The rave almost did not happen at all. City and county officials have been looking into how to better regulate such events after several drug overdoses, mostly from Ecstasy, have occurred at raves in Los Angeles and at the Cow Palace near San Francisco. In June, a 15-year old girl died of a drug overdose at the Electric Daisy Carnival held at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. No one under 16 was supposed to attend the rave without the supervision of an adult, but it has been reported that no one was checking IDs.
]]> The commission overseeing the Coliseum and sports arena decided to allow three already scheduled raves to continue, but imposed new and stricter regulations to try to make the raves safer events. The commission decided to ban minors from raves and all those attending the rave were required to show IDs to prove they were 18 or older. There were also emergency room doctors available on site.Source:
80 Arrested During "Love Festival" Rave at L.A. Sports Arena (Los Angeles Times)
]]>Hilton, 29, was arrested on Friday night along with Cy Waits, 34. According to CNN, Waits is a "Las Vegas nightclub mogul" and rumored to be Hilton's boyfriend. Police pulled over Waits' Cadillac Escalade after pulling up alongside it and smelling marijuana. Police arrested Waits for DUI after he failed field sobriety tests.
]]> According to CNN, while police were investigating Waits for DUI, a large crowd gathered to gawk at Hilton. Hilton asked a law enforcement officer if she could be escorted to a more private location within a nearby hotel. After arriving in the hotel, the male police officer asked Hilton to place her purse on a counter while they waited for a female officer who would escort Hilton to the restroom.According to the officer, Hilton asked to retrieve some lip balm from her purse and a bag holding what looked like cocaine fell out. The officer waited for other officers to arrive as witnesses and then placed Hilton under arrest on suspicion of cocaine possession. Hilton has claimed that the purse was borrowed and the cocaine does not belong to her.
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Hilton facing felony drug possession charge after weekend arrest (CNN)
]]>When the practice first began, the offense usually fell under existing child pornography laws, but most involved felt those charges to be overly harsh in most teen sexting incidents. A juvenile found guilty of child pornography or a related serious sex crime could face prison time and sex offender status.
]]> According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, many states have recently introduced legislation aimed at giving prosecutors more discretion in how to approach choosing an appropriate punishment for the crime. Some involved with the issue believe that the behavior is best dealt with between the teen, parents and school officials.Toward this line of thinking, some states, such as New Jersey, are focusing more closely on education for teens. They are seeking to have schools provide education to students on the psychological, sociological and legal implications of sexting in order to try to prevent the behavior in the first place.
Source:
Are 'Sext' Messages a Teenage Felony or Folly? (The Wall Street Journal)
]]>At a hearing Wednesday, Fox laid out the terms of the early release. Lohan will have to attend psychotherapy and addiction counseling sessions several times a week. She will also have to submit to random alcohol and drug testing at least twice a week. Fox dismissed the two drug charges that Lohan pleaded guilty to in 2007 and said that he would take her off supervised parole if she attended every counseling session and did not fail any alcohol or drug tests.
]]> Fox replaced Judge Marsha Revel as the judge presiding over Lohan's case. Revel recused herself after prosecutors complained that she had discussed Lohan's case with her defense attorneys without bring prosecutors into the conversation.Lohan did not attend the hearing, but her defense attorney said that Lohan was healthy and in a better place to get her life back together and move forward. Lohan's attorney said that her client was looking forward to proving that she could comply with the court's orders.
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Lohan Ordered to Undergo Strict Outpatient Care (The Wall Street Journal)
]]>The plaintiffs allege that Father Stephen Kiesle sexually abused them between 1972 and 2001. They also accuse the Catholic Church of knowing of Kiesle's alleged sex crimes against children, but failing to stop him. The plaintiffs accuse Kiesle of sexually abusing them throughout childhood and adolescence. One of the women says that Kiesle sexually abused her until she was in her late 30s.
]]> The Vatican has recently issued new guidelines within the church for handling cases of alleged child sex abuse by priests. According to an article by the Associated Foreign Press, they have also promised to accelerate internal investigations and to extend the statute of limitations in sexual abuse cases by ten years.
The lawsuit is the latest in a clergy sex abuse scandal within the Roman Catholic Church that has been widening since 2002 when the Archbishop of Boston admitted to protecting from criminal prosecution a priest he knew had committed sex crimes against children. The scandal has moved beyond the U.S. to Europe and Australia and even the Pope stands accused of covering up the sex crimes of priests under him while he was the archbishop of Munich.
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US Catholic Church tarred with new child sex abuse scandal (AFP)
]]>Thompson says she was sexually abused by her swim coach, Norm Havercroft, starting at age 15, four years after he began coaching her. Havercroft is also named in the suit. The suit also names the club in San Jose where she practiced, West Valley, and the regional organization of USA Swimming that operated her club, Pacific Swimming.
]]> USA Swimming has been at the center of a widening child sexual abuse scandal. ABC News "20/20" reported last spring that 36 USA Swimming coaches have been banned for life because of sexual misconduct. Last January, former San Jose-area coach Andy King was sentenced to 40 years in prison for sexually abusing swimmers.
According to ABC News, Havercroft was sued by another alleged victim. A confidential civil settlement was reached in that case through mediation sessions between the victim and insurance brokers and attorneys for USA Swimming.
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USA Swimming Hit With Another Sexual Abuse Lawsuit (ABC News)
]]>The lawyer for the plaintiffs asked a federal district court in Louisville, Kentucky, to dismiss the case. The lawyer for the plaintiffs in dismissing the case basically admitted that the lawsuit had no chance in court, which he said was because the U.S. courts have placed an impossible burden of proof on the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit claimed that the Vatican was responsible for sex crimes committed by its priests in the U.S. because they allegedly allowed priests they knew had committed sex crimes to continue working by transferring them to different diocese and, in that way, contributed to continued sex abuse.
]]> Representatives for the Vatican responded by saying that the plaintiffs had finally admitted that they had no proof to back up their claims. Although the Catholic Church's massive clergy sex abuse scandal has involved other lawsuits, the civil lawsuit against the Vatican is unusual because there is a U.S. law that protects sovereign nations from being sued. The Vatican in Rome is considered its own sovereign nation.Source:
According to the Los Angeles Times, officials in the sheriff's department will present their evidence to L.A. County prosecutors in two weeks. Prosecutors will then decide whether there is sufficient evidence to move forward in the process and pursue charges against Gibson.
As reported in earlier posts, investigators are also looking into counter-charges that Grigorieva or her sister attempted to extort Gibson in exchange for keeping the domestic violence allegations quiet. Grigorieva made secret recordings of private phone arguments between herself and Gibson during their break-up and subsequent volatile child custody battle.
]]> The recordings were included in some capacity in confidential family court proceedings, but found their way onto the Internet where they were listened to around the world. The likely career-damaging recordings feature the Oscar-winning director using offensive language and seeming to admit to hitting Grigorieva while she was holding their daughter.Reportedly, investigators have possession of Grigorieva's cell phone, which allegedly contains evidence of the domestic abuse. It has been reported that they have been looking through text messages and e-mails for both sets of allegations and that there is a specialist on the law enforcement team who has expertise in extracting data and evidence from electronic devices.
Grigorieva has publicly denied that she or anyone in her family attempted to extort Gibson. Grigorieva has said that the extortion allegations against her amount to a smear campaign that further victimizes her by undercutting her serious charges of domestic abuse.
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Mel Gibson domestic violence case going to prosecutors in two weeks (Los Angeles Times)
]]>Sheen and Mueller's accounts differed as to what happened when a Christmas Day argument escalated into domestic violence. Mueller told police that Sheen had put a knife to her throat and threatened her life. Sheen denied threatening Mueller and said he had become upset after Mueller threatened to divorce him. Both have since undergone alcohol rehabilitation and are reportedly sober. They have also reconciled. Mueller supported the plea agreement.
]]> Sheen has 30 days to set up his stay with the Promises Treatment Center in California. According to his attorney, he has already spent over three months at the rehabilitation center, so he may be credited for time already served, but it will be up to Promises.Sheen does not have a criminal record in Colorado, so authorities say allowing the defendant to avoid jail time is not unusual. Sheen does, however, have a criminal record in California, including past arrests for domestic violence and drug use.
Sheen told the court that he was grateful for the resolution to his case. According to the Los Angeles Times, Sheen said that he was looking forward "to complying with the court's decision, getting on with my life and putting this behind me."
Source:
Charlie Sheen pleads guilty in Aspen domestic abuse case with wife, gets 30 days in rehab (Los Angeles Times)
]]>African-American lawmakers led the effort to change the 25-year-old law that currently sets the mandatory sentences for offenses involving cocaine. Under current law, a minimum sentence of five years is mandated for a first-time offense involving five grams of crack cocaine. The new law drops the five-year minimum sentence for first-time offenders. The new law also drops the mandatory sentence for repeat offenses involving less than 28 grams of crack cocaine.
]]> According to CNN, Congressman John Conyers, D-Michigan, said that the mandatory sentences for drug crimes involving crack "had pushed the number of drug offenders in federal prisons from fewer than 5,000 in 1980 to nearly 100,000 in 2009."The U.S. Sentencing Commission, an independent agency in the judicial branch that develops national sentencing policies for federal courts, has been calling for Congress to change the crack cocaine laws since 2002. The bill passed in the Senate in March. The House passed the bill with bi-partisan support. President Obama strongly supported the passage of the bill and is expected to sign it into law within the month during a ceremony at the White House.
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House passes bill to reduce disparity in cocaine penalties (CNN)
]]>We reported in a previous post that investigators have now begun looking back at Grigorieva after Gibson accused his ex-girlfriend of extortion. According to the Los Angeles Times, Gibson told authorities that Grigorieva sought a multi-million dollar payout when the couple broke up. Last week, Gibson's defense attorneys met with California law enforcement officials to make a formal complaint of extortion.
]]> Gibson and his attorneys also provided evidence that allegedly shows that Grigorieva tried to extort Gibson by threatening to make public the domestic violence allegations as well as recordings of their volatile arguments that she secretly recorded. It has been reported that Gibson has texts and e-mails in his possession that prove extortion on the part of Grigorieva.
Grigorieva denies that she or anyone in her family, including her sister who has come under investigation, tried to extort Gibson. She claims that Gibson fabricated his story and will not be able to prove the extortion allegations in court.
The couple is in the middle of a highly contentious custody battle over their daughter. The secret recordings of their argument had been involved in the confidential family court proceedings, but they found their way onto the website Radar Online. How they got there is yet to be found out.
Source:
]]>Gibson has been under investigation by the sheriff's department following allegations by Grigorieva that he abused her and their infant daughter. Gibson's attorneys met with detectives on Tuesday and have reportedly denied any domestic violence by Gibson.
]]> Several tapes have been made public recently by Radar Online and feature recordings of volatile arguments between Gibson and Grigorieva. The couple is involved in a contentious custody dispute over their daughter and Grigorieva taped phone conversations between them. Gibson is heard on the tapes using racial slurs and derogatory terms for women. He also apparently admits to hitting Grigorieva at one point. The tapes were used in confidential court hearings for the custody dispute.Legal experts have said that the tapes may not be admissible in the event of a criminal trial for domestic violence. In California, both parties must give consent in order to record a telephone conversation. Since Gibson was unaware of the recordings, the tapes may be inadmissible as evidence and it may have been a crime for Grigorieva to have secretly recorded them.
Source:
Detectives examining alleged extortion attempt by Mel Gibson's ex-girlfriend (Los Angeles Times)
]]>Lohan's probation was extended by a year, but she still missed seven court-mandated alcohol-education classes since last December and in May missed a court hearing scheduled to review her probation progress. Lohan was on probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor drug charges and no contest to three driving charges related to DUI arrests in 2007.
Lohan's defense attorney says that her client is resolute and ready to serve her sentence. The prosecutor for the case said she felt the sentence was appropriate to the crime and hopes that it sends a message to the public that drunk-driving offenses are taken seriously as are probation requirements following a drunk driving conviction.
]]> Lohan had been photographed partying at the Cannes Film Festival the night before she missed her May hearing, but told the judge it was because her passport was stolen in France. Lohan was ordered to wear an alcohol-detection ankle bracelet, which alerted authorities to the presence of alcohol on the night of the MTV movie awards. Judge Revel said that her sentence didn't take into account any findings of the alcohol-monitoring bracelet, but was based on Lohan's inability to maintain weekly attendance at the required alcohol-education classes.Lohan will likely serve her sentence in isolation. She may have her sentence significantly reduced, perhaps to a quarter of the 90 days, because of overcrowding in California's prisons and the state's practice of rewarding good behavior by crediting time served.
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Lindsay Lohan ordered to jail (Los Angeles Times)
]]>Gibson and his attorneys and public relations representatives have remained silent on the tapes and have not challenged their authenticity. Most of his friends and colleagues have also remained silent, and some have openly wondered whether this latest scandal will prevent the academy-award-winning actor from ever getting hired to work on a mainstream movie project again. He was in the middle of an attempt at a comeback after being arrested for drunk driving in 2006.
]]> Sheriff's officials in Los Angeles County, California, have launched an investigation into the domestic violence allegations. They say that the recordings will be investigated as potential evidence. After they complete their investigation, the findings will be turned over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, which will decide whether to pursue charges.The ex-couple has an infant daughter and have been locked in a contentious custody battle over her. A previous tape secretly recorded by Grigorieva and released by Radar Online was filled with foul language and racial slurs. Gibson tells Grigorieva that she dresses too provocatively and that it will be her fault if she is raped.
Source:
Latest Gibson tape mentions alleged hitting of mother of his 8-month-old daughter (The Los Angeles Times)
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