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The Old Testament says, there is no peace for the wicked. Unless, of course they happen to have an nice chalet in Gstaad and the support of the President of France. Such is the luck of acclaimed and accursed film director Roman Polanski, released from jail today to begin his house arrest, Swiss chalet style. Initially speaking out against the arrest of the 76 year-old film maker, French President Nicolas Sarkozy fell silent but evidently went to work behind the scenes to allow Polanski to be moved from his cell to house arrest after making the $4....

In a recent opinion, issued last week, by the Arkansas Supreme Court, a city’s local civil rights law protecting LGBT individuals from discrimination was put in peril. The court’s decision is not the final nail in the proverbial coffin, as they have ordered the lower court to reconsider their ruling based upon their order. As such, supporters of the local anti-discrimination statute are gearing up to fight it out again....

Homicides are more than just deadly. They are also very, very expensive. According to one study, the average cost of a homicide is a cool $17.25 million. The study, founded by Iowa State University, looked at victim costs, criminal justice system costs, lost productivity estimates, and estimates on the public’s willingness to pay to prevent future violence. The Clarion Ledger quotes the study: An overwhelming majority of this high sum is the result of the amount of money citizens would be willing to pay to prevent future crime....

River Ranch Fresh Foods of California has issued a bagged salad recall after learning of possible contamination. Routine tests by the Ohio Department of Agriculture found traces of Listeria monocytogenes, which is the same organism responsible for nearly two dozen cantaloupe deaths. The recalled bagged salad products were sold in Iowa, Ohio and Pennsylvania. They contain “Best By” dates of October 14, according to Consumer Reports. No illnesses have been reported, according to the Associated Press....

So you hired a criminal defense attorney who seemed to suit your style but now you have been working with this person for a bit, and you are not thrilled. You can change lawyers at most stages of your defense, although not all, and not without the court’s approval. But there is a process for this – you must file a motion with the court to substitute counsel – and the details will vary from state to state....

Psychedelic drugs like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin contained in “magic mushrooms,” and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) remain listed as Schedule I narcotics by the federal government. As a result, these drugs are illegal under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). But recent studies have shown that certain psychedelics, when paired with psychotherapy, can have positive impacts for patients suffering from anxiety, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). Does that mean your therapist can prescribe you acid, Molly, or some other psychedelic drug?...

California coffee drinkers are headed for a showdown. Will coffee shops be forced to claim coffee is cancerous, as declared by a Los Angeles judge earlier this year? Or not, as proposed by a California State Agency that says the cancer risks are slim and all the warnings are creating too much noise for the average consumer. Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign The agency’s stance is coming on the heels of a mounting backlash against ubiquitous consumer warnings....

Is warrantless GPS tracking legal? We asked this question back in November, and on Monday, we were given an official answer. Sort of. The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that secretly placing a GPS tracking device on a suspect’s vehicle is a “search” under the 4th Amendment. And if police want to carry on this type of search for an extended period of time, it’s advisable they get a warrant....

Actress Talulah Riley and Elon Musk thought they were meant to be together forever a couple of times, but they are finding it’s not working out. The couple got married in 2010 – Musk already had five kids from a previous marriage – then got divorced in 2012 and then got married again the following year. The last marriage happened in 2013 and now Riley is seeking another divorce reportedly....

A federal court issued a temporary injunction Tuesday, blocking the National Labor Relations Board’s new rule to require posters about union activity in the workplace. The rule was set to take effect nationwide on April 30, the Associated Press reports. But legal questions about whether the NLRB has the power to require the union posters must be answered first, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said in issuing the injunction....

What’s on the Pentagon’s playlist? The National Security Archive, and a coalition of high-profile music artists and band members want to know, particularly when it comes to detainee interrogations. The artists and bands are going on record to close Camp X-Ray, the Pentagon’s Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention facility for terror detainees captured oversees. They are extremely angered that their music either already has been, or may have been, used to help the Pentagon conduct detainee interrogations and, they maintain, may have played at excessively loud levels and for long periods of time to torture detainees....

George Zimmerman’s arrest report for domestic violence states that he cocked and pointed a shotgun at his girlfriend and asked “[a]re you sure you want to [call the police]?” The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office police report (attached below) details what lead to Zimmerman’s arrest on domestic violence and aggravated assault charges. This is the second time in three months Zimmerman has been accused of domestic violence and threatening a woman with a gun....

Just when you thought you’d earned a bit of rest and relaxation before a roaring fire, perhaps with a small gift box to open and maybe a cup of eggnog by your side – wait. According to the Dallas Morning News, the holidays are full of lurking safety issues, some real, some ridiculous. As Jacob Marley would say “take heed…” Let’s begin with a visit to the island of counterfeit toys....

After a long and winding legal road, a judge sentenced convicted killer Jodi Arias to life in prison without the possibility of parole. While the verdict itself felt like mere formality, the trial was anything but. The case, in which Arias was accused of stabbing and shooting her boyfriend to death in 2008, garnered international infamy. And after she was convicted, her sentencing took on a legal life of its own....

More than ever, people are turning to the internet to find their lawyer. And, sadly, there are more online scams than ever. So it’s probably natural that scammers would start impersonating lawyers online. For years, the Department of Justice has been warning about fraudsters using real attorney names and professional information to set up fake law firm websites to solicit legal work and scam clients out of their money. So both consumers and lawyers need to be aware of the fake lawyer website scam....

Minnesota’s Court of Appeals recently ruled the state’s criminal defamation law unconstitutional. In 2013, Minnesota resident Timothy Robert Turner posed as his former girlfriend and her daughter, and posted false ads on Craigslist. The women then started receiving pornographic videos and photos from strange men on their cell phones. Turner was arrested, charged with criminal defamation, and admitted to posting the ads. A judge convicted Turner, and sentenced him to 30 days in jail....

The New Jersey town of Bernards Township has agreed to settle the two cases against it stemming from a dispute over whether a mosque could be built on a vacant lot. While the town claims that there was never any discriminatory intent, the lawsuit alleges a bewildering series of hurdles seemingly intended to prevent the mosque from ever being built. After the group seeking to build the mosque filed their case, which did not allege discrimination, the Department of Justice joined the suit, adding claims of religious discrimination directed at the Muslim group....

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner. And just as you can count on college bowl games, a large crowd in Times Square, and plenty of champagne, you can also count on law enforcement officers making many New Year’s DUI arrests. New Year’s Eve is, of course, one of the heaviest drinking days of the year. After all, what else are people supposed to do but drink as they wait for the clock to strike midnight?...

Do you have a federal marriage license? You don’t have to be a lawyer to know the answer. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley sued the federal government today to remind Congress that the Defense of Marriage Act (‘DOMA’) is an unconstitutional attempt to interefere with the state’s authority to define marriage as it chooses. Coakley also contends that, under DOMA, Massachusetts citizens in same-sex marriages can be denied eligibility for Medicaid benefits, veterans’ cemetary funding for the state would treat married gay and lesbian couples differently....

Since 2010, New Jersey has enforced a one-gun-per-month rule for people who want to buy firearms in the state. It’s something that bothered the National Rifle Association. It bothered them so much that the official NRA state association, the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, filed a lawsuit to challenge its enforcement. They claimed the law was barred by federal law. The Federal Toy Gun Act bars states from prohibiting the sale of BB guns and other pellet firing guns....