ON LEGAL

July 2023

Andrew Tate accusers forced into hiding after online harassment from ‘troll army,’ lawyer says

Two accusers of divisive social media personality Andrew Tate, who is charged with human trafficking and rape in Romania, have been the victims of “targeted” harassment designed to “scare them into silence,” their legal adviser in the United States told ABC News.

Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, 35, were charged alongside two associates in Romania last month with rape, human trafficking and creating an organized crime group. Romanian prosecutors accuse the four of sexually exploiting seven women by coercing them to work for a webcam business at the Tates’ residence in Bucharest. One woman was allegedly raped at least twice, while another woman was allegedly subjected to physical violence to force her to keep performing, according to prosecutors.

The Tate brothers, who are dual U.K.-U.S. citizens, have vehemently denied the charges, claiming that they are the victims of a conspiracy to punish them for their polarizing views and accusing the women of lying.

Both brothers have millions of followers on social media with their controversial content garnering legions of dedicated fans. They promote an “alpha male” lifestyle and have gained widespread notoriety for their self-described misogynist views. Tate himself, who has been dubbed the “king of toxic masculinity,” remains banned from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube after an outcry from anti-hate speech campaign groups alleging his accounts encouraged violent misogyny.

MORE: Andrew Tate appears in court as defendant following rape, human trafficking charges

Dani Pinter, senior legal counsel at the U.S.-based nonprofit National Center on Sexual Exploitation, is the attorney advising two women — one from Florida and the other Moldovan-British — whom Romanian prosecutors allege were lured to Romania and then sexually exploited. One of the women alleges she was raped.

Pinter told ABC News that since the Tate brothers were arrested in Romania last year, the two

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July 17, 2023 by LAW

‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Dethroned In Netflix’s Top 10 List By A New Show

This post was republished on 7/16.

Well, it lasted a just over a week, but The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2, Part 1, has just been unseated by a new show in Netflix’s top 10 list. While Part 2 is arriving on August 3, thanks to Netflix’s “fun” new habit of splitting seasons of every successful show in half, the first half people seem to be done with at this point, so it’s sliding down the list.

What’s replaced it? A rare non-fiction program. It’s a new series called Quarterbacks, which goes inside the life of various famous quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota, detailing their lives both in and out of the NFL. I am pretty sure this is another attempt to replicate the “F1: Drive to Survive” formula of doing quasi-reality series of individual sports, given the ongoing success of that series. We already did this with Golf, and now we’re turning to the NFL. So far, it seems to be working.

The rest of the list is interesting. There’s a new show with the certainly eye-catching title of Survival of the Thickest, which is not a reality show about thick people competing against one another, it’s about a woman “finding happiness on her own terms.” People seem to be liking it. Every episode title ends with the word “bitch.”

New episodes of Sonic Prime land in the #4 spot, as that seems to be popular among kids. The rest of the list is a bunch of old list-toppers. Suits has hung on as The Witcher and Tom Segura have slipped below it. The Witcher is dropping pretty fast for what is supposed to be one of Netflix’s bigger shows, but everyone is pretty mad about it right now.

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July 16, 2023 by LAW

“I will be back soon,” says human rights lawyer Shava after attack; files police report

By Mary Taruvinga

TOP Zimbabwe human rights lawyer, Obey Shava, who was allegedly attacked, by four unidentified men who left him severely injured last week, says he is expecting to be back at work soon as he continues his recovery.

Shava, a founding partner with Shava Law Chambers (Rights and Business Centre) and a member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR sustained serious injuries to his legs and arm among other serious injuries and is currently using a wheelchair.

In a video posted on social media Saturday, Shava said he is eager to be back in court.

“My voice is more important in the court room than it is in the hospital ward so I will be back very soon. Thank you all for your support and solidarity messages I truly appreciate..for your prayers and everything.  I’m staying fit, I’m staying strong,” Shava said.

The video shows the lawyer sitting in a wheelchair with bandages on his legs and right hand.

According to ZLHR, before the assault, the four men presented themselves at Shava Law Chambers and completed the formalities for new clients.

During that time, Shava was attending to another case at Mbare Police Station.

Upon meeting them, the four unidentified men briefly presented their so-called case and, without provocation, assaulted Shava, and he sustained injuries.

They also attacked an assistant at his law firm.

The award-winning lawyer has represented many opposition politicians and activists, including legislator Joana Mamombe and activist Cecilia Chimbiri from the Citizen’s Coalition for Change (CCC) party, who were acquitted of criminal charges of communicating falsehoods after being abducted while in police custody and later tortured in 2020.

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July 13, 2023 by LAW

‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Will Return Sooner Than Expected
the lincoln lawyer

‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Will ReturnNetflix

The legal procedural drama The Lincoln Lawyer returned to Netflix recently for another season of criminal intrigue surrounding Mickey Haller, an attorney who takes client meetings in the back of a Lincoln Navigator towncar.

The Lincoln Lawyer originated as a series of novels by celebrated crime author Michael Connelly, the first of which was adapted for the screen in a 2011 movie starring Matthew McConaughey. The Netflix series follows the same premise, skipping ahead to the second book in the series for Season 1 and casting Manuel Garcia-Rulfo in the lead role.

When we first catch up with Haller in Season 2, he is enjoying a small degree of local fame thanks to coverage of his successful previous case, but it doesn’t take long for everything to once again go sideways. However, the season is not yet over—in the vein of Ozark, Stranger Things and most recently The Witcher, Netflix has divided Season 2 of The Lincoln Lawyer into two separate parts, and has so far only released the first block of episodes, leaving fans awaiting to learn the fates of several characters in Part 2.

Who is in the cast of Season 2, Part 2?

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo reprises the role of Mickey Haller in Season 2, with Jazz Raycole also returning as Izzy, his driver, and Angus Sampson as investigator Cisco. Neve Campbell (Scream) and Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) are also back as his first and second wives, respectively: Campbell’s character Maggie is a prosecutor, while Newton’s character Lorna is Waller’s legal aide. Season 2 also introduced Lana Parilla (Once Upon a Time) as Lisa, a chef who becomes romantically involved with Haller—before then being accused of murder.

What will Season 2, Part

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July 12, 2023 by LAW

Manson family killer Leslie Van Houten will be paroled, lawyer says, after Gov. Newsom drops fight

Leslie Van Houten, a follower of Charles Manson who was convicted in two killings, will be paroled in weeks, her attorney said Friday after California’s governor said he would not challenge it at the State Supreme Court.

“She’s thrilled,” Van Houten’s attorney Nancy Tetreault said.

Van Houten, now 73, will be paroled in the next several weeks after spending more than five decades in prison, Tetreault said.

An appeals court ruled in May that Van Houten is eligible for parole, reversing a decision by Gov. Gavin Newsom to reject parole.

Newsom, who has repeatedly blocked efforts for Van Houten to be paroled, had until Monday to file a challenge with the state Supreme Court.

Newsom, a Democrat, said Friday he would not do so.

“The Governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeal’s decision to release Ms. Van Houten but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed,” Erin Mellon, spokesperson for the governor’s office, said in a statement.

“The California Supreme Court accepts appeals in very few cases, and generally does not select cases based on this type of fact-specific determination,” the governor’s office said.

Van Houten is serving a life sentence after being convicted along with other cult members of the 1969 killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in Los Angeles.

A jury convicted Van Houten in 1971 of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. She was initially sentenced to death, but that was overturned and she has spent 52 years in state prison.

Van Houten has had 23 hearings before the Board of Parole. The panel has recommended Van Houten be paroled five times since 2016, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Newsom had reversed Van Houten’s parole grant three times.

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July 11, 2023 by LAW

More renters facing eviction now have the right to a lawyer : NPR

Baltimore attorney Joseph Loveless with Keisha, a tenant he recently represented in rent court. Maryland is among a growing number of places that guarantee lawyers for low-income renters facing eviction. (Keisha didn’t want to give her last name for fear of retaliation from her landlord.)

Jennifer Ludden/NPR


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Jennifer Ludden/NPR

Baltimore attorney Joseph Loveless with Keisha, a tenant he recently represented in rent court. Maryland is among a growing number of places that guarantee lawyers for low-income renters facing eviction. (Keisha didn’t want to give her last name for fear of retaliation from her landlord.)

Jennifer Ludden/NPR

On a recent Thursday morning, attorney Joseph Loveless arrives at rent court in Baltimore hoping to help someone stay in their home. He was inspired to join Maryland Legal Aid after both the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland passed laws in 2021 guaranteeing the right to counsel for low-income tenants facing eviction.

“Homelessness is a crisis in this country,” he says. “It’s pretty much trying to stop the bleeding at the source.”

But Loveless doesn’t know whether he’ll get a chance to do that this day.

Two years after the laws passed, there’s still no system to match attorneys with tenants. So Loveless and his colleagues arrive half an hour before the court opens and offer themselves up. “We will be making an announcement basically right in front of the door saying, you know, ‘Everybody who’s waiting to get in, you might want to speak to us first,'” Loveless says.

For most renters, there has been a legal disadvantage

Across the U.S., judges have final say over evictions, and there has long been a major power imbalance in courts: Some 80% of landlords have lawyers, but just 3% of tenants do. Those facing eviction are also disproportionately

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July 10, 2023 by LAW

I drove around Los Angeles with the star of ‘The Lincoln Lawyer,’ Manuel Garcia-Rulfo

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Season Two of “The Lincoln Lawyer.”

There’s a footbridge between the Spring Street Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles and a public square that has a clear view of City Hall with its distinctive tower. The location is used for a handful of scenes in the Netflix series “The Lincoln Lawyer” — it also happens to be the spot where I meet up with the star of the show, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.

It’s about 12:45 p.m. on a 70-degree day in sunny Los Angeles. Expecting to see the actor in his character Mickey Haller’s sleek tailored suits, Garcia-Rulfo is more casually dressed than expected. My black wide-leg trousers and black-and-white striped blazer look too professional next to his stylish navy trousers, polo, black sneakers and tortoise shell sunglasses.

Leaning in to greet me with a kiss on the cheek (a traditional greeting for two Latinos of Mexican descent) and flashing a smile, he introduces himself — but I’m fully aware of his rising star. This is just the beginning of our casual afternoon together in the City of Angels.

Garcia-Rulfo is back as the charismatic criminal defense attorney —  along with his signature “coat of armor” suits — for the show’s second season. Part One, which consisted of five episodes, premiered July 6. The actor tells TODAY.com that although returning to the show was “a little easier” it was also “more pressure because you now have the shadow of the first (season) being a success.”

The actor’s feelings of pressure is warranted. One month after the show’s release, the series was renewed for a second season. 

After posing for a handful of photos on the footbridge and square where he shyly says he’s not great at modeling (I would say otherwise) it’s now about 1:05

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July 9, 2023 by LAW
July 2023
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