Posts

The Donald and the daughter ended their ongoing battle with the New Jersey casinos and company that still bear the Trump name, yesterday. The Trumps will become proud owners of 10% of the Atlantic City casinos Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino and the Trump Marina Hotel Casino, once they emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This deal ends the Trumps’ litigation against the casino company Trump Entertaiment Resorts and releases it from the more than $100 million worth of claims the Trumps had against it....

You can only do this in seven states, including North Carolina; and no, it’s not what you’re thinking. We will now discuss a rather musty old law, a “vestige[] of legal codes that also prohibited divorce and criminalized premarital sex,” that might just come back into fashion in the state of N.C.: alienation of affection. According to a report today by ABC News, Elizabeth Edwards (as if she hasn’t been through enough) is threatening to bring a suit for alienation of affection against her husband’s former aide de camp, Andrew Young....

Medicare is riddled with fraud that costs the government an estimated $60 to $90 billion a year. Ramping up Medicare oversight, the Department of Justice coordinated a bust yesterday spanning nine cities. One hundred and eleven doctors, nurses and physical therapists were arrested, reports the Associated Press, accused of earning a combined $225 million in Medicare fraud schemes. The busts, which took place largely in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Detroit and Miami, included more than 40 schemes....

The two men administering Michael Jackson’s estate will receive some compensation, a judge agreed. Attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain will get a cut of the profits minus several sizable assets. According to the Associated Press, Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff approved the arrangement providing each of them with five percent of the estate’s profits, minus earnings from the recent “This Is It” movie and Jackson’s interest in a lucrative Sony-ATV music catalog....

Singer Rihanna recently asked a court to grant her a restraining order. Surprise! It’s not against Chris Brown. Rihanna has reportedly taken out a restraining order against an intruder. Funny thing about that – it wasn’t an intruder who ever broke into her home. It was an intruder who broke into a neighbor’s home, thinking it was actually Rihanna’s home. The man, Steveland Barrow, allegedly went as far as to sleep in the neighbor’s bed, thinking it was Rihanna’s bed....

Things are going from bad to worse for price gouging pharma bro Martin Shkreli. Just days after he gained Internet infamy for jacking up the price of life-saving drugs some 5,000 percent, it was revealed that federal prosecutors are investigating Shkreli on criminal charges related to his former biotech company. Shkreli allegedly admitted to owing his former company profits from insider information stock trading and is accused of misappropriation of company funds and defrauding shareholders....

Another lost Apple prototype sent investigators on an iPhone search in San Francisco in late July. But, did Apple security and the San Francisco Police Department violate any laws? The SFPD is now launching an investigation into the Apple home search. The missing iPhone prototype was lost sometime in July at a tequila bar in San Francisco by an Apple employee. The lost phone was tracked to the residence of a man named Sergio Calderón....

Virginia police have arrested Kin Yiu Cheng, the Sky Express bus driver responsible for yesterday’s passenger bus crash that has left four women dead and at least 54 other passengers injured. Determining that driver fatigue was at least partially responsible for the deadly crash, prosecutors have charged Cheng with reckless driving. He’s lucky that he hasn’t been charged with manslaughter. According to some sources, Kin Yiu Cheng fell asleep at the wheel before veering off the I-95 early Tuesday morning....

Individuals have a constitutional right to possess firearms and use them for lawful purposes like self-defense and hunting, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today in its first decision on the interpretation of the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. In today’s ruling, the Court parsed the language of the Second Amendment, which reads “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed....

Syracuse University has fired assistant coach Bernie Fine after 35 years with Syracuse’s basketball team, days after a third man claimed Fine molested him as a teenager. The latest accusations could possibly lead to criminal charges, thanks to a change in state law regarding the reporting of child sex crimes. Fine, 65, has denied any wrongdoing, and has not been charged. Syracuse University placed Fine on administrative leave more than a week ago, when reports of sexual abuse allegations first surfaced against him....

After illegally killing a bear, Ted Nugent has agreed to sign a plea deal with federal prosecutors. The incident occurred two years ago while Nugent was filming his Outdoor Channel television show “Spirit of the Wild” in Alaska. Nugent illegally killed and transported a black bear off federal property. The rocker’s hunt was captured on camera and later aired on his show. Nugent also injured a second bear. So what punishments will the musician face as part of the deal?...

A Texas man is facing a harsh sentence for a shoplifter. He was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for stealing a TV from a Walmart valued at around $348 in June 2010. William Alan Kennedy, 38, knocked down 56-year-old Bruce Florence, a Walmart employee, during the shoplifting incident. Florence hit his head and was hospitalized. He died 9 days later. Kennedy was never charged in Florence’s death. In fact, a medical examiner determined that Florence died from end-stage liver cirrhosis, according to the Star-Telegram....

While a criminal case can go from crime to verdict in 30 minutes on television, in real life they often take months or years to resolve and have various stages from arrest to trial. For some states, that stage is a grand jury indictment. So how do grand juries work, what does it mean when they return an indictment, and what happens after a grand jury indictment? Grand Juries, Indictments, and Sandwiches Not all states employ grand juries, but for those that do it is an opportunity for an independent panel of citizens to review the government’s evidence against a criminal defendant and decide if it is sufficient to move forward with charges....

There’s a hot legal topic affecting law enforcement in the digital age: When can police conduct searches of cell phones and laptops? As you may know, smartphones and laptops can contain a wealth of information that was not contemplated in 1986, when Congress passed laws about government monitoring of digital communications. So courts in different states have had a hard time coming up with a uniform rule as to when police can, and cannot, search your cell phone or laptop....

George Zimmerman’s murder trial hit a high-tech snag Wednesday, when a witness appearing remotely via Skype was bombarded by dozens of other Skype users trying to join the call. Prosecution witness Scott Pleasants had arranged to appear remotely to testify about his experiences with Zimmerman as the defendant’s former professor. But his testimony was cut short when another Skype call started ringing in, reports The Inquisitr. Internet trolls may be responsible for the prank, but courts should take this as a lesson in how to prevent future Skype snafus during trial....

Making threats against someone on social media can get you into hot water. But, even just joking about gun violence on social media can get you arrested. Just ask Ricky Jared Rankin of Texas. Rankin allegedly posted a photo of an AR-15 to Instagram and captioned the photo: “I’m thinking about finally going back to school.” This resulted in a police investigation almost immediately and Rankin was arrested for the Instagram post....

Two out-of-state abortion doctors have been charged with murder under Maryland’s fetal homicide law. Dr. Steven Brigham, 55, of Voorhees, New Jersey, was arrested Wednesday night. Dr. Nicola Riley, 46, was arrested in Salt Lake City, Utah. Both are awaiting extradition hearings. Brigham was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree murder, and a count of conspiracy. Riley faces a count of first degree murder, a count of second-degree murder, and a count of conspiracy....

George Boedecker, founder of Crocs shoes, was arrested for a DUI after he was allegedly found passed out in his Porsche. When confronted by Colorado police, Boedecker bristled and said that he wasn’t the one driving the car. When asked who was driving, the allegedly intoxicated entrepreneur said his “girlfriend,” whom he identified as pop singer Taylor Swift, was the one behind the wheel. Boedecker reportedly gestured to a nearby yard and said Swift was hiding out there, reports the New York Daily News....

Dave Chappelle must not be as funny as he thinks he is. During a show in Santa Fe, a man from the audience threw a banana peel at Chappelle. Some reports say that the peel hit Chappelle, while others report that the peel missed. Even though the attack was more insult than injury, should Chappelle seek some justice and sue? Assault or Battery Assault and battery are torts, which mean a victim can usually sue in civil court to get damages from the offender....

It could have all been a misunderstanding. Or you were only defending yourself. Heck, you may not have even hit anyone else and you’re still charged with assault. The charge can vary from state to state, and the circumstances that can lead to an assault charge are always unique. You can try explaining all of those circumstances to the police or a judge on your own, or you can enlist the help of a good criminal defense lawyer....