Legal

Vanessa Bryant has just won an important battle in her case against the L.A. County Sheriff's Department ... a judge ruled she can obtain the names of the deputies who allegedly took and distributed graphic photos from the Kobe crash site.

Vanessa alleges that shortly after Kobe, their daughter, Gianna, and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Jan. 2020 ... sheriff's deputies took pictures of the wreckage and the bodies in it and shared the images.

County prosecutors had argued the names of the deputies allegedly responsible for sharing the photos should be kept under seal ... saying it could put the deputies in harm's way.

Vanessa, though, opposed that ... and it looks like she convinced the judge.

U.S. District Judge John F. Walter ruled in favor of Bryant on Monday, according to the LA Times, writing in a ruling, "Although the Court recognizes that this case has been the subject of public scrutiny and media attention and that the Deputy Defendants are legitimately concerned that they will encounter vitriol and social media attacks, such concerns, by themselves, are not sufficient to outweigh the public’s strong interest in access."

The county will have the opportunity to appeal the ruling.

Josh Jacobs has officially put his January car accident in Las Vegas behind him ... the NFL star's lawyers say he's no longer facing any legal drama after he paid a fine and completed community service.

The 23-year-old Raiders star running back was staring down big-time trouble after he crashed his 6-figure Acura NSX on Jan. 4 at around 4:42 AM near the Vegas airport.

Cops had initially arrested him and believed he was drunk behind the wheel before the wreck.

But, prosecutors say evidence showed his blood-alcohol level was below the legal limit ... and only hit him with a misdemeanor count of Duty of Driver to Decrease Speed Under Certain Circumstances over the incident.

Jacobs' attorneys told the Associated Press Josh closed out the case Monday by paying a $500 fine and mentoring at a Boys & Girls Club.

As for the injuries Josh suffered in the accident ... they appear to be going away as well -- the running back posted a picture of his face just a few weeks ago, and the gash on his forehead is clearly healing nicely.

Breonna Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, won't ever have to worry about facing charges over the raid on his home that left his girlfriend dead ... because a judge has deemed it so.

Judge Olu Stevens of Jefferson Circuit Court in Kentucky handed down the ruling Monday that the criminal charges Kenneth was originally facing in the immediate aftermath -- assault and attempted murder of an officer -- would be dismissed with prejudice.

That means they can't be filed against him again. A motion to dismiss with prejudice was recently filed by Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Wine ... who said no new evidence had come to light that he felt could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Kenneth knew he was shooting at cops on that fateful night.

Wine had already filed to dismiss the charges without prejudice almost a full year ago ... but he left the door open to possibly re-charge him, pending further investigation. Now, he -- and more importantly, a judge -- have closed the book on the issue.

At the heart of it is the lingering unanswered question about whether Louisville PD officers announced themselves as cops before busting in ... something Kenneth has maintained did NOT happen, which is why he says he shot -- to defend himself against intruders.

Of course, the police insist they did announce themselves -- but Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly also suggested this ... that perhaps both things were true, that they did announce -- but Kenneth simply didn't hear or couldn't make out what was being said amid the ruckus.

The decision to dismiss charges against Kenneth seems to fly in the face of AG Daniel Cameron's decision not to charge any of the cops directly with Breonna's killing ... saying a grand jury found the officers had, in fact, announced. He said it with much certainty.

The Naked Cowboy, famous for performing in Times Square, got busted way down in Florida for his same old schtick ... and cops say his trusty guitar broke when he resisted arrest.

Robert Burck, the nearly naked man behind the Naked Cowboy character, was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence in Daytona Beach, where police also cited him for aggressive panhandling.

The Naked Cowboy was in town for Bike Week ... and cops say he was in his familiar getup -- white briefs, guitar and a cowboy hat -- when he was taking pictures with folks on the street in exchange for cash.

Police say a huge crowd formed around the Naked Cowboy as he hovered near a business on Main Street, so an officer cited him for panhandling. Cops say he refused to follow orders and when he resisted arrest while up against a patrol car the headstock of his guitar broke.

A throng of George Floyd supporters are gathered outside a Minneapolis courthouse for what's supposed to be jury selection day in ex-cop Derek Chauvin's murder case.

The judge in the case on Monday paused jury selection for at least a day and said he wants to hear from the State Court of Appeals as to whether a third-degree murder charge can be added to Chauvin's counts. He had reportedly said he would initially start jury selection with the matter unresolved but has now changed course.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune ... Chauvin's attorney will ask the State Supreme Court to overturn Friday's ruling from the Court of Appeals which said the judge can reinstate the third-degree murder charge. The judge told prospective jurors to be ready to return to court on Tuesday.

The news came after a huge crowd had gathered outside the Hennepin County Government Center ... holding signs that read “Hope,” "Reflect," “Stronger Together,” and “This is what community looks like." They had also gathered there Sunday.

There was also a huge law enforcement presence in the area to keep things under control ... though things look very much peaceful. Chauvin, who is out on a $1 million bond, was seen inside the courtroom ... wearing a suit and face mask.

Dustin Diamond was never married to Jennifer Misner -- despite publicly claiming they were husband and wife -- and their secret's only being revealed because of Dustin's death.

TMZ obtained the late 'Saved By The Bell' star's death certificate, and under marital status it says "never-married." Of course, fans thought Dustin and Jennifer tied the knot back in the early 2000s ... and he'd even worn a wedding band.

The real deal, according to Dustin's close friend, Dan Block is ... DD never legally married Jennifer. Dan tells TMZ, Jennifer was his girlfriend and he wore the ring as a way of showing his dedication to her when he traveled for work.

Dustin went on Howard Stern's show way back in 2006 trying to raise money to get his house out of his foreclosure after losing a child with Jennifer. At the time, he talked about marrying her -- but we're told he did that to get more sympathy while dealing with his dire financial crisis.

Dan says, in recent years, Dustin had wanted to clear up his marital status, and was particularly frustrated with his Wikipedia page -- which says he and Jennifer married in 2009 and separated in 2013.

Jackboy's driver literally couldn't stay in his lane, according to cops, and that's what ended up leading to the rapper's Georgia arrest on a gun charge.

Monroe County cops say they pulled over the blue Lamborghini SUV Jackboy was traveling in last month when an officer noticed the driver failed to maintain his lane.

According to the report ... the cop smelled marijuana in the vehicle during the traffic stop, so he called for backup to conduct a search.

Cops say during the search, 2 unregistered firearms were discovered in the passenger side glove box where Jackboy was sitting -- a 9mm and a Glock.

According to the report ... Jackboy said he didn't know the guns were in the vehicle, and the back seat passenger claimed they were his. Problem is, according to the report, police ran Jackboy's record and discovered he was a convicted felon -- so it's illegal for him to be within arms reach of a firearm.

The "Pressure" rapper was arrested and booked for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He bonded out later the same day for $2,500, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

On the bright side, police say they let Jackboy and his crew off with a verbal warning for a small amount of weed they found -- and he seemingly didn't have to eat any of it this time.

The judge in the "QAnon Shaman" case is scratching his head over decisions made by the infamous defendant ... in particular, his decision to do a LONG interview with "60 Minutes+."

The accused insurrectionist, whose real name is Jacob Chansley, was called on the carpet by the judge for doing the jailhouse interview, which appeared on "60 Minutes+."

Chansley's lawyer told the judge yes, they did arrange for the interview, but felt everything was kosher. Apparently, the judge didn't see it that way.

Chansley, who says he's been in solitary since being arrested, said he was never violent inside the Capitol. He says his participation was "not an attack on this country" ... an interesting argument, given the images of him in the Senate Chamber.

He also says he's still loyal to Trump, despite being overlooked for a pardon. He makes it clear ... he did what he did at the former President's behest.

Good news for Von Miller ... the NFL superstar is officially off the hook after a secret investigation into alleged criminal behavior.

The Douglas County District Attorney's Office in Colorado announced Friday it will NOT pursue criminal charges against the Denver Broncos star -- but officials are still quiet on why he was being investigated in the first place.

As we previously reported ... back in January, the Parker Police Dept. announced an investigation into Miller and later presented its finding to the Douglas County D.A.'s office.

Again, no one ever discussed what the nature of the investigation was ... or the specific allegations against Miller.

But, prosecutors ultimately decided the case against Miller wasn't strong enough to get a conviction -- so he's off the hook.

"Based on our review of information that is currently available, we cannot meet that standard [to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt] and must decline to file charges in this case," a spokesperson for the D.A.'s office said in a statement.

"It would be inappropriate to comment about details of an investigation in which there was never a citation, arrest or filing. The complainant, suspect and witnesses have a legitimate privacy interest and we will respect that."

In other words, whatever was being investigated will remain under wraps ... for good.

PETA demonstrators are putting the heat on a North Carolina police department where a cop hanged and choked a K-9 by its leash, and they're demanding justice for the dog.

The demonstration went down Friday outside Salisbury PD HQ -- masked up PETA protesters held signs condemning cops not only for the horrific treatment of the K-9, named Zuul, but also for an apparent attempt to cover up the alleged abuse.

As we reported ... disturbing footage surfaced this week showing an unnamed cop manhandling the hell out of Zuul, who he was supposed to be training.

Video shows the cop screaming at the K-9 before putting a leash on him, hanging him by it, slamming him into the side of an SUV, throwing Zuul into the back seat and hitting him. You can also hear an officer say, "We're good. No witnesses" ... as Zuul was getting choked.

Friday's protest comes on the heels of PETA firing off a letter to Salisbury Police Chief Jerry Stokes, urging the officer to be criminally prosecuted for animal abuse.

Bobby Shmurda's getting back to work for NBA All-Star Weekend in Atlanta ... and he's set to bank big bucks for his first performances since getting sprung from prison.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... after the rapper takes the mic Friday night for his triumphant return at Compound nightclub in the ATL, he'll walk away with $125,000.

Bobby's hosting the event -- dubbed his "Welcome Home Party" -- with 50 Cent, but it's just one of several gigs he has on the books for the hoops and hip-hop weekend.

We're told Shmurda's also signed on for smaller, private events that will ultimately bring his haul to more than $300K for a few days' work.

Of course, Bobby's not the only rapper taking advantage of the All-Star festivities. Our sources say his pal Rowdy Rebel -- who was also released from prison early this year -- will make $59k for his show at Halo Lounge.

Likewise, Lil Durk's set to score $100k for his Saturday night gig at Opera Nightclub.

Rep. Eric Swalwell squarely blames Donald Trump and the former president's cohorts for the violent mob that stormed the Capitol, saying he texted his wife what he believed might be his final words before he was killed.

Swalwell is suing Trump, along with Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Mo Brooks for encouraging the crowd to take care of business at the same time the Congress was certifying the Presidential election.

Swalwell says as he watched in horror as the rioters breached the Capitol, he texted his wife, "I love you very much. And our babies."

He says he listened to the House Chaplain pray for the members inside the House Chamber.

Swalwell's lawsuit is the real deal because he has legal standing to sue for his personal emotional distress, although the lawsuit also suggests he has standing as a member of Congress to sue for the disruption of the electoral process.

Swalwell alleges the emotional distress inflicted by the rioters was intentional on the part of Trump and company, and he outlines the various, well-chronicled examples where Trump, Trump Jr., Giuliani and Brooks ginned up the crowd both in advance and on the day of January 6.

Swalwell also alleges the defendants committed "bias-related crimes," noting federal law prohibits attacks based on the political affiliation of a victim. He alleges all of the defendants are guilty of incitement to riot.

In addition to suing for compensatory and punitive damages, he's asking for an order requiring all the defendants to notify Swalwell no less than 7 days before any future large rally is planned in Washington D.C., to give the Congressman time to go to court to prevent more violence.

Lisa Marie Presley's been separated from her estranged husband for nearly 5 years and says she's ready to start a new chapter ... so she wants the judge to step in and declare her single.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Lisa Marie says her ex Michael Lockwood refuses to agree to terminate their marriage ... despite the fact she filed for divorce way back in June 2016.

She says there's no chance of ever saving the relationship, so she's requesting a bifurcation -- which means separating marital status from other divorce issues. Basically, let's be single now, and divvy up our stuff later.

One other big issue has already been settled -- LMP scored a big win in 2018 when the judge ruled she doesn't have to pay Lockwood spousal support based on their 2007 post-nuptial agreement.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's nursing home controversy just added another layer -- a woman claims she can't see her husband, even though they're both vaccinated ... so, now she's suing.

Mary Mauro is desperately trying to see her husband of 60 years, Mario, who is a U.S. veteran with advanced Alzheimer's disease ... according to the new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ.

In the docs, Mary claims Cuomo's statewide COVID-19 policies are prohibiting her from entering the Long Island State Veterans Home nursing facility where Mario's lived since January.

According to the suit, Mario's lost more than 30 pounds because Mary's not able to help feed him, and as a result, his life's in danger. She also says she's unable to make proper medical decisions for him, and adds ... they're being kept "from ever seeing each other again in a meaningful way."

Mary thinks Cuomo's COVID mandates make no sense in her case because both she and Mario are both fully vaccinated -- plus, Mario already had COVID and recovered.

As we've reported ... Gov. Cuomo's been in hot water for weeks after a report came out claiming his administration severely undercounted COVID-related deaths in nursing homes. Cuomo called the claims a political attack.

The L.A. County Sheriff got a search warrant to seize the black box in the vehicle Tiger Woods crashed ... because a judge believed there was probable cause to believe a crime may have been committed, and law enforcement sources say the possible offense is misdemeanor reckless driving.

Multiple law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the search warrant prepared by the Sheriff's Dept. outlined details of the crash that left Tiger badly injured. Some of the items go to the heart of the warrant -- establishing probable cause -- the fact there were no skid marks, the objects struck by the SUV before it came to rest, the fact it was a single-vehicle crash, Tiger's horrendous injuries as well as damage to the vehicle and apparent excessive speed.

Our sources say the words "reckless driving" are not mentioned in the warrant. In fact, our sources say no specific crime is listed in the warrant. Nevertheless, a judge is prohibited from signing a search warrant unless there's probable cause of a crime. That's the essence of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution.

Our law enforcement sources say one of 2 things occurred ... either a member of the Sheriff's Dept. went into the judge's chambers to discuss the warrant -- something that is frequently done -- and mentioned reckless driving, or the judge simply looked at the documents and determined there was probable cause of possible reckless driving. Nevertheless, our law enforcement sources say examining the black box for possible reckless driving was the object of the search warrant.

Tekashi 6ix9ine does NOT believe what he did in court to save his own skin was snitching ... and he laid out his argument Thursday on "TMZ Live."

As you know, Tekashi became the star witness in his 2018 RICO case by testifying against his fellow gang member buddies ... which resulted in their conviction.

Tekashi argues it all boils down to loyalty -- or a lack thereof. He makes a decent point about beefing with just about everyone from coast-to-coast and ultimately being targeted by his own crew in what amounted to a scary stick-up job.

You'll recall ... Tekashi was kidnapped by his own security team in the summer of 2018 -- part of which was captured on dashcam video and surveillance footage. He was taken for a ride around the block, where he was threatened at gunpoint, and ordered to fork over cash and jewels he had at his NYC pad ... an exchange ultimately carried out by his then-GF.

In light of that, 6ix9ine explains he doesn't owe anything to those guys ... and even suggests what he did was wise. The Nine Trey Bloods almost certainly feel differently.

Of course, we also had to ask how he's holding up these days, and whether he fears for his life now that he's labeled a traitor with a violent gang. Fact is ... Tekashi was looking over his shoulder when the subject was raised ... but it ain't for the reason you'd think.