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Rapper Cassidy has been arrested in Hackensack, New Jersey, on probation violation charges, and also as a suspect in a murder case and two attempted murder cases, reports CBS News. Rapper Cassidy, born Barry Reese, 28, was arrested last week at a Hackensack convenience store, in broad daylight. Reese “was very surprised” when he was arrested, said Hackensack police Lt. Timothy Lloyd. The probation violation charge results from Reese’s conviction on involuntary manslaughter charges in a 2006 shooting case, and subsequent sentence to 11 and a half to 23 months in jail....

Wisconsin police are still investigating an alleged sexual assault case involving rapper Fat Joe. Rapper Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena and members of his entourage were questioned by the Wisconsin police about allegations made by an unidentified 33-year-old local woman who claims she was inappropriately touched by the rap star and his crew during a limo ride after a concert, MTV News reports. Fat Joe’s lawyer, Dawn Florio denied the allegations....

Rolaids, the popular antacid tablet for indigestion may be harming more that it’s helping. A Rolaids recall has been initiated by manufacturer Johnson and Johnson after it was discovered that close to 13 million packages may have wood and metal particles in them. Yes, you read that right: wood and metal particles in the tablets. The source of the items is believed to have come during the manufacturing process at an outside manufacturer and have contaminated the following Rolaids items: Rolaids Extra Strength Softchews, Rolaids Extra Strength Plus Gas Softchews and Rolaids Multi-symptom Plus Gas Softchews....

With all the allegations flying between pop singer Taylor Swift and former Denver radio DJ David Mueller, it can be hard to keep them all straight. Lucky for us, a jury spent four hours sorting through the claims and counterclaims, and eventually came out on Swift’s side. The singer was awarded a symbolic dollar after she claims Mueller groped her at a 2013 media event. So what was actually going on?...

Banking giant Wells Fargo has reached a settlement with the attorneys general of eight states over claims that its subsidiary Wachovia marketed its adjustable rate mortgages in a deceptive manner. The bank will pay a total of $24 million, and make loan modifications in the amount of $772 million under the terms of the settlement which was announced October 6. The states’ claims against Wachovia, acquired by Wells Fargo in 2009, have to do with the way the “pick-a-payment” adjustable rate mortgages were presented to consumers, reports Bloomberg....

When your case is before a court of law, you’ll hear many words tossed around. Some words are more important than others. Some could mean that your case actually has potential to be overturned. Other words just refer to a legal technicality. What does “harmless error” mean? Not every case goes perfectly and not every decision is the result of perfect administration of the law. In order to appeal a case, the attorneys at trial must raise an objection to something that happened at the trial....

The season finale of “The Good Wife” was a doozy, with the buzz of election night, a midnight court battle, and a cameo by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Recap: ‘What’s in the Box?’ Alicia, Will, and Diane handle a series of emergency court proceedings to deal with potential ballot-box stuffing in Peter Florrick’s gubernatorial campaign. They file a motion with the court to get the votes thrown out. But when they learn that most of the votes in the box were cast for Peter, they burn the midnight oil to reverse course....

When a child, teen, or young adult is arrested, parents are often confused about what they can do to help. Although most parents are willing to do anything and everything for their children, unless they are licensed attorneys, parents cannot defend their children in court. For minor children, parents may be legally responsible for providing a private defense attorney, or paying the public defender’s bill. Adult children may be able to qualify for a free public defender, depending on the jurisdiction....

Criminal defendants have the right to counsel, even if they can’t afford one. That’s a staple in the law. And it was solidified even further 50 years ago in the landmark decision Gideon v. Wainwright. On March 18, 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court held that states must provide a court-appointed attorney for a criminal defendant who’s charged with a serious offense, if the defendant lacks the resources to hire his own attorney....

A brutal New Jersey home invasion has spurred police in Millburn to step up patrols and offer a reward of up to $5,000 for useful leads to the suspect. The attacker brutally beat a woman inside her home and in front of her 3-year-old daughter on Friday. The violent home invasion, which occurred in broad daylight, was caught on a hidden “nanny cam” inside the woman’s home, reports New Jersey’s News 12....

Seeking unspecified damages, a couple in Oregon has filed a turkey lawsuit against Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation alleging that their 10-month-old daughter Ruby Jane Lee consumed the company’s Salmonella-laced product back in June. Ingesting the now-recalled ground turkey, Reuters reports that the girl suffered from diarrhea and a high fever, and eventually had to be hospitalized for a week when the bacteria entered her bloodstream. The family is seeking compensation for pain and suffering, medical costs, lost wages, and emotional distress....

George Garofano was sentenced to eight months in a federal prison in Bridgeport, CT for his role in hacking the personal iCloud of over 200 users, many of whom were celebrities. Dubbed “The Fappening,” the 2014 iCloud hack led to the online publication of nude photos of such actresses as Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, Gabrielle Union, and Kate Upton. Jennifer Lawrence was the most vocal victim of this hacking. In a 2014 Vanity Fair article, she voiced her outrage over the lenient crime these hackers were charged with, compared to the pain she endured....

Ready to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Well, get ready for DUI checkpoints and increased patrols for drunken drivers nationwide. For the first time in five years, Cinco de Mayo falls on a weekend. That’s why many law enforcement agencies are setting up DUI checkpoints beginning Friday night, or even earlier. But stationary checkpoints aren’t the only tool police will be using to make sure drivers are sober this weekend. In San Francisco, for example, police will hop on motorcycles for mobile Cinco de Mayo DUI patrols around the city, the online SFAppeal reports....

Columbia University, the New York-based Ivy League school, is making news for something other than their stellar academics. Five students, all 20-year-old men, have been arrested and charged with felony drug sales in a recent drug bust. The students were a part of an undercover investigation, aptly titled “Operation Ivy League” in which undercover agents used anonymous tips to buy more than $11,000 worth of drugs since last summer. In addition to supplying large quantities of drugs to fellow students and others, the range of drugs sold was extensive: marijuana, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy and Adderall....

Washington, D.C.’s marijuana decriminalization law is now in effect, reducing the penalty for simple marijuana possession to a $25 fine. The District of Columbia now joins 17 states in reducing penalties for first-time pot possession to a civil, not criminal offense, Reuters reports. The District’s law makes possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by anyone 18 and older a civil offense punishable by only a $25 fine and the seizure of drugs and paraphernalia....

A cop who ran over and killed a Florida man won’t be facing criminal charges, a grand jury has determined. Marlon Brown was being chased by police in DeLand, north of Orlando, for an alleged seatbelt violation when he started running and was ultimately run over and killed by a police car. Last week, a grand jury decided not to indict Officer James Harris on a criminal charge of vehicular manslaughter....

A $700B financial bailout plan has been voted down by the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressional leaders and the Bush administration had reached a tentative deal Sunday on a new version of the financial rescue plan, one that included limitations on executive compensation and sought to protect taxpayers from shouldering at least some of the enormous costs of the aid package (see a Draft of the Bailout Plan, from the New York Times)....

It looks like it is going to be a long engagement for actress Jennifer Aniston’s stalker. The restraining order against 24 year-old celebrity stalker Jason Peyton has been extended for another three years. Peyton has been ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from the Los Angeles-based Aniston, her home, places of work, vehicles, as well as her employees and agents. Jason Peyton drove across the country to Los Angeles planning, “to marry Aniston–whom he believed was his girlfriend–and had carved a giant creepy love message about the actress into the side of his car,” reports TMZ....

A prosecutor in the trial of Kimberly Trenor for the murder of her daughter, Riley Ann Sawyers (widely known as “Baby Grace”), leveled chilling and emotionally-charged accusations in opening arguments to the jury, according to the AP. In what can probably be fairly described as a direct appeal to jurors’ heart-strings, the prosecutor told them that the “slain toddler tried to stop her mother and stepfather from beating her to death by reaching out to her mother and saying, ‘I love you,’” to no avail....

Prison labor is nothing new. Inmates have jobs inside and out, at best to provide some reprieve from the boredom of incarceration and a few dollars in the commissary account, and at worst to provide free or barely-compensated labor to prisons or communities. Inmates, infamously, have even worked in governors’ mansions. Much of the justification for prison labor comes from the fact that inmates have been found guilty of a crime and have the option to support their housing and repay their debt to society....