Court

Denise Richards is asking a judge to make sure her estranged husband, Aaron Phypers, promises not to leak her financial records before she's forced to turn them over in their nasty court battle ... TMZ has learned.

The "Wild Things" star filed new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, claiming Aaron has spread all sorts of private information about her to the media in the wake of their split.

Denise says Aaron wants her to turn over bank statements and information about her pay for "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" ... but she insists much of that information is subject to confidentiality agreements with production companies, and she wants to make sure a protective order is in place before she sends them over.

Luigi Mangione was back in court Monday ... this time to learn when his federal trial is going to start ... and he's got about six months to prepare.

Judge Garnett told the court a November start date isn't going to work, "given jury selection" ... so, instead, the trial was pushed to January.

The judge announced jury selection will start January 5 -- calling in about 40 to 50 people per day -- and opening statements will begin on January 25. Assistant United States Attorney Dominic A. Gentile moved to exclude a speedy trial.

Chicago rap veteran Twista has pleaded guilty in federal court after prosecutors accused him of dodging hundreds of thousands of dollars in income taxes over multiple years.

According to court docs filed this week, the 52-year-old, born Carl Mitchell, entered a guilty plea last month in U.S. District Court ... admitting to five counts of willfully failing to pay income tax.

Federal prosecutors say Twista failed to pay income taxes from 2019 through 2023 despite earning income from performances, streaming royalties, album sales, and music licensing.

A Utah judge is apparently pissed that prosecutors in Tyler Robinson's murder trial blabbed to the press in violation of a gag order ... but the death penalty is still on the table.

Utah Judge Tony Graf found prosecutor Christopher Ballard in civil contempt for talking to the media about evidence in the case ... namely, conflicting information about whether the bullet matched the rifle Robinson allegedly used to shoot and kill Charlie Kirk.

As you know, Robinson's lawyers previously filed docs claiming the ballistics didn't add up … which sparked online theories about whether Robinson's gun fired the fatal shot ... and prompted prosecutors to try to clarify the forensics to the media.

Mackenzie Shirilla isn't getting her day in court ... because her latest appeal was denied, TMZ has learned.

According to new court docs obtained by TMZ, Mackenzie's appeal was not accepted for review.

The papers say the judge dissented and the court declined to accept jurisdiction over the case. Basically ... they declined to hear the case and it was dismissed.

Chris Brown’s housekeeper swears she thought she was going to be killed by an aggressive dog at his Los Angeles mansion ... testifying the canine dragged her by her skin.

On Monday, Maria Avila, who had only worked at Chris’ home four times, took the stand in her $90 million dog attack case against Breezy ... telling the jury she was unaware dogs were present at the home ... until one viciously attacked her.

Avila said she was not warned by Chris or anybody on his team about the dogs. 

'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star NeNe Leakes’ oldest son, Bryson Bryant, was seen stoic in his latest mugshot.

TMZ obtained the mug for 36-year-old Bryson, who was arrested on May 1 in Georgia. NeNe’s son didn’t look too happy to be behind bars once again as he rocked a black t-shirt while he was being booked. 

As TMZ first reported, Bryson was taken into custody on charges of failure to pay child support, violating his probation in a separate criminal case, and failure to appear for a court hearing. The court set his bond at $27K, and he remains behind bars. 

Mystikal is still being sued by the woman he pled guilty to raping ... which led to his recent 20-year prison sentence ... and she says he spit on her and forced her to pray before forcing himself on her.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, the woman says in July 2022 she visited Mystikal’s home in Prairieville, Louisiana and the visit started off amicably … that is, until she claims the rapper's attitude changed drastically when he came out of the bathroom.

The woman says he accused her of stealing money … which she denied. She claims Mystikal struck her in the face with a closed fist and choked her until she almost lost consciousness. She said she suffered bruises, scrapes, a laceration, missing hair, and a broken fingernail.

Comedian Carlos Mencia just appeared in court for his felony tax case ... and he entered a not guilty plea to all 12 charges against him.

Prosecutors say Carlos -- born Ned Arnel Holness -- failed to report $8.7 million in income and owes more than $300K in unpaid state taxes ... and he faces more than a decade behind bars if convicted on all 12 counts.

Carlos did get some good news during Monday's hearing ... authorities tell TMZ his bail amount was reduced from $250,000 to $50,000 -- welcome news, no doubt, because the comic has been cooling his heels in an L.A. jail cell since last week's arrest.

4:37 PM PT -- Sources with knowledge tell TMZ ... Luigi's lawyers will resurrect the Extreme Emotional Distress defense as they get closer to the trial date. We're told the reason they backed off now is that they are doing more psych evaluations with Luigi and don’t want to turn over the records until they are complete. They also don’t want to play their hand until they get closer to trial.

It's a shocker for sure ... Luigi Mangione has backed off his core defense that was just announced in court yesterday, but there may be more to this story than meets the eye.

As we reported, the judge in his New York State murder trial revealed Wednesday ... Luigi's lawyers were mounting a novel defense called Extreme Emotional Disturbance. Short story -- it essentially means he was out of his head when he shot and killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

TMZ has reported extensively on Mangione's obsession with corporate greed ... and the defense planned to argue that obsession created an altered state in which Luigi felt he fired the gun to save humanity. If the jury bought the argument, it would reduce the murder charge to manslaughter.

Chris Brown took the stand in the $90 million battle with his former housekeeper over a vicious dog attack at his L.A. home.

On Thursday, the entertainer testified in court as part of the trial in the lawsuit brought by Maria Avila. In her suit, Maria claims she was attacked by a large dog while taking out the trash. Chris denies wrongdoing.

In court, Chris denied that the dog in question was his and said it belonged to his head of security. Both the dog and the head of security were residents of the property. He added that the dog stayed on the property as a guard dog.

The Massachusetts mom accused of brutally murdering her three young children was back in court again Thursday ... and she held an unsettling look on her face for most of the appearance.

Lindsay Clancy entered the courtroom in a wheelchair for the final pretrial conference hearing .... where her lawyer told the judge the 35-year-old was "a vegetable practically" due to medications ... claiming she struggled with severe mental health problems before the January 2023 triple murders.

During the proceedings ... Clancy stared on with a vacant, grim look on her face.

Carlos Mencia has been hit with 12 tax-related criminal charges ... and he could face more than a decade in prison if convicted on all of them -- according to the L.A. district attorney.

The L.A. County District Attorney's Office is set up at Hall of Justice in downtown ... where D.A. Nathan Hochman spoke to the assembled members of the media.

Mencia has been charged with 12 counts ... six connected to his personal tax returns and six to his business tax returns, Hochman said. Prosecutors allege Mencia failed to report $8.7 million in income -- and owes more than $300K in unpaid state taxes.

Timothy Busfield wants his indictment thrown out ... telling a judge the prosecutors' presentation of evidence to the grand jury failed to tell the whole story.

The actor filed papers asking a judge to toss the grand jury indictment because the state of New Mexico has "abdicated its role in administering justice" and is blindly pursuing an indictment against him.

Busfield says prosecutors are well aware of an independent investigation into the allegations against him conducted by Warner Bros. that he says found nothing to back those allegations, a lie detector test Busfield passed in which he said he never inappropriately touched one of the alleged victims, and multiple witness affidavits defending him ... but has chosen to ignore all of that.

Chris Brown is back in court for his battle with his former housekeeper -- who claims she was viciously mauled by a dog outside his L.A. home -- days after drama erupted in the case.

We got the singer as he walked into the courthouse Thursday for day one of his trial against Maria Avila ... he had few words for our photog, but his expressions when she asked him questions provided all the answers.

As TMZ first reported ... the trial was scheduled to start earlier this week, but a mistrial was called because one of the jurors had researched the case, which is against the rules.

The Gilgo Beach serial killer, Rex Heuermann, will be spending the rest of his life behind bars.

The judge sentenced Heuermann to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday, calling him a "disgusting and despicable man," according to multiple reports.

The judge addressed Heuermann directly during sentencing, telling him straight up ... "You're a coward." According to PEOPLE, he then ordered the killer be removed from court, saying ... "Get him out of here."