courthouse (12 posts)

FAME PICTURES

Madonna's on-again, off-again relationship with the Malawi legal system is, for the time being, off-again.

The final ruling in her and Guy Ritchie's adoption of David Banda was expected to be rubber-stamped by the Lilongwe High Court today, but the hearing was once again delayed, though not, in a refreshing break from tradition, by request of the singer herself.

Although the Ritchies not present for the hearing—an attorney for the couple confirmed earlier this week that both stars would be a no-show due to "other engagements"—the Malawian Human Rights Commission was present and accounted for in the form of a protest report lodged with the court.

Upon receiving the non-binding filing, which called out various "shortcomings" in the nation's adoption laws and argued that approving the adoption would be illegal as would-be parents must reside in Malawi for at least 18 months, the judge postponed his final ruling until next week, pending his review of the document.

Madonna's attorney, meanwhile, is still expecting a positive ruling next week from the judge, telling reporters, "I'm confident that the adoption will go through because my client has met all the requirements and the government is satisfied that she qualifies."

And if they need any more convincing, a few advanced record copies and a handful of backstage passes are surely the best qualifications around.

Denise Truscello/WireImage.com

Men in Trees has gone the way of the dodo. Unfortunately, Anne Heche's cash supply seems to be nearing extinction, as well.

After Heche claimed she'll be more than $6,000 in the hole if she's required to shell out any more money, a judge on Wednesday granted the actress' request to suspend child and spousal support payments to ex-husband Coley Laffoon for the month of July, according to court documents obtained by E! News.

And this apparently isn't sour grapes on the divorcée's part.

Per a declaration filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court, Heche is $364,000 in debt—mainly due to her ongoing divorce litigation—and had only $34,840.93 in all of her accounts as of Tuesday.

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Keanu Reeves is hoping to keep his latest project out of wide release.

Lawyers for the 43-year-old actor are asking a Los Angeles judge to keep any videotaped deposition of Reeves under wraps.

The Matrix star is facing a suit from paparazzo Alison Silva, who says he was purposefully knocked down by Reeves' Porsche last November, resulting in "serious injuries" that caused pain and suffering and severely limited the photog's earnings capacity. Silva is seeking unspecified damages and his counsel wants to depose Reeves to prove allegations of negligence, assault and battery.

The thesp's lawyer, David J. Ozeran, filed a motion with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth A. Grimes to keep both the deposition and transcripts away out of public view, fearing it would be an unexcellent adventure for the Bill & Ted player.

"If obtained by the media, the videotape will undoubtedly by analyzed frame by frame in an attempt to embarrass Mr. Reeves," the petition states. "Similarly, the transcript of the deposition will be analyzed line by line for any embarrassing or awkward response or misstatement on the part of Mr. Reeves."

Before being hired by Reeves, Ozeran's firm successfully won a court order sealing a Lindsay Lohan's deposition in a suit brought by a busboy after a traffic mishap. The actress wound up settling before she could be deposed.

INFDaily.com

Keeping up with the Kardashians may be a pricey proposition, but not, the famous siblings want to make clear, that pricey.

Kim Kardashian and the rest of her reality-TV relatives have lashed out at allegations slung by her former employer—and, making things trickier, her ex-boyfriend's mother—Sonja Norwood, denying in papers filed in response to Brandy's mom's lawsuit that they improperly rang up $120,000 in unauthorized charges while Kim worked as a stylist for the brood.

In court papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the Kardashians "deny generally and specifically each and every allegation." (View the court docs.)

In addition to Kim, Sonja Norwood's lawsuit also names Khloe, Kourtney and Robert Kardsahian Jr. Norwood says she had given Kim an American Express account to cover incidentals, only to have Kim share the credit card number with her siblings, who proceeded to ring up exorbitant charges between 2006 and 2007.

Kim was enlisted as a stylist for Brandy back in 2004, when Kardashian was dating—and making videos with—the singer's brother, Ray J. Norwood is seeking the total return of the money, along with 10 percent interest.

The request is somewhat ironic, given that interest, at least as far as the public is concerned, is rapidly dwindling in this case.

Steve-O wore a shirt and left the schtick at home.

The Jackass daredevil was standing tall as E! News caught up with him after court Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty to felony cocaine possession stemming from a March 3 bust at his Hollywood apartment following a run-in with a neighbor.

"I'm always gonna be me, but I'm 64 days clean. I feel good," Steve-O, whose parents named him Stephen Glover, told our crew, also pointing out the self-help book he was toting, Bringers of the Dawn, which, per Amazon.com, "points out a creative and positive way to turn on our inner light and underlines the principle of commitment to spiritual growth."

"Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll was something I thought was good," Steve-O said. "I really ran away from my problems, they caught up to me, and now I'm not running anymore."

Today's preliminary hearing was continued to June 3.

FAME PICTURES

Maybe capriciousness is just part of Madonna's latest reinvention.

After twice petitioning Malawi's Lilongwe High Court to postpone the final hearing in her adoption of David Banda because of conflicts with promotion of her new album, an attorney for the Material Mama has announced that Madonna has formally bailed on the proceedings and will not show up for Thursday's court session.

To be fair, the pop superstar and hubby Guy Ritchie have never been required to attend the hearing, at which their adoption of the 2-year-old is expected to be formally approved, but had previously—via never-ending requests for delays—indicated that she would be present for the final ruling.

"We are going to court on Thursday, but Madonna will not be there, because she is not coming," attorney Alan Chinula told Reuters, bringing circular logic to all new heights.

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Mariela Lombard/ZUMA Press

Remy Ma will be spending more than just her honeymoon in the clink.

The PunishHER rapper was sentenced to eight years in prison today for shooting a female acquaintance outside an NYC nightclub, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office confirmed to E! News.

The 26-year-old Ma, whose real name is Remy Smith, burst into tears after learning her fate.

In March, a jury convicted her on four counts, including assault, weapons possession and attempted coercion, for shooting Makeda Barnes-Joseph in the gut last July in a dispute over $3,000. She faced more than 25 years behind bars.

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That heavily hyped Stone Temple Pilots reunion is still a go.

Scott Weiland, the alt-rock band's sobriety-challenged vocalist, was released from a Los Angeles-area lockup Monday evening, just six hours after checking in. Weiland was supposed to serve an eight-day sentence stemming from a November DUI bust.

The 40-year-old frontman was released from the Van Nuys Jail at approximately 6:45 p.m., according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Jail.

That's good news for fans, since the blotter-friendly "Plush" singer is getting out in time to join his STP mates for their first concert in more than five years this Saturday at the Rock on the Range Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Weiland pleaded no contest April 28 to misdemeanor driving under the influence for plowing his Mercedes into another vehicle last year. He was sentenced to 192 hours in the clink, placed on four years' probation, ordered to complete an alcohol-education program and fined $2,000.

Just days before learning his punishment, his other band, Velvet Revolver, fired the much-rehabbed rocker, citing "his increasingly erratic onstage behavior and personal problems."

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Jury selection in R. Kelly's child pornography case is continuing in Chicago today, with attorneys for both sides expected to question roughly 150 potential jurors.

The prosecution and defense teams will question the Chi-town residents, who filled out a questionnaire on Friday, over their level of familiarity with the case, and determine whether they've been trapped under a rock—or, for poetic justice's sake, in a closet—for the past six years.

The first group of 10 has reported to the courthouse this morning for querying, while a second group of 10 will come this afternoon. Both sides estimate it should take roughly one week to winnow down 12 jurors and four alternates.

The 41-year-old R&B star faces child-pornography charges stemming from a videotape in which he allegedly engaged in sex acts with a girl who may have been as young as 13. The girl has denied the allegations and Kelly has pleaded not guilty.

Gary Calton/ZUMAPress.com

The long and winding road to divorce is almost over for Paul McCartney and Heather Mills.

A London judge today granted a decree nisi, the first step to the finalized divorce under British law. High Court Justice Hugh Bennett approved the petition, citing the fact that the couple have been living apart now for two years.

"On the petition for divorce presented by Miss Heather Mills, I pronounce the decree nisi of divorce on the grounds of two years' separate," the judge said. "Sir Paul McCartney has consented to the decree being granted on these grounds."

Neither McCartney nor Mills attended the proceeding, and their attorneys declined to comment.

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Anyone who has seen Kill Bill knows you don't mess with Uma Thurman.

The Oscar-nominated actress is firing back against the makers of Lancôme cosmetics, whom she claims knowingly used her image to sell their products after her contract expired.

Thurman's $15 million countersuit was filed Friday in Manhattan federal court, just two days after the French makeup giant filed a preemptive suit about the matter.

The 38-year-old beauty signed on as a spokeswoman for Lancôme in 2000 but says her name and image continued to pop up on the company's websites and billboards in Canada and Asia after her contract ended in 2005.

In her lawsuit, Thurman's lawyer, Bertram Fields, claims that "The worldwide and unauthorized use of Thurman's name and likeness for years after the expiration dates significantly diluted the value of Thurman's name and likeness for advertising or promotional purposes."

Lancôme maintains that use of her image was completely unintentional and all advertisements were pulled as soon as the company became aware of them.

DMX apparently isn't one for facing the music of the night.

Three days after getting busted for a months-old traffic violation, the actor-rapper was arrested early Friday at his Phoenix-area home on suspicion of animal abuse and felony drug possession following a search of the house and, before that, a brief standoff with police when he attempted to shut himself up in his bedroom.

According to the Maricopa County sheriff's office, a SWAT team executed a search warrant on DMX's Cave Creek, Ariz., residence at about 3 a.m. in connection with a seven-month-old investigation into reports that the Cradle 2 the Grave star had a number of malnourished pit bulls on his property.

"A guy like this DMX character with all his money and fame has no excuse for not providing proper care for his animals," said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "He has a long criminal history and obviously has no respect for the law."

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