Constitutional Law

Documents Produced in Major Art Case Have Created ... More Art

When officials at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art decided to litigate against artist Christoph Büchel over an incomplete commissioned piece, they probably didn’t realize what they were getting into. Although the museum won its federal court battle to display to the public a massive maze representing American culture that…

Mar 1, 2008 12:01 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

Judge Refuses Kidd Accuser’s Request for Anonymity

A federal judge has refused to allow an aspiring model to shield her identity in her sexual battery suit against basketball player Jason Kidd. Judge Carol Edmead ruled that the plaintiff’s desire to avoid embarrassment isn’t enough to overcome the public’s right of access to judicial proceedings, the New York…

Feb 29, 2008 1:32 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

Several Justices Focus on Punitives Cap, Dismiss Liability Precedent in Exxon Case

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg peppered the lawyer for Exxon Mobil with questions during oral arguments yesterday on whether a $2.5 billion punitive damages award should stand. Ginsburg suggested a jury may have concluded the company itself was a grave wrongdoer for failing to fire the captain of the Exxon Valdez…

Feb 28, 2008 1:05 PM CST

Germany’s High Court Protects Computer Privacy

Germany’s highest court has ruled that the government may not use spy software to access information on personal computers absent a warrant and exceptional reasons to do so. The ruling by Germany’s Constitutional Court holds that government surveillance of information stored or exchanged on personal computers violates a right to…

Feb 27, 2008 3:14 PM CST

Judge’s Widow Can’t Pursue Suit Claiming Overwork Caused His Death

The widow of a Connecticut judge who claims her husband died from overwork can’t sue the state under a special statute that extended the time limit for her to file suit. The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Monday (PDF) that the law was unconstitutional because it was designed to benefit just…

Feb 27, 2008 1:09 PM CST

Supreme Court Considers Exxon Punitives in Arguments Today

Updated: Exxon Mobil Corp. will rely on an argument advanced recently by many highly regulated industries when its lawyer asks the U.S. Supreme Court today to bar punitive damages for the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Exxon contends the Clean Water Act already regulates oil spills, and private suits for damages…

Feb 27, 2008 12:40 PM CST

Zacarias Moussaoui Asks to Withdraw Plea, Cites Secret Evidence

Convicted al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui has asked a federal appeals court to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea because his lawyers were barred from sharing exculpatory information with him. Moussaoui says the trial judge, Leonie Brinkema, made two mistakes that hurt his defense, Adam Liptak writes in his Sidebar…

Feb 26, 2008 2:09 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

Supreme Court Accepts Car Search Case Seeking ‘Bright-Line’ Rule

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a bright-line rule allows police to search the passenger compartment of a car without a warrant simply because they arrested a recent occupant. The Arizona Supreme Court had ruled (PDF) that a search was not justified when the scene was secure…

Feb 25, 2008 3:53 PM CST

McCain Says He Won’t Use Signing Statements

GOP candidate John McCain says if he is elected president, he won’t use signing statements—at all—to voice disagreement with parts of legislation he dislikes. McCain was recently asked for his position on signing statements, the Washington Post reports. His answer: “Never, never, never, never. If I disagree with a law…

Feb 25, 2008 1:55 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