Courts, Rulings & Lawsuits

Judge erred in reducing LWOP sentence to two-year term

Div. Six of this district’s Court of Appeal held yesterday, in a decision that restores a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for a man convicted under a felony murder theory, that a jury’s special circumstance finding that a defendant had been a major participant in the underlying felony and had acted with reckless indifference to human life is binding on a trial court at resentencing.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

L.A. County courts tried to maintain business as usual during firestorm. It was anything but

As the Eaton fire raged through Altadena, Begonya De Salvo was scrambling to figure out where her husband, two children and five pets would find shelter. Afraid her house might be reduced to ash, she said work was the last thing on her mind. As she scrambled to find a hotel room, De Salvo forgot to call in sick from her job as a court interpreter. 

Los Angeles Times

Ca. Supreme Court won't hear case of Nipsey Hussle's murder

The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to review the case of a man who was convicted of first-degree murder for shooting rapper Nipsey Hussle outside the musician's South Los Angeles clothing store. Eric Ronald Holder Jr., now 35, is serving a 60-years-to-life state prison sentence for the March 31, 2019, killing of the 33-year-old rapper, whose real name was Ermias Joseph Asghedom.

City News Service

Ninth Circuit won’t rehear arguments on its decision to uphold gun-free zones in Hawaii and California

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal issued a pair of decisions Wednesday denying a petition for en banc rehearing of a case that restricts where people can carry firearms in Hawaii and California. The case centers around laws in Hawaii and California that prohibit the carrying of firearms in most public places. Plaintiffs in both cases sued to stop the application of the laws and won temporary injunctions before the cases were appealed to the Ninth Circuit and consolidated.

Courthouse News Service

CA Supreme Court overturns Tehachapi woman’s murder conviction in baby’s death

The California Supreme Court has overturned the murder conviction of a Tehachapi woman who prosecutors said failed to report the repeated abuse of her baby boy by his father. The child, Abel, died at 2 months. In the case of Brittney Collins, the court found “insufficient evidence supported Collins’ second-degree murder conviction for the death of her son under either a direct aiding and abetting theory or a direct perpetrator theory.”

KGET

Greedy California tribes sue cardrooms over ‘illegal’ gambling, cities could be big losers 

The Native American casinos have alleged corruption in California cardrooms and the casino-style games they offer for decades. Still, authorities have never filed a single lawsuit based on their complaints. Since 2000, when California voters passed Proposition 1A, allowing Native Americans to operate gambling casinos on their reservations, no Attorneys’ General has brought action against the card rooms based on their allegations.

Hews Media Group

Four-year seizure of innocent man’s guns is constitutional

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Friday, in a 2-1 decision, that the City of Riverside, and related parties, did not run afoul of the U.S. Constitution by failing to return 10 firearms seized, more than four years ago, during a search of the plaintiff’s home targeting a houseguest who had been threatening his estranged wife without the homeowner’s knowledge.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

TikTok says it’s restoring service to US users based on Trump’s promised executive order

TikTok said Sunday it was restoring service to users in the United States just hours after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a federal ban, which President-elect Donald Trump said he would try to pause by executive order on his first day in office. Trump said he planned to issue the order to give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the ban takes full effect. 

AP

Hosting rap concert, even with performers from rival gangs, is not ‘ultrahazardous’

Div. Three of the Fourth District Court of Appeal has held that plaintiffs - who suffered gunshot wounds and other injuries following a melee that broke out during a 2018 rap concert in Riverside - failed to adequately plead an ultrahazardous activity claim against the hosting nightclub even though the event featured performers from rival gangs who were allegedly known to provoke violence.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

US Supreme Court turns away gun law challenges in Delaware, Maryland

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid to block Delaware's prohibition on assault-style rifles and large-capacity ammunition magazines, as well as a challenge to Maryland's handgun licensing requirements, sidestepping two cases involving the divisive issue of gun rights.

Reuters

Supreme Court denies oil industry plea to block climate lawsuits filed by California, other blue states

The Supreme Court dealt a major setback to the oil industry Monday, refusing to block lawsuits from California and other blue states that seek billions of dollars in damages for the effects of climate change. Without a comment or dissent, the justices turned down closely watched appeals from Sunoco, Shell and other energy producers.

Los Angeles Times

District attorney announces charges in Pacific Palisades and Altadena looting and Azusa arson

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman today announced charges against 10 individuals in four crimes committed during the devastating wildfires. Nine people are facing felony charges in connection to residential burglaries in the cities of Pacific Palisades and Altadena, and a separate defendant has been charged with arson for intentionally starting a fire in the city of Azusa.

Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office News Release

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer urge Governor Newsom to amend special legislative session to make looting a felony punishable by state prison sentence

Looting during a local emergency would become a felony punishable by a state prison sentence and make it a strike under California’s Three Strikes Law under proposed legislation by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, sending a strong regional message to opportunistic thieves that these crimes will not be tolerated, and that justice will be swift and it will be decisive.

Orange County District Attorney’s Office News Release

Federal and local law enforcement officials form task force to combat crimes related to Los Angeles-area wildfires

The leaders of federal and local law enforcement agencies have joined together to create the Joint Regional Fire Crimes Task Force to investigate and prosecute fire-related crimes as Los Angeles County recovers from devastating wildfires. The Task Force will focus on investigating and prosecuting criminal actors seeking to exploit the wildfire crisis.

U.S. Attorney’s Office Press Release

Judge asks about A$AP Rocky's and Rihanna's marital status as trial approaches

A judge in Los Angeles on Wednesday finalized plans for rapper Rakim “A$AP Rocky” Mayer’s gun assault trial, which is scheduled to last three weeks. Rocky was not in court, but he’s to appear at the main criminal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday for the start of jury selection.

Legal Affairs and Trials with Meghann Cuniff

Aryan Brotherhood on trial: Prison gang leaders ordered 5 L.A. County murders, feds say

Kenneth Johnson, Francis Clement and John Stinson will stand trial beginning Wednesday on charges of racketeering and murder. The defendants have pleaded not guilty and denied being affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood, a gang formed nearly 60 years ago by white inmates at San Quentin. Prosecutors say they have traced seven homicides - two behind bars, five on the streets of Los Angeles County - to Johnson, Clement and Stinson.

Los Angeles Times

Rams star receiver Demarcus Robinson charged with DUI from his November arrest, days before playoff game

Los Angeles Rams receiver Demarcus Robinson has been charged with drunken driving since a November arrest. The news comes just days ahead of the team’s playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings Monday night. The Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney confirmed to TMZ Sports that Robinson was recently charged with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol since his arrest Nov. 25. 

Fox News

For four years, she was state’s foremost proponent of victims’ rights

The Greek philosopher Aristotle is said to have written, around 350 B.C., that the essence of life is “to serve others and to do good.” Attorney Kathleen Cady is the embodiment of that principle. Cady came out of a well-earned retirement as a deputy district attorney to help families of murder victims and direct victims of sex crimes have a voice in the criminal justice system.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

U.S. Atty. E. Martin Estrada steps down, looks back at his ‘labor of love’

The granite steps leading up to the old federal courthouse in downtown L.A. are sturdy and regal. But something disturbing dotted them Friday that I never would have expected: Ash. The Eaton fire 15 miles to the northeast was still raging. Downtown was eerily empty. The lunchtime sun was bright, tinting everything in a sickly golden tone.

Los Angeles Times

Policy/Legal/Politics

Five federal judges lose homes in Southern California wildfires

Five judges and six staffers on the Los Angeles-based federal trial court have lost their homes in wildfires that have raged across Southern California for the past week, according to the court’s clerk. They are part of at least 40 judges and court staffers for the US District Court for the Central District of California who have been affected by the fires, including those who have faced evacuation orders, power outages, and water quality issues, said Brian Karth, the district court executive and clerk of court.

Bloomberg Law

California city sues state over sanctuary law: 'Clear and present danger’

A California city on Tuesday sued the state for allegedly violating the U.S. Constitution and causing the city to breach state code with its sanctuary law. Huntington Beach claimed in a lawsuit filed in a district court that California’s sanctuary state law violates the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which declares federal law to be superior to state statutes, and causes the city to break state code. The sanctuary law also breaches federal immigration statutes, according to Huntington Beach.

Fox11

Alec Baldwin sues prosecutors, sheriff's officials over 'Rust' case

Actor Alec Baldwin sued New Mexico prosecutors and sheriff's office officials on Thursday alleging a "malicious" prosecution against him for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western movie “Rust." The action against special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and others is among at least a dozen civil lawsuits filed over Hutchins' death, which shocked Hollywood and sparked calls for an overhaul of firearms safety on movie sets.

Reuters

Ninth Circuit asked if political parties can control who runs for office

The Arizona secretary of state’s office argued before the Ninth Circuit Monday that political parties don’t have the power to prevent candidates from running for certain offices if party leadership doesn’t want to support them. In an appellate hearing before a three-judge panel in San Francisco, Kara Karlson from the state attorney general’s office said No Labels Arizona opened itself up to state laws by declaring itself a political party.

Courthouse News Service

Wildfires

Relief as Southern California wildfire victims can now apply for Federal aid - Gov. Newsom

Californians affected by the wildfires in the Los Angeles area can begin applying for federal assistance, Governor Gavin Newsom announced this Saturday, January 11, 2025. ConsumerConnect learnt the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is ready to start processing applications for assistance from California wildfire victims. A new Web site is also opened to support survivors of the disastrous fires, agency report said.

Consumer Connect

L.A. fire officials could have put engines in the Palisades before the fire broke out. They didn’t

As the Los Angeles Fire Department faced extraordinary warnings of life-threatening winds, top commanders decided not to assign for emergency deployment roughly 1,000 available firefighters and dozens of water-carrying engines in advance of the fire that destroyed much of the Pacific Palisades and continues to burn, interviews and internal LAFD records show.

Los Angeles Times

Unauthorized drone usage in double digits amid SoCal's firefight

The number of unauthorized drone incidents over the Los Angeles County Fire zones are now "well into the double digits" Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office, told NBC News Saturday. The most serious of those incidents was a drone strike that ripped a hole in a Superscooper Thursday morning as the water dropping aircraft was involved in water drop sorties over the Palisades fire zone, temporarily ground other firefighting aircraft and putting the specialized Canadair out of commission until at least Monday and possibly beyond that.

NBC4

Attorney General Bonta warns against price gouging, looting and scams targeting wildfire victims

Attorney General Rob Bonta held a news conference in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 11 to warn against price gouging, looting and scammers who target wildfire victims. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen before in emergencies like this, in addition to bringing out the best in so many, also bring out bad actors, who seek to use the trauma, the chaos, of moments like this for their own gains,” he said.

Los Angeles Daily News

Armed L.A. residents defy evacuation orders to defend homes from wildfire looters

Amid concerns over looters targeting wildfire victims’ homes, some residents are defying evacuation orders and choosing to protect their properties instead. The homeowners said they have chosen to stay put, taking security measures into their own hands while potentially snuffing out any embers that could ignite. EveAnna Manley moved to Altadena 20 years ago and said she worked to prepare her home for natural disasters such as the Eaton Fire.

KTLA

Kenneth fire ‘person of interest’ is a convicted felon and entered country illegally, ICE says

A “person of interest” in the Kenneth fire who was arrested after being caught with a blowtorch near the source of the blaze has been detained by immigration authorities for entering the country illegally from Mexico, officials said Tuesday. Juan Manuel Sierra, 33, a.k.a. Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva, was arrested Thursday by the Los Angeles Police Department for violating felony probation after “attempting to start a fire” in a West Hills neighborhood near the location of the Kenneth fire.

Los Angeles Times

Edison utility sued over role of equipment in Los Angeles fire

Edison International Inc.’s southern California utility was hit with a lawsuit blaming the energy provider’s equipment for igniting one of the wildfires still raging in the second-largest US metropolis. The lawsuit is on behalf of a group of homeowners, renters, business owners and others with properties destroyed by the Eaton Fire in the Pasadena area. The suit alleges a Southern California Edison pole holding power lines was the cause of the blaze that leveled the community of Altadena.

Insurance Journal

A week from hell: See how LA fires destroyed neighborhoods from coast to foothills

Charred skeletons of beloved homes. Desperate homeowners endangering their lives as they hose down their burning roofs. Emergency workers carefully carrying a body bag out of the rubble. An American flag in blackened tatters. The images arriving in the wake of the wind-driven wildfires in Los Angeles County are haunting, giving all of us a window into the pain, grief and devastation facing hundreds of thousands of people.

CalMatters

Newsom suspends landmark environmental laws to ease rebuilding in wildfire zones

Landmark California environmental laws will be suspended for wildfire victims seeking to rebuild their homes and businesses, according to an executive order signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Requirements for building permits and reviews in the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act - often considered onerous by developers - will be eased for victims of the fires in Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other communities, according to the order.

Los Angeles Times

IRS announces tax relief for taxpayers impacted by wildfires in California; various deadlines postponed to Oct. 15

The Internal Revenue Service announced today tax relief for individuals and businesses in parts of California affected by wildfires and straight-line winds that began on Jan. 7, 2025. These taxpayers now have until Oct. 15, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. Following the disaster declaration issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), individuals and households that reside or have a business in Los Angeles County, qualify for tax relief. 

IRS News Release

Airlines extend travel waivers due to LA wildfires

Airlines have extended travel waivers for Los Angeles airports as wildfires continue to burn in the area. American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and other carriers that serve the area have waived fees for flight changes for travelers booked to Los Angeles while the city grapples with power outages, water shortages and conservation, as well as the outright damage of more than 10,000 homes and other structures.

CNBC

Mayor Karen Bass was at embassy cocktail party in Ghana as Palisades fire exploded

As the Palisades fire exploded in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, Mayor Karen Bass was posing for photos at an embassy cocktail party in Ghana, pictures posted on social media show. By the time she departed the gathering for her flight home, massive plumes of smoke were visible across a wide swath of the city. Bass was in the West African nation as part of a Biden administration delegation to the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, which she had attended earlier in the day.

Los Angeles Times

When the fire came to Pacific Palisades, where was the water?

Despite what you’ve been led to believe in recent days, the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles is not the exclusive domain of the rich and famous. Yes, the Palisades has (or had) a healthy share of celebrities, and there are (or were) wide swaths of multi-million-dollar homes, but in truth, there are plenty of what we might call regular folks living there as well, even a police officer here and there.

Jack Dunphy/PJ Media

Read the scorched room, Kim K!!! Stop using wildfires to push your agenda

Danny Trejo is sending a stern message to his celebrity peers, including Kim Kardashian -- stop using the Los Angeles wildfires to push your own causes!!! The actor tells TMZ ... he doesn't believe now is the time for Hollywood's elite to get on their respective soapboxes to peddle different causes ... especially since brutal blazes are burning across the region right now. As he sees it ... helping the victims should be the sole focus -- even if many celebs, such a Kim, are well intended.

TMZ

Los Angeles Police Department offer lists of organizations to help officers impacted by area wildfires

Los Angeles Police Department officials announce that as multiple wildfires continue to ravage Los Angeles and the surrounding cities, we should bear in mind that while our officers are helping with the fire relief efforts, many of them have also been dealing with losses of their own related to those very same fires. Unfortunately, we have officers who returned home from work to find their homes reduced to ashes and their personal possessions in ruins. 

LAPD

Southern California

Toxic civil war breaks out at LA fire department as ex-top official comes back to haunt $654,000-a-year chief

Embattled Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has been accused of harassment and retaliation by a former top city official who claims she was fired for calling out her alleged misconduct and 'failures of leadership,' DailyMail.com can reveal. Crowley, who earns $654,000-a-year in compensation and benefits, is already at the center of a recent public spat between LA Mayor Karen Bass as pressure mounts on city leaders to address the failures and mishandled response to the catastrophic wildfires that have ravaged the Los Angeles area. 

Daily Mail

L.A. fires are not Mayor’s finest comms hour

We have twice had occasion to praise the crisis communications skills of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The recent and horrific fires that have devastated that city will not - and are not - bringing similar accolades. It’s instructive for crisis communicators to examine just where Bass has gone wrong. One glaring issue is that Bass, 71 (pictured), went on a trip to Ghana for its presidential inauguration when Los Angeles already had warnings of high fire risk.

PRCG

Sacramento business, law enforcement groups say Prop. 36 is affecting retail theft

Area prosecutors have already charged dozens of people with retail theft under Proposition 36, just one month after the voter-approved law took effect and strengthened penalties for certain drug and theft-related crimes. The proposition was championed by businesses and law enforcement groups who argued that retailers have been hard-hit by theft. 

Sacramento Bee

Insurers’ rule change puts California homeowners on the hook for L.A. fire

A little-noticed rule change last year by California’s insurance regulator will likely shift a large chunk of the cost of the Los Angeles wildfires to homeowners across the state. Pushed by insurers, the change puts California homeowners on the hook to pay directly toward the cost of rebuilding from very large disasters through even fatter insurance bills - whether they were exposed to the L.A. fire or not.

Wall Street Journal

California abandons diesel truck ban and 3 other clean-air rules before Trump is sworn in

California has decided to abandon its groundbreaking regulations phasing out diesel trucks and requiring cleaner locomotives because the incoming Trump administration is unlikely to allow the state to implement them. State officials have long considered the rules regulating diesel vehicles essential to cleaning up California’s severe air pollution and combating climate change. 

CalMatters

CVS, Cigna, and UnitedHealth inflated cancer and HIV drug prices: FTC

Three major drug middlemen needlessly marked up generic drugs for cancer, HIV, and multiple sclerosis to generate $7.3 billion in revenue, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a report released today. The FTC alleged that the ‘Big 3’ pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) - Caremark Rx, LLC, which is owned by CVS Health; Express Scripts, Inc., which is owned by Cigna; and OptumRx, Inc., which is owned by UnitedHealth Group - “netted such significant revenues all while patient, employer, and other health care plan sponsor payments for drugs steadily increased annually.”

Quartz

Public Safety

Dozens of suspected looters accused of preying on ritzy neighborhoods that evacuated ahead of LA fires

Dozens of out-of-town vultures have been busted for sneaking into ritzy neighborhoods in the Los Angeles wildfire evacuation zone to loot abandoned homes - and local police are naming and shaming them as a warning to the rest. More than 40 people have been bagged by the Santa Monica police for allegedly preying on the thousands of homes left abandoned there and in the neighboring Pacific Palisades.

New York Post

Burglary suspects dressed as firefighters arrested in L.A. fire zone, officials say

Los Angeles authorities said they arrested 29 more people overnight in the fire zones, including one burglary suspect who was allegedly dressed as a firefighter. Of the arrests, 25 people were apprehended in the Eaton fire zone, four in the Palisades fire zone, authorities said. “We have people who will go to all ends to do what they do,” Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said of a man dressed in a fire jacket and helmet burglarizing homes.

Los Angeles Times

UCLA PD making arrests in evacuation zones

The UCLA Police Department indicated on Friday, January 10 that they made arrests in evacuation zones as a result of the wildfires in the region. As part of a mutual aid agreement, UCLA PD assisted another city with firefighting and evacuation efforts. Officers made two arrests in the evacuation zone while enforcing curfew and safety orders. In one incident, suspects admitted they came into the area to commit felony vehicle theft. In another incident, officers recovered a firearm illegally housed.

Canyon News

Professional athletes’ homes are still getting broken into. Here’s how the FBI says the thieves operate

Federal investigators are now warning professional athletes across multiple sports following a rise in sophisticated home burglaries thought to be emanating from international criminals. The warning comes as the NFL, NBA and NHL informed teams in November that organized and skilled groups were targeting the homes of athletes for break-ins, including while the players are away at games.

CNN

2 men sentenced in connection to Johnny Wactor’s murder

Two men charged with lesser crimes in connection with last year’s killing of former “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor were sentenced Wednesday to state prison - one for four years and the other for more than five. Frank Olano, 22, was sentenced to five years and eight months behind bars in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom as a result of his no contest plea last October to one count each of being an accessory after the fact and receiving stolen property, and three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, according to court records.

MyNewsLA

Newsom blocks early release for Merced man who murdered teacher

A man who murdered a popular Peterson Elementary School teacher will remain in state prison, following a community outcry from voices that included Merced County District Attorney Nicole Silveira and Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria. Gov. Gavin Newson has reversed a decision by the state parole board to recommend early release for Rodolfo Romero, according to a news release from Soria’s office.

The Merced Focus

Special counsel report found Trump engaged in ‘criminal effort’ to overturn 2020 election

U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith concluded that Donald Trump engaged in an "unprecedented criminal effort" to hold on to power after losing the 2020 election, but was thwarted in bringing the case to trial by the president-elect's November election victory, according to a report published on Tuesday. The report details Smith's decision to bring a four-count indictment against Trump, accusing him of plotting to obstruct the collection and certification of votes following his 2020 defeat by Democratic President Joe Biden.

Reuters

Drake sues Universal Music for defamation related to Kendrick Lamar diss track

A hip-hop superstar beef was cranked up another notch Wednesday when Drake sued Universal Music Group for defamation over rival Kendrick Lamar's diss track “Not Like Us.” The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges UMG - the parent record label for Drake and Lamar - published and promoted the track even though it included false pedophilia allegations against Drake and suggested listeners should resort to vigilante justice. Lamar is not named in the suit.

ABC News

DOJ discloses operation that wiped China-backed malware from thousands of US computers

The Department of Justice on Tuesday announced that they had removed invasive malware from more than 4,200 U.S. computers that were targeted by hackers funded by the People’s Republic of China. The FBI, in conjunction with government and corporate cybersecurity officials in France, deleted “PlugX” malware from thousands of computers across the globe that were targeted by Chinese-based hacker groups “Mustang Panda” and “Twill Typhoon,” according to the Justice Department.

Courthouse News Service

Google can’t shake class claims it invaded minors’ privacy through ads

A judge allowed on Monday for privacy claims to survive dismissal in a class action against Google filed by minors and their parents who say the tech company has been collecting data from the children’s viewing habits in violation of federal law. In her 37-page order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Van Keulen found the plaintiffs properly claimed that Google collected and held on to protected consumer data without permission.

Courthouse News Service