CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

The guy who took a pickax to Donald Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame star got his first chance to tell it to the judge, and for once, he was a man of few words.

James Otis appeared in L.A. County court with his attorney, and entered a not guilty plea. We broke the story ... the D.A. charged him with one count of felony vandalism.

After court, he strolled out showing no signs of worry, but then made a statement that was reflective ... and more regretful. Remember, he's facing up to 3 years in jail if he's found guilty.

Plea deals happen all the time, but this would seem to be a lock for prosecutors -- Otis recorded video of himself destroying Trump's star, and even confessed he did it in protest of the then-candidate for prez.

Elton John can stop worrying about the bloody lawsuit claiming he grabbed at his ex-security guard's genitals on multiple occasions ... the case has been dismissed.

Jeffrey Wenninger sued Sir Elton in March for sexual harassment and battery for 3 alleged incidents that went down while he worked for him, but Wenninger's lawyer requested to dismiss it this week. It's unclear why. Elton's rep says there was no financial settlement with Wenninger.

TMZ broke the story ... Wenninger said John put his hand in his pants and at one point told him, "Get your todger out." He claimed there were several incidents like this during his employment, which ended in September 2014.

How wonderful life is ... now that Todger-gate is closed.

Boxing great Zab Judah was just ordered to spend the next MONTH in jail -- after a Vegas judge determined his recent domestic violence arrest violated his probation from a DUI conviction.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the 39-year-old former 4-time world champ was arrested for domestic violence back in July after he allegedly roughed up his wife after a night of boozing.

Problem is ... Judah was on probation at the time stemming from a 2014 DUI arrest -- and one of the terms was to stay out of trouble.

Judah appeared at a hearing in Las Vegas on Thursday and the judge determined Judah violated his probation -- and ordered the bailiff to take him into custody immediately.

The guy who trashed Donald Trump's Hollywood star just got slammed with a felony vandalism charge ... and he could end up behind bars for a while.

The L.A. County District Attorney's Office finally charged James Otis Thursday with one count of felony vandalism for taking a pickax to Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last month. Otis recorded video of himself doing the deed ... so this is as close to 'open-and-shut' as you're gonna get.

We broke the story ... Otis said he defaced Trump's star to stand up for the President-elect's alleged sexual assault victims, and that he was happy to go to jail for the crime.

Careful what ya wish for -- he's now facing up to 3 years in jail and a $10,000 max fine if he's found guilty.

Bobby Brown says his daughter, Bobbi Kristina, had unlimited earning potential before her bf helped take her life ... and a judge put a very high dollar amount on those prospects.

Nick Gordon was ordered to fork over $36 million to Bobbi's estate Thursday after he was earlier found liable for her death.

Here's a partial list:

-- Conversion (stealing funds/assets) at $1.5 mil with punitive damages of $250k

-- Assault and battery/medical damages at $1.3 mil, plus $4.2 mil because Gordon was under the influence of drugs and alcohol

-- Pain and suffering at $13 mil

-- Loss of life at $15 mil, including her net worth and future potential income

The final tally came after tearful testimony from BK's family. The estate had originally sought $40 million in its wrongful death suit against Gordon. The obvious issue now will be when and if the estate gets a dime out of him.

Gordon was a no-show in court, just as he'd been throughout the case.

Former Chicago Bulls player Corey Benjamin -- a 1st round pick in the '98 NBA Draft -- was arrested Tuesday after an altercation with his girlfriend allegedly turned physical.

Benjamin -- who was famously balled up by a retired Michael Jordan at a Bulls workout in 1999 -- has been accused of battery and cell phone smashing ... stemming from a February incident in California.

CB's longtime girlfriend told police they were arguing when Corey grabbed her phone and smashed it -- and then physically blocked her from using the house phone to call 911.

She claims she ran out of the house and drove to a nearby police station and got help. An arrest warrant was issued for Benjamin back in May -- but now, we've learned he was taken into custody this week.

Margaret Cho's ex-boyfriend lost it when she dumped him, and resorted to sending her menacing social media threats ... according to legal docs the comedian filed.

Margaret claims she broke up with David Moraga back in May after nearly 2 years because he was "severely controlling and abusive." She says he refused to accept the breakup, and wouldn't move out of her home ... so she evicted him and changed the locks.

In the docs, she says Moraga undeterred and broke into the house, changed the locks again and barricaded himself inside. That same week, she says he posted a pic of her lying on the ground with the caption, "When You're Dead, You're Dead."

Margaret went to court seeking a temporary restraining order, fearing David would physically harm her. The judge agreed and ordered him to stay 100 yards away, and to stop posting threatening or derogatory pics or statements.

Mariah Carey makes a lot of money, but turns out way less than you probably think.

TMZ has learned Mariah and Nick Cannon struck a settlement in their divorce, and they both declared income for 2014. We've learned Mariah says she raked in $6.3 million, and Nick scored $2.7 mil.

As we reported, Mariah has demanded $50 mil from billionaire James Packer after their engagement exploded ... that's 8 times what she made 2 years ago.

We've also learned the settlement requires Nick to squirrel away money for the twins, but maybe not as much as you think ... $5k a month in a trust. Mariah doesn't have to put anything in the trust.

And there's this. The settlement says neither Mariah nor Nick can allow the kids to address a new significant other as mom, dad, mommy, daddy, father, mother or any facsimile thereof.

Mariah and Nick share custody, but the kids are primarily with her. If Nick comes to visit, per the agreement, she foots the bill for travel and lodging.

And, she has to sign over the title to the 2012 Ferrari.

Brendan Dassey's coming home to a hero's welcome -- from his parents, anyway -- and a room filled with reminders of how famous he's become while incarcerated for more than 10 years.

Brendan won't be going home to his old bedroom ... instead he has a newly furnished one in the Manitowoc County, WI home his family moved into about a year after his 2006 arrest.

It's loaded with a shrine of sorts -- posters, letters, even a guitar ... all sent from fans after "Making a Murderer" became a sensation. There's also a spot dedicated to WWE superstar John Cena. If you saw the Netflix series, you know one of Dassey's biggest complaints about getting arrested was missing Cena in WrestleMania 22.

Oprah's network is being sued for allegedly engaging in a sexual harassment campaign against a new mother.

Rebecca Taylor started working at OWN in 2010. She claims her supervisor, Nakisha Gowen, was a director at the network. Taylor says she got pregnant in early 2013 and that's when the harassment allegedly started, although she's vague about the allegations during the pregnancy.

Taylor says once her kid was born, she began pumping breast milk at work. She says Gowan did various things to embarrass her, including approaching her during a company meeting and pretending to squeeze her breasts and then lay her head on them. Taylor says she was "mortified and humiliated."

She also claims Gowan would talk to her about "tent pole events," and she insists in the lawsuit Gowan was referring to a man who got an erection "pressing against his clothes and thus making his clothes, such as his pants, look like a tent pole placed against a tent."

Charlie Sheen's ex, Brooke Mueller, has been hospitalized for some sort of psychiatric evaluation after allegedly striking her children while under the influence of something.

Law enforcement sources tell us, a woman claiming to be Brooke's mom asked troopers from the Utah Highway Patrol to find her daughter to determine if she was mentally unstable. We're told troopers spotted Brooke on Interstate 15 near Nephi, Utah, a small town 83 miles from Salt Lake City.

Troopers found Brooke in an SUV with the 7-year-old twins and their nanny.

The troopers took Brooke to a hospital and the kids were taken away and will be released to an undisclosed family member.

Cops searching for Charlie Sheen's ex, Brooke Mueller, in Salt Lake City got a report of a white lady beating 2 kids, along with a rundown of her fashion sense.

TMZ obtained audio of the police dispatcher describing Brooke at a car wash early Wednesday morning. A witness called 911, claiming she was beating her twin boys. The witness was very descriptive.

As we reported, Brooke eventually bolted from the area in an Escalade. Cops have called off the search after speaking with Brooke and determining the kids are safe.

Only thing missing between 'Real Housewives of New York' star Jules Wainstein and estranged hubby Michael was some actual slimy mud during a vicious back-and-forth slinging in court.

The estranged couple appeared in court Wednesday in NYC for a spousal and child support hearing that quickly went south ... with their lawyers going at each other's throats with allegations of money troubles, drug use and being unfit parents.

Michael painted Jules as someone living way beyond her means ... whose spending quadrupled when she joined 'RHONY.' Michael pointed to a $40k AmEx bill in 2015 and $2k spent on Uber the first 15 days of October.

He also brought up Jules' history of drug use documented on TV ... to which the judge snapped back by saying, "I don't decide my cases based on what's on TV."

Jules admitted to making $60k during her 1 year stint on 'RHONY' while she was married. She blamed Michael for a pile of unpaid bills and not having filed proper tax returns in nearly a decade.

She said Michael doesn't deserve more time with their kids. She claims every other weekend is more than enough, since all he does is pawn the kids off on their nanny.

The judge made no decisions, saying they need to resolve their money issues first. Same goes for custody ... though the judge added there could well be a trial.

Charlie Sheen's ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, made a getaway in an SUV early Wednesday morning with her 7-year-old sons ... after eyewitnesses called police out of concern for the kids.

TMZ spoke to one of the witnesses who says he and a couple friends were driving past a Salt Lake City car wash around 6 AM Wednesday when they saw a woman swinging wildly at her kids. They pulled over to confront her, not realizing it was Brooke, but say she immediately started yelling.

The witness says he recognized Brooke once they got face-to-face, and she seemed "high as a kite." He adds ... Bob and Max were in PJs with no shoes, and one of them begged, "Don't call the cops, they are going to take my mommy away!" Still, the men called police.

He says Brooke walked to a run-down hotel behind the car wash and went inside momentarily before the black Escalade arrived. We're told Brooke, the boys and someone who appeared to be an assistant or nanny immediately fled before cops arrived.

The witness reported the vehicle's license plate to cops.

Law enforcement sources tell us Utah's state police have spoken to Brooke by phone, and no longer think the children are in danger. They're also saying she didn't commit a crime.

TMZ broke the story ... police were first called when she went into a bar Tuesday night with the boys, then wandered around town looking for a hotel room.

Brendan Dassey will be released from prison by no later than Friday at 8 PM after a judge rejected the state's last-ditch effort to keep him locked up.

The state of Wisconsin had a filed a motion on Tuesday asking a judge to leave Dassey in prison while the appeal of his release order is pending. The judge denied the state's motion, saying prosecutors were merely rehashing same points the court already rejected.

Dassey was ordered released because a judge found cops got the then 16-year-old to confess about Teresa Halbach without an adult present.

Police are searching for 2 of Charlie Sheen's kids after his ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, wandered into a Salt Lake City bar with them Tuesday night looking disheveled.

Sources close to the situation tell us Brooke's bizarre behavior started last night when she popped up barefoot in the bar ... with her 7-year-old twins, Bob and Max, and tried to bum a cigarette.

Witnesses say there was a nanny with them and Brooke got into an altercation with her. We're told someone called police because of the fight and the fact Brooke had 2 kids in a bar. We're told Brooke bolted before they arrived -- and then started popping up at several hotels in the area, trying to get a room.

It appears Brooke told someone in the bar she was Sheen's ex and even gave them his phone number -- because we're told cops placed a call to Charlie to tell him about the situation.

As of Wednesday morning ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ they're still investigating. Salt Lake City PD got a call about Brooke and the kids around 6:30 AM, but they have not located them.

We spoke to Charlie and he says, "I'm just trying to get my kids home safe. I have no other details that relate to the ongoing event."

Brooke moved to Utah earlier this year for rehab, and continued living there to get outpatient treatment.