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Rapper T.I. is heading right back to prison. Again. On October 26, U.S. Marshall Beverly Harvard ordered the in-again-out-again rapper to report to federal prison in Arkansas, due to the probation violation on federal weapons charges. As previously noted in this blog, in September, T.I. and his wife were arrested in Los Angles on drug charges. Although The Star reports that the Los Angeles authorities have declined to press felony charges, the damage has been done....

Wikipedia’s charitable donor has been sued by two German men. They claim that the online encyclopedia’s description of their involvement in the murder of a German actor back in 1990 violates their right to privacy. This case is crucial because it covers so many different aspects of law, from freedom of speech to privacy with regards to criminal law. In fact, in Germany there are rules against mentioning crimes after a certain amount of time has passed....

A federal court of appeals found that smokers do not have the fundamental right to smoke. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a smoking ban in city parks put in place by the City of Clayton in Missouri. A visitor of the parks, Arthur Gallagher, challenged the city ban arguing that the law was unconstitutional. Gallagher, an avid smoker, asked the federal courts to recognize smoking as a fundamental right, therefore deserving strict scrutiny, reports The Wall Street Journal....

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors can’t use a chemical weapons treaty to convict a Pennsylvania woman who attacked her husband’s mistress. Carol Anne Bond was convicted under a federal law which enforces an international treaty prohibiting chemical weapons – for a crime that the Supreme Court grouped among “the simplest of assaults.” Bond had attempted to spread chemicals on her husband’s lover’s car, door knob, and mailbox in a mostly unsuccessful ploy to give the woman a rash....

Celebrity weddings can lead to some valuable legal lessons, even for those who aren’t rich and famous. Examples from a few star-studded weddings in 2012 certainly take the cake. Celebrities face many legal issues when getting married. The biggest challenge is that they need to plan their finances in case of divorce. In the case of a celebrity and non-celebrity, this is often to protect the celebrity’s assets. In the case of two celebrities, one might make significantly more than the other....

In criminal law there is, rightly, much concern about the rights of the accused. These rights are designed to ensure that only the guilty are convicted. But victims have rights, too. The Rights According to 18 U.S.C. section 3771, a crime victim has the following rights: The right to be reasonably protected from the accused. The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding, or any parole proceeding, involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused....

Remember Kerry Campbell, Botox Mom? Well, there’s been an update to the story: introducing Sheena Upton, Fake Botox Mom. Apparently, Upton was making this whole Botox-ing her 8-year-old thing up. After her daughter was removed from her, Upton lawyered up and now signed a declaration “under penalty of perjury” that the entire thing was a hoax. Her asking price for running this hoax? $200 by the British tabloid The Sun, according to TMZ....

Dear diary, Today I learned that you could one day stab me in the back. There’s no doubt that writing about your problems, like talking about them, is therapeutic. However, you may want to think about drawing the line when it comes to confessing crimes to your diary. While you don’t have to worry about your diary calling the police to report you, if you are arrested and your diary is discovered during a valid search, it can be used against you as evidence in court....

A French court has found Continental Airlines and one of its mechanics, John Taylor, guilty in the 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde. John Taylor was found guilty of involuntary homicide in the Concorde crash that killed 113 people and led to the end of commercial supersonic travel. Three other criminal defendants involved in the design and certification of the plane were found not guilty. The decision to prosecute the aviation accident in criminal courts drew heavy criticism from the aviation industry who is concerned such prosecutions will dissuade witnesses from cooperating in investigations....

About 97 percent of Americans support a ban on texting while driving, according to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll. The survey also showed that half say that texting while behind the wheel should be punished at least as harshly as drunken driving. The growing concerns about districted drivers was highlighted in a recent New York Times story. In the article, Michael Brooks, 38, from Limerick, Pa., said “Someone who is texting creates just as much of a danger as someone behind the wheel who is inebriated....

The most recent email scams making the rounds involve everyone’s favorite movie streaming service, Netflix. While email scams are nothing new, the new Netflix scams, like the newest Gmail scam, have learned from the mistakes of past scams. Scammers, in their usual style, utilize a phishing campaign, which involves sending out mass emails hoping that a couple people don’t recognize the deception. However, unlike most phishing scams, where it is usually pretty easy to spot the tell-tale signs of a scam, the newest Netflix scam is much more sophisticated and difficult to detect....

According to Reuters, the U.S. Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted last Wednesday to increase government oversight on food safety. This would be the first major overhaul of the food safety system in 50 years. However, as busy as congress is with health care, food safety probably won’t hit the Senate floor until early 2010. The Senate bill, similar to the House legislation, would allow the FDA to expand oversight of the food supply and more importantly, shift its focus from reacting to outbreaks of foodborne, illness to preventing them....

While Osama bin Laden is dead, his media secretary, Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al-Bahlul, who made propaganda videos, as well as filmed the wills for 9/11 hijackers, just had his 2008 conviction upheld in the DC Appeals Court. Although he had been detained in Guantanamo Bay, then tried and convicted in a military court for conspiracy years ago, his attorney is still fighting the conviction. Although it is not disputed that the media secretary helped Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, what is disputed is the propriety of the conspiracy charge brought against him....

Judge Judy is suing a lawyer over an alleged unauthorized endorsement. Judith Sheindlin (real name!) has an axe – err, gavel – to grind with John Haymond, a personal injury attorney based in Hartford, Connecticut. As surprising as it may be, Judge Judy says this is the first time she has ever sued anyone, the Associated Press reports. Unfortunately, the case probably won’t be featured in an episode of “Judge Judy....

In an attempt to shield Britney Spears’ two sons from the zeal of the paparazzi, Britney’s lawyers have made a motion to the court to seal the documents containing sensitive information about the boys. Spears’ attorneys, Geraldine Wyle and Jeryll Cohen, have shown concern for the two boys, Sean Preston and Jayden James, stating that the high profile nature of Britney’s celebrity would expose the confidential medical information to the masses – and potentially could garner a high price....

On the face of it, it sounds like one of those decisions that leads to ridiculous warnings like: “Caution, Contents Hot” on a cup of coffee. However, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that a woman who was injured by the toilet paper dispenser in a restaurant bathroom will proceed to a jury trial. On New Year’s Eve, 2007, Sheri Schooley and her husband were at the Texas Roadhouse in the suburbs of Detroit....

Homeowners facing foreclosure are receiving a simple piece of advice to help stall foreclosure: make the other side “produce the note.” As it turns out, many lenders seeking to foreclose seem to have lost track of the original promissory notes for the mortgages in question. Though by no means a long term solution, forcing the lender to produce the note can delay foreclosure proceedings and give the lender increased incentive to negotiate....

A baby shower in Nebraska took a violent turn with a stiletto stabbing – as in, one woman stabbing another guest with her six-inch stiletto high heel. The victim was struck so hard that the heel allegedly had to be pulled out of her face. The stiletto stabber was arrested on suspicion of strangulation and assault. It’s like a chick flick gone terribly wrong: Julia Bol, 28, and Rebecca Boss, 41, started arguing over a man they’d both dated – the father of Boss’ child....

There is one group of people with job security in Silicon Valley these days, and that’s the legal team at chip giant Intel. No sooner than a cease fire in the decades-old war with major rival AMD is announced, a new fight breaks out with the FTC over alleged anti-competitive practices. Oh, and there is a small matter to settle over unfair business practices with European regulators and a suit by New York AG Andrew Cuomo, but that’s another story....

Via his favored mode of communication and proclamation, President Donald Trump last month tweeted that “the United States Government will not accept or allow … Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.” While there was some disagreement whether the tweets could be interpreted or implemented as official military policy, the announcement angered many in both the LGBTQ and military community. It also angered LGBTQ individuals already in the military....