Iraq

A former Supreme Court clerk, currently President Obama's nominee to serve as ambassador to Iraq, finds his personal life under scrutiny thanks to some racy leaked emails. How racy?

* Does the Bush Administration have Blackwater’s back? The U.S. pushes for specific legal protections from Iraqi law for civilian contractors. [New York Times] * West Virginia: a little less corrupt than last week? WV Supreme Court agrees to rehear Massey Energy case (previously discussed here). [AP; WSJ Law Blog] * D.C. Circuit Chief Judge […]

* Gov. Romney wins Michigan. [CNN] * Sen. Clinton faces challenge from “uncommitted.” [CNN] * NV Supreme Court overturns decision allowing Rep. Kucinich to debate. [MSNBC] * Criminal prosecutions of Blackwater security guards would not be easy. [New York Times] * Did CIA lawyers and officials implicitly sign off on the destruction of interrogation tapes? […]

* Pakistan sets parliamentary elections. [CNN] * What’s going on with the AMT? [ABA Journal] * State Department absolves Blackwater of certain shootings. [MSNBC] * Initial OJ hearing begins today. [MSNBC] * Reno businessman pleads guilty during murder trial. [CourtTV]

* Al Gore, law school dropout, wins Nobel Peace Prize. [WSJ Law Blog; Washington Post; New York Times] * Houston crime lab drops the ball, again. [CNN] * Iraqi families sue Blackwater in U.S. court. [CNN] * Lithwick’s take on the interesting SCOTUS case, Medellin v. Texas. [Slate] * McCartney-Mills divorce settlement could break records. […]

* Um, let me get this straight: a U.S. judge is holding a hearing about whether France will comply with the Geneva Conventions? [BBC] * Don’t be fooled by the arbitration award that she got; she’s still Jenny from the block. [AP via Fulton County Daily Report] * Haditha officers sanctioned, but not criminals. [CNN] […]

* Inmate’s last request: pizza for homeless. [CNN] * Iraqi death row inmate claims innocence, confession by torture.[CNN] * Brit convicted for leaking secret Bush-Blair memo. [AP] * AG Gonzales feels he has weathered the Attorneygate storm… [New York Times] * … Meanwhile, another US Attorney firing is revealed. [Washington Post]

* Officers face sanctions in Pat Tillman death in Afghanistan. [CNN; Sportsline] * Australian at Gitmo pleads guilty to terror charges. [New York Times] * Is Coke suing itself… for taste infringement? [Law.com] * DOJ’s Monica Goodling to plead the 5th. [CNN] * Border protection agent gets jail time for taking bribes. [MSNBC]

* The war on terror on trial in Miami. [The Nation via How Appealing] * Death for South Carolina cop-killer; I wonder if the fact that he gets to choose between the chair and the needle in SC helps the constitutionality any. [CNN] * 100 years for U.S. soldier in Iraq rape-murder case. [CNN.com] * […]

* The next great chapter in first-year Contracts: stupid sports bets. [CBS] * What’s a little software piracy between post-Cold War friends, right? [CNN] * Soldiers busted for bribes in Iraq contracts. [MSNBC] * Lawyer takes advantage of that First Amendment right to petition the government for a redress of grievances… And it works! [WSJ […]