Los Angeles District Attorney | |
|
Veteran prosecutor: Gascón criticisms brought him retaliation
Another longtime Los Angeles County deputy district attorney has sued the county, alleging his complaints about the soundness and legality of directives of District Attorney George Gascón caused him to be transferred to a less prestigious post and see his career advancements stymied. Deputy District Attorney Phillip Glaviano’s Los Angeles Superior Court complaint alleges unspecified damages along with attorneys’ fees.
mynewsLA.com
| |
|
More San Gabriel Valley cities back effort to stop zero-bail policy in LA County
Both West Covina and Baldwin Park have joined several other local cities seeking an injunction against Los Angeles County’s new zero-bail policy. Officially dubbed Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols, or PARP, the L.A. County Superior Court eliminated cash bail amounts for defendants, effective Oct. 1, for all but the most serious of crimes. The action has upset local officials, who say the policy will increase crime.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
| |
|
This prolific LA eviction law firm was caught faking cases in court. Did they misuse AI?
When landlords in Southern California want to evict their tenants, they often hire Dennis Block. His law firm, Dennis P. Block and Associates, describes itself as the state’s “leading eviction law firm.” Block once reportedly called himself, “A man who has evicted more tenants than any other human being on the planet Earth.” But in one recent eviction case, Block didn’t just lose. His firm was also sanctioned for submitting a court filing a judge said was “rife with inaccurate and false statements.”
LAist
| |
|
Supreme Court re-lifts block of ghost gun rules
The Supreme Court will again allow the Biden administration to enforce regulations on ghost guns, agreeing on Friday to block a lower court pause on the rules. This issue was previously before the justices in August when a 5-4 split on the high court allowed the government’s rules on ghost guns to remain in place while an appeal proceeded in the Fifth Circuit. Justice Samuel Alito granted a temporary stay prior to the court’s order to allow the justices to review the case.
Courthouse News Service
| |
|
Appeals court says California’s higher-capacity magazine ban can remain in effect amid legal fight
California’s ban on higher-capacity magazines can remain in effect while the state fights a lower court’s ruling last month that the law is unconstitutional. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday granted state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s request that the law banning detachable magazines that hold more than 10 rounds remain in effect as the state appeals last month’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez.
AP
| |
|
Uber sexual assault cases centralized before federal judge in Northern District of California
A panel of federal judges has decided that all Uber sexual assault lawsuits will be consolidated and centralized before one judge in the Northern District of California, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings. Uber faces more than 80 lawsuits over sexual assaults while using the rideshare service, which are currently pending in at least a dozen different U.S. District Courts.
AboutLawsuits.com
| |
|
California Supreme Court refuses to review ex-cop murder case
The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to review the case of a former federal police officer who was convicted of murdering a young man in Hollywood more than three decades ago. Pierre Alphonse Romain, now 59, was convicted in August 2017 of first-degree murder for the June 29, 1987, shooting death of Jade Maurice Clark.
City News Service
| |
|
US Supreme Court turns away challenge to media defamation protections
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a bid by a prominent former West Virginia mining company executive to make it easier for public figures to sue for defamation in a case that challenged longstanding protections for news organizations. The justices turned away former Massey Energy CEO Donald Blankenship's appeal of a lower court's decision throwing out his defamation lawsuit against media outlets including Fox News and MSNBC for characterizing him as a "felon" during his unsuccessful 2018 run for the U.S. Senate.
Reuters
| |
|
Progressive Los Angeles prosecutor slammed for not responding to Israel terror attacks: 'Just sickening’
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón responded Wednesday after 131 current and retired District Attorney employees sent a letter harshly criticizing his silence on the atrocities committed against Israel by the terror group Hamas. One hundred thirty-one current and retired district attorney employees in Los Angeles sent a letter to Gascón on Wednesday afternoon saying they were "appalled" by his lack of condemnation against Hamas.
Fox News
| |
|
DA Gascon: Disavow the DSA!
Given that he regularly expounds on hot button issues, the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys is wondering why District Attorney Goerge Gascon has said nothing about the Hamas attack on Israel. Could it be that Gascon is the favorite son of the chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America? The LAADDA said: “For the last three years, District Attorney George Gascón has seldom missed a chance to insert himself into the news cycle. He has commented on the deaths of famous artists and politicians...”
California Globe
| |
|
Full interview: George Gascon on zero bail & running for re-election (Video)
We sit down with Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon on the day Los Angeles implemented a so called "zero bail" policy. Gascon describes where that policy comes from, what aspects he agrees with & those he doesn't. We also discuss the death penalty, his re-election bid and the biggest misconceptions about him. This is the full, unedited discussion. Portions of this aired on FOX 11 Los Angeles.
Fox11
| |
|
Gangsters bragged about mass shooting that left partygoers dead, prosecutors say at trial
One of the men who opened fire on a crowd of partygoers in Long Beach, according to prosecutors, said he felt like he was “in the movies” as he pulled the trigger. “I was like pow, pow, pow, pow,” prosecutors allege he said, as he described a shooting in which three people were killed and nine wounded -none of whom were the intended targets.
Long Beach Post
| |
|
Man faces vandalism and attempted hate crime charges after spray-painting swastikas on vehicles in L.A.
Felony vandalism and attempted hate crime charges were filed this week against a man suspected of spray-painting swastikas on more than a dozen vehicles in Los Angeles County, prosecutors said. Robert Haymore, 37, pleaded not guilty to nine counts of attempted hate crimes for allegedly displaying a Nazi symbol on private property and eight counts of vandalism of $400 or more in defacement with graffiti, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Los Angeles Times
| |
|
D.A. charges Glendale employee in molestation case
The Los Angeles County district attorney charged a 29-year-old man - who worked at a Glendale elementary school and with the city’s after-school program and summer day camp - with eight felony counts of lewd acts on a child under age 14 on Thursday, following the man’s arrest by Glendale Police Department detectives on Tuesday.
Glendale News-Press
| |
|
Ex-Army soldier charged with trying to pass US secrets to China
A former U.S. Army sergeant accused of attempting to pass on sensitive American defense information to the Chinese government was arrested this week, according to court documents unsealed Friday. Federal agents took Joseph D. Schmidt, a 29-year-old former Army sergeant once based in Washington state, into custody this week after Schmidt arrived in San Francisco from Hong Kong, where FBI documents say he has lived since 2020.
Courthouse News Service
| |
|
Feds say Trump misled judge to get Mar-a-Lago trial delay
Federal prosecutors accused attorneys for Donald Trump of “misleading” the court last week in their attempt to delay his trial in the classified materials case until after next year’s election, citing limited access to classified evidence. The defense attorneys' complaints, the government said in a response filed Monday, are “inaccurate or incomplete.”
Courthouse News Service
| |
|
Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo sue over leaked audio recording
Two prominent Los Angeles political figures are suing over an incendiary secret recording that upended City Hall nearly a year ago, according to filings posted on the Superior Court’s website. Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León and former Councilmember Gil Cedillo lodged separate lawsuits Friday, saying the recording did permanent harm to their reputations and careers. Both lawsuits allege invasion of privacy and negligence and seek damages.
Los Angeles Times
| |
|
Supreme Court leans toward endorsing higher protections for whistleblower
A man who reported misconduct at his job appeared to convince the Supreme Court on Tuesday that his employer should have to face a million-dollar fine for firing him after he filed a whistleblower complaint. The justices spent close to two hours parsing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a 2002 law that protects whistleblowers who report corporate misconduct.
Courthouse News Service
| |
|
Legal challenge of Tucson homeless camp could have major repercussions
The same law firm behind a ruling that led to the clearing out of Phoenix’s largest homeless camp has brought a lawsuit to Tucson. The Phoenix-based firm, Tully Bailey LLP, is suing Tucson on behalf of residents in the Hedrick Acres neighborhood near East Fort Lowell Road and North Mountain Avenue over a homeless camp at Navajo Wash.
Tucson.com
| |
|
How Amazon’s ‘neighborhood watch’ turns police officers into ‘Reddit moderators’
September 23, 2021, was a busy day in Jeffry Poole’s inbox. The detective with the Los Angeles Police Department started receiving emails about alleged crimes at 3:30 a.m. that day. The messages came in slowly at first, but by the afternoon they were landing every 10 minutes or so. All told, Poole received 63 emails from Neighbors, the social media platform for people who own Ring doorbell cameras.
Los Angeles Times
| |
|
The attack on Israel, and how to respond to it, is roiling L.A.’s election campaigns
Three years ago, political newcomer Nithya Raman drew national attention for her come-from-behind election victory, ousting a Los Angeles City Council member and becoming the first member of the Democratic Socialists of America to hold that office. Raman is now running for reelection in a race where she has raised the most money and scored big-name endorsements. But in the wake of the recent attack on Israel by Hamas militants, she is also facing fresh criticism over her DSA ties.
Los Angeles Times
| |
|
Zero bail gets negative review
Local city councils are pushing back against Los Angeles County’s new zero-bail policy, which critics say will worsen an already deteriorating public safety situation by letting many arrestees go free before arraignment. The Las Virgenes-Malibu Council of Governments held an emergency meeting last week to approve a letter to the presiding judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court urging suspension of the policy, which went into effect Oct. 1. The cities of Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu and Westlake Village voted in favor of the letter.
The Acorn
| |
|
Burke civil rights litigation team secures defense verdict for the City of Los Angeles
A Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP Litigation team representing the City of Los Angeles and LAPD officer Brandon Purece secured a high profile defense jury verdict in a Los Angeles Superior Court civil rights action. Plaintiff Bradley Steyn sued for battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, violations of the Ralph Act and the Bane Act, and negligence arising from Steyn being shot in the groin by Purece with a less than lethal foam projectile.
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP News Release
| |
|
LAPD grapples with officer safety concerns as DACA recruits face firearms restrictions
The Los Angeles Police Department is confronting a unique challenge as two of its newest recruit officers are DACA recipients, often referred to as Dreamers. While California has passed a law allowing noncitizens to serve as police officers, this decision has raised significant concerns due to federal restrictions on firearm possession by DACA recipients.
Fox11
| |
|
LAPD assistant chief faces termination but no criminal charges after stalking allegation
A high-ranking Los Angeles Police Department official has been demoted and is facing the possibility of termination after being accused of stalking a fellow officer with whom he was romantically involved, even as San Bernardino County prosecutors announced they would not file criminal charges in the case. Al Labrada, a 30-year department veteran, has been on leave since earlier this month amid allegations that he used an Apple AirTag to track the movements of the officer.
Los Angeles Times
| |
|
Three female doctors sue L.A. County, alleging it ignored complaints about an abusive boss at Harbor-UCLA hospital
Three leading female physicians at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, filed suit last week against Los Angeles County, the overseer of the giant teaching hospital, contending that its management ignored years of complaints alleging sexual harassment, retaliation and discriminatory behavior by Dr. Louis Kwong, who until recently was the head of the facility’s orthopedics department.
NBC News
| |
|
LA County DA investigator and wife killed in horror crash
A sergeant with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s Bureau of Investigation and his wife were killed in a fatal car crash over the weekend. Emilio Guerrero, 52, and Annabel Guerrero, 47, died in the two-car collision at the intersection of Paramount Boulevard and Gardendale Street in Downey, California, which occurred just after 2pm on Sunday. The other car was driven by an unnamed 60-year-old, according to KTLA.
The Independent
| |
|
2 Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in critical condition after fire in mobile gun range trailer
Two veteran Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were seriously hurt Tuesday when a fire broke out inside a trailer serving as a mobile shooting range north of Los Angeles, authorities said. The deputies were listed in critical but stable condition after being burned in the approximately 50-foot (15-meter) trailer, prompting Sheriff Robert Luna to close other mobile ranges countywide as investigators look into what caused the blaze.
AP
| |
|
City Hall tapes scandal
Topline: In the year since the release of secretly recorded audio, the fallout from the scandal has fundamentally changed City Hall. There's new council leadership and reform has taken center stage. The backstory: The scandal involved former councilmembers Nury Martinez and Gil Cedillo, Councilmember Kevin de León, and Ron Herrera, the former president of the influential L.A. County Federation of Labor.
LAist
| |
|
LAPD releases dash cam video showing ex-officers ignoring backup call to play 'Pokémon Go’
The Los Angeles Police Department on Thursday released video footage that captured two officers talking about catching a character in a game of Pokémon Go while ignoring a robbery call in 2017. The exchange was caught on the digital camera inside their squad car, shedding light on an episode that had previously only been described in department records and court documents.
Los Angeles Times
| |
|
Newsom signs bill to curb spread of child sexual abuse material on social media
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that will punish social media platforms and other web services for "knowingly facilitating, aiding, or abetting commercial sexual exploitation” of children. Assembly Bill 1394 - written by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat - allows a judge to assess statutory damages of between $1 million and $4 million for each instance of commercial sexual exploitation that were aided, abetted or facilitated by a social media platform.
Courthouse News Service
| |
|
Governor Newsom announces judicial appointments 10.5.23
Governor Gavin Newsom today announced his appointment of 15 Superior Court Judges, which include one in Butte County; one in Kern County; one in Kings County; one in Monterey County; one in Orange County; one in Placer County; one in Sacramento County; two in San Joaquin County; one in Santa Barbara County; one in Santa Clara County; one in Sonoma County; one in Stanislaus County; and two in Sutter County.
Office of Governor Gavin Newsom News Release
| |
|
California bans inquiries about applicant cannabis use
On October 7, 2023, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 700, which makes it unlawful under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) for an employer to discriminate against a job applicant based on information regarding prior use of cannabis that is learned from a criminal history. However, SB 700 does not preempt state or federal laws requiring an applicant to be tested for controlled substances, nor is an employer prohibited from asking about an applicant’s criminal history as long as in compliance with state law requirements.
National Law Review
| |
|
New state law directs sales and use tax revenues into historic stadiums including the Rose Bowl
On Monday Governor Gavin Newsom signed new legislation legislation that will reinvest a portion of the sales and use tax revenues generated by historic entertainment and sports venues, including Pasadena’s Rose Bowl and the Hollywood Bowl, back into these venues for accessibility and infrastructure upgrades. Authored by Senator Anthony J. Portantino, who represents Pasadena, Senate Bill 96 goes into effect on January 1, 2024.
Pasadena Now
| |
|
Man sought for threatening to kill OC judge, shoot up courthouse (Video)
Police are on the hunt for allegedly threatening to kill an Orange County judge and threatening to shoot up a courthouse. Eric Leonard reports Oct. 6, 2023.
NBC4
| |
|
Retail crime accounted for $112B in industry losses in 2022
A new report from the National Retail Federation finds that financial losses from theft are on the rise, and that these crimes are becoming increasingly violent. The 2023 National Retail Security Survey found that the loss of inventory, known in the industry as the “shrink” rate, increased to 1.6% last year, up from 1.4% in 2021. When taken as a percentage of total retail sales in 2022, that shrink represents $112.1 billion in losses.
New Jersey Business & Industry Association
| |
|
LA pharmacies hit by smash-and-grab robbers
The Los Angeles Police Department Thursday was investigating multiple pharmacy burglaries in the San Fernando Valley. One of the three burglaries took place around 2:45 a.m. Thursday at a pharmacy in the 13000 block of Van Nuys Boulevard in Pacoima, police said. FOX 11 obtained videos of the smash-and-grab robbery. Two additional burglaries were reported Wednesday night in Northridge and Valley Village.
City News Service
| |
|
Jewelry store employee opens fire on smash-and-grab robbers in Manhattan Beach
Authorities are searching for a group of suspects who targeted a Manhattan Beach jewelry store in a smash-and-grab robbery before an employee opened fire on them. The scene unfolded at around 12:40 p.m., when El Segundo police were dispatched to Prestige Jewelers, located in the 3000 block of N. Sepulveda Boulevard after learning of the attempted robbery, according to a statement from Manhattan Beach Police Department.
KCAL News
| |
|
Harvard Law professor: Government 'cannot lawfully' force private companies to engage in censorship
Noah Feldman, a professor at Harvard Law, has stated that while private companies are free to censor other private parties of their own accord, if the government forces a private company to engage in censorship, it becomes a violation of the First Amendment. Feldman made these remarks at a forum titled "Censorship, Content Moderation, and the First Amendment."
Legal Newsline
| |
|
California judge rules lawyer who called for BLM rioters to be shot will not be disbarred
A California lawyer has had ethics charges filed against her tossed out after a California Bar Judge ruled that social media posts calling for Black Lives Matter rioters to be shot were "an expression of a provocative opinion, not a directive.” The October 3 ruling from Judge of the State Bar Court Dennis Saab stated that Marla Anne Brown was charged with four counts of professional misconduct by the Office of Chief Trial Counsel of the State Bar of California (OCTC) in relation to statements made on her personal Twitter account over a three-day period in May of 2020.
The Post Millennial
| |
|
Hamas leaves trail of terror in Israel
They were killed waiting for the bus, dancing at a festival, doing morning chores and hiding as best they could. Searching bullet-riddled houses, streets and lawns, Israeli soldiers are still finding them. The soldiers, retaking control of the kibbutzim, towns and settlements near the Gaza Strip that came under attack by Palestinian terrorists over the weekend, have recovered body after body after body.
New York Times
| |
Convictions/Sentences/Parole/Appeals | |
|
Parolee admits to unprovoked attack on Olympic medalist in DTLA
A parolee pleaded no contest Tuesday to an allegedly unprovoked attack on an Olympic silver medal-winning volleyball player, who testified in March that she had never seen the man before. Semeon Tesfamariam, now 53, was immediately sentenced to eight years in state prison following his plea to assault with a deadly weapon along with his admission that he had a prior strike, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
City News Service
| |
|
Former Inglewood police officer agrees to plead guilty to federal drug charge for selling kilogram of cocaine
A former Inglewood Police Department (IPD) officer has agreed to plead guilty to a federal narcotics offense of distributing cocaine, the Justice Department announced today. In a plea agreement filed today in federal court, John Abel Baca, 47, of Whittier, who served as an IPD officer for 21 years, admitted that he distributed cocaine on two occasions, the first occurring on April 29, 2021, when he delivered cocaine to a witness cooperating with law enforcement.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Press Release
| |
|
The Amazon antitrust lawsuit is likely to be a long and arduous journey for the FTC
Amazon is heading into one of its biggest sales events of the year - Prime Day - with a lawsuit hanging over its head that accuses it of preventing sellers from hawking their merchandise at lower prices on other sites. The Federal Trade Commission’s long-awaited antitrust case is the agency's most aggressive move yet to tame the market power of Amazon, a company that’s become synonymous with online shopping and fast deliveries.
AP
| |
|
City Council to appoint LA Mayor to homeless commission
The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday appointed Mayor Karen Bass to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Commission for a three-year term, ending on June 30, 2026. The Council voted unanimously on the matter. In a letter to the Council, Bass had asked council members to confirm her appointment in an effort to “further confront the number one crisis facing our city.”
City News Service
| |
|
San Quentin prisoner’s widow wins key ruling in COVID lawsuit
A federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit filed by the widow of a San Quentin inmate who died of COVID-19 can move forward. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Tuesday reversed a lower court’s decision that would have prevented the suit from proceeding. Jacqueline Hampton has sued the state, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), San Quentin State Prison and some prison officials for the death of her husband, Michael Hampton.
Marin Independent Journal
| | | | |
