TMZ Live

HERE'S THE RUNDOWN

The lawyer who represented Brendan Dassey says he messed up by allowing his client to meet with cops when he wasn't present, and the reason he was a no show is shocking.

Len Kachinsky appeared on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and had a hard time explaining why his PI strong-armed his 16-year-old client into signing a murder confession. He had an even harder time explaining why he then gave his client up to the cops.

Ken Kratz, the prosecutor who sent "Making a Murderer" defendant Steven Avery to prison for life, says if scientists develop a test showing the incriminating blood came from a vial, he should get a new trial.

Kratz appeared Monday on "TMZ Live," and we asked him about the defense argument that cops took Avery's blood from a vile and planted it at the murder scene. Kratz opened the prison door just a crack.

We also asked him about a shocking comment he made to the jury during closing arguments ... that EVEN if cops did plant evidence, there was plenty of other, legitimate evidence to convict Avery.

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Apollo Nida used a precious prison phone call to go on "TMZ Live" and make the case that his children should visit him behind bars.

Nida, who's serving 8 years for money laundering and bank fraud, talks about the heartbreak of being cut off from his family, his plans for his kids and whether his marriage to Phaedra Parks will survive.

It's the first interview in "TMZ Live" history that was interrupted by a federal prison announcement.

An apology from Bill Cosby just won't cut it for accuser Sammie Mays ... she wants him behind bars.

Mays came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday, clearly feeling victorious.

Mays claims Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in the '80s when he invited her to his hotel room to conduct an interview during a New Orleans TV convention.