Legal news from JURIST's Paper Chase

Here's your daily summary of legal news from Paper Chase, the real-time legal news arm of JURIST...

Pennsylvania couple files federal same-sex marriage lawsuit
[JURIST] A same-sex couple on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania [official website] to receive recognition by the state of their marriage license, which was issued by the state of Massachusetts in 2005. After Cara Palladino and Isabelle Barker were legally married in Massachusetts, they moved to Pennsylvania, which does not recognize same-sex marriage, even if the marriage was legally performed in another state. The couple claims that the state's... [more].
Posted by Theresa Donovan on Sep 26, 2013 04:28 pm

US Senators propose overhaul of surveillance laws
[JURIST] US Senators announced new legislation on Wednesday in a bipartisan effort to reform surveillance laws. In the wake of revealing disclosures from the National Security Agency (NSA) [official website] and Edward Snowden [JURIST news archive], Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), along with co-sponsors Mark Udall (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rand Paul (R-KY), hopes to enact "real, and not just cosmetic, intelligence reform" after outrage from the American public and skepticism from the international community. The bill, which has not... [more].
Posted by Samuel Franklin on Sep 26, 2013 03:28 pm

Japan court orders Apple to pay for patent infringement
[JURIST] The Tokyo District Court [official website, in Japanese] on Thursday ordered Apple [corporate website] to pay 330 million yen, (USD $3.35 million) for patent infringement involving the iPod music player's click wheel controller. The patent is disputed [IANS report] by Japanese inventor Norihiko Saito, whose company applied for the patent in 1998. Presiding Judge Teruhisa Takano stated that the 1998 patent covers the technology that Apple adopted for its iPod in Japan in 2004. The money damages awarded to... [more].
Posted by Samuel Franklin on Sep 26, 2013 02:10 pm

Charles Taylor's 50-year sentence upheld on appeal
[JURIST] The UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) [official website] on Thursday rejected an appeal [judgment] by former Liberian president Charles Taylor [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] of his convictions for war crimes [JURIST report] committed during the decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone [JURIST news archive]. According to press release [text] from the court, Taylor's lawyers appealed his convictions on 42 grounds, arguing that the Trial Chamber erred in evaluating evidence and that the 50-year sentence was "manifestly... [more].
Posted by Lauren Laing on Sep 26, 2013 12:21 pm

Pennsylvania same-sex couples ask court to affirm their marriages
[JURIST] Twenty-one same-sex couples on Wednesday filed suit asking the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court [official website] to affirm the legality of their marriage licenses, which were issued by a county clerk [JURIST report] who believed the state's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional. The couples claim that the state's same-sex marriage ban violates both the state and federal constitutions, and the suit names as defendants Governor Tom Corbett, Attorney General Kathleen Kane and Health Secretary Michael Wolf [official websites]. Earlier this month... [more].
Posted by Lauren Laing on Sep 26, 2013 11:29 am

US signs UN arms trade treaty
[JURIST] The US government on Wednesday signed a UN Arms Trade Treaty [text, PDF] that regulates global trade in conventional arms. US Secretary of State John Kerry [official website], while signing the treaty on behalf of the US government, stated [Reuters report] that the signature would affect US manufacturers and exports only minimally given the already strict export controls for weapons. The treaty still has to be presented to the Senate before it can be ratified. The National Rifle Association... [more].
Posted by Sung Un Kim on Sep 26, 2013 10:07 am

Sri Lanka must improve human rights record: UN rights chief
[JURIST] Sri Lanka must continue to work to improve its human rights record, according to an oral report [text, DOC] by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official website] filed Wednesday with the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website]. The report noted the large military presence in certain regions and lack of civil administration and economic activity, despite four years having passed since the end of the country's26-year civil war [JURIST news archive]. Although there are some... [more].
Posted by Sung Un Kim on Sep 26, 2013 09:32 am

DRC rights abuses continue: UN report
[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official website] on Wednesday welcomed the establishment of a national human rights commission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) [UN materials; BBC backgrounder] but said that rights abuses continue in the east. Pillay's report [text, PDF, in French] attributed the recent violence in the east [press release] to state security forces, the guerrilla group 23 March Movement (M23) [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] and other armed forces. Scott Campbell, director... [more].
Posted by G. Redd on Sep 26, 2013 08:22 am