A panel of federal appeals court judges expressed doubts Thursday that former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and three former military officers can be sued for allegedly allowing torture in U.S. military prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In courtroom arguments, two of the three judges were skeptical that Rumsfeld and three U.S. military officials could face damage claims for exercising command responsibility over subordinates accused of torturing prisoners. Nine prisoners have filed suit.

"You are turning two centuries of Supreme Court jurisprudence on its ear," David Sentelle, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, told an attorney for the detainees.

Sentelle and Judge Harry Edwards suggested that the defendants should be immune from the suit because it wasn't clear that the U.S. Constitution applied overseas when the detainees say they were tortured.

Rumsfeld and the officers shouldn't be allowed to escape accountability, Cecillia Wang, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney for the prsioners, told the judges.

There is no question that Rumsfeld knew that permitting torture violates the U.S. Constitution and he should have to answer the accusations in the lawsuit, said Wang.

A New Jersey Supreme Court justice who refused to participate in all decisions while a temporary judge is assigned to the bench has tempered his protest.

Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto said in an opinion published Wednesday that he will issue decisions in cases in which Judge Edwin Stern participates, so long as the judge's vote doesn't affect the outcome.

Rivera-Soto said he'll continue to defer a decision to vote in cases where Stern's position changes the outcome.

Rivera-Soto maintains it's unconstitutional to have a temporary justice on the court when a quorum of five is present. Chief Justice Stuart Rabner appointed Stern to fill a vacancy that occurred when Gov. Chris Christie did not reappoint Justice John Wallace in May, leaving the seven-member court one member short.

Democrats who control the state Senate have refused to consider Christie's choice to replace Wallace, corporate lawyer Anne Patterson.

Rivera-Soto recently announced his plans to step down rather than seek renomination when his term expires in September. It was doubtful that the justice, who was reprimanded by the court in 2007 for intervening in a conflict between his son and another student at Haddonfield Memorial High School, would have been renominated.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who has been among Rivera-Soto's harshest critics, said Wednesday that the justice is unfit to serve.

Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician who was demonized by Michael Jackson's family and fans, was ordered Tuesday to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter after court testimony showed he administered a powerful anesthetic and other sedatives then left the pop star alone.

The ruling set the stage for what could be the final chapter in the Jackson saga — a high-profile trial that will examine all aspects of the star's death and try to finally place responsibility for his demise at the age of 50.

Witnesses at the six-day preliminary hearing filled a number of gaps in the story of Jackson's final hours, with accounts of his actions and the sad plight of two of his children watching briefly as their father lay dying.

Other witnesses recounted Murray's claim that he delayed calling 911 for perhaps more than an hour while he tried to revive the singer. A security guard indicated that Murray seemed to be rushing to hide evidence before paramedics arrived.

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said the hearing included sufficient evidence to support a possible finding of guilt at trial. Murray's defense attorney Ed Chernoff and prosecutors declined comment on the ruling.

The premier is a defendant in two trials in Milan accusing him of corruption and tax fraud. Both proceedings have been suspended thanks to the legislation, but will resume if the law is overturned by the Constitutional Court.

Berlusconi has always denied wrongdoing.

With journalists jammed in the courtroom, the 15 constitutional judges opened a hearing Tuesday during which the parties will lay out their cases.

A decision is not expected until Thursday.

The law, bitterly contested by the opposition, was passed in March by Berlusconi's conservative forces who control parliament, and went into effect the following month. It marked the third attempt at shielding Berlusconi during his various stints as head of government.

The legislation suspends court proceedings for up to 18 months if the defendant has a "legitimate impediment" stemming from being premier or a member of government. It was designed as a stopgap measure to buy the conservatives time while they prepare a more thorough immunity law for top officials.

Will former media mogul Conrad Black end up going back to prison?

A status hearing Thursday in Chicago isn't expected to answer that question definitively. But it could provide clues about what U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve's inclined to do.

After serving two years of a 6 1/2-year sentence, Black was released from a Florida prison last year pending appeal.

An appeals court in October reversed two of the 66-year-old's fraud convictions. It cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling curtailing "honest services."

But it let stand a fraud and obstruction of justice conviction. Judge St. Eve's options include resentencing Black or freeing him for good based on time served.

Among the steps she could take Thursday is scheduling a resentencing date.

Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox will join Detroit-based Dykema Gossett PLLC as a senior attorney in its litigation department, the law firm CEO confirmed today.

Cox, 49, who ended eight years as the state's chief law enforcement officer on Jan. 1, starts next Monday at Dykema's Detroit office. He will practice in health care fraud, white-collar criminal law and federal and state regulatory compliance, said Dykema Chairman and CEO Rex Schlaybaugh.

Schlaybaugh said the firm leadership had talked with Cox for more than a month about his options upon leaving office. The attorney general seemed a good fit because of his involvement in health care transactions and the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, enacted last year.

"Mike is someone with a great deal of experience with the complexities of implementing that law and a great interest in it, which will be very important to some of our strategic clients," Schlaybaugh said.

"Many federal and state government agencies are also involved in aspects of these laws, and navigating that will be a high-demand area. In that way, I think he dovetails with our firm's needs very nicely."

Cox's health care practice will focus on client responses to increased compliance and tougher anti-fraud policies stemming from the Affordable Care Act, violations of the federal Stark Law or False Claims Act and responses to inquiries from the Office of the Health Services inspector general.