Legal

Joseph Duggar scored a big win in his Florida criminal case ... because a judge signed off on letting his legal team grill the investigators involved in the child abuse probe.

According to new court docs, obtained by TMZ, a Florida judge ruled Monday that Duggar's attorneys can depose witnesses tied to the investigation -- including reps from the Department of Children & Families, the Child Protection Team and the Children's Advocacy Center -- even though many of those records are typically protected by confidentiality laws.

The order also forces agencies involved in the case to turn over evidence the prosecution could use at trial ... including videos, audio recordings, reports and physical evidence. Duggar's defense team will now be allowed to view, examine, and copy that material that may be used by prosecutors before the case heads to trial.

A Facebook Marketplace meetup over Corvette seats turned deadly ... and now the man convicted of pulling the trigger will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Omar Brogdon was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2024 killing of Orhan Hosic in Michigan's Genesee County. Prosecutors say Hosic had arranged to meet Brogdon at his Fenton Township apartment to sell two Corvette car seats through Facebook Marketplace ... but the deal ended in gunfire.

Investigators say Hosic was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds inside his apartment on July 6, 2024. Authorities later tracked Brogdon down in the Detroit area weeks later ... where cops say they recovered the Corvette seats and multiple weapons from his garage.

O.J. Simpson secretly believed he owed his freedom to Mark Fuhrman after his acquittal in his famous 1995 double murder trial -- while also thinking the then-LAPD detective was a total racist, according to The Juice's attorney.

Malcolm LaVergne, OJ's longtime lawyer and executor of his estate, tells TMZ ... "Privately, O.J. was very thankful for Mark Fuhrman because Mark Fuhrman blew up the case for prosecutors" during O.J.'s 1995 trial for the savage murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman, in Los Angeles. LaVergne pointed out O.J. saw Fuhrman as his "get out of jail free card."

As we first reported, Fuhrman died from throat cancer Tuesday in Idaho, where he moved after retiring from the Los Angeles Police Department in August 1995.

LaVergne also said O.J. didn't care much for Fuhrman, viewing him as a racist after his repeated use of the n-word was revealed during the O.J. trial.

Kevin Hart's company and two of his former employees are in the middle of a nasty court battle over alleged company secrets ... TMZ has learned.   

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Kevin’s company Hartbeat sued two former employees, Eric Eddings, who started working at the company in 2022, and Lesley Gwam, who was hired in April 2023, back in February.

Per the suit, Hartbeat says the duo had access to extensive confidential and proprietary and trade secret information, financial performance data, partnership strategies, and business plans for Hartbeat’s audio and podcast division.

Former LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman, who discovered the bloody glove in the O.J. Simpson murder case and later torpedoed the prosecution with his use of the n-word, is dead ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell TMZ ... Mark died from an aggressive form of throat cancer, which he was diagnosed with last year. Mark had been hospitalized for about a week before he died. He had done some cancer treatment ... but made the final decision to stop. There won't be a funeral.

Mark had been living in Idaho and the Kootenai County Coroner Office tells us Mark died May 12.

Paris Jackson looked extremely concerned about her health as she showed her friend the swelling on her neck.

Michael’s only daughter was spotted holding her neck while her male friend looked intensely at the spot. At one point, Paris moved her hair to the side to give him a better view. 

As TMZ previously reported, over the weekend, Paris admitted she got an ultrasound on her neck after people on social media flagged it looked “weird.” 

Paris said on social media that her neck looked different because she’s a singer … and her vocal cords work harder than most. 

Ron Goldman's father and Nicole Brown Simpson's sister are mourning the loss of a central figure in the O.J. Simpson murder case ... former LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman.

Ron's dad, Fred Goldman, tells TMZ ... "Anytime anyone dies, it’s a shame."

Nicole's sister, Tanya Brown, tells TMZ ... "This is a big one and a huge loss."

Mark infamously discovered the bloody glove in the O.J. murder case and later torpedoed the prosecution when the defense proved he'd used the n-word. He died Tuesday in Idaho after a battle with throat cancer.

Joseph Duggar wants to see his kids, but there's a problem ... he's barred from having unsupervised contact with minors as a condition of his ongoing child molestation case ... and now he's trying to get that changed.

The "19 Kids and Counting" star -- one of Josh Duggar's brothers -- filed new legal docs asking the court to amend his no-contact order to allow contact with his own biological children ... according to online court records.

As we've told you ... Joseph was arrested in March and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior, involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor ... after a 14-year-old girl told law enforcement about several alleged incidents with Joseph she claims occurred during a family vacation in Panama City Beach, FL in 2020 when she was only 9 years old.

Streamer Clavicular and his team did not make moves to have his criminal case be heard before the hot judge, TMZ has learned.

According to sources close to Clav’s lawyer, Jeffrey A. Neiman from Neiman Mays Floch & Almeida, denied the high-powered lawyer worked behind the scenes to have a hot judge, specifically Judge Marcus Bach Armas of Miami-Dade County's Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court, be the one to sentence the influencer. 

The clip of the sentencing went viral with many claiming the judge was "mogging" Clav, aka he was sexier. 

Elon Musk took a major L in court Monday ... because a federal jury ruled OpenA.I. and founder Sam Altman aren't on the hook in the billionaire's explosive lawsuit accusing the company of abandoning its original mission to benefit humanity.

A unanimous jury -- which deliberated less than two hours -- decided Musk waited too long to sue ... ruling the claims fell outside California’s three-year statute of limitations. They determined he was aware of the alleged conduct years before he finally filed the case in 2024 -- and that means OpenA.I., Altman, Microsoft and company president Greg Brockman all walk away without liability.

The court showdown turned into a credibility war between Musk and Altman ... with each accusing the other of caring more about money than protecting humanity from dangerous A.I. tech.

Paris Jackson scored a massive win against the executors running her late father’s estate ... but she isn’t done with them yet ... and is now demanding they cough up another six-figure sum in interest ... TMZ has learned.

Last week, a Los Angeles judge sided with Paris when he ruled that $625K in bonuses paid to outside law firms that worked on the estate would have to be returned to the estate.

John Branca and John McClain, the two executors in charge of Michael Jackson’s estate since his death in 2009, argued the bonuses paid to the third-party law firms were normal for the music industry ... especially since the year the bonuses were paid, the estate locked down several big deals.

Alex Murdaugh isn't wasting any time after getting his murder convictions thrown out ... because he's now suing court clerk Becky Hill over claims she rigged the trial against him so she could cash in on the case with a book deal.

According to a new federal lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Murdaugh says Hill secretly worked jurors throughout his explosive 2023 double-murder trial ... allegedly warning them not to be "fooled," "confused," or "convinced" by his defense team and pushing them toward a guilty verdict.

The filing comes just days after the South Carolina Supreme Court tossed Murdaugh's convictions ... ruling Hill's comments to the jury jury tampering poisoned the trial process and denied him a fair trial.

Clavicular just got served the world’s most brutal slice of humble pie in court -- and it came courtesy of the judge overseeing his alligator shooting misdemeanor case ... who accidentally stole the entire internet’s "looksmaxxing" crown right from under him!

The influencer, famous for flexing his appearance online, showed up for a hearing Friday ... but people barely cared about the charges once Judge Marcus of Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court walked into frame with icy blue eyes, slicked-back hair and a jawline sharp enough to cut glass.

Memes flooded social media within hours ... with commenters claiming the judge "mogged” Clavicular, while others joked the irony was too good with the judge being the actual, flesh-and-blood definition of "looksmaxxing."

Shakira has scored a massive court win in Spain ... officially ending her years-long war with the country's tax authorities after a judge ruled the government unfairly pursued the singer over alleged fraud ... TMZ has learned.

Shakira's team tells TMZ ... they called the ruling an "ultimate victory" ... after Spain's National High Court sided fully with the superstar in the final open legal battle against the Spanish Tax Agency.

The court found officials couldn't prove Shakira spent the legally required 183 days in Spain to qualify as a tax resident ... with the ruling stating it was "obvious" the penalties against her were "contrary to law."

Jeff Wittek and David Dobrik can put their legal drama behind them ... because they've settled their lawsuit, TMZ has learned.

Remember ... Jeff sued the social media star for a stunt gone wrong, saying he almost died when David swung him too fast as he was attached to an excavator.

The former Vlog Squad member was suing for $10 Million in damages ... but sources tell TMZ the entire thing is settled and Jeff dropped the lawsuit. The exact terms were not revealed.

President Trump appears to be rubbing off on his son, Eric, who is now gearing up to sue MS Now and their popular host, Jen Psaki, over their recent coverage of him in China.

As everyone knows, Donald is usually the one in the Trump family to slap his rivals with lawsuits, but not this time.

On Friday, Eric posted a message on X, saying Psaki aired a FALSE report on MS Now about him sitting on the board of a company, ALT5, which is purportedly trying to do business with China. The report implied that Eric is using his dad's powerful position as commander-in-chief to make money in China off his business ventures.