Courts/Rulings & Lawsuits | | |
Federal judge denies Trump Administration request to stay ruling barring roving patrols
A federal judge in Los Angeles Thursday denied a request by government attorneys for a stay of her ruling last week barring immigration agents from detaining people without reasonable suspicion beyond their race, ethnicity or occupation. The government had filed a notice of its plan to appeal the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and wanted U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong to put her ruling on pause pending that appeal. The 9th Circuit earlier this week also declined to issue a stay, since Frimpong had not yet ruled on the request.
mynewsLA.com
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New sex abuse lawsuit filed involving Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall
A young man has filed a federal lawsuit against Los Angeles County. He says he was sexually assaulted by a staff member while housed at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. The allegation comes only months after a record-setting settlement by the county for past sexual abuse claims at juvenile facilities, dating back decades. Alejandro Gomez, the father of the young man, said his son's wings were cut, and he as a father is in pain. Gomez's 19-year-old son is housed at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey and has filed the falderal lawsuit, alleging he was sexually assaulter while at the facility.
NBC4 Los Angeles
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LA sues Airbnb for alleged price gouging during wildfire
The City of Los Angeles has filed a lawsuit against Airbnb, accusing the short-term rental giant of enabling widespread price gouging during the deadly wildfires that ravaged Southern California in January. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced the legal action on Friday, citing violations of state emergency pricing laws. According to Reuters, the complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that more than 2,000 - and potentially over 3,000 - Airbnb listings saw rental price increases exceeding 10% between January 7 and January 17, during a declared state of emergency.
Reuters
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Males-only draft-registration requirement is constitutional
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has brushed aside as meritless a man’s contention that the Equal Rights Amendment, having been ratified by three-fourths of the states, presently takes the form of the 28th amendment to the United States Constitution and that, under its terms, requiring males but not females to register with the Selective Service is impermissibly discriminatory. Its memorandum opinion was filed Thursday.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Appeals court orders new trial for man convicted in 1979 Etan Patz case
The man convicted in the 1979 killing of 6-year-old Etan Patz was awarded a new trial Monday as a federal appeals court overturned the guilty verdict in one of the nation’s most notorious missing child cases. Pedro Hernandez has been serving 25 years to life in prison since his 2017 conviction. He had been arrested in 2012 after a decades-long, haunting search for answers in Etan’s disappearance on the first day he was allowed to walk alone to his school bus stop in New York City.
CNN
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Appeals court finds Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship unconstitutional, upholds block
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s order seeking to end birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, affirming a lower-court decision that blocked its enforcement nationwide. The ruling from a divided panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes after Trump’s plan was also blocked by a federal judge in New Hampshire. It brings the issue one step closer to coming back quickly before the Supreme Court.
AP
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San Francisco to pay $2.8M to settle homelessness lawsuit
San Francisco officials have reached a settlement with a homeless advocacy group that sued the city in 2022 over its removal of encampments. The city attorney’s office has agreed to pay the attorneys for the Coalition on Homelessness $2.82 million and give the nonprofit regular access to documents about the encampment clearing process. But the agreement also allows the city to continue with its policy of seizing the personal property of people living on the streets.
San Francisco Standard
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Court blocks ammunition background checks in new blow to California’s gun control framework
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down California’s first-in-the-nation law requiring background checks for ammunition purchases, another blow to the state’s gun control framework that has been pared down, case by case, since the U.S. Supreme Court dramatically expanded gun rights in a monumental 2022 decision. The California law that forced ammunition purchasers to pass a background check was passed by voters in 2016. Gov. Gavin Newsom, at the time the state’s lieutenant governor, championed the initiative and was its primary advocate.
CalMatters
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'American Idol' exec murder suspect charged in double homicide
The man accused of murdering an "American Idol" music executive and her husband appeared for the first time Thursday in a Southern California court. Raymond Boodarian, 22, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of first-degree burglary. Special circumstances were also filed with respect to the murders, deputy district attorney Hilary Williams said outside of the Van Nuys courthouse. Boodarian remained hidden behind a door in the courtroom during the hearing.
FOX News
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5-year-old boy's beaten body was found in a dumpster. Mother's ex is charged with his death
A murder charge was filed Friday against a man accused of beating his ex-girlfriend's 5-year-old son to death and leaving the body inside a dumpster in Panorama City last week, authorities said. Brycson Gaddis, 20, was arrested Wednesday and, if convicted, faces a potential sentence of life in prison in the vicious beating death of Elyjiah Hearn, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Prosecutors charged him with murder and assault on a child causing death, authorities said.
Los Angeles Times
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Warrant served in Marina del Rey in blast that killed 3 deputies
he investigation into an explosion that killed three Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies in East Los Angeles has turned to Marina del Rey, where investigators served a search warrant at a boat docked in the marina. "This morning, sheriff's homicide investigators, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Los Angeles Police Department, served a search warrant at the 13900 block of Marquesas Way in Marina Del Rey," sheriff's officials said in a statement Monday. "Investigators are following all leads and evidence to determine the origins of the devices located on Thursday."
City News Service
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Driver faces 37 counts of attempted murder in Los Angeles nightclub crash
The driver accused of ramming his car into a crowd outside a Los Angeles nightclub over the weekend was charged with 37 counts of attempted murder, prosecutors said Tuesday. Fernando Ramirez, 29, was also charged with 37 counts of assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted, he could face multiple sentences of life imprisonment. Ramirez is accused of intentionally driving his car onto the sidewalk as partygoers were leaving the Vermont Hollywood venue at the end of a reggae hip-hop event early Saturday. The motive for the attack, which injured 37 people, was still unknown.
AP
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Trump’s top federal prosecutor in L.A. struggles to secure indictments in protest cases
To bystanders at the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, it sounded as though U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli would not take no for an answer. A prosecutor had the irate Trump administration appointee on speakerphone outside the grand jury room, and his screaming was audible, according to three law enforcement officials aware of the encounter who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Los Angeles Times
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Los Angeles County DA reacts to Menendez brothers decision: "We disagree that resentencing was appropriate"
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman spoke Wednesday about a judge's decision to resentence the Menendez brothers to 50 years to life in prison, opening them up for the possibility of parole. On Tuesday afternoon, inside a Los Angeles courtroom, Judge Michael Jesic ruled in favor of Erik and Lyle Menendez and resentenced them after they had spent more than three decades behind bars for killing their parents.
CBS Los Angeles
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Former sheriff Alex Villanueva registers for 2026 sheriff’s race
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has registered a campaign committee for the November 2026 election to win back his previous post. Villanueva’s is the biggest name yet to enter the race for the position lost to Sheriff Robert Luna in 2022. Luna has already declared his plans to seek reelection. A filing on the California secretary of state’s website shows that a Villanueva for Sheriff 2026 committee has been registered.
Los Angeles Times
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L.A. County Supervisors designate Altadena’s first historic district
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to approve the County’s first-ever historic district and landmark designation in Altadena, marking a milestone in the preservation of the area’s architectural and cultural heritage. The newly adopted ordinance adds the northern portion of the Historic Highlands neighborhood to Title 22 (Planning and Zoning) of the Los Angeles County Code, officially recognizing the Historic Highlands Historic District.
Pasadena Now
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State moves to take over LA County juvenile halls
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is moving to place Los Angeles County’s juvenile facilities into receivership over its repeated failure to improve conditions and comply with years of court orders mandating reforms. During a news conference Wednesday, July 23, Bonta said it will be the first time the Department of Justice has ever taken such an action.
Pasadena Star News
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Sheriff’s oversight commission elects new leaders
The Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission (Commission) unanimously elected Commissioner Hans Johnson to serve as its new Chair. It also reelected Commissioner Luis S. Garcia, Ph.D., and elected Commissioner Arthur Calloway II to serve as Co-Vice Chairs. They will serve through fiscal year (FY) 2025-2026. Chair Johnson takes over from former Chair Robert C. Bonner, who served on the Commission since its inception in 2017 until his term ended this month after Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger opted not to renew it.
2Urban Girls
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ICE head says agency to crack down on American companies hiring unauthorized workers
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting Director Todd Lyons said in an interview Sunday that his agency will crack down on American companies hiring unauthorized workers. “Not only are we focused on those individuals that are, you know, working here illegally, we’re focused on these American companies that are actually exploiting these laborers,” Lyons said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”
The Hill
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DOJ requests lists of noncitizen inmates from California counties
The U.S. Department of Justice is asking California sheriff’s departments to turn over lists of all jail inmates who are not citizens, their crimes and their scheduled release dates to assist federal immigration authorities in removing “illegal aliens who committed crimes” after entering the country, according to an announcement by the federal agency. The data requests went out to sheriffs in “multiple major California counties,” including Los Angeles and San Francisco, on Thursday, July 17, the announcement states.
Los Angeles Daily News
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Karen Bass pushes back on Federal ICE raids with Cash Card Program
On Friday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced a new initiative offering financial assistance to individuals affected by the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. The initiative, which provides assistance in the form of cash cards valued at a “couple hundred dollars,” will be distributed through non-profit organizations, family resource centers and other direct avenues in the coming weeks. This comes as part of an executive directive to support the city’s immigrant communities, which Bass signed on July 11.
Los Angeles Magazine
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Marines to withdraw from LA after weeks of deployment
Hundreds of U.S. Marines deployed to Los Angeles in recent weeks in response to mass-scale immigration raids and subsequent protests will begin withdrawing from the nation’s second-largest city, the Pentagon confirmed on Monday, July 21. In a statement, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the redeployment of the Marines, though he did not provide an exact timeline of when all 700 Marines would exit the city.
Los Angeles Daily News
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Demonstrators clash with police for 2nd straight night in Downtown L.A.
Anti-ICE demonstrators clashed with police for the second straight night outside a detention center in Downtown Los Angeles. Protesters gathered in front of the federal Metropolitan Detention Center on Alameda Street Thursday evening following recent unconfirmed reports of immigration enforcement actions in the Los Angeles area. Police assistance was requested in the area of Alameda Street south of Aliso Street by federal officers “due to protesters trespassing, obstructing and becoming violent,” the LAPD stated in a post on X Friday morning.
KTLA5
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LAPD seek man accused of shooting driver after at least 30 injured when car plowed into crowd
The day after a suspect plowed into a crowd outside an East Hollywood nightclub, injuring over 30 people, we're getting a closer look at the driver's motive and the man accused of shooting him in the chaos. Investigators believe revenge - fueled by anger and alcohol - was a possible motivating factor in the ramming, senior law enforcement officials tell ABC News. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Fernando Ramirez, was kicked out of The Vermont Hollywood around 2 a.m. Then, he allegedly got into his car, made a U-turn, and drove up onto the sidewalk, plowing into the crowd.
ABC7
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LAPD undergoes first major leadership shake-up with McDonnell as chief
In his first major shake-up since taking over the Los Angeles Police Department in November, Chief Jim McDonnell has given new assignments to more than a dozen officials from the upper ranks. Faced with ongoing struggles to woo new recruits and uncertainty around his plans to overhaul the LAPD, McDonnell gave the first indications about how he intends to reorganize by elevating three deputy chiefs - Emada Tingirides, Michael Rimkunas and Scott Harrelson - to top positions and resurrecting a long-dormant bureau.
Los Angeles Times
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Remains found in Eaton fire’s path - death toll climbs to 19
Human remains discovered in the Eaton fire’s path in Altadena have increased the death toll from the Jan. 7 wildfire to 19, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said on Tuesday, July 22. “The death toll related to the (two) wildfires is now 31 - 19 in the Eaton fire and 12 in the Palisades (fire),” according to a dispatch from the Medical Examiner’s office. That office reported the remains were found on Monday, July 21, in the 10 block of La Venezia Court and were examined by a six-member Special Operations Response Team.
City News Service
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LA County Supervisors consider ordinance to make landlords help keep rentals cool
Los Angeles County is looking for ways to make landlords keep rental units cooler. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors last week held an initial hearing on an ordinance to require rental units to maintain indoor temperatures at or below 82 degrees Fahrenheit. The proposal is intended to protect tenants from heat-related health risks. However, the ordinance as proposed doesn’t take into account a building’s age, or its HVAC system.
Insurance Journal
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Encino residents call for action in wake of couple’s murder, ongoing break-ins
Encino residents are demanding officials take action following the murders of an “American Idol” executive and her husband earlier this month, which were followed by a rash of break-ins. More than 500 people packed the Encino Community Center Monday night to share their frustration with the ongoing criminal activity, including five break-ins over the past twelve days.“
KTLA5
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Overall crime in California fell last year, but shoplifting continued to rise
Violent and property crime rates decreased in 2024, most notably homicide, car break-ins, auto theft, and theft of car accessories. Most crime categories are now at or below pre-pandemic levels and California’s property crime rate is at its lowest level in three decades. However, despite decreases last year, aggravated assaults are still above 2019 numbers, and shoplifting continued to increase and is now 48% higher than it was before the pandemic. The California Department of Justice recently released 2024 crime numbers.
PPIC
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Auto thefts plummet across Riverside County - and drop throughout California
The number of automobile thefts throughout Riverside County plunged 24% last year, while the county’s Sheriff’s Department ranked fourth among agencies successfully recovering stolen vehicles statewide, according to statistics released on Wednesday, July 23, by the California Highway Patrol. Countywide, there were 7,648 reported auto thefts in 2024, compared to 10,109 the year before. The decline dovetailed with downward trends across California, where the total theft count last year was 176,230, compared to 202,936 in 2023, a roughly 13% drop.
City News Service
| | Convictions/Pleas/Sentences/Parole | | |
Governor Newsom reverses parole for convicted murderer of 17-year-old Amanda Zubia
Governor Gavin Newsom has reversed the California Parole Board's decision to release one of the people convicted of the brutal murder of 17-year-old Amanda Zubia. Gov. Newsom announced his decision to reverse the parole on July 16, 2025, three days before the 21st anniversary of Zubia's murder. In April 2025, the California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) initially granted parole to Maricruz Galaviz, a convicted murderer who has served about 20 years in prison.
BakersfieldNow
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Ex-LAPD officer gets 15 years to life for killing family in DUI crash
A former LAPD Officer received three sentences of 15-years to life in prison on Friday, July 18, for killing a Riverside couple and their son when he drove drunk and hit two other cars on the 605 Freeway in West Whittier in 2017. The family was trapped in their burning car. Edgar Verduzco, 34, of Santa Ana will serve the sentences at the same time, said Deputy District Attorney Kaveh Faturechi.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
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Former Southern California attorney sentenced for murder of Palm Springs art dealer
A former Southern California attorney was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 2008 financially motivated murder of a Palm Springs art dealer. David Replogle, 76, was sentenced on July 18 for the murder of Clifford Lambert, an elderly art dealer and socialite, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office announced. Replogle, who was 59 years old during the crime, was part of a six-person team that targeted Lambert, who was 74, for financial gain.
KTLA5
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Ex-Louisville officer sentenced to 33 months in relation to Breonna Taylor’s killing
A former Louisville police officer convicted of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights during a police raid in which she was killed was sentenced Monday to 33 months in prison, a ruling that came after the Trump administration said last week that the case should not have been prosecuted. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings issued her decision during a sentencing hearing attended by Brett Hankison’s defense lawyers and members of Taylor’s family, who had demanded a long jail sentence.
Washington Post
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Doctor pleads guilty to selling Matthew Perry ketamine in the weeks before the actor’s death
doctor who was a primary target in the sweeping investigation of actor Matthew Perry’s overdose death pleaded guilty Wednesday to supplying the “Friends” star with ketamine despite knowing he was a struggling addict. Dr. Salvador Plasencia became the fourth of the five people charged in connection with Perry’s death to plead guilty. He and a woman prosecutors say was a major ketamine dealer faced the most serious charges after Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, 2023.
AP
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Drunken driver who killed LAPD Officer, academy hopeful in Northridge crash gets 16 to life
A young man has pleaded no contest to murder and DUI charges stemming from a crash in Northridge that killed an off-duty Los Angeles police officer and a man preparing to join the LAPD academy, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday. Brian David Olivarez - who was 20 at the time and is now 21 - was sentenced to 16 years and eight months to life in state prison in connection with his plea to two counts of murder and one count of driving under the influence, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Patch
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California parole agent shot, killed in the line of duty in Oakland, officials say
A parole agent for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was shot and killed in the line of duty on Thursday, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the CDCR. The suspected shooter has been detained. Newsom identified the parole agent as 40-year-old Joshua Lemont Byrd, and said he leaves behind a wife and three children. Officials said that around 12:50 p.m., Byrd was shot inside the Division of Adult Parole Operations office in Oakland. He was taken to an area hospital, where he died from his injuries.
KCRA3
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Incarcerated person apprehended hours after walking away from Pelican Bay State Prison minimum‑support facility
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials announced that an incarcerated person who walked away from the minimum-support facility at Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP) in Del Norte County on Friday, July 18, 2025, was apprehended a few hours later. At approximately 7:15 a.m., a CDCR officer took Jamie R. Watson, 40, near the prison grounds without any complications. On July 18, at approximately 11:50 p.m. officials were alerted that incarcerated person Jamie R. Watson, was reported missing from PBSB.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
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Folsom State Prison inmate killed; 2 other inmates suspected in attack
Two inmates at Folsom State Prison are suspected of killing another inmate during an alleged attack last week, corrections officials said. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, inmate Brian J. Diguez was attacked by two other inmates in the prison's dayroom around 6:30 p.m. Friday. Officials said prison staff were able to quickly quell the incident and initiated life-saving measures on Diguez.
CBS News
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The end of Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ has implications beyond late-night TV
The facts are these: The highest-rated show on late night was nominated for an Emmy on Tuesday. On Thursday, Paramount/CBS announced its cancellation. Stephen Colbert announced at the Thursday evening taping of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” that he’d found out, only the night before, that his show would be canceled at the end of the season, in May 2026, and that no one would be replacing him. “It’s the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS,” he said. “This is all just going away.”
Washington Post
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LA Times owner announces plan to take paper public on ‘The Daily Show’
The owner of the Los Angeles Times plans to take the newspaper public in the next year, allowing it “to be democratized and allow the public to have ownership of this paper,” he said. Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong told Jon Stewart on Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” that he was “working through” the move with “an organization that’s putting that together right now.”
mynewsLA.com
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Long Beach one step closer to bringing back minor league baseball
On Tuesday, July 22, the city council approved a resolution directing city staff to work collaboratively with California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and the Long Beach Baseball Club (LBBC) on a potential agreement that would allow Blair Field to serve as the home for a new independent professional baseball team. Their goal is to begin the season in 2026. The Long Beach Baseball Club would be the newest franchise in the Pioneer Baseball League.
FOX11
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