Legal

One of the jurors on Derek Chauvin's trial says there was no pressure to reach a guilty verdict -- but does explain the most difficult part of the job ... seeing the videos on replay.

Brandon Mitchell -- Juror #52 on the case -- did an early blitz of interviews Wednesday morning ... sitting down with 'CBS This Morning' and 'Good Morning America.' He offered interesting insights on both, but told CBS what everyone's been wanting to know.

Gayle King asked Mitchell if he or his peers felt heat from the public to deliver guilty verdicts on all counts -- especially 2nd-degree murder, the heaviest of charges -- but he tells her straight up ... nope. He admits there was stress, but not the kind you might expect.

Watch for yourself ... sounds like the jurors stomachs turned every time they had to watch George Floyd die -- which happened countless times throughout the 3-week proceedings. You can also tell Mitchell took a lot of what was discussed at trial personally ... as he himself is a tall Black man, similar in stature to Floyd.

Robin Roberts asked another lingering question ... how were they able to reach consensus so quickly, and were there any holdouts??? Mitchell spilled on that as well -- and, surprisingly, he tells her there weren't any major hang-ups ... except on how to interpret the instructions.

Mitchell explains that once they went around the room and read the instructions back multiple times over ... the one juror who was hesitant finally came around, and the rest is history.

Britney Spears may once and for all tell the world how she feels about her 13-year-long conservatorship, because she wants some face time with the judge.

Britney's lawyer told the judge Tuesday his client has something to say, and it's not a stretch to believe there's some connection to the #FreeBritney movement and the documentary with the same sentiment.

Speaking of the #FreeBritney movement ... a woman in a bright pink t-shirt shaved her head, seemingly in solidarity with Britney ... a callback to the dark days when Britney was on the ropes which ultimately led to her being placed on a psychiatric hold.

Though the Britney fan is the only one who shaved her head -- as far as we know -- she's joined by many other members of the #FreeBritney movement that's been gaining steam for the past several months ... as the singer dukes in out in court with her father, Jamie, over the conservatorship.

As we've told you ... Britney has never challenged her conservatorship in the 13 years it's been in place. She's had issues with her dad, but she's never asked to pull the plug on the conservatorship.

That's why her lawyer's revelation in court today is so important ... with all the tumult surrounding the conservatorship -- including a war between Jamie Spears team and Lynne Spears -- it seems like the time is right for her to address the big issue.

Britney's been in court a number of times in the past and talked to the judge, but this one could be big.

The man charged with breaking into Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the Capitol riots insists he wasn't calling her a "bitch" on paper -- he was just calling her his "biatch" ... so it's not nearly as bad as the feds are making it sound.

Richard Barnett is set to appear Tuesday in court to make that very argument for why he isn't a dangerous threat ... and should be cut loose pending trial. But, before he tells it to the judge, his attorneys filed docs, explaining this sort of slang defense.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Barnett's lawyers say prosecutors' claim he wrote "Nancy, Bigo was here, you bitch" on a sheet of paper on her desk is false. Instead, they assert he wrote ... "Hey Nancy Bigo was here biatd." To them, that last word was supposed to be, "biatch." If nothing else, he's guilty of poor penmanship.

The attorneys argue Barnett combined the "c" and the "h" at the end there -- and that he was going for the slang version of "bitch" ... which they note is not as offensive, and might even be considered endearing in some contexts.

Basically, his attorneys are saying he was just clowning around -- and didn't actually intend to harm and/or threaten her ... despite making himself at home and having his run of the place.

Barnett was previously denied bail ... but a lot of alleged Capitol rioters have been released from jail since then, based on rulings they do not pose flight risks or other dangers. With that in mind, Barnett's lawyers are hoping to get their client out ASAP.

Trey Songz will not face criminal charges for his violent altercation with cops at an NFL playoff game ... TMZ has learned.

The Prosecutor's Office for Jackson County, MO tells us they have decided to decline filing charges against the singer, citing insufficient evidence.

We broke the story ... Trey was arrested back in January at a Kansas City Chiefs home playoff game, with video showing what looked like a violent dust-up with a police officer.

The incident started when Songz allegedly refused to wear a mask inside Arrowhead Stadium, despite coronavirus protocols in place at the game.

As we told you, Trey was arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest -- both misdemeanors -- and for assaulting a police officer, a low-grade felony.

The footage police released appeared to show Trey throwing the first punch during his interaction with police, but his camp claimed the officer had it out for him before the brawl. In any event, no charges are being filed in the case.

If Rep. Karen Bass were a betting woman, she's close to betting the house, no pun intended, on Congress passing police reform legislation and getting it signed by President Biden in no time.

The U.S. Congresswoman for California's 37th District joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" and laid out surprisingly good odds for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to get the necessary votes in, not only in the House, but in the Senate ... where Republicans have numbers to stall or kill the bill.

Bass, who introduced the bill in June 2020, says she's been working closely with Sen. Tim Scott -- who's spearheading efforts to gather enough Republican votes -- and she believes he's fully committed to getting it passed. Right now she's putting their odds of success at 80 percent, but explains she might go even higher than that.

The bill aims to ban chokeholds, no-knock warrants and profiling, and also to set national standards for police training ... among many other things.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump -- who's repping Andrew Brown Jr.'s family -- came on "TMZ Live" Tuesday to discuss the private autopsy results ... which he says jibes with what the family has seen, a flat-out execution.

Crump suggests there's a major cover-up at hand with this ... and it all seems to have started with what deputies told dispatchers when this all unfolded last week -- that Andrew was shot in the back, and not in the back of the head, which is what ultimately killed him.

It's just one more piece of an ugly puzzle that Crump says is coming together slowly but surely. Speaking of time, he made a point to explain why the Brown family is trying to get this body cam video uncovered publicly ASAP ... as opposed to letting it trickle out at the County's discretion.

He says he doesn't want people to forget Andrew Brown Jr. ... like so many other Black people who've been shot fleeing the police, whose stories came to light much later, after the fact.

Andrew Brown Jr. was shot 5 times during his fatal interaction with police, according to the autopsy ... and his family says it was one bullet to the back of the head that killed him.

Brown's family and attorneys released the findings of a private autopsy Tuesday, and they say he suffered 4 gunshot wounds to his right arm and one to his head.

The autopsy, performed Monday, says Brown died from the gunshot wounds ... and while the docs don't say which bullet killed him, the family believes it had to be the one to the head.

As we reported ... Brown's family is calling for the release of the full police body cam footage from last week's fatal shooting at the hands of sheriff's deputies in North Carolina.

The family says Brown, who was gunned down while police were trying to execute a search warrant, was killed in an "execution."

So far, the family has only seen a "snippet" of police body cam ... just 20 seconds of one deputy's body cam with the faces blurred of other deputies on the scene.

One family attorney says the video begins with Brown sitting in his car in his driveway, blocked in by police, with his hands on the steering wheel and deputies demanding to see his hands.

The fam says multiple cops were shooting at Andrew, and he tried backing out of the driveway to escape a hail of bullets, but ended up slamming into a tree.

Brown's killing has sparked protests and demonstrations in Elizabeth City and surrounding areas, with the mayor there declaring a state of emergency.

There's still no official word on when the shooting video will be revealed to the public, but 7 deputies were already placed on administrative leave, 2 resigned and one retired.

This is equal parts sad and wild -- a dog trainer in New Zealand has been disqualified from racing ... after one of her winning greyhounds tested positive for METH.

It's crazy ... but unfortunately, it's true.

Here's what happened ... trainer Angela Helen Turnwald and her dog, Zipping Sarah, secured first place at the Addington Raceway in Christchurch last November ... earning a $4,000 prize, according to the New Zealand Herald.

But, the money never made it to Turnwald's pockets ... after her winning doggo's post-race urine test was flagged for amphetamine and methamphetamine.

The Judicial Control Authority for Racing investigated ... and while it was unable to determine "a deliberate wrongdoing," an example had to be made for the rest of the sport ... and Turnwald was hit with a 4-month ban from competition.

JCA chairman Warwick Gendall QC spoke about the probe ... saying, "Methamphetamine is a potent central nervous system stimulant which poses significant animal welfare issues and the level of Amphetamine (as it metabolized from Methamphetamine) in the sample was particularly large."

Gendall added Turnwald -- who previously had a spotless record -- had several people vouch for her character ... but it was important to show there was a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to illegal performance-enhancing substances.

Turnwald's suspension starts April 30 ... and she will also have to pay $3,500 in fines.

"Seeking Sister Wife" star Dimitri Snowden could be in hot water ... 'cause one of the women on the show is accusing him of domestic abuse ... according to new legal docs.

Christeline Petersen filed a restraining order against Dimitri claiming he's been physically abusive during their relationship over the last year ... to the point it's even scared her 2 young daughters.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Christeline says back in January she was woken up one day by him "slamming my head into the headboard of the bed and he was yelling at me." She went on to claim Dimitri slammed her head on the headboard several times. She says she filed a police report.

What's more ... she claims Dimitri was abusive during sex. She says "he choked me during sex, even though I told him not to." She added, "The more I struggled the more he enjoyed it." Christeline says her only choice was to go along with it.

She claims, "I stopped saying no after a few times, because any struggle by me would prolong the sex and choking." Christeline claims things got so out of hand one time she got very dizzy and felt like she was going to pass out. She says she suffered bruises, scratches and redness around her neck from the alleged attack.

Christeline, who came to the U.S. from South Africa to be courted as a third wife on the TLC reality show, beelined it to court and the judge granted her a restraining order. Dimitri must stay at least 100 yards away from her and her 2 daughters because she says they are afraid of him "as he often yells and punches the walls or furniture."

We've reached out to Dimitri and TLC, so far no word back.

Britney Spears' father, Jamie, is going after her mother, Lynne, for objecting to the legal fees linked to the singer's conservatorship ... claiming Lynne has no idea what she's talking about and is not looking out for their daughter's best interests.

Jamie's attorneys at Holland & Knight LLP filed new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, calling out Lynne for "raising objections to fees related to matters that she has no knowledge of."

This is in response to Lynne filing legal docs last week objecting to 4 months of fees totaling $890k and requesting about a quarter of that be returned to Britney's estate. Lynne alleged the law firm was doing unnecessary and improper work as part of a "national media tour" to combat negative coverage.

But, Jamie's lawyers are clapping back, saying that their fees are legit and she's causing undue delay and expense while "stirring up more unnecessary media attention.

Holland and Knight adds ... "Lynne Spears is the one who exploited her daughter’s pain and trauma for personal profit by publishing a book about [Britney]," referring to her 2008 book, "Through the Storm."

Jamie's lawyers go on to accuse Lynne of making misleading and "seriously flawed objections" to H&K's fees, specifically her gripe about media-related matters.

H&K says Britney is a world-famous entertainer and adds, "this Conservatorship has always been, and continues to be, the subject of increasingly intense media scrutiny both in traditional news media as well as on social media and most recently documentary films." It claims its media-related work is necessary and litigation-based.

Wade Robson has taken another loss against Michael Jackson's companies -- a California court has once again thrown out his sexual abuse lawsuit ... but he says he's fighting the decision.

Judge Mark A. Young ruled in favor of MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures Monday, dismissing Robson's sexual abuse lawsuit on summary judgment ... something Robson had refiled in 2020 after California opened the door for alleged victims of sexual abuse with years-old claims.

In dismissing the case, the judge ruled that Robson couldn't prove the companies had the ability to control Jackson's conduct or that the companies had any fiduciary duty to protect Robson while he was with MJ in the '90s.

You'll recall ... another of Michael's accusers, James Safechuck, suffered a similar blow in his own lawsuit back in October of last year.

Like Safechuck, Robson's attorney, Vince Finaldi, plans to appeal this decision, saying ... "This decision of Judge Mark A. Young suffers from the same fatal flaws as the prior decision of prior Judge Mitchell Beckloff, which we were able to overturn on appeal."

He insists if the dismissal is allowed to stand, it'll set a "dangerous precedent that would leave thousands of children working in the entertainment industry vulnerable to sexual abuse by persons in places of power."

MJ's estate, of course, had a different reaction. One of the estate's attorneys, Jonathan Steinsapir, tells TMZ ... “Wade Robson has spent the last 8 years pursuing frivolous claims in different lawsuits against Michael Jackson's estate and companies associated with it."

Andrew Brown Jr.'s family has finally seen the police body cam video of his fatal shooting at the hands of deputies in North Carolina ... and they're outraged by what they describe as an "execution."

Family members and their attorneys were enraged after the meeting with the Pasquotank County Sheriff and the County Attorney -- not only because of the content of the video, but because they were only shown a "snippet" ... 20 seconds of one deputy's body cam.

The family had demanded to see all of the full, raw video available to the Sheriff's Office, but instead, they saw the brief clip, which they say had blurred the faces of deputies.

Adding to their anger is the fact they were only shown a single deputy's body cam. Their attorneys say the 20-second clip made it clear there were 7 to 8 other deputies on the scene ... whose body cam's presumably show more of the deadly incident.

Bakari Sellers, one of the family's attorneys, says the County Attorney disrespected him and the family before the viewing by saying he "was not going to be f**king bullied."

As brief as the video was ... the Browns say it showed a lot. For instance, one family attorney says the clip begins with Andrew Brown sitting in his car in his driveway -- blocked in by cops -- with his hands on his steering wheel as several different deputies demand to see his hands.

The family says Andrew was getting shot at by multiple cops -- and they couldn't keep track of how many shots rang out. They say Andrew tried backing out of the driveway to escape the gunfire, but slammed into a tree. The Browns describe seeing Glocks and assault rifles on the scene ... and even some evidence shots were fired before the video started. They say they weren't shown anything that led up to the chaos.

The lawyers and the family are emphatic ... they believe the County is trying to hide something, and that the officers involved need to be arrested immediately.

Brown's family retained several attorneys, including Sellers, Ben Crump and Harry Daniels. They've all been very vocal about demanding transparency ... something they feel, more than ever, they're not getting after viewing the brief clip.

Brown was gunned down last Wednesday when the sheriff's office was executing a search warrant.

The mayor there, Bettie Parker, has declared a state of emergency ahead of expected unrest and demonstrations ... which will presumably give them access to state and federal resources. Folks have already taken to the streets over the past several days.

Attorney Bakari Sellers is fired up over the delay in releasing the body cam footage that shows the police killing of Andrew Brown Jr. ... and he's fed up with Congress, too.

Sellers, who along with Ben Crump and Harry Daniels, is representing Brown's family ... is in North Carolina waiting to see the police video of what happened to Brown Jr. last Wednesday ... when the 42-year-old was shot in the back and killed by deputies during the execution of a search warrant.

Sellers says he was promised to be shown the footage earlier on Monday, but it hasn't happened yet ... allegedly because the authorities want to redact portions of it.

The attorney clearly isn't happy about that, but he's on a mission to use the situation to take on the system as a whole. Instead of protesting, he wants people to pick up the phone and call their elected officials.

Specifically, Sellers calls out Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for not signing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act ... something he feels is an important step to ending police killings of Black men in America.

Brown was fatally shot by cops last week in Elizabeth City, where witnesses say he was driving away when deputies opened fire on him. After the shooting, 7 deputies were placed on administrative leave and 3 resigned.

Keith Ellison -- the Attorney General of Minnesota responsible for leading the way to Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict -- says he felt many emotions after the ex-Minneapolis cop was convicted of George Floyd's murder ... including compassion.

The lead prosecutor in Chauvin’s trial admitted on "60 Minutes" Sunday night that he "felt a little bad" for the defendant afterward ... something he says stems from spending 16 years as a criminal defense lawyer.

Ellison says above all though, he felt gratitude, humility and a sense of satisfaction for holding Chauvin accountable for what he did. He adds that Chauvin definitely deserved to be convicted ... but Ellison wants to remind people that everyone in this process is a human being.

The Minnesota AG also gave his thoughts on how the judge should sentence Chauvin, and says he believes this wasn't a hate crime but rather a crime perpetuated by social norms ... and a lack of accountability.

He says of Chauvin ... "I think that if he looks at history, he has every reason to believe that he would never be held accountable … so history was on his side."

Lena Headey's bringing her son back to her California kingdom ... a court just granted her permission to bring him over from the U.K. to live under Cersei's rule.

The "Game of Thrones" star and her ex-husband Peter Loughran were in a U.K. court a few months ago for a custody battle over their 11-year-old son Wylie -- and according to legal docs, the judge granted Lena's wish to take Wylie across the pond. He's now cleared to move to L.A. with Mom.

As we first told you, Lena -- best known as Cersei Lannister on 'GoT' -- previously wanted Wylie to live in England because she felt the U.K. had a far superior school system. It's unclear what changed for Lena, perhaps a role that requires her to be in Hollywood ... we've reached out to her camp.

The Kid LAROI is still a few months shy of turning 18, but he has many reasons to celebrate early ... and we're thinking a Benjamin Franklin-themed party is fitting after his new deal with Sony.

The Australian singer, songwriter and producer known for hits like "Without You," and his collaboration with Juice WRLD on "Go," finalized a contract that will pay him $4.2 million in advances alone ... according to his minors contract.

The Kid LAROI -- gov't name Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard -- got $1.2 million immediately after signing the deal. He's also getting $1.75 million after his publisher gets the deal approved by the court ... and another $1 million payable in 12 monthly installments after that.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, it says KL will get another $250k on the 1 year anniversary of the deal -- and all of that is before his royalties kick in.

The Kid LAROI became known to mainstream audiences when the late rapper Juice WRLD mentioned him while on tour Down Under. They eventually collaborated on a couple of tracks ... and LAROI's singles soon started gaining serious traction in the U.S.

His popularity's still on the rise ... 'cause even Miley Cyrus recently teased an upcoming remix of LAROI's 2020 single "Without You." She uploaded a 20-second clip featuring the track and headlines of her past relationships.

The Academy Awards are being held at a famous L.A. train station this year -- and while that might satisfy COVID needs ... it's also become a dangerous place for the Oscars crew.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a man was arrested Sunday morning at Union Station, where the Oscars are set to take place later this evening. We're told the guy tried running past security and breaking into a secured area ... and even pushed past a guard.

Our sources say the dude was detained by security ... and was eventually booked for battery by the LAPD. It might sound like an isolated incident and just a one-off ... but we're hearing that's far from the reality ... there was at least one other violent run-in this week.

We've heard that as crew members were setting up for the big award show over the past several days ... one of those people was actually mugged by somebody in the area. Sources close to the production tell us the guy ended up getting jacked ... and the suspect fled.

It's unclear if that person was caught or not -- but it's just another example of why it might've not have been the greatest idea to host the Oscars at Union Station this year.

Our law enforcement sources tell us this is, indeed, a high-crime area -- Union Station's right in the heart of DTLA -- and sketchy stuff like this goes down often. With more foot traffic than usual ... we're told that could naturally lead to more targets, which is exactly what appears to have happened.