International Courts/Tribunals

Afternoon Briefs: Judge admonished partly for remote hearing impatience; ABA files brief opposing rigid cash bail

Judge admonished for impatience, guilt remark A California judge has been admonished for a “display of impatience and irritation” and a remark about an acquitted defendant’s guilt. Judge Patrick E. Connolly appeared irritated during a remote hearing because defense lawyers could not show him paperwork, according to the California Commission…

Apr 6, 2021 4:14 PM CDT

California law school gets donation that’s said to be ‘one of the biggest in history’ from tribe to university

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, a California tribe, has donated $15 million to the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law to create full tuition scholarships for students interested in careers as tribal legal advocates.

Sep 23, 2020 7:15 AM CDT

A look at Netflix’s ‘Longmire,’ Indian Country and the battle for jurisdiction

Being born and reared in western Oklahoma, I was always fairly familiar with the tribes in that area. Even though I don’t have any American Indian blood, plenty of my friends do, and I have had the opportunity to grow up experiencing the wealth of history and culture they offer.

Sep 16, 2020 2:21 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: 4th Circuit rules for transgender youth; tribe objects to execution

4th Circuit rules for transgender youth on bathroom policy The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Richmond, Virginia, has ruled for former high school student Gavin Grimm, a transgender youth who wanted to use a school restroom that matched his gender identity. The 4th Circuit said the Gloucester County,…

Aug 27, 2020 4:30 PM CDT

Can plaintiffs from other countries hold China legally accountable for the coronavirus pandemic in their respective courts?

Barely 24 hours after the World Health Organization officially designated COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, the international legal blame game began. The first firm to file a lawsuit against the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party was Florida-based Berman Law Group, a Boca Raton firm with…

Aug 1, 2020 1:05 AM CDT

SCOTUS delivers on US promises, at least partly, made to Native Americans after Trail of Tears

The opening words of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch’s opinion for the U.S. Supreme Court in a major case on American Indian law leaped off the page for many advocates for Native Americans. The court, in a 5-4 decision on July 9, held that the Creek reservation in eastern Oklahoma had never been “disestablished” by Congress.

Jul 27, 2020 2:36 PM CDT

SCOTUS rules for pro se petitioner in tribal case that could upend hundreds of convictions

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a large part of eastern central Oklahoma is an American Indian reservation, a decision that calls into question hundreds of state court convictions.

Jul 9, 2020 9:18 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: It’s going to be an unusual May in the Supreme Court

For the first time in recent memory, the Supreme Court will be holding oral arguments in May, and for the first time ever, they will be by telephone. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, oral arguments were canceled in the Supreme Court in March and April.

Apr 29, 2020 8:00 AM CDT

Behind bars in Scandinavia, and what we can learn

“We help each other—that’s what we do here is we help each other.” It wasn’t the sentiment I expected to hear from a guard describing his interaction with inmates at the high-security prison outside Stockholm.

Feb 1, 2020 1:25 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Pelosi prepares impeachment articles for Senate; lawyer faces charges over deceased father’s pension

Pelosi plans to send impeachment articles to Senate next week House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to House Democrats on Friday that she is preparing to send the impeachment articles to the Senate to start the trial of President Donald Trump. “I have asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry…

Jan 10, 2020 4:42 PM CST

The case for the International Criminal Court: Why it deserves our support

Like many post-World War II global institutions in today’s political climate, the International Criminal Court can feel disconnected from the ideals and optimism that created it as the world’s only permanent international tribunal with jurisdiction over genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. But my work supporting international criminal justice…

Nov 27, 2019 2:55 PM CST

European Union high court sends new signals on reach of internet regulation

A recent pair of cases out of the European Union have provided new insight into the reach of the EU’s regulation of the internet. Both cases revolve around whether an EU member state’s court can order an internet company to take down or de-list information online and whether that power extends beyond the EU.

Oct 10, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Europe’s top court rules ‘right to be forgotten’ doesn’t apply to internet search results worldwide

The European Union’s top court ruled Tuesday that Google and other search engines are not obligated to delete links to websites and databases worldwide under a “right to be forgotten” privacy rule. The European Court of Justice said the rule applied only within the 28 nations that are part of…

Sep 26, 2019 11:22 AM CDT

Imprisoned Saudi lawyer receives this year’s ABA International Human Rights Award

Waleed Abu al-Khair, a human rights lawyer who was convicted on anti-terrorism charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison—simply for calling for the rule of law in Saudi Arabia—will receive the 2019 ABA International Human Rights Award during the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. “Abu al-Khair epitomizes the ideals of what lawyers around the world are fighting for,” ABA President Bob Carlson says.

Aug 8, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Gorsuch joins with liberal justices in Supreme Court ruling for Indian tribe’s hunting rights

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch joined with four liberal justices on Monday in a ruling for a member of the Crow Tribe who was arrested for offseason hunting. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Crow Tribe’s hunting rights, established in an 1868 treaty, did not expire when…

May 20, 2019 11:40 AM CDT