Celebrities

Trump attorney’s statement that he paid Stormy Daniels $130K raises ethics questions

Michael D. Cohen, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, said Tuesday that he used his own money to pay a porn actress $130,000 who is alleged to have claimed to have had an affair with Trump before he became president. But the statement, made to the New York Times, has raised ethics questions.

Feb 14, 2018 5:27 PM CST

Shelter claims it is entitled to cat custody because adoptive owner breached indoors-only contract

A woman who named her cat after Reggie Watts is getting some help from the comedian in her custody battle with a shelter that claims it is entitled to the animal’s return because of a contract violation. Watts has tweeted about the cat-custody battle, sending his followers to a fundraising…

Jan 30, 2018 10:20 AM CST

Jay-Z op-ed: Rapper Meek Mill’s sentence shows how justice system ‘entraps and harasses’ blacks

Rapper Jay-Z sees the sentencing of fellow rap artist Meek Mill as an example of the unfair treatment of blacks by the criminal justice system. Jay-Z rose to Meek Mill’s defense in an op-ed for the New York Times. “What’s happening to Meek Mill is just one example of how…

Nov 21, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Convicted former Subway pitchman has sovereign citizen approach rejected

A federal judge in Indianapolis has rejected a sovereign citizen argument made by convicted former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle. U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt said Fogle’s pro se filing was frivolous and she was rejecting his “motion to correct clear error.” The Indiana Lawyer, the Indianapolis Star and the…

Nov 16, 2017 10:45 AM CST

ACLU advises Taylor Swift’s BigLaw lawyer to ‘shake it off’

The American Civil Liberties Union worked in some Taylor Swift references in a letter criticizing a lawyer for the pop star who sent a takedown notice to an obscure blog that suggested Swift has an alt-right following and it could partly be her fault. The letter (PDF) by lawyer William…

Nov 7, 2017 12:10 PM CST

Celebrity chef sues NYC restaurant, saying it shouldn’t be using her name after missed payments

Celebrity chef Cat Cora claims in a lawsuit that the owners of the Fatbird Southern Kitchen in Manhattan no longer have a right to use her name and likeness in advertising and marketing. Cora’s Oct. 23 lawsuit says Fatbird breached an agreement to pay her the use of her name…

Oct 30, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Boyfriend of slain reality show lawyer found guilty; faces 16 years to life in prison

The boyfriend of a slain reality show lawyer Loredana Nesci was convicted of second-degree murder on Friday in her 2015 stabbing death. Robert Brian Reagan, 53, of Redondo Beach, California, shook his head in apparent disbelief when the verdict was announced, the Daily Breeze reports. The newspaper also reports he…

Aug 29, 2017 1:30 PM CDT

Tell us about a client who truly helped with his or her case

Taylor Swift’s “blunt, powerful testimony” in her recent trial grabbed headlines and ultimately contributed to a favorable jury verdict. A Denver DJ had alleged that Swift fabricated an allegation that the DJ groped her and that cost him his job. He sought $3 million in damages. Swift’s lawyer, Venable partner…

Aug 23, 2017 12:30 PM CDT

Bill Cosby’s new lawyer successfully defended Michael Jackson in molestation trial

Bill Cosby has hired Los Angeles lawyer Tom Mesereau, the lawyer who won an acquittal for Michael Jackson in his 2005 child molestation trial. Mesereau is part of a new legal team that will represent Cosby when he is retried on charges of aggravated indecent assault, report the National Law…

Aug 22, 2017 10:38 AM CDT

OJ Simpson wins parole in unanimous vote by board

After spending nine years in a Nevada prison for armed robbery, O.J. Simpson will be paroled. A four-member board voted unanimously Thursday to grant parole, report the New York Times, ESPN, the Associated Press and the Washington Post. He could be released as soon as Oct. 1. Simpson, 70, was…

Jul 20, 2017 3:25 PM CDT

No one is expected to oppose parole for ‘model prisoner’ OJ Simpson

O.J. Simpson has a good chance of winning parole for his armed robbery conviction during a hearing in Nevada on Thursday, according to one of his former lawyers and other experts. No one is expected to oppose Simpson’s October release, and his good prison record bodes well for for the…

Jul 18, 2017 10:56 AM CDT

Bill Cosby’s wife calls DA ‘heinously and exploitively ambitious’ after he announces retrial plans

Bill Cosby’s wife lashed out at Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Kevin Steele on Saturday after the prosecutor announced plans to retry the comedian for sexual assault.

Jun 19, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

In a theatrical closing, Bill Cosby’s lawyer argues sex was consensual; jurors begin deliberations

Jurors in the sexual assault trial of Bill Cosby resume deliberations Tuesday after watching a theatrical closing argument by the actor and comedian’s lawyer on Monday before deliberating for four hours. During closing arguments, lawyer Brian McMonagle argued the sex between Cosby and accuser Andrea Constand was consensual and the…

Jun 13, 2017 10:10 AM CDT

Bill Cosby’s accuser testifies he gave her three blue pills before sexual assault

Andrea Constand told jurors on Tuesday in a Pennsylvania courtroom that Bill Cosby gave her three blue pills, saying they would help her relax, before he sexually assaulted her in 2004 at his suburban Philadelphia home. Constand said she was “frozen” and unable to move her hands or legs as…

Jun 7, 2017 10:44 AM CDT

Another accuser testifies at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial

Corrected: Hoping to establish a pattern of illegal behavior by Bill Cosby, prosecutors in Pennsylvania on Monday called to the stand another woman who claimed the actor and comedian drugged and sexually assaulted her. The woman, an assistant at the William Morris agency in the 1990s, said the assault occurred…

Jun 6, 2017 9:56 AM CDT