Law

Byron Adams, Bill Rosendahl, Stevie St. John and L.A. Gay Equality Warriors Stunned, Thrilled by Obama 2013 Inaugural Promise

From revered gay UC Riverside professor and brilliant classical composer Byron Adams to Spectrum L.A. gay blog editor Stevie St. John, prominent Los Angeles-area lifelong fighters for equality were stunned by President Obama's surprise inaugural promise to bring full, unprecedented human rights to g ... More >>

Rick Steves, Famed Travel Writer and Pot Advocate: 20 Questions

"I'm a travel writer, and for me, high is a place"

California Appeals Court Tells James Sylvester He's Not Crazy Enough to Get Out of His Divorce Settlement

​Can Californians get out of a divorce by simply saying that they're fucking nuts? This past year, James Sylvester of Los Angeles gave it the ol' college try, attempting to reverse his divorce settlement and gain spousal support from his ex-wife by arguing that he was mentally unstable when he si ... More >>

The Bill To Stop Online Piracy Would Totally Fuck Up Music Blogs

By Gabrielle Canon Over Thanksgiving weekend, 2010, a Homeland Security division wrongfully seized a hip-hop blog called Dajaz1, on allegations of copyright infringement. The site -- which got some 3,000 hits a day or so -- was run by a guy from Queens known only as Splash. As you can see on the C ... More >>

Metro Chastised for Poor Civil Rights Practices

thestrategycenter.orgBus Riders Union was right all along​Update: Bus Riders Union issues statement on the release of civil rights compliance review. More after the jump. In October, L.A. Weekly reported that local civil rights groups indicted Metro for discriminatory practices. The groups ho ... More >>

'Stop SB 48' Doesn't Want California Students to Know about Bayard Rustin?

American civil rights leader Bayard Rustin​In the history of the world, gays and lesbians have figured prominently in contributing to many different societies. One such person is Bayard Rustin, an African American man the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum describes as the "the S ... More >>

MLB Rejects Dodgers' TV Deal, Proving Frank McCourt Is Delusional

Running out of ways to hate this guy​Remember that fuss last week about the Dodgers' divorce settlement? Well, forget about it.According to the Times' Bill Shaikin, who's a good authority on this sort of thing, Major League Baseball has rejected the Dodgers' proposed TV contract.That renders the s ... More >>

Azusa 13 Gang Terrorized Blacks, Monopolized Drug Sales, Sent 'Taxes' to Mexican Mafia, Feds Allege

​The feds cracked down today on a San Gabriel Valley Latino gang they say has been on a war path against African Americans for 20 years. Sixteen people were arrested, 23 were already behind bars, seven were arrested on state drug allegations, and 12 others were on the loose as authorities act ... More >>

Kamala Harris Declares Victory, Announces Transition Team

Kamala Harris​Kamala Harris declared victory this morning in the razor-close race for attorney general. With almost all the ballots counted, Harris is leading L.A. District Attorney Steve Cooley by 73,102 votes.Proving right off the bat that she will be a different kind of A.G., Harris announced a ... More >>

Frank McCourt Divorce Trial: As Jamie's Testimony Resumes, How Will Frank Reconcile With Dodger Fans?

Frank McCourt​Jamie McCourt will be back on the stand today as the Dodger divorce trial returns from a two-week break.So far, there's no sign of a settlement -- though the trial has already taken a brutal toll on what remained of the McCourts' public standing. First, there was Bud Selig's hand-wri ... More >>

McCourt Divorce Trial, Day One: The Screaming Meanie

​Day One. The Dodgers are 6.5 games out of the wild card. About the most interesting thing that happened on the opening day of the Dodger divorce trial was that we learned the working title of Jamie's unpublished memoir. According to Frank's lead attorney, Steve Susman, it was "Screaming Me ... More >>

Prop. 8 Overturned: Major Victory For Gay Marriage Advocates

Patrick Range McDonaldProposition 8 protesters in West Hollywood in October, 2008.​Updated throughout. Originally posted at 1:48 p.m. U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker has overturned Proposition 8 in San Francisco today, handing gay rights advocates a major victory in the continuing bat ... More >>

Brand-Name Bud? Gold Rush To Patent Marijuana Strains Gets Snuffed By U.S. Patent Office

Brand-name bud?​A gold rush to obtain federal patents on strains of marijuana such as Acapulco Gold, Maui Wowie and even straight-up "Chronic" was snuffed out last week by the federal patent office, according to a report in Monday's Wall Street Journal. The move came following inquiries by th ... More >>

L.A. County Settles With Family Of 14-Year-Old Who Died At Juvenile Hall

​The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week voted to approve a $400,000 settlement to the family of a boy who died after he showed signs of medical problems for at least five days at a county-run juvenile hall before he was taken to a hospital, where he ultimately died. The five-me ... More >>

UC Irvine Recommends One-Year Suspension For Campus Muslim Group

​UC Irvine officials on Monday confirmed that they've moved to suspend the Muslim Student Union for one year for disrupting an on-campus speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren Feb. 8 despite warnings from the school that such misbehavior would lead to sanctions. An attorney for the group ca ... More >>

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Rules LA's Billboard Ban Constitutional

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled today that the city's ban on billboards is constitutional. ​ The panel of three judges found that the Los Angeles City Council did not violate the free speech rights of World Wide Rush and Sky Tag when it granted exceptions to its ... More >>

Jamie McCourt Can Live With $637K a Month

​Jamie McCourt, the estranged wife of Dodgers (co-?)owner Frank McCourt, is "satisfied" with Commissioner Judge Scott Gordon's ruling giving her $637,000 per month in spousal support, her attorney said today.Jamie McCourt had been asking for nearly $1 million per month. Frank McCourt, who original ... More >>

McCourt trial set for Aug. 30, will run through stretch drive

​The Dodger divorce trial will begin on Aug. 30, a Superior Court commissioner ruled today. The divorce trial of Frank and Jamie McCourt is expected to run at least through the end of September, meaning it should add some extra drama to the Dodgers' pennant run.At stake is the ownership of the tea ... More >>

Laurence Tribe v. City of Los Angeles

It looks like the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office may have its hands full on June 4 when it goes up against leading First Amendment attorney Laurence Tribe in the case Metro Lights v. City of Los Angeles. Tribe, who is nationally recognized as one of the foremost liberal constitutional law sch ... More >>

The Steve and Bob Show

Ex-D.A. Philibosian has a good friend in Cooley

Freedom Without Apology

No restitution, no clean records, not even a simple sorry for the wrongly incarcerated in Jessica Sanders’ documentary After Innocence

Death Race 2000

Horror filmmaker Eric Red crashed his Jeep, killing two. Then he slit his own throat. That was only the beginning

If the Glove Fits . . .

Johnnie L. Cochran, 1937–2005

All Charges Dropped!

A Kobe Bryant timeline

Angel on the Bus

Drew Barrymore on popping her political cherry

The Man in Red

Pray tell, what are Steve Cooley’s plans for Cardinal Mahony?

Black Power(less)

The decline of black politics in America

Minor Deceptions

Can Steve Cooley win the big one at City Hall?

Letters

Foul Justice

After 10 years, critics of Three Strikes may get another chance with voters

D.A. Man and Me

Encounters with the many sides of Steve Cooley

Letters

The Terror War on Drugs

The martyrdom of Steve Treleaven

Dismissing Rampart

Some nagging questions linger despite Steve Cooley’s closing the book on the scandal

Waiting for the World

Back to the future with the World Federalists

It's Only a Paper Right

Having the law on your side helps little in Mexico's factories

Grand Theft

So who the heck made off with the Rampart papers?

Power to the Peer

you can lead consumers to music, but can you make them pay?

Assault on America II

Of secret military tribunals and other mischief to civil liberties

The Next Cold War

On the need to create a diplomatic, economic, political, cultural — and military — approach

Rampart Watch

New, harder look produces more charges against cops

Soft on Crime Fighters

Higher-ups ignored problems with drug case, prosecutor alleges

W. Stands for Wrongful

And suffrage hits the skids

Trying for Justice

The deep meaning of the deeply flawed Rampart trial

Rampart Runneth Over

New allegations hound Rafael Perez

Getting Even

The bad blood between Gil Garcetti and his challengers

Letters

Justice Delayed

Two years after, authorities still mum on Riverside deputy beatings

Last Rights

Convicted murderer Horace Kelly is scheduled to be put to death in less than two weeks despite a Supreme Court ban on executing the insane. Why? His lawyers failed to file his federal appeal.