Fairly Legal

Joey Lawrence is throwing in the towel on his second marriage ... he just filed for divorce.

The former "Blossom" star filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court to divorce Chandie Lawrence as they approached their 15-year wedding anniversary.

Joey and Chandie met at Disney World way back in 1993, when he was 16 years old and on vacation. Joey says he invited her on an ice cream date at the Mouse House when they first met and joked about getting married at the theme park.

After Joey's first marriage to Michelle Vella ended in divorce in 2005, he quickly wed Chandie in July and their teenage wedding fantasies became reality as they tied the knot at Disney World.

It's not clear what led to the split, but Joey and Chandie will have to settle child custody and/or support issues -- they have 2 minor daughters, 14-year-old Charleston and 10-year-old Liberty.

Despite Disney's best efforts ... no fairytale ending this time.

The 3 men charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery entered not guilty pleas in court and one of the defendants wants potential jurors to be asked probing questions in a private setting.

Gregory and Travis McMichael, along with William "Roddie" Bryan, all pled not guilty Friday in court. Bryan's attorney also requested bond for Bryan, but the judge denied the request citing a slew of concerns, including a sex crimes investigation by the GBI at the request of the Glynn County Police Department. That investigation is active and ongoing.

Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, and Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery Sr., gave statements requesting the court deny bond.

Bryan's attorney had brought up the coronavirus pandemic as another reason why his client should get bond ... claiming Bryan's in the high-risk category. Prosecutors countered saying the Sheriff's doing his part keeping things safe behind bars. The hearing's currently in a recess.

Bryan's attorney also filed a motion to submit certain questions to potential jurors in an attempt to weed out biases.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Bryan's attorney submitted a list of more than 50 questions for potential jurors to answer ... including: "What in your opinion is the principal cause of crime in America today?"

Another question ... "What steps do you think people who are frightened about crime should take to protect themselves?" as well as "Have you ever heard the statement, he looks like a cirminal? If yes, do you think that if someone 'looks like a criminal' they are probably guilty if they are arrested for a crime? Why/why not?"

Bryan's attorney wants everyone examined separately and privately, claiming there are "sensitive and potentially embarrassing questions exploring the prospective juror's bias and prejudice, especially with respect to matters of race."

Then there's this ... Bryan's attorneys also want to inspect all of Arbery's probation docs, any medical or mental health records, any juvenile court records, any DCFS records and any board of education records.

The issue of citizens arrest was also brought up in docs ... Bryan's attorney claims there was enough evidence to establish probable cause that Arbery had committed the offense of criminal attempt to commit burglary. According to the docs, this allowed McMichael to attempt a citizens arrest and then, when Arbery fought back, to defend himself.

Bryan's attorney also argues someone running in an attempted burglary case allows you to presume criminal intent ... and he notes that Arbery was running. Bryan's attorney also claims Arbery knew he was a convicted felon on probation for shoplifting ... so an objective observer would have reason to believe he was trying to commit a burglary when he ran from the house.

As we reported ... the men were all indicted by a grand jury for Arbery's murder on June 24. They are each facing 9 felony charges -- 1 count of malice murder, 4 counts felony murder, 2 counts aggravated assault, 1 count false imprisonment and 1 count criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

The 3 defendants have been in custody since their arrests in May, and last appeared in court in early June for a probable cause hearing ... where a judge concluded there's enough evidence to move forward with the case.

During that hearing, a GBI detective testified he found no evidence Arbery stole anything from the construction site he walked through before he was shot and killed. Gregory McMichael had claimed Arbery matched the description of a burglary suspect, which is why they were after him.

Gregory's son, Travis, fired the fatal shots during a struggle with Ahmaud on February 23. The GBI detective also testified Bryan told cops he heard Travis refer to Arbery as a "f***ing n*****" right after he shot him.

Travis and Gregory were arrested and charged with murder on May 8. Authorities allege Bryan -- who recorded the incident -- was working with the McMichaels to trap Arbery. He was arrested and charged 14 days later.

These coffee beans are GUARANTEED to wake you up.

Italian police thwarted drug-smugglers who sliced hundreds of coffee beans open, stuffed them with cocaine and carefully encased them with dark brown tape.

The perps might have gotten away with it too ... if it wasn't for that darn John Wick.

According to police, they became suspicious of the package containing the coffee beans when someone noticed the name on it was Santino D'Antonio ... a mafia boss villain in "John Wick: Chapter 2" as well as the third film in the franchise.

The coked-up beans were shipped from Medellin in Colombia to Milan's Malpensa airport, and all in all ... the 2kg package contained 150g of cocaine powder via about 500 beans.

The package was addressed to a tobacco shop in Florence, and cops busted the 50-year-old man who came to collect it.

Italian police named their operation "Caffe' Scorretto" -- which means Improper Coffee, which plays off the name of the country's popular drink, '"Caffe' corretto" ... corrected coffee.

Hayden Panettiere's allegedly abusive ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, is now facing serious criminal charges in California ... this, days after Hayden got an order of protection against him.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Hickerson was charged Thursday in an 8-count complaint that includes domestic violence charges, assault charges. Seven of the 8 charges are felonies.

Panettiere recently reported her ex-BF to the Teton County Sheriff in Wyoming -- along with the Santa Monica police and LAPD -- for multiple incidents involving extreme domestic violence against her during their year-and-a-half relationship.

The former "Nashville" star tells TMZ ...  “I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve. I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life."

Hayden's attorney, Alan Jackson, says ... "After suffering for years as the victim of psychological, emotional and severe physical abuse, Hayden Panettiere has begun the process of taking back her life. Hayden has found the strength and courage to share the truth about her abuse and her abuser, and she intends to assist the prosecution to see that justice is served. As a survivor, she recognizes that her arduous journey of healing has just begun."

As we reported ... Panettiere recently got court-ordered protection from Hickerson in  Wyoming, and a California judge just granted her that same protection in the Golden State.

Hickerson was arrested for domestic violence on Valentine's Day in Teton County, Wyoming -- after Hayden told cops he'd roughed her up after an argument and punched her in the face.

The #FreeBritney movement has re-emerged in a big way, with lots of people spinning conspiracy theories that she's being held against her will ... but they got the story wrong.

Folks on social media have been alarmed by Britney Spears posting a gaggle of dance and fashion show videos. They're odd, to say the least ... she's dancing, pacing back and forth and looking not quite put together.

So then, fans started sending Britney secret messages -- "wear black if you need help," and "wear pink if you are in trouble." Well, she wore pink shorts with black polka dots in a dance video, and that's all she wrote.

She also crossed her arms in an "X" fashion and folks interpreted that as saying, "I'm not okay." Well, people went nuts online, again suggesting her conservatorship -- led by Britney's dad, Jamie -- was holding her against her will.

Here's the reality. We've reported for the last 2 years ... Britney is struggling. Her meds stopped working and doctors were having trouble finding the right combination. Sources with direct knowledge tell us she's not been easy to deal with ... she sometimes complains she wants more freedom. Short story -- she hasn't been especially stable managing her mental illness.

There's collateral damage in all of this ... Kevin Federline has had their 2 kids considerably more than Britney -- and it all relates back to her mental state.

The conservatorship has been around for 12 years -- an incredibly unusual amount of time for a conservatorship to last, but this one's different. Our sources have said for years ... Britney's mental illness requires this conservatorship -- probably for life.

Lots of people think this is all Jamie lording over his daughter, but it's not the case. There is a slew of people involved in the conservatorship -- doctors, lawyers, therapists and a judge. There is no way Jamie could go rogue without one of the others taking it to the judge.

Fifteen former female Washington NFL team staffers claim they were sexually harassed and verbally abused during their time with the org. ... and they say it was relentless and repeated.

It's all in a new bombshell Washington Post report ... which claims the culture with Washington's NFL team was toxic and demeaning toward women in the workplace.

In the report, one of the women, 31-year-old Emily Applegate -- a former marketing coordinator who spent one year with the club before leaving in 2015 -- claims, "It was the most miserable experience of my life."

"And we all tolerated it," she added, "because we knew if we complained -- and they reminded us of this -- there were 1,000 people out there who would take our job in a heartbeat."

Applegate says she was told by a high-ranking exec to wear revealing clothes "so the men in the room have something to look at."

She also says the same superior constantly verbally abused her, and once called her "f**king stupid."

Applegate says she would meet with a female co-worker in the bathroom on her lunch breaks ... and they would cry together over the alleged harassment.

The report also says 14 other women echoed Applegate's claims ... sharing similar stories, but choosing to remain anonymous over fears of litigation.

In one of the most salacious allegations ... some of the women claim men in the facility -- including team trainers -- would stand at the bottom of a staircase near the entrance to team headquarters and would stare up female employees' skirts.

In fact, the women say this was such a well-known problem among the females in the office ... employees warned others to avoid the staircase at all costs.

In another allegation ... a female employee said at the team's training camp in Richmond, Va., she was "propositioned basically every day" by team officials for late-night visits.

Several of the team employees accused of harassment in the report have been fired by Washington in the last few days.

A$AP Rocky fears for his life due to a woman who he claims has been making his life a living hell for 2 years now.

The rapper beelined it to court requesting a temporary restraining order against an L.A. woman named Micaela Jimenez, who A$AP claims has shown up uninvited to his crib numerous times ... even making it into his master bedroom once.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the rapper says Jimenez "has been relentless in her fixation with me and my whereabouts" to the point she's contacted family members and close friends trying to coax info out of them. Rocky alleges, just last month, she arrived at his house, demanded to see him and threatened to force her way inside.

His security told her to leave, and she eventually did, but not before tossing ink all over his parked car and yelling, "F*** you, I'll be back again!" ... according to the docs.

A$AP claims there were other incidents ... like when he claims he found Jimenez sleeping in her car in close proximity to his house. Then in April, he claims Jimenez showed up saying she's married to the rapper.

There's another alleged incident in December 2018 ... when Rocky was performing at Midnight Rave. A$AP says when he entered the mosh pit, she hugged him from behind. He claims there's video footage of the incident.

That same night, Rocky claims that as he entered his crib to leave the venue she "jumped in without my permission landing on my lap while I was in the backseat. I was startled, shocked and fear for my safety.”

But, the freakiest incident allegedly went down in June 2018 ... when Jimenez allegedly showed up to the crib, punched Rocky's assistant and raced upstairs to his master bedroom. Rocky claims "I was startled, jumped up and began to resist [her] advances.” He claims she also ripped a pearl necklace off his neck.

According to the docs, the rapper's personal security ultimately arrived and removed her ... and Rocky says his assistant filed a police report.

A former Honolulu police officer will spend 4 years behind bars ... after forcing a homeless man to lick a public restroom urinal or risk an ass-whooping.

John Rabago was sentenced Wednesday and got a scolding from U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi, who told the ex-cop, "You took from him his only possession: his dignity as a human being."

Rabago and another ex-officer, Reginald Ramones, found the homeless man inside the stall of a public restroom after responding to a nuisance complaint in 2018. Rabago threatened to beat the crap out of the homeless man and stuff his face in a toilet if he didn't lick the urinal. Rabago's also accused of stepping on the man's legs to keep him on his knees until he complied with the disgusting demand.

Ramones pled guilty to not reporting Rabago's gross violation of someone's civil rights. He'll be sentenced next week.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Brady (yeah, it's a pretty common name) said Rabago initially laughed about the incident and later denied it happened. Rabago's also accused of telling Ramones to delete text messages about the incident. Brady said, "To be homeless, not knowing where your next meal is going to be, to be forced to lick ... a dirty urinal by a uniformed police officer. There's only one word that comes to mind: hopelessness."

Rabago's defense attorney, Megan Kau, said she and her client expected to get 3 years in prison. But 4 years in prison ... she says "I think [the judge] is taking the national environment and making him as an example."

Kanye West has taken his first official step on his road to The White House -- he's filed with the Federal Election Commission ... seeking the office of President.

Kanye filed the first form required by the FEC Wednesday -- Form 1, Statement of Organization -- declaring that the Kanye 2020 committee will serve as the "Principal Campaign Committee" with West as its candidate. The party is listed as BDY ... which Ye's said stands for the Birthday Party.

However, he's yet to file the more important Form 2 -- Statement of Candidacy -- which shows he's raised or spent more than $5,000 in campaign activity and triggers candidacy status under federal campaign finance law.

Regardless, the move comes on the heels of reports that Kanye was dropping out just 10 days after making his surprise July 4 Twitter announcement ... and after news broke that he was polling at just 2 percent.

Looks like he's trying to keep hope alive ... at least for now.

Kanye, who's had Elon Musk's support from the jump, has managed to stir up plenty of publicity -- and controversy -- in his less than 2 weeks on the campaign trail so far.

As we reported ... he turned on his former buddy and incumbent, Donald Trump, compared Planned Parenthood to a Satanic baby-killing cult and got blasted by the org, and picked a running mate with some odd takes on mental health.

Ye's still facing an uphill battle to even get on the ballot in several states, and as we already mentioned ... his first poll numbers really sucked.

Our sources have also told us Kanye's in the throes of a very serious bipolar episode through all of this, which has worried his family and loved ones.

Hayden Panettiere got court-ordered protection from her allegedly abusive boyfriend in Wyoming, and a California judge just said she'll get that same protection in the Golden State.

The ex-'Nashville' star just filed a Wyoming restraining order she got against her BF, Brian Hickerson, in the California court system, so it'll provide her protection in CA. The order from Wyoming was issued after an incident of alleged domestic abuse from February.

Brian was arrested for domestic violence on Valentine's Day in Teton County, Wyoming -- after Hayden told cops he'd roughed her up after an argument and punched her in the face.

Hayden said in her petition Brian had been abusive with her several times prior to the V-Day incident. She says when he drinks, he tends to hit her, spit on her and throw things.

She also claims he's swung her around, pulled her hair and dumped water on her on more than one occasion.

It's pretty clear ... Hayden's going to be spending time in L.A. and she wants to make sure Brian doesn't follow her there and try to get in touch.

The City of Minneapolis caused George Floyd's death by allowing officers to operate under a lie -- that neck restraints are not fatal -- so says the Floyd family in a new civil lawsuit.

Famed civil rights lawyer Ben Crump just unveiled the lawsuit, and the stakes are enormous. The family is suing the 4 officers who are now criminally charged with Floyd's death.

The reality is this ... the officers don't have the kind of money that typically makes a civil lawsuit worthwhile. Enter the City of Minneapolis, which actually has limited immunity in these cases, meaning it can't be sued UNLESS it's approved the policy either explicitly or by way of custom.

Crump says in the lawsuit ... the City long trained its officers to use neck restraints, claiming they were an "authorized form of non-deadly force."

The fact is this ... it's simply not true that it's non-deadly force, and the City would have to be blind not to know that. Fact is ... the technique has been used since 2012 on 428 people nationwide, and 14% lost consciousness. And, if City officials turned on the news, they'd know some of these cases were fatalities. So ... it IS lethal force.

The suit also slams the City for poor training and discipline. As you know, Derek Chauvin had 17 citizen complaints, yet there's no evidence the Internal Affairs Dept. of the P.D. ever connected the dots as they investigated all of them.

And, one more thing ... the suit claims that probationary officers like Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng were NOT allowed to question their supervisor. That works against the City, but it's the argument the 2 rookie cops are making in the criminal case.

The civil lawsuit does not specify the amount of damages the family is seeking.

Chauvin, who is still in jail, has been charged with 2nd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter.

"Ink Master" star Daniel Silva has just copped a plea deal in his criminal case involving the death of his friend ... YouTube star Corey La Barrie.

Daniel pled no contest to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. The L.A. County D.A.'s Office tells us, as part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop the 2nd-degree murder charge. He'll be sentenced next month. As we reported ... Daniel's attorney was confident he would beat the murder charge following the fatal crash of a McLaren sports car back in May.

We broke the story ... Daniel was arrested and charged with 2nd-degree murder after Corey died from injuries in a car wreck just hours after they left Corey's 25th birthday party. Corey was a passenger in the car. We were told Daniel was seen drinking before getting behind the wheel of the car.

Our law enforcement sources told us Daniel allegedly tried to flee after the accident but was stopped by witnesses. Corey's cause of death was listed as multiple blunt force injuries.

Daniel's attorney, Mike Cavalluzzi, told us at the time of Daniel's arrest ... "This is a horrible tragedy and our hearts go out to Corey's family and friends. We are reviewing all of the evidence and will reserve comment for a later time. For now, it is most important that everyone involved is given time and space to grieve."

Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp is using more than $1.75 mil to help out "Black and Brown communities" -- making big moves to fight COVID and help people who are behind bars.

Here's the gist of the breakdown ...

COVID-19 Relief -- The Org. believes "COVID-19 disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities" and has earmarked $800,000 in grants to 13 groups that help people affected by the pandemic.

Legal Defense Initiative -- The Org. has said it will help pay legal defense for people arrested in protests after the killing of George Floyd.

We're told, KYRC continues to expand on the defense initiative it was managing nationwide by giving a $500,000 collaborative grant to the National Lawyers Guild to support the defense of thousands of cases throughout the country.

Bail Funds -- KYRC has dedicated $200,000 to various groups in cities like Atlanta, Detroit, Miami and more to help cover bail funds.

Essential Living Costs/Rent Relief -- $450k in grants to groups in various cities.

A rep for Colin's organization says it has also teamed up with Impossible Foods to help people experiencing food insecurity since the start of the COVID pandemic.

The group also tells us, "KYRC is proud of the breadth and depth of our community impact during these difficult times."

Tekashi 6ix9ine will be absent from social media in the last couple weeks before he regains his freedom -- but he says he's coming back with a vengeance.

6ix9ine tells TMZ ... he just temporarily deactivated his Instagram account ahead of his home confinement ending around August 1. The reason? He says his lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, recommended it for the rapper's safety, so he's following through.

Tekashi says as freedom nears, his legal team thinks he might mistakenly leak some crucial info about his whereabouts, meaning where he is now or where he'll be next ... once he's cut loose. We're told Tekashi's team hasn't quite decided on that yet, but out of an abundance of caution they're advising he go dark for a while as they figure out that next move.

Not shockingly, Tekashi says he'll be back to trolling his haters soon enough, and insists he will NOT leaving his hometown of NYC. We're told one of his lawyers feels he should reconsider ... so the matter is still up in the air.

At any rate, 6ix9ine tells us he plans to keep roaming the streets of the Big Apple -- but adds he'll be rolling "like Trump" in that he'll have a ton of armed guards around. Specifically, he says he plans to hire 22 of them, all former law enforcement officers.

Tekashi also says he's gonna have 5 bulletproof SUV-like whips to escort him around town. Despite all those heavy duty precautions ... he insists he has "no fear" and is actually excited to get out and about again.

As for how these final days of home confinement will go ... Lazzaro says the feds will continue to drug test him, advise him and monitor his activity.

Bryshere Gray -- famous for playing Hakeem Lyon on "Empire" -- has been busted in Arizona for domestic violence.

We've learned Bryshere was arrested early Monday morning in Goodyear, just outside Phoenix, after a standoff with a SWAT team and crisis negotiators, and he allegedly beat the hell outta his wife ... according to cops.

Goodyear PD says officers responded to a call to assist a woman at 10:15 PM Sunday night at a Circle K. Police and say the woman flagged down a good Samaritan for help and claimed her husband, Bryshere, assaulted her for several hours at their home.

Police say Bryshere's wife had numerous visible injuries on her body, and cops say she claimed Bryshere strangled her and she temporarily lost consciousness during the alleged assault.

While Bryshere's wife was being taken to a nearby hospital, cops say they went to the couple's home to try to contact the actor, but police say he refused to leave the home and barricaded himself inside.

After a SWAT team and crisis negotiators arrived, cops say the standoff finally ended around 7 AM when Bryshere surrendered to officers in front of his home.

Bryshere was taken into custody and booked into the Maricopa County Jail on 3 charges -- felony aggravated assault (strangulation), misdemeanor assault (domestic violence), and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Bryshere's wife was treated for her injuries and released from the hospital, according to police.

NY Giants cornerback Deandre Baker is denying paying off 4 victims in his armed robbery case ... despite new allegations to the contrary.

The new claims are spelled out in a warrant obtained by the NY Daily News ... in which law enforcement officials say they have video evidence and Instagram messages which show the NFL player paid out $55,000 between 4 victims to recant their stories.

As we previously reported, Baker -- along with Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar -- have been charged with multiple counts of armed robbery with a firearm stemming from a May 13 incident at a cookout in Florida.

Officials say Baker essentially worked with a witness who happened to be a longtime friend -- known as "Coach" -- to orchestrate the payouts at the office of Dunbar's attorney.

Cops say they have IG direct messages from Baker to "Coach" saying, "Yo I’m in the city now getting cash how much to bring ?? I’m tryna get there too u ASAP."

Cops say they have records which show "several phone calls between Baker and [Coach]" discussing the alleged payoff.

And, there's this ... cops also say they have surveillance video showing an unknown person arriving to the lawyer's office with a "black bag" containing a bunch of cash.

Cops say, at one point the person "opens it and removes the money and the shows the bag to "Coach."

"[Coach] then takes the bag."

On the same day as the alleged payoff, Dunbar's attorney allegedly contacted police to inform them 4 witnesses "have recanted their sworn/recorded statements against Dunbar."

Coincidence? The cops think not.

But, Baker's attorney Bradford Cohen tells us Baker did NOT pay anyone off ... period -- denying all of the new allegations.

Cohen says, "Deandre has been saying since day 1 that this was an extortion scene. Nothing from that day has changed."

"Any texts from [Baker] to these extortionists were made to keep them on the hook, as we informed authorities of this extortion the minute money was demanded."

"Deandre was with his attorneys, including myself, on the day in question and I was in contact with the authorities at the same time of the extortion demand."

"We have no affidavits from the alleged victims. Our affidavits are from independent witnesses."

Cohen says Baker has also taken a lie detector test from a "nationally recognized examiner" and passed as truthful.

The drama continues ... stay tuned.