Court

Taylor Frankie Paul has been ordered to undergo drug and alcohol testing ... as her custody battle with ex-husband Tate Paul takes another turn.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, a Utah judge has ordered "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star to undergo drug and alcohol testing and, if the results are clean, she will get to have unsupervised parenting time with their kids.

If there's a positive test for any unprescribed drugs or alcohol, however, her parenting will have to be supervised. 

OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney's legal team says Christian Obumseli -- Courtney's boyfriend who she allegedly killed during a violent confrontation in 2022 -- isn't the harmless victim prosecutors portray him as ... they say he had an arrest warrant for animal cruelty when he died.

Courtney's lawyers submitted a new filing, obtained by TMZ, this week in which they note prosecutors may wish to present evidence claiming Christian was peaceful, and not the aggressor in the confrontation they say led to his death.

In anticipation of this, Courtney's lawyers are asking the court to allow them to present counterevidence in the form of an arrest warrant for animal cruelty issued by law enforcement in Texas against Christian.

NBA player Malik Beasley entered a not guilty plea at an arraignment in his gambling case on Wednesday ... and his attorney made it clear they're going to fight to clear his name.

The former Detroit Pistons guard went before a judge in a New York courtroom ... where he was officially informed of his charges -- conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery in sporting contests, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Beasley wore a blue suit for the occasion ... and appeared to be in good spirits, all things considered.

Blaise Taylor -- a former scout with the Tennessee Titans -- has been convicted of murder for killing his pregnant girlfriend with a lethal dose of cocaine.

The 30-year-old was convicted on four counts ... two for first-degree murder and two for felony murder at the end of a trial that lasted 8 days. The jury deliberated for less than 3 hours before returning its verdict.

Prosecutors accused Taylor of giving Jade Benning a drink laced with cocaine back in February 2023 ... though his defense team argued Benning had a history of drug use.

Jade was 5 months pregnant when she died ... and prosecutors allege the baby was Taylor's.

'Bachelorette' alum DeAnna Pappas scored a win in her battle over money with her ex-husband Stephen Stagliano … after claiming she was living off her savings to survive, TMZ has learned.

DeAnna and Stephen faced off in a L.A. courtroom, where the judge ended up siding with the reality star. 

The judge ordered Stephen to pay DeAnna $109k she claimed to be owed in their divorce settlement ... and $27,240 for legal fees.

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.