In a case that underscores the severe repercussions of repeated driving under the influence, a Southern California woman has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. This sentencing follows her latest offense, which tragically resulted in the death of a pregnant woman and left her newborn in critical condition. The Details The incident, which occurred in August 2020, involved Courtney Pandolfi driving her Jeep SUV under the influence of a potent mix of cocaine, methamphetamine, and possibly other substances. She veered onto a sidewalk in Anaheim, striking 23-year-old Yesenia Aguilar, who ..read more

There’s a new(ish) kind of investment vehicle driving up and down Wall Street. They’re sleek, modern, and designed to cruise right past the bothersome rules and requirements that normally apply to companies that want to go public. They’re called Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, but their friends call them SPACs.  SPACs have been around for decades, but they were rare, small-dollar things that didn’t attract much attention until the early 2010s, when the number of SPAC initial public offerings (IPOs) hit double digits. SPAC IPOs grew in number and dollar value slowly but steadily, un ..read more

On November 30, 2021, fifteen-year-old high school student Ethan Crumbley, armed with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, murdered four classmates and injured seven others. His legal consequences were resolved anticlimactically, with guilty pleas and a life sentence in prison, but the story of his murderous rampage occupied courts for years because Oakland County prosecutors made the bold choice to bring charges against the parents of the shooter. A High-Profile Case From the Start The legal drama began almost immediately. While reports of the shooting were still dominating the news headlines, the par ..read more

OJ Simpson, known for his NFL career, Heisman Trophy, and being acquitted in the “trial of the century,” died on April 10 from cancer. There are now questions about his estate and if the families of the victims, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, will be able to recover their civil judgment against him. The Trial of the Century In case you missed it, in 1994, OJ Simpson was a suspect in the double murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. After a dramatic car chase in a Ford Bronco, Simpson was placed under arrest. He assembled a “Dream Team” of famous defens ..read more

In a landmark settlement agreement, Google has agreed to delete billions of records containing personal information of more than 136 million U.S. users who surfed the internet using its Chrome web browser. The decision is a resolution to a class action lawsuit accusing the tech giant of illegal surveillance practices, particularly when users engaged in Chrome's Incognito mode, thinking their browsing was private. The Heart of the Legal Battle The lawsuit, initiated in June 2020, targeted Google's privacy controls, alleging that the company continued to track users' internet activity even in In ..read more

A bipartisan group of legal experts is calling for Congress to update a 200-year-old set of laws collectively known as the Insurrection Act. According to Jack Goldsmith, a law professor at Harvard who focuses on Presidential power, current laws are "easily subject to abuse." Considering the violence that arose after the 2020 election, Goldsmith and others warn it could be easy for a President to abuse their authority if a similar situation occurs in 2024 or beyond. The use of military intervention domestically for a job usually handled by law enforcement is concerning to many. The Act of Insur ..read more

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill in March that will put wide-ranging restrictions on minors’ access to social media when it goes into effect next year. The freshly signed bill is the latest in a growing list of state-level attempts to restrict, regulate, or rein in social media platforms. Similar measures have failed in several state legislatures, but bills have made it all the way to the governors’ desks in states like Utah, Texas, Arkansas, and Ohio — albeit with varying levels of success and legal challenges. The Law The law (HB3) primarily targets minors under the age of 16 and ..read more

You may be hearing a lot about conservatorships lately. Conservatorships are legal safety nets for people who cannot care for themselves. A conservatorship is a legal proceeding where a court appoints a person or organization to care for another person who is unable to manage their own affairs. The person or organization in charge is called a “conservator.” This proceeding usually happens when the person, called the “conservatee” cannot make decisions for themselves due to a mental illness or cognitive decline (such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease) or physical disability or incapacity. The ..read more

An interesting case that's catching the eyes of luxury fashion enthusiasts and legal experts alike, Hermes finds itself at the center of a legal storm. A proposed class action lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California is challenging the iconic brand's sales practices, particularly concerning its highly coveted Birkin and Kelly bags. Understanding the Antitrust Allegations If you can afford it, it's yours, right? At least that's how it should be. But such is not the case for the Hermes Birkin. At the core of the lawsuit are allegations that Hermes boutiques have engaged in anticompet ..read more

Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis' racketeering case against Donald Trump and 18 of his lawyers, former lawyers, and allies appears to be gaining momentum. First filed in mid-August 2023, the indictment lays out a long list of alleged crimes committed by Trump and his team in the aftermath of Trump's loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Trump faces 13 felony charges in the case. Many of the charges are predicated on or informed by Mr. Trump's well-publicized actions, including an infamous call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Ra ..read more