Rasul v. Bush: Guantanamo Conflict in the D.C. Federal District Court

Two recent Federal District Court of the District of Columbia judges have reached differing opinions on two key issues arising from the interpretation of the United States Supreme Court Rasul v. Bush decision. Both opinions deal with the incarceration of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. In an opinion released today. Judge Joyce Hens Green held that the military tribunals for terrorism suspects are unconstitutional and that the suspects have constitutional protections under the law. In a January 19th opinion, Judge Richard J. Leon, upheld the use of the tribunals and ruled that the detainees were not protected by the American Constitution.

Both cases appear headed to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Official Documents of the United Nations

The Research Buzz reported yesterday that the Official Documents of the United Nations are now available for free on the web. According to the UN page it covers all types of official United Nations documentation, beginning in 1993. Older UN documents are, however, added to the system on a daily basis. It also provides access to the resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council from 1946 onwards. It does not include press releases, UN sales publications, the United Nations Treaty Series or information brochures.

The advanced search feature permits searching by date and boolean full text searching. Documents are available for download in Word and PDF.

I didn't think anyone was watching

Richard Hatch, first winner of CBS's "Survivor" was charged in federal court today with tax evasion for failing to report his winnings. Hat tip to CrimProf Blog.

Scalia and Breyer: scholarly response

American University's Washington College of Law's Thursday, January 13th webcast of United States Supreme Court Justices Breyer and Scalia discussing the relevancy of foreign law to U.S. constitutional interpretation has been transcribed. Commentary includes:

Law professor Ann Althouse , University of Wisconsin (who live-blogged the event)

Attorney Pejman Yousefzadeh

Law professor Vickie Jackson , Georgetown University

Judge Richard Posner , U. S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit

Law professor Kenneth Anderson , American University

Law professor Jamie Rabkin , American University
.
Also, attorney Scott Johnson blogging at Powerline links to a relevant Federalist Society white paper by Eric Hargan: "The sovereignty implications of two recent Supreme Court decisions" and an op-ed in The National Interest by the above-mentioned Jeremy Rabkin: "International law 'vs.' the American Constitution ".

But how will Hillary vote? *

Much ink will flow in the days ahead on Judge Michael Chertoff, recently nominated by President Bush to fill the Homeland Security Department directorship. Howard J. Bashman at How Appealing is a good source to keep current on the commentary.

Upon reading that Chertoff clerked for United States Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, Jr. for the 1979-80 term, this librarian repaired to the NESL library stacks, KF 8742.W66 (1979), for a glance at Bob Woodward's The Brethren, but, alas, Woodward only dishes on the Court's backstories through the 1975 term. More in the present, Chertoff testified at S. Hrg. 107-704, November 28, 2001: Preserving Freedoms while Defending against Terrorism". In December, 2003, he revisited some of the issues in Law, Loyalty & Terror. He also weighed in this past April on the International Criminal Court here.

* See U.S. Senate roll call vote on the confirmation of Michael Chertoff to be U.S. Circuit Court Judge here. Chertoff was counsel to the GOP Whitewater Committee.

Webcast: Justices Scalia & Breyer to Discuss Relevancy of Foreign Law for American Constitutional Adjudication.

This Thursday, January 13, 2005, Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Breyer will participate in a discussion at American University Washington College of Law. The Justices will "address such topics as using foreign court precedent in deciding U.S. constitutional cases and whether the U.S. should take into account shifting world standards on social and moral issues such as the death penalty." NYU Professor Norman Dorsen will moderate the discussion. The discussion will be broadcast live on the Internet starting at 4:00 PM and is scheduled to end at 5:30 PM. You can view it live at that time by clicking here. The discussion will also be archived at the same link.

Reality TV gone too far

First, it broke all sorts of network records for viewership with the original Survivor. Quickly it broke all the boundaries of good taste with Temptation Island. Most recently it has infuriated adoption groups with Who's your Daddy.

But now, according to Austin Aitken, reality TV has gone too far...

..and so he is is suing NBC's Fear Factor over their recent "Rat-eating" episode. It seems that watching contestants eat rats which had been...uh...prepared in a blender was simply too much. Upon viewing the show, Mr. Aitken's blood pressure rose precipitously, causing him to feel dizzy and lightheaded. Disoriented, he crashed into a doorway, causing "suffering, and great pain." In a four page, hand-written complaint filed in federal court in Northern Ohio, Mr. Aitken has put a price-tag on his suffering: he is suing NBC for $2.5 Million.

Read more about Mr. Aitken's plight at law.com and MSBNC (A reprint of a REUTERS wire story).

A bit of research reveals that Mr. Aitken filed several suits in the 90's, in forma pauperis , against both Phillip Morris and R.J. Reynolds. Alas, the complaints against Phillip Morris and R.J. Reynolds are not available anywhere, unlike this one.

New Confrontation Blog

University of Michigan law professor Richard Friedman has established a new blog which reports and comments on developments related to Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004). He reminds that "Crawford transformed the doctrine of the Confrontation Clause, but it left many open questions that are, and will continue to be, the subject of a great deal of litigation and academic commentary."

Professor Friedman , who has written extensively about the Confrontation Clause, was cited in the Crawford decision. His postings are especially relevant if you are interested in post-Crawford developments.

Students who are taking the Perspectives: Sexual Violence class this semester, or who are involved with the Sexual Violence Newsletter published through NESL's Center for Law & Social Responsibility, might want to bookmark this blog at http://confrontationright.blogspot.com/.