CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

The feds in R. Kelly's case want to keep potential jurors protected -- even by armed guards, at times, because they feel Kelly's legal team poses a threat to jurors, but the singer's team's not having it.

The feds filed legal docs in the Eastern District of NY requesting the jurors remain anonymous and partially sequestered because they fear Kelly's team could mess with the jurors.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds say they want the jurors' identities, addresses and places of employment to be kept under wraps from the defense and prosecutors. They also want the U.S. Marshals to escort the jury in and out of the courthouse, and make the jurors eat lunch together so they're not bombarded by intense media coverage.

The feds insist the jurors' identities are not crucial to the jury selection process and argue "these measures are necessary to safeguard the jurors and the fair administration of process."

The prosecution claims Kelly and his associates have previously attempted to obstruct justice ... calling Kelly "the leader of a racketeering enterprise he created and used for decades to sexually abuse and exploit women and girls for his own sexual gratification, including through the use of bribery, kidnapping and forced labor." The judge has yet to sign off on the government's request.

Remember, the government in the past has contended Kelly "has a history of coercing women to write letters containing false and embarrassing allegations" so he can later use them as blackmail.

R. Kelly's lawyer, Steven Greenberg, tells TMZ ... he's all for the Marshals walking the jury in and out of the courthouse saying, "They don't have to put up with [the] circus of outside influences and agitators like the Weinstein jurors."

But, he also says, "It's absurd not to know where people are from or what kind of employment they are engaging in. Those are essential things to understand -- how people think and view things. Imagine if there's an FBI agent on the jury or a district attorney or someone who works for a battered woman's shelter. The stuff about Kelly tampering and being dangerous is just a regurgitation of their same argument which we disagreed with all along."

Netflix's revival of "Unsolved Mysteries" might need to change its name to "Case Closed" -- because the team's getting inundated with new leads that may very well crack some of these cases.

The show's original creator, Terry Dunn Meurer, is once again heading up the rebooted series ... and she tells TMZ that skyrocketing popularity and renewed interest has yielded some actual tips she and her team believe could lead to more clues -- or, in some cases, arrests.

Terry says 'Unsolved' has received upwards of 1,500 tips over their 6 new episodes up on the streaming service -- and of those ... she tells us about 50 were flagged as possibly legit and forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

And, get this ... she says the one that is most likely to get buttoned up first is the case of Alonzo Brooks ... who disappeared from a Kansas party in the early 2000s.

If you're unfamiliar ... 22-year-old Alonzo and a group of friends went to a party in rural Kansas, where he ended up being the only black guy there among what's described as a bunch of rednecks and cowboy types ... with one of whom he almost fought.

His pals eventually dispersed -- and Alonzo never made it home. A month later, his body was found in a creek. He'd been murdered.

The killing was considered a hate crime, but investigators could never link it to anyone -- the case went unsolved for years. Terry, however, says that could change soon -- as her crew has forwarded names to the FBI ... which recently reopened his case.

Here's another thing -- one uber-popular installment in the new 'Unsolved' series chronicles the supposed suicide of Rey Rivera ... whom many fans speculate might have planned and carried out his own death after the '90s flick, "The Game," and its famous rooftop jump scene.

Dennis Rodman is ALMOST off the hook in his battery case stemming from an alleged 2019 slap attack at a Florida bar, TMZ Sports has learned.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... cops say Rodman was at the Buddha Sky Bar in Delray Beach on May 17, 2019 when he "unprovokedly turned around and smacked" 30-year-old Jeff Soulouque.

In fact, according to the police report, Rodman smacked Soulouque TWICE with an open hand. Yeesh.

He was initially charged with misdemeanor battery -- which carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail, 12 months probation and a $1,000 fine.

And, with Rodman's criminal history, the maximum penalties were very much in play.

But, now, great news for Rodman ... prosecutors have agreed to drop the case against the NBA legend on 3 conditions.

First -- Rodman must cover the $100 prosecution fee.

Second -- Rodman must pay $250 in restitution to Soulouque.

Third -- Rodman must stay out of trouble for the near future.

The first two conditions should be a cinch for The Worm. The 3rd might be a little tough.

Amy Cooper -- the notorious Central Park "Karen" who called the police to lie and say a black man was attacking her -- is now facing criminal prosecution for it.

Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance Jr. just announced his office has initiated a prosecution of Cooper for "Falsely Reporting an Incident in the Third Degree."

Cooper has been issued a court date for October, and Vance added ... "I would like to encourage anyone who has been the target of false reporting to contact our Office. We are strongly committed to holding perpetrators of this conduct accountable."

As you'll recall ... Amy retaliated against a black man named Christian Cooper (no relation) back on Memorial Day after he, a bird watcher, complained that her dog was off-leash ... in violation, he felt, of a law requiring dogs to be on-leash in Central Park from 9 AM to 9 PM.

Her response, which Christian caught on video, was to threaten to call NYPD and "tell them there's an African-American man threatening my life" ... and she did.

The vid went viral, and despite Amy issuing an apology, she was fired from her job at Franklin Templeton ... which stated, "We do not tolerate racism of any kind."

Amy also briefly lost custody of her rescue dog seen in the video but got it back 10 days later after it was evaluated by a vet and found to be in good health.

The war between Antonio Brown and his rape accuser is raging on ...

The former NFL All-Pro now claims Britney Taylor is "hiding" from giving a live deposition -- and he's asking a judge to force her to show up in person for the depo ... or, if not, throw out the lawsuit.

But, Taylor's attorney tells TMZ Sports ... that's all a bunch of B.S., saying, "It's not that she's hiding, it's just that Florida's a little infected [with coronavirus] right now."

Here's the deal ... in new court docs, Brown's attorneys say they're trying to get Taylor to sit for a live depo to question her about her allegations that Brown sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions.

In the docs, though, the attorneys say Taylor is only willing to meet with them over Zoom ... something they say they're NOT OK with.

"The nature of her allegations," Browns attorneys say in the docs, "coupled with the fact that she has absolutely no corroboration for her claims mandate that a live deposition of Ms. Taylor be had."

They now want a judge to FORCE Taylor to show up in person -- while following all proper COVID-19 safety guidelines -- or throw out the case.

But, when we spoke with Taylor's attorney, David Haas, he told us the only reason Taylor is refusing to show up in person is because of the global pandemic.

Haas says his client is willing to answer questions but adds "we're just trying to keep her safe."

A ruling on the motion from the judge has yet to come down ... but Haas says he expects it to be denied.

As we previously reported, Taylor -- who met Brown while the two attended Central Michigan -- is suing the NFL player, claiming, among other things, he violently raped her in 2018.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have only one person to blame for the National Enquirer story about their romance, and it's her brother ... and the publication's laying out its paper trail.

Lauren's bro, Michael Sanchez, is suing the National Enquirer for libel ... because he denies he was the rat behind the story exposing their affair. But, the NE says not so fast, Ratatouille.

In new docs, the media outlet says Michael first contacted one of its reporters on Sept. 10, 2018, and then had subsequent conversations leading up to a face-to-face meeting on Oct. 5, 2018, where Michael revealed some text messages and pics ... but did NOT say it involved Bezos or his sister.

On Oct. 17, the reporter asked her bosses about financial parameters for a deal, and requested at least $300k. AMI, the Enquirer's parent company, says it was around this time they first found out Michael's information was about Bezos.

Then, according to docs, on Oct. 18 ... AMI and Sanchez signed a deal for $200k. The AMI honchos at the time -- Dylan Howard and James Robertson -- believe that is the most they'd paid a source for a story.

However, it wasn't until an NYC meeting on Oct. 23 -- between Michael, Howard and Robertson ... that AMI learned their canary was singing about his own sister. According to the docs, it was during this meeting Michael mentioned having a below-the-belt pic of Bezos ... sent to him by Lauren.

Worth noting, AMI says Michael told them in November ... Lauren and Jeff were not "in cooperation with him." He added, "Neither one have a clue."

Cut to January 2019 ... the Enquirer finally publishes the story, and Bezos goes nuts trying to find out their source. You'll recall, the Amazon honcho hired investigators and publicly theorized the Saudis might have hacked his phone and sold the info to AMI.

Also, according to the docs, Michael went on the record claiming the Enquirer called HIM first, simply trying to confirm the affair.

That's why AMI says it had to issue a press release defending itself and fingering Michael as its Tekashi6ix9ine, if you will. In the motion, AMI points out it would never have paid him $200k just to confirm information.

AMI is now asking the judge to toss Michael's lawsuit because they say they didn't lie about him being the source.

Kehlani rented a Ferrari and then smashed up the expensive sports car before returning it ... this according to a new lawsuit.

The singer is being sued by a luxury rental car company that claims she rented a Ferrari back in April, and said it was for personal use only -- but the company claims she used it in her new music video instead and ended up damaging the whip in a costly collision.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, Kehlani rented the Ferrari on April 19 and on April 22 she crashed it into an animal or another object, causing nearly $25,000 worth of damage.

The docs claim the black Ferrari featured in Kehlani's music video for her track, "Open (Passionate)," is the one that was damaged.

According to the suit, the company says it lost over $1,000 a day while the Ferrari was being repaired. All told, it claims Kehlani caused them to lose more than $35k in potential rental fees.

Adding insult to auto-injury, the value of the exotic ride was reduced by $88,573.

The car rental company is going after Kehlani for damages ... and they want her driver's license suspended.

We reached out to Kehlani ... so far, radio silence.

Breonna Taylor's family is in the same corner as Beyonce's mom over photos of Kentucky's top prosecutor partying it up with his fiancee instead of drilling down in her case.

ICYMI ... photos surfaced over the weekend of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron hosting an engagement party with friends and loved ones -- something Bey's ma, Tina Lawson, jumped on and openly criticized on social media, along with several others.

She explained how Cameron's election to the AG office was initially seen as a boon for the black community -- but went on to say his inaction in the case proves otherwise, especially when it comes to Breonna's killing.

Tina writes, "I have no problem with who he marries, that is his personal business. That is not what this post is about! I just don’t understand his actions!!! And where are their masks?"

Sources close to the family tell us they couldn't agree more with Tina's sentiment ... they see these photos as a slap in the face.

We're told the family has its own team working round the clock for answers -- and while the AG said he too was doing the same, our sources say the family feels his actions prove otherwise. Even if the guy's got a team on it, we're told they see this as him not giving a damn.

And yes, as for Tina's claim that Cameron snubbed Breonna's mom ... we're told that's true. She tried meeting with him in early June, but he avoided her and had someone else from his office speak to her over the phone. We're told he hasn't provided any updates.

The latest news in Breonna's case ... one of the officers involved in her death, Brett Hankison, got canned from the Louisville PD. That's about it -- no criminal charges have been filed, and there's no telling if charges are forthcoming. The shooting occurred more than 3 months ago.

Now, Cameron has called for patience, as he's said he's vetting the case thoroughly -- but we're told Breonna's family has lost confidence in him bringing about justice.

The African-American mom who was refused a table at a Baltimore restaurant says she's taking the joint to court, because its apology's coming up short.

Marcia Grant and her 9-year-old son, Dallas, came on 'TMZ Live' Tuesday to announce a forthcoming lawsuit against Atlas Restaurant Group -- the company that controls Ouzo Bay, which discriminated against them over a dress code that wasn't evenly applied ... based on Marcia's video.

You'll recall, Marcia pointed out there was a white kid wearing an almost identical outfit to Dallas' ... but, for some reason, he'd been allowed entry. She told us her son never experienced blatant racism like that, not first-hand.

Dallas told us how the whole experience made him feel, and it's heartbreaking.

Marcia, and her attorney, Donte Mills, explained how Dallas has been affected, and how they're trying to make him understand ... he did nothing wrong.

In that same breath, Donte says it point-blank ... they're moving forward with a lawsuit against Atlas Restaurant Group.

Donte says ARG's apology simply doesn't cut it -- as it fails to fully acknowledge the wrong that was done ... something Marcia echoed to us last week. The writing was on the wall for legal action.

Mr. Mills makes another interesting point here -- saying this situation could've easily gone left if cops were called and things escalated. That's another thing they're trying to make clear with their suit.

Marcia tells us what Dallas is doing now in the aftermath -- and it sounds like he and some friends are planning to speak out about the injustice he suffered.

Kylie Jenner's company is getting dragged into court ... all for allegedly refusing to guarantee it won't spill another company's secret formula to success.

Kylie's beauty brand, King Kylie, has been sued by Seed Beauty -- the company she's done business with since 2016 to help produce her unique line of products -- and they're claiming a mega-deal she recently struck with huge beauty conglomerate, Coty, is going to leave give all Seed's valuable tricks of the trade to a competitor.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Seed says they've been providing their valuable recipe to makeup success to Kylie and co. for years now -- which they claim helped catapult her (if only briefly) into billionaire status.

Her beauty boom, they claim, is largely due to Seed's trade secrets ... but now, they allege those are at risk of getting distributed to Coty ... their competition.

Of course, you already know Kylie signed an incredibly lucrative deal with Coty recently that gave up the majority stake in her company in exchange for $600 million.

Leading up to that agreement, Seed claims Kylie's company refused to sufficiently assure Seed it would NOT spill their trade secrets ... which Seed assumes Coty will use to boost the conglomerate. Because of that, Seed says it has no choice but to ask a judge to block Kylie and Coty from using the trade secrets.

Our beauty biz sources tell us there's no real "secret" to their success, it's the Kardashian/Jenner brand as a whole ... not to mention their hundreds of millions of followers across social media.

Cops in Aurora, CO came in like a military unit to forcibly remove -- not to mention pepper spray -- peaceful protesters who were watching a violin performance to honor Elijah McClain.

This went down Saturday in City Center Park, where a musical vigil had been planned to pay respects to Elijah -- who died while in custody of Aurora PD last year -- which was incredibly symbolic, seeing how Elijah played violin himself. At one point, the police had seen enough.

In the video, captured by a vigilant bystander, you can see the jarring juxtaposition play out live on camera. At first, you hear the violinists -- some of whom are said to have been underage -- beautifully playing in unison, and the next minute ... cops are storming the place.

The woman recording can be heard -- along with others -- openly yelling "No!" at what's about to happen next ... forcible removal and literally pushing the protesters out of the park, while shutting down the performance. Pepper spray started getting dispersed at one point too.

A reporter on the ground captured an even more surreal moment ... as cops were literally pushing up against protesters, a violinist on stage started playing soothing melodies.

The protesters stood their ground as long as they could -- several even formed a human barrier around the violinists to protect them from the police. Communal chants also erupted ...  with phrases like, "Why are you in riot gear? I don't see no riot here!"

Eventually, the protesters were forced to the parking lot ... but they didn't let that ruin the get-together. Some violinists followed along and continued on the pavement. The protesters even broke out in song, singing "Lean On Me" ... in what proved to be a powerful statement in response to the brutality they'd just gone through, for no reason at all.

If you're wondering what Aurora PD had to say about this, they claimed the crowd was getting unruly and some were even arming themselves and hurling projectiles at the squad. In the end ... the police say only 3 people were arrested for violating lawful orders after warnings were given.

Dustin Diamond needs to be saved by more than the bell if he wants to keep his home in Wisconsin -- the bank is knocking on his door and looking to foreclose.

The "Saved By The Bell" star owes Wells Fargo a whopping $269,329.36 -- according to legal docs obtained by TMZ -- and the bank is asking the court to sign off on the foreclosure.

Dustin tells TMZ ... he didn't even know he was so far behind on the mortgage, because he hasn't been to the Port Washington property since January of last year, as he's been living in Florida instead.

Screech says he moved into the house way back in 2003, when the property was worth $340,000, and tells us he plunked down a $68,000 down payment. He says he doesn't understand how he owes such a large sum. Homeownership ain't easy, or cheap.

Dustin's got a lot of other problems at the pad ... he says a friend alerted him to a busted water main last fall, and the leak was so bad water was flowing out of a first-floor window.

Screech says he lost 30 years of memories in the home's flooded basement ... his comic collection, instruments, chess collection, family pictures and videos were all ruined.

Dustin tells us ... "Foreclosure means nothing when a house is destroyed ... with my items I've lost, it now feels like Wells Fargo is trying to kick me when I'm down."

He says he never went to check on the pad last winter because his friend said the water main break froze over, and there was black mold. He was waiting for the ice to melt to return, but the pandemic ruined that plan.

Dustin still hasn't been back there, and says he hasn't figured out how he'll deal with the bank's foreclosure.

Where's Mr. Belding when ya really need him, right?

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli have resigned from the super-exclusive Bel-Air Country Club ... this after a war of sorts erupted over a decision to suspend but then reinstate the couple after they completed their sentence ... sources tell TMZ.

Our sources say the Board of Directors for the club unanimously voted to suspend Lori and Mossimo, but the suspension gets lifted when they serve their time.

The decision did not sit well with some of the members. Past President Michael Gallagher fired off a scathing letter to the board, obtained by TMZ, in which he says ... "This unprecedented board decision to allow felons to continue as members causes irreparable reputational harm to the Club and its members."

Gallagher goes on ... "BACC is a Club of gentlemen and gentlewomen. Gentlemen are not felons, and felons in turn are not gentlemen. You cannot be a member in good standing and guilty of a felony at the same time, it is a non sequitur."

And, he wasn't done ... "The board action, taken on behalf of the Club's membership, now establishes our Club as a place of refuge and comfort for known felons ... This matter is already well known in the golfing world, domestically and internationally, and our Club has become a laughingstock."

Our sources say the membership was deeply divided. Some members were supportive of Lori and Mossimo while others wanted them out for good.

We're told Lori and Mossimo did not want to be in the middle of a war among the members, so they have voluntarily resigned. We're told Mossimo joined because he's an avid golfer -- Lori golfs too, but not nearly as much. As we reported, Lori copped a plea deal and will serve 2 months in prison and Mossimo will serve 5 month.

What's also interesting ... Rick Singer, the mastermind in the college admissions scandal, was also well known to lots and lots of rich parents on the westside of Los Angeles. We don't know if other members of the club knew of Singer or used him, but at the very least, it would be incredibly surprising if Lori and Mossimo were the only members who were aware of Singer's exploits.

Gallagher said in his letter he was resigning. We don't know if he changed his mind after Lori and Mossimo resigned.

Nipsey Hussle's family's stuck in an odd limbo with a Crips company -- over a trademark -- and it's got them worried something shady's going on.

Sources close to the late rapper tell TMZ ... his family's legal conflict with the Crips LLC -- yes, the gang's gone corporate -- over the rights to Hussle's "The Marathon Continues" slogan has carried on, leaving family members frustrated.

Here's the deal ... the Crips organization filed a couple trademarks for the phrase in 2019 -- one for clothing and one for various services. Shortly afterward, however, it apologized and vowed to back off, saying it would not get into a legal battle with the family ... which has several 'Marathon' trademarks of its own related to Nip's clothing store.

So, it seemed like all would be well, but according to our sources ... the Crips didn't take any action to withdraw its filings, which forced Nip's family to lawyer up and file oppositions to the trademark applications.

The good news for the family ... the Crips didn't fight the opposition to the clothing trademark application by the deadline, so the application was deemed abandoned earlier this month.

There's a good chance the same thing will happen with the other application too, but we're told Crips LLC has gone silent about the issue ... which hasn't been helpful for the family.

Dawn Wells -- famously known for playing Mary Ann Summers on the iconic TV show, "Gilligan's Island" -- is now sadly suffering from dementia and needs some court help with an overzealous fan ... according to new legal docs.

Dawn's manager, Leonard Carter, filed legal docs on his client's behalf claiming a man out of Ohio has been harassing the 81-year-old actress with phone calls and letters since March and is trying to take advantage of his celebrity client, who he says suffers from dementia ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

In docs, Carter claims Frank Bennett has caused Dawn "great mental angst" because he's an "artful manipulator extracting Dawn's personal info" ... like her SSN. Carter claims Bennett's a married man who has professed his love and desire to marry Dawn. Carter insists Dawn's rejected Bennett's advances, but says he won't stop contacting her.

What's more ... Carter says a handful of employees at the assisted living facility where she resides have witnessed Bennett's intensity. Carter claims Bennett's "unstable and could snap and do physical harm." He also claims Bennett told him, "If I am visited by one cop, if I am served with papers, It's game on!"

Justin Bieber's going after 2 social media users -- whom he suggests might be the same person -- for accusing him of sexual assault, claiming the allegations are "factually impossible" and part of a scheme to seek attention and fame.

Bieber is suing 2 Jane Does -- who go by Danielle and Kadi on social media -- for defamation over what he calls "malicious" claims he sexually assaulted them in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

According to legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Bieber has "indisputable documentary evidence" to prove their sexual assault claims are nothing but "outrageous, fabricated lies."

First up is Danielle, who claims Bieber sexually assaulted her in a Four Seasons Hotel room in Austin, TX on March 9, 2014 after a music event. Bieber claims there is no truth to Danielle's allegation ... and he can prove it.

According to the docs ... Bieber did make a surprise appearance at SXSW, but did NOT stay at the Four Seasons Hotel or even have a room there. Instead, he and his girlfriend at the time, Selena Gomez, left together after his SXSW performance and stayed nearby at a rental property.

Bieber alleges Danielle totally made up her story based on public reports that he ate at the Four Seasons Restaurant on March 10, 2014.

As for Kadi ... she claims Bieber sexually assaulted her at the Langham Hotel in NYC around 2:30 AM on the morning of May 5, 2015. Once again, Bieber says this is factually impossible and calls Kadi's social media post "an elaborate hoax."

According to Bieber ... Kadi is a superfan who waits outside hotels for him, is desperate to meet him and desperate for fame. However, Bieber claims Kadi has never met him ... and says she even admitted to such in her own tweets AFTER the date she now claims he sexually assaulted her.

As for the May 5, 2015 allegation ... Bieber claims Kadi fabricated it because she knew Bieber attended the Met Gala.

According to the docs ... Bieber did attend the event, but went to a private after-party afterward where he stayed until almost 4 AM, then hit up a hot dog stand. Bieber claims there is photographic evidence and several witnesses to this ... and he calls the 2:30 AM allegation made by Kadi an "impossibility – a poor, but damaging, fabrication."

According to the suit ... Bieber also believes the 2 social media accounts might be run by the same person, or they're a coordinated effort to ruin his reputation.