Matthew Heller

Calif. Mom Fights For Victims Of “Revenge Porn”

When her daughter’s topless “selfie” popped up on a sleazy porn site, one mother moved to stick it to the underbelly of the internet and became the “Erin Brockovich of revenge porn” in the process.

Matthew Heller
By Matthew Heller
Annmarie Chiarini, Jon Cardin, Danielle Keats Citron

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. -- When former “revenge porn” website operator Hunter Moore appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom last month to answer to charges of stealing nude photos from hacked email accounts and posting the images online, the spectator gallery included a petite, blue-eyed woman who may have done as much as anyone to put him there. About

Read Full Article

Clash Over Sexual Assaults Makes For Another Last Stand In Montana

Montana’s most progressive community has come to be known as the “rape capital” of America for its poor handling of sexual assaults. But when the DOJ stepped in, a local county attorney refused to stand down.

Matthew Heller
By Matthew Heller
Teacher Rape Case

LOS ANGELES --- Missoula has long been known as the most progressive community in Montana, an island of blue in a largely red political landscape. The home of the University of Montana, its liberalism to some degree reflects the youthfulness of its population — its median age is 30.9, compared to 39.8 for the state as a whole. Lately, national

Read Full Article

EXCLUSIVE: Bribery Allegations Threaten California Political Dynasty

“People are upset in the district and rightfully so. The allegations have damaged the community’s image and deprived it of legislative clout in Sacramento.”

Matthew Heller
By Matthew Heller
Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, left, holds a brief news conference during first appearance at the Capitol since the FBI investigators raided his offices in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

UPDATE: A federal grand jury has indicted California state Sen. Ron Calderon on a host of charges, including accepting bribes from an undercover FBI agent posing as a filmmaker named Rocky Patel and from hospital executive Michael Drobot. His brother, Thomas, has also been charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit money

Read Full Article

NFL Teams Boo’ed Over Cheerleader Pay Practices

Professional cheerleading isn’t all pompoms and team spirit — sometimes it’s also $2.85 an hour. With lawsuits being filed, the public is learning about a darker side to the sidelines.

Matthew Heller
By Matthew Heller
Super Bowl Football

LOS ANGELES -- For professional cheerleaders, it can hardly get much better than a job with an NFL team. The glitz, glamour and national television exposure attract thousands of women every year to audition for the prized spots, with only 30 to 40 per team being chosen to hold the pompoms. Some, including actresses Teri Hatcher, Sarah Shahi and

Read Full Article

Exclusive: Physical Evidence Raises Doubts In Fatal Police Shooting Of Football Player

“If this had been treated as someone that was suffering from a mental illness, we would never have gotten to the point where he would have been killed.”

Matthew Heller
By Matthew Heller
Reggie Doucet

Update: The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has revived the excessive force lawsuit over the death of Reggie Doucet, saying a jury should decide whether an LAPD officer acted reasonably in shooting him after cornering him at the entrance to the Metro’s South Tower. The appeals court cited the report of the plaintiff’s

Read Full Article

Hunger Strike Sparks California Prison Reform Efforts

The conditions and ethics of solitary confinement in the U.S. are at the heart of a debate raging in the California corrections system.

Matthew Heller
By Matthew Heller
Solitary Confinement

LOS ANGELES — For the past 13 years John Martinez has been confined by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to a windowless cell, prohibited from any human contact and allowed out for only 90 minutes of exercise a day in a yard barely bigger than a dog run. He was sent to prison for murder, but was placed in solitary

Read Full Article

Gun Owners Challenge California Handgun Safety Law

Gun-rights groups have challenged microstamping and other requirements of the UHA as an indirect and unconstitutional attempt to ban handguns.

Matthew Heller
By Matthew Heller
Handgun

A technology that allows law enforcement investigators to trace spent cartridges left at crime scenes to the weapons from which they were fired is at the center of a legal battle in California that could help determine what, if any, restrictions state and local governments can still impose on handguns. Under California's Unsafe Handgun Act, all

Read Full Article