Fairly Legal

Meek Mill isn't going to get his 2008 gun conviction tossed after all -- at least not entirely.

Philly's prodigal son went back to court with his legal team Tuesday, where his team was attempting to avoid a retrial after the original conviction was thrown out. Meek decided to end the battle ... 'cause he copped a plea.

Meek pled guilty to misdemeanor possession of a firearm without a license -- and remaining 6 charges for which he was originally convicted were all dropped. Back in 2008, Meek had been found guilty of 7 charges, 4 of which were related to the gun.

Meek spoke to the public briefly afterward, but wasn't all that chatty. He thanked his supporters and those who came out Tuesday as well. He said he wasn't on probation anymore, and that he was free at last. The D.A. in Philly has confirmed he's off probation.

He could've gone to trial if he wanted -- and very likely would've won -- but it looks like Meek is trying to put this saga behind him completely with the plea offer.

As we've reported, it's unlikely the case would've gone to trial again ... considering the key witness ended up being a dirty cop -- not to mention this would be taking place more than a decade after the alleged crime ... and any other witnesses' memories would be hazy at best.

You'll recall ... Judge Genece Brinkley sent Meek back to prison back in 2017 with a harsh sentence of 2-4 years behind bars after she found Meek had violated his probation in the 2008 conviction. A lot of people think Judge Brinkley had it out for him.

He ended up doing about five months before getting released.

Meek said Tuesday's hearing, "I’m extremely grateful that my long legal battle is finally behind me and I appreciate that it has sparked a much-needed discussion about probation reform and the inequalities that exist within our two Americas."

He added, "I have always told the truth — that as a teenager, who saw many around me die from senseless gun violence, I carried a gun for protection. I take responsibility for that and – in conjunction with my work on the REFORM Alliance – I’ll continue to use my platform to make communities safer and reform our criminal justice system."

Future's got more baby mama drama on his hands ... a woman in Florida just slapped the rapper with a paternity case alleging she gave birth to his SEVENTH CHILD!!!

Eliza Seraphin filed legal docs in Broward County, alleging Future is the father of her 4-month-old girl. According to docs obtained by TMZ, Seraphin -- known to her 320k Instagram followers as Eliza Reign -- claims Future ghosted her ever since she gave birth on April 19.

She wants a judge to declare Future the baby daddy and make him ante up child support. Eliza wants the child support retroactively and she wants Hizzoner to tack on hospital expenses she incurred during pregnancy.

Baby mama drama's nothing new for Future, who back in January told radio legend Big Boy he became a father for the sixth time when his son, Hendrix, was born in December.

Future told Big Boy he wants to have more kids ... never mind the legal drama that's followed with in the wake of several births. You'll recall Ciara's had beef with Future over their 5-year-old son.

We've reached out to Future for comment ... so far, no word back.

R. Kelly's desperate to retain the attorney who successfully defended Michael Jackson in his child molestation case ... so much so his team's hitting up anyone it can for financial help to pay what will become an enormous legal bill -- and it might be working.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Kelly's industry contacts have been in touch with his team and expressed a desire to help with his legal fees.

We're told these people have agreed to anonymously help foot the bill so the singer can land attorney Tom Mesereau ... the guy who got MJ acquitted in 2005, the same year he got Robert Blake acquitted of murdering his wife.

Our sources say there's a big catch -- the money won't come in unless Kelly fires his current lawyer, Steven Greenberg ... so for now, it's all just verbal commitments. Greenberg, as we've told you, has called the whole situation "a complete load of crap."

Truth is ... Kelly will have to pull a Brinks truck up to Mesereau's office to land him. Just like in the New York federal case, the defense will require forensic experts, experts in sex trafficking, P.I.'s and on and on. That case alone will easily cost a million bucks to defend.

Of course, Kelly's also charged with various sex crimes in 3 other jurisdictions -- Illinois State, Illinois Federal and Minnesota State. We're hearing he might also face charges in Detroit and Atlanta.

Terrence Howard's success heading into the final season "Empire" just bit him in the ass -- or should we say the wallet -- because a judge is ordering him to give his ex-wife a huge chunk of his TV earnings.

Michelle Ghent scored a 7-figure W Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court when the judge said enough is enough, and ruled Terrence must pay her $1.3 million. About $263k of that is reportedly back spousal support -- and another $1.05 million is based on the fact he's pulling in big money.

Terrence is reportedly now making north of $250k per episode of "Empire." Michelle and Terrence's money battles have been dragging on since 2013 -- and, by comparison, he was only hauling in somewhere around $120k per episode in 2015, when the show debuted.

TMZ broke the story, Michelle filed docs last year requesting her ex pay her more than $900k in back spousal support, so today's ruling -- first reported by the NY Daily News -- is a massive legal victory for her.

There's more bad news on the horizon for Terrence -- Michelle's attorneys fees.

On Friday, the judge said the fees looked "reasonable" and set a hearing for next week to determine exactly how much he'll have to pay -- but Michelle says the tab is expected to be more than $1 million.

Mr. T pities the fools over at Leafly ... the weed company he claims is ruining his rep by using his name ... so he says in a new lawsuit.

The legendary actor is suing Leafly -- think Yelp but for stoners -- claiming it's promoting a hybrid cannabis strain called Mr. Tusk ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ. The issue ... Mr. T's pissed Leafly's logo to promote the strain uses his iconic name ... "Mrt."

According to the docs ... Mr. T says the logo will confuse consumers into thinking he's in bed with the weed company. He says for nearly 40 years, Mr. T has authorized his name to be used for promotion and branded products but he is NOT and never was on board with Leafly using "Mrt."

Kodak Black just did an about-face and cut a deal in his federal firearms case.

The rapper was in court Thursday for a change of plea hearing where he told the judge he was now pleading guilty ... after initially pleading not guilty to lying on federal gun applications.

Kodak has been in federal detention since his arrest in May -- the judge denied his request to be released on bond, calling him a danger to the community. His sentencing is now set for November 13, and he could get several years in prison.

As we reported ... Kodak was busted at the Rolling Loud festival, when officers had warrants for his arrest after he'd been indicted on the false statement charges.

Kodak's alleged firearm application lie ... is that he was NOT under any indictment for a crime that could land him behind bars for over a year.

Of course, the rapper IS in the middle of a very serious criminal case -- he was indicted for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl in 2016 at a hotel in South Carolina.

Drake and Big Freedia have a New Orleans musician in his feelings ... according to a new lawsuit, he says the rappers straight-up jacked his beats and passed them off as their own.

Samuel Nicholas III -- who goes by Sam Skully -- is suing the rappers claiming they used his beat for their hit collab, "In My Feelings." He also claims Drake stole another one of his beats for his wildly successful track, "Nice For What"

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Sam Skully claims Drake and Big Freedia sampled a portion of his 2000 track, "Roll Call," but they never asked for permission and never forked over any dough.

In the docs, Sam Skully claims he published the beat on a CD he released in New Orleans way back in 2000, but says he didn't know his work had been stolen until years later ... when Drake and Big Freedia released songs that started climbing the charts.

Sam Skully is also going after a ton of huge record companies -- Asylum Records, Cash Money Records and Republic Records -- and he's suing for damages.

Liam Hemsworth is the one who's pulling the plug on his marriage, because TMZ has learned he just filed for divorce from Miley Cyrus.

Liam filed legal docs in L.A. ... citing the standard "irreconcilable differences."

Sources connected to the couple tell TMZ, Liam and Miley had a prenup, keeping their earnings during the marriage separate, so there won't be a fight over money. And, since there are no kids, we're told the divorce will be easy breezy.

The handwriting was on the wall for weeks ... Miley and Liam announced their separation August 10, after less than a year of marriage. Our sources tell us Liam is "over the marriage" and just wants to move on.

The day before telling the world she split from Liam, Miley was spotted making out with her longtime friend, Kaitlynn Carter, at Lake Como in Italy. There were allegations of infidelity, although it appeared the couple had split months before.

The date of separation is relevant, not so much legally, but in terms of PR. In the docs, filed by disso queen Laura Wasser, she does not list a date of separation ... it reads TBD -- to be determined.

Here's what's interesting ... our sources say, despite appearances, Miley had made overtures as recently as this week, saying she wanted to work on the marriage, but Liam was steadfast that it was over. We're told fact is, Liam's people said he would be "insane" to jump back in.

Liam and Miley had been drifting apart for some time ... Liam was photographed in June grocery shopping without his wedding ring.

The breakup started out amicable, but it quickly turned nasty, with claims of drug use and infidelity. She released a song last week, "Slide Away," which we're told is her version of the split, blaming it on Liam's alleged penchant for whisky and pills ... something he strongly denies.

Miley and Liam tied the knot back in December, hosting friends and family for a wedding celebration at their home in Nashville.

Larry King is moving on ... once again -- he's divorcing his 7th wife, Shawn Southwick King.

Larry filed divorce docs Tuesday in L.A. Superior Court ... pulling the plug on his 22-year marriage to Shawn. The couple does not have any minor children -- their 2 sons, Cannon and Chance ... are 19 and 20 years old, respectively.

They've been down this road at least once before. In 2010, the former CNN host filed for divorce, and it was actually a race to the courthouse -- Shawn tried to file first, but Larry's legal team was faster on the draw. Didn't matter in the end ... he and Shawn eventually reconciled.

They dealt with more marital turmoil in 2016, when they publicly addressed cheating rumors.

The breakup comes on the heels of Larry's medical crisis in April, where he suffered what doctors described to Shawn as a heart attack.

This will be 85-year-old Larry's 8th divorce ... assuming he goes through with it this time. He married one of his wives, Alene Akins, twice ... that was way back in the 1960s.

Lord, he was born a ramblin' man ...

The L.A. school funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is about to face new claims of bullying -- including one incident involving a 14-year-old trying to kill herself.

Sources tell TMZ ... there is a new lawsuit about to be filed by the same lawyers at Geragos & Geragos who filed the first suit against the Animo Westside Charter Middle School. As TMZ first showed you ... that initial suit surrounds this video of one student choking another, whose parents claim he suffered permanent brain damage in the incident.

We're told the forthcoming suit documents the alleged bullying experienced by a now-14-year-old girl, who's claiming she too was mercilessly bullied last year on the campus ... and the school failed to stop it.

Our sources say the girl is claiming to have suffered both physical and verbal abuse from multiple students, with one girl leading the pack. We're told it got so bad, the alleged victim started cutting herself ... and months later, attempted suicide.

She had to be hospitalized on a psychiatric hold as a result. Her family is blaming the school as well as Green Dot -- the organization that operates the school.

Bill and Melinda Gates are not being sued, and neither is their foundation ... which has donated more than $7 million to Green Dot.

We're told the girl's family believes there is video of at least some of the bullying incidents she allegedly endured -- and their attorneys are working on getting their hands on it.

Our sources also say since we broke the story about the brain-damaged student ... several other parents have contacted attorneys with similar complaints about severe bullying at Animo Westside.

Todd Chrisley's daughter, Lindsie Chrisley, is concerned her family might come after her in the wake of her very public accusations of extortion -- so now, she's protecting herself.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Lindsie is taking the beef with her family so seriously she's hired an armed security guard who will protect her practically around-the-clock. The new muscle was front and center when we saw Lindsie Monday outside her attorney's Atlanta office.

She made no attempt to hide it ... she's concerned about retaliation, even from a family member.

Our sources say Lindsie even went to her local police dept. to voice her fear about her father or brothers getting violent after she accused them of extorting her with an alleged sex tape. She claims they were trying to coerce her into lying about their tax woes.

Our sources say Lindsie's spending $130/hour for her security guard, who is an off-duty police officer.

Despite having said she eventually wants to reconcile with her family, Lindsie's obviously worried about her immediate future. Her troubled brother, Kyle -- who's publicly supported Todd in this feud -- was arrested for battery back in 2012, when Lindsie claimed he'd hit her in the face.

Check out her response on how she's coping with all the family drama -- Lindsie tells us she's disgusted by her dad and brother ... and now it sounds like the bridge between them is toast.

Jeffrey Epstein's team is not satisfied he died as a result of a suicide by hanging -- in no small part because 3 fractures in his neck almost never point to suicide -- and they are not ruling out the possibility someone strangled him and then put a sheet around his neck to make it look like death by hanging.

Sources connected to Epstein tell TMZ, his team is frustrated officials at the Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional Center and the medical examiner haven't given them nearly all the information required to form a conclusion on cause of death. The medical examiner says it was a suicide by hanging, but Epstein's team says the ME is jumping the gun.

The suspicions on Epstein's team center on the 3 fractures around Epstein's neck -- the hyoid bone in the Adam's apple area, along with 2 fractures on either side of the thyroid cartilage. It is extremely rare hanging can result in 3 such fractures. The fractures are way more consistent with strangulation.

We're told Epstein's team is also very suspicious 2 guards responsible for monitoring him fell asleep at the same time. One guard, maybe, but 2 raises questions.

Ezekiel Elliott says the security guard he pushed in a Las Vegas altercation demanded $500,000 in an attempt to extort him ... this according to police docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

The Dallas Cowboys star's attorneys say they were emailed a complete list of demands from 19-year-old Kyle Johnson and his father, Kelly Johnson, after Zeke shoved Kyle at the Electric Daisy Carnival last May.

Police docs show Kelly emailed Zeke's attorneys just days after the altercation with AT LEAST 14 things he wanted from the running back to stay quiet on the incident ... including $500,000 cash.

The list of demands featured a public apology from Elliott, a press conference with Elliott and Kyle, $25,000 for the junior college football team Kyle played for, and signed jerseys from Zeke, Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott.

The demands list also included -- among several other things -- tickets to Cowboys games (both home and road), Ohio State games and a meet and greet with Jerry Jones and his son.

Police docs show one of Elliott's attorneys responded to Kelly's email with a phone call ... and Kelly claims in that conversation the attorney told him "what [he] was doing was extortion."

According to the docs, Kelly said after that conversation he decided to take Kyle's story to the public ... allowing Kyle to do an interview with a Los Angeles TV station on May 28.

Kelly and Kyle eventually filed a criminal complaint against Elliott over the incident ... but according to the docs, prosecutors felt they could not move forward with charges against 24-year-old Elliott.

There's more ... in the docs, Kyle admits Elliott not only apologized to him after shoving him during the May incident, he gave him a hug and took a picture with him.

In an affidavit from Elliott in the docs, he echoes that story, saying, "I had no intention to push and/or harm or intimidate Kyle Johnson."

"After Kyle Johnson fell and I was finished speaking with the officers nearby, I immediately apologized to Kyle and he indicated to me that he was not hurt."

Elliott added, "We gave each other a hug and he asked me to take a picture with him, which I was happy to do as there was never any intention to harm or hurt Kyle."

We've reached out to Kelly regarding the docs, but so far, no word back yet.

As for Zeke's camp, when reached by phone Friday, they declined to comment on the matter.

Elliott is currently holding out from Cowboys camp seeking a new contract. His team kicks off the season on Sept. 8 against the New York Giants.

Amber Portwood's domestic battery case has produced more fallout ... her baby daddy wants to get the hell outta dodge and it begs the question ... will their 1-year-old son come with???

According to legal docs ... Amber's BF, Andrew Glennon, says he wants to move from Indiana to Malibu -- where he's from, lives and works. The huge issue here ... their custody case over their son, James, is still up in the air.

Andrew says he has zero ties to Indiana and wants to move back to Cali in November. He currently has custody and Amber has supervised visits but their custody case is far from over. One thing seems certain ... Andrew's all but done with Amber.

As true "Teen Mom OG" fans know ... her 10-year-old daughter, Leah, also lives in Indiana with Amber's ex, Gary Shirley. They've lived their whole lives in Indiana ... so if Andrew later says he wants to bring James with him ... it could complicate things.

This is the latest fallout from Amber's domestic battery case. TMZ broke the story ... Amber was arrested for domestic battery and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon on July 5 after she went after Andrew, who claimed she hit him with a shoe while he held James.

Amber has 60 days to respond to Andrew's relocation plan.

R. Kelly believes Michael Jackson's attorney is just the guy he needs to help set him free -- but if that happens, it's gonna come at a steep cost.

TMZ broke the story ... Kelly met with famed lawyer Tom Mesereau -- who beat the rap for Michael Jackson back in 2005. We're told after the 4-hour meeting, Kelly was in hook, line and sinker. We're told Mesereau hasn't agreed to rep Kelly -- at least not yet -- but it could very well happen.

Here's the rub. Mesereau is one of the best and most sought after criminal defense lawyers in the country. He's turned prosecutors flat-footed in trials where it seemed open-and-shut against his client. Did we mention he scored a not guilty verdict for accused wife murderer Robert Blake?

That said, Tom doesn't come cheap, and money has become super tight in Kelly's world. He's already hired a battery of lawyers, and he's making next to nothing.

We're told Kelly and his team are trying to figure out ways to raise the money to hire Mesereau.

As for why the singer wants to 86 his current attorney, Steve Greenberg, and his team -- our sources say R. Kelly believes they care way too much about getting media attention for themselves ... Greenberg calls the whole thing, "A complete load of crap."

R. Kelly's financial woes have been well documented -- he needed outside help to pay his initial $100k bond, and spent additional time behind bars because he couldn't ante up $161k in back child support to ex-wife Drea Kelly. He's currently paying Drea $21k/month in support.

We're told if Mesereau is brought on, attorney Raed Shalabi -- who also visited with Kelly Wednesday -- will likely join the team too.

The criminal cases keep piling on. Kelly was recently hit with more sex crime charges, this time in Minnesota, where prosecutors say the disgraced singer once paid a teenage girl to have sexual contact with him in his hotel room.

Justice is served!

Deborah Sue Culwell -- the woman who was caught on surveillance video tossing 7 pups into a dumpster in Coachella earlier this year -- has pled guilty and been sentenced to 1 year in jail.

The sentence, which also includes 6 years' probation after her time behind bars, was reduced to 174 days with credit for time served.

Culwell was originally charged with 7 felony counts of animal cruelty, plus 7 misdemeanor counts of abandoning the dogs – and she pled guilty to all 14 charges. She was initially facing up to 7 years behind bars, so it's surprisingly good luck for the Cruella de Vil wannabe.

In addition to the jail time, she must undergo random drug testing, and also complete mental health counseling. She also cannot possess any animals during the probation. Thank God.

At the time of the bust, the 54-year-old animal abuser reportedly had 38 other dogs in her custody.

As we reported, the woman was caught in April casually dropping a plastic bag filled with 3-day-old puppies into a dumpster, with temperatures hovering around the mid-90s.

A Good Samaritan dug the lil guys out of the trash. He alerted authorities and the animals were taken to Riverside County Animal Services.

6 of the 7 puppies survived, and the case triggered mass outrage across the country. The 6 pups all went into foster care and we're told several were adopted.