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DOJ opens criminal investigation into Goldman Sachs: report
[JURIST] Law enforcement officials on Thursday told the Wall Street Journal [media website] that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] is opening a criminal investigation [WSJ report] of Goldman, Sachs & Co. [corporate website] for possible securities fraud in mortgage trading. Two weeks ago, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website; JURIST news archive]... [more]
Khadr boycotts preliminary hearing over mistreatment allegations
[JURIST] Canadian Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Omar Khadr [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] on Friday refused for the second straight day to attend preliminary hearings relating to his pending murder and terrorism charges [JURIST report], claiming he is being mistreated by military guards. On Thursday, Khadr refused to attend the proceedings, stating [WP report] that the... [more]
US prosecutors charge 2 New York residents with providing material support to al Qaeda
[JURIST] The US government on Friday charged [indictment, PDF] two Brooklyn men with conspiracy to provide material support [18 USC § 2339B materials] to al Qaeda [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. The two men allegedly received at least $50,000 for providing al Qaeda with "computer advice and assistance, services, and currency," among other acts, between November 2007 and March... [more]
Germany high court rules Google images do not violate copyright laws
[JURIST] Germany's Federal Court of Justice [official website, in German] ruled Thursday that the use of thumbnail preview images pulled from websites by Google [corporate website; JURIST news archive] is not a violation of copyright law. The original lawsuit was brought against Google by an artist who had images of her work pulled from her website and displayed on Google's image search index... [more]
US House approves Puerto Rico status referendum bill
[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] voted 223-169 [roll call] Thursday to approve legislation calling for a referendum on the status of Puerto Rico [BBC backgrounder]. The Puerto Rico Democracy Act [HR 2499 text, PDF] was introduced by Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi (D) [official website], Puerto Rico's nonvoting delegate to the House, and had 181 co-sponsors,... [more]
Cambodia genocide court denies bail for 3 former Khmer Rouge officials
[JURIST] The Pre-Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website] on Friday dismissed appeals [press release] by three former Khmer Rouge [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] officials to block the extension of their provisional detention. The three prisoners, Ieng Thirith, Ieng Sary, and Khieu Samphan [judgments, PDF], were arrested in November... [more]
France justice ministry rejects Noriega request to be treated as POW
[JURIST] The French Justice Ministry on Thursday denied a request from former Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] to be treated as a prisoner of war (POW). Noriega currently awaits trial in France on money laundering charges. Justice Ministry spokesperson Guillaume Didier said that Noriega will not be treated as a POW [AFP report] because the charges... [more]
Former Pennsylvania judge pleads guilty in juvenile sentencing scandal
[JURIST] Former Pennsylvania judge Michael Conahan pleaded guilty Thursday on charges of accepting more than $2.6 million in kickbacks for sentencing teenagers to two private juvenile detention facilities in which he had a financial interest. The former president judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas [official website] pleaded guilty [Philadelphia Inquirer report] to one count of... [more]
Federal judge dismisses suit over order to remove headscarf in court
[JURIST] A judge in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan [official website] on Thursday dismissed [opinion and order, PDF] a lawsuit against a Michigan judge who ordered a Muslim woman to remove her headscarf [JURIST news archive] in court. The suit [complaint, PDF] was filed in August by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) [advocacy website] on behalf of Raneen... [more]
Hawaii House approves same-sex civil unions
[JURIST] The Hawaii House of Representatives [official website] voted 31-20 Thursday to approve legislation [HB 444 text, PDF] allowing same-sex civil unions [JURIST news archive]. The act would confer upon homosexual and heterosexual couples rights and benefits equal to those afforded married couples in the state. The bill was approved [JURIST report] by the Senate [official website] in January,... [more]