Courts, Rulings & Lawsuits | |
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Police justified in detaining man in red shirt based on suspect being so described
The Court of Appeal for this district has declared that after Los Angeles police were alerted by a man that a pair of his motorcycles had been stolen from him at Exposition Boulevard and Barrington Avenue by three persons - one a bald white man wearing a red shirt - officers were justified in detaining a Hispanic male clad in a red shirt who was spotted from a helicopter near that intersection standing by a motorcycle.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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San Diego federal lawsuit challenges law banning most non-California residents from carrying guns
A firearms advocacy group and three people who live in Pennsylvania, Idaho and New Mexico filed a lawsuit Thursday in San Diego federal court challenging a state law that mostly bans non-California residents from carrying guns in the state. The lawsuit alleges that the regulation violates the Second Amendment and 14th Amendment and should be overturned.
San Diego Union-Tribune
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Destruction of portions of home by SWAT team justified
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday affirmed a judgment in favor of members of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team who, armed with a search warrant but not an arrest warrant, bombarded a house with chemicals and caused physical harm to it, believing that the owner’s son, suspected of eight robberies, was inside the home.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Convictions upheld despite prosecutorial misconduct
Prosecutorial misconduct, including a violation of an evidentiary ruling and combative questioning during cross-examination, was insufficient to establish prejudicial error where there was overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s guilt in two murders, including evidence that his DNA was found on the victims and on a victim of an uncharged murder, Div. Six of this district’s Court of Appeal held Friday.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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US Supreme Court rejects Black Lives Matter activist's appeal over protest incident
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed a Black Lives Matter activist to be sued by a Louisiana police officer injured during a protest in 2016 in a case that could make it riskier to engage in public demonstrations, a hallmark of American democracy. In declining to hear DeRay Mckesson's appeal, the justices left in place a lower court's decision reviving a lawsuit by the Baton Rouge police officer, John Ford, who accused him of negligence after being struck by a rock during a protest sparked by the fatal police shooting of a Black man, Alton Sterling.
Reuters
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Ninth Circuit hears appeals in landmark case against Humboldt County’s cannabis abatement program
In a landmark hearing last Tuesday at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, plaintiffs embroiled in a federal class-action lawsuit against Humboldt County’s controversial cannabis abatement program voiced their grievances before a court for the first time.
Redheaded Blackbelt
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St. Louis police officer wins Supreme Court fight to bring sex discrimination suit
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a St. Louis police officer can bring a sex discrimination lawsuit over her department's decision to remove her from an intelligence division job she held for almost a decade. Lower courts incorrectly altered Title VII to make it more difficult to bring sex discrimination suits, the high court determined.
Courthouse News Service
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Statement in a plea agreement signed by prosecutor is admissible - Ninth Circuit
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held yesterday that a judge improperly excluded as hearsay the statement by a prosecutor in a plea agreement with one man identifying the defendant - and not the party to the agreement - as having worn a brown shirt during an assault by two inmates on correctional officers, declaring the words, benefitting the defendant, to be a party admission.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Corporate silence on impactful trends not securities fraud, US Supreme Court rules
Shareholders cannot sue companies for fraud if they flout a rule requiring disclosure of trends expected to affect their bottom line unless the omission makes another statement misleading, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday. The 9-0 ruling authored by liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor handed a victory to Macquarie Infrastructure in a proposed shareholder class action accusing the company of failing to disclose that its revenues were vulnerable to an international phase-out of high-sulfur fuel oil between 2016 and 2018.
Reuters
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Guilty plea erased right to appeal defect in waiver of right to grand jury indictment
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Friday that a defendant who unconditionally pled guilty to attempted felony reentry into the U.S. by a previously removed noncitizen waived the right to raise in an appeal the question of whether his earlier waiver of the right to a grand jury indictment was valid, as any defect in the validity was nonjurisdictional.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Justices likely to limit anti-bribery law for gifts
The Supreme Court appeared interested Monday in weakening a federal anti-bribery law prohibiting officials from accepting gifts from those their actions benefit. A mayor from Portage, Indiana, asked the court to overturn his corruption conviction for accepting a reward after an official act. James Snyder accepted $13,000 from Great Lakes Peterbilt after the city awarded the trucking company two contracts for their vehicles.
Courthouse News Service
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Two Kennedy children oppose re-election of progressive L.A. prosecutor
Two adult children of Robert F. Kennedy endorsed the candidate challenging Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón on Tuesday. Rory and Max Kennedy made their endorsement Tuesday morning outside the Hall of Justice. The two children of Kennedy, who was assassinated here in 1968 while campaigning as a presidential candidate, said they opposed Gascón’s re-election because of what they say is his failure to support the families of crime victims.
NBC4
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George Gascón stumbled in primary - but that doesn’t mean Nathan Hochman is L.A.’s next DA
When the Los Angeles County District Attorney primary election was certified on March 29, the impact of the avalanche of criticism that landed on George Gascón was clear: The progressive incumbent garnered an anemic 25.2% of the vote. Sure, he came in first, but three of every four people who bothered to cast a ballot looked at him and said, nah, I’ll take what’s behind door number two.
Los Angeles Magazine
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Suspect in vicious Venice attacks charged with rape, attempted murder
A man suspected of attacking and sexually assaulting two women near the Venice Canals was charged with multiple felonies, prosecutors announced Monday. Anthony Francisco Jones, 29, was charged with two counts of forcible rape and one count each of sexual penetration by use of force, mayhem, torture, attempted murder and sodomy by use of force, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
ABC7
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L.A. County sheriff’s deputy accused of stealing motorist’s money
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has been charged for allegedly stealing money from a driver’s coin purse after a traffic stop last year in the Whittier area and then concealing the evidence and filing a false police report, District Attorney George Gascón said on Wednesday, April 17. Jessica Lynn, 39, faces one felony count each of filing a false police report and altering, planting or concealing evidence, along with one misdemeanor count of petty theft not exceeding $950 in value, the District Attorney’s Office said.
City News Service
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L.A. police officer charged with evidence tampering, theft while on duty
A 31-year-old officer with the Los Angeles Police Department is facing nearly a decade in prison for allegedly tampering with evidence and stealing property during traffic and pedestrian stops, officials announced Thursday. The charges against Alan Carrillo stem from a broader investigation into complaints about the conduct of officers assigned to LAPD’s Mission Area Gang Enforcement Detail, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
KTLA
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4 men charged for shooting army veteran while he was gardening
The Los Angeles County District Attorney charged four men on Thursday for allegedly killing a 51-year-old army veteran while he was gardening outside his Long Beach home. Taylor Byron Woods, 20, Semaj Lamar O'Brien, 21, Jordan Omarion Stokes, 18, and Tyrell DeShawn Louden Jr., 20, are also accused of shooting at four other people. One person suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
KCAL
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Marina del Rey apartment shooter faces 20 felony charges, could spend life in prison
A man accused of firing over 90 rounds from the roof and throughout a Marina del Rey apartment complex could spend the rest of his life in jail after being charged with multiple felony counts, authorities announced Tuesday. Victoryloc Nguyen, a 41-year-old self-employed chef who was a resident of the complex, went on a three-hour shooting spree Saturday night from within the Pearl Apartments on the 4100 block of Via Marina.
Santa Monica Mirror
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Misconduct allegations in OC murder prosecution center stage in San Diego courtroom
In a San Diego courtroom, the Orange County district attorney’s office and a defense lawyer are set to clash this month over sweeping allegations that top prosecutors have for more than a decade hid evidence of law enforcement misconduct.
Orange County Register
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California school safety officer’s murder trial ends in mistrial after jury fails to reach verdict in shooting of 18-year-old
A mistrial has been declared more than two years after a former California school safety officer was charged with murder for fatally shooting an 18-year-old woman as she tried to flee a physical altercation, after the jury failed to reach a verdict, officials said Tuesday. Eddie Gonzalez was patrolling an area near Millikan High School in Long Beach on September 27, 2021, when he noticed a fight between Manuela Rodriguez, 18, and a 15-year-old girl, the police said.
CNN
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L.A. police chief says officer shortage makes it harder to respond to some calls (Video)
Los Angeles is among cities nationwide trying to deal with shortages of police officers in their ranks. LAPD Interim Police Chief Dominic Choi says while emergency calls like crimes in progress have not been affected, non-emergency response times have grown. NBC News' Lester Holt reports.
NBC News
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No transcript, no appeal: California courts face ‘crisis’ over lack of records
California’s highest-ranking court officials are warning of a growing “constitutional crisis” playing out across the state’s judicial system, as hundreds of thousands of hearings are held without a precise record of what occurred. The problem is a shortage of public court reporters, the stenographers who transcribe proceedings, and state law that bars electronic recording devices from being used in certain types of hearings - even when a reporter isn’t available.
Los Angeles Times
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A federal judge has found that L.A. city officials doctored records in a case over homeless camp cleanups
A federal judge has found that Los Angeles city officials altered evidence to support the city’s defense against allegations that it illegally seized and destroyed homeless people’s property. Warning that the city will likely face sanctions following a forensic examination, U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer wrote in an order that the city had not only “altered, modified, and created documents relevant to Plaintiff’s claims” but had also failed to produce legitimately requested documents.
Los Angeles Times
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Signatures turned in for ballot measure to reverse Prop. 47, crack down on theft
Prop. 47, which reduced many shoplifting and drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, has been the subject of controversy since its passage in 2014 and now its fate may once again be put in the hands of voters. On Thursday morning, the Californians for Safer Communities Coalition announced the submission of over 900,000 voter signatures for the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act.
Los Angeles Daily News
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Les Moonves settles with city of LA over ex-CBS boss' ”misuse” of 2017 LAPD sexual assault report - update
Les Moonves has settled his debts with the City of Los Angeles, at least financially. In a meeting of L.A.’s Ethics Commission on Wednesday afternoon, the body voted for a second time on a payout from the multimillionaire former CBS boss. Unlike the February 21 meeting, this time the proposed settlement passed.
Deadline
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Redondo councilman Obagi’s law license suspended at least two years
Redondo Beach city councilman Zein Obagi, Jr., has been sentenced to at least a two-year suspension of his law license. The April 3 California Supreme Court ruling includes a three-year probation until Obagi proves to the State Bar Court of Rehabilitation his “fitness to practice and present learning and ability in the general law.”
Easy Reader & Peninsula Magazine
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‘Never happened before’: Key oversight officials leave as LAPD searches for chief
In the market for senior police officials, Los Angeles is hiring. As of this week, the city faces an unprecedented three vacancies in key LAPD leadership and oversight positions: chief, inspector general and executive director of the Board of Police Commissioners. The current inspector general, Mark Smith, was named Monday as an independent monitor to oversee police reforms in Portland, Ore.
Los Angeles Times
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Pay hikes for city workers will add $1 billion to L.A.’s yearly budget by 2028, report says
Earlier this year, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass negotiated a package of raises and increased benefits for tens of thousands of city workers - money aimed at addressing the rising cost of food, housing and other household expenses. On Friday, the public got its first glimpse of the price tag for those employee contracts.
Los Angeles Times
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Los Angeles expands its overnight RV parking ban on the westside
Los Angeles is cracking down on RV encampments after the city council voted Friday to restrict overnight parking for the large vehicles in about 30 streets in neighborhoods on the westside. New signs regarding the change are already being posted along several streets in neighborhoods including Arlington Heights, Van Nuys, Porter Ranch and more.
NBC4
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City of LA removes 50-plus homeless RVs. Now locals face huge parking fees
When the city of Los Angeles cleared a massive recreational vehicle homeless encampment along Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills area in December, local business owner Nancy Sexton was thrilled to see the RVs finally gone. But soon after, her elation turned to disappointment as she discovered that, along with getting rid of the RVs, the city without notice banned parking along part of Forest Lawn Drive by painting the curb red.
Los Angeles Daily News
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Google shutting down some California access to news sites as a test of proposed legislation’s effects
On Friday, Google began removing California news websites from some people’s search results. The move comes as a test of what would happen should the state Legislature pass a new law requiring the search engine to pay media companies for linking to their content. Google said in a blog post that it is using a “short-term test for a small percentage of users … to measure the impact of the legislation on our product experience.”
Deadline
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Opinion: Local DA’s effort to dismantle death sentences is misguided
About 2,000 homicides were committed in Santa Clara County since 1978, but only 15 killers - the worst of the worst - are under sentence of death for the murders they committed over that period. District Attorney Jeff Rosen wants to dismantle those sentences. His reasons are incoherent, contrived and legally baseless. Earlier this month, Rosen realized, apparently for the first time, that the death penalty is irreversible. In his view, this causes capital punishment to violate due process. The Supreme Courts of both the United States and California, however, have found otherwise.
Mercury News
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Bay Area district attorney to face recall election
A Bay Area district attorney will face a recall election after county officials spent more than a month checking over 100,000 signatures submitted by organizers who have been working to remove her from the office since she was elected in 2022.
Courthouse News Service
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US Senate panel chair issues subpoena in Supreme Court ethics probe
The chair of the Democratic-led U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena on Thursday to influential conservative legal figure Leonard Leo as part of an ethics inquiry spurred by reports of undisclosed largesse directed to some conservative Supreme Court justices.
Reuters
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More than 250 websites selling fake weight-loss drugs reported by anti-counterfeit firm
The cybersecurity firm BrandShield has taken down more than 250 websites selling fake versions of popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs in the GLP-1 class, the company’s CEO Yoav Keren told Reuters. BrandShield, which shared this information exclusively with Reuters, said that out of the 279 pharmacy websites the company closed last year for selling drugs intended to treat metabolic conditions, more than 90% were related to GLP-1 medicines, according to Keren.
Reuters
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LA City Councilwoman says crime is making residents 'sick and tired of feeling unsafe’
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park lashed out Thursday at the problem of public safety in the city, blaming "catch-and-release" and "criminals-are-the-victims" policies for making the city unsafe. Speaking at a news conference, she said crimes like the brutal attacks of two women at the Venice Canals are unacceptable.
KCAL
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Murders are dropping across the country, but not in LA
The number of murders in Los Angeles increased in the first months of 2024, making LA an outlier among many of the nation’s other large cities where homicides have steadily declined following significant reductions last year. Data from the Los Angeles Police Department shows, as of mid-March, the murder rate had climbed to about 30% above the same period in 2023, and the number of people shot, comprising both murders and people who survived shootings, also crept above early 2023 numbers.
NBC4
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Novel-inspiring LAPD detective set to retire after 29 years
The LAPD detective whose career inspired novelist Michael Connelly's character Renee Ballard is set to retire after twenty-nine years. KNX News' Margaret Carrero spoke with Detective Mitzi Roberts, who said though she is still happy to go to work each day, it feels like the right time. "I think I have one of the best positions in the department, and I want to leave on that note; I don't want to leave on a low - I want to leave on a high, and that's, where I feel I'm leaving," said Roberts.
KNX News
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Attorneys ask judge to ‘immediately’ hand over ‘control’ of Giuliani legal defense fund donor’s ‘assets,’ in move that may pique interest of bankruptcy lawyers
Attorneys representing a woman in California-based federal RICO class action lawsuit have filed an emergency request in Fulton County, Georgia, that seeks to “immediately to take control over the assets” of a businessman who donated to a Rudy Giuliani legal defense fund created to help the former NYC mayor fight the Georgia election workers defamation case he lost, sending him into bankruptcy.
Law & Crime
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Trevor Bauer case: 'There are women who will try and ensnare you,' legal expert warns
With the news that prosecutors in Arizona have filed extortion charges against a woman who accused Trevor Bauer of sexual assault, the former Los Angeles Dodgers star and Cy Young Award winner may be one step closer to clearing his name. That’s the assessment of KTLA 5 News legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Alison Triessl.
KTLA
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MGM sues FTC over probe of casino operator's 2023 cyberattack
MGM Resorts International sued the Federal Trade Commission and FTC Chair Lina Khan Monday over the regulator’s investigation into a cyberattack that hit the casino operator in September. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, reportedly claimed the FTC violated MGM’s Fifth Amendment rights of due process and equal treatment under the law.
Investopedia
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Google to pay $62 million for tracking users without consent
Google will pay $62 million to numerous nonprofits on behalf of people who say the company violated their constitutional and common law privacy rights by tracking and storing their location data without their consent. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila approved the final, multimillion-dollar settlement in court Thursday, calling it "an extremely successful result."
Courthouse News Service
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Feds shuttering scandal-ridden Bay Area women’s prison
The federal Bureau of Prisons will close a women’s prison in the San Francisco Bay Area amid a class action and investigations into the abuse and neglect of inmates by prison staff. The bureau said Monday it plans to close FCI Dublin, known as the “rape club,” despite attempts to reform the troubled facility amid claims of “rampant” staff-on-inmate sexual abuse.
Courthouse News Service
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