Courts/Rulings & Lawsuits

Judge slams county counsel's 'obvious conflict of interest' in opposing a suit seeking use-of-force records

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge is calling on the county to show that it is acting ethically and professionally in a lawsuit by the L.A. County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission seeking Sheriff's Department records related to three use-of-force incidents. In a five-page tentative ruling on Aug. 24, Judge Jerrold Abeles criticized an "obvious conflict of interest" and "a shocking breach of an attorney's ethical duties to a client" - namely the oversight body - by the county counsel's office.

Los Angeles Times

Ninth Circuit delivers sweeping victory to news service on public access

A three-judge panel on the highest federal court in the Western states ruled that Idaho had violated the First Amendment by enforcing a “process-first” policy that resulted in a blackout of new court pleadings when they are received. In clear and undiluted language, the Ninth Circuit addressed and rejected the arguments against public access advanced by Idaho and other states in fighting cases brought by Courthouse News.

Courthouse News Service

Suit seeks liability on part of company that hired felon as security patrol officer

A security company that employed a man with a history of violence should be held liable for his conduct in following the vehicle driven by the plaintiff with whom he had “a routine traffic interaction,” blocking her automobile, reaching into it, wresting from her a cellphone on which she had captured images of his patrol car, injuring her hand in the process, and deleting the photos, a complaint in the Santa Clara Superior Court alleges.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Activist’ San Diego judge frees Machete-wielding MS-13 executioner known as ‘the witch’

A machete-wielding MS-13 executioner known as “the witch” has been cut loose by an “activist” federal judge in California despite facing an aggravated murder warrant in El Salvador. David Antonio Aviles Perez, 35, was captured by ICE agents in San Diego in March on an international warrant accusing him of aggravated murder. He had been held in federal custody pending his removal from the US.

California Post

Nick Shirley sues California over law shielding information of immigration support workers

Right-wing influencer Nick Shirley sued California on Friday over a newly passed law he claims targets his investigatory work into fraud permeating government-funded programs. Dubbed the “Stop Nick Shirley Act” by Shirley supporters, the law adds immigration support service providers to California’s Safe at Home program, which allows qualifying people to use a confidential address in public records.

Courthouse News Service

Jay-Z’s action over attorney demand letter citing sex-abuse claims is SLAPP

Div. Two of this district’s Court of Appeal has upheld an order granting a special motion to strike a complaint filed by the 25-time Grammy-Award winning rapper Shawn Carter - who performs under the name “Jay-Z” - that accuses a Texas law firm of attempting to extort the artist. It allegedly did so by way of a demand letter that cited claims by an anonymous client who purportedly said the star participated in “freak-off” parties hosted by now-disgraced Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Woman charged with abusing 3 girls, allegedly locking them in dog cage at Lincoln Heights apartment

A woman was arrested in Lincoln Heights on Wednesday for allegedly abusing three children under the age of 12. Sonia Marquez, 52, was arrested in the 3000 block of Main Street and later charged with multiple felony counts of child abuse. Investigators say she is related to the alleged victims, three girls ages 9, 11 and 12, but it was not immediately clear how they are related.

ABC7 Los Angeles

Canoga Park shooting suspect faces murder charges in death of woman and her unborn child

A man accused of shooting a pregnant mother and her sister while they sat in their car outside their Canoga Park apartment is now facing murder charges, according to prosecutors. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Wednesday that it had amended its felony complaint against Walter Francisco Rodriguez Garcia, 30, of Gardena and charged him with the murder of 22-year-old Adriana Jimenez and her unborn child.

Los Angeles Times

Prosecutors admits to ‘stunning’ mistake in freeing accused MS-13 killer - now ‘The Witch’ roams free

Prosecutors have admitted to making a huge legal error that led to an “activist” judge setting free an MS-13 illegal migrant known as a ”The Witch” who is wanted for a gruesome murder - after the California Post exposed the decision. The gangster, David Antonio Aviles Perez, 35, is now wandering free in California, following federal Judge Jinsook Ohta’s ruling on Aug. 26.

California Post

Victorville man accused of paying for ballot petition signatures using stolen identities

A 47-year-old Victorville man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a federal grand jury indictment accusing him of paying people on Los Angeles' Skid Row to sign petitions using stolen identities to qualify initiatives for California elections. James Brass, 47, and two other petition circulators - Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron - were charged with conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony.

NBC4 Los Angeles

Feds open criminal investigation into Clippers' Kawhi Leonard dealings, report says

A federal investigation has been opened into the Los Angeles Clippers for allegedly circumventing the NBA's salary cap to compensate Kawhi Leonard, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing people briefed on the matter. The Times reported that the criminal investigation, led by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, is in its earliest stages.

ESPN

‘Revenge in Los Angeles’: Lil Durk murder-for-hire trial heads to jury

The fate of Lil Durk is now with an LA jury, as attorneys gave their closing arguments in the Grammy-winning rapper’s federal murder-for-hire trial. Durk, whose real name is Durk Banks, and two codefendants are charged with paying associates to stalk and kill a rival rapper, Quando Rondo. When three masked shooters emerged from a West Hollywood alleyway to spray Rondo’s car with bullets, they missed their target, but hit and killed his 24-year-old cousin, Saviay’a Robinson.

Courthouse News Service

LA woman charged with felony wage theft, tax fraud at Diamond Bar care facility

A 59-year-old Hacienda Heights woman has been charged with six felony counts alleging she stole more than $121,000 in wages from employees at an unlicensed residential care facility in Diamond Bar and failed to pay required employment taxes, prosecutors said. Nora Elia Corrales, who owned the property and allegedly oversaw the facility’s day-to-day operations, is charged with four felony counts of wage theft and two felony counts of tax fraud, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Yo! Venice

Family of 14-year-old found dead in singer D4vd's Tesla seeks death penalty

The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez issued a statement Monday calling for singer and TikTok star D4vd to face the death penalty for the 14-year-old girl's murder. D4vd, whose real name is David Burke, was ordered by a judge last month to stand trial in the killing of the teen, whose remains were found a year ago in the front trunk of his abandoned Tesla.

NBC4 Los Angeles

Family runs out of court during graphic evidence in 1st day of deadly Windsor Hills crash trial

Prosecutors began presenting their case Tuesday in the trial of a woman accused of causing a Windsor Hills crash in 2022 that killed six people. Gruesome evidence was presented in court, prompting audible reactions. Prosecutors allege that Nicole Linton was driving a Mercedes at about 130 mph when she sped through the intersection of Slauson and La Brea on Aug. 4, 2022, triggering a fiery collision that shocked the community.

ABC7 Los Angeles

Former Fresno judge indicted on sexual assault charges heading to trial

A federal judge on Wednesday set a trial date for the ex-Fresno County judge accused of sexually assaulting at least one courthouse staffer. Adolfo Corona faces five felony counts, including three counts of making false statements and a count of altering documents. The most serious count is deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in bodily injury and including a non-consensual sexual act.

Fresno Bee

Policy/Legal/Politics

DOJ launches probe into conditions at L.A. County men's jail, after years of complaints

The U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation into Los Angeles County's Men's Central Jail following years of concerns about poor conditions and inmate deaths. The government will look into whether Los Angeles County has provided "humane" conditions to individuals housed there, and notified Sheriff Robert Luna of the federal inquiry in a letter Wednesday, according to a Justice Department news release.

Los Angeles Times

Payouts in L.A. County's $4-billion sex abuse settlement delayed to two largest law firms

Two law firms behind the bulk of claims in L.A. County's $4-billion sex abuse settlement have had their payouts delayed pending probes, leaving many clients who expected life-changing sums stuck in limbo. The first checks from the settlement - the largest of its kind in U.S. history - were supposed to start going out this summer after a judge rejected Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman's request to freeze the funds over fraud concerns. 

Los Angeles Times

L.A. gang intervention worker charged for having body armor gets case dismissed

A judge dismissed federal charges Wednesday against a former member of a city-funded “peace ambassador” program in Los Angeles who was accused of being an 18th Street gang member and felon in possession of body armor earlier this year.

Los Angeles Times

Man found factually innocent of 2013 attempted murder of two brothers in Lynwood

A Los Angeles County judge today found a 38-year-old man factually innocent of a 2013 drive-by shooting that seriously injured two brothers. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s Justice Conviction Review Unit and the California Western Innocence & Justice Clinic cited new evidence that came to light after sentencing and pointed to another individual who allegedly committed the crime.

L.A. County District Attorney’s Office News Release

LACo, DA lose bid to dismiss former Gascón era lawyer’s harassment claim

Los Angeles County and the county’s District Attorney’s Office lost a round in court when a judge ruled that a Black lawyer who says she was demoted for her support of former District Attorney George Gascón's reform policies can proceed with the gender, race and age harassment claim that is part of her overall case.

MyNewsLA

UC Berkeley Law intentionally discriminated against white, Asian applicants: Feds

The Justice Department is accusing UC Berkeley Law of intentionally discriminating against white and Asian applicants - as the school’s dean allegedly discussed ways to skirt rules barring race-based admissions. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division concluded Wednesday that the once-elite law school violated federal civil rights law when selecting its incoming classes of 2024 and 2025, even after the Supreme Court’s landmark 2023 decision striking down race-conscious college admissions.

California Post

Effort to disqualify Essayli focuses on his power in LA office

Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor Bill Essayli shouldn’t be allowed to lead the US Attorney’s Office, even under a narrower subset of powers that the government hasn’t defined, the federal public defenders office said in a renewed motion for his disqualification. Essayli doesn’t claim to have all the powers of the US Attorney, the brief said, but he also “does not concede that he lacks the authority to exercise any powers, and he has made no commitment to refrain from doing so going forward.”

Bloomberg Law

D.A. jumps into e-bike regulatory challenge

With e-bike problems mounting in local cities and across Orange County, District Attorney Todd Spitzer has announced the formation of a unit to bring accountability and potentially more prosecutions to mitigate problems associated with electric bikes and motorcycles.

Seal Beach Sun Newspaper

Becerra once pushed for the death penalty, but says he would extend a moratorium if elected governor

Democrat Xavier Becerra defended the death penalty while serving as California's attorney general, a punishment his office actively sought in the case of a gunman convicted of an Orange County mass shooting, but as the front-running candidate for governor he has vowed to block executions if elected in November.

Los Angeles Times

Judgment for station stands in case over radio-host’s post

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday affirmed a summary judgment entered against a Sacramento-area sports commentator who says he was fired from his radio job for posting “ALL LIVES MATTER” on his personal Twitter account that, at the time, referenced the name of his show.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Lawyers' own ads could become ammunition under SB 37

California’s new attorney-advertising law could expose lawyers to more than State Bar scrutiny and civil lawsuits. Their own marketing could also become ammunition for opposing counsel seeking to challenge their ethics and qualifications in court. Attorneys and Los Angeles County Superior Court judge discussed those risks during a legal ethics panel at the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles’ annual convention in Las Vegas.

Daily Journal

Appeals court tosses Coppola's defamation suit over 'Megalopolis' story

A California appellate panel on Friday threw out a defamation suit filed by Francis Ford Coppola against Variety over a news story about the acclaimed director’s latest film “Megalopolis.” According to the 2024 article, the 87-year-old “Godfather” director behaved eccentrically during the production, running in and out of shots and was was even seen trying to hug and kiss topless extras during the filming of what Variety called “a bacchanalian nightclub scene.” 

Courthouse News Service

Southern California

LA sheriff’s deputies warn ‘bandit’ tow trucks are holding crash victims’ cars hostage

A tow truck with no company name, no logo, and a registration that expired back in 2014 rolled up near La Brea Avenue and Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood, and deputies say it's a textbook example of a predatory practice authorities are calling out across Los Angeles. LAPD believes likely hundreds of so-called bandit tow truck companies are currently operating across the city, preying on drivers at their most vulnerable moment: right after a crash.

Hoodline Los Angeles

DOT loans LA Metro $802.5M - but it's not for transit

The U.S. Department of Transportation is providing the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority with an $802.5 million low-interest loan to expand Interstate 105 ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The money, provided through the DOT’s Build America Bureau and its Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, will help fund Metro’s I-105 ExpressLanes Project.

Spectrum News1

Mother of Camarillo High grad seeks reform after $5.8M LAPD settlement

Janet Maccani called her son Jason around Christmas 2023, and they ended their hours-long conversation with their usual sign off. He told her he loved her to the moon and stars, and she replied that she loved him to the moon and stars, to the sun and ocean, to infinity and beyond. It was the last time she would ever speak to him.

Ventura County Star

Public Safety

LAPD makes nearly 70 arrests in massive street takeover bust; 570 citations issued for spectators

Dozens of arrests were made and hundreds of citations were issued when the Los Angeles Police Department completed "Operation Street Sweeper" overnight, busting a Harbor Gateway street takeover. A fleet of tow trucks and buses was called to the scene to arrest drivers and spectators and impound vehicles. According to LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, "Operation Street Sweeper" was planned ahead of time using intelligence gathering and drone technology that helped officers predict the locations of four separate street takeovers.

ABC7 Los Angeles

Hollywood Hills burglary suspect arrested after returning to scene of $5,000 bike theft

A burglary suspect who returned to the scene of the crime in Hollywood Hills was arrested in connection with the theft of a bicycle valued at $5,000. On Tuesday, the man entered a Hollywood Hills garage and took the pricey bike, police told NBC4 Investigates. The theft was discovered the following day and reported to police.

NBC4 Los Angeles

LA mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman votes against $13M for 107 LAPD vehicles ahead of Olympics

Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman voted against a $13 million package for 107 LAPD vehicles Wednesday as the department scrambles to build up its fleet ahead of the massive security demands of the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics. Raman joined fellow progressives Eunisses Hernandez and Ysabel Jurado as the only three councilmembers to vote against the package, which passed the City Council 8-3.

California Post

Anthropic blocked attempts to use Claude for bioweapons research

Anthropic published a report on Thursday describing efforts by state-linked scientists to use its Claude AI models for research that could support the development of biological weapons, alongside a range of other attempted misuses including cyberattacks, influence operations, and conventional weapons development.

Quartz

Stalking suspect arrested near Los Angeles-area home of Kris Jenner

A man suspected of stalking was arrested Monday near the Los Angeles-area home of media personality and businesswoman Kris Jenner. Zenwilliam Robson, 25, was arrested Monday evening after he was detained by a security guard near the residence in the Santa Monica Mountains northwest of Los Angeles. Security personnel told police the man tried to contact the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star several times in the past, authorities told NBC4 Investigates.

NBC4 Los Angeles

Installation of $5.2 million Italian stonework begins on controversial Capitol Annex project

California Capitol Annex construction crews are in the process of installing controversial Italian stonework onto the expensive new office building for lawmakers and the governor, project officials confirmed. KCRA 3 first reported back in 2024 that project leaders, known as the California Legislature's Joint Rules Committee, quietly spent $5.2 million in taxpayer funds to mine granite in Raymond, California, ship it to Italy for finishing, and then return it to Sacramento for installation.

KCRA

FBI issues warning to US homeowners with 100% paid-off mortgages - new update reveals major risk. Is your house exposed?

For many Americans, paying off the mortgage is the ultimate financial finish line. After decades of monthly payments, the house is finally yours - free and clear. But the FBI is warning that this hard-earned milestone could also attract the wrong kind of attention. Criminals are impersonating property owners and attempting to sell their real estate without their knowledge or consent - and properties without a mortgage or other lien can be especially attractive targets.

Moneywise

Newsom’s big housing claim is built on bad data

In June, Gavin Newsom sat on a stage in Long Beach before an audience of mayors from across the country and unveiled a stunning statistic. “We’ve seen a 59 percent increase in the number of homes constructed” during his tenure, the California governor said to applause. The number quickly came to symbolize the remarkable progress Newsom claims to have made on an issue central to his agenda and to Californians struggling to afford housing.

Politico

Brawley public safety unions launch pressure campaign over Measure J sales tax spending

Brawley’s public safety unions launched a joint public education campaign accusing city officials of misallocating millions in newly generated sales tax revenues and offering zero guaranteed wage increases during contract negotiations. The campaign, dubbed “Keep Brawley Safe,” was unveiled by the Brawley Firefighters Association (BFFA) and the Brawley Public Safety Employees Association (BPSEA).

Imperial Valley Press

California battles Google, Meta over restrictions on recommendations

California is urging a federal appeals court to reject Google's and Meta's most recent push to block enforcement of a law prohibiting social platforms from algorithmically recommending posts to minors under 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian. In papers filed late last week with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Attorney General Rob Bonta argues that algorithmic recommendations are not protected by the First Amendment, contending that those recommendations aren't "the product of human editorial judgment.”

Media Daily News

How Silicon Valley used main streets outrage against California privacy law

In May, Gytahnna Loffgren opened her mail to find her family's small solar panel installation company was being sued for over $35,000 because its website's practices allegedly violated state privacy laws. "We were completely blindsided," Loffgren told CalMatters. "I've never been sued before ... you instantly feel like you've done something terribly wrong.” 

CalMatters

California kills bill regulating flock cameras even as public rage grows

Amid a growing nationwide backlash against license-plate cameras, California this week, for the fifth year running, failed to enact regulations on the technology. A bill in the Legislature would have strengthened privacy protections on how license plate data is collected and shared. It also would have guarded against misuse of automated license plate readers by law enforcement officers.

CalMatters

Terminix pest company to pay $3.15 million to settle California lawsuit alleging environmental violations

Pest control company Terminix has agreed to pay $3.15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by 29 California counties alleging the company unlawfully disposed of pesticides and violated customer privacy laws. Tennessee-based Terminix, a subsidiary of U.K.-based Rentokil Initial PLC, was accused of disposing pesticides and hazardous waste in company waste bins destined for municipal landfills across the state. 

CBS News San Francisco

Convictions/Pleas/Sentences/Parole

Ex-LAPD officer sentenced for killing girlfriend’s son in Hudson Valley

A Dutchess County Christmas tree farm owner and former LAPD officer was sentenced for fatally shooting his girlfriend's 20-year-old son. Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi announced that 54-year-old Thomas Case was sentenced in Dutchess County Court on Tuesday for the October 2024 shooting death of Anthony Cuozzo. Case is a retired member of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).

Hudson Valley Post

Menendez brothers granted early parole hearing 

Erik and Lyle Menendez have been granted an early parole suitability hearing, much to the delight of their family. In a statement released on Monday morning, a family spokesperson confirmed that the California Board of Parole granted the brothers the sooner hearing. They were previously eligible for a parole suitability hearing next in Aug. 2028.

KTLA

Alleged cryptoscam ringleader set for plea hearing in $240M bitcoin theft

A 22-year-old Singapore man accused of helping steal more than $240 million in Bitcoin from a single victim and splurging the proceeds on luxury cars, private jets, mansions and wild nights out is expected to plead guilty this week in one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in U.S. history. Malone Lam, an eighth-grade dropout from Singapore whom prosecutors have identified as a suspected ringleader of the sprawling cryptocurrency scheme, is scheduled for a plea agreement hearing Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Fox News

Man convicted of sharing nudes with church 

After two days of deliberation, a Santa Clarita Valley jury Monday convicted a man of violating the state’s “revenge porn” law for sharing nude photos of his now ex-wife with their congregation without her permission. Andrew Samuel Wilder’s conviction for a violation of Penal Code section 647(j)(4), a misdemeanor violation, is also connected to a lawsuit filed by Wilder’s now ex-wife, Alison Wilder, against Andrew Wilder and the Placerita Bible Church. 

The Signal

Orange County man sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for orchestrating massive health care fraud

An Orange County man was sentenced today to 360 months in federal prison for masterminding a massive health care fraud scheme in which nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims were submitted to Medi-Cal over an 11-month span for expensive prescription drugs containing generic ingredients that were not medically necessary and, many times, were not provided to the purported recipients.

The Financial

Pabst Blue Ribbon offers $20,000 reward to help find its missing beer

Pabst Blue Ribbon wants its beer back, and it’s offering a reward to help that happen. Greig DeBow, the CEO of Pabst Brewing Co., said Wednesday that the company will pay up to $20,000 to anyone who provides new information that leads to the recovery of 1,602 cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon and non-alcoholic Old Milwaukee beer. The beer went missing Aug. 17 in Southern California.

Associated Press

NYC Mayor Mamdani releases 9/11 records showing officials misled New Yorkers about air quality around Ground Zero

New York City has released more than 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed records about air quality following the September 11, 2001, attacks, showing city officials at the time knew conditions around Ground Zero were unsafe to breathe despite repeated assurances to the public. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the release at a news conference Tuesday.

CNN

‘The Pitt’ producers urge California appeals court to reject ‘ER’ lawsuit

Responding to a lawsuit by the estate of the late novelist Michael Crichton, an attorney representing the producers of the acclaimed medical drama “The Pitt” told a California appeals court on Tuesday the show is a unique work, unlike any other TV series, that cannot be sued on free speech grounds. 

Courthouse News Service

Suit against Campbell’s over tracking users of internet sites continues

A magistrate judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has rejected a bid by The Campbell’s Company - best known for soups it proclaims in ads to be “m’m, m’m good” - has been effectively portrayed in a putative class action to have acted badly in assuring consumers coming to its websites that they can opt out of being tracked while allowing third parties to plant cookies, enabling them to collect data on the users.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise