Legal

The former Indiana teacher charged with sexually abusing multiple underage children while they wore "Scream" masks is setting the stage for claiming she wasn't in her right mind when she allegedly committed the acts.

Brittany Fortinberry's lawyer, Stephen Gray, filed a notice with the court to hire several mental health professionals to give his client a psychiatric evaluation.

Gray says he wants to see if Fortinberry suffers from a mental disease or defect, which "prevented her from appreciating the wrongfulness of the conduct the time of the offense."

Drake's label says there's a giant hole in the lawsuit he's filed over Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" ... and they're basically saying Drizzy should've paid closer attention to the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

As expected, Universal Music Group filed a motion to dismiss the defamation lawsuit, and in the docs they point out Drake, or his lawyers, made a major misstep when they amended their lawsuit following Kendrick's performance at Super Bowl LIX.

UMG says Drake's lawsuit isn't really about K Dot calling him a "certified pedophile" ... because he didn't even include those words during the performance. Now, the reality is the Superdome crowd did the damage itself, chanting the lyrics ... but that's not on Kendrick.

Smokey Robinson's camp says the sexual assault lawsuit filed by 4 former housekeepers is filled with lies, and purely designed to squeeze money out of the Motown legend.

Robinson's attorney Christopher Frost tells TMZ ... "As this case progresses, the evidence (the crucial element that guides us) will show that this is simply an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon -- $50 million, to be exact."

He goes on to call out the plaintiffs and their lawyers, saying, "Through this process we have seen the bizarre theatrics of yesterday's news conference, as the plaintiffs' attorneys outlined vile, false allegations against Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, trying to enlist the public as an unwitting participant in the media circus they are trying to create."

Mark Geragos may not like that Diddy's lawyers are subject to a gag order -- and so is he ... but, a prominent prosecutor from L.A. says prosecutors need it to avoid a possible appeal.

Kirsten Brown-Neil -- a deputy district attorney for L.A. County -- spoke with us on "TMZ Live" about Judge Arun Subramanian warning Geragos to watch what he says on our "2 Angry Men" podcast.

When asked about Geragos citing a Supreme Court ruling saying defendants and their attorneys have the right to speak publicly about the case, Kirsten said she thinks Geragos is taking a very narrow view of the ruling.

The guy arrested for crashing his car onto Jennifer Aniston's Bel-Air property is now facing felony charges for stalking her for several years.

L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Wednesday he'd slapped Jimmy Wayne Carwyle with one count of felony stalking and one count of felony vandalism ... and said the suspect would be in court Thursday for his arraignment.

TMZ broke the story ... LAPD was digging into 48-year-old Carwyle's social media after finding several rambling posts that mentioned Jennifer -- and, in one, he actually referred to her as his bride.

Kendrick Lamar's verse on Future and Metro Boomin's "Like That" record will forever go down in infamy for its shots aimed at Drake and J. Cole -- but the guy behind one of the samples in the track, Rodney O, says it pains him to even hear it because he hasn't been getting paid his royalties!!!

Rodney says he doesn't really have much beef with Kendrick, Metro or Future, but blames Epic Records and the Estate of Barry White for his lack of royalties.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained legal docs filed by the "Everlasting Bass" rapper on Wednesday and spoke to him about his past year since K. Dot and the boys went super viral at Drake's expense.

Three ex-Memphis cops are walking free, for now, in the Tyre Nichols fatal beating case --  they've all been acquitted of second-degree murder in their state trial.

The jury returned not guilty verdicts Wednesday for all 3 defendants -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith -- on all charges. The former cops were facing 7 charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping.

The jury deliberated for less than 9 hours before reaching the verdicts.

Diddy's third day of jury selection featured a couple people with close ties to the case ... this despite the judge's direction to both sides to better vet prospective jurors.

Proceedings in Diddy's case are moving forward ... with more potential jurors called Wednesday as both sides worked to put together the 45-person jury pool -- and, it seems they weren't vetted with a fine-tooth comb.

Juror 317 took the stand ... which got Judge Arun Subramanian laughing immediately -- 'cause he and the man used to work on anti-class action cases together.

Diddy's federal trial may begin without one of the biggest witnesses for the prosecution ... 'cause the feds still can't get in touch with the woman known as "Victim 3."

The third day of jury selection in Diddy's federal case wrapped up just a short time ago ... and, the prosecution told the judge they still haven't been able to locate this unidentified person or get through to their attorney.

As we told you ... the prosecution, led by Maurene Comey, admitted Monday that Victim 3 does not live near New York City -- and, try as they might, they're worried about getting her to show up in person.

Aaron Donald's been granted a five-year restraining order against a woman he says has been terrorizing him and his family for the last few years.

Donald's attorney -- Peter Lauzon of Lauzon Paluch -- tells TMZ Sports ... the former Rams defensive tackle got the order in a Los Angeles County courtroom on Wednesday.

Donald appeared via Zoom. His alleged stalker, Janelle Anwar, did not show up for the proceedings.

Michael Pitt's been ordered to stay away from his ex-girlfriend ... this after he was arrested on sexual abuse charges.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Pitt has been ordered by a New York judge to steer clear of his former partner for a year.

We're told Pitt has to avoid her home, work or any place where she physically goes ... and, he also can't use electronic means -- texts, calls, emails -- to get in touch with her.

The judge in Diddy's criminal trial is issuing a warning to Mark Geragos over his public comments about the case, and vows he'll be watching and listening weekly to his podcast, "2 Angry Men."

Judge Arun Subramanian called Geragos into chambers Tuesday -- on day 2 of jury selection -- for a tête-à-tête about the famed attorney referring to the federal prosecuting team as a "6-pack of white women" during last week's episode of the podcast he co-hosts with TMZ's Harvey Levin.

Prosecutors alerted the judge to the comment, which they claimed violated court rules because Geragos appears to be consulting with Diddy's defense team. The rule bars prosecutors and attorneys involved in a trial from making public comments that could influence the jury.

Justin Baldoni’s blown so much cash on his legal mess with Blake Lively that the charitable arm of his Wayfarer Studios has taken the hit -- and now it’s shutting down for good.

Sources with knowledge make it clear to TMZ the shutdown’s tied to the ongoing lawsuits and the toll that’s taken -- financially and emotionally -- on Baldoni and co-founder Steve Sarowitz, though Wayfarer Studios itself is still chugging along.

Sources tell us the closure is a gut punch, especially given the foundation’s powerful mission and impact -- funding causes from criminal justice reform to gender equality, LGBTQ rights, and uplifting diverse communities.

Diddy judge Arun Subramanian looked more like a student heading into a building to attend class today -- instead of his day job, which is presiding over the disgraced music mogul's federal sex trafficking trial.

On Wednesday morning, TMZ shot video of Judge Subramanian as he zipped inside the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan, where he's overseeing Diddy's infamous trial, which is in its third day of jury selection.

Subramanian is in his mid-40s, but he appears much younger, with a thin build and a spring in his step. What's more, Subramanian is wearing a backpack with chunky headphones over his ears, giving off more of a college vibe.

Nicole Westmoreland -- the newest lawyer on Diddy's team -- is a survivor of sexual assault ... because she was allegedly raped back in 2001.

The powerhouse attorney -- who officially joined Diddy's team this morning -- was just 19 years old back in 2001 when she worked for a company that helped people reinstate suspended driver's licenses.

According to Westmoreland, Bryan Williams -- vice president of Cash Money Records -- and a man named “Stone” met her and asked her to make a sales pitch to the company at Patchwerk Recording Studio in Atlanta.

Federal agents just pulled off the sweetest sting in DEA history ... by snagging more than 400 kilos of fentanyl off the street -- along with guns and cash that spread across 5 states!!!

On Tuesday, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the Drug Enforcement Agency delivered a crushing blow to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, which held operations in New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada.

The investigation concluded with the arrest of 16 people, as agents seized the whole kit and caboodle.