Gavel & Gazette

On November 6, 2026, Cornell University's Faculty Senate voted 75–50 that it had no confidence in the central administration over its handling of sexual assault allegations. Within hours, the Board of Trustees said the president stays. This episode explains what the vote does, what it does not do, and where the legal case goes next: the civil lawsuit, the special prosecutor, the independent review, and the pending motion to disqualify the prosecutor. No criminal charges have been filed; the accused deny wrongdoing. General information only, not legal advice. Based on public records and news reports.Thanks for listening to Gavel & Gazette. Legal news, explained. General information only, not legal advice.This episode includes AI-generated content.

Russell Brand has been found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault following a four-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in London. The jury, which deliberated for eight and a half hours, acquitted him of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. Brand, 51, has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Monday, November 9, 2026. The judge told him to expect a “significant custodial term.” This episode breaks down the verdicts count by count, explains what the jury had to decide, and looks at the sentencing guidelines that could lead to a lengthy prison term. We also cover the ongoing police investigations into additional allegations. General information only, not legal advice. Based on public records and news reports.Thanks for listening to Gavel & Gazette. Legal news, explained. General information only, not legal advice.This episode includes AI-generated content.

An alleged assault at a fraternity house in October 2024. Seven accused students. No criminal charges, until a lawsuit filed in September 2026 reopened the case.Since then, New York's governor said she had lost faith in the local district attorney and named the state attorney general special prosecutor. Cornell agreed to an outside review led by former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. The county moved to audit the district attorney's office. And Cornell's Faculty Senate resumes debate on a no-confidence resolution on Oct. 28.This follow-up to our earlier Cornell 7 episode explains what is alleged, what the university says it did, what has not been decided, and what can happen next. None of the accused has been criminally charged, and the allegations have not been tested in a criminal trial.General information only, not legal advice. Based on public records and news reports.Thanks for listening to Gavel & Gazette. Legal news, explained. General information only, not legal advice.This episode includes AI-generated content.

Can a company charge you half of your remaining payments to cancel a subscription you thought was monthly? That is the question behind the legal fight over Adobe's Creative Cloud plans, which include Photoshop.In March 2026, Adobe agreed to pay $150 million, half in penalties and half in free services, to settle claims brought by the federal government that it hid an early termination fee and made cancellation hard. This week, a federal judge revived a separate class action over the same kind of subscription terms.This episode explains the 2010 online shopping law behind the FTC case, what the 50 percent fee was alleged to be, what the settlement means for customers, and what comes next. Nothing in these cases ends Photoshop. The fight is over how it is sold and canceled.General information only, not legal advice. Based on public records and news reports.Thanks for listening to Gavel & Gazette. Legal news, explained. General information only, not legal advice.This episode includes AI-generated content.

In July 2026, a federal judge in Florida sanctioned lawyers for President Trump in his lawsuit against the IRS, finding the case was "non-adversarial" and "collusive" and aimed at forcing a $1.776 billion settlement. She referred one attorney to the Florida Bar, ended another lawyer's participation, and ordered reimbursements to former judges and IRS officials who had filed friend-of-the-court briefs. The lawyers call the sanctions unprecedented and unconstitutional. In September, the 11th Circuit declined to block them for now.This episode explains the legal question at the center: can a judge sanction lawyers after a case has been voluntarily dismissed? We walk through what a court's inherent authority is, what each side argues, and what could happen next.General information only, not legal advice. Based on public records and news reports.Thanks for listening to Gavel & Gazette. Legal news, explained. General information only, not legal advice.This episode includes AI-generated content.

Alex Jones built InfoWars into a conspiracy empire. Then a jury ordered him to pay the Sandy Hook families over $1.4 billion. Now, the satirical site The Onion has launched its own parody version of InfoWars, and Alex Jones is furious—and suing. But the legal battle is a procedural mess. The Onion is operating the brand, a court-appointed receiver is fighting for control, and the Texas Supreme Court just blocked a key transfer of assets. Meanwhile, Jones has moved to a new studio and is broadcasting again. This episode explains who actually owns what, why the parody is legally protected, and what happens next in the billion-dollar fight. General information only, not legal advice. Based on public records and news reports.Thanks for listening to Gavel & Gazette. Legal news, explained. General information only, not legal advice.This episode includes AI-generated content.

Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. are suing Midjourney, accusing the AI image generator of training on their copyrighted characters and allowing users to create images of Darth Vader, Minions, and Batman on demand. Midjourney argues that training its models on copyrighted material is protected by fair use. The case is in discovery in California federal court, with a hearing on Midjourney's motion for partial judgment set for October 26, 2026. No court has ruled on fair use yet. This episode explains the legal theories on both sides, what the studios must prove, and what Midjourney's defense relies on. We separate what is alleged from what a court has actually decided. General information only, not legal advice. Based on public records and news reports.Thanks for listening to Gavel & Gazette. Legal news, explained. General information only, not legal advice.This episode includes AI-generated content.

Sean “Diddy” Combs was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering, but a jury convicted him on two counts under the Mann Act. Now he is serving a 50-month sentence and appealing to the Second Circuit, arguing that the judge improperly used acquitted conduct to increase his punishment. This episode breaks down what the jury actually decided, why the appeals court called it an “exceptionally difficult case,” and what could happen next. We separate what the court found from what is still being disputed. General information only, not legal advice. Based on public records and news reports.Thanks for listening to Gavel & Gazette. Legal news, explained. General information only, not legal advice.This episode includes AI-generated content.

Luigi Mangione admitted in federal court that he shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, 2026. But New York State still wants to try him for second-degree murder. Mangione's lawyers say that would violate double jeopardy protections under New York law, which go further than the U.S. Constitution. Prosecutors argue the state and federal cases involve different harms and different crimes. A hearing on December 10 will decide whether the state trial can move forward. This episode explains what double jeopardy actually means, how New York's law differs from the federal standard, and what happens if the state case survives. General information only, not legal advice. Based on public records and news reports.Thanks for listening to Gavel & Gazette. Legal news, explained. General information only, not legal advice.This episode includes AI-generated content.

A federal appeals court has refused to block sanctions against lawyers who represented Donald Trump in a lawsuit against the IRS. Judge Kathleen Williams found the suit was brought in "bad faith" to manipulate the judicial process and create a $1.8 billion fund for Trump's allies. One of Trump's personal lawyers, Alejandro Brito, was referred to the Florida Bar for possible discipline. This episode explains what the judge decided, what the appeals court said, and what it means for the lawyers involved—and for the broader pattern of legal ethics questions surrounding Trump's legal team. We separate what the court found from what is still being disputed. General information only, not legal advice. Based on public records and news reports.Thanks for listening to Gavel & Gazette. Legal news, explained. General information only, not legal advice.This episode includes AI-generated content.