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Being attacked is an awful, frightening, and confusing experience. If you are under a barrage of blows, then of course the law will protect you if you fight back to end it, right? Do you know how far can you go to end it? Can you use a weapon? Can you knock the person out? Can you use deadly force? Can you detain the person until authorities arrive? In nearly every circumstance, you can stop an attacker by using the same amount or type of force they are using against you....

With alimony tax laws changing on January 1, 2019, many couples are rushing to get their divorces finalized before the end of the year. Some people may have huge estates to divide, and others might just have a family pet. Here’s a list of three high-profile divorces that lost over $1 billion in the great settlement divide. Though this isn’t exactly a celebrity couple, their nephews are, and so they made the list....

United States Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced that he was stepping down as soon as a successor could be found. That successor has now apparently been found: It was announced over the weekend that U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch would be President Barack Obama’s nominee for attorney general. If confirmed, Lynch would be the second African American to hold the post of attorney general, following Holder, who was the first....

Apple “conspired to raise the retail price of e-books,” a federal judge held in the ruling attached below. Apple and five major U.S. publishers artificially drove up the prices of e-books in 2010, Judge Denise Cote ruled Wednesday. “[T]he evidence is overwhelming that Apple knew of the unlawful aims of the conspiracy and joined the conspiracy with the specific intent to help it succeed,” Judge Cote wrote. Apple says it plans to appeal the ruling, according to company spokesman Tom Neumayr, claiming it brought much needed innovation and competition into the e-book market....

On TV and in movies, polygraph tests or lie detectors are a popular way to nail a suspect. But are they actually admissible in court? Courts don’t have to admit lie detector tests, according to a U.S. Supreme Court case that specifies how courts deal with scientific evidence. Instead, individual judges have discretion to decide if a polygraph will be admitted based on certain criteria. Why isn’t it a clear yes or no, as to whether lie detector tests are admissible?...

Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was found guilty of money laundering and conspiracy. Losing his prestigious position, many thought he would trade in his designer suits for jailhouse orange. Although the money laundering charges can potentially carry a life in prison sentence, DeLay may get out of jail time with a heavy probation sentence. DeLay is currently appealing his original conviction, as he alleges it was partly the result of a politically motivated prosecutor and jury....

Donald Sterling and V. Stiviano may as well be star-crossed lovers in the law’s eyes, because the two will be seeing the inside of the courtroom a good deal. But the two now have other problems to deal with. Stiviano reported being beaten and verbally assaulted by two men outside a Manhattan restaurant on Sunday. Meantime, Sterling is being sued by an alleged ex-lover and ex-employee for racial discrimination and sexual harassment – and the plaintiff isn’t Stiviano....

A fake Chanel lawsuit seems to be causing quite the stir. The real luxury manufacturer sued about 600 websites in federal court seeking an injunction against the sale of fake goods. But it’s not the trademark infringement itself that is gaining attention: It’s an order issued by the federal judge overseeing the case. In addition to granting a preliminary injunction against the defendant websites, the judge instructs all Internet search engines and social networks to remove access to those sites....

Former TV Judge Joe Brown spent a brief stint in jail for contempt of court after becoming “pretty raucous” in a Tennessee courtroom. Brown may be too used to sitting behind the bench, but the chief magistrate for Shelby County’s Juvenile Court said judges and staff alike were “floored” at the way Brown challenged the authority of Magistrate Harold Horne, reports Memphis’ WMC-TV. What did Brown say to get him slapped with contempt of court?...

There will be no plea bargain in the involuntary manslaughter case against Michael Jackson’s doctor. In the complicated Michael Jackson case, Dr. Conrad Murray has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the King of Pop’s death. The case includes scientific evidence and involves drug dosages and medical protocol, as previously discussed. The 58-year-old cardiologist was treating Jackson for insomnia when the singer died on June 25. His defense lawyer, Ed Chernoff, says he is concerned about the already potential damaging information revealed about Murray and whether an impartial jury can be seated for a trial....

The NSA’s covert call records program has been upheld as constitutional by the FISA court, in a declassified opinion released Tuesday. According to The Washington Post – which has been on the NSA’s case for the last few months – FISA court Judge Claire V. Eagan released the opinion on her own volition, and not at the request of the government or any lawsuit. This opinion may be an attempt by the semi-secret FISA court to address constitutional questions about the NSA’s programs....

The New York Police Department has X-ray vans and has been driving them around the city for at least three years. Unfortunately, that’s about all we know about the NYPD’s use of the vans, since it has been battling in court to keep as many details of the program secret as it can. ProPublica has sued the city, requesting the release of documents relating to the policies, procedures, and training associated with uses of X-ray vans along with information on prior use and the possible health effects of irradiating residents....

When Texas prosecutors began investigating Planned Parenthood last year after anti-abortion activists released videos implicating the organization in fetal tissue sales for profit, it seemed likely that criminal charges would soon follow. But the scandalous plot took a surprise twist, and now the anti-abortion activists are on the spot. Harris County, Texas, grand jurors indicted the schemers instead of the targeted organization. Now, David Daleiden, the mastermind behind the scheme, faces two criminal counts....

We’ve all heard the Miranda warnings before: “You have the right to consult with a lawyer and have that lawyer present during the interrogation; if you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you.” Criminal defendants who can’t afford a lawyer are most often assigned a public defender who is employed and paid by the county, state, or federal government. The vast majority of these governments don’t bill defendants for these services....

You work all year to grow grapes and make raisins. Then, the government says you have to give them some of those raisins for free! Are you happy about that? Well, the government can no longer exploit raisin growers for free sweet snacks after the Supreme Court sided with raisin farmers in the case of Horne v. Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has authority under the 1949 “Marketing Order Regulating the Handling of Raisins Produced from Grapes Grown in California,” to demand raisin farmers turn over a portion of their yearly raisin crop to the government....

When I was in grade school, I was elected to be judge for a day as part of a school project. It was a very exciting day, we created a sort of mock “Main Street,” where everyone had a job. Throughout the course of the day, various students were brought to my courtroom for trial. I decided the cases as follows: friends and pretty girls not guilty, everyone else, guilty. By noon, I had been pulled aside by a teacher who explained to me that my actions were corrupt and that I needed to decide the cases based on the evidence....

One of the limitations on free speech is defamation – you can’t simply make false and damaging statements about someone else. That said, just because information tends to damage a person’s reputation doesn’t make it defamation. The statement must also be false. Additionally, the press are afforded some increased legal protections in the interest of reporting the news, and public figures are afforded fewer protections as they thrust themselves into the public eye and invite close scrutiny....

Approximately 2.1 million Storkcraft drop-side cribs have been recalled, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The Storkcraft crib recall involves a drop-side crib defect that causes the drop-side to detach in one or more corners, which could allow a baby to fall or suffocate. The drop-side crib’s plastic hardware can break down or deform which leads to the problem with the drop-side. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urges parents to immediately stop using the recalled cribs and find alternative sleeping arrangements for their infants....

What started as a lesson in the basics of banking proved costly for an Illinois teenager. He racked up $229 in bank fees in two weeks, with just $4.85 in his account. Daniel Ganziano, 18, of McCullom Lake, Ill., was just doing what his mom told him to: Open a savings account and learn how to manage money. Instead, Ganziano told the Chicago Tribune, he learned not to trust banks....

Last week, a woman was groped on a Brooklyn, NY subway. That might have been the end of the story, but instead, she took a photo of the man with her cell phone and gave it to police, who in turn gave it to the press. Now the article is being shared on Facebook and Twitter, and the perpetrator is more likely to be found than if the victim had only given officers a vague physical description....