Civil Rights

$1.7M Settlement in Case That Exposed DA’s E-Mail

A $1.7 million settlement was approved today in a federal civil rights case that led to the exposure of a Texas prosecutor’s personal e-mail and his eventual resignation. The Harris County commission unanimously OK’d the settlement with Sean Carlos Ibarra, 37, and Erik Adam Ibarra, 28, as sheriff’s deputies were…

Mar 3, 2008 6:33 PM CST

ABA Files Amicus Brief Supporting Habeas Corpus in Iraq

Weighing in on an issue that has created concern among lawyers, journalists and human rights advocates, among others, the American Bar Association has filed a U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief on behalf of U.S. citizens arrested by the American military and held in Iraq without U.S. court proceedings. At issue…

Mar 1, 2008 2:43 AM CST

Life Outside Prison is Harder for Inmates Found Innocent

Thanks to DNA testing, a number of inmates convicted for crimes they didn’t commit are being released from prison. While happy to win their freedom, many are finding that they still have a long and difficult road to travel even though they’re no longer behind bars, reports Reuters. “As a…

Feb 29, 2008 4:35 PM CST

1 in 100 Behind Bars; Record High U.S. Incarceration Rate

One in 100 adults in the U.S. is serving time in prison right now, reportedly the highest incarceration rate ever. And it is even higher for members of certain minority groups: “One in 36 Hispanic adults is behind bars, based on Justice Department figures for 2006. One in 15 black…

Feb 28, 2008 9:29 PM CST

ABA Offers Gitmo Tribunal Help, UK Bar Groups Voice Fairness Concerns

The president of the American Bar Association has written the president of the United States, expressing concern that six terrorism suspects detained at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in capital cases may not receive fair trials under current military tribunal procedures that don’t comply with established standards for…

Feb 28, 2008 7:55 PM CST

U.K. DNA Program Contested in European Court

In a case that could prevent the U.K. gene police from continuing with an ambitious program to collect DNA samples from as many citizens as possible, two arrestees who were never convicted are seeking a court order requiring their samples to be destroyed. Lawyers for Michael Marper, 45, and a…

Feb 28, 2008 5:16 PM CST

Chinese Activist Lawyer Said to Be Detained, Beaten by Police

A prominent Chinese human rights lawyer has been beaten and detained by police, an activist told the Associated Press. The lawyer, Zheng Enchong, had advised Shanghai residents who were evicted because of development projects and had spoken about high-level corruption in the city involving real estate deals, AP and the…

Feb 26, 2008 3:04 PM CST

Sweeping DNA Searches By U.K. ‘Gene Police’; Will US Follow Suit?

Sweeping new DNA searching techniques are leading authorities in the United Kingdom to violent criminals who have evaded detection for years. Among them: a man who raped a 36-year-old woman on April 26, 1993 and was suspected of three other sexual assaults. Identified as a suspect by “familial” testing, using…

Feb 25, 2008 7:42 PM CST

New Waterboarding Probe: Did Gov’t Lawyers Act Ethically?

A second Department of Justice investigation, in addition to the one launched last month by Attorney General Michael Mukasey, has been under way for “several years” concerning the propriety of the waterboarding interrogation technique that the CIA has admittedly used on several al-Qaida suspects. This newly revealed probe, which is…

Feb 22, 2008 8:23 PM CST

Chinese Lawyer Promotes Rule of Law as Public Interest Lawsuit Pioneer

The government of China has publicly committed itself to the goal of applying the rule of law. This has helped a 35-year-old lawyer in Beijing achieve a significant degree of success, as more aggressive human rights activists have butted heads with the country’s leaders, by pursuing unusual consumer-oriented lawsuits that…

Feb 22, 2008 2:39 AM CST

New Call for Reinstatement of Pakistan Appellate Judges

After parliamentary elections that appear likely to result in the ouster of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, there have been renewed calls for the reinstatement of dozens of appellate judges he removed from office last year. However, it is far from clear that this will actually happen, reports the Washington Post.…

Feb 22, 2008 1:57 AM CST

2nd Circuit: Lawyer ‘Failed Spectacularly’ in Immigration Case

Like too many other immigrants, Garfield Livern St. Valentine Aris was not well-served by a number of lawyers, the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says in an opinion yesterday. In fact, his initial counsel “failed spectacularly,” a three-judge appellate panel writes, after a paralegal misinformed him…

Feb 21, 2008 9:03 PM CST

Journalist Faces Fines in Contempt Case Over Anthrax Articles

A federal judge has held a former USA Today reporter in contempt for refusing to turn over information about the sources she used when reporting that a former U.S. army scientist might have had a connection to 2001 anthrax attacks. Until Toni Locy complies with Judge Reggie B. Walton’s order,…

Feb 20, 2008 11:20 PM CST

Restrictions Eased on High-Profile Pakistan Lawyer; Protest Planned re Judges

Initially jailed and then held under house arrest for months, a high-profile Pakistan lawyer has been able to speak out again after the country’s recent parliamentary elections. Attorney Aitzaz Ahsan, president of the country’s Supreme Court Bar Association, has been held virtually incommunicado for months after President Pervez Musharraf’s suspension…

Feb 20, 2008 7:20 PM CST

U.K. Judges Blast Authorities in 9/11 Case Against Pilot

An Algerian pilot falsely accused of helping train the terrorists who flew commercial airliners into the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001 says he wept with relief after learning that he had been exonerated by a British appellate court. Lotfi Raissi’s only “crime” was to attend…

Feb 15, 2008 5:10 PM CST