Legal

Mystikal is still being sued by the woman he pled guilty to raping ... which led to his recent 20-year prison sentence ... and she says he spit on her and forced her to pray before forcing himself on her.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, the woman says in July 2022 she visited Mystikal’s home in Prairieville, Louisiana and the visit started off amicably … that is, until she claims the rapper's attitude changed drastically when he came out of the bathroom.

The woman says he accused her of stealing money … which she denied. She claims Mystikal struck her in the face with a closed fist and choked her until she almost lost consciousness. She said she suffered bruises, scrapes, a laceration, missing hair, and a broken fingernail.

The fight for Karmelo Anthony's freedom is heading into the next round ... and a new group of heavyweight attorneys are now leading his effort to overturn his murder conviction.

A team including Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe, veteran appellate lawyer Russell Wilson II, and civil rights attorney Brooke Cluse announced Monday it has taken over Anthony's case and will conduct an independent review of the trial record while pursuing all available avenues of appeal.

As TMZ previously reported, Anthony was convicted of murdering Austin Metcalf and sentenced earlier this month to 35 years in prison. He had signaled he wasn't done fighting the case almost immediately ... filing a notice of appeal less than 24 hours after his conviction.

D4vd's brother is making his way back onto social media after months out of the spotlight ... and right as the singer's murder trial approaches.

D4vd's brother -- Caleb Burke -- uploaded a new vlog this week, marking one of his first public posts since May ... when he faced backlash for trying to spark his own music career.

The video's title indicates the footage was actually recorded back in March 2026, giving followers a glimpse into what he's been up to as his older brother remains behind bars on charges he murdered Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

The vlog itself is relatively low-key, showing Caleb spending time with friends and hanging out in a series of casual clips. The soundtrack of the video is his song "Imaginary Love," which plays throughout several scenes.

Comedian Carlos Mencia just appeared in court for his felony tax case ... and he entered a not guilty plea to all 12 charges against him.

Prosecutors say Carlos -- born Ned Arnel Holness -- failed to report $8.7 million in income and owes more than $300K in unpaid state taxes ... and he faces more than a decade behind bars if convicted on all 12 counts.

Carlos did get some good news during Monday's hearing ... authorities tell TMZ his bail amount was reduced from $250,000 to $50,000 -- welcome news, no doubt, because the comic has been cooling his heels in an L.A. jail cell since last week's arrest.

An Atlanta man's attempt to get lucky turned out to be rather unlucky ... he claims two women he brought back to his place drugged him and made off with his expensive watches ... and now cops are investigating.

According to multiple reports, the alleged victim says he was at the St. Regis Hotel in Buckhead when he met the women and invited them back to his pad. He told police when they got back to his home, the women drugged him.

The man told cops when he woke up, the women were gone ... along with some of his luxury watches, which he says are worth over $25K.

3:00 PM PT -- Mystikal is still being sued by the woman he pled guilty to raping ... which led to his recent 20-year prison sentence ... and she says he spit on her and forced her to pray before forcing himself on her.

Mystikal's rape conviction has rocked his relationship with his son ... and it doesn't seem like they'll be able to work things out anytime soon.

Mystikal's attorney Roy Maughan tells TMZ ... Million Tyler's relationship with his dad has become strained since his father was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping a woman.

Maughan tells us ... "Mystikal has reached out to Million to patch things up, but I don't think that's happening yet."

Bailey Zimmerman may need a lawyer more than a microphone right now ... he's facing felony and misdemeanor criminal charges in New Mexico after allegedly destroying his hotel room and causing more than $16k in damage ... TMZ has learned.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the Sandia Police have filed criminal papers to get an arrest warrant against the country music star on June 18, and it looks like they want to slap him with a felony charge for criminal damage to property and a misdemeanor charge of falsely obtaining services.

The charges stem from an alleged incident on May 27 ... when authorities claim Bailey went on a bender and trashed his hotel room before canceling that night's concert and getting kicked out of the resort.

Liam Payne's young son is the sole Beneficiary of the legendary singer's estate ... and now we know how many millions the 9-year-old has coming to him.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Bear Grey Payne has been awarded the One Direction star's estate ... totaling nearly $28 million.

Some of the money can be used now ... but most of it is held in a trust until Bear is 18.

"The Real Housewives of Miami" star Lisa Hochstein is no longer being criminally prosecuted for allegedly spying on her ex-husband Dr. Lenny Hochstein during their nasty divorce.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a counselor for Miami-Dade County's Advocate Program -- a pretrial diversion program -- informed prosecutors Lisa completed all requirements of the program she entered in connection with her felony communications interception charge.

The filing states Lisa was referred to the program on May 15 and has now satisfied all program requirements. The counselor specifically requested the case be dismissed following her successful completion of the program.

The state announced in open court Monday the charges are dropped as a result of them completing the program.

Josh Sanders went from fighting to win "The Voice" to fighting for custody of his kids ... in what's shaping up to be an incredibly messy legal battle with his estranged wife.

Josh and his estranged wife, Kendra, have been going at it over their three children after separating back in January ... according to court documents obtained by TMZ.

In his court filings, Josh claims he should have custody because his ex is trying to turn the kids against him ... and says she's keeping him from co-parenting. He also claims one of the kids has said she wants to live with him.

The lawyer for the biological parents of a child born to another family via IVF has some serious advice for families considering the treatment -- he's pleading for them not to do it ... unless they've done their homework.

Rob Marcereau -- the attorney for the two still unnamed biological parents whose embryo was allegedly implanted in the wrong Florida couple -- tells us prospective moms and dads need to be careful when choosing a fertility clinic to avoid situations exactly like this one.

Marcereau says people should be making sure they choose a clinic that's been around for a long time -- and also boasts ample resources and a good track record.

Austin Metcalf was helped by immediate responders right after he was stabbed by Karmelo Anthony ... who can be heard begging him to stay alive and performing CPR until paramedics arrive in shocking 911 audio.

The audio captures the crowd's initial reaction to Metcalf fighting for his life at an April 2025 high school track meet in Frisco, Texas ... with a man calling 911 and informing a dispatcher of the incident.

At first this man tells the dispatcher Austin doesn't appear to be breathing ... though he later changes course and says the teen was able to gather some air -- but that he wasn't conscious.

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Pinky Cole's finances were revealed as part of her ongoing bankruptcy ... and it looks like she's on a tight budget.

Pinky, who is known for her line of Slutty Vegan restaurants, listed her monthly income as $6,000 in the proposed plan of reorganization she recently filed in her case ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

In the plan, Pinky said she would budget $200 on children's expenses, $800 on groceries, $80 on gas, $300 on medical, $1,574 on Georgia state taxes, and $1,343 on federal taxes ... which would leave her with $1,500 per month in disposable income.

Now you can see the evidence against Karmelo Anthony for yourself ... because a Texas court has made a ton of it public.

The court released shocking photos, videos, 911 calls, and other evidence from Karmelo's trial ... where he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering Austin Metcalf.

This includes a security camera video that shows the murder scene moments before Karmelo fatally stabbed Austin.

The family of the doodle shot and killed by the Los Angeles Police Department during a New York Knicks celebration says they will sue if the LAPD doesn't admit to their wrongdoing ... TMZ has learned.

The dog's family tells TMZ his owner, Marie Marseille, has hired an attorney as an investigation is underway over the shocking shooting of the beloved 2-year-old poodle mix named Jameson on Saturday ... and she's ready to put up a fight against the LAPD so Jameson gets justice.

The attorney, Brett Greenfield, tells TMZ ... "If the LAPD does not address this appropriately relating to the officer and my client, I will be filing a lawsuit. We play to win, it's just that simple. We are not happy about this."

Kevin Hart believes his ex-assistant Miesha Shakes should cough up a 5-figure sum for violating a confidentiality agreement where he says she agreed not to spill about him … TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Kevin is asking a judge to order Miesha to pay $50K in agreed-upon damages for breaching a non-disclosure agreement she signed.

Kevin sued Miesha, who worked for the entertainer from 2017 to 2020, after she did an interview with blogger Tasha K’s  … where he says she spilled info about his personal life.