Archive for the Category ‘Law’

Republican Witch-Hunters Embrace Dictatorship

Republican Witch-Hunters Embrace Dictatorship

Are there no depths to which the Republican Party will not sink in its unprincipled assaults on President Obama’s counter-terrorism policies? The latest unconstitutional monstrosity from the right’s lunatic fringe came courtesy of Keep America Safe, a toxic organization headed by Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, who recently put out a disgraceful TV ad, “Who Are the Al-Qaeda Seven?”

Virginia Man Tried To Steal 10 Million Gallons of Fuel From US Army In Iraq

Virginia Man Tried To Steal 10 Million Gallons of Fuel From US Army In Iraq

Michel Jamil, 60, was sentenced today to 40 months in prison for his participation in a scheme to steal approximately 10 million gallons of fuel from the U.S. Army in Iraq, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride. In his guilty plea, Jamil admitted that in March 2007, he and two of his co-conspirators arranged for the creation of a false memorandum for record (MFR) authorizing individuals, purportedly on behalf of a company serving as a contractor to the U.S. government, to draw fuel from the Victory Bulk Fuel Point (VBFP), Camp Liberty, Iraq, which was owned and operated by the United States.

Number Of Paxil-Related Birth Defect Cases Soar

Number Of Paxil-Related Birth Defect Cases Soar

Since Paxil came on the market in 1992, there have been three separate types of failure to warn lawsuits filed against GlaxoSmithKline over Paxil; birth defects, suicide, and addiction. Roughly 150 suicide cases were settled for an average of about $2 million, and about 300 cases involving suicide attempts were settled for an average of $300,000.

Ghostbusting In Paxil Birth Defect Litigation

Ghostbusting In Paxil Birth Defect Litigation

A month before the first Paxil birth defect trial against GlaxoSmithKline was set to begin, the Associated Press ran the headline, “Glaxo Used Ghostwriting Program to Promote Paxil,” in reporting on a program called “CASPPER,” which allowed doctors to “take credit for medical journal articles mainly written by company consultants.”

The Black Hole Of Guantanamo

The Black Hole Of Guantanamo

When it comes to dealing with the thorny question of how to close Guantánamo, the remaining prisoners have been caught between two competing systems since President Obama took office last January, and the result, to put it mildly, has been confusing. Under President Bush, prisoners were cleared for release by military review boards, established to review the supposed evidence against them, and to determine whether they constituted an ongoing threat to the US. This appeared to be a maddeningly arbitrary system, but it led to the release of hundreds of the prisoners.

Four Prisoners Freed From Guantanamo

Four Prisoners Freed From Guantanamo

On Wednesday, four prisoners were released from Guantánamo: an Egyptian, a Libyan and a Tunisian arrived in Albania, and a Palestinian arrived in Spain. All four had been cleared by military review boards at Guantánamo under the Bush administration, and had then been cleared by President Obama’s interagency Task Force, but, like dozens of prisoners in Guantánamo, they could not be repatriated because of fears that they would be tortured if returned to their home countries or subjected to other ill-treatment, or because they were effectively stateless.

Holder: Location For 9/11 Trial Expected ‘Relatively Soon,’ NYC Still An Option

Holder: Location For 9/11 Trial Expected ‘Relatively Soon,’ NYC Still An Option

With attempted terrorist Najibullah Zazi pleading guilty to three criminal charges before a federal judge in New York, Attorney General Eric Holder says that Zazi’s case proves that the US Justice Department can effectively prosecute terrorists. And he noted during a news conference Monday following the guilty plea that the trial of self-professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators could still be held in New York City, despite widespread opposition from Republicans and Democrats.

DOJ, FBI Conclude Probe Into 2001 Anthrax Attacks

DOJ, FBI Conclude Probe Into 2001 Anthrax Attacks

Earlier today, representatives of the FBI and Justice Department provided a 92-page investigative summary along with attachments to victims of the attacks, relatives of the victims and appropriate committees of Congress. This document sets forth a summary of the evidence developed in the “Amerithrax” investigation, the largest investigation into a bio-weapons attack in U.S. history. As disclosed previously, the Amerithrax investigation found that the late Dr. Bruce Ivins acted alone in planning and executing these attacks.

Is The 9/11 Trial Headed For New Haven?

Is The 9/11 Trial Headed For New Haven?

Is the Justice Department considering relocating the federal criminal trial of self-professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators to New Haven, Conn.? The Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post, citing unnamed Obama administration officials, says yes. But a spokeswoman for New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., the city has not been in contact with Justice Department officials about the possibility.

Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Case Stuck in Legal Limbo

Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Case Stuck in Legal Limbo

The recent decision by the US Supreme Court to send convicted police killer Mumia Abu-Jamal’s case back down to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, with instructions for a three-judge panel there to reconsider its decision to uphold the lifting of the prominent African-American journalist’s death penalty, is only the latest in a long string of examples of how courts at all levels have made special exceptions to precedent in order to try and kill this particular prisoner.

Copyright © 2008 The Public Record. All rights reserved. Branding services provided by www.AndrewToschi.com Quantcast