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ICC urged to probe Canadian detainee transfers
International | 2007/04/27 02:42

Two Canadian law professors and human rights activists have written to the International Criminal Court (ICC), asking it to investigate "possible war crimes" by top Canadian defence officials. Michael Byers of the University of British Columbia and William Schabas, now at the National University of Ireland, sent a letter to ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo accusing Canadian Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor and Chief of Canada's Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier of transferring detainees to Afghan custody despite a strong possibility that they would be tortured. In response to criticism about the transfers, including opposition calls for his resignation, O'Connor Wednesday announced the start of a new arrangement between Canada and Afghanistan that will allow Canadian officials to inspect Afghan prisoners after they had been transferred to Afghan custody to make sure that they have not subjected to torture; Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that the new agreement would soon be "formalized."

In February the Canadian government ordered an official inquiry into reported detainee abuse by Canadian troops in Afghanistan. The probe began following a civilian complaint filed by University of Ottawa law professor Amir Attaran, whose research uncovered a pattern of suspicious injuries on three detainees captured last April and later released. In 2005, Hillier signed the Canada-Afghanistan Detainee Agreement authorizing the transfers; Attaran said the agreement did not give Canada the power to inspect detainees after their transfers, thus allowing broad latitude for torture to occur.



'Spambot' creators facing federal lawsuit in Virginia
Court Watch | 2007/04/27 02:33

A Utah-based anti-spam technology company filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Alexandria Thursday in an effort to identify the people behind so-called "spambots", programs that search the Internet for e-mail addresses to sell to spammers. Unspam Technologies Inc. operates a spam harvester-tracking Web site called Project Honey Pot that has collected thousands of Internet addresses connected to spam harvesters. It has been unable to link those addresses to actual people, but hopes to do so during the discovery process of the lawsuit, said plaintiff's lawyer Jon Praed. Although collecting e-mail addresses is not illegal, using that information to spam is prohibited under federal and state laws. Praed said Unspam can show that the emails were collected for that purpose.

This is the latest effort to combat the growing problem of Internet spam. In 2004, a Maryland judge struck down as unconstitutional the state's 2002 Commercial Electronic Mail Act, the first state law to punish senders of spam. Also in 2004, several major Internet companies filed anti-spam lawsuits under the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which prohibits deceptive or abusive web advertising techniques such as the use of false return addresses or misleading subject lines to trick users into opening messages.



Police Seek Suspect in New York Trooper’s Death
Breaking Legal News | 2007/04/27 01:41

Authorities recovered a body from an upstate New York farmhouse that burned down after police surrounded it in search of a man suspected of killing a state trooper and wounding two others, a state police spokesman said Wednesday.

"At this time, we have recovered a charred body from the house, but we can't confirm who it is yet," said Lt. Galletto, who did not give his first name.

Officials had a "reasonable degree of certainty" that Travis Trim, 23, was inside the building during the fire, New York State Police Acting Superintendent Preston Felton said earlier.

The cause of the fire was unknown, but Felton said authorities fired several canisters of tear gas into the building shortly before the fire broke out at 6 p.m.

"We're not saying it can absolutely not cause a fire, but it's not constructed to cause a fire," he said of the gas.

Earlier Wednesday, Troopers David C. Brinkerhoff and Richard Mattson were shot while searching the farmhouse for Trim, Felton said, according to The Associated Press.

"They had a good 20 shots going back and forth," witness Chan Squires told the AP. "You could hear them ringing out."

Authorities said Brinkerhoff died in the shooting.

"One of our best has fallen and another has been seriously wounded in the line of duty," Gov. Eliot Spitzer said in a statement Wednesday.

The officers were pursuing Trim after he allegedly shot Trooper Matthew Gombosi on Tuesday when he was stopped for a minor traffic violation near Margaretville. Gombosi was not seriously injured because he was wearing body armor, police said.

"The silence that is in this town right now it's eerie, and our hearts go out to the troopers who are doing what they do to protect us. It is devastating," one resident said.

"Today, the New York State Police and the state of New York suffered a tremendous loss," the governor's statement said.

He asked "all New Yorkers to keep the State Police in their thoughts and prayers during this harrowing time."



U.S. congressional committee subpoenas Rice
Political and Legal | 2007/04/26 08:59

U.S. congressional committee on Wednesday ramped up its investigation of the Bush administration, subpoenaing the testimony of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. ccording to congressional voting records, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted 21-10 to subpoena Rice as part of its investigation of the Bush administration's assertion that Iraq sought to purchase uranium in Africa -- a claim that was used to justify going to war in Iraq.

In his opening statement, Committee Chairman Harry Waxman, a Californian Democrat, said he prefers to issue subpoenas as a "last resort," adding that he felt he had "hit a brick wall" with Rice.

"For four years, I have been trying to get information from Rice on a variety of issues, including the reference to uranium and Niger in the president's 2003 State of the Union speech," Waxman said.

"My request is simple: I would like Secretary Rice to suggest a date that would be convenient for her to testify before our committee," he said.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, quickly denounced the committee's actions, saying it is merely a "partisan show."

The committee also passed issuing subpoenas to Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Mike Duncan and for the e-mails White House officials composed on RNC e-mail accounts with regard to the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys.

The committee's move is part of the Democratic-led Congress's ongoing investigations of the conducts of the Bush administration.



Morgan's wealth group settles bias suit
Class Action | 2007/04/26 08:58

Morgan Stanley's Global Wealth Management Group has announced it will pay at least $46 million to settle a class action filed by eight current and former female financial advisers and registered trainees. Under terms of the settlement announced yesterday, which is subject to the approval of the U.S. District Court in Washington, the New York-based firm will adopt new programs in such areas as account redistribution, training and management development designed to enhance the success of women financial advisers.

Also under the terms of the settlement, the firm will establish a process through which women financial advisers who believe they were historically disadvantaged because of their gender may submit monetary claims to a Special Master jointly appointed by the parties.

A $46 million pool has been established to pay such claims and related costs.

"We are firmly committed to the initiatives we will be undertaking to attract and retain women financial advisors and help them be as successful as possible, and pleased to resolve a legal matter stemming from the past. Our goal – across the organization – is to be the employer-of-choice for talented women," said Caroline Gundeck, head of the GWMG Office of Diversity.



Banks hit TJ Maxx owner with class-action lawsuit
Class Action | 2007/04/26 05:55

The Massachusetts Bankers Association said Tuesday it is filing a class action lawsuit against TJX Companies Inc. after thieves stole data from at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards used at the retailer's stores over 17 months.

The association said it will seek to recover damages in the tens of million of dollars.

The Connecticut Bankers Association, the Maine Association of Community Banks and individual banks will be co-plaintiffs, the association said.

The Massachusetts Bankers Association said it is filing the lawsuit to "protect customer privacy and data security for customer accounts."

The TJX data breach was discovered Dec. 18 and investigators have since been looking for evidence of who hacked into the store's electronic network. TJX uncovered the breach after seeing "suspicious software" on its computer systems. The theft is believed to be the biggest breach of customer records in the United States.

The association said there have been "dramatic costs" to financial institutions to protect consumers as a result. Banks had to re-issue debit cards to customers, which can cost up to $25 per card, the association said. Banks also typically cover any fraudulent charges by replacing money in customers' accounts.

"Protecting consumers is our number one priority," said Lindsey Pinkham, senior vice president of the Connecticut Bankers Association. "However, retail data breaches are getting larger and more frequent and we cannot continue to absorb the costs."

The association said the lawsuit also will seek to prove that TJX was responsible for "negligent misrepresentation," since it said it was safeguarding and disposing of cardholder data.

TJX said it could not comment on pending litigation.



Canada to ban inefficient light bulbs by 2012
International | 2007/04/26 05:43

Canada will ban the use of inefficient light bulbs nationwide by 2012 in a bid to reduce energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gases, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn said Wednesday. Lunn said the ban would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than six million tons a year, saving homeowners about 60 Canadian dollars (54 U.S. dollars) annually in electricity costs.

"Today, we're making a commitment to set performance standards ... within five years, all of those energy-inefficient lighting and bulbs, they're going to be gone," Lunn told reporters in Ottawa.

More efficient lighting would include compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), which use about 75 percent less electricity than older incandescent bulbs.

In the world, many places have recently moved toward banning standard incandescent bulbs. Australia announced in February that it was going to prohibit the use of incandescent bulbs by 2010 in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.



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Class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, at least the U.S. variant of it. In the United States federal courts, class actions are governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule. Since 1938, many states have adopted rules similar to the FRCP. However, some states like California have civil procedure systems which deviate significantly from the federal rules; the California Codes provide for four separate types of class actions. As a result, there are two separate treatises devoted solely to the complex topic of California class actions. Some states, such as Virginia, do not provide for any class actions, while others, such as New York, limit the types of claims that may be brought as class actions. They can construct your law firm a brand new website, lawyer website templates and help you redesign your existing law firm site to secure your place in the internet.
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