The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently heard arguments in a case brought by a tattoo artist against the City of Hermosa Beach (a Los Angeles beach community) claiming that the City’s ban on tattoo parlors violated his free speech rights under the First Amendment. The artist, Johnny Anderson, asserts that his tattoos are visual [...]

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In a society where parents fabricate the disappearance of their small child in the hopes of getting a reality television show, it should be no surprise that Erik Estavillo is seeking his fifteen minutes of fame as a serial litigant. However, given the limited and overburdened resources of our federal and state courts, let’s sincerely [...]

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81-year-old Ann McCourt was walking her dog down a residential street in Los Angeles when she noticed throngs of paparazzi surrounding a parked car.  Curious, she asked the paparazzi what they were doing and they explained that they were waiting for Paris Hilton who was getting an “acting lesson” in the nearby area.  The paparazzi, [...]

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Imagine this:  the year is 1992, and after successfully escaping the streets (or so you thought), you discover that your mother has been killed and return home to find that, among other things, your gang is now playing second fiddle to its rival set and crooked cops have framed you for a crime you didn’t [...]

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In 1982, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered in the small town of Ada, Oklahoma.  After five years of investigation, the police arrested Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz, and charged them with capital murder.  Both were convicted.
In 1995, Judge Seay of the United States District Court for [...]

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Every day seems to bring a new report of an altercation between a celebrity and paparazzi.  For example, just in the last few days, Kanye West was arrested for allegedly vandalizing a paparazzo’s camera and Lindsay Lohan was photographed striking a paparazzo in the face that she believed had tripped her. 
Celebrities understandably feel as though [...]

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The final remaining lawsuit against the makers of the film Borat by persons who appeared in the film was dismissed last week by Judge Loretta Preska of the United States District Court, Southern District of New York.
 
In ruling upon the Defendants’ 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, Judge Preska held that the plaintiffs had waived any of [...]

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