Law

Law

A federal judge on Friday gave the Justice Department permission to release transcripts of a grand jury investigation into Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of underage girls in Florida - a case that ultimately ended without any federal charges being filed against the millionaire sex offender. U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith said a recently passed federal law ordering the release of records related to Epstein overrode the usual rules about grand jury secrecy.

The Special Criminal Court has warned a man that he could be imprisoned if he refuses to give evidence or answer questions regarding his allegation that he was beaten, waterboarded, threatened with rape and had the word 'Rat' branded on his face and body in a shed at the back of a Dublin home.

A judge opened the door to upending Google's dominance as the default search on your phone. On Friday, a federal judge ordered Google to limit all default search and AI app contracts to one year, a setback for the long-term deals that have helped cement the company's dominance on billions of devices. The ruling, detailed in a December 2025 judgment, requires Alphabet's Google to renegotiate every default-placement agreement annually, including lucrative deals with Apple's iPhone and manufacturers like Samsung.

Former NFL star Antonio Brown filed a motion this week to dismiss the second-degree murder charge against him in Miami based on Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. The motion was filed Monday but shared with ESPN by his lawyer, Mark Eiglarsh, on Saturday. The incident involved gunfire outside an amateur boxing match. Brown, 37, spent nearly six months in Dubai, to where he traveled after the incident, before being extradited by U.S. marshals. Shortly after he arrived in Miami last month, he pleaded not guilty.

A Back Bay restaurant, which recently celebrated a Michelin nod, is facing a class action lawsuit from one of its bartenders and two servers who claim the restaurant shorts the tip pool and pays tips out to ineligible employees, including managers and dishwashers. La Padrona, an Italian restaurant which opened last year with chef and Jody Adams at the helm, earned a recommendation from Michelin for its inaugural year in Boston and has previously been recognized by The New York Times.

Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube would face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) from Dec. 10 if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove accounts of Australian children younger than 16. Livestreaming service Twitch was added to the list of age-restricted platforms less than two weeks ago. The Australian eSafety Commissioner will send the 10 platforms notices on Dec. 11 demanding information about the numbers of accounts removed. Monthly notices would follow for six months.

Then, a few years ago, I started a new job, where they issued me an email address with my hyphenated name. I reached out to HR, and they informed me that they use the name listed on an employee's Social Security card to set up the email. If I wanted to get the hyphen removed from my email, I'd have to get a new social security card with the name change.

Gift Giving. Your staff works hard. Don't rely solely on your firm to provide holiday gifts. Get your legal assistant and paralegal a gift to show you appreciate them. Beyond your staff, give gifts to anyone else who has made your job easier this year. Holiday Cards. If your firm still provides its lawyers with holiday cards, secure some and send them out. If not, purchase a box or two of holiday cards and send them to colleagues and friends. And please, no e-cards.

It's that time of year again: Update your handbooks and conduct your harassment training and get it done before the office holiday party. Every employer in New York State, regardless of size, is required to provide harassment training to each of its employees every year. This is not news. What is often unheard of, however, are the many and unexpected ways that you as an employer can end up exposed to liability when you fail to provide that training.

Losing a parent can be a tough blow. The grief alone can feel overwhelming, and the last thing anyone wants during that time is additional stress or conflict. But one thing that can make the process even harder is having to fight to gain access to the assets you know your parent intended for you to inherit. When the emotional burden is already heavy, dealing with red tape, unresponsive institutions, or unclear documentation can push anyone to their limit.

The civilian firearms market is filled with rifles, pistols, and more that have a shared history with some of the most recognizable military weapons ever built. But despite the tactical designs and battlefield heritage, many of these firearms are entirely legal for everyday Americans to own. From semi-auto versions of iconic service rifles to modern precision platforms and classic military sidearms, civilians can pick up these arms for their own use or collection.

But (aside from vindication for Ms. Comey), I always conceived it in terms of the specific disclosures it might bring. Because she claims she was fired because of Trump's gripes about her father, if the lawsuit survives motion to dismiss, Ms. Comey might well get more details of how Trump installed his Insurance Lawyer just in time to try to prosecute her father. (Indeed, Judge Jesse Furman, who presides over this case, suggested in an order he might grant Ms. Comey discovery before the motion to dismiss.)

OAKLAND - Authorities here have said little about the mid-October death of former NFL running back Doug Martin, only describing it as an in-custody death after a "brief struggle" with Oakland police officers. The Oakland Police Department has refused to release 911 dispatch recordings that would shed more light on the moments leading up to the 36-year-old becoming unconscious, after officers found him inside one of his neighbors' houses in the Oakland hills.

Ms Aleena's aunt, Farah Naz, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme a new law would not mean witnesses putting themselves at risk, as stepping in could involve phoning the police, adding it was about creating "cultural change". She said Lady Elish's report stated the safety of women in public required "whole society action" and communities should feel "liberated to act".

Speaking on 3 December at the Financial Times Cyber Resilience Summit 2025, security minister Dan Jarvis said: "We've heard the criticisms about the Computer Misuse Act, and how it can leave many cyber security experts feeling constrained in the activity that they can undertake. These researchers play an important role in increasing the resilience of UK systems, and securing them from unknown vulnerabilities."

The victim had met and befriended a woman known as Chris while in Mexico about a month and a half before the incident, prosecutors said. The relationship between the two, which was non-romantic, continued after they returned home to East Palo Alto, with the pair meeting at a local McDonald's and talking over social media, prosecutors said. Chris confided in the victim about domestic issues she was having with her ex-partner.

If this case remains in juvenile court, the shooter will face at most three to five years in a secure juvenile facility. I don't believe that is sufficient in this case," Rosen said during a press conference Wednesday morning outside the county's Juvenile Center in San José. He said a sentence of several years wouldn't allow enough time for meaningful rehabilitation.

His name was Emmanuel Padilla-Maciel, and at the time he was a 19-year-old known to the woman alone in her living room with him as a laid back, chill type of person. She asked him what was causing him to behave so uncharacteristically. What followed, according to her court testimony, was a chilling confession to a homicide that occurred just two days earlier in the same city where they were watching TV.

Kellam made his mark here as a gifted lawyer, respected colleague, and wonderful friend with a bright future,

"The primary and sole focus at present remains the offences of perverting the course of justice and perjury and this has not changed. However, as was done with fraud offences previously, advice is being sought from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) around the offences of corporate and gross negligent manslaughter," the NPCC said without elaborating on possible targets. Separately, the NPCC said it was appealing for victims who signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with the Post Office to come forward and speak to its investigation team.

A Ventura County animal sanctuary has been ordered to pay more than $50,000 in penalties and other fees for housing exotic animals without permits. The sanctuary, Born to Be Free in Frazier Park, was found to be in possession of African lions, leopards, warthogs, a European brown bear, a serval, a fishing cat, a leopard-tiger hybrid, a lion-tiger hybrid and a wolf-dog hybrid, the Ventura County district attorney's office said in a news release.

New York watched the federal government give up on labor relations law and tried to do something about it. Last week, Amazon successfully secured a preliminary injunction blocking New York from enforcing its newly amended State Employment Relations Act. SERA historically covered agricultural and non-employee contractors left unprotected by the NLRA. In September, New York expanded SERA to cover workers traditionally under federal jurisdiction - explicitly citing the Trump administration's decision to leave the NLRB without a quorum.

This outcome may vindicate the bereaved families and survivors who have fought for decades to expose the truth -- but it delivers no justice. Instead, it exposes a system that has allowed officers to simply walk away, retiring without scrutiny, sanction or consequence for failing to meet the standards the public has every right to expect. Yes, the law has now changed so this loophole cannot be used in future.

Many of us behind the wall believe the system isn't built for justice it's built for conviction. So we're learning the law to fight from the inside. Years ago, while in county lockup, I came across a Dylan Thomas poem I didn't fully understand. It read: Do not go gentle into that good night Rage, rage against the dying of the light. I liked the rhythm and the urgency of it.

Mangione, 27, was arrested in December 2024 and charged with fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a sidewalk in Midtown Manhattan. Public officials condemned the shocking assassination. Mangione became a folk hero to some Americans who decry steep healthcare costs. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges and is expected to face trial next year. Mangione has pleaded not guilty in a separate federal case where prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.

In his ruling to deny the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction to bar the state court system from enforcing the retirement mandates, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank said that, for New York's new equal rights amendment to apply to their case, the judges would need to show that the age limits violate a civil right of theirs. The judges have not shown, nor is the Court aware of, a civil right consisting of the ability to remain a judge, Frank wrote.

At what age should a minor, with or without parental consent, have a legal right to make themselves one with the brain rot of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X and others? That is the seemingly simple, but ultimately loaded question at the heart of dozens of pieces of state legislation (and even more advancing lawsuits) that seek to curtail the access of teenage Americans to major social media networks.