In its 2010 petition seeking civil confinement, the attorney general's office described Williams as a mentally disturbed, sex-obsessed drug user who was unruly and sometimes violent in prison and would likely infect more women if set free.

WSJ: Lawyer: NY man at center of HIV scare not positive

It emerged this week that the CES wrote to nearly 400 state-funded Roman Catholic schools inviting them to back a petition against gay civil marriage.

BBC: Education Minister Michael Gove

The Change.org petition against the civil claim was started by parents of Claire Fauset, one of the activists named in the suit, and has been signed by up to 60, 000 people.

BBC: West Burton power station

The former Indian captain has filed a petition in the Hyderabad civil court following the BCCI's decision to ban him following an inquiry by its anti-corruption investigator K Madhavan.

BBC: Azharuddin challenges life ban

In the Senate in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson and Majority Whip Hubert Humphrey worked closely with Republican leader Everett Dirksen to build a bipartisan coalition for the civil rights bill and for the cloture petition that would end the filibuster.

NPR: In Filibuster Fight, Both Parties Switch Stances

Cuban dissidents have presented an 11, 000-name petition to the National Assembly calling for greater civil liberties.

BBC: Cuba votes on 'untouchable' system