Trials

Yoshiaki Nagaya, Japanese Diplomat, Admits to Beating His Wife

The Japanese diplomat based in San Francisco who was accused of beating his wife repeatedly during their two-year-marriage appeared in court today where he reportedly pleaded no contest, which is the same as pleading guilty for felony cases. Yoshiaki Nagaya, 33, was has been charged with two count ... More >>

Continental Airlines Allegedly Humilates Gay Couple With Dildo

A gay couple has accused Continental Airlines employees of making their trip home less than satisfying, using the couple's own private dildo.  Christopher Bridgeman and Martin Borger filed a lawsuit against United Continental Holdings and Continental Airlines in Harris County Court this week, c ... More >>

Menace to Society: Why Many Young Black Men are Accused of Being in Gangs

Wilfredo Reyes Arrested in North Carolina in Connection With Bologna Family Murders

Authorities in North Carolina today arrested Wilfredo Reyes, the alleged MS-13 gang member who was in the car with Edwin Ramos the night Tony Bologna and two of his sons were murdered in June 2008.From the start, Ramos, who was convicted of first degree murder in May, claimed that Reyes pulled the t ... More >>

Teen Sues Cyberbullies Over Phony Facebook Page

So much for Southern hospitality. A middle school student in the great state of Georgia is taking two of her classmates to court, claiming they used Facebook to humiliate and shame her. According to the complaint filed this week, the student says her classmates created a fake Facebook page, which th ... More >>

Binh Thai Luc Pleads Not Guilty to All Charges of Murdering Ingleside Family

Binh Thai Luc, the suspect accused of killing five people at an Ingleside home on March 23 appeared in court today where he pleaded not guilty to all charges. Decked out in an orange sweatshirt and orange pants with a chain belt cuffing his hands at his waist, Luc, 35, slowly shook his head as Judg ... More >>

DNA Lab Cover-Up: SFPD to Investigate Claims in Secret Court Records

Hate Expectations: Police and Prosecutors Are Quick to Claim the Presence of Racism — but Juries Are Not So Sure

Roberto Acosta, MS-13 Snitch Convicted of Lying to Government, Seeks New Trial

The snitch wants a new day in court. ​The MS-13 snitch who provided federal agents with information that led to the mega-indictment of the transnational gang -- and recorded alleged murder confessions that will be allowed as evidence in an upcoming Superior Court trial -- wants a new trial of his ... More >>

Secret Court Transcript Reveals Concerns About 'Deliberate Attempt' to Mislead Crime Lab Auditors

​Judge: "It's always the coverup that makes the things worse than the problem to begin with"The San Francisco Police Department and District Attorney's Office are both implicated in allegations that a deliberate effort was made to conceal defects at the city's troubled forensics lab from state in ... More >>

South Bay Students Lose Court Battle Over "Incendiary" American Flag T-Shirts

You are not free to wear this t-shirt in Morgan Hill schools​Three Morgan Hill students got a crash course in American civics this week when they lost a lawsuit against high school officials who sent them home for wearing American Flag t-shirts to school. A judge dismissed the case against Live Oa ... More >>

State Appeals Court Upholds Judge's Order Unsealing Secret DNA Lab Memo

​A panel of state appeals-court judges has upheld a San Francisco Superior Court judge's order last month that District Attorney George Gascón release a secret memo describing problems with DNA analysis at the San Francisco Police Department crime lab.The decision appeared to remove the last barr ... More >>

DNA Lab Memo at Center of Legal Battle in Gruesome 1976 Murder Case

AFP/Getty ImagesRockne Harmon​A secret internal memo criticizing DNA analysis procedures at the San Francisco Police Department crime lab has become an issue in prosecutors' efforts to obtain a conviction based on DNA evidence in the grisly rape and murder of a San Francisco woman in 1976.San Fran ... More >>

24 Hour Fitness Faces Racketeering Charges

Racketeering charges should get your heart rate pumping​While your body might be in good shape after joining 24 Hour Fitness, your bank account might not be quite as healthy. A class action lawsuit accuses the ubiquitous workout business of taking an extra month of fees from members when they canc ... More >>

Crime Lab Confidential: DA and SFPD Withheld Damaging Memo About DNA Lab Failings

Tyler Florence, Celebrity Chef, Sued for "Bailing" on Business Partners

An unsavory deal ​Here is something for celebrity Chef Tyler Florence to chew on. His ex-business partners filed a lawsuit yesterday, accusing Florence of pushing them out of a deal to open an upscale restaurant in downtown San Francisco. According to the lawsuit, Florence, who has appeared on The ... More >>

Ben and Jerry's 'Natural Ice Cream' Isn't So Natural After All, Consumers Say

Ben and Jerry vs. healthy people ​A group of health nuts can continue litigation against Ben and Jerry's as well as Breyers, claiming the ice cream makers falsely advertised the creamy deliciousness as "all natural" when it really isn't. Initially, Breyers and Ben and Jerry's assumed upset consum ... More >>

BP Accused of Manipulating Gas Prices and Fuel Supplies

Gasholes are everywhere!​Last week, we told SF Weekly readers about Safeway being accused of predatory pricing when selling fuel. Now gas stations are suing BP, accusing the oil giant of manipulating supplies for a bigger profit. In the class action lawsuit filed last week in San Francisco, the le ... More >>

A Rat's Life: MS-13 Snitches Run Wild While Turning State's Evidence

Maurice Caldwell, Man Wrongfully Convicted of 1990 Murder, to be Set Free

Maurice Caldwell, almost a free man. ​A man whose 1991 murder conviction was overturned by a San Francisco judge in December will be set free after the district attorney dismissed the charges on Friday. After 20 years in prison, Maurice Caldwell will likely walk out a free man next week. Superior ... More >>

Are Gang Injunctions Working?

Is this what you'd call a "safety zone?"​A victim of a recent shooting in the Mission District was listed on a 2007 gang injunction against Norteno gang members. Yet the cops and the city attorney's office are still calling the injunction a success. Some might call that optimistic. Lt. Jim Miller, ... More >>

Playstation 3 Owners Lose Court Battle Against Sony

This does not resemble a personal computer​Playstation 3 owners who have been grousing over their video game gadgets have something more to complain about.A federal judge has dismissed most their claims filed in a class action lawsuit against Sony last year. A group of gamers accused the entertain ... More >>

Internet Businesses Sued for 'defrauding' Online Shoppers

Just one click ​Daniel Cox was just trying to buy flowers from ProFlowers.com when an ad popped up , offering him free shipping. Great, who wouldn't want free shipping?So he clicked on the ad, beginning what has now turned into a major class action lawsuit against two online companies. Thousands o ... More >>

Prosecutor Apologizes for Handling of Crime Lab DNA Scandal

​A prosecutor in the office of District Attorney George Gascón apologized last week to defense lawyers for his failure to turn over potentially exculpatory documents indicating that a mix-up of DNA samples took place at the San Francisco Police Department crime lab in 2008.Assistant District Atto ... More >>

Wells Fargo Bank Sued for Fraud, Freezes Woman's Bank Account

Running over customers​It's hard to say whether Americans are more disgusted with insurance companies or financial institutions. Wells Fargo Bank is at the center of a class action lawsuit where the lead plaintiff claims the bank froze personal accounts, keeping her from accessing money to pay for ... More >>

iPad and iPhone Users Sue AT&T for Overbilling Customers

Small phone, huge bill​iPad and iPhone users might want to take a quick look at their phone bills -- they could be getting ripped off. In a class action lawsuit filed last week in San Francisco, millions of iPad and iPhone users are suing AT&T for overbilling customers and overstating web traf ... More >>

SFPD crime lab's DNA evidence could be tainted by concealed mistakes

Exclusive: Prosecutor Says DA Is Sitting on His Report Critical of Crime Lab

Rockne Harmon​DA's Office Denies Memo's Existence, But Prosecutor and DNA Expert Says He Wrote It in MarchOne of the nation's foremost DNA experts says he wrote an in-house report for the San Francisco District Attorney's office criticizing the DNA unit of the San Francisco Police Department Crime ... More >>

Froot Loops Lawyers Now Going After Snapple

If this doesn't work, take 150mg of Penicillin​Howard Rubinstein and Hal Hewell, whose clients have unsuccessfully claimed in federal lawsuits filed here that Crunchberries and Froot Loops cereals tricked consumers into believing the products contained at least some sort of fruit, have moved on to ... More >>

Obstruction of Justice

A kidnapping victim watched his case linger needlessly in court 
for years. In S.F., he has company.

Grinding Justice: Operation Streamline Costs Millions, Tramples the Constitution, Treats Migrants Like Cattle, and Doesnít Work

iPad Owners Sue Apple In Class Action Suit

Steve Jobs -- and vampires -- need not worry about taking the iPad out in the sun...​If Steve Jobs has been slamming his head into the wall over the iPhone 4 "Antennagate" debacle, here comes another legal slap from unsatisfied customers: A trio of iPad owners are suing Apple in a class action law ... More >>

iPhone 4 Hit With Class Action Lawsuits -- First of Potential Cavalcade

​Pair of San Francisco suits regarding iPhone 4 join Maryland Suit.  Those holding their breath until a lawsuit was filed over the propensity of the new iPhone 4 to get poor reception or even drop calls due to a supposed antenna problem can finally exhale. Apple and AT&T were yesterday hi ... More >>

Judge Blames D.A. Kamala Harris for Crime-Lab Scandal

D.A. Kamala Harris has some explaining to do​A San Francisco Superior Court judge has blamed San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris for the debacle that has grown out of misconduct at the San Francisco Police Department crime lab, saying Harris' office ignored its constitutional obligation ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

A Lack of Conviction

As D.A. Kamala Harris campaigns to be attorney general, her success rate in felony trials has dropped below that of any big-city prosecutor in California.

Appeals Court Reinvigorates Man's Strip Search Claim vs. S.F. Cops

Whether or not the cops can ask you what's in here is a matter the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently mulled over...​A man whom an appeals court ruled should arguably never have been arrested by San Francisco police may also not have deserved to have cops peering down his underwear, according t ... More >>

Reality TV Contestant Jamal Trulove Found Guilty of Murder

Jamal Trulove, who enjoyed a brief bout of celebrity as an unsuccessful contestant on the VH1 reality TV show I Love New York 2 in 2007, was found guilty of first-degree murder in San Francisco Superior Court this afternoon.Jamal Trulove, a.k.a. 'Milliown'​Trulove, known on the show as "Milliown," ... More >>

Partial Settlement in Carpenters' Racial Discrimination Case

Bob the Builder never had to call Bob the Lawyer...​Eight of the 28 plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against companies at a Bayview construction site for alleged discrimination and labor law violations -- including running segregated work crews, turning away black workers in favor of Latinos, and ext ... More >>

Breaking: Prominent S.F. Private Investigator Indicted For Allegedly Scaring Off Witness

A San Francisco private investigator who works with criminal defense attorneys has been indicted on a felony count of dissuading a witness, a charge stemming from his alleged efforts to scare off a star witness in an attempted murder case last month.Steve Vender, in a 2007 SF Weekly photograph​Ste ... More >>

Cocoa Krispies' Bowl of Legal Troubles Runneth Over

A lawsuit in every box...​Last week we reported how the Kellogg's company was not immune to legal pressure. A sharply worded letter from San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera essentially saying "prove it" induced Kellogg's to cease advertising that their sugar-laden Cocoa Krispies cereal boos ... More >>

Kellogg's in More Trouble Over Immunity Claims for Cocoa Krispies

Definitely no immunity from lawsuits.​Uh-oh. After caving to pressure from S. F. City Attorney Dennis Herrera over claims that Cocoa Krispies is packed with disease-fighting pixie dust, maker Kellogg's faces further trouble. Our sister blog The Snitch reports today that a class-action lawsuit ... More >>

Jury Convicts Attempted Murderer Despite Disappearance of Victim Allegedly Scared Off By Private Investigator

​A San Francisco jury convicted Phil Pitney, 19, of attempted murder Thursday, even after the victim he shot at was a no-show for the entire trial -- apparently because he was threatened by the defense attorney's investigator.The Chron reported last week that Steve Vender, a private investigator w ... More >>

Lawsuit Says Sony PS3 Needs to Update Its Updates

​In a federal class action lawsuit filed in the San Francisco court Friday, thousands of Sony PlayStation 3 video game owners who downloaded a required software update claim that instead of helping the system run better, the update caused their system to crash -- and actually damaged hardware in s ... More >>

S.F. taxpayers may be struck with the legal tab for a failed Ingleside murder case

Disgruntled Showbiz Parents File Suit Against Kiddie Talent Agency

...But not for free​Not everyone can have the glamorous life of Lindsay Lohan or Macaulay Culkin. A mob of angry parents this week filed a federal class action lawsuit in San Francisco district court claiming  a talent agency called Be Productions -- which used to have an office location in E ... More >>

Thanks For Staying In San Francisco Levi's! Here's a Lawsuit.

Is that a lawsuit in your pocket? On the very day iconic San Francisco-born dungaree empire Levi Strauss said it was staying put in the city, the company received a legal kick in its 501s several hundred miles down the road. On July 13, a class-action lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles against J.C. Pe ... More >>

Does Pleading Guilty to a Drug Charge Injure Immigrant's 'Good Moral Character'? Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Says No.

The San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that the government cannot use an illegal immigrant's expunged guilty plea to a simple drug offense as evidence of bad moral character in deportation proceedings. Jesus Romero came to the United States from Mexico when he was 10 ... More >>

Fatal Attraction: Illicit Affair Allegedly Behind 2006 SF Infanticide

Three years ago Linda Woo, then 40, woke her two children, wrapped them in blankets, and placed them inside a Subaru Outback owned by a man who had recently broken off a six-year-affair with her. Also in the car had been placed a lit barbecue grill -- which Woo had bought along with a carbon monoxid ... More >>