Florida is famous for, among other things, its expansive Sunshine Laws, some of the most permissive in the country when it comes to access to public records. That’s why you get so many amazing mugshots to go with those weird Florida Man stories. But these are just people who’ve been arrested. What if they didn’t do it? What if they’re never convicted of a crime, and their mugshots are now up on the Internet forever?...
Lindsay Lohan brought a lawsuit against the rapper Pitbull for daring to use her name “LiLo” in his hit song “Give Me Everything.” But like with all things Lindsay Lohan, the case is quickly becoming an ugly mess. Lohan’s lawyers are accused by Pitbull’s team of plagiarizing legal documents off the Internet. There isn’t that much originality in legal documents to begin with, but Pitbull’s team says that Lohan’s attorney just lifted various documents, word for word, off legal websites, and then served them, reports the New York Daily News....
Based on a preliminary injunction, the Michael Jackson estate has won an initial legal battle to stop to a group from using the name of Jackson’s charitable group, one of his causes, or any of his likeness and trademarks. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee granted a preliminary injunction ordering the current Heal the World Foundation to stop using trademarks that belong to the Jackson estate, the Associated Press reports. In general, an injunction is a temporary order made by a court at the request of one party that prevents the other party from pursuing a particular course of conduct until the conclusion of a trial on the merits of the suit....
Back in the old days, if you wanted to teach a kid a lesson, you’d send him to his room. A Missouri family, though, apparently didn’t think that was good enough. All four adults are now facing felony charges for their tough-love stunt. Is it really illegal to kidnap your own child? The fake abduction plot must have been alarmingly real to the child, who was picked up by the aunt’s co-worker after getting off the bus, tied up, blindfolded in a basement, threatened with a gun, and told he would be “nailed to the wall of a shed,” CNN reported....
FDA officials have received three confirmed reports, and a forth possible report, of dangerous brain infections in patients treated with Genentech’s psoriasis drug Raptiva. With three of these four already dead, the FDA has issued an updated safety advisory for Raptiva and is reviewing the latest information. According to the FDA’s updated safety release, the FDA approved Raptiva in 2003. What has regulators concerned now is the link between Raptiva and a deadly type of brain condition called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)....
Unmoved by her testimony, a jury in Los Angeles handed Sharon Stone a verdict on Thursday, and the actress isn’t happy. Finding that she was negligent in the upkeep of her property, a group of her less famous peers ordered Stone to pay $232,000 to Peter Krause, a worker who injured himself while installing outdoor wiring at her home in 2008. Eh, she probably got away easy. Sharon Stone’s property apparently borders a ravine that separates her from her neighbors, reports CBS....
A botched business venture is backfiring for a voluptuous “Jersey Shore” guidette. Nicole Polizzi, better known as Snooki, sued a group of business partners in October, and now those partners are fighting back in court. A countersuit by SRG Ventures seeks $7 million in damages against Snooki. SRG claims Snooki sabotaged her own business opportunities by courting other companies and messing up merchandising deals, the New York Post reports. What did those deals include?...
The Social Security Administration (SSA) on Tuesday unveiled a new online retirement benefits application program, a move that is intended to help the federal agency deal with the expected flood of Social Security enrollment as “baby boomers” enter retirement and become eligible to receive benefits. The new online application process asks retirement benefit enrollees a series of questions about their work history and their financial needs, lets applicants stop and restart the application process at any time, offers helpful answers to questions that may arise during the application process, and allows users to submit the application electronically without signing any forms....
For all but the worst offenders, most convicted prisoners don’t spend their whole sentence in prison. Many are released early because of good time credits for good behavior or for working. What are good time credits? Good time credits go by many different names including: gain time, meritorious time, sentence remission, diminution of sentence, or time off for good behavior. Essentially, a prisoner’s sentence may be shortened as a reward for good behavior....
Although the media portrays hackers as malicious computer programmers, it doesn’t actually take as much know-how as one might expect to violate computer hacking laws. For starters, merely accessing another person’s e-mail or social media accounts without authorization violates a decades-old federal law, and can also violate state and local criminal laws. However, not all hacking is malicious or illegal. There are many “hackers” that are actually working to improve software, improve security, and generally do good things....
Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, the accused White House shooter, was arrested on Wednesday by Pennsylvania state troopers. He is scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday. Investigators are still looking into the incident, including whether or not Ortega-Hernandez, 21, intentionally fired at the White House. Secret Service officers heard the shots last Friday night. Both President Obama and the First Lady were not present at the time. Two bullets hit the mansion, and one even struck a window....
“The Good Wife” is always game for a fun copyright case. This week, Florrick & Agos took aim at “Glee” and represented a band’s bad cover song. But was their use of law music to our ears? Here’s a rundown of this week’s copyright battle in “Goliath and David”: A goofy band called Rowby and Marshall approaches Florrick & Agos, alleging that a hit TV show called “Drama Camp” (a tongue-in-cheek fictional version of “Glee”) ripped off their cover of another artist’s rap song, “Thicky Trick....
You knew one was coming soon. How could it not? Have you seen those little girls? They’re told to show off their bellies for heaven’s sake! But alas, the new Toddlers & Tiaras lawsuit does not involve Alana of honey-boo-boo-child fame. No, it involves 5-year-old Isabella Barrett and her mom, Susanna. Or, as TMZ, the Huffington Post and the Daily Mail would probably put it: her pimp. Isabella’s mom is suing the media outlets for their “brazen attempt to sexualize the girl,” according to the New York News....
Got overdue traffic tickets? If you live in California you may be able to take advantage of the state’s one-time traffic amnesty program. Stuck in a never-ending budget crisis, the state has launched the program in an attempt to raise revenue. Between January 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012, you can get rid of some overdue traffic tickets for half-off. The discount does not apply to parking tickets and citations given for driving under the influence or reckless driving....
While everyone knows the Tin Man from the ‘Wizard of Oz’ needed a heart, many will be surprised to learn that the Tin Man from Upstate New York needs a drunk driving lawyer. Unfortunately, information regarding the Tin Man’s recent arrest is scant, so the upstate Tin Man may have already had a lawyer all along. The actor that plays the iconic Tin Man character at the Yellow Brick Road Casino, in Chittenango, New York, Nicholas Sherman, 31, was arrested for DWI while still in full make-up....
With increased access to smartphones with cameras, and limited access to good decision-making skills, teens have turned sexting into a serious issue that parents, educators, and sometimes the police need to deal with. And state laws, prosecutors, and courts have turned sexting into a serious criminal offense that teens may be left dealing with for the rest of their lives. The Washington State Supreme Court last week upheld a conviction for distribution of child pornography, even though the defendant was 17 at the time, has Asperger’s syndrome, and the photo he sent was of himself....
We hear, all too often, of a car hitting a bicyclist and then zooming away from the scene of the accident without offering any help. This is hit and run. But, what if a bicyclist causes an accident? Do hit and run laws apply to bicyclists? Bicyclist = Vehicles Whether or not hit and run laws apply to bicyclists is dependent on whether or not the law considers a bicycle a vehicle....
For the second time, a Courtney Love Twitter defamation case is making waves. Ex-lawyer Rhonda Holmes alleges that the latest Courtney Love’s libel tweets have hurt her professional reputation and have caused her economic injury. Holmes, a San Diego attorney, was originally retained as counsel for Love in a lawsuit where she was trying to pursue money stolen from the estate of Kurt Cobain, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Love had fired Holmes’ firm (Gordon & Holmes) after they had only agreed to represent Love in the legal action if she could remain sober the entire time....
You know you’re not supposed to leave your kid in a car alone – even if you’re running inside for just a few minutes. But some people do it anyway. It’s illegal. And as Philip Owens knows, it’s quite possible that your car will be stolen – with your kid inside. Luckily, Owens’ 6-year-old son was unharmed and found soon after his car was taken from a mini-mart in Rochester, New York....
How much would you expect to be paid if you were wrongly incarcerated on a murder conviction for 23 years? A million dollars? Five million? Twenty million? What about $25,000? That’s the sum that the newly exonerated man, Robert Lee Stinson, has received. That figure works out to about $90 a month. The Wisconsin Claims Board, which handles such decisions, has filed a request for an additional $90,000, The Wisconsin State Journal reports....
