Category: Courts

Saudi Court Upholds Marriage of 47-Year-Old Man to 8-Year-Old Girl — Barring Divorce

Saudi Arabia flagA Saudi court has ruled that the marriage 47-year-old man to an 8-year-old girl — upholding the controversial decision in December. Sheikh Habib Al-Habib rejected the mother’s effort to secure a divorce for her child.

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International Blasphemy: The Free World Bars Free Speech

stone-1Here my column in Sunday’s Washington Post on the increasing prosecutions in the West for insulting religion. The rise of international blasphemy prosecutions (and the proposal of the international criminalization of blasphemy) has sacrificed free speech in the name of free exercise.

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Faith Groups Facing Liability Over Discriminatory Faith-Based Policies

thumb_election_scales1Faith organizations and individuals have increasingly been sued over their exclusion or discrimination against homosexuals based on their religious beliefs. As the federal and state governments enforce anti-discrimination policies, they are turning against religious organizations which exclude members based on what they view as immoral practices.

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Family Announces Intent to Sue Over Police Forcing Accused Child Killer to Remove Her Scarf for Mugshot

nour-s-hadidIllinois police have been accused of violating religious sensitivities by forcing Nour Hadid, a 26-year-old woman accused of beating her 2-year-old niece Bhia Hadid to death over four days. She demanded to be photographed wearing her veil covering her face and her husband Alaeddin Hadid has announced an intention to sue the police for the “insult against our religion.”

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Egyptian Court Bans Literature Journal For Publishing Blasphemous Poem

EgyptA respected literature journal, Ibdaa (or Creativity) has been banned by an Egyptian court for publishing blasphemous poem by poet Helmi Salem that compared God to a villager who feeds ducks and milks cows. It is only the latest crackdown on poets who have used the Koran or references to God in artistic ways.

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Tarasoff Revisited: Federal Court Rules That Hospitals May Be Liable for a Murder Committed By a Former Mental Patient

clayThere is an interesting case in Detroit on the liability of hospitals for the actions of third parties — a case with striking similarities to the famous 1976 ruling in Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California.

The Detroit case involves a woman murdered by her husband, Christopher Howard, 10 days after he was released by a Michigan hospital. The Sixth Circuit has ruled that the family of Marie Moses Irons can sue Providence Hospital under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor law requiring emergency treatment of patients by hospitals. The ruling by Judge Eric Clay (left) could have sweeping implications for hospitals across the country.
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Mother Wins Motion to Compel Retrieval of Sperm from Dead Son In Order to Produce Grandchild

image_8543108In Texas, Travis County Probate Judge Guy Herman has issued what may be a fairly unique order. He has agreed to a motion from Marissa Evans to have sperm collected from the corpse of her son, Nikolas Colton Evans, to allow her to have a grandchild through a surrogate mother.

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Federal Judge Appoints Special Prosecutor To Investigate Mishandling of Stevens Prosecution

225px-ted_stevenssullivanIn a remarkable order, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the Justice Department lawyers who mishandled the prosecution of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R., Alaska). The order reflects a degree of dissatisfaction and distrust over the Justice Department’s own internal investigation.

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Vermont Becomes Fourth State To Recognize Gay Marriage

125px-flag_of_vermontsvgflag-rainbow1Vermont’s legislature voted Tuesday to override the veto of Governor Jim Douglas (R) and become the fourth state to recognize gay marriage. This follows Iowa only last week, which achieved the same result through a vote of its Supreme Court. On the same day, the District of Columbia voted to recognize such marriages in other states.

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NASA Captures Hand of God Reaching Across Space . . . As Stevens Goes To Court To Declare Victory

0_61_nebula_chandra_handNASA has captured a picture of what appears to be the hand of God reaching across space. Notably, the picture was taken as former Sen. Ted Stevens (R., Alaska) is about to appear in federal court to declare victory after the Justice Department drops its case against him.

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Federal Judge Rules Justice Department Withheld Evidence That Key Witness in Detainee Cases Was Mentally Disturbed

sullivanThe Justice Department is once again being threatened with contempt of court after United States District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan found that they withheld evidence from the defense that a witness in a “significant” number of cases was mentally disturbed. Judge Sullivan found that the testimony of the detainee was unreliable, could be challenged in other cases, and could be the basis for a possible contempt order against the government.

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