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A family whose son was fatally shot by police after a high-speed chase in 2012 is asking an appellate court to let their civil rights suit go to trial. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California last week heard arguments from Abdul Arian’s parents that a finding of immunity for the police officers who shot their son should be reversed, Courthouse News Service reported last week. Los Angeles Police Department officers shot the 19-year-old man in 2012 after he ran several red lights and told a 911 dispatcher on the phone that he was armed and would use his weapon....

Crime statistics and gang membership numbers for 2009 are two puzzle pieces that just don’t fit. One is down, but the other is up. While gang membership nationwide is reaching almost 1 million according to federal statistics, the violent crime rate dropped to its lowest level since 1973. According to USA Today, the hard numbers are these: last year saw a 25% jump in gang membership from 2005, as recorded by the National Gang Threat Assessment....

A Congressional staffer accused by Lindsay Lohan of attacking her in a hotel room will not face charges. Christian LaBella, 25, an aide to Illinois Rep. John Shimkus, has been released from custody and his arrest will be voided, police told Fox News. LaBella and Lohan allegedly got into an altercation over cell phone photos of the actress. Judging from LaBella’s Facebook page, the man is a fanboy who likes getting his picture taken with celebs, Fox News reports....

R&B singer Miguel injured a fan at the Billboard Music Awards last month. He may soon face a lawsuit, as the fan’s lawyer says she may have brain damage. Khyati Shah’s injury happened as Miguel attempted to leap across the stage to the catwalk, only to get caught, literally, in a pile of fans in the audience. Shah’s head was knocked into the stage upon Miguel’s landing; after the accident, she was allegedly only given an ice pack....

We the people need the web, according to a federal appellate court decision issued today. Specifically, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that strict regulation of broadband companies by the Federal Communications Commission is legal because broadband access is a utility, not a luxury, reports The New York Times. In a 184-page decision, the court concluded that the internet is a tool for all and, as such, subject to strict regulation, unlike luxury items which are just for a few....

Non-visa holding citizens of most European countries, Australia, and Japan will need to complete an electronic application process before traveling to the U.S., under a Department of Homeland Security program that will be in place by January 2009. Under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) program – which takes effect on January 12, 2009 – citizens from “Visa Waiver Program” countries who wish to travel to the U.S. for 90 days or less will need to provide necessary biographical and eligibility information before their trip, using an online application system....

The late Paul Walker’s mother is seeking legal guardianship of her granddaughter, claiming the teen’s mother has “a drinking problem.” Cheryl Ann Walker, the deceased actor’s mom, petitioned a Los Angeles court Tuesday to be appointed as guardian for 15-year-old Meadow Walker in place of Meadow’s mother, reports E! News. What does Cheryl Ann need to prove in order to get guardianship of Meadow? In California, becoming a child’s guardian involves filing a petition with the family court, providing proof of the need for a guardian, enduring a court investigation, and attending a guardianship hearing....

Proving that the secret to becoming Elle Woods is not at the bottom of a Michelob Ultra bottle, Reese Witherspoon was caught on tape drunkenly arguing with an officer after her husband was pulled over for a DUI. In video captured by the dash cam of a Georgia state trooper’s cruiser and obtained by TMZ, the “Sweet Home Alabama” star was more than a little sour to law enforcement and made a number of notable legal claims whilst inebriated....

A review of Medicare claims for medical and prosthetic equipment in 2006 found that improper or erroneous payments were almost four times more common than the federal government estimated. The report on the Medicare claims error rate, released on August 22, found a 28.9 percent error rate in the review of paid Medicare claims for medical equipment, prosthetics, and orthotics in 2006, as opposed to the 7.5 percent rate reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services....

A Pennsylvania teen accused of stabbing his classmates and school employees has been charged with four counts of attempted homicide and will be tried as an adult. Alex Hribal, 16, allegedly stabbed 21 other students and a security guard at his high school. Although prosecutors are trying Hribal as an adult, his attorney wants a mental health expert to evaluate the teen’s state of mind in hopes of getting him rehabilitated in a juvenile facility, Reuters reports....

Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law cannot be used by a senior citizen accused of manslaughter in the 2010 killing of an unarmed Air Force veteran, a judge has ruled. Trevor Dooley, then 69, admits shooting and killing his neighbor David James, 41, of Valrico, Fla., during an argument in a neighborhood basketball court, Tampa’s WFTS-TV reports. The dispute began when Dooley yelled at a teenager to stop skateboarding on the court....

In two decisions handed down on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the rights of employees who complain of job bias and are later subjected to retaliatory action by their employers. In CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries, a former Cracker Barrel assistant manager claimed that the restaurant dismissed him because he is African-American, and because he complained to managers that an African-American co-worker was also fired for race-based reasons. The Court held that a longstanding federal civil rights law – first enacted just after the Civil War – “encompasses a complaint of retaliation against a person who has complained about a violation of another person’s contract-related right....

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has rolled out a free online tool allowing both used car shoppers and car owners to determine whether safety recall repairs were ever completed on a specific vehicle. The online tool searches by Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), using information supplied by most major automobile and motorcycle manufacturers regarding the status of repairs pursuant to any vehicle safety recalls issued over the past 15 years....

Shoes aren’t just for walkin’ anymore. In seems that in Dallas, they are also brutal weapons. Police say that a woman used her stiletto heel to stab a rival in the eye and then beat her friend until she lost consciousness. Both the victims of the shoe attack had to be hospitalized and the woman struck in the eye may be disfigured for life. Vanessa Sarmientos, 26, and Jordan Pope, 21, were coming home from a Dallas nightclub Nov....

After an extensive investigation, Florida prosecutors dropped all charges against the two girls involved in a tragic Florida cyberbullying case. The case, which gained national media attention, revolved around the death of 12-year-old Rebecca Ann Sedwick, who jumped from a cement plant tower in September. The Polk County state attorney’s office dropped the charges of aggravated stalking against the girls, ages 12 and 14. With the two cleared of any wrongdoing, will the girls now turn the legal tables on the Polk County Sheriff’s Office?...

Police say “[t]he attack was random.” At any given moment the world is generally a safe place. Horror isn’t always a fictional topic and the occasional dose of terror reminds us that there exists a bizarre and cumulative impact on the world from sadly unexpected behavior. A recent example from Long Island, New York, illustrates this point. It’s Saturday night in Long Island, New York, and an 8 year-old boy is playing video games near his parents at Dave & Busters, a popular restaurant and arcade franchise....

In April, Freddie Gray was arrested in West Baltimore for possessing a switchblade knife. While most of the discourse surrounding this case has focused on police brutality, another important issue has arisen from the case: Knife laws. Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby claims that, under Maryland law, Gray’s knife was not illegal. Alternatively, the arresting officers argue that the knife was illegal under Baltimore’s ordinance. With the different knife laws among cities and states, could they both be right?...

Health officials say that the number of cantaloupe deaths has hit 16 people. The Listeria outbreak has also sickened more than 72 others across 18 states. And officials only expect these numbers to grow. The outbreak is now the deadliest food outbreak in the U.S. in more than a decade. The tainted cantaloupe was traced to fruit sold by Jensen Farms of Colorado. The farm said it’s shipped cantaloupe to 25 different states....

Last minute attempts by Crips street gang co-founder Stanley “Tookie” Williams to block his sceduled execution failed today when Calif. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger denied last minute clemency requests on Williams’ behalf. Williams was convicted in 1981 for the 1979 Los Angeles murders of four people. Since his incarceration, Williams has gained noteriety for writing children’s books and speaking about gang life. Courts denied last minute appeals by Williams’ lawyers over the weekend to halt his execution which is scheduled for Tuesday, December 13th....

The CPSC has given consumers yet one more reason not to purchase counterfeit goods. On August 10, the Commission announced a recall of counterfeit BlackBerry®-branded cell phone batteries in refurbished devices distributed by Asurion, of Smyrna, Tennessee. The CPSC recommends that consumers stop using the recalled products immediately. The batteries recalled are about 470,000 units of BlackBerry®-branded batteries provided with refurbished Blackberry®-branded devices. The refurbished devices were sent to consumers by the company through a handset protection program from Asurion, nationwide, from March 2004 through October 2009....