Courts/Rulings & Lawsuits | | |
Judge denies LA County DA's request to stay $4 billion in abuse payments
A judge has sided with the chorus of vocal plaintiff representatives in opposition to District Attorney Nathan Hochman's bid for a stay of more than $4 billion in sexual abuse payouts by denying the prosecutor's request to put the payments on hold until Dec. 31 while Hochman's office investigated fraud allegations.
City News Service
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Justices uphold state law allowing for late-arriving mail-in ballots
Just over four months before the 2026 midterm elections, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked by, and received within five days of, Election Day. By a vote of 5-4, the justices in Watson v. Republican National Committee rejected an argument, made by the political parties and others challenging the law, that federal law requires mail-in ballots to be received by Election Day.
SCOTUSblog
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Judge at resentencing hearing must consider entire record in deciding eligibility
Div. Five of the Court of Appeal for this district, in a 2-1 decision, has reversed an order denying a resentencing hearing to a man convicted of first-degree murder, holding that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo prejudicially erred in declining to consider the possibly prejudicial effect of a prosecutor’s closing statement to the jury.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Judge declines to toss suit over ex-NFL player who died in LA County custody
The family of Stanley Wilson Jr., the former Detroit Lions cornerback who died three years ago while in custody, can proceed with their wrongful death lawsuit against Los Angeles County. LA County Superior Court Judge Richard Fruin on Wednesday denied the county’s bid to throw out the family’s fourth amended complaint for failure to go through the proper claim procedures before filing suit.
Courthouse News Service
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Ninth Circuit questions auto groups’ right to intervene in emissions waiver dispute
A Ninth Circuit panel of judges questioned automotive industry groups Thursday on their appeal to intervene in a lawsuit brought by California and other states that allow stronger emission standards than the federal Clean Air Act standards and claims Congress improperly adopted new federal resolutions that “disapproved” of the waivers.
Courthouse News Service
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Supreme Court will not consider $5 million verdict against Trump
The Supreme Court on Monday announced that it will not hear an appeal by President Donald Trump seeking review of the $5 million jury verdict entered against him in the sexual abuse and defamation case filed by journalist E. Jean Carroll. The petition for review was conferenced by the justices for the first time on June 25 after being scheduled for a conference in February and then rescheduled more than a dozen times.
SCOTUSblog
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Supreme Court sinks Trump’s attempt to take over Fed board
In a loss for President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook should not be removed from her post. In a 5-4 ruling, the high court determined the president’s legal theory that he could summarily terminate Cook based on flimsy assertions of mortgage fraud would effectively transform the Federal Reserve into “at-will employment,” meaning any member could be fired for any reason, or no reason.
Courthouse News Service
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Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship
The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship - the guarantee of citizenship to virtually everyone born in the United States. In a decision by Chief Justice John Roberts, in Trump v. Barbara, the justices agreed with the challengers, as well as all of the lower courts around the country that have considered the issue, that Trump’s order cannot be reconciled with the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which confers citizenship on anyone “born … in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”
SCOTUSblog
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Federal Appeals Court in Colorado finds ICE "no bond" policy unlawful, orders release of detainee
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled late Tuesday that a man who's lived in the U.S. for more than two decades, detained for more than eight months by ICE, must be released, and that an ICE guidance, issued in July 2025, denying bond to all detainees who entered the country illegally, is unlawful.
CBS Colorado
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Federal conviction blocks state charges over Pelosi attack
A divided Div. Two of the First District Court of Appeal held yesterday that a trial judge rightly dismissed attempted murder and other counts in the pending state criminal case over the 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi in his home based on double jeopardy principles following his conviction of federal assault charges, saying that courts are to look at the conduct at the heart of the crime rather than the elements at stake in determining whether the bar attaches.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Driver who held fundraiser for himself after killing LAPD cop and Whole Foods worker charged with murder
A speeding driver who held a shameless online fundraiser for himself after killing a Los Angeles cop and a Whole Foods worker in a fiery highway wreck has been hit with murder charges over the horrific crash. Mario Bickham, 36, of Los Angeles was charged with two counts of second-degree murder Monday for the killing of LAPD Sgt. Shiou Deng and Jesus Garcia, 34, in the June 23, 2025 collision on the busy 405 Freeway.
California Post
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Federal agents conduct "large operation" in Los Angeles amid human trafficking crackdown, prosecutors say
Federal agents performed a large-scale raid along Los Angeles' Figueroa corridor on Wednesday morning, according to prosecutors, resulting in nine people being taken into custody. In a post to X, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said girls as young as 14 were being sold for sex during the alleged human trafficking operations.
CBS LA
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DA sends letter to LBUSD on allegations of Brown Act violations
On June 17, the Orange County District Attorney's Office issued a formal referral to Jonathan Pearl, the legal counsel for the Laguna Beach Unified School District, after it received citizen complaints alleging Brown Act violations by the LBUSD Board of Education concerning the termination of former Superintendent Dr. Jason Glass and the hiring of Dr. Don Austin.
Laguna Beach Independent
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Orange County man charged in illegal fireworks blast that killed 8-year-old girl
An Orange County man was charged with involuntary manslaughter after an illegal fireworks blast killed an 8-year-old girl. Earl Decastro, 47, of Buena Park, was accused of recklessly setting off illegal fireworks that resulted in the death of Jasmine Nguyen, 8, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said. On July 4, 2025, the young girl, along with her sister and mother, was attending a Fourth of July party at Decastro’s home.
KTLA
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Viral video shows violent attack on hot dog vendor outside mall in downtown LA
A video making the rounds on social media showing a violent attack on a hot dog vendor outside a mall in downtown Los Angeles last week is now part of a police investigation. In the video from June 15, a woman is seen squirting what appears to be sauce onto hot dogs cooking on the vendor's grill. The vendor then throws an orange-colored powder toward the woman.
NBC4
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OC district attorney lambasts supervisors for silencing public debate on budget
Orange County residents just got shortchanged on having any real input on making $10 billion in locally-focused taxpayer funds work for them much less improve their quality of life. In adopting the next year’s fiscal budget last Tuesday, Orange County Supervisors may have set a record for the darkest budget in history - one that isn’t structurally balanced and denies raises to general workers but grants healthy raises to top execs and a 25% pay boost for county supervisors.
Voice of OC
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California BAR suspends LA license following investigation into predatory towing
The state license of Los Angeles-based automotive repair dealer, LA Custom Collision, has been suspended following an investigation by the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR). BAR fond that the business was engaging in fraudulent, predatory, and deceptive business practices that resulted in consumer harm, according to a BAR press release.
Repairer Driven News
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Proposition 36 and the California state budget
The Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC), California State Sheriffs' Association (CSSA), and California District Attorneys Association (CDAA) issued the following statement in response to the California Legislature's state budget agreement: "Despite voters in every single one of California's 58 counties approving Proposition 36 by nearly 70%, state leaders have failed to listen. Voters rejected the revolving door and chose a balanced system that gets people into treatment while holding them accountable when they don't follow through.
Culver City Observer
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Boyle Heights residents outraged after LAPD tows vehicles amid warehouse fire emergency
After nearly two weeks of emergency vehicles, the smell of rotting food and a massive warehouse fire impacting Boyle Heights residents, some families are now facing extra financial strain after their vehicles were towed by Los Angeles police during the initial firefighting efforts. Cell phone video shows the moments when nearly 10 vehicles were towed during the emergency response, all of which say they were not parked illegally when it happened.
CBS LA
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Los Angeles to pay $20 million to teen who lost leg in Boyle Heights hit-and-run
The city of Los Angeles will pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of a teen who lost his leg in 2023 in a hit-and-run in Boyle Heights. Thirteen-year-old Joshua Mora was walking home from school March 30, 2023, when he was hit by a motorcycle in the crosswalk at Whittier Boulevard and Orme Avenue.
Los Angeles Times
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Gavin Newsom signs law limiting mental health diversion for people accused of crimes
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a change to criminal sentencing practices that gives judges more discretion to decide whether someone accused of a crime merits a mental health diversion. The bill overwhelmingly passed both chambers of the Legislature this year.
CalMatters
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California law keeps creep charged with secretly filming nearly 50 nude women out of jail
A man charged with secretly recording dozens of nude women in tanning booths at a gym in San Luis Obispo County has been allowed to roam the streets due to California’s lax laws. Kyle L. Combs, 40, of Grover Beach, allegedly filmed nearly 50 partially or fully nude women in tanning booths at a Planet Fitness location in Arroyo Grande from July to December of last year, authorities said.
California Post
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California glock ban triggers warning from Trump DOJ
Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), continues to play offense when it comes to the Trump administration defending the Second Amendment. Dhillon was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April 2025, and by December, she had created the first Second Amendment Section of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division (CRIT).
NRA-ILA
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Newsom appoints four to Los Angeles Superior Court
Gov. Gavin Newsom is giving Irene Lee, a special assistant to District Attorney Nathan Hochman, a head start on her judicial career, conferring on her an interim appointment to the Los Angeles Superior Court rather than her having to wait until Jan. 4 when the term begins to which she was elected on June 2. Lee was among four persons placed on the county’s trial court in the latest round of judicial selections.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Bid to put noncitizen voting on LA’s November ballot killed after major pushback
Los Angeles’ controversial push to let non-U.S. citizens vote in city elections will not appear on ballots in November after the City Council unanimously concluded the proposal wasn’t ready to be actioned. The City Council unanimously slammed the brakes Tuesday, voting 14-0 to yank two charter amendments back to committee just 13 days after advancing them.
California Post
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LA homeless agency sues Trump administration to stop cutoff of federal funds
The embattled Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority sued the Trump administration on Monday to stop it from depriving the region of hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, saying the effort is unwarranted and violates federal laws. The authority said in its Monday filing that cutting off the funds would put more than 11,000 people - 1,900 of them children - at risk of losing housing or other services.
Los Angeles Times
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Palisades arson trial ends in mistrial. Could it affect civil trial? (Video)
Thousands of Palisades Fire victims filed civil cases against the city of LA and California, trying to hold them financially responsible for the damage. Eric Leonard reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 29, 2026.
NBC4
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LA property owners vote down streetlight fee increase
Los Angeles city property owners voted down a fee increase that sought to address a massive backlog of streetlight repairs. The L.A. city clerk certified the results Wednesday: Just under 80% of the weighted votes cast rejected the idea. The city sent ballots to owners of more than 580,000 public, commercial and private parcels in April.
LAist
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Voters nearly had a chance to gut the 'mansion tax.' Now, L.A. approves $544 million in spending
The Los Angeles City Council on Friday approved a plan to spend $544.3 million collected from Measure ULA, the so-called "mansion tax" that levies a transfer tax on L.A. property sales above $5.3 million. The spending plan, set to be distributed during the 2026 fiscal year, is the largest allocation of Measure ULA funds so far - roughly 28% higher than last year's budget.
Los Angeles Times
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LA County takes control of its homeless spending from LAHSA
Hundreds of millions in L.A. County homelessness tax dollars are now under new management. On Wednesday, the county’s new homeless services department took over oversight of the money. The change marks a major shift. For decades, county homeless services spending was overseen by the L.A. Homeless Services Authority, a joint city-county agency known as LAHSA.
LAist
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After NBCLA report, more money is coming to Palisades, Eaton fire zones (Video)
NBC4 Investigates previously reported that only a fraction of Gov. Newsom’s $2.5 billion wildfire relief fund was given to the city and county of LA. Eric Leonard reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 2, 2026.
NBC4
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LA Metro’s crime started with decision not to enforce fares - for the sake of ‘equity’
Every day, thousands of Angelenos take a deep breath, step out of their homes and plunge themselves into a transit experience straight out of “Mad Max.” The city’s buses have become rolling homeless shelters, replete with drugs and feces. Its trains are rolling platforms of murder and mayhem. The transformation has been swift and stark. Between 2020 and 2025, crime in the system more than doubled.
California Post
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In a no man's land for law enforcement, hundreds of disabled veterans are moving in
The body lay unsecured for more than 10 hours while burglars twice picked through the dead man's room. So goes the story circulating among veterans living on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs campus in West Los Angeles. Residents say their reports of the theft - like their complaints of other crimes - go unheeded because their 2-year-old apartment building lies in a law enforcement no man's land where no police agency has the power or resources to investigate and prosecute run-of-the-mill crime.
Los Angeles Times
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Woman stabbed ex to death after he broke into her Arleta home and assaulted her, LAPD says
A 22-year-old woman stabbed her ex-boyfriend to death in Arleta on Saturday after he broke into her home through a window and assaulted her, police said. Officers responded at about 3:30 a.m. to a report of a stabbing at a residence in the 9200 block of Nagle Avenue, where paramedics pronounced a 23-year-old man dead at the scene, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
City News Service
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Moment California cops swoop on South American burglary crew behind mass luxury home raids
Six South Americans including several minors were arrested Tuesday in connection with a series of home burglaries that have terrorized California neighborhoods over the past year. Andres Zarate, 32, Darlyn Alejandra Acosta Serrano, 32, and four other suspects identified as 17-year-old minors were booked on burglary and conspiracy charges, according to the Irvine Police Department.
California Post
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Teen helps stop Sherman Oaks fire caused by man dragging shopping cart
A fire that a homeless man is seen setting next to two homes on a quiet residential street in Sherman Oaks was captured on a neighbor's security camera, coming dangerously close to the houses before a 13-year-old's quick thinking helped stop it. The blaze broke out just after 3 a.m. on Hebsy Street, off Van Nuys Boulevard.
Fox11
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New homeowners find human remains after buying California property
On the evening of Friday, June 26, Apple Valley deputies responded to the 19000 block of Crest Drive after receiving reports of human remains on a newly purchased property, a recent news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department says. Upon arrival, “detectives, along with the Coroner’s Division and Crime Scene Specialists, searched the area and collected multiple bones,” the release continues.
SF Gate
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Garden Grove officer arrested in investigation involving juvenile in Explorer Program
A Garden Grove police officer was arrested and placed on administrative leave following an investigation into possible inappropriate interactions with a minor participating in the department's Explorer program, authorities said Thursday. Garden Grove Police said investigators were notified on June 26 of possible inappropriate interaction between Officer Roberto Machuca, 32, and the juvenile female explorer.
NBC4
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Sutter County’s Sheriff joins voices opposing closure of another state prison
Sutter County’s elected sheriff, Brandon Barnes, is criticizing a proposal in the new state budget to close yet another prison in California. Barnes first came into office in 2019, and in the six years that followed, the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom have eliminated four state prisons, with a fifth scheduled to be shuttered later this fall.
The Appeal-Democrat
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Will a pension reform effort avoid the fate of other bills CalPERS sidelined?
Blazing its way through the Legislature is a proposal that could give California firefighters and police officers better pensions and earlier retirements. If passed, the measure would make significant adjustments to a previous pension reform effort spearheaded by Gov. Jerry Brown after the 2008 financial crisis to prevent further growth of unsustainable pension debt.
Sacramento Bee
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Arizona train heist: Nearly $500K in stolen goods recovered after suspect dives into Colorado River
Two men - a Mesa resident and a Mexican national - are facing felony charges after a dramatic train burglary investigation in western Arizona led to a police chase, a plunge into the Colorado River and the recovery of nearly half a million dollars in stolen cargo, authorities said. The bust on Thursday is part of a growing, sophisticated criminal trend targeting passing trains across northern and western Arizona, prompting a multi-agency response to disrupt organized railroad heists.
Fox10 Phoenix
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New culprit in California's sky-high gas prices? Lawsuit blames AI price-fixing
Gasoline prices have soared nationwide since the U.S. launched a war on Iran, but they remain far higher in California than other states, a dollar or more per gallon. And one reason they're not falling, according to a newly filed lawsuit, is a series of agreements by major gas dealers to use an artificial intelligence tool called Kalibrate to pump up their prices.
San Francisco Chronicle
| | Convictions/Pleas/Sentences/Parole | | |
Appeals court upholds Harvey Weinstein's California rape conviction, but says he must be resentenced
An appeals court on Friday upheld Harvey Weinstein's 2022 rape and sexual assault conviction in California, but ordered his trial judge to resentence him. A three-judge panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal unanimously issued the decision. "We are disappointed by today's decision and respectfully disagree with the Court of Appeal's conclusions regarding the fairness of Mr. Weinstein's trial," Weinstein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer said in an email.
Associated Press
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California man dosed sons daily with hallucinogens, ran psilocybin operation: prosecutors
A 43-year-old California man pleaded guilty last week to trafficking psilocybin mushrooms and using his two young sons in the operation after repeatedly dosing them with the hallucinogenic drug, federal prosecutors announced. During the investigation, law enforcement executed two search warrants at properties in North County, California, tied to Randal Vance of San Diego County on Oct. 4, 2024, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
KTLA
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Man sentenced for killing 17-year-old honor student in El Sereno
A man was sentenced to 24 years to life in state prison for fatally stabbing a 17-year-old honor student in El Sereno in 2023 and attacking another man in downtown Los Angeles, the LA County DA's Office confirmed to NBC Los Angeles Tuesday. David Anthony Zapata, now 35, pleaded no context to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Xavier Chavarin, a straight-A senior at Woodrow Wilson High School.
NBC4
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Press group may expel member without ‘fair procedure’
A man who was booted out of private press association has no cause of action based on failure of the group’s governing board to provide a “fair procedure” in coming to it decision, Div. Seven of this district’s Court of Appeal has held. Justice Gail Ruderman Feuer authored the unpublished opinion, filed Wednesday. It affirms a judgment of dismissal that followed the sustaining of demurrers without leave to amend by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Wendy Chang.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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LA has a delayed deal to recoup Olympic costs, but concerns about who will pay for security remain
After months of hand-wringing, Los Angeles and LA28 have come to a tentative agreement on how Olympics organizers will reimburse the city for its expenses for the 2028 Summer Games. According to the deal, the private Olympic organizing committee will pay upfront for the estimated cost of services that are not eligible for federal reimbursement, like trash pick-up and traffic control.
LAist
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LA is running $1.7 billion short for its ‘car-free’ Olympics
Los Angeles is coming up short $1.7 billion to deliver a "car-free" Olympic Games in 2028, and California lawmakers fear Washington isn't going to pony up the money in time. The city has sought $2 billion in federal money to fulfill its 2017 bid pledge to rely on public transit and dedicated transportation networks to move athletes, officials, and spectators. President Donald Trump, then in his first term, said in 2020: "We're going to give them tremendous support."
Semafor
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Judge cautions Melania Trump against trying to sanction journalist Michael Wolff
Despite already beating an anti-SLAPP lawsuit from journalist and Trump biographer Michael Wolff, first lady Melania Trump is keeping the litigation going by pushing for sanctions against Wolff over what she calls his “frivolous” case. But a federal judge on Wednesday suggested she should perhaps quit while she is ahead, noting to the first lady’s lawyers “the case is now closed.”
Courthouse News Service
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