Wiwa and Alberto Pizango never met, but they are united by a passion for the preservation of their people and their land, and by the fervor with which they were targeted by their respective governments.
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 AP photo / Damian Dovarganes
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By Scott Tucker — The right to rebel is my real subject here, but the misery of the law is not incidental. No good case can be made for rebellion as an unqualified good in itself. But the right to rebel also cannot be limited to the rebel causes that were won long ago and have passed over into our national mythology.
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 AP photo / Brennan Linsley
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Funny how declarations made in the heat of campaign season can be later forgotten by our nation’s elected officials. President Obama continued to do the reversal cha-cha late into the week with his decision to take up the very military tribunals he had sharply criticized before taking office.
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 AP photo / Elizabeth Williams
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Whether or not Abduwali Abukhadir Muse is 15, as his father claims, he will be tried in New York as an adult for his alleged role in holding an American ship captain as a hostage. Muse’s mother, on the other side of the world, has asked President Obama for mercy, or to at least let her be with her son.
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