A toddler lost his finger yesterday in a harrowing escalator accident at the Van Nuys Courthouse. The Los Angeles Fire Department break down the grisly incident, in which a 17-month-old boy had his left index finger lopped off "in the comb-and-groove of the foot tread at or near the lowest ('arrival') level of the machinery." more ›

Following the legal escapades of Lindsay Lohan, Hollywood's next big celebrity court drama begins today. In fact, it's big enough that the LAPD is sending out alerts to the media, which usually doesn't happen with cases downtown, about the Anna Nicole Smith drug trial. more ›

It's not just city of Los Angeles employees facing thousands of layoffs--yesterday L.A. Superior Court officials laid off 329 workers and closed 17 courtrooms to address a $79.3 million deficit this fiscal year. That's in addition to the 156 voluntary departures through attrition and the expected 500 more by September, when another 50 courtrooms could close, officials announced yesterday. The courts employ some 5,400 workers and operates about 580 courtrooms throughout Los Angeles County. more ›

Abdel Nasser Eid Youssef and Amal Ahmed Ewis Abd-Motelib are charged with bringing a minor girl to the United States through visa fraud, then holding her for two years and forcing her to work in their home. They allegedly threatened harm to her sister and told the minor she would be arrested if she left the house. They allegedly beat her, held her in servitude, abused her by other means and hid her from immigration officials, promising her parents in Egypt that they would send them $30 a month. more ›

Well, that's one player who got sMASHed for taking short cuts... more ›