Fairly Legal

Van Jones is ripping the judge who sent Meek Mill to prison on a parole violation for another, equally "egregious," decision ... and says it's evidence "bad laws" must be changed!!!

Van joined us Friday on "TMZ Live," to talk about the case of Maurice Hudson ... a Pennsylvania man Judge Genece Brinkley sentenced to 18-36 months in a state prison. His crime? Being too poor to pay $1,941 in court fees.

The CNN host ripped Brinkley, calling her "horrific" and slamming her for abusing a state law allowing her to put Hudson back behind bars ... despite the fact the janitor had kept his nose clean for 10 years, while taking care of his special needs daughters.

You'll recall, Judge Brinkley sent Meek back to prison in 2017 with a harsh sentence of 2-4 years behind bars after she found Meek violated his probation in his 2008 gun conviction. Many folks feel Judge Brinkley had it out for Meek.

Van says Hudson's case is just the tip of the iceberg, but his REFORM Alliance -- founded with Meek, Jay-Z and Sixers partner Michael Rubin -- is working diligently to change bad laws and oust bad judges.

REFORM succeeded Friday in securing Hudson's release from prison, but he had to serve 9 months before getting back his freedom ... and Van told us why prison reform still has a long way to go.

Mohamed Hadid is taking a major L on what he hoped would be his $100 million Bel-Air mansion -- cause a judge says he's gotta tear down the whole thing.

The 30,000-square-foot crib, which has been dubbed the "Starship Enterprise" -- it's that big -- is unsafe for a of myriad reasons, according to the judge who ruled this week in L.A. Superior Court. In the judge's words, the mansion is a "clear and present" danger to Mohamed's neighbors.

The concern Hadid's neighbors and the city have had for years is that it's on an unstable hillside and wasn't constructed up to safety standards. The judge affirmed that in court, saying, "If this house came down the hill it would take a portion of the neighborhood with it."

A structural engineer told the court the supporting piles under the home were only driven 20 feet into the bedrock, instead of the 30 feet required by regulations. Hadid had hoped to sell the mansion for 9 figures.

Mohamed's neighbors had sued him over the construction and scored a huge victory with the judge's ruling. Demolition for the home will cost an estimated $5 million, and the judge has turned that responsibility over to a receiver named Douglas Wilson.

The judge is ordering Mohamed to pay Wilson a $500k fee, but Mohammed tells us his LLC's financing is strictly for construction, NOT demolition.

As for the judge saying the house is unsafe ... Mohamed says it "has not moved a millimeter! It has never been an imminent danger to the neighbors." He adds there were plenty of city inspectors who observed construction, which started in 2012, and he's pissed no one said anything until years later ... when he'd already spent millions.

Mohamed blames one particular neighbor, who he claims demanded $3.5 mil, or he'd report building code violations to the city. Mohamed sued him for attempted extortion, and tells us that suit is still pending.

Jeremy Meeks will be back in court soon, and in a very strange coincidence ... the same man who was busted with him when he became hot mug shot guy is mixed up in this too.

According to new legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Meeks is being sued by WeHo Auto Rental, Inc. along with Terry Joe Bailey, Jr. More on him later.

WeHo Auto alleges Meeks rented a 2016 Porsche Cayenne and a 2019 Mercedes-Benz in September ... and both vehicles were involved in separate car accidents.

The rental company claims one accident occurred on Sept. 5 and the other on Sept. 10. Based on photos we obtained of Meeks at one of the crash scenes ... the Porsche wreck went down on the 10.

Here's where it gets even more interesting -- when cops in Stockton, CA busted Meeks back in 2014 on felony weapon charges ... Bailey was arrested with him on the same charges.

This arrest led to Meeks' mug shot going viral and eventually helped launch his modeling career ... which led to him dating and having a child with Topshop heiress Chloe Green.

Bailey didn't get that kinda fame, but now he's back -- as a codefendant in this lawsuit. It's unclear what his alleged role was in the accidents, but maybe this is his second shot.

"Little Women: LA" star Christy Gibel is dying to be single right away ... she's asking a court to change her marital status ASAP and to go back to her maiden name.

Christy is going through a nasty legal war with her estranged husband, Todd Gibel ... and according to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Christy wants to be officially single and have her name restored to Christy Lynn McGinity, even though the court has not yet finalized the split of the former couple's assets.

In the docs, Christy says she wants her maiden name back because she's pregnant and doesn't want the name Gibel anywhere near her baby's birth certificate.

TMZ broke the story ... Christy's moving on fast from Todd, and she's expecting with her new BF's child. Remember, Christy claimed she and Todd had a sexless marriage.

Fact is, Christy doesn't NEED the name change for her baby -- she could put whatever name she wants on the birth certificate -- but maybe she's just a stickler for details.

According to the docs, Christy says she also needs to get a new driver's license and passport and she wants to use her maiden name on both.

Even if she gets a single status and the name change, she and Todd still have to settle support and property issues at a later date.

Country Star Sam Hunt was arrested Thursday AM for drunk driving.

Hunt was allegedly driving the wrong way down a Nashville street when cops spotted him and pulled him over. Witnesses say he had been swerving as well.

According to police, Hunt smelled of booze and his eyes were bloodshot. Police say there were 2 empty beer cans next to him.

Police say Hunt, whose hits include "Drinkin' Too Much," had trouble pulling out his driver's license and instead handed cops a credit card and a passport. They also say he admitted to "recently" drinking.

Cops did a field sobriety test, and police say his blood alcohol level was .173 ... more than twice the legal limit.

Hunt was released Thursday morning after posting $2,500 bond. He's scheduled to appear in court January 17.

Ex-'Law & Order: SVU' star Diane Neal claims her ex was a manipulative, abusive scumbag who hurt their dog, but he and his attorneys are firing back -- claiming SHE threatened to kill HIS dog -- and releasing intense audio as alleged proof.

Pro magician JB Benn makes the bombshell claims about Diane in a new lawsuit he's filed against her which, at its heart, is about money he claims Diane owes him for a property they shared. The real nasty part of the suit, though, are his allegations about Diane's threatening behavior -- especially during one particularly vicious tirade which he recorded.

Diane unloaded in March 2018, yelling at JB ... "You are the least fun person I have ever met. You don't think it's about connections because you refuse to be connected with anybody. Even me! Which is why I am going to punish you with death and kill your f**king dog."

She also eviscerates him for not giving up his mobile phone's security code. Listen to it, 'cause on a scale of 1 to 10, it's an 11. In docs, obtained by TMZ, JB says he often recorded their arguments because he feared she'd eventually blame him for any "misfortune" in their relationship.

The recording is an exhibit in his lawsuit which comes on the heels of Diane suing him last week -- alleging JB is a fraudster who swindled her out of millions, and allegedly abused her physically and emotionally.

The father of Eva Marcille's 5-year-old daughter says his black skin made him a target before he got into a courthouse scuffle with cops ... and he's going to sue their asses because he got hurt.

We broke the story ... the 'RHOA' star's baby daddy, Kevin McCall Jr., was arrested earlier this month at the Justice Center Tower in Fulton County, GA after he refused to stop recording video on his phone, and an effort to detain him allegedly led to a sergeant falling down an escalator.

McCall claims he got injured in the chaos too ... but he has a bigger issue with what led to the altercation in the first place -- he thinks he was singled out because he's black.

It's an interesting allegation because according to the Instagram Live video he shared before his alleged physical confrontation with cops ... the officer who told him to quit FaceTiming is black too.

Regardless, McCall believes the fact the cop specifically said "FaceTiming" supports his theory he was targeted ... it's unclear how. He also offers up some excuses why things went south for him at the courthouse ... and why he didn't help deescalate the situation -- no pun intended.

As we told you ... McCall was in court to fight for custody of his and Eva's daughter, Marley Rae, but instead ended up in jail and booked on 5 charges. He's facing 4 misdemeanors and one felony count of criminal damage to property in the 2nd degree.

Damon Dash just got picked up by cops for failing to pay 2 of his baby mama's overdue child support -- but luckily for him ... he was able to walk free shortly after the bust.

The hip-hop mogul -- who says he's recently fallen into dire straits with money -- was arrested Wednesday in NYC after attempting to clear up two different warrants in his name for unpaid child support dough a judge says he owes Rachel Roy and Cindy Morales.

Dame's got 2 daughters with the former, and a son with the latter. Earlier this year, it was revealed he owed nearly $400k to both women ... but hadn't paid up yet. He told us at the time he would -- but it appears he hadn't yet, and those debts have since ballooned.

Fast-forward to Wednesday ... when Dame went to the city to try to take care of both warrants. The guy himself tells us he popped into a Manhattan courthouse, paid off about a million dollars to clear one warrant ... and then tried going to another courthouse to deal with the other one.

Thing is ... Dame says as soon as he stepped out of the courtroom to head to the other place, cops were all over him -- about 7 deputies, we're told. They cuffed him and processed him -- and Dame says the officers then escorted him to the Bronx to take care of the rest of his tab. All in all, we're told Dame ended up cashing out over a mil to clear his name.

Dame tells us the deputies he dealt with were incredibly kind and cooperative with him. While it may suck he got busted for the child support -- at least it's finally taken care of.

Aaron Carter's going to have to wait at least a year to contact his brother because a judge just granted Nick a restraining order against him.

Aaron was a no-show in court in Vegas Wednesday for the hearing -- Nick did attend -- so the judge had an easy decision. The order will stay in place until November of next year.

The order comes a day after Aaron came out on the losing end of another restraining order hearing with his twin sister, Angel. Along with being prohibited from having any contact with her or her family for a year, the judge also enraged Aaron by telling him he's too dangerous to possess guns.

He went nuts in court, screaming that he would just go to another state to stock up and threatened to leave the courtroom ... but the judge ordered him to sit down.

Aaron's anger was still on display outside the courthouse when our photog tried to talk to him.

As we reported ... Nick first sought out legal protection in September after Aaron allegedly threatened to kill his pregnant wife. At the time, Nick claimed he was forced to seek the order against his younger brother "in light of Aaron's increasingly alarming behavior and his recent confession that he harbors thoughts and intentions of killing my pregnant wife and unborn child."

Aaron blasted Nick online, saying he was done with him for life, but insisted he doesn't wish harm on anyone ... especially family.

Angel followed Nick's lead just days later and also got a restraining order. She claimed Aaron threatened to send hit men after her following a disturbing phone call.

Nick also alleged Aaron told Angel he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder ... something Aaron later claimed on Dr. Phil himself.

As we told you ... Aaron was briefly hospitalized last week, which his mother, Jane, attributed to the stress of the family drama. Of course, Jane's dog-smacking incident and subsequent squabble with PETA probably didn't help alleviate Aaron's stress.

Kanye West's plan to build an amphitheater on his ranch is drawing the ire of officials in Wyoming ... and they're ordering him to put the brakes on his construction project pronto!!!

Park County Wyoming Planner Joy Hill tells TMZ ... the County is ordering Kanye to cease construction on his property because he broke ground without a permit and that's a big no-no.

As we reported ... Kanye submitted docs to build a 70,684-square-foot amphitheater on his sprawling Monster Lake Ranch, and there were construction crews on the property moving large amounts of land to clear a footprint.

We're told Kanye's team was told to stop construction when county officials visited the site after he submitted his building permit application, but subsequent visits to the site by officials showed his team ignored the mandate and kept working.

And, get this ... we're told Kanye's proposed meditation space was on the agenda at a Tuesday meeting for the Park County Planning and Zoning Commission, but the topic never came up because a few hours prior, Kanye's team notified the commission he was changing the intended purpose of the site to residential use.

Now, we're told Kanye's about to get a letter from the County telling him to put an end to construction ... and he's gotta submit a whole new building permit application.

Jussie Smollett has taken the offensive ... he's now suing the City of Chicago, claiming officials created a narrative that he was the mastermind of a hoax attack, and that has cost him dearly.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Smollett notes the Osundairo brothers were held for 47 hours and they adamantly denied any involvement in the assault. He says it was only after they were assured they'd get immunity that they started spinning the tale of a fake attack on the streets of Chicago.

Smollett insists the primary attacker was a white male.

He says to this day he doesn't know what involvement, if any, the Osundairo brothers had in the attack. He thinks the brothers were lured into the smear campaign by cops.

Jussie is suing the City, the Osundairo brothers and several officials, including Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.

As we reported, the City of Chicago is suing Jussie to recoup the costs of the investigation.

Aaron Carter lost it in court when a judge ordered him to surrender his firearms.

Aaron was on the losing end of a hearing for a restraining order. His twin sister, Angel Conrad, convinced the judge to issue an order prohibiting Aaron from having any contact with her or her family for a year. Then the judge enraged Aaron, by telling him he's too dangerous to possess guns. He went nuts in court ... screaming at the judge that he would just go out of state and buy more firepower.

TMZ broke the story ... Angel filed docs back in September in L.A. for a domestic violence restraining order after claiming Aaron threatened to send hit men after her. She claimed that during a phone conversation Aaron told her, "I have people that would come and harm you."

Angel said she feared for her life because Aaron was brandishing firearms on social media. She said she also feared for her husband and her daughter.

After the judge lowered the boom on Aaron, he threatened to just get up and leave, but the judge ordered him to sit down.

What's unclear ... whether Aaron will surrender his guns. If he doesn't, the judge could hold him in contempt and throw him in jail. As part of the order, Aaron must also stay away from The Grove shopping center in LA where Angel's husband works.

As we first reported ... Aaron's brother, Nick, also filed for a restraining order against him claiming Aaron had "thoughts of killing babies." Nick claimed Aaron had made the claims during a FaceTime with Angel back in August.

Nick had also said Aaron told Angel he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Aaron's then-girlfriend, Lina Valentina, was there during the conversation and she chimed in, "Angel, how do you think I feel with him sleeping with a sword next to him?" According to the docs, Aaron got furious and said, "Shut up Lina, you are next on my list."

Taylor Swift's loyal fans have been on the attack ever since their idol pointed the finger at Scooter Braun and co. ... but now, they've ramped things up by sending death threats.

Sources tell TMZ that Swifties of all ages have been threatening to kill Scooter and other Big Machine staffers -- including big wig Scott Borchetta -- since T-Swift claimed they were holding her back from performing old hits at the upcoming AMAs.

We're told death threats have been sent across multiple mediums -- over social media, over text and through emails.

Our sources say Scooter's wife and young children have been mentioned as targets. Even Scooter's Ithaca Holdings office in Nashville had to be shut down last week because of some of the more intense threats ... and cops have been notified.

BTW, our sources tell us these aren't just loud-mouthed kids coming at the Big Machine crew -- adults are also chiming in and making threats on their lives ... clearly it's serious.

Amber Portwood's in the clear with her probation officer over alleged threats she made against a YouTuber ... because that woman has no direct connection to her case.

TMZ broke the story ... Katie Joy -- the woman behind the Without a Crystal Ball YouTube account that's been documenting Amber's domestic violence case, including publishing video and audio of the entire blowout between Amber and Andrew Glennon -- contacted authorities after Amber allegedly directed some threats on Instagram Live toward her.

Portwood's probation officer was notified of Katie's issue, but the Marion County Probation Department in Indiana tells us ... it doesn't amount to any sort of violation.

We're told Joy isn't listed on Amber's probation order, so any alleged threats in and of themselves don't constitute a probation breach. If Katie was listed, it would be a different story.

The MC Probation Dept. says the only way Portwood's probation would be affected is if Indianapolis PD arrested her or if she was convicted of making threats against Joy.

Considering Katie hasn't filed a police report in Indiana, that doesn't seem likely ... and our Indiana law enforcement sources confirm Amber's not under investigation. However, sources close to Katie say he HAS filed a report where she lives in Minnesota ... but was told by police there's not much they can do.

Lil Jon says he got held up by Vietnamese officials at an airport while trying to get outta there ... something he claims happened because of his massive stash of jewelry.

The rapper posted footage and photos of himself allegedly being detained Friday while he and his crew were attempting to fly out of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City after performing in Saigon. Apparently, their version of TSA wasn't feelin' his ice.

On Intagram, LJ wrote ... "Vietnam got me hemmed up over my iceeeee smh." He then posted a photo of what appears to be airport officials going through his many chains and other jewelry he had with him, with most of it laid out on a table being inspected.

It's unclear why they gave Jon such a hard time, but luckily for him ... this story's got a happy ending. Lil Jon says he was able to call the U.S. Embassy in 'Nam and get some personnel down there to vouch for him and get him sprung from detention.

One of his buddies posted an aftermath pic showing Lil Jon posing with a bunch of folks, some of which appear to be uniformed airport honchos ... while also shedding a bit more light on what exactly happened. The guy, SKAM Artist, wrote ... "Jon was detained earlier today in Vietnam...but w the assistance of 2 staffers from the US Embassy, and a few locals...he's free!!" Another one of his friends credited the "Royal Family" too.

We got a call in to LJ's rep to get to the bottom of this one, but the good news is that he's back to work and keeping the show going in what looks to be China. Can we get a YEAH???

Lizzo may have bitten off more than she could chew by claiming a Postmates driver stole her food ... because the driver is now coming after her in court.

Tiffany Wells claims in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Lizzo has really screwed up her life when she went on social media and posted a picture of Tiffany claiming she pilfered the meal she was delivering to Lizzo's Boston hotel back in September.

Lizzo belatedly acknowledged she was wrong and Tiffany did nothing wrong. In fact, Tiffany went beyond what she had to do to find Lizzo in the hotel, but she was nowhere to be seen so Tiffany eventually left.

Tiffany also notes Postmates sided with her, and she moved on to the next delivery like she was supposed to after she couldn't reach Lizzo.

Tiffany says she's received threats and is concerned for her safety. She no longer works for Postmates because of the Lizzo incident. She says she lives in fear and is subject to ridicule and humiliation, along with stress and anxiety.

She's suing Lizzo -- who has more than a million twitter followers -- for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.