Courts, Rulings & Lawsuits

Ninth Circuit weighs in on Trump's immigrant detention policy, says it goes against longstanding precedent

As other appeals courts have also done over the last year as President Trump's goons go about trying to rid the country of immigrants of all kinds, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a new ruling striking down the administration's policy of detaining immigrants within the country. The decision, written by Trump appointee Judge Daniel Bress, came down Thursday in a case out of Washington state. And it arrives just as Trump's ICE operation has increasingly been seeking out immigrants with expired visas flying domestically at US airports.

SFist

Fraser Bohm loses motion to dismiss murder charges

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Monday denied a defense motion to dismiss murder charges against Fraser Michael Bohm, clearing the way for the 24-year-old to stand trial in September for the crash that killed four Pepperdine University students in October 2023. In a standing room only courtroom filled with many Bohm supporters, Judge Thomas Rubinson rejected the defense's claim that prosecutors violated their legal obligation to disclose potentially favorable evidence before Bohm's preliminary hearing, ruling that the alleged undisclosed information either was not in the possession of the prosecution or was available to the defense through other sources.

Malibu Times

High-profile lawyer Tom Goldstein appeals conviction

Former U.S. Supreme Court advocate Tom Goldstein has appealed his federal tax conviction, opening the next chapter in one of the legal profession’s most closely watched criminal cases. The appeal follows a recent six-year prison sentence imposed after a federal jury found Goldstein guilty of multiple tax and financial crimes. The case has drawn national attention because Goldstein spent decades as one of America’s leading Supreme Court litigators.

JD Journal

‘Selfishness,’ without more, does not gut agent immunity

U.S. District Court Judge Otis D. Wright II of the Central District of California erred in ruling that immunity protections that apply in California to shield a corporate officer from liability for tortious interference of contract based on business-related decisions do not apply if those choices benefit the defendant personally, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held. 

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

TikTok settling three teen social media lawsuits ahead of trial

TikTok has agreed to settle three lawsuits brought by young people who accuse social media companies of designing their platforms to be addictive and harming their ​mental health, a plaintiffs' lawyer said Monday. The terms of the settlements are confidential and ‌subject to the finalization of written settlement agreements with TikTok, according to Joseph VanZandt, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

Reuters

CA ruling making it difficult to keep repeat nonviolent offenders in custody before trial: SF DA

San Francisco officials say retail theft has declined and enforcement efforts have intensified, but a recent California Supreme Court ruling could make it more difficult to keep some repeat offenders in custody before trial. The issue comes as police and prosecutors increasingly use new legal tools and technology to target shoplifting and organized retail crime. In one recent operation, San Francisco police arrested 22 people in a single night for shoplifting, according to video released by the Police Department's Organized Retail Crime Task Force.

ABC7 News

9^th Circ.  won’t toss ex-supervisor’s fraud conviction

The Ninth Circuit on Monday denied former Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ bid to escape his fraud and conspiracy convictions, finding his ‘funneling’ scheme of giving $100,000 to the University of Southern California before it facilitated the same amount moving to his son’s nonprofit constituted a “thing of value”.

Law 360

Judge grants conditional retrial for damages from LAPD retaliation suit

A judge has granted a conditional retrial regarding future out-of-pocket damages awarded to one of four LAPD officers collectively awarded $14.6 million after alleging they were retaliated against for reporting serious safety hazards and issues at a firing range and armory. The Los Angeles Superior Court panel found in favor of Officers Craig Burns, Alexander Chan, Mark Hogan and Kristine Salazar in April after a multiple-day trial in the courtroom of Judge Kristin Escalante.

mynewsLA.com

Asylum unavailable where threats were never followed by harm

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a bid for review of a decision by an administrative body giving the go-head to the deportation of a woman and her minor child to Guatemala, with a dissenter arguing that there should be a remand with instructions to rethink whether asylum should be granted based on multiple threats of harm causing the petitioners to stay cooped up at home and protected by a private security company.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Insurer sues insurer over liability for death of pitcher

One of the Los Angeles Angel’s insurers is suing another insurance company over its refusal to defend the baseball team in wrongful-death litigation connected to pitcher Tyler Skaggs’s fatal ingestion of illicit drugs in 2019. Family members have blamed the Angels because its director of communications, Erik Kay, was allegedly Skaggs’s supplier. They assert that the Angels knew of Kay’s drug peddling but did not act to protect Skaggs.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

SAF files motion for preliminary injunction in CA Glock ban lawsuit

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a motion for preliminary injunction in Renna v. Bonta, its case now challenging California’s Glock ban in addition to California’s Handgun Roster. In October last year, lawmakers in California passed Assembly Bill 1127, which expanded the already unconstitutional Unsafe Handgun Act (UHA), stating that on July 1, 2026 “…licensed firearms dealers ‘shall not sell, offer for sale, exchange, give, transfer, or deliver any semiautomatic machinegun-convertible pistol.’”

Second Amendment Foundation

LAPD officer who recorded colleagues’ racist comments charged with felony eavesdropping

Los Angeles County prosecutors on Friday charged an LAPD officer with felony eavesdropping for making secret recordings of his colleagues’ racist, sexist and homophobic comments on the job. The officer, Daniel Flores, was charged with 16 felony counts of eavesdropping on or recording confidential communications - crimes that carry a sentence of up to 13 years in prison, if convicted. In a statement announcing the charges, L.A. Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said that while he found the recorded comments deplorable, Flores still violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act, which prohibits recording others without their consent.

Los Angeles Times

Bell police officer charged with illegally accessing DMV Information, placing GPS tracking device on ex-girlfriend’s car

A Bell police officer has been charged with illegally accessing a California Department of Motor Vehicles database to get information about his ex-girlfriend’s former boyfriend and illegally placing a GPS tracking device on the ex-girlfriend’s vehicle. “Mr. Ixcoy, a sworn law enforcement officer, is accused of going to great lengths to secretly and surreptitiously find information about two people who were totally unaware he was abusing his authority as a police officer,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman.

Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office

Dozens of OC parents may face criminal charges stemming from e-bike, e-moto cases

County prosecutors are going over more than two dozen open investigations into parents of children suspected of illegally riding e-bikes or e-motorcycles, officials said this week. According to The Orange County District Attorney's Office, prosecutors have 26 open investigations into parents that could potentially result in criminal cases. The information was delivered during a community meeting in Seal Beach, according to district attorney Spokesperson Kimberly Edds.

Patch

Irvine man charged in horrific Chino Hills kidnapping and execution

Jianquan Bo, 66, of Irvine, faces felony murder and kidnapping charges following the shocking abduction and execution of Chino Hills real estate businessman Aikebaer Shukur, 60. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office announced today that formal charges have been filed under Case #FWV26002653, following a joint investigation by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI. The incident, described by officials as a calculated act of violence stemming from a soured multi-million dollar business dispute, culminated in a tense police pursuit and an execution in front of law enforcement officers.

New Santa Ana

District Attorney Hochman joins local law enforcement officials and LADA's Advisory Boards to provide updates on efforts to combat hate crimes countywide

The District Attorney’s Office has made combating hate crimes a priority through aggressive prosecution, community outreach and close collaboration with law enforcement agencies and community organizations. The Office continues to encourage victims and witnesses to report hate crimes so perpetrators can be held accountable. District Attorney Hochman has also pushed back against policies that allow perpetrators of violent hate crimes to avoid standard incarceration. 

Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office

Proposition 36 created ‘treatment-mandated felonies.’ What it really created is a complicated mess

A few years ago, when viral videos of marauding packs of smash-and-grab thieves and open drug markets in San Francisco seemed to be everywhere, a group of tough-on-crime conservatives mashed the two issues together and created Proposition 36 - a set of new laws that supposedly would combine addiction treatment with punishment for those who refused or failed to kick their miscreant ways.

Los Angeles Times

Immigration officials misused weapons hundreds of times during protests, report

Human rights investigators have documented hundreds of instances of misuse of crowd-control weapons at protests of immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump returned to office. Department of Homeland Security employees and local law enforcement both committed violations of standards of use for crowd-control weapons, injuring protesters, according to a report from Physicians for Human Rights and the University of California, Berkeley’s Human Rights Center. 

Capital & Main

450,000 student loan borrowers may get debt forgiven in $23B settlement

A $23 billion class-action settlement with the Department of Education could result in debt forgiveness for 450,000 student loan borrowers following years of legal disputes spanning three presidential terms. The plaintiffs argued their schools misled them with false promises that their education would lead to higher earnings, transferable credits and stable careers. They also said the Trump administration delayed delivering the settlement they were entitled to.

WEAU13 News

Trump is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow new mail ballot restrictions in the 2026 midterms

Elections are back before the U.S. Supreme Court: The Trump administration is asking the justices to quickly lift an order blocking its efforts to put new restrictions on mail-in voting for the fast-approaching midterm elections. It’s unclear how the justices will rule, but the case focuses on a narrow question of whether or not the lower courts issued premature rulings rather than the broader questions about the legality of the executive order.

VOTEBEAT

The LA Olympics is expected to displace unhoused people living around venues. So what's the plan?

Two years out from the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Los Angeles officials say security requirements could displace hundreds of unhoused people living around competition venues during the summer of 2028. But there's no plan for how those people will be relocated, where they'll go, or who will pay for it. Exactly how many people might be forced out around venues is not yet clear. The plans will come down to security perimeters - zones around event sites established by the U.S. Secret Service.

LAist

Voters to decide if Pacific Palisades should be exempt from 'mansion tax'

The Los Angeles City Council voted 13-1 Tuesday to place a measure on the November ballot to have voters decide whether to exempt Pacific Palisades from the city's so-called "mansion tax." Voters will be asked to exempt the sale of homes damaged or destroyed by the January 2025 Palisades Fire from Measure United to House Los Angeles, known as Measure ULA. The proposal calls for a one-time, five-year exemption, starting from the date of the fire emergency.

Patch

Mayor Bass criticizes DA for charging LAPD officer accused of recording co-workers' racist comments

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Wednesday criticized prosecutors for criminally charging an LAPD officer accused of illegally recording the conversations of colleagues who allegedly made racist, sexist and homophobic comments. Daniel Flores, 43, was charged last week with 16 felony counts of eavesdropping or recording confidential communications. He is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 10 in downtown Los Angeles.

ABC7 Los Angeles

Hearing set for Councilman Curren Price on corruption charges

A hearing is set Friday on the defense’s request to dismiss the case against Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price, who was ordered earlier this year to stand trial in a public corruption case stemming from allegations he misused public funds and failed to disclose financial interests. Price, 75, is charged with a dozen felony counts, including grand theft by embezzlement of public funds, conflict of interest and perjury.

mynewsLA.com

Southern California

Multiple communities sue Lineage over June warehouse fire

Another lawsuit has been filed against Lineage Inc., this time by residents of multiple communities who allege their lives have been negatively impacted by the June fire at the company’s cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights. The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages while alleging public nuisance, negligence-based claims, trespass and premises liability. The plaintiffs are from Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, Commerce and Montebello. 

mynewsLA.com

Mayor Bass announces executive order to delay Lineage rebuilding requests

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced an executive order Friday directing city departments to delay rebuilding plan requests at the Lineage Logistics site in Boyle Heights as cleanup continues after a fire at the cold food storage warehouse. The order asks those departments, which are tasked with reviewing and considering rebuilding permit requests, to place any requests by the operator of the sprawling warehouse on hold while an investigation of the property and any future use of the site is conducted.

NBC4 Los Angeles

Superior Court of Los Angeles County launches new Unified Court Access Portal for case information, improving ease of use

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County today announced the pilot launch of a unified Court Access Portal. This new centralized case information portal provides the public, court users, and attorneys with a single, user-friendly destination to access publicly available case information online across several litigation types. The portal can be accessed at CAP.lacourt.ca.gov. The portal consolidates case information, document access, and calendar information across civil, criminal, family law, juvenile justice, juvenile dependency, mental health, and probate litigation types into one intuitive interface, eliminating the need to navigate multiple systems.

Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles

50 stolen vehicles, parts worth $1.8 million seized in Southern California chop shop bust

Two suspects were arrested and dozens of stolen vehicles and vehicle parts were recovered after a monthslong investigation led to the discovery of an active chop shop in Norco, the California Highway Patrol announced Friday. In April, authorities began an investigation into the theft of a motorcycle reported in Canyon Lake, which led investigators to an organized crime group allegedly responsible for multiple vehicle thefts across Southern California, the CHP said.

KTLA5 Los Angeles

Authorities say 251 dogs found at Linda Blair’s Acton rescue site

Actress Linda Blair was cited for operating an animal facility without a license and exceeding the number of animals allowed in a residence after inspectors found 251 dogs at her Acton animal rescue, Los Angeles County officials said on Tuesday, Aug. 4. The inspection was carried out Friday, July 31 after multiple complaints alleging that dogs were being kept in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions at the 2.5-acre property occupied by the Linda Blair Worldheart Foundation, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control.

City News Service

Top commander of elite L.A. County sheriff’s unit leaves job amid dishonesty probe

A commander of an elite Los Angeles County sheriff’s unit ignored evidence that cleared a subordinate of wrongdoing and went after him anyway - and then provided “false or misleading” statements about it under oath, an internal investigation found. Top brass recommended that Cmdr. Oscar Barragan, who oversaw the agency’s special enforcement bureau, be discharged for violating the department’s policies on dishonesty and obstructing an investigation, according to an internal July 14 memo reviewed by The Times.

Los Angeles Times

LA County investigators determine what caused 2025 Eaton Fire (Video)

The latest report by the LA County Fire Department blamed Southern California Edison for the deadly wildfire. Eric Leonard reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026.

NBC4 Los Angeles

L.A. homeless provider has paid CEO who lives in Hawaii $1.6 million in salary, vacation over two years

As public spending on homelessness has come under increasing scrutiny, a nonprofit that runs domestic violence shelters in Southern California has paid its CEO, who lives in Hawaii, more than $1.6 million in salary, vacation pay and other compensation for the last two years of tax filings, a sum that is several times larger than the compensation of executives running similar organizations. In the nonprofit’s 2024 tax form, the latest to be made public, Carol Adelkoff, the chief executive officer of 1736 Family Crisis Center, earned $742,181.

Los Angeles Times

Public Safety

Man stabbed to death near Metrolink station in San Fernando

A man was fatally stabbed on Friday, July 31 in the area of a Metrolink station in San Fernando, and the suspect remained at large. Officers responded at about 2:05 p.m. Friday to the 12200 block of Frank Modugno Drive to reports of a stabbing. Police said a man, roughly 30 to 40 years old and on a bicycle, stabbed the other man before fleeing. The victim’s name was withheld pending notification of relatives.

City News Service

Shoplifting declines but fraud schemes evolve

There’s good and bad news for retailers in a new study on retail theft. Retail store theft levels are stabilizing, but external theft and fraud overall continue to rise, according to “The Impact of Theft & Violence 2026” report released by the National Retail Federation and the Loss Prevention Research Council, and sponsored by Sensormatic Solutions. The findings highlight the evolving nature of organized retail criminals exploiting both the physical and digital retail environments.

CSA

LA influencer Adva Lavie held without bail following new theft charges, alleged ankle monitor removal

Social media influencer and OnlyFans model Adva Lavie was ordered held without bail in Van Nuys Superior Court on Friday following her arrest earlier in the week. Lavie, who was already awaiting trial on six felony counts related to an alleged dating app theft scheme, was taken into custody on a new warrant out of Riverside County.

FOX11 Los Angeles

Motorist finds man shot dead on Van Nuys residential street

A homicide investigation is underway after a motorist found a man dead on a Van Nuys street Monday morning. Officers initially responded to a reported stabbing in the area of Hart Street and Murrieta Avenue at about 2:10 a.m., a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed to KTLA. When officers arrived, they found multiple shell casings and determined that the victim had been shot in the head. The unidentified man was pronounced dead at the scene.

KTLA5 Los Angeles

L.A. Metro sees continued decline in people experiencing homelessness on its system

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) revealed that there was a 57% decrease in the number of people experiencing homelessness on the transit system since 2024, the second consecutive year of progress noted by the agency. The 2026 point-in-time count found 31% fewer people experiencing homelessness in the transit system than the previous year. 

Mass Transit

Trump visit: Downey man arrested, weapons found after ‘suspicious’ behavior at RPV golf course

A Downey resident who appeared to be interested in security precautions and had weapons with him was arrested at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes over the weekend, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said on Tuesday, Aug. 4, just days before the president was scheduled to speak there at a fundraiser. The suspect had a 16-round magazine of hollow-point ammunition in his pocket, and a loaded pistol with a round in the chamber and a second hollow-point ammunition magazine in his car, parked in a lot on golf course property, which deputies searched after finding that he was under investigation by El Segundo police for robbery, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Los Angeles Daily News

CDCR report finds prop. 57 rehabilitative programming instrumental in keeping people from returning to prison 

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) published its latest recidivism report, finding that formerly incarcerated people are substantially less likely to return to prison if they’ve successfully completed rehabilitative programming. More than 66 percent of those released stayed conviction free - the second-lowest recidivism rate on record. “The results are clear: when we invest in rehabilitation, public safety improves,” said Amy Casias, Director of Rehabilitation Programs. 

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Child located, suspect arrested after alleged Van Nuys home-invasion kidnap

A man who allegedly forced his way into a Van Nuys home Wednesday and fled with a child in a possible custody dispute has been taken into custody, and the child has been located, police said. Police were notified of an alleged home invasion and kidnapping at about 8:10 a.m. Wednesday in the 7600 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, a couple blocks north of Saticoy Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

mynewsLA.com

Death at Southern California prison investigated as homicide

Officials are investigating the recent death of an inmate at a California state prison as a homicide, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Saturday. Staff at the Richard J. Donovan Prison in San Diego County allegedly found 66-year-old prisoner Hector Ozuna unresponsive inside his cell at 6:07 a.m. on Aug. 1. Ozuna was sharing the cell with his cellmate, 30-year-old Alexis Guerrero, at the time of the suspected homicide, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

KTLA5 Los Angeles

International coalition urges Newsom to commute California’s death sentences before leaving office

A coalition of 46 international human rights and abolitionist organizations is urging California Gov. Gavin Newsom to use the final months of his administration to commute every death sentence in the state, arguing that the move would eliminate the threat of execution for more than 550 people and send a powerful global message in support of ending capital punishment. The organizations say California, which holds more than one-quarter of the nation’s death row population, presents a historic opportunity to reshape the future of the death penalty in the United States.

Vanguard News Group

Man convicted of 2019 murder of off-duty LAPD officer in Lincoln Heights

A 27-year-old man was found guilty today of the 2019 murder of Los Angeles Police Officer Juan Diaz while he was off duty in Lincoln Heights. “This verdict marks a long-awaited and important milestone in this case that has demanded patience and diligence from everyone involved. While this decision represents a significant step toward accountability, it does not lessen the profound loss of life that was taken or the lasting impact on those who knew and loved Officer Juan Diaz,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said.“

Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office

L.A. man sentenced to more than 3 years in federal prison for pouring lighter fluid on burning CHP vehicle during a-ICE riot in DTLA

An illegal alien from Mexico living in the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison for pouring two bottles of lighter fluid onto a burning California Highway Patrol (CHP) vehicle and throwing an electric scooter over a freeway overpass near officers during an anti‑immigration law enforcement riot in a downtown Los Angeles last year. Yachua Mauricio Flores, 23, was sentenced by United States District Judge John F. Walter, who also ordered him to pay $253,415 in restitution. 

United States Attorney's Office, Central District of California

Southern California man pleads guilty to murdering father

A Ventura County man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for stabbing his father to death in 2024. Gerardo Arroyo Almanza, 37, of Simi Valley, also pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal threats against additional family members, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said on Aug. 3. On the morning of April 6, 2024, several family members drove to Almanza’s home near East Pinecrest Street and North Justin Avenue to check on his well-being. They parked their cars across the street from his home.

KTLA5 Los Angeles

Ex-LAPD officer gets life sentence for home invasion robbery of teen’s crypto fortune

A former Los Angeles Police Department officer was sentenced Tuesday to life plus 15 years in state prison for his role in a 2024 home invasion robbery in Koreatown in which he and a group of co-conspirators stole $350,000 worth of cryptocurrency from a teenager. The ex-officer, Eric Halem, made a last-ditch request for new trial that was rejected by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mildred Escobedo. 

Los Angeles Times

Man sentenced to life for killing off-duty Monterey Park officer

A 24-year-old man who fatally shot an off-duty Monterey Park police officer during an attempted carjacking in a Downey gym parking lot was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, prosecutors announced. According to investigators, on Aug. 8, 2022, Officer Gardiel Solorio had just parked his vehicle when Carlos Delcid and two accomplices, Gerardo Magallanes and a 17-year-old juvenile, followed him into the L.A. Fitness parking lot. 

KTLA5 Los Angeles

Former federal correctional officer pleads guilty to distributing methamphetamine in federal prison in Lassen County

Antonio Ray Ramirez, 35, of Susanville, pleaded guilty today to one count of distributing methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced. According to court documents, in August 2024, while working as a Correctional Officer, Ramirez knowingly distributed 869 grams of methamphetamine and 127 grams of heroin in the Federal Correctional Institution in Herlong. 

United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California

Authorities release early ransom note in Nancy Guthrie case, hoping someone recognizes it

Authorities released an early ransom note in the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie in hopes that someone will recognize the writing style. A second note, also released Friday, said Guthrie died shortly after she was kidnapped and “is buried in nature now.” Both notes initially were sent to a Tucson television station days after the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie went missing from her home outside Tucson on Feb. 1.

AP

Can MacArthur Park be saved?

Norm Langer has planted a flag at his family’s 79-year-old institution, Langer’s Deli, across from MacArthur Park. He has vowed to remain steadfast in his fight to save the once glorious civic space and return it to the children of Westlake. The feds and the LAPD have now joined his crusade.)

Los Angeles Magazine

Media rules set for Nick Reiner’s upcoming probate hearing

A judge has set rules for media coverage of an Aug. 17 hearing on Nick Reiner’s bid for access to a more than $1.5 million trust fund to help pay for his defense against charges in the killings of his parents - filmmaker Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Reiner. Attorneys for Nick Reiner, 32, filed a 136-page petition in Los Angeles Superior Court on June 8 asking for funds from the trust, which he contends he was entitled to begin receiving two years ago.

mynewsLA.com