ABA report on death penalty

The January, 2006 100-page report from the American Bar Association, entitled "Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: the Georgia Death Penalty Assessment Report" is here , and will be cataloged in Portia in due course.

Anna Nichole Smith (Marshall v. Marshall, 04-1544)

Briefs of petitioner, respondent, including several amicus briefs in the Anna Nicole's Supreme Court case are up at SCOTUSblog. There is comment also at the Bankruptcy Litigation Blog and cites to the Bankruptcy Blog's previous three posts on the case. Oral arguments before the Court are scheduled for Tuesday, February 28.

Hamas

The text of the original and never-disavowed 1988 charter of Hamas, recent victor in Palestinian parliamentary elections, is available at the Avalon Project at Yale Law School.

Hamas has been classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and by the European Union. (Click route in the Official Journal:
year 2005,
month November
day November 30, eg., 30.11.2005
document L314
page 41.

Who watches the watchers?

Human rights watchdog groups, whether governmental organizations, such as committees under the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, or non-governmental organizations (NGO's), some of which are listed on the NESL Human Rights subject webpage , under the heading "Human Rights Resources", can do a tremendous amount of charitable and humanitarian good in the world; alternatively, they may be corrupt and worse. In evaluating the law-related actions and assertions of these organizations, two websites may be of use:

NGOWatch, a project of the American Enterprise Institute and the Federalist Society; and

Eye on the U.N., a project of the Hudson Institute and the Touro Law Center Institute for Human Rights.

Vanderbilt to launch new joint degree program

Two Harvard Law School professors are moving to Vanderbilt University to develop a first-in-the-nation Ph.D. program in Law and Economics to be administered by the Owen Graduate School of Management. Students in the program may acquire a joint J.D./Ph.D. degree. The two professors are W. Kip Viscusi and Joni Hersch. Coursework will be offered by law school, Owen School, and economics department faculty. More details here .

Federal employment guide

The 47-page 2005-06 Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide, published by National Association of Legal Placement in cooperation with the Partnership for Public Service and the American Bar Association's Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division is available here. Adobe Acrobat is necessary to view. No password is required.

Enron

Jury selection begins January 30th in the most recent Enron trial, that of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. The Washington post has a central repository for their news stories and background pieces here .

Scroll down to the box marked "The Fall of Enron" for a 5-part background series:

Part I: Opaque Deals, Accounting Sleight of Hand Built an Energy Giant and Ensured Its Demise;
Part II: Dream Job Turns Into a Nightmare;
Part III: Concerns Grow Amid Conflicts;
Part IV: Losses, Conflicts Threaten Survival;
Part V: Hidden Debts, Deals Scuttle Last Chance.

Some of the stories (not the 5-part series listed above) require registration; others do not. Registration on the site is free.

Supreme Court rules on Oregon's Death with Dignity Act

The U.S. Supreme Court today decided Gonzales v. Oregon, holding that the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) does not allow the Attorney General to prohibit doctors
from prescribing regulated drugs for use in physician-assisted suicide
under state law (Oregon's Death with Dignity Act).

The opinion was written by Justice Kennedy, with a dissent by Justice Scalia in which he was joined by Justices Roberts and Thomas.

Antitrust enforcement through the ages

Timeline of antitrust enforcement highlights at the Department of Justice. A chart showing who was president, attorney general, and key cases and events, from 1890-2002 in antitrust enforcement. Track The Sherman Act violation penalties from $5,000 to $50,000 to $1,000,000 to $10,000,000. Mark the year Ma Bell broke up. And other interesting stuff.