Closing out 2024: This year's top stories

1. Ninth Circuit: Felons also have Second Amendment rights

In a landmark ruling in May, judges in the Ninth Circuit said it’s unconstitutional to deny gun ownership to nonviolent offenders who have served out their sentences. The panel shot down the firearm possession conviction of Steve Duarte, a Los Angeles member of a street gang who had five prior felony convictions and was later sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for being a “felon-in-possession.”

Note: After the ruling, the circuit agreed to hear the matter en banc and held oral arguments Dec. 11.

2. ‘Top Gun’ actor sues Paramount over image use

Barry Hubb, an actor in the original “Top Gun” movie, sued Paramount Pictures in February trying to get compensation for the use of his image in the 2022 sequel “Top Gun: Maverick.” But the claim seems unlikely to hold water with the Los Angeles federal judge overseeing the case.

In the 24-second scene in question, two young pilots examine a photo of Hubb and co-star Tom Cruise posing behind the scenes with a group of Navy pilots who helped with production of the 1986 blockbuster.

3. Michael Avenatti escapes 14-year sentence for stealing from clients

Though it far from cleared his name, the Ninth Circuit in October handed a win to Michael Avenatti,tossing his 14-year sentence for stealing millions of dollars from his former clients who include Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress at the center of Donald Trump’s criminal fraud conviction.

It was longest of three prison sentences Avenatti is serving: He also got four years for stealing Daniels’ book advance and 30 months for trying to extort Nike.

4. Special counsel to SCOTUS: Trump isn’t above the law

In April, special counsel Jack Smith told the Supreme Court that rejecting Donald Trump’s presidential immunity claim was essential to upholding the nation’s bedrock principle that no one is above the law.

It didn’t work.

Three months later, the high court would rule in favor of Trump and broad presidential immunity. “The president is not above the law,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the conservative supermajority. “But Congress may not criminalize the president’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the executive branch under the Constitution.”

Smith’s team tried to rebound and still bring a case — but Trump’s win in November left the prosecution dead in the water.

5. Colorado serial suer gets 12 years in prison

Using legal tactics popularized by the sovereign citizen movement, Brett Nelson filed phony motions for default judgments and powers of attorney against court staff and judges overseeing criminal and domestic cases where he was a defendant. He also filed fake quitclaim deeds in an attempt to seize property he did not own — acts of “paper terrorism,” as the FBI calls it.

But it was threatening calls to victims who included several Colorado judges that led to Nelson’s 12-year prison sentence, imposed in April after jurors convicted him on 20 counts including extortion, conspiracy and retaliation.

6. ‘Love Is Blind’ cast member reaches $1.4 million settlement with Netflix in class action over unpaid wages

In May, cast members from Netflix reality show “Love Is Blind” reached a $1.4 million settlement with the streaming service and producer Kinetic Content over unpaid wages and other labor violations cited in a 2022 class action.

The class, led by second-season participant Jeremy Hartwell, accused Kinetic of creating “unsafe and inhumane working conditions for the cast,” including by plying them with alcohol and controlling their schedules, meals, sleep and contact with the outside world.

7. Government offices close as three Southern states memorialize Confederacy

Mississippi closed state offices on the last Monday in April to observe Confederate Memorial Day, joining two other states — Alabama and South Carolina — that shutter operations to recognize the soldiers who died fighting to uphold slavery in the United States.

8. Judge dismisses felony gun possession case against rapper Boosie Badazz

Two months after and in light of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Duarte , a federal judge dismissed a felony gun possession charge against rapper Boosie Badazz, who was arrested during a traffic stop in May 2023.

“This situation made me see who was down with me and who wasn’t,” rapper Torrence Hatch Jr. said outside of a San Diego federal courtroom as he wiped tears from his eyes. “Ninety percent of people thought I was going to prison, but God had a different plan.”

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