Fairly Legal

Jonathan Mattingly -- one of the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor -- is suing her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, for shooting him in the leg during the raid.

The Louisville officer claims Walker's actions were "outrageous, intolerable, and offends all accepted standards of decency and morality." Mattingly says since March 13 -- the night he and 2 other officers busted into Taylor's apartment and killed her -- he has experienced "severe trauma, mental anguish, and emotional distress" due to what Walker did to him.

As we've reported ... Walker claims he fired a shot because the cops didn't ID themselves and he thought they were home intruders. Mattingly says they did announce themselves several times as cops. He says when they broke in, he was shot with a 9mm.

The cops were at Taylor's home as part of a failed narcotics raid. No drugs were found, and Breonna had no criminal history.

Walker was initially arrested for attempted murder, but those charges were later dropped. Walker sued the Louisville Metro PD for misconduct, and also sought immunity based on Kentucky's "Stand Your Ground" law.

Mattingly's now countersuing, which Walker's lawyer calls a "baseless attempt to further victimize and harass Kenny" and insists he was acting in self-defense.

A Canadian judge has released video of a police officer slamming a woman in handcuffs face-first onto the concrete floor, resulting in serious injuries ... and now he's on trial for it.

Constable Alex Dunn is charged with assault causing bodily harm for a December 2017 incident with Dalia Kafi, who he had arrested for breaking a court-ordered curfew.

As you can see in the surveillance footage ... Dunn walks Kafi, already in handcuffs, into the police station for a booking photo ... but then it appears he attempts to take off a head scarf she's wearing.

Kafi flinches and leans away, and after a few seconds of struggling to remove her scarf, Dunn violently flips her forward ... slamming her face and head on the hard floor. Blood can be seen immediately dripping from her face onto the floor.

Staff Sgt. Gordon Macdonald, who witnessed the incident and tended to Kafi afterward, referred to Dunn's move as a "judo-style throw" ... and called it "the worst use of force" he had ever seen during his testimony this week in Dunn's case.

Macdonald testified, "There's only one type of sound when somebody's bone hits the floor and that's what I heard." Kafi was taken to the hospital and needed surgery for a broken nose and stitches in her lip.

Dunn was reportedly suspended with pay for a year after he was charged for the incident, but has been brought back in an administrative role with the Calgary Police Service.

Jerry Falwell Jr. says it's bad enough he was the victim of an extortion plot over a phony sex scandal, but then the university his own father founded gave him the boot over the matter ... according to a new lawsuit.

Falwell Jr. filed legal docs accusing Liberty University -- founded by his father in 1971 -- of forcing his resignation in the wake of a former acquaintance, Giancarlo Granda, alleging he had sex with Falwell's wife as Falwell watched.

In the suit, Falwell says he and his family became the targets of a malicious smear campaign incited by anti-evangelical forces ... after Liberty University used the allegations as an excuse to force him to step down.

Falwell even claims these were efforts by political operatives pissed about his support of President Trump.

Granda told Reuters back in August the affair with Falwell's wife started in 2012 and lasted until 2018. In docs, Falwell admits Granda had an affair with his wife that ended in 2014, but denies watching them for pleasure. He also claims Granda demanded enormous cash payments from the Falwells to stay silent. Falwell says he refused to pay, and that's when he claims Granda went to the media.

Falwell claims Liberty University accepted the salacious and baseless accusations against him and his wife at face value and then a day later forced his resignation as president after 13 years at the helm. He insists the school didn't conduct an investigation.

Breonna Taylor's mother says the case KY Attorney General Daniel Cameron presented to the grand jury was flawed and biased ... and she's pushing for a do-over.

Tamika Palmer's filed legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- seeking to have an independent prosecutor appointed to her daughter's case in order to give a brand new grand jury an "unbiased" presentation of the evidence.

Ironically, Cameron had taken over the case back in May, as a special prosecutor, to avoid the appearance of impropriety arising from the local Jefferson County D.A. investigating Louisville cops.

Palmer's asking the Kentucky Prosecutors Advisory Council to begin the process to "restore the confidence in the grand jury process" in the state ... according to her lawyers.

The request comes on the heels of multiple grand jurors speaking out against AG Cameron, claiming he neglected to present a case for possible homicide charges against the police officers who shot Breonna.

According to the jurors, they were never given the option to even consider homicide charges because Cameron told them they wouldn't hold up in court. The jurors say they felt otherwise.

Tamar Braxton challenged her ex to release video allegedly showing her attacking him in his car, but he's saying he can't -- 'cause Tamar busted the camera to pieces.

A rep for David Adefeso -- who recently got a TRO against Tamar over this -- tells TMZ her recent plea on "The Tamron Hall Show" for him to show his cards as far as evidence is moot ... because she knows damn well she destroyed his camera, ensuring there's no video evidence.

Not only that, but the rep tells us David's dashcam only captured front and back views from the car ... it didn't record anything inside the vehicle, something we're told Tamar would know if she had just asked before jumping to conclusions and acting hastily.

The rep says the destruction of David's property after the alleged attack ended up costing him upwards of $1,600. In fact, he's now claiming he had to shell out more than $7,500 total for other damage she allegedly caused in the violent episode this past August.

You'll recall ... David ran to court seeking protection in September, claiming Tamar punched him in the throat while he was driving ... almost causing him to crash. David also alleges she's threatened violence on him via goons from her ex-husband. A judge granted the TRO.

Since then, Tamar went on the 'Tamron Hall Show' to give her side of things -- claiming there was no violent act captured on David's camera or an audio recording she made in the moment.

Two grand jurors in the Breonna Taylor case are speaking on camera to call out Attorney General Daniel Cameron -- who they say betrayed them by never giving them a chance to consider murder or manslaughter charges against the officers.

CBS News' Gayle King spoke to the 2 male jurors -- one Black and one white -- who told Gayle they wanted to set the record straight about Cameron's characterization of their thinking.

The takeaway from their statements ... the AG's office did NOT present them any possible murder charges, attempted murder charges or manslaughter charges -- which the two jurors believe would've been appropriate to consider, had they been given a chance to do so. The jurors make clear that after 20 hours of testimony, they thought that's where the case was going -- murder charges against the cops -- but when they got to the finish line ... all Cameron's team had for them was a wanton endangerment charge.

Gayle asks if the room said something in that moment, when nothing but a minor charge against former Officer Hankison was presented -- and both men say yes, telling her there was uproar and confusion. The answer they say they got back from prosecutors ... that's all that would stick.

There's more ... the grand jurors say they were pissed when Daniel Cameron got up to the podium on the day he broke down their decision and told the media that even though there are 6 possible homicide charges under Kentucky law ... none of them applied to this case since the officers were justified in firing back in self-defense, and that the grand jury agreed.

The men say that couldn't be further from the truth, adding that the first time they'd heard about 6 possible homicide charges was right then and there when Cameron made it seem like it was their decision.

Speaking of the firing back at Kenneth Walker -- who says he fired one warning shot, thinking the cops were intruders -- the 2 anonymous grand jurors here say they find his story believable, and that there are too many inconsistencies with the officers' accounts.

The white juror says that night of the raid was a complete mess on the LMPD's part -- no leadership, no solid plan and no organization ... just a ragtag team winging it. The Black juror puts it a bit more bluntly as far as the aftermath -- telling Gayle the state of Kentucky covered their ass and the ass of those officers, saying, "they covered it up."

Fashion Nova's pimping a new bunny costume that looks real familiar to anyone who's read Playboy -- for the articles, of course -- at least that's the magazine's claim in a new lawsuit.

Playboy's pissed at Fashion Nova for rolling out new bunny costumes, just in time for Halloween, which it claims are plainly "an attempt to piggyback off the popularity and renown of Playboy's iconic bunny costume."

Translation: Quit bitin' our bunny!

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Playboy says Fashion Nova completely ripped off its iconic costume -- which includes cuffs, collar, bowtie, corset, ribbon name tag, bunny ears and tail -- and is selling them as Halloween costumes on its website. According to the suit, Fashion Nova's even using the description "Bunny of the Month," which Playboy says is a clear reference to its Playmate of the Month trademark.

The magazine says when the general public thinks of the Playboy brand, "one of the first things that come to mind is the Playboy Bunnies and their iconic costumes."

In the suit, Playboy says it sent Fashion Nova a cease and desist, yet it continues to market and sell the costume. Playboy's suing for trademark infringement and wants a judge to shut down all sales of Fashion Nova's bunny costumes.

We've reached out to Fashion Nova, so far no word back.

Instagram model Deyana Mounira claims her career was derailed by a photo shoot with an aroused pooch humping her leg ... and she's seeking legal payback against its owner.

Deyana just filed suit against Tony Toutoni, the guy who owns the Russian royal terrier seen on video humping the bikini-clad model by a pool.

According to the new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Deyana claims her promising career hit a major speed bump when Tony lured her to the April 2018 photo shoot, which she says turned out to be a scam.

In the docs, Deyana says the shoot was a bait and switch for a perverse stunt, which saw Tony encouraging his pooch to "f*** her" on camera in order to get content for his IG account ... which she labels "misogynistic."

You'll recall ... Deyana was initially sued by Tony, who claimed she sexually aroused the pooch, named Hef, by playing with its genitals. Deyana claimed she was the real victim, and said Tony was the one sexually harassing HER.

In her suit, Deyana also claims Tony falsely reported her to the FBI ... and tried to grope her while attempting to get in her in bed at the shoot location.

Deyana, through her attorneys Ben Meiselas and Dev Das, is going after Tony for money and other relief.

Keith Raniere -- the leader of NXIVM, a sex cult operating under the guise of a self-help organization -- will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

The judge sentenced 60-year-old Raniere to 120 years in prison Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court. His sentencing came after 15 former NXIVM members confronted him over the physical and emotional abuse they endured under his guidance in the cult.

Raniere -- known as "Vanguard" to his followers and the subject of the HBO docuseries, "The Vow" -- was arrested in March 2018 for sex trafficking, but was still relatively flying under the radar until it came out that "Smallville" actress Allison Mack was linked to him and the cult. She was arrested the next month.

Mack allegedly served as Raniere's accomplice in forming the DOS group in NXIVM, which manipulated women into being branded above their pubic regions with his initials.

Raniere was convicted of wire fraud conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy, and 4 other charges for his role as leader of the cult for 2 decades.

As we reported ... Mack pled guilty in her case to racketeering conspiracy and racketeering in April 2019, and is still awaiting sentencing. She's facing up to 40 years.

Former NFL star Terrelle Pryor and his ex-girlfriend, Shalaya Briston, were just sentenced to probation stemming from their infamous 2019 stabbing altercation ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Court records show both Pryor and Briston cut plea deals with prosecutors to close out the cases Tuesday ... and in exchange for guilty pleas to lesser charges, the 2 were each hit with probation.

In Pryor's case ... court records show he pled down from misdemeanor assault to harassment and got 90 days probation.

In Briston's case ... the docs show she pled down from felony aggravated assault to misdemeanor simple assault and got 2 years probation.

As we previously reported, the two were both hit with criminal charges after Briston stabbed Pryor (nearly to death) during an altercation at TP's Pittsburgh-area home on Nov. 30, 2019.

According to the police report, a witness claimed Pryor attacked Briston and her friends after a night out of partying ... which led to Briston ultimately stabbing the former Browns receiver in defense.

Pyror's attorney had vehemently denied those allegations ... claiming it was Briston and her friends who were the aggressors.

Ultimately, Pryor ended up campaigning for Briston's release from jail in a court hearing a few weeks after the incident ... reportedly saying, "let her out."

We've reached out to attorneys for both Pryor and Briston for comment -- as well as prosecutors in the case -- but so far, no word back from anyone yet.

Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court is bringing out heated reactions -- pro and against -- which spilled onto the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

Tons of protesters -- including some dressed as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale" -- showed up Monday night on Capitol Hill to rail against the third SCOTUS Justice nominated by President Trump.

Check out the video ... things were pretty tense as one man -- not wearing a mask -- is getting into an argument that quickly turns heated. Another man with a bullhorn interjected, but that only amped up the rage. Police responded to separate the angry parties.

As we reported ... Barrett was sworn in as the 115th Supreme Court justice in a ceremony at the White House. During her speech, she promised to carry out her duties independently from the presidency, congress and her own private beliefs.

But, it's clear protesters are not confident ACB will keep her religious views out of her decision-making while on the highest court in the land ... hence the protesters dressed as 'Handmaid's Tale' characters.

There were no eleventh-hour surprises -- Amy Coney Barrett got the votes she needed to be confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States, which is now staunchly conservative.

President Trump's pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed by the Senate Monday with a final tally of 52 to 48 ... with Senator Susan Collins as the only Republican to join every Senate Democrat in voting no.

The confirmation comes just 8 days before Election Day and after Barrett's nomination was fast-tracked despite an outcry from Democrats, who think the American people should have a say in the makeup of the highest court in the land.

Senate Democrats huffed and puffed while unable to halt Barrett's confirmation ... and when all was said and done, a majority of the Senate overlooked recent precedent and determined ACB was deserving of a spot on SCOTUS.

Justice Clarence Thomas is expected to swear-in Barrett at the White House during tonight's outdoor ceremony.

As you know ... Barrett's confirmation gifts conservatives a 6-3 majority on the High Court, where she's likely to serve for decades as she's only 48 years old.

Get ready ... abortion rights, the Affordable Care Act, LGBTQ rights, voting rights and tons of other fundamental issues and policies are now squarely in the crosshairs of the justices.

Britney Spears' father doesn't buy her lawyer's assertion that he's the only one who can speak for her ... and he's using the upcoming election to try to prove his point.

Jamie Spears filed new legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- in Britney's ongoing conservatorship case which fire back at her attorney, Sam Ingham, for recently likening her to a comatose patient who lacks the capacity to sign declarations.

Spears says his daughter's conservatorship doesn't mean she's stripped of all of her rights -- for instance, she still has the right to vote -- and he notes she's testified at deposition and multiple times in court during the conservatorship.

According to the docs ... Britney's dad claims Ingham does not have the unlimited authority to be her "exclusive voice" -- she has the right to be heard.

We broke the story ... the reason this all came up in the first place is because Ingham told the judge earlier this month that Brit does not want to perform again. Jamie's side called that hearsay, because it was coming from Ingham and not Britney herself.

The judge asked why Britney had not filed a declaration about her career intent -- and Ingham said that's because she lacks the mental capacity to do so ... like a person in a coma.

Phil Collins is still NOT feeling Donald Trump's rally playlist ... he wants the Prez's campaign to quit pumping "In The Air Tonight" through its PA speakers.

Here's the deal ... Trump's campaign blared Phil's hit song at his Des Moines rally earlier this month -- and at several others since then -- and the singer is royally pissed.

Phil's legal team fired off a cease and desist letter to Trump's camp, obtained by TMZ, claiming the song choice makes it seem like Phil's fully onboard the Trump train, which he's not.

In the legal doc, Phil says he wants no affiliation whatsoever with Trump or his campaign ... and he rips the President for seemingly making light of the coronavirus pandemic with the song choice.

Phil says he doesn't condone trivializing COVID-19 and says he's worried Trump's gonna stain his reputation if he keeps playing the song at rallies.

He also claims Trump pulled the same stunt back in June at the infamous Tulsa rally, and didn't respond to an earlier cease and desist.

NBA YoungBoy and his crew allegedly beat the crap out of a man in the garage of a studio ... this according to law enforcement.

A spokesperson for the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Texas tells TMZ ... a sheriff's task force investigated the rapper and several of his cohorts for allegedly assaulting a man at a studio in Katy, Texas.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a man and his girlfriend headed to a studio to work with YoungBoy on October 5. We're told when the couple arrived, security told them no women were allowed in the studio. The GF left, and that's when things allegedly went south.

Our sources say the man went into the garage at the studio and that's when he claims YoungBoy and his crew pounced on him, put a bag over his head and proceeded to beat the crap out of him ... allegedly kicking and punching him before pistol-whipping him.

According to our sources, the guy said he caught a glimpse of YoungBoy when the bag was removed. Then there's this ... the man claims he saw a body bag in the room and when he asked why it was there ... he told officers they responded they were going to put him in it.

At this point, our sources say NBA YoungBoy then FaceTimed his manager and said, "I got him here." We're told the man claimed the manager told NBA to release him because he just beat a case and didn’t need more legal trouble.

Our sources say someone was then ordered to drop off the alleged victim in front of his house. Once there, the alleged victim was driven to the hospital by his mom and GF.

We're told the man suffered cuts and abrasions to his face plus bruises to his legs but no life-threatening injuries. Law enforcement is still looking into a possible motive for the alleged beatdown. So far there have been no arrests.

A Trump supporter was caught on camera pulling a gun on a group of protesters after getting splashed with some gunk -- and now, cops are on the hunt for the gunk-hurler ... seriously.

Check out this video that was posted this weekend from out in Woodinville, WA -- just north of Kirkland. In the clip, you see a man -- who was reportedly wearing a pro-Trump cap -- waving a gun at a group of what appear to be mostly young, female demonstrators.

As soon as the pistol comes out, the person filming immediately notices and calls it out ... while at the same time demanding to get his name, as well as the names of the people he seemed to be rolling with, who also looked like Trump supporters from their getups.

Eventually, he's walked back by one of his friends ... and the gun goes back to wherever he pulled it from. The woman berates him for threatening violence, and his excuse is ... you guys dumped something on me. The lady claims it's just water and calls him a snowflake.

Cops were called, and after interviewing witnesses, we're told it was relayed like this ... 2 groups were protesting -- pro-Trumpers and anti-Trumpers -- and at some point, this fella gets liquid tossed on him with a 5-gallon bucket by an unknown assailant, who fled by foot.

Unclear what the liquid was -- the dude claims it was a mix of spit and piss ... but officers haven't determined exactly what was inside. In any case, when they arrived, the gun-puller remained on the scene and cooperated with authorities. He was NOT arrested or cited.