Courts

Law, legislation, treaties, conventions, court opinions, and legal analysis.

Cheney Loses Ruling on Energy Panel Records - July 10, 2003

by Henri E. Cauvin 09 Jul 03 A federal appeals court yesterday rejected Vice President Cheney's bid to keep secret all the workings of his energy task force, saying sufficient safeguards were already in place to prevent the disclosure of genuinely privileged information. The 2 to 1 ruling, by a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, does not in itself order the release of specific information, but it affirms a lower court judge's order seeking...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29486-2003Jul8.html

Huge Rally in Hong Kong Against Anti-subversion Laws - July 8, 2003

by John Chan 08 Jul 03 Up to half a million people marched in Hong Kong on July 1 - the sixth anniversary of Britain&146;s handover to China - to protest against new 'anti-subversion' legislation being enacted by the Beijing-installed administration of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. The National Security Bill, legislated under Article 23 of Hong Kong&146;s Basic Law, would effectively extend China&146;s police-state methods into the former British colony. The rally was the largest since one...
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/jul2003/hoko-j08.shtml

Highlights of the Supreme Court's 2002-2003 Term - July 8, 2003

by Thomas R. Bruce and Peter W. Martin 01 Jul 03 The Legal Information Institute (LII) editorial team has created a set of pages summarizing and furnishing rich background on the important decisions of the past U.S. Supreme Court's term. They provide access to briefs, oral argument, commentary, decisions of the lower courts, and more on twenty-four key opinions. Legal Information Institute
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/03highlts.html

Look Up Under 'Library Nanny' - July 6, 2003

by J.R. Labbe 29 Jun 03 The highest court in the land decided last week that libraries can lose government funding if they don't make it harder for patrons to view constitutionally protected material. Say what The Supremes ruled that the federal government -- translation: Congress -- can withhold money from libraries that choose not to install porn blocking computer programs. Attorneys for the libraries had argued -- rightfully -- that the law will turn their clients into censors. They lost...
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/6196754.htm

U.S. Retaliates Over War Crime Immunity Demand - July 5, 2003

by Bill Vann 05 July 03 In a further bid to place U.S. officials and military personnel beyond the reach of war crimes prosecution, the Bush administration cut off military aid to about 35 countries that failed to meet a June 30 deadline for signing bilateral immunity agreements. Washington had demanded such deals with all the countries that have signed on to the International Criminal Court (ICC), using the threat of the aid cutoff to impose its will on foreign powers that are considered U.S...
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/jul2003/icc-j05.shtml

130 U.S. Communities Saying No to Repression - July 5, 2003

by Jim Lobe 05 Jul 03 WASHINGTON. More than 130 communities with a combined population of more than 16 million people in 26 states have passed resolutions directing local police to refrain from using racial profiling, enforcing immigration laws, or participating in federal investigations that violate civil liberties, according to a new report released on the eve of this year's Fourth of July celebrations by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The 23-page report credits Ann Arbor,...
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0705-01.htm