Courts, Rulings & Lawsuits

California kids’ social media addiction law blocked by court

A federal judge fully blocked a California law designed to protect the state’s children from social media addiction until Feb. 1 while the case is pending in the Ninth Circuit, finding that First Amendment issues raised by the law are novel and difficult. The court granted NetChoice’s motion for an injunction pending appeal of a Dec. 31 ruling that partially blocked the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act, which regulates how minors access addictive, algorithm-operated “personalized feeds” on social media platforms.

Bloomberg Law

Prosecutor justified in terming defendants ‘monsters’

Div. Five of the First District Court of Appeal has held that a prosecutor’s reference during argument to the jury to two Latino defendants who do not speak English as “monsters” and “predators” did violate the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 and did not otherwise amount to prosecutorial misconduct in light of the egregiousness of the defendants’ conduct in raping and sodomizing a woman they had abducted. 

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Business groups sue over California’s new ban on ‘captive audience meetings’

California business groups have sued to stop the state from implementing a new law that prohibits companies from ordering workers to attend meetings on unionization and other matters. The law, Senate Bill 399, went into effect Jan. 1 and makes it illegal to penalize an employee who refuses to attend a meeting at which their employer discusses its “opinion about religious or political matters,” including whether to join a union.

Los Angeles Times

9th Circuit Court overturns man's gun conviction, citing broad domestic assault law

A U.S. appellate court overturned the federal gun conviction of Michael DeFrance, the ex-boyfriend of Jermain Charlo, a Missoula woman missing since 2018. The court ruled DeFrance's 2013 domestic violence conviction under state law did not meet the federal definition necessary to prevent him from owning firearms. DeFrance was convicted under Montana’s misdemeanor partner or family member assault law for assaulting Charlo and was later found in possession of firearms in 2018.

NBC Montana

Judge denies church's arbitration motion in former pastor's suit

A judge has ruled a former pastor who alleges he blew the whistle on financial malfeasance at a Rolling Hills Estates church can proceed with his wrongful termination suit, finding that the plaintiff is not bound by his former employment agreement to arbitrate his claims. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Tony L. Richardson ruled Thursday that although plaintiff Daniel A. Burgoyne signed a document indicating his willingness to arbitrate any employment disputes, the Christian conciliation service chosen by the church to conduct such proceedings was qualified in mediation, but not arbitration.

City News Service

Martial arts instructor liable for student’s sparring injury

Div. One of the Fourth District Court of Appeal has held, in a 2-1 decision, that a combat or grappling sports instructor may be held liable for a student’s injuries under a negligence standard of care where he performs an act that increases the danger to the participant while not engaged in active instruction even though the assumption of risk doctrine generally prevents coach liability absent reckless or intentional behavior.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

S.C. curtails criminal liability for failure to protect child

The California Supreme Court yesterday overturned, in a divided opinion, the second-degree murder conviction of a mother accused in the death of her two-month-old son at the hands of the boy’s father - the defendant’s live-in boyfriend who was a known methamphetamine user had a history of abusing both her and the child - holding that murder liability based on a parent’s failure-to-protect only attaches if the party knows that a fatal act is occurring.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

California tribes sue cardrooms over alleged illegal gambling

The lawsuit, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, alleges that these privately owned gambling establishments are offering illegal card games such as blackjack and poker, encroaching on the tribes’ exclusive rights to operate these games. This legal action is the first of its kind under Senate Bill 549, a new law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September that took effect on January 1. The law grants tribes a limited three-month window to challenge cardrooms over disputed games. 

Next.io

Prosecutors

DA aims to send message with charges against mall shooting suspect

A 25-year-old man was charged with attempted murder Friday in connection with Monday's shoplifting shootings that stunned Los Angeles. Jabril Metoyer, who was arrested the next day following an hours-long standoff with police, pleaded not guilty Friday morning to three counts of attempted murder and five counts of attempted second-degree robbery.

Los Angeles Patch

Two teenagers will face trial for the murder of actor Johnny Wactor

Two 18-year-olds will stand trial for the murder of workaday actor Johnny Wactor, after a Superior Court judge found Tuesday there is sufficient evidence that the two committed the crime, following a two-day preliminary hearing. The hearing featured testimony from two homicide detectives, who said that the Robert Barceleau and Sergio Estrada were members of the notorious Florencia 13 gang, and were in the midst of an all-night crime spree during which they stole six catalytic converters.

Courthouse News Service

Ninth Circuit declines to find electro-shock is ‘torture,’ justifying relief from deportation

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held yesterday that a petitioner was properly denied the withholding of removal based on allegations that, if deported, he was likely to be institutionalized in Mexico and subjected to mandated electro-convulsive therapy - during which electric currents are applied to the brain in order to address symptoms of certain mental health conditions - and other behavioral modification techniques.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Charges filed against Beverly Hills doctor in sexual assault

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced that Beverly Hills physician Babak Hajhosseini, 42, has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman in the city of Los Angeles on Aug. 18. “Our office’s Sex Crimes Division is working diligently to bring justice to the victim in this case,” Hochman said in a statement. “The case remains under investigation, and we encourage anyone with information about the defendant or similar incidents to contact the Los Angeles Police Department.”

Beverly Hills Courier

Policy/Legal/Politics

UCLA loses multi-million-dollar gift over handling of campus protests

Months after pro-Palestinian protests and counter-protests erupted into chaos on the UCLA campus, new insights have emerged into the decision-making process and pressures that unfolded behind the scenes. KTLA filed a public records request with UCLA on April 30 as the encampment was growing, seeking any emails from former Chancellor Gene Block‘s office or his support staff related to the protests.

KTLA

Court reporters and the new front in the war over electronic recording

A record of court proceedings is an essential component of our justice system. Without an audio or video recording or word-for-word transcript, the facts of what happened in court may be disputed, which could ultimately jeopardize a party’s chance for an appeal. But in California, court hearings are regularly held without a verbatim or near-verbatim record ever being created. Some legal advocates say that’s a violation of basic constitutional protections and blame an unusual state law for the problem.

Capitol Weekly

LA wants deputy city attorney to arbitrate whistleblower retaliation claim

A veteran prosecutor for the City Attorney's Office who is suing the city of Los Angeles, alleging his career "has now gone backward" for complaining that the office's criminal branch was non-compliant with state and federal requirements regarding the safekeeping of digital evidence, must arbitrate his claims, defense attorneys argue in new court papers. Deputy City Attorney David Bozanich's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges whistleblower retaliation. 

City News Service

L.A. County’s newest D.A. swept the Westside and San Fernando Valley

Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park went all out for Nathan Hochman last year, speaking in support of his bid for L.A. County District Attorney at fundraising events, news conferences and neighborhood meet-and-greets. Voters in Park’s Westside district turned out to be nearly as enthusiastic, with more than 57% backing Hochman in the Nov. 5 election. Park, who took office in 2022, said she heard regularly from constituents who were eager to oust incumbent Dist. Atty. George Gascón - and wanted an end to what she called “soft on crime” policies.

Los Angeles Times

As California tribes sue their gambling rivals, cities could be the losers

On their first opportunity since a new law took effect Jan. 1, seven casino-owning Native American tribes filed suit in Sacramento County Thursday against dozens of California card rooms, opening a new front in one of last year’s most expensive political battles. Now, millions of dollars of tax revenues that pay for city services such as police and road repairs could be in jeopardy.

LAist

Court cracks down on California agency that denied Musk rocket launch expansion

A California court cracked down on the California Coastal Commission for its “prejudicial abuse of discretion” when denying homebuilding permits. The same agency infamously blocked a U.S. Air Force request to allow Elon Musk’s SpaceX to increase its California rocket launches, citing the entrepreneur’s politics.  

The Center Square

Justice Dept. urges Supreme Court to reject Trump request to delay TikTok ban law

The U.S. Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court late on Friday to reject President-elect Donald Trump's request to delay implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale by Jan. 19. Last week, Trump filed a legal brief arguing he should have time after taking office on Jan. 20 to pursue a "political resolution" to the issue. The court is set to hear arguments in the case on Jan. 10.

Reuters

Tougher laws on retail theft, property crime to take effect in 2025

A number of new state laws addressing organized retail theft and property crime that impose stiffer penalties and lift restrictions on police and prosecutors are set to take effect in 2025, the governor’s office announced Monday in a campaign to highlight new legislation. The “landmark” legislative package aimed at combating property and retail crime is “the most substantial legislation of its kind in modern state history,” officials said. The bipartisan set of laws was announced in August.

Hey SoCal

LAPD stats showed an uptick in robberies. Was it really just shoplifting?

At the Los Angeles Police Department’s weekly crime briefings this fall, its leaders tracked what seemed to be a troubling rise in robberies in police divisions such as Southwest and Rampart. The numbers showed an increase in stickups - if only on paper. Upon closer inspection, department records obtained by The Times indicate that most of the incidents may have started as shoplifting.

Los Angeles Times

Her mother’s killer was freed because of cancer. She wants to change California’s laws

At a hearing in the summer, San Diego County Superior Court Judge John Thompson wrestled with the decision before him. “There are very few things that I find now after sitting on the bench for 36 years that are difficult. This is one of them,” he said, according to a June 26 court transcript. “Every fiber of my being tells me I should deny this request.” At question was the fate of Paul Carl Tomasini, who was convicted of brutally murdering Mary Shojai in 2012.

Los Angeles Times

Southern California

LAFD chief says budget cuts hindered response to California fires

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley responded Friday to budget cuts that she says have impacted firefighters’ abilities to fight the deadly wildfires still burning in the area. In an interview with FOX LA’s Gigi Graciette, Crowley said she’s sounding the alarm about what the fire department needs as frustrated and devastated residents continue to criticize the city and county’s response. "My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded," Crowley said. "It’s not."

Fox 11

Leaked memo reveals LA Mayor Karen Bass demanded her fire department cut an extra $49 million just ONE WEEK before wildfires broke out

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass demanded her Fire Department make an extra $49 million of budget cuts last week, a leaked memo revealed. This cut is already on top of $17.6 million of cuts in her latest budget. The extra cuts, requested just days before fires broke out and devastated swathes of Los Angeles, would have shut down 16 fire stations and crippled the department's ability to respond to emergencies, sources said.

Daily Mail

Los Angeles fire budget cut, hundreds of hydrants stolen for scrap before fires

Hundreds of fire hydrants were stolen from the ground for scrap metal in advance of the blazes raging across Los Angeles, highlighting the local government’s challenges in maintaining basic order and infrastructure. “These fire hydrant thefts are yet another sign of how crime is out of control in Los Angeles County,” said Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman to The Center Square before his November election. 

The Center Square

In maps: Thousands of acres on fire in LA

Wildfires are raging in several areas of Los Angeles, with high winds and extremely dry conditions fuelling their progress across thousands of acres of land. Firefighters are so far unable to contain a number of them, with one fire official telling the BBC on Thursday that they were still rapidly expanding. The largest blaze, in the Pacific Palisades area where many celebrities live, is the most destructive fire in the history of Los Angeles. More than 5,300 buildings have been destroyed.

BBC News

LA city program offers resources to bring more unhoused veterans inside

An initiative that originated from Mayor Karen Bass' office will offer more resources for unhoused veterans Friday to move them off the streets and into housing. Through a partnership between the Mayor's Office, the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and the city and county housing authorities, veterans will be able to qualify for and receive housing vouchers at an expedited rate.

City News Service

Supes must come clean on the Los Padrinos closure

The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors voted for an emergency declaration preventing the closure of Los Padrinos, the county’s last remaining juvenile detention facility. Such emergencies are normally declared after natural disasters, giving the county far more power to quickly secure needed resources. In this case the board issued its emergency order after the California Board of State and Community Corrections ordered closure of Los Padrinos.

Joseph Charney/Former County Deputy District Attorney

Homelessness officials recover $13M paid to service providers; judge pushes for more transparency

Officials with Los Angeles’ regional homeless services agency say they’ve recovered about $13 million of $50.8 million paid to service providers beginning in 2018. That’s up from about $2.5 million that had been recovered at the time of a November audit that found the agency had failed to recover millions paid out to contractors in cash advances. The update by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA, came during a federal court hearing Tuesday.

LAist

California/National

New California bill focuses on shoring up insurance in wake of devastating fires

Two California Assembly members responded Thursday to the destructive wildfires in Southern California by introducing a bill they say will help with insurance costs. Assembly Bill 226, called the FAIR Plan Stabilization Act, is intended to help pay for insurance claims through the issuance of catastrophe bonds. That will heighten the ability of the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan to pay claims.

Courthouse News Service

Gmail, Outlook and Apple users urged to watch out for this new email scam: Cybersecurity experts sound alarm

Artificial intelligence: authentic scams. AI tools are being maliciously used to send “hyper-personalized emails” that are so sophisticated victims can’t identify that they’re fraudulent. According to the Financial Times, AI bots are compiling information about unsuspecting email users by analyzing their “social media activity to determine what topics they may be most likely to respond to.”

New York Post

US newspapers are deleting old crime stories, offering subjects a ‘clean slate’

Civil rights advocates across the US have long fought to free people from their criminal records, with campaigns to expunge old cases and keep people’s past arrests private when they apply for jobs and housing. The efforts are critical, as more than 70 million Americans have prior convictions or arrests - roughly one in three adults. But the policies haven’t addressed one of the most damaging ways past run-ins with police can derail people’s lives: old media coverage.

The Guardian

Higher Social Security payments coming for millions of people from bill that Biden is signing

President Joe Biden on Sunday signed into law a measure that boosts Social Security payments for current and former public employees, affecting nearly 3 million people who receive pensions from their time as teachers, firefighters, police officers and in other public service jobs. Advocates say the Social Security Fairness Act rights a decades-old disparity, though it will also put strain on Social Security Trust Funds, which face a looming insolvency crisis.

AP

JetBlue fined $2 million for chronic flight delays

The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a $2 million penalty Friday against JetBlue Airways for multiple chronically delayed flights, the first time the agency has penalized an airline for persistent flight delays. The Transportation Department defines a flight as chronically delayed if it is flown at least 10 times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late more than half of the time. 

The Hill

California taxes military retirement income, but a state bill is trying to change that

Should military retirement income be exempt from state taxation? That’s the goal of one of the very first bills filed for the 2025-26 legislative session. From Sen. Kelly Seyarto, a Republican whose 32nd Senate district includes Yorba Linda, SB 1 seeks to exempt from state taxes military retirement income and Survivor Benefits Plans. Similar to a life insurance policy they are paid out to a spouse or eligible dependent monthly when a retired servicemember dies, according to the Department of Defense.

Orange County Register

Feds order AI company to stop artificially inflating product ratings and reviews

The Federal Trade Commission on Friday approved a final consent order against an artificial intelligence-enabled consumer review platform accused of deceiving consumers. The FTC filed a complaint on Nov. 7 accusing GGL Projects, operating as Sitejabber, of collecting ratings and reviews at the time of purchase for its online business clients.

Courthouse News Service

An ‘industry behemoth.’ Inside the federal government’s efforts to break up Google

In its early days, the quirky tech startup known as Google adopted a visionary corporate credo: “Don’t be evil.” That later evolved into the motto: “Do the right thing,” reflecting the idealistic ambitions of the company’s founders that its technology could be a force for good. Google’s pioneering search technology would transform the internet and its home in Silicon Valley.

Los Angeles Times

Public Safety

20 looting suspects arrested in LA, sheriff issues stern warning

Over two days of fires that sent people fleeing from their communities and for their lives, nearly two dozen people were arrested on suspicion of looting burned homes, according to LA Sheriff Robert Luna on Thursday morning. "We are up to 20 individuals who chose to go into our areas and deprive these poor people, who have been through so much, of their property," Luna said at a Thursday morning news conference. 

Los Angeles Patch

Drone crash disabled a firefighting plane. Many irate with 'shameful' operator

A drone collided with a firefighting aircraft flying over the Palisades fire on Thursday, causing the plane to be grounded for several days of repairs and leading to an investigation into who flew the drone against flight restrictions, officials said. “We hit a drone this afternoon - first one,” said L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone on Thursday. “Our Super Scooper hit a small drone.”

Los Angeles Times

Driver weaves through crowd of LA cyclists: 'Guy almost killed 100+ bikers’

In the video, a white Mercedes-Benz sedan started swerving towards the cyclists, prompting those at the scene to yell "Hey move!" and "Hey, watch out!” While there is no official headcount of the number of people impacted by the near-crash incident on January 4, the person sharing the video claimed in the post that the "guy almost kills 100+ bikers."

Fox11

Officials call Las Vegas Tesla Cybertruck explosion a suicide case (Video)

Two days after a soldier died in a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas after he turned a gun on himself, officials said the incident appears to be a tragic case of suicide. They said notes from Matthew Livelsberger's burned up phone show that he didn't have a grudge against Donald Trump but with the state of the country. They said the combat veteran appeared to be struggling with PTSD. NBC News' Morgan Chesky reports.

NBC News

Burglars ransack Santa Monica apartments vacated for fumigation

Residents were in disbelief after thieves burglarized a Santa Monica apartment complex as it was fumigated for pests. Security camera video from showed two men inside one of the vacated units during the late December fumigation. Residents of several other units also returned home to find their residences ransacked. Two hooded men can be seen on the video looking around the apartment, taking their time with no one around to look through a closet and place items in bags.

NBC4

Convictions/Pleas/Sentences

Brentwood man sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for insider trading scheme that netted more than $650,000 in illegal gains

A man from the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison for his role in an insider trading scheme that netted more than $650,000 in illicit profits. Shahriyar Bolandian, 36, was sentenced by United States District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. to 24 months in federal prison. A forfeiture order will be imposed at a later date. At the conclusion of a five-day trial, a jury in April 2024 found Bolandian guilty of six counts of insider trading. 

U.S. District Attorney’s Press Release

Ex-FBI informant behind fake Biden-Ukraine bribery allegations sentenced to 6 years in prison

The disgraced former FBI informant who falsely accused President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden of taking a $10 million bribe from Ukraine was sentenced Wednesday to six years in federal prison, according to court records. The ex-informant, Alexander Smirnov, who is a dual US-Israeli citizen, has been in jail since his arrest last February. The sentencing in Los Angeles wraps up one of the final remnants of special counsel David Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden and related matters. 

CNN

Whittier man gets 121 months in prison for selling illegal ghost guns, planning robbery of federal informant

A 24-year-old Whittier man was sentenced to 121 months - over 10 years - in federal prison on Monday, Jan. 6 for “operating an unlicensed firearm dealing business” that sold ghost guns and planning the robbery of a confidential informant after agreeing to sell firearms to the informant, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Salvador Lopez pleaded guilty to dealing firearms without a license and armed robbery of money while using a dangerous weapon in October 2024.

Whittier Daily News

One-time ‘Money Ball' actor turned accused COVID con sentenced to federal prison time

A Huntington Beach man who worked on blockbuster movies as a part-time actor was sentenced Monday to more than eight years in federal prison for soliciting investors in companies that marketed what, in fact, were bogus cures and treatments for COVID-19 during the pandemic’s early days. Keith Lawrence Middlebrook, 57, was taken into custody Monday morning at his sentencing hearing in a Little Tokyo federal courtroom, months after he was found guilty at trial on 11 counts of wire fraud. 

Los Angeles Magazine

Trump sentenced in historic Manhattan hush money case

President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced to unconditional discharge on Friday on 34 counts of falsifying business records, cementing his status as a convicted felon in New York City just 10 days before his inauguration. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan kept his promise in hitting Trump with the unique sentence, which keeps the former and soon-to-be president from having to serve a tangible punishment like community service or a fine, but preserves the jury’s guilty verdict.

Courthouse News Service

Corrections

‘Child exploitation’: Correctional sergeant arrested in Chowchilla

A sergeant with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was arrested on Thursday for allegedly distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material, according to the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. The Madera County Sheriff’s Office says their Investigations Bureau received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding the distribution of child sexual abuse material activity in Madera County.

KSEE/KGPE

Articles of Interest

Zuck goes full Musk, dumps Facebook fact-checking program

Facebook's parent company Meta will end its third-party fact-checking program and move to a so-called community notes model, company chief Mark Zuckerberg announced today. “We’re going to get back to our roots, and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms," Zuckerberg said in a video statement on Meta's corporate website.

Politico

Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, and the art of the smear

The first thing I said to my mother-in-law as we arrived at her home for Christmas - after “hi” and “how are you” - was this: “Oh my god, did you hear what Justin Baldoni tried to do to Blake Lively?!” This was December 22, less than a day after The New York Times published its detailed and damning indictment of Baldoni, a B-list actor who directed and co-starred with Lively in the summer blockbuster It Ends with Us. The film’s release coincided with a soup of tabloid-stirred rumors that Lively was a nightmare to work with. 

The Free Press

Is your car spying on you? What it means that Tesla shared data in the Las Vegas explosion

Your car is spying on you. That is one takeaway from the fast, detailed data that Tesla collected on the driver of one of its Cybertrucks that exploded in Las Vegas earlier this week. Privacy data experts say the deep dive by Elon Musk's company was impressive, but also shines a spotlight on a difficult question as vehicles become less like cars and more like computers on wheels. Is your car company violating your privacy rights?

AP

PR experts say Elon Musk’s handling of the Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas was a masterclass

When a Tesla Cybertruck exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, CEO Elon Musk sprung into action. While Musk may not believe in PR (he practically disbanded the PR teams at both Tesla and his social network, X) his quick response to Wednesday’s Cybertruck explosion has earned him praise from experts.

Fortune

Driver in Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion used ChatGPT to plan blast, authorities say

The soldier who authorities believe blew up a Cybertruck on New Year's Day in front of the entrance of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas used artificial intelligence to guide him about how to set off the explosion, officials said Tuesday. Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, queried ChatGPT for information about how he could put together an explosive, how fast a round would need to be fired for the explosives found in the truck to go off - not just catch fire - and what laws he would need to get around to get the materials, law enforcement officials said.

NBC News

The Militia and the Mole

John Williams kept a backpack filled with everything he’d need to go on the run: three pairs of socks; a few hundred dollars cash; makeshift disguises and lock-picking gear; medical supplies, vitamins and high-calorie energy gels; and thumb drives that each held more than 100 gigabytes of encrypted documents, which he would quickly distribute if he were about to be arrested or killed.

ProPublica

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