Courts/Rulings & Lawsuits | | |
Justices agree to review federal law banning drug users from possessing guns
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide if the federal government may bar certain drug users from owning guns or if the law violates the Second Amendment, taking up a second significant guns case of its current term. The appeal represents a rare circumstance in which the Trump administration is defending a gun prohibition, which it described in briefing at the Supreme Court as a “narrow” limitation on one of “Americans’ most cherished freedoms.”
CNN
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California Court of Appeal upholds wrongful discharge claim over polygraph testing
The California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, recently issued a significant decision in McDoniel v. Kavry Management, LLC, holding that an employer’s violation of Labor Code section 432.2 - California’s prohibition on mandatory polygraph testing - can support a wrongful discharge claim in violation of public policy.
National Law Review
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Appeals court allows Trump administration to deploy National Guard in Portland
A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Monday will allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in Portland - an important legal victory in a showdown over presidential power that’s happening on multiple fronts. The ruling overturns one of two lower court decisions to block the deployment as the appeal process plays out, but because the second decision is still in force, the troops can’t immediately be deployed.
CNN
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Supreme Court shoots down vaccine opt-outs at California school
The Supreme Court refused Friday to give religious parents an opt-out from a California school’s vaccine policy. The justices denied their request in a brief order without explanation. There were no noted dissents. We the Patriots, a conservative nonprofit, filed an emergency appeal at the high court on behalf of a woman identified as Jane Doe, asking the justices for an exemption to Ventura Unified School District’s vaccine mandates.
Courthouse News Service
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Minnesota man will stand trial in murder of woman stuffed in refrigerator
A man from Minnesota will stand trial for the grisly murder of a woman whose body was found stuffed inside a refrigerator in her downtown Los Angeles apartment in 2023. After a four-day preliminary hearing, LA County Superior Court Judge Drew Edwards found prosecutors had presented enough evidence to hold 41-year-old Magnus Humphrey over for trial. Humphrey, who is charged with two felonies - murder and torture - has pleaded not guilty.
Courthouse News Service
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C.A. declines to find that body shop owner owes duty to prevent harm from stolen car
Div. Three of this district’s Court of Appeal has held that summary judgment was properly granted to an automotive repair shop that was sued for negligence relating to a crash involving a vehicle stolen from the facility by the owner’s grandson, finding that the fact that the cars were stored in an unsecured lot and the keys were kept in unlocked rack behind reception did not render the accident foreseeable under the “special circumstances” doctrine.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Federal Courts do not have funds for full operations as result of government shutdown
The federal Judicial Branch no longer has funds to sustain full operations, the U.S. Courts system has announced. “Until the ongoing lapse in government funding is resolved, federal courts will maintain limited operations necessary to perform the Judiciary’s constitutional functions,” the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said in an announcement on the U.S. Courts’ website.
Ballard CFS Group
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Ex-LAPD cop charged with murder 10 years after unarmed man’s shooting death
The former Los Angeles Police Department officer who was arrested last week for allegedly killing an unarmed man 10 years ago has been charged with murder. Clifford Proctor, 60, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder on Friday, and he is being held without bail, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said he’s due back in court on Nov. 3.
KTLA
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He tracked and posted videos of ICE raids in L.A. Now this TikTok streamer is in federal custody
Carlitos Ricardo Parias had been tracking ICE raids around South L.A. and posting videos on TikTok for months, gaining hundreds of thousands of followers who looked to his social media accounts for vital updates on where federal immigration agents were. As masked federal agents detained people in Los Angeles streets, Parias was often there streaming and recording.
Los Angeles Times
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California labor leader's felony charge over immigration protest is reduced
The leader of a labor union in Southern California who was arrested while protesting an immigration raid earlier this year will have his felony obstruction charge reduced to a misdemeanor, court records show. David Huerta had been charged with obstruction, resistance or opposition to a federal officer - a class A felony, according to a Friday filing by Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in federal court.
CBS & Associated Press
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QueerWorks CEO Jacob Rostovsky back in court, seeks mental health diversion amid fraud charges
Jacob Rostovsky, CEO of QueerWorks, returned to court today as he faces more than 50 criminal counts, including fraud, grand theft, and the alleged misappropriation of over $800,000 in public funds. His legal team has filed a petition for mental health diversion, asking the court to delay traditional prosecution in favor of treatment.
NBC Palm Springs
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Chipotle settles consumer protection lawsuit over gift cards
Chipotle Mexican Grill has agreed to pay $246,000 to settle a consumer protection lawsuit alleging that it wouldn't allow California customers to cash out gift cards with a balance of under $10, authorities announced Thursday. The restaurant chain - which has more than 500 locations in California and denied any wrongdoing - will pay $145,467 in civil penalties, $88,533 for investigative costs and $12,000 restitution to the California
Consumer Protection Prosecution Trust Fund, with just over $56,000 going to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, authorities said.
City News Service
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Pelosi: California cops “may arrest” ICE agents if they violate law
Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Wednesday said that California state and local authorities “may arrest” agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if they violate state law while conducting immigration raids in the San Francisco Bay Area. The raids, which are expected to begin this week, have drawn widespread criticism from politicians and elected officials in California. President Donald Trump called the city “woke,” promising to “go” to the city and “make it great again.”
Salon
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LA City Attorney’s Office wants to hire outside law firm in legal fight against journalists
The Los Angeles city attorney is asking city leaders for $250,000 to hire an outside law firm to aid the Los Angeles Police Department in its legal fight against local journalists. In a report filed in the city clerk docket by City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office on Friday, Denise Mills, chief deputy city attorney, signed a request for a new contract with Best Best & Krieger for a term of three years for legal work to defend the police department on a case filed by the L.A. Press Club.
LAist
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LA County moves to limit license plate tracking, citing CalMatters report
Drivers in Los Angeles County have a powerful new privacy advocate after the Board of Supervisors pushed to restrict how their license plates are scanned by law enforcement. The board recently voted to ask the Sheriff’s Department to more stringently regulate its use of the license plate data it collects through high-tech camera systems mounted on patrol cars and above roads.
CalMatters
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L.A.'s promise to explore police-free traffic enforcement keeps hitting roadblocks
A proposal to explore removing Los Angeles police officers from traffic enforcement is stuck in gridlock. Again. The initiative to take the job of pulling over bad drivers away from cops is months behind schedule, frustrating reform advocates and some city leaders who argue that Los Angeles is missing an onramp toward the future of road safety.
Los Angeles Times
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L.A. council rebukes city attorney over ban on LAPD using crowd control weapons on journalists
In a rare public rebuke, the Los Angeles City Council pressed the city's top lawyer to abandon her attempt to halt a federal judge's order prohibiting LAPD officers from targeting journalists with crowd control weapons. One day before "No Kings" demonstrations against the Trump administration were set to launch in L.A. and elsewhere, the council voted 12-0 to direct City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto to withdraw her request to lift the order.
Los Angeles Times
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Ranking member of the House Oversight Committee launches investigation into immigration raids
Robert Garcia is the ranking Democratic member on the House Oversight Committee. In that capacity, he will lead hearings across the country starting in Los Angeles, according to his office. Democrats, because they are in the minority in the House, lack subpoena power but can request information from federal and other agencies.
LAist
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City Council advances plan to pay tipsters for stopping copper wire theft
Los Angeles is moving forward with a new incentive program aimed at curbing metal and wire theft from public infrastructure, after the City Council voted this week to advance an ordinance that would pay residents for tips leading to arrests and convictions, as reported by ABC News. The council voted 8–2 on Tuesday to tentatively approve the proposal, which would establish a Metal and Wire Theft Reward Program. A second and final vote is scheduled for Oct. 21, after which the measure would go to Mayor Karen Bass for signature.
Westside Today
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Turbulence at LAX: Union revolt against airport Police Chief Cecil Rhambo exposes leadership crisis ahead of World Cup and Olympics
The Los Angeles Airport Police Department (LAXPD) is in turmoil as Chief Cecil W. Rhambo Jr. faces mounting backlash from within his own ranks. The Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association (LAAPOA) has issued a sharp rebuke of Rhambo’s leadership, publicly calling for his replacement amid growing reports of operational dysfunction, plummeting morale, and allegations of erratic behavior that insiders describe as both behavioral and cognitive decline.
The Current Report
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass "wasn't surprised" by challenge from former LAUSD superintendent
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says it's her "job to talk about" her successes in office as the first major challenger to her reelection race has entered the picture. In an interview with CBS LA's Ross Palombo on Sunday morning, Bass said the emergence of former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner was something she'd considered a possibility for months.
CBS LA
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Deputy trainee opposes employment, medical records being released in suit against County
A Black man who sued Los Angeles County alleging that he was harassed and discriminated against by his instructors while training to be a sheriff’s deputy due to his race and age is opposing efforts by the Sheriff’s Dept. to obtain information on his prior employment and health records. In his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, plaintiff Donte Pipkins further contends he was subjected to disparate treatment because he had a kidney stone and that he was terminated in 2024 for seeking accommodations for his condition.
2 Urban Girls
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L.A. to enforce new law on derelict RVs
Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 630, granting Los Angeles and Alameda counties the authority to remove and dispose of abandoned or inoperable recreational vehicles (RVs). The law, authored by Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez, aims to address the issue of derelict vehicles and enhance local enforcement of RV regulations. Under the new legislation, counties can streamline the removal of RVs valued at $4,000 or less until 2030.
iHeartRadio
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Allegedly armed man shot, killed by sheriff's deputy in Rosemead
A man was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy in Rosemead after he allegedly walked out of a home armed with a weapon. The incident happened around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday on Sullivan Street, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Deputies first responded to the area about six hours earlier regarding a call about a man in mental distress. They then learned that a man inside a home in the area was threatening to harm himself, his family members and deputies.
ABC7
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Three suspects arrested in deadly North Hollywood shooting
Three men have been arrested in connection with a deadly shooting in North Hollywood, police announced Friday morning. The Los Angeles Police Department said officers responded around 12:30 p.m. Thursday to reports of a shooting in the 7300 block of Lankershim Boulevard. When officers arrived, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound lying on the ground. Paramedics with the Los Angeles Fire Department tried to save him, but he was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.
KTLA
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Los Angeles copper wire theft is leaving communities in the dark. Here's how a new law could fix the problem
As surging copper wire thefts are leaving many Los Angeles communities in the dark, a new statewide metal theft law set to kick in next year is aimed at recyclers who buy the stolen metal. Los Angeles city leaders, law enforcement and business leaders called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign Assembly Bill 476 as copper wire theft has cost communities not only money, but safety.
CBS LA
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Thirteen arrested in West Hollywood operation that raised concerns about ICE
Thirteen people were arrested late Friday night during an operation in West Hollywood's Rainbow District, and the presence of unmarked vehicles and recent immigration raids in the area sparked concerns of a possible ICE raid. On Sunday, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents did not take part in the arrests. Multiple social media posts late Friday night warned of ICE agents in the Rainbow District, particularly at the renowned gay bar the Abbey.
Los Angeles Times
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Semitruck driver charged in deadly Ontario crash on 10 Freeway as details emerge about victims
A Pomona High School basketball coach and his wife were among the three victims killed in a chain-reaction crash involving multiple vehicles, including several semitrucks, earlier this week on the 10 Freeway in Ontario. The school confirmed the couple died in the Tuesday afternoon collision. They were identified as Pomona High Red Devils assistant basketball coach Clarence Nelson and his wife, Lisa.
ABC7
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Man gropes, attacks store's customers, then female shopper fatally shoots him, authorities say
A woman shot and killed a man who groped and attacked customers inside a Compton store, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, and officials are asking witnesses to come forward. On Sunday, deputies from the Compton Sheriff's Station responded to an emergency call of a disturbance, which was later updated to include a gunshot victim, at a shopping center in the 1300 block of East Alondra Boulevard, according to a news release.
Los Angeles Times
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L.A. built tiny home villages to solve homelessness - then the police calls started
For months, The Current has received growing reports from residents who say crime and drug activity have increased around neighborhoods near “Tiny Home” villages. During community meetings, residents often share troubling accounts of theft, fights, and narcotics activity they associate with the nearby shelters - facilities they claim have little to no security presence. Service providers have long disputed those claims, insisting that incidents near the sites are unrelated.
Westside Current
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Bonta says state is ready, vows to sue ‘in minutes’ if Trump sends troops to SF
After President Trump reaffirmed San Francisco as his next target for National Guard deployment over the weekend, Attorney General Rob Bonta said Monday that his office is ready to mount a legal fight immediately. “If he deploys the National Guard to San Francisco, we’ll be in court within hours if not minutes,” Bonta told reporters on Monday following Trump’s promises to send federal forces to the city in an appearance on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.
KQED
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Trump wants $230 million from DOJ for investigating him
President Donald Trump has demanded that the Department of Justice pay him a whopping $230 million in compensation for its criminal investigations of him dating to before his first term in the White House and afterward, The New York Times reported Tuesday. The Times noted that any potential settlement might have to be approved by federal officials whom he has appointed during his second term.
CNBC
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Amazon’s $2.5 billion settlement - how Prime members can get up to $51 back
If you’ve ever clicked “Cancel” on your Amazon Prime account and felt trapped in an endless loop of confirmation screens, you might be owed money. In one of the largest consumer refunds in U.S. history, Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle allegations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it misled millions of users into signing up for Prime memberships and made cancellation unnecessarily confusing.
Lawyer Monthly
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Ex-San Francisco officer permanently banned after racist text scandal
A California police officer accused of sending racist, homophobic texts that came to light in 2015 and embroiled his department in scandal will no longer be able to serve as a cop in the Golden State. The California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) permanently revoked the peace officer certification of former San Francisco police officer Michael Celis on Sept. 12, according to official state records.
TDR
| | Convictions/Pleas/Sentences/Parole | | |
Atlas Iron and Metal sentenced to pay $2 million, shut down operations following felony conviction
Atlas Iron and Metal Corp. was ordered to permanently shut down its Watts recycling facility and pay $2 million in restitution and fines after admitting to illegally dumping hazardous waste at an unpermitted site. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Bork imposed the sentence following the company’s no contest plea to five felony counts of unlawful hazardous waste disposal.
L.A. County District Attorney’s Office New Release
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California man agrees to plead guilty to acting as Beijing’s agent
A California man has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government in Southern California while working as a campaign advisor for a local politician. Yaoning “Mike” Sun is expected to appear in court in Los Angeles on Monday to enter his plea under a deal with federal prosecutors, according to a copy of the agreement available in online court records. It was signed by Sun, his attorney and a prosecutor earlier this month.
Associated Press
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Largest RV dealer wins the legal battle over problematic flag
In October 2024, Camping World (CWH) hung a huge American flag, which led to one store closure and a lawsuit. The flag was hung at the company’s location on the corner of Evans Street and Red Banks Road in Greenville, North Carolina. Council members said the flag is roughly the size of a basketball court - 3,200 square feet - and flies on a 130-foot-tall pole, nearly double the allowed height under current regulation. City regulators voted to sue over the flag, arguing it violates a city ordinance.
The Street
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Disney’s alleged ban on booking band is protected conduct
A complaint alleging that the Walt Disney Company unlawfully barred the Village People from performing at Disneyland and its other venues in the aftermath of the group’s expressed disgruntlement over the media giant’s conduct in connection with 2018 concerts and the alleged coyness of its representatives in feigning a willingness to book future appearances where no such prospect existed was protected conduct, the Court of Appeal held yesterday.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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