Courts, Rulings & Lawsuits | |
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No private right of action to enforce local ordinances
Div. Four of this district’s Court of Appeal has held that a Government Code section authorizing the redress of a violation of a municipal ordinance by way of a civil action only permits city authorities - not private parties - to pursue enforcement actions, overruling a 2002 decision by a different panel of the same court. The dispute arose in a case in which one neighbor sued another, seeking in the complaint to enforce Los Angeles Municipal Code sections concerning the allowable height of hedges and vegetation.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Famed LA prosecutor asks judge to force woke boss George Gascon to answer questions under oath
A prominent Los Angeles prosecutor suing the county in a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit is asking a judge to force his boss, District Attorney George Gascon, to sit for a deposition under oath. John Lewin, who prosecuted real estate heir-turned-killer Robert Durst, says he was demoted from a prestigious position handling cold case trials to a "calendar deputy" after he questioned the legality of some of his boss's policies.
Fox News
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Supreme Court rules gun 'bump stocks' ban is unlawful
In a loss for the Biden administration, the Supreme Court ruled Friday that a federal ban on bump stocks, gun accessories that allow semiautomatic rifles to fire more quickly, is unlawful. In a 6-3 ruling on ideological lines, with the court's conservatives in the majority, the court held that an almost 100-year-old law aimed at banning machine guns cannot legitimately be interpreted to include bump stocks.
NBC News
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State Bar files charge against attorney in DWP billing scandal
A new disciplinary charge has been filed by the State Bar of California against a Tarzana attorney linked to litigation related to the botched rollout of a Department of Water and Power billing system in 2013, it was announced Friday. Michael J. Libman was originally the attorney for a class of DWP ratepayers in a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles related to the scandal.
City News Service
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Report on three former professors accused of misconduct is not exempt under CPRA
A 60-page report by the law firm of Hueston Hennigan, LLP detailing its investigation into alleged misconduct on the part of three UCLA professors does not constitute a personnel record that is exempt from disclosure, Div. Eight of the Court of Appeal for this district held Friday, ordering that the report and other documents be released to the Los Angeles Times.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Ninth Circuit upholds California’s ban on gun show sales
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a ban on firearm sales at gun shows held on state-owned property, including county fairgrounds. In their 25-page ruling, the three-judge panel found that a state law, SB 915, which took effect Jan. 1 2023, was not subject to First Amendment scrutiny, because it did not restrict expressive conduct.
Courthouse News Service
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9th Circuit revives part of journalist’s lawsuit against S.F. Supervisor Dean Preston
A federal appeals court on Monday partially reinstated journalist Susan Dyer Reynolds’ suit against San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston for blocking her from his Twitter account. Although Reynolds cannot seek damages from Preston, the court allowed her to try to prove that he violated her free-speech rights.
San Francisco Chronicle
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California judge digs into defense attorney in wrongful conviction case
A federal judge on Friday lambasted the defense attorney in the civil case of a man wrongfully convicted of murder, doubting his clients’ sincerity about revealing records as she contemplates a potential contempt finding. The case, filed in 2022 in the Eastern District of California, centers around the wrongful conviction of Jeremy Phillip Puckett in 2001.
Courthouse News Service
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9th Circuit: L.A. school employees can sue over COVID vaccine mandate
Even though Los Angeles Unified dropped its COVID vaccine mandate for school staff almost a year ago, a lawsuit accusing the district of violating workers’ rights can still move forward, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday. The 2-1 ruling by a pair of federal judges appointed by former President Donald Trump revives a case that a lower court had dismissed.
CalMatters
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Appeals court upholds conviction of British national linked to Islamic State
A federal appeals court upheld the conviction Friday of a British national for his role in a hostage-taking scheme by the Islamic State group that took roughly two dozen Westerners captive a decade ago. El Shafee Elsheikh was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2022 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. His jury trial established that he was one he was one of the notorious “Beatles,” captors nicknamed for their accents and known for torturing and beating prisoners.
AP
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Ninth Circuit revives Seattle Pacific University’s fight against state’s probe of anti-LGBTQ+ hiring practices
A Ninth Circuit panel cut Seattle Pacific University a break Friday morning by partially reviving its First Amendment challenge against Washington state’s investigation of the religious school’s homophobic hiring practices. “The merits of this lawsuit involve yet another clash between a state anti-discrimination law and the First Amendment,” penned U.S. Circuit Judge Margaret M. McKeown, a Clinton appointee, in the order.
Courthouse News Service
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Uber loses challenge to California gig work law in US appeals court
A U.S. appeals court on Monday rejected a bid by Uber and subsidiary Postmates to revive a challenge to a California law that could force the companies to treat drivers as employees rather than independent contractors who are typically less expensive. An 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a lower court ruling that said Uber failed to show that the 2020 state law known as AB5 unfairly singled out app-based transportation companies while exempting other industries.
Reuters
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US appeals court rules some books be restored to Texas library shelves
A federal appeals court panel on Thursday ordered that eight of 17 books that had been removed from a Texas library's shelves over conservatives' complaints that they were inappropriate must be returned. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel said in a 2-1 ruling that partially upheld a lower court's injunction that the library in the small town of Llano had infringed on defendants' First Amendment rights to information by removing some of the books.
Reuters
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A ‘Gascon Special’
When does a 75 years to life prison term not really mean 75 years to life? When Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon is involved. In 2018, peripatetically homeless woman Nancy Jackson eradicated a family in Leimert Park – in April she made a plea deal with Gascon’s office that includes the very real possibility of her serving only 20 years for the cold blooded murder of three innocent people.
California Globe
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Los Angeles DA George Gascon sits on 15,000 unfiled cases as robberies skyrocket
As homicides and robberies continue to rise, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon has created a backlog of 15,000 unfiled criminal cases, leading to concerns that unprosecuted criminals in the zero-bail county are able to stay on the streets and keep committing new crimes without any consequences.
The Center Square
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D.A. notes progress in search for ‘General Hospital’ star Johnny Wactor’s killer
A top prosecutor said Wednesday that investigators have leads in the fatal shooting of “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor as his brother, friends and politicians called for more resources on the case and a tougher approach to crime in Los Angeles. Wactor, 37, was gunned down May 25 after leaving a rooftop bar following the end of his late-night bartending shift at Level 8 in downtown L.A.
Los Angeles Times
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Man charged with robbing a California bank was released from prison a day earlier, prosecutors say
A man charged with taking three people hostage while robbing a Southern California bank last month had been released from prison a day earlier, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The 53-year-old was indicted on robbery charges after investigators said he claimed to have a gun, jumped over the teller counter and began stuffing cash in his pockets at a BMO bank in Anaheim on May 8.
AP
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Actor Nick Pasqual charged with attempted murder, burglary over alleged stabbing of makeup artist girlfriend
According to a press release, Nick Pasqual was detained at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Texas after allegedly fleeing the scene. Actor Nick Pasqual has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing his estranged girlfriend multiple times. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that Pasqual, 34, has been charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of first-degree residential burglary with person present, and one count of injuring a spouse, cohabitant, fiancé, boyfriend, girlfriend or child’s parent, according to a press release issued on May 29.
ET
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Murder charges filed against man suspected of killing father of 6 at his Monrovia home
A suspect who allegedly shot and killed a father of six outside his own home in Monrovia has been formally charged with the man’s murder. Christopher Wiggan, 42, faces one count of murder with a special allegation that he used a firearm to commit the crime. Wiggan is accused of killing 38-year-old Nicolas Gandara on the evening of June 2 on the 700 block of West Duarte Road.
KTLA
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YouTuber charged for stunt where fireworks were shot at his Lamborghini from flying helicopter
A popular YouTuber faces federal charges after a video showed two women shooting fireworks out of a helicopter at a Lamborghini in a social media stunt. Suk Min Choi, who goes by the name Alex Choi on social media, was charged with causing the placement of an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft. The charges stem from a video Choi posted around July 4, 2023, titled "Destroying a Lamborghini With Fireworks," according to a federal criminal affidavit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
NBC News
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Stanford arrests 13 pro-Palestinian protesters, asks D.A. to file felony burglary charges
Stanford University campus police arrested a group of pro-Palestinian protesters, who barricaded themselves inside the president’s office, on suspicion of felony burglary charges. The 13 individuals were arrested shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday morning after briefly occupying President Richard Saller’s office in an act of protest. The campus newspaper, the Stanford Daily, reported that one of the individuals arrested is a student journalist.
Los Angeles Times
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Dozens of people, including border agent, charged in California drug bust linked to Sinaloa Cartel
Nearly 50 people have been charged in Southern California after hundreds of federal, state, and local law enforcement officials busted a drug trafficking network linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday. Fourteen indictments were unsealed on Wednesday charging 47 alleged members of a fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution network based in Imperial Valley, California, according to the Department of Justice.
USA Today
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The scheme to break up the anti-Prop 47 coalition
Prosecutors and retailers worked together to qualify an initiative rolling back parts of the decade-old criminal-justice reform known as Proposition 47. The big question this week: How long can rural sheriffs and the board of Walmart share a common vision for fighting crime? Sheriffs and district attorneys have been calling for changes to Prop 47, the ballot measure that reduced sentences for non-violent offenses, since voters approved it in 2014.
Politico
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Ex-Sheriff Villanueva sues LA County for placement on ‘do not rehire’ list, alleges rights violated
Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva sued Los Angeles County on Thursday, June 13, alleging his placement on a “do not rehire” list for alleged discriminatory remarks aimed at Inspector General Max Huntsman violates his due process and First Amendment rights. Also named as defendants in the U.S. District Court suit are the county Board of Supervisors, the Sheriff’s Department, the Equity Oversight Panel, the Office of Inspector General, Huntsman and others.
Orange County Register
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LA City Council wants LAPD to end ‘pretextual stops.' Will police commission agree?
The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday approved plans to try and prevent police officers from using traffic stops to catch people suspected of crimes while they are driving on city streets. The council's 13-0 vote marks the beginning of a research project to collect information about how far the city can go to stop police officers from enforcing state traffic laws.
NBC4
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Veteran city lawyer accuses L.A. city attorney of ethical violations
A veteran city prosecutor filed a legal claim on Thursday accusing her boss, Los Angeles City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, of retaliating against her for reporting “legal and ethical violations.”Michelle McGinnis, who until April was head of the city attorney’s criminal branch, alleged in the claim that Feldstein Soto based some decisions about who should be prosecuted on “personal relationships” or “perceived political gain.”
Los Angeles Times
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Why California is swinging right on crime
As Gavin Newsom rose from mayor of San Francisco to governor of California, he championed progressive efforts to reclassify various felonies as misdemeanors, to end the death penalty, and to legalize marijuana. After George Floyd’s murder in 2020, he signed laws barring cops from using a controversial chokehold and requiring independent probes in police shootings, bragging that “California has advanced a new conversation about broader criminal justice reform.”
The Atlantic
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FBI releases 475 pages of documents on OJ Simpson
Nearly 500 pages of file materials related to O.J. Simpson, mostly items related to the investigation into the killings of wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, have been released by the FBI. The 475 pages posted by the agency to The Vault section of its web site include photos and documents that were part of the investigation into the June 1994 murders that led to the so-called Trial of the Century, which ended in Simpson's acquittal.
NBC4
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Former CHP officer awarded $1 million over sexual material shared during overtime probe
Years after a controversial overtime fraud probe, a Los Angeles County jury has awarded a former California Highway Patrol employee $1million in damages after she sued the agency for mishandling sexual content found on her cellphone. Doris Peniche, a former CHP overtime coordinator at the East Los Angeles office, claimed her colleagues improperly viewed and shared her sexual photos and videos after obtaining the material through a search warrant.
Los Angeles Times
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Emada Tingirides: LAPD's litmus test for true reform
Even after more than a decade, civil rights attorney Connie Rice can still picture the moment: Emada Tingirides, then an unseasoned sergeant in the Los Angeles Police Department, walking into a meeting with Watts community leaders to pitch something radical. After decades of aggressive policing that left residents of housing developments such as Nickerson Gardens and Jordan Downs deeply distrustful of the LAPD, Tingirides was proposing to flip the script.
Los Angeles Times
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Crime stats disappear from public view amid LAPD records system overhaul
It’s hard to say which way crime in Los Angeles is going these days. The Police Department has stopped posting crime numbers to its public website after rolling out a new recordkeeping system and changing the way it counts burglaries, assaults and other crimes. Officials say that the changes will more accurately capture the level of public safety citywide, and that efforts are underway to get the statistics back online for the public.
Los Angeles Times
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Video of Burbank police's handling of distressed homeless man prompts backlash (Video)
The president of the Los Angeles City Council is demanding an investigation after video appeared to show two Burbank police officers dumping a distressed homeless man on a North Hollywood street. NBC News' Morgan Chesky has the latest.
NBC News
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L.A. County authorities not doing enough to shut down illegal dispensaries: LAT
L.A. County authorities are having trouble permanently shutting down illegal dispensaries, the Los Angeles Times said. A Pew Research Center study found that L.A. County accounts for a tenth of all dispensaries thought to be in operation nationwide, with 1,500. However, California State Department of Cannabis Control data for the year ending 2022 shows there were only 384 dispensaries in the county with licenses.
KTLA
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LADOT bus radios, panic buttons 'do nothing,' say Committee
With violence on Los Angeles Metro buses and trains making headlines over the last few months, other transportation agencies are also being put under the spotlight, reviewing security standards. Audio from a recent LA City Council Transportation Committee meeting shows that safety features on many DOT and Dash buses are either insufficient or broken.
Fox11
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19 arrested in retail theft operation at popular outlet mall
Nineteen people were arrested by Ventura County law enforcement as part of an operation to crack down on retail thefts at Camarillo Premium Outlets. The “Blitz” operation involved a large force of officers assigned to the Ventura County Organized Retail Theft Task Force, who inundated the popular outlet mall looking for shoplifters and retail thieves.
KTLA
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Four people assaulted by anti-Israel protesters who seized, thrashed CSULA building
It was absolute pandemonium at California State University Los Angeles on Wednesday evening as anti-Israel activists took over a campus building, barricaded themselves in, and completely thrashed the premises - forcing the president of the school to shelter-in-place in her own office.
The College Fix
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The Tupac Cop Greg Kading, the controversial detective who cracked the case, connected Sean Combs to the murder, and maybe solved Biggie’s too.
One evening last July, a convoy of SWAT vehicles and police vans pulled to a stop in front of a single-story tan stucco home in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, Nevada. To the area’s residents it was an undoubtedly curious scene; Henderson is considered one of the safest communities in America. At the target house, an officer pulled out a bullhorn and began shouting to the people inside.
Intelligencer
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8 suspected terrorists with possible ISIS ties arrested in New York, L.A. and Philadelphia, sources say
Eight men from Tajikistan with potential ties to ISIS out of central Asia were arrested over the weekend in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News on Tuesday. The suspects had been on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force radar and were arrested by personnel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, the sources say.
NBC News
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Migrant with alleged ISIS ties was living in the U.S. for more than two years, officials say
Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently arrested an Uzbek man in Baltimore with alleged ISIS ties after he had been living inside the United States for over two years, according to two U.S. officials. The man, 33-year-old Jovokhir Attoev, crossed the border into Arizona and was apprehended by Border Patrol in February 2022, the officials said.
NBC News
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The FBI created its own startup - and used it to stage a massive sting operation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is not exactly known for entrepreneurship, but for about three years a group of enterprising agents in the San Diego field office ran their own cell phone company, called Anom. The phones - which purportedly offered encrypted communications and extra security features - were a hit: By the time the FBI revealed its scheme, dubbed Operation Trojan Shield, there were 12,000 units in the hands of drug traffickers and members of organized crime groups who had no idea every message they sent was secretly being read by law enforcement.
Inc.
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FBI kicks hackers in the teeth with free 7,000 ransomware key giveaway
The FBI is encouraging anyone who has been a victim of the LockBit ransomware group and its many affiliates to contact them for a free decryption key that could help restore their data. Bryan Vorndran, FBI Cyber Division assistant director, has urged potential victims to contact the Bureau after confirming that it is in possession of more than 7,000 decryption keys from the ransomware hackers.
Forbes
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California law bars ex-LAPD officer Mark Fuhrman, who lied at OJ Simpson trial, from policing
Former Los Angeles police detective Mark Fuhrman who was convicted of lying on the witness stand in the O.J. Simpson trial three decades ago, is now barred from law enforcement under a California police reform law meant to strip the badges of police officers who act criminally or with bias. Fuhrman, who is white, was one of the first two police detectives sent to investigate the 1994 killings of Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles.
AP
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U.S. Coast Guard seizes over $63 million worth of cocaine, some from shootout at sea that sank vessel
The U.S. Coast Guard seized and offloaded over $63 million of cocaine in Florida on Thursday, including from an interdiction that involved gunfire and a vessel catching on fire and sinking. More than 4,800 pounds of the drug were offloaded at Port Everglades in Broward County, the Coast Guard said in a post on X.
NBC News
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California 'third striker' who had felonies dismissed despite DA's objections is convicted of murder
A violent "third striker" with felony convictions has been found guilty of fatally stabbing a man after two of his previous convictions were dismissed by a California judge who allowed him to participate in a collaborative court program despite objections from prosecutors. A jury convicted Effrum Maland Burnett, 53, of Yorba Linda, of second-degree murder with a special enhancement for the 2023 killing of Toye Mim Jones outside a sober living home in Anaheim, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said Thursday.
Fox News
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Former deputy who preyed on young girls sentenced to 40 years as serial sexual predator
A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Friday to 40 years in prison for sexually abusing four young girls. Sean Essex, 53, a deputy for more than 22 years until his arrest in 2022, was sentenced by Judge George G. Lomeli immediately after he pleaded no contest to repeatedly sexually abusing the girls, whose ages ranged from 4 to 13.
Los Angeles Times
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California socialite Rebecca Grossman sentenced to 15 to life for killing 2 kids in crosswalk
A wealthy California woman who co-founded a burn center foundation in the Los Angeles area was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison Monday for the hit-and-run killings of two children while they were in a crosswalk more than three years ago. Rebecca Grossman was speeding when she struck and killed Mark Iskander, 11, and his brother Jacob, 8, while they were in a crosswalk in the Los Angeles-area city of Westlake Village on Sept. 29, 2020.
NBC News
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Street vendor activists motivated by videos on social media plead guilty to assault
Six activists accused of attacking people they say harassed street vendors in Southern California have reached a plea deal with prosecutors. The defendants - part of a group of eight led by co-defendant Edin Alex Enamorado - were accused of felony assault, conspiracy to commit a crime, unlawful use of tear gas and false imprisonment, among other charges, according to San Bernardino County prosecutors.
Los Angeles Times
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Hunter Biden convicted on federal firearms charges
A 12-person jury on Tuesday convicted Hunter Biden on all three counts against him following his federal gun trial. The first child of a sitting president to face charges, Hunter Biden was found guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, lying on a federal form and possessing a gun while using or being addicted to a controlled substance.
Courthouse News Service
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Particulate matter from over a decade of wildfires caused over 52,000 premature deaths in California, new study estimates
It’s not only the flames themselves that have killed people, destroyed communities, and ravaged wilderness areas when huge wildfires have wreaked havoc in California. The tiny particulate matter their smoke leaves behind has also caused over 52,000 premature deaths, according to a new study.
Courthouse News Service
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US Appeals Court to reconsider dismissal of former Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's conviction
The Justice Department is appealing a U.S. District Court judge's decision to dismiss the conviction and sentence of former Army Staff Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who abandoned his post in Afghanistan, triggered a military search and spent years in Taliban captivity. A filing May 29 puts the case in the hands of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Military.com
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