Fairly Legal

Killer mom Susan Smith’s ex-husband isn’t the only one standing in the way of her potential release -- her trial's lead prosecutor is also battling to keep her locked up for killing her two young sons back in '94.

Tommy Pope, the former solicitor for South Carolina’s 16th Judicial Circuit, tells TMZ he’s joining forces with the current solicitor, Kevin Brackett, to keep Susan behind bars at S.C.’s Leath Correctional Institution for the rest of her life ... saying he'll do anything to ensure she doesn't get out of prison. Smith has her first parole hearing set for Nov. 4.

Pope says actions have consequences ... and while mental health issues can be a factor in cases of taking someone’s life, he thinks Susan’s decision to drown her young kids just to stay with a man who didn’t want children was an extreme example of selfishness.

Tom Girardi, the disgraced powerhouse attorney known for his marriage to "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Erika Jayne, has been found guilty of embezzling more than $15 million from former clients.

A federal jury issued the verdict Tuesday in Los Angeles, where the famed lawyer stood trial for running a fraud scheme between 2010 and 2020 ... in which he pilfered millions from settlement funds from several clients. Girardi was found guilty on 4 counts of wire fraud.

Girardi's defense attorney, Charles Snyder, painted a different picture for the jury ... claiming others at TG's now-defunct law firm Girardi Keese -- which represented plaintiffs in several high-profile cases, including the one against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. dramatized in the film "Erin Brockovich" -- stole the funds as Girardi's mental health declined.

8/29 -- 12:01 PM PT -- Roberto Orcí's spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister tells TMZ ...  "Ms. Taylor’s counterclaim is an attempt to retaliate against her husband with fabricated allegations after he got a restraining order against her, filed for divorce, and sued her in June for assault, battery, and financially abusing him when he was vulnerable and trying to get treatment for alcoholism. Her history of violent behavior is well documented, having been arrested at least twice during their marriage--once after she tried strangling her husband and he called the police, and once when a Vegas hotel called the authorities after Mr. Orci showed up in the lobby, locked out of his room by his wife, bloodied and half dressed. Ms. Taylor was also detained after assaulting immigration officials at LAX."

The statement concludes, "Before Mr. Orci’s recovery, Ms. Taylor would ply him with alcohol and beat him relentlessly. On separate occasions, she hit him with a baseball bat, shot him with a taser then sprayed him with Mace, threw him down a set of stairs, and punched him multiple times while he was driving. In 2022 and 2023, she transferred without her husband’s knowledge at least $1.2 million from their joint bank account to foreign banks. Now, she is fabricating salacious allegations in a desperate attempt to extract more money from him."

"The Blacklist" actress Adele Heather Taylor is responding to allegations of domestic violence from her estranged husband, screenwriter Roberto Orcí ... claiming in a new countersuit that she's the real victim ... accusing him of rape and assault.

Susan Smith, locked up for life since 1994 for killing her 2 young sons, is up for parole -- and has reportedly begged her ex-husband not to fight her potential release.

Her parole hearing is set for November 4 ...  and while the killer mom asked her ex, David Smith, not to oppose her bid for freedom, David's made it clear he’ll do everything in his power to keep her behind bars.

A family source told the New York Post David's firmly against Susan getting out of Leath Correctional in South Carolina ... adding he has every right to block her parole ... because she murdered his kids.

Alec Baldwin is showing his life is returning to normal following his dramatic "Rust" trial ... the actor was spotted out in New York on Monday night taking in all the tennis action at the US Open.

The 66-year-old was joined by his wife, Hilaria, for the occasion ... and while there weren't many big grins from the duo as they watched Novak Djokovic beat up Radu Albot in Arthur Ashe Stadium -- it's clear the two are moving on following the dismissal of Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter case.

Alec was sporting a black suit and black tie for the event ... while Hilaria opted for a sleek green dress -- and they chatted together throughout the evening.

Mariah Carey is facing double the heartbreak -- her mom, Patricia, and her sister, Alison, both died on the same day over the weekend, TMZ has confirmed.

The singer said in a statement to TMZ, "My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend. Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day."

Mariah added, "I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed."

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's divorce is messy and VERY complicated ... TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal ... because the estranged couple has no prenup, everything they acquired over their roughly 2-year marriage is community property, which means the assets acquired during the marriage are divided equally. But, that's not as easy as it sounds ... not by a long shot.

One of the biggest assets in play is Ben's hugely successful production company, Artists Equity (AE), in which he's partnered with his best bud, Matt Damon. As a result, Damon could get dragged into the ugly divorce, since he's a major stakeholder in the company.

"Once Upon a Time" star Lana Parrilla's summer has been far from magical ... cops say she had an unwanted visitor trespass on her palace property.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a mystery man was spotted by security in front of the home belonging to LP -- best known for playing Regina Mills/the Evil Queen on the ABC fantasy drama -- earlier in August.

We're told when security confronted the man, he took off onto the property grounds ... prompting guards to call in LAPD officers, who rushed to the Los Angeles-area home.

Diddy is firing back at Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones ... saying his lawsuit is nothing more than a cash grab dressed up as a sex trafficking and RICO conspiracy.

The rap mogul and his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, filed a motion to dismiss Jones' second amended complaint in Manhattan Federal Court Monday, attacking all the claims against Diddy point by point.

But mainly, Diddy is accusing Jones of trying to score a quick settlement by throwing around salacious allegations just to hurt his reputation.

Karen Read is getting sued by her late BF John O'Keefe’s family ... and the family is also going after the two bars they say overserved her booze before she allegedly struck O'Keefe with her SUV in '22.

TMZ obtained the docs ... John’s brother Paul O'Keefe and other family members just filed a civil suit for wrongful death and emotional distress against Karen ... who’s still staring down a second murder trial after her first ended in a mistrial.

Paul and family claim Read was reckless and ignored the risks after drinking ... adding she allegedly left John -- a Boston police officer -- on the ground to die after hitting him with her SUV in a snowy yard.

Quentin Tarantino's making some controversial claims about the shooting on the set of "Rust" ... saying Alec Baldwin's not completely responsible for Halyna Hutchins' death -- but, it's partially his fault.

The director sat down with Bill Maher for an episode of his "Club Random" podcast published Sunday ... and, the two got into the "Rust" shooting -- with Bill calling it BS prosecutors charged Alec.

QT shares a slightly different view ... saying it's 90% on the armorer -- Hannah Gutierrez-Reed -- but, the rest of the blame lies with the actor.

9:40 AM PT -- Nicki’s attorney, Judd Burstein tells TMZ … “Mr. Peak has been harassing Nicki on social media for years on end to no avail."

"He has now graduated to seeking to shake her down financially with manifestly false allegations and legally frivolous claims. He will regret having gone down this disreputable road when he is forced to pay her legal fees as required by California law.”

Nicki Minaj has a pissed-off Barb on her hands -- one of her avid fans claims Nicki publicly humiliated him by calling him a mentally unstable stalker and ... so, now he's suing.

The New York rapper was named as a defendant in the suit filed by plaintiff Tameer Peak in L.A. Superior Court – and the allegations paint Nicki as a full-blown bully.

According to the documents, obtained by TMZ, Tameer refers to himself as one of Nicki's most ardent followers for the past 15 years, and claims he helped her career by promoting her 2023 album, "Pink Friday 2."

5:45 PM PT -- Kreshendo's singing a way different tune than Shaboozey when it comes to their deal, and it's now suing him ... accusing him of fraud.

In the docs, the record label admits it agreed to let the singer out of his deal in 2019 -- however, it says there were strings attached. Kreshendo claims his exit deal still allowed them to collect money on all his musical compositions, and they allege he knew damn well that was the arrangement.

They say Shaboozey is only acting like he didn't know, because "Bar Song" became such a massive hit, and he doesn't want to share the wealth with his old label. So, now Kreshendo is suing him for more than $2 million.

A new TikTok trend could soon become someone's potential cash cow ... and in a very demure, very mindful way.

For anyone who has been on the internet recently, particularly TikTok, it's been nearly impossible not to be bombarded with "Very Demure, Very Mindful" trending posts ... and now someone is making a move to lock up the rights to the catchphrase.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, someone named Jefferson Bates in Washington State filed docs to trademark "Very Demure .. Very Mindful .."

DaniLeigh apparently thought being famous could get her out of trouble -- at least, that’s what it looks like in newly released bodycam footage from her DUI hit-and-run arrest back in May 2023.

The video is a shocker -- you can hear DaniLeigh try to tell Miami cops they can't arrest her 'cause she's an artist, in particular an R&B singer -- all this after authorities say she struck a teen on a moped with her car ... and left him with a kidney laceration and a spinal fracture.

She tells one officer she's with Quavo, who is seen off to the side early in the video, along with a couple of his security guys. The cop tells them to back up when they ask what's going on.

Judge Mathis is going to have a judge in his life now ... because his wife just banged the gavel on their marriage.

The TV judge's wife, Linda, beelined it to court Thursday and filed to divorce Judge Mathis after 39 years of marriage.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Linda lists the date of separation as July 17 ... and she's going with the boilerplate irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.