U.S. Courts

SoCal Darts Association Beats Back Dino M. Zaffina, Saves Trademark

Dino M. Zaffina's case against the Southern California Darts Association officially collapsed last week -- a little more than two years after Zaffina attempted to seize the organization's name for himself. Not only did a federal judge issue a permanent injunction barring Zaffina from ever again usi ... More >>

Daniel Larson's an Innocent Man, Says Federal Judge: So Why is He Still in Prison?

A man who has been behind bars since 1998 was ruled innocent by a federal judge two years ago. But that hasn't translated to freedom. Today Bryan Banks, the football player falsely imprisoned for rape, along with family and other supporters of Daniel Larson, called on California Attorney General Ka ... More >>

Voter Suppression Efforts Could Take Out Barack Obama This Fall

Marijuana Advocates Want to Judge The Judges Running For Office in L.A.

In the wake of a national poll saying 56 percent of likely American voters favor legalizing marijuana, the group NORML Women's Alliance plans to hold candidates' feet to the lighter. The organization will be asking candidates for L.A. County Superior Court judge what they think of medical marijuana ... More >>

Supreme Court: L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca Can Be Held Responsible for Jail Violence on His Watch

Like the "Teflon Sheriff" he is, Lee Baca has been doing his darndest to slip his good name off an inmate-stabbing lawsuit that names Baca as a defendant. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals turned him down last summer, but the sheriff didn't stop there. He marched his don't-blame-Baca paperwork all t ... More >>

Supreme Court: L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca Can Be Held Responsible for Jail Violence on His Watch

Like the "Teflon Sheriff" he is, Lee Baca has been doing his darndest to slip his good name off an inmate-stabbing lawsuit that names Baca as a defendant. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals turned him down last summer, but the sheriff didn't stop there. He marched his don't-blame-Baca paperwork all t ... More >>

Federal Judge Slaps Back Dino M. Zaffina in Darts Trademark Battle

Remember Dino M. Zaffina? The studio sound man was a new(ish) member of the Southern California Darts Association in 2010 when he became angry that his middle initial was not included when players' scores were listed on the association's web site. As L.A. Weekly Staff Writer Chris Vogel detailed i ... More >>

Gene Simmons Hacker Suspect Kevin George Poe Arrested (Bummer): FBI Says He's a Member of 'Anonymous'

​Gene Simmons is such a grand a-hole that we almost (almost?) relished his online take-down at the hands of the hacker group Anonymous. You see, the L.A.-based rocker and reality show "star" uttered a death-to-file sharers proclamation ("Take their homes, their cars," he said) last year, and, ... More >>

Gay Rights Activists Thrilled with Barack Obama's Decision to Back Off on Defense of Marriage Act

​Gay rights activists in California and across the United States are thrilled with the Obama Administration's decision today to stop defending the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act in federal court. "This is a huge victory for gay and lesbian couples and removes any doubt that the freedom to marr ... More >>

Proposition 8: Ted Olson Argues Gay Marriage Can't Harm Straight Folks, U.S. Ninth Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt Wonders How Far Court Should Go?

Pro-gay marriage lawyer Ted Olson​Nearly a year after court proceedings first started for the Proposition 8 federal lawsuit, attorneys for both sides argued their cases in front of a three-judge panel at the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco today. Pro-Prop. 8 lawyers seek ... More >>

Prop. 19: Former Police, Justice Officials Stand Up For Pot Legalization Effort

​Backers of the November ballot initiative that would legalize pot on Monday rolled out several law enforcement and justice officials who are backing California's Prop. 19. A press conference was held in West Hollywood to announce the endorsements by cops, judges and prosecutors. "I was with ... More >>

Bruce Lisker Case: Attorney General's Office Reconsiders Bid To Put Innocent Man Back In Jail

Attorney General Jerry Brown​ The California Attorney General's office on Thursday stated it was reconsidering a bid to put Bruce Lisker, the man wrongly convicted in the murder of his mother, back in prison. "We're certainly reviewing the motion," A.G. spokesman Jim Finefrock told the Weekly. ... More >>

Prop. 8 Appeal Process Begins

​ As expected, lawyers fighting to protect Proposition 8, the California ban on gay marriage, have appealed Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling, which overturned the marriage ban Wednesday, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Walker's decision overturned Prop. 8, using strong lan ... More >>

Request To Have Lindsay Lohan Testify About Jail Strip Search Rejected. Darn.

​A federal judge this week rejected a court filing that sought to find out if Lindsay Lohan had been strip searched before her current stint at a county women's facility in Lynwood. The filing requested that Lohan be deposed to testify about the search process at the Century Regional Detention ... More >>

Parts Of Arizona Immigration SB 1070 Law Blocked; L.A. City Council Won't Remove Boycott Yet

Steve La​ Updated with reaction from labor leaders and the mayor. Local labor leader Maria Elena Durazo declared victory in response to today's decision by a federal judge to stay the more controversial aspects of Arizona's SB 1070 immigration measure. Durazo, head of the county labor fede ... 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 >>

Incarcerated Attorney Richard Fine Gets a Following

Little known, incarcerated attorney Richard Fine is starting to get a following, with a "Free Richard Fine" rally taking place this morning between 9 and 11:30 a.m. at the Los Angeles County Courthouse in downtown L.A.Full Disclosure NetworkAttorney Richard Fine​Fine's supporters are peeved that t ... More >>

'Sudden-Acceleration' Lawsuits Against Toyota To Be Heard In L.A.

​It looks like Los Angeles will be ground zero for the debate over Toyota's problems with alleged "sudden-acceleration" in its vehicles as about 200 lawsuits against the carmaker will be consolidated and heard in federal court downtown, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation annou ... More >>

Commerce City Councilman Arrested By FBI After Political Corruption Probe

Fierro.​Commerce city Councilman Robert Fierro was arrested Thursday morning by FBI agents on suspicion of conspiracy and witness tampering after he allegedly tried to conceal illegal campaign contributions from a federal grand jury conducting a political corruption probe, the U.S. Attorney's ... More >>

Reduced Bail For Transit Cop Accused Of Murder Denied

​A Los Angeles Superior Court judge Friday denied a request to reduce the bail of a Bay Area transit cop accused of murder in a high-profile case that was moved to L.A. Johannes Mehserle can remain free on bail but he's not getting a discount, the judge ruled. The 28-year-old white man is acc ... More >>

Cameras, YouTube Out 'Indefinitely' At Prop. 8 Trial

​The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4, with conservatives in the majority, to block you from watching the challenge to California's ban on same sex marriage in a U.S. district court in San Francisco. The judge in the trial had proposed allowing streaming the proceedings via YouTube, but the backe ... More >>

Supreme Court Says No To YouTube Streaming Of Gay Rights Trial

​The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday temporarily prohibited online video streaming of the San Francisco-based trial that could uphold or knock down California's ban on same-sex marriage. The court also prohibited any other "broadcast of the proceedings" at least until Wednesday afternoon (PDF). ... More >>

L.A. Police Union Assails U.S. Appeals Court

​The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing rank-and-file Los Angeles Police Department officers, is on a tear against the U.S. 9th Circuit court of appeals, which this week overturned one state's ban on voting rights for felons. The 2-1 decision Tuesday was made in the ... More >>

Protesters Show Up At Hearing Of Bay Area Transit Cop Who Shot Unarmed Man

​The murder trial of white Bay Area Rapid Transit cop Johannes Mehserle was moved to Los Angeles because of concerns about the high-level of emotion and strong opinions surrounding his New Year's Day 2009 shooting of an unarmed black man on an Oakland subway platform, but the change of venue d ... More >>

Supergraphics Be Banned: City Attorney Scores Another One Against Billboard Blight

If you're frustrated by the city's inability to control those Times Square/Vegas Strip-like digital billboards and towering, slab-sided "supergraphic" ads, there's a crusader on your side, and he actually works for us -- unlike those other city politicians who seem to work for developers, media comp ... More >>

Judge Kozinski Spanked by Panel But Not Disciplined

Alex Kozinski, the Chief Judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was reprimanded by a panel of peer judges in Philadelphia today. The group found no judicial misconduct on the part of Kozinski, who last year recused himself from a Los Angeles obscenity trial after the L.A. Times revealed Kozi ... More >>

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of White Firefighters

A group of white firefighters dubbed the New Haven 20 were the victims of illegal racial discrimination, according to a Supreme Court ruling today. The white firefighters lost promotions in New Haven, Connecticut after New Haven officials set aside results of a 2003 test after the officials learned ... More >>

Conservative Tongues Wagging, Pig Ears Pricked Over Supreme Court Justice Nominee's Food Preferences -- Or Why Sonia Sotomayor Now Has the Full Support of Our Pulitzer-Prize-Winning Restaurant Critic

Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo picked up conservatives going nuts over Sonia Sotomayor's eating habits: "A conservative source really did draw a connection between Sonia Sotomayor's gastronomical preferences -- traditional Puerto Rican cuisine -- and her allegedly "activist" jurisprudence." ... More >>

Queer Town: Obama Touts 'Equal Justice' in Vegas, Ignores Prop. 8 Ruling

Last night at a political fundraiser in Las Vegas, President Barack Obama made a pitch for nearly everything under the sun: better education, "change" in Washington, improved national fuel efficiency standards and a host of other things, even a plug for his new U.S. Supreme Court justice pick, Sonia ... More >>

City Council Extends Billboard Moratorium

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously yesterday to extend its citywide billboard moratorium until June 24. The council's 12-0 vote (members Weiss, Wesson and Reyes were absent) came one day after a federal judge issued a temporary injunction barring the city from taking action against 18 un ... More >>

Outdoor Advertising Company Attacks San Francisco’s Billboard Ban

Last Friday, Metro Fuel filed a motion in United States District Court for the Northern District of California to prevent the city of San Francisco from enforcing its laws against illegal billboards. The outdoor advertising company, which is owned by New York based Fuel Outdoor Holdings, which sp ... More >>

Beverly Hills Matchmaker Spills about Manson Family Member Susan Atkins

In the summer of 1969, Susan Atkins stabbed to death a pregnant Sharon Tate a gruesome 16 times at Tate’s Benedict Canyon mansion. Later, Atkins told fellow inmate and Beverly Hills matchmaker Virginia Graham that the 26-year-old actress begged for her life and the life of her unborn child. “S ... More >>

Villaraigosa's Pico-Olympic One-Way Plan Killed

It's got to come under the category of "what was City Hall thinking?' that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa kept insisting his plan to funnel commuters onto Pico and Olympic boulevards by making them one-way streets would have no effect on the local environment. A judge sounded almost incredulous in a f ... More >>

Foreplay and Justice

The case of a prosecutor who slept with a key witness

Big Spat Ahead

All this gay-marriage talk leads straight to the ballot box

Accommodating Al

The canine fidelity of the president’s house consigliere

Others and Brothers

Civil rights advance, civil liberties retreat

The War on Due Process

With Patriot Act power, Bush and Ashcroft try to conquer the legal system

It’s About More Than Sodomy

Supreme Court sends gay sex and gay rights out of the closet

Freedom of Thought

Supreme Court weighs in on the hazards of medicating defendants

The Patronage Game

Bush’s end run around Roe

Mercy on Death Row

A Killer’s Plea

Clarence Ray Jr.’s defense wants California’s highest court to spare his life because he’s mentally retarded

The Ultimate Test

Deciding whose life to spare on death row

Lost Rights

Judge rejects case filed on behalf of al Qaeda prisoners

Heartland Conspiracy

Unanswered questions about Timothy McVeigh’s and Terry Nichols’ possible links to the Middle East

Green Eggs and Lawsuits

Artists, contracts and money

The Weekly’s Person of the Year

John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice, US Supreme Court

W. Stands for Wrongful

And suffrage hits the skids

Rampart Secrets

Fight has begun to open corruption files