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On December 7, 2017, bounty hunter Luis De Jesus Rodriguez and his girlfriend Helen Leon Mesa were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, visa fraud, and coercion. According to San Antonio news station KSAT, the allegations are based on the recruitment and exploitation of women, mainly Colombian nationals. Alleged International Sex Trafficking Network Rodriquez allegedly had quite a sophisticated operation in place. Once in the United States, the women were forced to sign contracts and work as dancers in a Houston nightclub....

The Insane Clown Posse teamed up with the ACLU to sue the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice, claiming the two agencies violated the free speech rights of Juggalos – what Insane Clown Posse fans are called – by classifying them as gang members. What kind of relief is the hip hop duo seeking? Juggalo Lawsuit The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four Juggalos and Insane Clown Posse singers Joseph Utsler and Joseph Bruce, who perform as Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J, reports Reuters....

We know that the major parties in a criminal prosecution or civil lawsuit can question witnesses and clear up any confusion. Lawyers can question witnesses. Judges can question witnesses. But can jurors question witnesses? In the Jody Arias murder trial in Arizona, jury members are finally getting their chance to ask the woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend about circumstances leading to the alleged murder. Jurors submitted more than 100 questions to ask the defendant following 30 days of testimony, ABC News reports....

One more agreement has been reached in the myriad of cases surrounding defective drywall. As has been covered in many previous posts on FindLaw’s Common Law, and Injured blogs, homeowners in many states, but especially in the southeast, have been complaining of problems they say are caused by the imported drywall their homes were built with. Suits by homeowners in Virginia, Florida and Louisiana have all addressed the issues of corroded metal, loss in home value and even health problems all linked to the drywall....

The mother of a self-proclaimed teen sex addict is suing the Tyra show for featuring her child on her show discussing her sexual proclivities without her permission. According to Reuters, 15 year-old Jewel Washington answered an open call for sex addicts to come on the Tyra show to discuss the problem. Jewel Washington was flown from her home in Georgia to New York City to tape the show. The problem? She was unaccompanied and her mother never signed any type of release....

The Nstional Coalition for the Homeless has released a report today entitled “Hate, Violence, and Death on Main Street USA: A Report on Hate Crimes And Violence Against People Experiencing Homelessness, 2006.” This report documents incidents of hate crimes and violent acts against people experiencing homelessness, including 20 fatal attacks. The report also contains recommendations for action and model state legislation to respond to the issue of hate crimes against people experiencing homelessness....

As everyone should know by now, school shooting threats, even if intended as jokes, are not cool and can get you arrested. For those still unaware, look no further than a 17-year-old high school student in California who allegedly left a “very crude” note in the school’s office that included a specific threat to “shoot up the school and kill staff and students.” The student was promptly identified and arrested, and the school was shut down for a day....

In 2009, the state of Ohio attempted to execute convicted murderer Romell Broom. Over the course of 95 minutes a medical team tried fruitlessly to find a suitable vein through which to administer a lethal dose of drugs. As The Washington Post reported, “they jabbed, poked and stuck the man at least 18 times, twisting and turning catheters this way and that … They made holes in his arms, legs and elbows, his wrists, the backs of his hands and his ankles … They took breaks, leaving the man on the gurney, and then came back to try again … And at one point, a physician came in and inserted a needle until ‘she struck bone....

Penn State is once again at the center of a scandal. A Pennsylvania State University fraternity has been suspended for allegedly posting pictures of unconscious and nude women onto two private Facebook pages. Penn State’s Kappa Delta Rho (KDR) has been suspended for one year pending an investigation by police and university officials into the Facebook pages. According to CNN, one page was entitled “Covert Business Transaction”; this page was shut down after a victim complained and was replaced with a second page entitled “2....

More sensitive military information is about the be released on the Wikileaks.org website. As you may recall, Wikileaks released over 91,000 U.S. military reports from Afghanistan earlier this year. The Pentagon says that they do not expect to be surprised by any of the new information in the new Wikileaks release, which is expected to contain as many as 400,000 documents from U.S. combat units. So then there’s nothing to worry about, right?...

The verdict sounds like a punch line, but two lives are over as a result. Not guilty of murder, but guilty of scaring a grandmother to death, 20 year-old Larry Whitfield will be facing a life sentence from the verdict handed down in a North Carolina courtroom on Friday. Parnell’s family was satisfied with the verdict. Son-in law David Hains said “My mother-in-law had a heart attack right in front of this guy, and he didn’t even have the decency to call an ambulance....

If you’ve been following the Slender Man story, both teenagers involved in the attempted murder of Payton Leutner have now pled not guilty by reason of insanity. Based on what has been reported about the attempted murder, that sounds about right as no rational explanation exists for the horrifying actions. Payton Leutner was invited to a sleepover at a classmate’s house along with one other classmate. The following day, while out in a park, the two other girls, then only 12 years old, attacked, stabbed, and attempted to murder Leutner....

Shaun White was jailed after allegedly trashing a Nashville hotel over the weekend. Given that White is 26 years old, an “X-gamer,” Olympic gold medalist, and international celebrity, the hotel trashing incident could not have been that much of a surprise. It just seems to come with the territory of being a young celebrity. Early Sunday morning, police officers were called to the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel at 2 a.m. when White allegedly pulled a fire alarm, forcing the hotel to evacuate all guests, reports ESPN....

Omarosa Manigault Newman and Donald Trump are at it again, this time over breach of confidentiality stemming from non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) Omarosa purportedly signed during both the 2003 taping of The Apprentice and his 2016 Presidential Campaign. The Trump Administration filed for arbitration in New York City to silence Omarosa after she released her tell-all book, Unhinged, earlier this week. Is a WWE Fight in the Works? The amount of name-calling between Omarosa and Trump in recent days is reminiscent of pre-fight interviews for World Wrestling Enterprise....

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a ruling allowing the use of evidence seized by police officers in the search of a criminal suspect during an arrest that violated state law. In Virginia v. Moore, the Court considered a case in which David Moore was pulled over and arrested for driving on a suspended license. Police discovered crack cocaine while searching Moore and carrying out his arrest. Under Virginia law, drivers pulled over for suspended license violations are to be issued a court summons and released, so Moore’s arrest was contrary to state law....

Have you ever been to the lunch spot Pret a Manger in London? Great sandwiches, tasty stuff. But probably not so delicious that I would forget about my 300-year-old 1696 Antonio Stradivarius violin worth almost $2 million. (Unless I was really, really hungry. Then, who knows?) 32-year-old violinist Min-Jin Kym and a friend went to Pret a Manger to pick up a sandwich while waiting for the tube near Euston Underground station in London, Reuters reports....

A $12,000 tip? No service is that good. Nonetheless, Stacy Knutson, a waitress in Moorhead, Minn. claims an unidentified man left her a $12,000 tip. And that the cops took it. Knutson turned in the money for fear that the individual may have made a mistake. After all, he left the cash – rolled up tightly and secured with rubber bands – in a to-go box on her table. But once law enforcement got a hold of it, they decided not to let it go....

Did Colin Sweeney kill his wife? “The Good Wife” does a twist on “ripped-from-the-headlines” TV shows with extensive courtroom scenes from Sweeney’s defamation lawsuit which morphs into yet another attempt at determining his guilt. Here’s what you need to know from last night’s episode, entitled “Dark Money”: Episode Recap (Spoiler Alert!): While Alicia is chasing campaign money from a lecherous homophobe and Kalinda is shepherding Lemond Bishop’s son home from school, Diane and Cary are prosecuting Sweeney’s defamation lawsuit....

Texting and driving doesn’t just lead to possible accidents, but it could also land you in jail. The dangers of texting and driving may not be obvious to many. Some do it at a red light, or at a stop sign, thinking it’s safe. But it’s not safe, and should never be done while one is operating a moving vehicle. Not only is texting and driving incredibly dangerous, but those few seconds in which you take your eyes are off the road can also land you in jail....

Raj Rajaratnam, billionaire investor and founder of the Galleon Group, has been found guilty of insider trading, fraud and conspiracy. Rajaratnam was convicted on all 14 counts by a federal jury in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. One of the richest men in the world, Rajaratnam faces at least 15-1/2 years in prison, reports Reuters. The trial took place over the course of two months, putting Rajaratnam, insider trading, and government phone taps into the spotlight....