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A new Harley motorcycle recall affects some 308,000 of the maker’s vehicles. The Harleys are being recalled over a brake issue. The company says its bikes’ brake light switches can become overexposed to heat from the exhaust system. This heat can cause brake light failure. The heat can also cause fluid leakage and a loss of rear brakes. The brake issue can be relatively serious, despite the fact that motorcycles are generally equipped with both rear and front brakes....

Those side-view mirrors that protrude out on either side of a car get knocked, bumped, broken, and vandalized more often than most people expect. If you’re driving around with a broken side mirror, you might be wondering whether law enforcement can pull you over, or ticket you, if you don’t get it fixed right away. Unfortunately, the answer depends on what state you are driving in, as not only do the traffic laws vary from state to state, but what is considered as required safety equipment also varies....

Rapper and Justin Bieber cohort Lil Twist was arrested for DUI in Southern California on Thursday… while driving Bieber’s car. Officers pulled over Lil Twist, whose legal name is Christopher Lynn Moore, for speeding in Bieber’s Fisker Karma at 3:30 a.m. in Calabasas. The arresting officers believed that while he did not appear drunk, he did appear “under the influence of a substance,” reports TMZ. Drunk or not, a DUI for Bieber’s buddy Lil Twist won’t have lil’ consequences....

Is the purpose of the juvenile justice system to punish or rehabilitate? When someone commits a crime when they are only 14 or 15, what punishment should they face? Should the juvenile death penalty even be on the table? Or, should they really spend the rest of their life behind bars - without parole? Juvenile law has always been different than adult criminal courts. In juvenile courts, records are sealed. Juveniles are also “detained” rather than arrested....

The DOJ shook off a major loss in November’s Bear-Stearns financial fraud verdict with a big win in a Minnesota courtroom earlier this month. Businessman Thomas Petters was found guilty of perpetrating a $3.65 billion dollar fraud and may be looking at a life behind bars. The jury found Petters guilty on all 20 counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering thanks in part to damning evidence delivered by several ex-colleagues....

Last Saturday, Nicky Hilton, sister of Paris Hilton, performed a citizen’s arrest on a man who allegedly pushed her outside an IHOP. The celebutante’s foray into crime-fighting, and recent attempted citizen’s arrests of Karl Rove, spark the question: are citizen’s arrests really legal? MSNBC reports that a fifty year old man named Michael Broadhurst allegedly pushed Nicky Hilton as she was leaving a West Hollywood IHOP at around 5am on Saturday morning....

Paris Hilton has finally found her soulmate, or at the very least, someone who gets in legal trouble as frequently as she does. Fresh off an arrest on DUI in Las Vegas in the company of the Blond One, Cy Waits is again in legal trouble with a report of a hit and run incident with a paparazzi in Los Angeles. In a typical celeb vs. paps scene, E!Online reports that Hilton and Waits were leaving a restaurant on the evening of September 29, when their car was swarmed with paparazzi....

Private equity firm Colony Capital LLC firm has come to the aid of celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz rescuing her from millions of dollars of debt and helping to market her portfolio of celebrity images. According to the Wall Street Journal, the celebrity photographer agreed to a deal allowing Colony to become her sole creditor and Leibovitz will retain control of her portfolio. Under the new deal, she gets to keep the rights of more than 100,000 photographs....

There has been much speculation about what precipitated the recent Tiger Woods crash. TMZ now reports that the Florida Highway Patrol is attempting to obtain a search warrant that will enable them to access medical records from the hospital that tended to Tiger Woods after his car accident. The Tiger Woods crash raises questions due to statements that alcohol was not involved. Since there was no alcohol involved, the Florida Highway Patrol wants to investigate what exactly caused the Tiger Woods crash....

A not-so-secret Santa Claus burglar is behind bars. A teenager crawled down a chimney in an attempted break-in, police say – and got stuck for more than 10 hours. Ranaldo Jack, 17, began his Santa-like descent into a chimney in Georgia about 3 a.m. Tuesday, when the home’s owner was at work, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. A neighbor heard Jack crying for help about 1:30 p.m. and called police. Rescuers pulled Jack out of the chimney – a scene that WSB-TV caught on tape....

Jury selection in the George Huguely trial began Monday after the former University of Virginia lacrosse player pleaded not guilty to murder. He’s being charged in the 2010 death of his ex-girlfriend, lacrosse star Yeardley Love. The murder shocked the college town of Charlottesville, Va., where Love was found beaten and face-down in a pool of blood. The incident led police to Huguely, who has been charged with first degree murder and five other crimes....

A federal judge sentenced Las Vegas priest Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe, 59, to three years in prison earlier today. The Roman Catholic priest pleaded guilty in October to embezzling $650,000 from the gift shop, candle collection, mission and prayer funds at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Summerlin. He allegedly used the funds to support his gambling habit. McAuliffe’s attorney had asked for leniency, reports the Associated Press. He wanted the Las Vegas priest to serve probation so that he could enter addiction counseling, pay restitution and continue his work....

Believe it or not, you don’t have to be driving a car to get a DUI. In most, if not all states, driving an ATV, or other off road vehicle, on any road while intoxicated, can get you a DUI charge. In fact, depending on state laws, you don’t even need to be on a road to get a DUI. For example, in California, state law for DUI allows officers to arrest people on private property....

Just in case you needed a reminder about how to act on an airplane, here are a few: wear deodorant; keep your shoes on; don’t lean your seat back; and, for God’s sake, do not grope and kiss an unaccompanied minor who has fallen asleep in the seat next to you. And in case you require further edification, that last one is not mere etiquette. Your nonconsensual sexual advances are assault, possibly rape, and they will get you arrested and jailed....

It’s about time that “The Good Wife” took on a good ol’ fashioned sexual harassment case. This week’s episode puts Lockhart & Gardner in the middle of a random paralegal’s “frivolous” lawsuit against just about all of its employees. Here’s a blow-by-blow of this season’s fourth installment, “Outside the Bubble”: The episode opens from the point of view of a previously unnamed paralegal, “Chrissy,” who is running various errands for the firm’s partners as well as notifying them of her sexual harassment lawsuit....

“The Good Wife” returns for the second half of the show’s sixth season with “Hail Mary,” which as the title suggests, involves some last-second heroics in an attempt to save Cary from his impending imprisonment. December’s midseason finale left off with Cary accepting a plea bargain, agreeing to plead guilty to conspiracy in exchange for a four-year prison sentence. “Hail Mary” picks up with Cary being advised by a prison consultant on how to survive the next four years inside....

Airbnb, the popular site for short-term lodging, just had a race discrimination case dismissed because of the arbitration clause buried in the site’s terms of service. The case alleged that an African American customer was denied accommodations by various Airbnb hosts when using his normal account, but he was allowed to rent when he used a fake account pretending to be white. While Airbnb has since revamped its anti-discrimination policies and required the hosts to sign a “community commitment,” their lawyers are likely breathing a sigh of relief after the federal court ruling....

Federal fuel economy standards for SUVs and light trucks were rejected by a federal appeals court yesterday, in a case in which a number of states, cities, and environmental groups challenged a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rule setting fuel economy standards. In its decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that in setting the standards, NHTSA failed to illustrate why light trucks were given more leniency than cars, and did not properly assess the economic effect of carbon emissions on climate change....

Online auction giant eBay is not responsible for monitoring the presence of potentially counterfeit goods up for bid on its website, a federal court judge ruled on Monday. The decision came in a closely-watched dispute over the liability of companies whose websites sometimes facilitate the transfer of phony goods – and violations of federal laws on copyright and trademark. The lawsuit was filed by Tiffany & Co., which sought to hold eBay liable for failing to take steps to prevent the auctioning of thousands of pieces of phony Tiffany jewelry on the e-commerce company’s website....

David Dutcher is just like any other man–when an attractive blonde woman offered up a little ménage à trois action, he jumped at the chance. Problem was that the blonde had gotten him drunk before dangling the threesome if he drove to her home. Turns out it was a set-up. The case of David Dutcher is remarkably similar to at least four others investigated by the San Francisco Chronicle. The so-called “dirty DUI” scheme involves a private investigator, his law enforcement contacts, and a shady divorce attorney....