Egypt judge sets Mubarak verdict date [JURIST] An Egyptian judge on Wednesday scheduled the verdict date for former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak [Al Jazeera profile; JURIST news archive] for June 2, with Mubarak declining to address the court before the sentencing and verdict are set to take place. Mubarak could be put to death if convicted in what could be the first guilty verdict [AP report] by the leader's own country in Arab Spring uprisings. Mubarak, who spent almost 30 years in power, is accused of assisting in the killing of protesters during the 18-day uprising that led to over 800 people being killed, mostly by...
2012-02-22T15:02:10-05:00 Supreme Court overrules Montana high court riverbed title decision [JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled unanimously [opinion, PDF] Thursday in PPL Montana v. Montana [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] that the Montana Supreme Court erred in failing to use a well-settled approach to determine whether the water beds at issue could be considered navigable. PPL Montana (PPL) [corporate website], which owns a hydroelectric power dam on the Missouri River, brought the challenge after the state Supreme Court held [opinion, PDF] that the title to the riverbeds passed to Montana when it became a state in 1889 and that the riverbeds are public trust lands under Article X, Section 11 [text]...
2012-02-22T15:02:00-05:00 Rights commission urges Ecuador president to suspend sentencing in libel suit [JURIST] The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) [official website] urged Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa [official website, in Spanish; BBC profile] and his administration on Tuesday to postpone the sentencing of El Universo [official website, in Spanish] managers convicted of libel until after a hearing between the parties in March. The IACHR issued an injunction urging the Ecuador government to suspend sentencing [WSJ report] until arguments are made by both parties on March 28. El Universo is the second largest newspaper in Ecuador. Two of the four men, Cesar and Nicolas Perez, have already fled to Miami. The lawsuit has...
2012-02-22T14:21:40-05:00 Supreme Court remands case challenging California Medicaid law [JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] 5-4 on Thursday in Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] that the parties to the suit could return to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] to argue in the first instance whether Medicaid recipients and providers could maintain Supremacy Clause actions challenging a California state law that reduces reimbursement rates. The court initially heard arguments [JURIST report] on whether the Supremacy Clause preempts Medicaid recipients and providers from bringing a suit challenging the California statute. Medicaid providers—doctors, hospitals and pharmacies—were angered...
2012-02-22T14:05:58-05:00 EU to ask high court to evaluate anti-piracy agreement [JURIST] The European Commission [official website] said Wednesday that they will seek guidance [press release] from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) [official website] before moving forward with the ratification of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) [text, PDF], a controversial international anti-piracy agreement. Commissioner Karel De Gucht said she hoped the guidance of the ECJ would ease the concerns of European citizens who worry the agreement could lead to censorship. The decision to put ratification on hold comes after a number of European groups expressed opposition [AP report]. De Gucht is confident that the ruling of the ECJ will calm...
