Nightly Brief

Your Friday night briefing from the staff of Courthouse News

Top CNS stories for today including reports that Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s self-styled “fixer,” secretly recorded his boss discussing payments to a Playboy model; though the Trump administration touts its immigration stance as zero tolerance, criminal illegal entry cases are dismissed daily because interpreters are not available in defendants’ native languages; A federal judge declines to resolve a multitude of issues raised by the widow of deceased photographer Bruce Stern and two of his former assistants over the use of iconic photos of Marilyn Monroe, setting the stage for a trial; the New Jersey Supreme Court suggests wiping the slate clean for people who were charged years ago with minor municipal offenses like traffic tickets; the city of Los Angeles wants a federal court to block the Justice Department from imposing conditions on law enforcement grants; a court in Milan, Italy rules Nigeria can seek damages against oil giants Shell and Eni as an injured civil party in a bribery scandal, and more.

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National

1.) The morning after a judge sliced through Michael Cohen’s claims of attorney-client privilege, the New York Times reported Friday that President Donald Trump’s self-styled “fixer” secretly recorded his boss discussing payments to a Playboy model.

2.) Though the Trump administration touts its immigration stance as zero tolerance, criminal illegal entry cases are dismissed daily because interpreters are not available in defendants’ native languages.

3.) A trial is on deck in Manhattan over the fair use doctrine and some of the last photos ever taken of Marilyn Monroe. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote Friday that he would not rule on most of the issues raised by the parties — the widow of deceased photographer Bruce Stern, who sued his former assistants, twins who have sold doctored copies of Stern’s work on eBay.

Regional

5.) Appointing a panel to hold hearings on the issue, the New Jersey Supreme Court suggested Thursday wiping the slate clean for people who were charged years ago with minor municipal offenses like traffic tickets.

6.) A Texas school district has stumbled on the state’s post-Civil War history of leasing black prisoners to plantation owners, as its construction project turned up what archaeologists believe are the bones of prisoners-for-hire in an unmarked cemetery.

7.) The city of Los Angeles wants a federal court to block the Justice Department from imposing conditions on law enforcement grants, arguing in court papers Thursday that the city is being cut off from funding for refusing to help enforce federal immigration laws.

International

9.) A dispute is breaking out in Great Britain over the long-overlooked use of children by police and intelligence agencies as informants and spies in efforts to fight terrorism, drug trafficking, sexual exploitation and gang activity.

10.) A court in Milan, Italy ruled Friday that Nigeria can seek damages against oil giants Shell and Eni as an injured civil party in a bribery scandal.

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